Sanada's Unexpected Evolution

The swing motion suddenly became very fast, completely surpassing its Swift as the Wind.

This is one of Sanada's evolutionary achievements: the wind has successfully evolved into a storm.

With the same seven-shot sound, Sanada successfully returned the ball with a powerful shot.

"You've gotten so much faster; it seems the special racket has been a big help."

Sanada successfully returned seven balls to complete the third round, and Horio did not add any more balls at the start of the fourth round.

Of course, the number of balls wasn't reduced; the total remained at seven.

Horio sensed that Sanada wasn't quite proficient with the explosive power yet, so he took the opportunity to help Sanada get used to it.

The fourth round...

The fifth round...

The eighth round...

The ninth round...

With Horio's continued training using seven balls, Sanada's explosive attack is clearly becoming more and more proficient.

When the ninth round was over, Horio gave up the idea of continuing.

Take out the eighth ball and add it to the remaining seven balls.

Sanada was able to handle the seven balls using his Swift as the Wind Storm, but the eighth ball was like a hurdle, blocking the middle school students' path.

If Sanada could have returned those eight balls, he would have passed Horio's test, but unfortunately he made a mistake.

After returning seven balls, the eighth ball, which fell to his feet, sealed his defeat.

You have two more chances, so make the most of them!

Hearing the teasing tone in Horio's voice, Sanada's expression became even more serious.

He knew that Horio the last eight balls; Horio simply didn't want him to get through.

Therefore, the more Sanada knew the truth, the more determined he became to rise to the challenge.

For his second chance, Horio immediately took out seven balls.

"Starting with seven balls right from the start this time, Horio did it on purpose, didn't he?"

"In my opinion, he learned it from the initiation Coach; he only likes to torture people in this way."

"What did you say, brat!"

Even Yanagi, who was sitting in the audience, started criticizing Horio's behavior, and Momoshiro even pointed the finger at Mifune.

Upon hearing someone speak ill of him to his face, Mifune immediately glared at them.

Seeing Mifune's murderous glare, Momoshiro squeezed into the crowd.

On the field, facing seven goals, Sanada still chose to respond with a powerful counterattack.

The racket kept swinging, and the tennis ball was hit back.

This time, Horio didn't wait until the last possession like he did last time; Horio took out his eighth ball halfway through the game.

"Oh no! Eight more balls are about to appear."

"Sanada! Hit the ball back!"

Hearing his teammates' voices from the sidelines, Sanada's expression turned serious.

At this moment, Horio had already hit eight balls towards Sanada.

"It's impossible to retaliate against eight balls with brute force alone; it seems we can no longer hold back!"

Swift as the Wind Storm! Immovable as a Mountain!

After Sanada used the Storm, which evolved from Wind, in order to counter Horio's eight balls, Sanada used the Peak, which evolved from Mountain.

At this moment, Sanada stood on the court like a mountain, intercepting all eight balls that Horio hit with Swift as the Wind Storm.

"They fought back!"

"I never expected Sanada's Wind Forest Fire Mountain to become this strong after its evolution!"

"That's eight balls now, Horio can probably only hit eight balls at most."

"Don't be naive, kids. Eight goals are no big deal to Coach."

Upon hearing Zaizen of Shitenhoji say that Horio could only play eight balls at a time, Sasabe, a supporter of Horio, immediately mocked him.

"That's right, only eight goals. Eight goals might be difficult for us, but it's not difficult at all for Coach Horio."

"You kids really think this is the Coach's limit? Wake up!"

After Sasabe finished speaking, the other high school students echoed his words.

The middle school student caught the information in the high school student's words: Horio's strength was even more terrifying.

Mifune, sitting on a wooden stump, listened to the argument between the middle school and high school students without saying a word, his eyes fixed on the scene.

"Has the Wind Forest Fire Mountain already evolved twice, or has it all evolved?"

Its Swift as the Wind Storm and its Immovable as a Mountain allowed Sanada to withstand Horio's eight-ball attack, but Horio had no intention of letting Sanada pass this hurdle so soon.

So in the tenth round, Horio used the same trick again.

"It's the last round, Horio will definitely do it again, just like the last goal."

"That's right..."

Horio's idea was so simple that even those watching from the sidelines could guess it.

Bang... bang... bang...

At the start of the tenth round, Horio hit nine balls.

Just as Horio made his move, Sanada underwent another change.

"I knew you would do this, but I was prepared!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a black aura suddenly appeared around Sanada.

"Is this... his anger evolving into Aura?"

