The Expeditionary Force Officially Returns

"Irie, you are really foolish. You clearly have the ability, but you gave up the opportunity to train overseas because you insisted on nurturing the younger generation."

Do you know how much you've missed out on? Are you planning to live your whole life relying on those deceptive tricks?

Bang!

Inside the stadium, Akitani Momiji, standing opposite Irie, was very dissatisfied with Irie's performance.

They even mocked Irie for winning on the field by acting, unaware that this had crossed a line for Irie.

Whoosh!

Just as Akitani Momiji finished speaking, a tennis ball suddenly flew past his ear, even taking his mind with it.

"So... whose acting skills are you questioning?"

Irie's tone had changed, and sensing that something was wrong with Irie, Akitani Momiji looked at him.

The gentle face that appeared in Akitani Momiji's sight was no longer that of Irie; Irie was now truly angry.

"Hongye, you're glad you went overseas for training, right? But I'm glad I didn't go."

Even if you return from training overseas, no miracle will happen on this field today.

Having said that, Irie turned around and walked to the bottom line.

Startled by Irie's sudden change, Akitani Momiji quickly adjusted his mindset, but this time he made a mistake against Irie's serve.

Bang!

He clearly saw Irie toss the tennis ball up, but after Irie swung her racket and hit the ball, he couldn't track its trajectory.

"It's really a bit of a headache that you, Hongye, think my acting is bad."

However, this scene is almost over; it's time to close it.

Seeing the bewildered look on Akitani Momiji's face, Irie served again.

"This dust is enormous! Even though I know the ball came from the ground, it's so troublesome not being able to see it."

Inside the stadium, Kintaro looked at the dust-covered ground and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

His opponent was Hakamada Izo, who wore the number 14 badge in the second team. Hakamada Izo's signature move was "disappearance".

Hitting a tennis ball on the ground causes it to spin continuously, creating dust that can disrupt the opponent's vision.

Then the tennis ball suddenly bounced in a certain direction, catching the opponent off guard. At this moment, Kintaro was facing this predicament.

Looking at the smoke and dust that almost covered half of the field, Kintaro suddenly took a deep breath.

After inhaling to his limit, Kintaro exhaled forcefully.

The smoke and dust were indeed dispersed a little, but before Kintaro could be happy, his vision was once again obscured by the smoke and dust, as he was already out of breath.

Bang!

"You're really dreaming. Those tricks won't work against my skills."

Hakamada Izo was clearly very confident in his signature shot, and pressed his advantage by hitting another disappearing shot.

"Since we can't solve it on the ground, we'll have to try it from the air."

After failing to disperse the smoke and dust, Kintaro simply gave up on the ground.

He jumped into the air, and then many Kintaro appeared, sealing off the entire airspace.

"As long as I control the airspace, I can catch the ball no matter which way it flies."

"What!?"

Seeing Kintaro's figure spread across the entire half of the field, Hakamada Izo panicked.

"So slow, they're still not back."

Why am I always the one waiting?

"Calm down, Kirihara. There's no point in you being stubborn."

Inside the Center Court, the junior high school students waited for the players who had gone to challenge the second-team team to return.

After waiting anxiously without seeing anyone return, everyone began to get worried.

"The middle school students haven't come back yet, so nothing should happen, right?"

"It's okay. Although those useless guys in the second team might be a little stronger than middle schoolers, winning isn't that difficult."

Listening to the middle school students' discussions, Tokugawa also felt a little worried.

"Oh? You're all waiting here?"

At that moment, a figure appeared in everyone's sight.

Irie returned with his racket, a badge bearing the number 20 pinned to his collar.

Didn't you see any middle school students when you came back?

"They're behind us, that's a bit unexpected."

When he heard the question about the middle school student, Irie smiled.

Then, after Irie returned to the Center Court, Yukimura led the others back to the court.

"Those who came back were all middle school students. It seems those guys from the intensive training group were all defeated."

"Looks like someone pulled off an upset."

"So all those guys from the second team were eliminated. They're really something."

Even the three Coach in the stands were somewhat surprised to see the badges pinned to the collars of Yukimura and the others.

"Wait a minute, hasn't Kintaro come back yet?"

I'm here!

Just then, someone noticed that Kintaro hadn't returned yet, and Kintaro's voice was heard immediately.

Everyone turned to look and saw Kintaro carrying a man with short white hair back to the Center Court. This man was none other than Hakamada Izo, whom Kintaro had defeated.

"Brother, that's enough. You should get some rest."

After placing Hakamada Izo on the ground, Kintaro prepared to rejoin the main force.

