Tachibana Kippei's Challenge

"Hey... yeah, today? Okay, then Oishi Senpai and I will take leave and come over."

The sun had just woken up to a new day, and Horio, still groggy, received a phone call.

It was from Tachibana Kippei. After the prefectural tournament ended yesterday, they had exchanged numbers to arrange a match.

Horio hadn't expected Tachibana Kippei to call so soon, inviting him to Fudomine today.

According to Tachibana Kippei, this would allow him to have a good match with Horio, and also give his own team members a chance to broaden their horizons and accelerate their growth once more.

Horio was happy to accept. After all, Seigaku was stronger than before.

He also hoped that other schools would become stronger; competition was the key to progress.

After the call, Horio lost any desire to sleep further and lazily got out of bed.

"It's fine, if you have something important, go ahead. Just don't be late tomorrow."

"Okay, thanks, Senpai."

During break time, Horio went to find the third-years to ask for leave.

Watching Horio leave after getting permission, Oishi and Fuji couldn't help but sigh.

"Everyone trains similarly, so why is he so much stronger..."

"Not necessarily, Oishi. Perhaps his daily training is more terrifying than we can imagine."

"That's true. We only see the brilliance of his formidable strength, but the effort behind it is probably something others couldn't endure."

"But Oishi, we've confirmed it, right? The new training..."

"Ah, that. It's already decided. Agan and the Coach have discussed it. They'll create a training plan close to our limits based on our actual conditions."

"Speaking of which, we're really lucky. Both of this year's first-years are very strong, especially Horio. He not only discovered Tezuka's hand injury but also convinced him to get treatment. He's also shown us our own greater potential."

"Yeah. That's why we absolutely cannot let down Tezuka, who is undergoing treatment for his arm, and Horio's efforts. The national championship will definitely be Seigaku's."

"Your Fudomine training is good. Everyone is working hard."

"Because everyone shares a common goal, we're all training hard."

"Is that so? It seems you're a pretty good leader. The once hot-headed Mighty Lion has changed like this."

"Seriously, don't make fun of me."

To prevent Horio from continuing to tease him, Tachibana Kippei didn't give him a chance to speak further.

"Everyone, stop training and gather here."

Hearing Tachibana Kippei's call to assemble, the Fudomine members quickly stopped their respective training and gathered promptly.

"You've all seen him. I've invited Seigaku's new regular this year, Horio. You all saw him during the preliminary qualifiers."

"He's the one who scared Ishida in the second doubles match and said everyone except the captain was trash."

"That's him, Captain. Although he's very strong, he was very disrespectful to us during the preliminary qualifiers. Why did you invite him?"

"Yeah, Captain, is he here to belittle us again?"

Seeing that his team members had strong opinions about Horio, Tachibana Kippei felt helpless.

What Horio said during the preliminary qualifiers was indeed rude, and even he felt it was excessive.

However, remembering that after that incident, his team members' motivation to train increased, Tachibana Kippei didn't see it as a bad thing.

Knowing that explaining to them might not be effective, Tachibana Kippei looked directly at Horio.

Seeing the helplessness in Tachibana Kippei's eyes, Horio understood it was his turn to speak.

"There's no special reason for me to be here. I just agreed to a match with your captain. As for why I'm at your school... perhaps your captain wants you to recognize what real tennis is."

"Don't look so unwilling. Let the facts speak for themselves. Watch carefully during the match later."

Seeing the murderous glares of the Fudomine regulars, Horio showed no fear. Tachibana Kippei, standing beside him, smoothly took over.

"I will have a match with Horio. You all watch closely later; it will be very useful. Dismissed."

After speaking, he gave Horio a meaningful look. Horio understood and turned to get his tennis bag.

After getting his racket, Horio walked directly to a side court, not even taking off his jacket.

To him, Tachibana Kippei was merely someone who could pique his interest, not someone he found particularly difficult to handle.

"Are you ready? I'll serve when you are."

"Don't hold back. Bring it on, and I'll show you how I beat you."

Seeing Tachibana Kippei, the host, cede the serve to him, Horio stopped wasting words.

Horio tossed the ball and executed a textbook serve, sending it directly towards the back corner of Tachibana Kippei's baseline.

Upon seeing this, Tachibana Kippei reacted immediately, quickly moving behind the corner and hitting the ball back with a flat volley.

Tachibana Kippei, having just swung his racket, turned his head and saw Horio already at the net. With a smile, Horio used a backhand slice to hit a drop shot.

Tachibana Kippei, without a second thought, ran towards the ball with all his might and managed to receive it just before it bounced.

Seeing the tennis ball fly behind him, Horio wasn't flustered at all.

He took a step back with his right foot, extended his racket-holding arm, and scraped the racket against the ground.

He swung his racket counter-clockwise 270 degrees from the front of the net, hitting a curveball. The tennis ball drew a semicircle in the air and landed back in Tachibana Kippei's backcourt.

"Focus, don't let up."

"Hmph, I was thinking the same. I'm going to attack now."

Immediately, a deep crimson aura emanated from Tachibana Kippei, and his expression became even more fearsome.

"That's more like it. Let me see how powerful this Beast's Aura truly is."

After that, Horio stopped hitting normal serves and instead unleashed an Outer Spin Serve.

Facing the tennis ball bouncing towards his face, Tachibana Kippei, empowered by the Beast's Aura, showed no fear.

He moved a step to the left and returned the shot. The returned ball seemed to become even more ferocious due to the Beast's Aura.

"Your reaction speed has increased, and your power has improved a bit too."

Horio then added another 10% of his strength, and the tennis ball, carrying 60% of Horio's power, flew towards Tachibana Kippei once more.

Tachibana Kippei frowned slightly upon receiving the ball, but he maintained his forward momentum and let out a roar, like a lion's angry growl, as he hit the ball back.

"I see. Pure offensive intent, making yourself fearless. However, it doesn't increase your five senses significantly. It's still quite different from being Seamless."

"Add more power. Let's see if you can return this."

So, Horio increased the force of his shot again, exceeding 60% but not yet reaching 70%.

This time, Tachibana Kippei struggled. Although the Beast's Aura remained unchanged, his furrowed brow betrayed him.

Thwack...

Frowning, Tachibana Kippei watched the ball hit the net, his hand trembling slightly.