The First String and Junior High School Shuffle Match

Turning to face the middle school students, Horio's expression was serious.

Seeing Horio's actions, the junior high school students also realized the importance of this.

After the teams disbanded, both the victorious team in white uniforms and the Revolutionary Army in black uniforms devoted themselves to their respective training.

"So, seeing him again, the feeling in your heart must have been very strong, right?"

"This time, I'm determined to defeat him no matter what..."

After the junior high school students left the court, Horio and the others didn't leave.

Seeing that Tokugawa was acting differently than usual, everyone knew it was because of Byodoin.

"In that case, let's start practicing and give it our all before tomorrow."

"That's right, as long as the competition hasn't officially started, everything is unknown."

Hearing Horio say that, Irie echoed his sentiment.

"You guys go ahead, I need to go get my things, I'll come back when I'm done."

As Horio and the others were preparing to leave, Oni went off alone in another direction.

"Take back his own things?"

"Never mind, he'll be back once he's done."

Let's go, let's make the most of our time practicing.

"I'm going to step up my efforts. Get ready."

Bring it on!

Inside Court No. 1, Horio and Tokugawa are practicing together.

With each swing of the racket, there are ten sounds of the ball hitting the ground.

It seems the two played against each other for a long time using ten balls, at which point Horio reminded Tokugawa that he needed to increase his strength.

Tokugawa did not hesitate for long and immediately prepared to retaliate.

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

A heavier hitting sound appeared, and the speed of the ten balls hit immediately increased, with much more power.

Tokugawa sensed the power of the ten balls, gripped his racket tightly with his left hand, and swung it towards them.

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

Tokugawa clearly felt some strain in this return, but after a few seconds he managed to return the last ball.

Seeing that this level of force had put pressure on Tokugawa, Horio maintained the same level of force thereafter.

Under this pressure, Tokugawa's strength increased slightly.

"Alright, that's enough for today. You have a tough battle ahead of you tomorrow, so get some rest tonight."

"Thank you so much for practicing with me so late."

"It's okay, for tomorrow... who!"

Just as Horio and Tokugawa were packing up their things after the match, Horio suddenly noticed someone standing outside the court.

Bang!

After being spotted by Horio, the person did not respond, but instead unleashed a terrifyingly powerful Light Ball Shot.

"Careful!"

"Dodge it, it's just Light Ball Shot."

Upon discovering that it was Tokugawa Light Ball Shot, Tokugawa immediately guessed who his opponent was.

Just as Tokugawa was about to step forward to block for Horio pushed Tokugawa away and then swung the racket he hadn't put back in his hand.

"You launch sneak attacks during the day, and you launch sneak attacks at night again. Are you that afraid of losing, you bastard?"

Who else but Byodoin could use Light Ball Shot, and even attack Horio with Light Ball Shot?

"Byodoin, you'd better kneel down right now."

Horio's right hand emitted Genesis Aura that covered his racket, while his left hand emitted a purple light with wisps of electricity wrapped around it.

"Particle Light Storm."

He swung his racket at the Light Ball Shot, but the terrifyingly powerful Light Ball Shot was easily blocked.

However, the residual force acted directly on the wall behind, leaving a hole in it.

"What!?"

Byodoin had not expected Horio to retaliate in this way.

Horio returned the ball, and a purple ball of light appeared, surrounded by several light blades, flying straight towards Byodoin.

Seeing this, Byodoin dared not underestimate him and also took out his signature Light Ball Shot to retaliate.

"Destroy!"

Similarly, the destructive power of Byodoin's Light Ball Shot, which was further explored, was undoubtedly immense.

However, the only difference between Horio's Particle Light Storm and Byodoin's Destruction is that the Particle Light Storm incorporates the power of the Genesis Aura.

In essence, destruction cannot be compared to Particle Light Storm.

Bang!

The Particle Light Storm instantly flew to Byodoin's front, and a golden light flashed in Byodoin's left hand before he also swung his racket.

But the moment he felt the racket, his brow furrowed.

Because the power of this ball was comparable to his, just as Byodoin was surprised, another unexpected event occurred.

The Particle Light Storm's follow-up attack arrived: a series of light blades that had been trailing behind the sphere.

Some of the light blades missed, but some struck Byodoin's racket, and most importantly, one of them hit Byodoin's arm.

This Particle Light Storm destroyed Byodoin's racket and injured Byodoin arm.

"Those light blades following the tennis ball can actually cause real damage... This guy..."

"What a pity. Looks like I'll have to use more force. I clearly said I was going to make you lie down."

Horio's eyes turned icy as he looked at Byodoin's unnatural right arm and the racket broken into several pieces.