At that moment Hakamada Izo reached out and grabbed Kintaro's calf, and took out his badge.

"Wait... don't forget this, don't lose it, kid."

Thank you.

Hakamada Izo handed the Number 4 Badge to Kintaro, and before Kintaro could react, a powerful ball suddenly flew towards him.

No one in the room reacted at first, except for Horio.

The instant the tennis ball appeared, Horio used his Inch Step technique to move to Hakamada Izo's side.

"Horio, what are you doing here...?"

Hakamada Izo and Kintaro were puzzled when they saw Horio suddenly appear.

Horio then stretched out his hand, blocking Hakamada Izo's path.

"You're trash for attacking someone's vital parts without any reason, Byodoin."

Seeing the tennis ball in Horio's hand, everyone then understood why he had done that.

Upon seeing this, everyone turned their heads behind them, and nine figures appeared in the stands.

"Byodoin... you should just look at it."

"Oh? They're back."

Ghost frowned as he looked at the person in the lead who was still in the serving position.

"You actually managed to catch that ball with one hand. You really are exactly as they said."

"Hmph, I was right, trash is always followed by useless people."

Whether it's you, Byodoin, or those useless bastards behind you who don't even have the courage to compete with me.

Seeing that Horio easily caught the ball he had aimed at Hakamada Izo, Byodoin's face turned serious.

However, upon hearing Horio belittle him and even the others in such a way, Byodoin's face showed a hint of anger.

"Kid, you're being a bit too arrogant."

"If this is what you call arrogance, then you'll see what true arrogance is during the competition."

Horio felt somewhat disgusted by Byodoin's disdain for Byodoin students.

Tokugawa, who was standing to the side, almost couldn't help but retort, but luckily the demon stopped him.

Stop embarrassing me, you bastard!

If that ball had hit him just now, do you know what the consequences would have been?!

"Hey, you guys are from the First String, right? How about we have a match against you in the next game?"

"No, teach us how to play first."

Still shaken by the earlier ball, Kintaro looked at Hakamada Izo, who was equally frightened, Kintaro great anger.

Seeing his comrade in this state, Sanada led the rest of the Revolutionary Army to challenge Byodoin.

Meanwhile, the winning team members couldn't stand it anymore, and Atobe, on their behalf, issued a challenge.

"Don't push your luck, you bunch of brats."

Provoked by junior high school students, how could the proud Byodoin let things go unchecked?

Byodoin's expression suddenly changed, and the aura of a powerful figure immediately appeared.

The group of middle school students immediately felt a strong pressure, and their fighting spirit immediately waned.

"You have one day to prepare. Those who aren't afraid to die, come on."

"Then I'll handle the negotiations. What I want to say is, all of you junior high school students, you decide the order of play this time. No objections?"

Following Byodoin's words, Kimijima Ikuto stepped forward and let the junior high school students arrange the competition participants themselves.

"What do you weak-willed Coach think?"

"Since that's the case, if none of you have any objections..."

"Okay, it's decided then. Tomorrow morning, we'll stake our national representation on a reshuffling battle."

After obtaining the consent of Kurobe and the others, Byodoin directly set the time for the match.

"Hmph, stop worrying about others and worry about yourself instead."

"Kid, don't think that just because you beat a few of them you're qualified to challenge me, unless you want to go to hell."

"Of course, if you beat me, this badge is yours."

Upon hearing Horio's words again, Byodoin felt inexplicably irritated.

When Horio saw Byodoin reveal the number one badge on his collar, he let out a disdainful sneer.

"You only really care about that kind of thing, right? If you beat me, I can give you this badge."

After saying that, Horio took out a badge from his pocket that was exactly the same as the badges worn by the First String, but it was engraved with the number zero.

"Number Zero!?"

Do you have those badges?

"Could it be that the brat made a fake one himself?"

Seeing the badge in Horio's hand, several members of the First String could hardly believe it.

Byodoin, on the other hand, frowned deeply, his eyes filled with undisguised shock.

"The initiation Coach actually gave you number zero, huh? Well then, let's see what you're capable of."

Byodoin's words undoubtedly confirmed the authenticity of the Zero Badge. After feeling shocked, Byodoin left with the rest of the First String.

"Aren't you going with them? You're one of their people."

"Oh dear, why say that? We're all friends, aren't we?"

Watching Byodoin and the others leave, Horio turned to look at Tanegashima.

Tanegashima laughed at this moment, his words betraying his actions.

After taking out his second badge, he changed into the Expeditionary Force uniform and left.

"Alright, there's only one day left. You need to hurry. The First String is different from the second army; if you're not careful, something terrible could happen."