Kintaro's Rematch Challenge

"Old ghost, you're my prey. Now it's time for my revenge."

Wearing the Shitenhoji uniform and sporting red hair, Kintaro appeared on the field before Akutsu.

He raised his racket, pointed it at the ghost, and wore that signature confident smile.

"Fine, since you want to lose again, then I'll be your opponent once more."

Oni did not refuse Kintaro's challenge; he was also eager to test Kintaro's current limits after his special training in the mountains.

"In the fourth round, U-17 team member No. 5 Oni Jujiro against junior high school student Tooyama Kintaro."

Best-of-three sets, with Toyama serving.

On the court, Kintaro was warming up.

After the referee announced the start of the match, Kintaro immediately got into the game.

"Go for it, Xiao Jin!"

"Be careful of the black jack knife."

Let's unleash all the results of our training during this period!

In the first three rounds, all the middle school students who appeared were from the winners' bracket. Kintaro, as the first Revolutionary Army member to appear, naturally received encouragement from the other Revolutionary Army members.

"Okay! I'm going now!"

Responding to the cheers from the sidelines, Kintaro tossed the tennis ball high into the air.

"A super-million-ton fantastical volcanic eruption serve!"

Kintaro then jumped up, spun several times in the air, and hit his newly learned serve.

The tennis ball flew out with explosive force, like a volcanic eruption.

"This is!?"

Upon catching Kintaro's ball, Oni instantly felt the terrifying power emanating from the racket.

"Go back here!"

The tennis ball bounced off the ghost's racket for two seconds before being hit back with a loud roar from the ghost.

Moreover, the shot was aimed at the diagonal corner furthest from Kintaro, but Kintaro appeared in front of the net where the diagonal shot would pass.

"You caught up?"

"Uncle Ghost, you're like you've frozen in time."

Seeing that Kintaro's speed had suddenly increased so much, Oni's expression changed again.

At this point, Kintaro had undergone a complete transformation. Even if Oni used the same level of skill he had when they competed before, Oni's movements were no longer up to par with the current Kintaro.

Just when everyone thought Kintaro would score with a volley at the net, Kintaro suddenly lowered his racket and hit a short ball.

Thump...

"Junior high school students score, 15:0"

"Little Kim... he actually played a short ball?"

Shiraishi, who is familiar with Kintaro from the sidelines, was quite surprised that Kintaro only returned the ball with a short shot when he had an opportunity.

"Strength, speed, skill—I never imagined they could improve to this level in such a short time. It's truly astonishing."

Bang...

"Junior high school students score, 30:0"

Kintaro's growth truly shocked the demon.

Another point was scored, Kintaro once again returned the ball at the net to score.

"That little guy named Yuanshan is really amazing. He can unleash such great power with such a small body."

Without you, I think he would be the most promising first-year student in junior high.

"His potential and talent are at the genius level, even among all junior high school students."

Considering the rigorous training he underwent on the mountain, his progress is hardly surprising.

Kintaro's powerful performance also shocked Irie, who had watched Kintaro's match against Irie.

But compared to today, he's a completely different person.

Horio took this for granted, given the training conditions in the mountains and the Coach who always loved to torture people.

To persevere and successfully meet the criteria for descending the mountain is a feat that applies to any member of the Revolutionary Army.

Having gone through these painful experiences, they will all undergo a complete transformation from their former selves.

Bang...

"Junior high school student scores, score 1-0"

"Great job! Kintaro!"

"Great! We've taken the first round from Brother Ghost!"

Kintaro scored the first point, igniting the fighting spirit of the Revolutionary Army on the sidelines.

"Is this the result of successful spiritual practice in the mountains?"

"This brat, and that power of his... have they been hiding their strength all this time so they could fight me again?"

On the court, looking at the marks left by the tennis ball on the ground, Gui's surprise grew.

Seeing Kintaro's increasingly fierce expression and state, Oni suddenly felt a little dazed.

"Hey, old man, it's your turn to serve. I can't wait to continue."

At this moment, Kintaro's voice interrupted Oni's thoughts. He turned around, went to the baseline, and also served a powerful ball.

But it had little effect on Kintaro, who easily returned the ball with a simple swing.

Kintaro, having unleashed his full power, managed to suppress the demon for a short period of time.

Bang...

"Junior high school student scores, score 3-0"

"The ghost only got three points; it's time to get serious."

"I don't know, maybe this match will be the battle for the awakening of the demons?"

When Kintaro scored another point from the demon, the score was now 3-0.

Irie was watching the show from the sidelines, was somewhat curious about how the demon was suppressed.