"You're really lucky; it's just the three of us tonight, so I won't deal with you right now."

Enjoy your last night of peace, for tomorrow I will make you lose face in front of everyone.

After saying that, Horio took his things and left the stadium with Tokugawa.

"Particle Light Storm... that Light Ball Shot..."

Watching the two figures disappear into the distance, Byodoin unconsciously clenched his right hand, but the pain from his right hand made him frown again.

What happened at the stadium just now?

"Ah, it's nothing, just someone being nosy and causing trouble."

Oh? Is this what you meant by going to get your things back?

Not long after Horio and Tokugawa left the stadium, they encountered the demon who had discovered what was happening.

Unfortunately, before the demon even arrived at the stadium, Horio had already resolved the situation.

Seeing the number five badge on Oni's collar, Horio understood what Oni had been up to.

"Oh? You're here, then I don't need to go to the dorm to look for you."

At that moment, Irie appeared, carrying a box in her arms.

"Is that the old man's stuff?"

"That's right, I just ran into Sasabe, and he gave this to me, saying it was for junior high school students by the beginner's Coach."

Upon seeing the three boats drawn on the box, Horio immediately guessed that it contained something about Mifune.

"What is that? Did the old man prepare a secret weapon for them?"

"This must be their old team uniform."

"Here's Horio. You're a middle school student too, so you can give it to them."

Curious, Horio opened the box and was speechless upon seeing the various colored uniforms inside.

"Honestly, that drunkard only causes trouble for others."

But it's all for the best; making them bury all their uniforms was a form of motivation.

Giving their uniforms back now is a way of acknowledging their hard work and progress. We're playing against those guys tomorrow anyway, so let them carry their school's pride with them."

Although Horio complained about Mifune, he knew why Mifune did what he did.

After taking the box from Irie, Horio left.

"Was that him on the court just now?"

"That's right, he originally intended to Light Ball Shot to ambush Horio, but Horio discovered it."

After Horio left, Oni turned to look at Tokugawa.

When asked by the demon, Tokugawa hesitated for a moment before recounting what had just happened at the stadium.

"Light Ball Shot even more powerful than destruction!?"

"That's right, after Horio hit Byodoin's Light Ball Shot back, Byodoin prepared to retaliate with Destruction."

But he had barely received the ball, not even a second had passed, and his racket was destroyed.

Upon hearing Tokugawa's account, Oni and Irie fell silent.

"That move seems to be called... Particle Light Storm. It's... a terrifying move, even more terrifying than Shatter."

"So now it seems that Horio still much stronger than Byodoin."

"But nobody knows if Byodoin has learned anything new while traveling the world, and that was just one ball; don't forget, he hasn't even used his extradimensional ability yet."

Oni was a cautious person, and he was also Byodoin's old rival. He never dared to easily assess Byodoin's strength.

Even knowing that Horio was very strong, Oni still maintained a cautious attitude.

"Anyway, tomorrow will be a fight to the death between him and me."

Tokugawa's eyes revealed determination and resolve, as if he could already foresee what would happen tomorrow.

Seeing Tokugawa's reaction, Oni and Irie couldn't say anything more.

"Next up is the reshuffling battle between the U-17 team and the junior high school students. The first round begins now."

The doubles team will consist of U-17 representative number 10, Mori Juzaburo, and number 9 Ochi Moonlight.

The next day, everyone gathered at the court for the card shuffling battle.

Not only were members of the First String and junior high school students present at the sidelines, but high school students from other stadiums also showed up.

Once both teams had arrived, the announcement to begin the match came over the loudspeaker.

On the First String's side, they sent players directly from the bottom of the rankings.

"I'll be on the field for the first match, let's go, Yukimura."

"I can't wait! I hope we can have a great match, Atobe."

"Of course! In my eyes, there is only victory, and the most exciting matches are the ones where victory is achieved."

After the First String had determined its participants, Atobe stepped forward.

After stepping down from the audience seats, Yukimura, who had been sitting, also stood up.

"Junior high school student representatives: Atobe Keigo and Yukimura Seiichi."

"We can't let our guard down, Atobe. After all, they're a member of the national team."

"Oh? What's 'warning'? Can you eat it?"

At the net, Atobe and Yukimura looked at Ochi Moonlight and Mori Juzaburo on the other side, their tone full of confidence.

"I never imagined that I would see the Captain of Rikkai Dai and Hyotei compete as a doubles team."

"As top players among junior high school students, this match is sure to be exciting."

As Yukimura and Atobe played doubles, the middle school students in the audience could hardly believe it was real.

But the two confident players on the field truly proved everyone's doubts.