Seeing Sanada's change, Horio realized he had been tricked by Sanada.

The reason for this is that Horio underestimated Sanada's progress. It's already remarkable that he was able to overcome his physical limitations and successfully improve his skills in such a short time.

But Sanada's evolution clearly doesn't stop there; the anger he previously displayed in the match has now transformed into a black Aura.

"Swift as the Wind Storm! Immovable as a Mountain!"

With the support of the black Aura, Sanada's strength surged once again, and he swung his racket to hit the nine balls flying towards him.

Bang...

A series of tennis balls hit the ground, but Horio didn't try to catch them.

"To be honest, you really surprised me."

Looking at Sanada, who was surrounded by a black aura, Horio didn't hold back his praise.

Having passed the test, Sanada dispelled his dark Aura, picked up his racket, and walked off the court.

Sanada's success boosted the morale of the junior high school students, while putting a lot of pressure on the high school students.

Hitting nine balls at the same time is already at the level of elite high school students in training camp.

They could accept the fact that these late-arriving junior high students were better than them, but they never imagined they would be this strong.

On the wooden blocks outside the court, Mifune's eyes changed when Sanada hit nine balls back.

There are already junior high school students who can play nine-ball, which means that junior high school students have met the important conditions for going down the mountain.

However, considering that the newly arranged training session this morning between junior high and high school students had not yet concluded, Mifune temporarily suppressed this thought.

After Sanada completed the test, the other junior high school students also gained some confidence.

Although they knew they weren't at Sanada's level, they no longer felt the same tension they had at the beginning.

The sparring practice was over, and three hours had already passed; the whole morning had gone by just like that.

Among the junior high school students Niou, besides Sanada, only Horio met Horio's requirements according to his own calculations.

The others still had room for improvement, and Horio didn't let them pass by, even if it was just a little bit.

Among the high school students, Sasabe, Matsudaira, and a few others did it.

While they haven't achieved anything particularly impressive, like hitting eight or nine balls simultaneously, they've already largely reached their full potential.

After all, compared to these junior high school students who are more talented, the upper limit of high school students is limited.

"The morning training is over. Do you all remember what I told you before training? Except for those who have already passed and don't need to be punished, everyone else should take the initiative."

When Horio mentioned punishment, everyone's expression remained unchanged.

Having endured the Hellish Training that Mifune underwent, their minds matured considerably.

Now, they will first consider the intentions behind Horio's actions, and then they will find that they are of great benefit to themselves.

After the training session ended, Mifune got up and left without paying any attention to them.

Seeing that he was leaving alone, Horio did not delay the others any longer.

After the teams disbanded, both the junior high and high school students ran towards their morning training location at the same time.

"It seems they're all desperate to get down the mountain, but which side will come down first?"

The morning training wasn't too strenuous, so they're all in pretty good spirits right now.

Both sides were determined to win the reward that Mifune had mentioned, and they were secretly competing with each other.

Horio was also somewhat interested in everyone's new training that morning, so Horio followed in their footsteps.

"The previous group has been eliminated. Get ready for the next wave."

Along the stream, people waiting nearby watched the hikers.

On a rock in the stream, Mifune stood watching.

Upon hearing Mifune announce that this round of training had failed, the people climbing up couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Those who were about to take the stage immediately adjusted their mindset and prepared to meet the challenge.

"Is this the first formal competition between junior high and high school students...?"

On the other side of the stream, Horio watched the people charging up the hill, a glint in his eyes.

As if he had guessed something, his gaze turned to Mifune.

Horio's gaze lingered on Mifune for a moment, then a smile suddenly appeared on his lips before he turned and left the training ground.

"Keep it up, Revolutionary Army! When you get back to the training camp, give those guys a real surprise."

As he spoke, Horio walked deeper into the woods.

Bang!

"This is it. The basic shape has been sketched out. Now it's just a matter of practicing and refining it."

Deep in the woods, Horio, holding a tennis racket, looked at the huge dent that had appeared on a boulder a dozen meters away and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

The crater was about one meter in diameter and had sunk inwards to nearly half a meter.

This is the effect Horio wanted; in his vision of the evolution of Light Ball Shot, this is the most perfect one.

After suppressing his smile, Horio took out another ball.

Suddenly, the ball in his hand emitted a purple light, and at the same time, the racket in his right hand was enveloped in a purple Genesis Aura.

The ball is tossed up with the left hand, while the racket in the right hand is already being swung.

The tennis ball that was hit not only emitted light itself, but also emitted light blades composed of purple light that spun around it.