Horio wasn't concerned with that; what he was really worried about was whether Kintaro, now that he had progressed to his current level, would awaken a true demon.

"I never expected you to grow to this level; to be honest, I'm quite surprised."

I thought you revealed your full strength in the challenge match when you came back, but it seems you've been deliberately hiding something."

As the saying goes, even the most formidable vultures hide their talons.

Looking at the excited Kintaro across from him, Oni solemnly gave his approval.

Kintaro's smile grew wider as he was praised by the demon, and he uttered his off-the-book proverb.

"It's not a vulture, it's an eagle!"

The demon scolded Kintaro, and then five balls appeared in his hand.

He tossed it into the air, and the ghost swung his racket.

Five balls!?

"Brother Gui is getting serious..."

The fact that the demon could hit five balls at once made the usually confident junior high school student, Kintaro, a little worried.

But Kintaro's eyes narrowed, and he smiled as he watched the five balls flying through the air.

Then Kintaro confidently swung his racket and hit the tennis ball.

Bang... bang...

Five shots were made, Kintaro successfully returned the ball.

"Xiao Jin has returned all five balls!"

"Five balls hit so easily..."

Shiraishi was delighted by Kintaro's successful counterattack, and Yukimura was somewhat surprised as well.

On the other side of the field, Byodoin also showed an interested expression upon seeing this.

"Good, you've passed. Keep up the good work."

The five-ball game on the field continued, and after a few rounds, Ghost spoke again.

"Add another goal!"

The ghost took out another ball, and the tennis balls on the court increased to six.

"I'm getting more and more excited! Let's continue, Uncle Ghost!"

Despite the demon's counterattack of six balls, Kintaro remained completely unfazed.

After easily returning six balls, the junior high school students on the sidelines looked surprised.

"What the heck! They've increased it to six balls now!"

"No... that's seven goals already..."

While everyone else was still in surprise, Shiraishi had already noticed that another ball had appeared on the field.

"That demon is really something. When he's not putting up his full strength, I'm constantly being pressured and beaten. But once he gets serious, he's already this fierce."

"That's not enough. Although we've reached eight balls, judging from the current situation, Kintaro hasn't provoked the demon yet."

When Shiraishi saw seven balls on the field, there were actually eight balls already.

Horio and Irie watched the ball bouncing back and forth on the court, and amusement appeared on their faces.

"Are... are we going to add more!? Those two are just too much..."

"Hitting eight balls at the same time, that's already beyond the level of most people in the training camp."

"That middle school student is incredibly capable; it's terrifying."

The other high school students watching from the sidelines were terrified by the battle between the demon and Kintaro, unable to control their emotions.

"Is that not enough? Then let's try nine-ball!"

After a sustained eight-ball battle, Kintaro was already panting.

After all, when leaving the mountain, Mifune set a standard for the Revolutionary Army: to hit eight balls simultaneously, and Kintaro achieved that in the end.

But now his opponent is an oni, unlike those high school students Sasabe.

The demons are stronger and faster than them, so even though there are still eight balls...

Fighting the demons will be even more difficult for Kintaro.

Seeing that Kintaro was nearing his limit, Oni decided to add fuel to the fire.

He made a preparatory move, and then, facing the eight balls that Kintaro returned, added another one.

"Nine goals now!"

"Xiao Jin, get out of the way!"

"Kintaro, don't push yourself!"

The rest of the Revolutionary Army knew that Kintaro could only hit eight balls at a time, so when Oni shouted out nine balls, they all panicked.

However, Kintaro, the person involved, didn't care at all. Looking at the nine balls flying towards him, he was very tired, but he still felt excited.

"I'm so excited, Uncle Ghost! Playing ball with you is definitely more fun!"

Kintaro's face, already drenched in sweat, shone with even more excitement as he swung his racket.

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

Nine shots were made, and all nine tennis balls were hit and successfully returned.

"Rejected!"

"Kintaro can hit nine balls back now!?"

"That was so close! If we hadn't returned it, Kintaro would definitely have been hit by that missed ball."

Seeing that Kintaro had actually returned nine balls, the Revolutionary Army who had been worried all breathed a sigh of relief.

It felt like he had escaped a disaster, and Kintaro himself knelt on the ground after returning nine balls.

"This is getting interesting. Kintaro has fought to this extent; the demon must have something on his mind."

"But Kintaro has already reached his limit. Even if the demon wanted to continue fighting him, Kintaro didn't have the strength to sustain the fight any longer..."

"Everyone has limits, but isn't the purpose of existence to break through them?"

Off the field, Horio looked at the kneeling Kintaro and the serious-looking Oni, and his smile became even more pronounced.