Coach Ryuzaki's Request
"I'm back. I spent half a month in the forest, and I really missed it."
"Yes, the power of nature is truly extraordinary."
Horio and Tezuka emerged from outside the station.
Twenty days have passed since the Kanto Tournament finals ended, and Horio has been training with Tezuka for half a month.
"Captain, should we go back to school right now or what?"
"We don't need to go back to school. Oishi and the others have already gone to training camp. The youth selection has already begun."
Upon hearing Horio's words, Tezuka realized it was already time for the Youth Training Camp to begin.
"That's great! I can go back and get some rest. Although nature is very comfortable, I also miss my bed."
After saying that, Horio was about to turn and leave when Tezuka's phone rang.
"Hello, this is Tezuka, right? Okay, we'll head over there now."
When Tezuka heard Horio mention "us," he instinctively felt something was amiss.
So they waited for Tezuka to finish his call. After hanging up, Tezuka turned to Horio and said...
"Looks like you can't go home. Coach Ryuzaki just called me and said she's having some health issues, and the Youth Training Camp needs the two of us to temporarily fill in for her."
"Why both of us? I think you're enough on your own."
"Because my arm hasn't fully recovered, there are some things I need you to do."
Hearing Tezuka's somewhat shameless yet not entirely unreasonable words, Horio couldn't find any reason to refute them.
"Okay... there are dorms there anyway, it doesn't matter where I sleep."
"Coach Sakaki, regarding Ryuzaki team, let them train with my group until Coach Ryuzaki is discharged from the hospital."
Inside the Training Base, Coach Sakaki, who was watching the training from the sidelines, suddenly heard Coach Hanamura's suggestion.
I think there's no need for that.
"You mean..."
"Coach Ryuzaki seems to have found a substitute Coach, so we don't need to worry about that."
"Is that so... It seems Coach Ryuzaki has really put in his best effort."
"Alright, while Coach Ryuzaki is hospitalized, we will continue training. I will practice on my own during this time."
The members of the Ryuzaki team gathered on the court, with Oishi serving as their team Captain.
"So how should we practice? Should we each find someone, or draw lots?"
The carefree Kikumaru is always the one who supports Oishi. When he hears Oishi say that they can practice freely, Kikumaru immediately agrees with Oishi's suggestion.
"There's no need to do that. We'll decide on the practice content."
Suddenly a voice came, and everyone turned to look outside the arena, where they saw Tezuka and Horio, dressed in casual clothes, standing not far away.
"Tezuka, Horio, are you back?"
"What did Tezuka mean by that? Does that mean they'll be in charge of all our practice from now on?"
"That's right, your training from now on will be handled by Horio and me; this is Coach Ryuzaki's decision."
Seeing everyone's confusion, Tezuka immediately spoke up to explain.
"Alright, alright, don't be surprised, let's hurry up."
The training at the camp doesn't seem too strenuous. It looks like you Senpai have had a comfortable time these past few days.
Horio's words hit the nail on the Seigaku: the training at the training camp was indeed much easier than Seigaku's usual training, and the Seigaku had been having a relatively comfortable time these past few days.
"Since you want to practice freely, then you can practice freely from now on. Let me see."
First, Oishi -Senpai and Kikumaru- Senpai, you two practice sparring with Meido and Ootori.
Then Sengoku and Momoshiro practiced Senpai, Ryoma and Kirihara, Kamio and Kajimoto.
Everyone has to give it their all in the competition, otherwise I'll have to do extra training afterwards.
Upon hearing Horio's last words, the Seigaku members' expressions suddenly changed, and the others, seeing Seigaku reaction, immediately sensed something was amiss.
"Eiji, you need to work harder!"
"Yes, I received it."
Oishi and Kikumaru continued to encourage each other as always, while Ootori and Meido remained unchanged on the other side.
"Chotaro, just fight like you normally would."
"Okay, Mukahi Senpai."
"The match begins, with Feng serving."
Because it was a training camp, Horio had to act as the referee himself.
As soon as the competition began, Feng brought out her signature move.
As for Oishi and Kikumaru, their teamwork has improved even further after the last match.
They were not afraid of Meido and Ootori, who also had a high level of tacit understanding.
Half an hour later, the four-person match ended with Oishi and Kikumaru winning 6-3.
"That's right, the Golden Pair's current synergy is enough to qualify them for the National Tournament. The main focus is on improving their physical abilities."
As for Meido and Ootori, their teamwork isn't a major issue, but Ootori's Scud Serve still needs improvement; its success rate is too low. Meido's net play also needs further refinement.
After the match, Horio already had a direction in mind regarding the training content for the four players.
"Next up, Sengoku and Momoshiro."
Upon hearing Horio's voice, Momoshiro immediately got into character.
However, the current Sengoku is somewhat different from the carefree Sengoku of the past; he is now more reserved in his Sengoku.
"It seems the defeat against Fudomine was quite a blow to him."
Inside the court, Momoshiro was already ready to take his racket and go onto the court, while Sengoku on the sidelines was just beginning to take off his jacket.
As soon as he took off his jacket, Sengoku's exposed muscles drew admiration from the people watching from the sidelines.
"Such a robust physique..."
"It seems that Sengoku underwent some extraordinary training during his disappearance."
"No, it's not ordinary exercise. You can't achieve that effect unless you push your physical limits."
"His muscles are so well-developed."
"I finally made it! I almost missed it. I absolutely can't miss Sengoku -Senpai's match."
While the others were discussing, Dan Taichi, who was a volunteer, rushed over, holding a timer in his hand.
"The match begins, Sengoku serves."
On the court, Sengoku tossed the ball up from the baseline.
With a slight push from both feet, then serve at high speed.
Bang...
"Sengoku scores, 15:0"
"He didn't even use his Tiger Cannon."
"But that ball he just hit was also very fast."
Sengoku scored directly with his serve, but instead of celebrating as before, he prepared for his next serve.
With the same motion and the same swing, Momoshiro seemed to have caught the ball's trajectory this time.
I was just about to retaliate, but it was too late.
Bang...
"Sengoku scores, 30:0"
"That's outrageous! What kind of serve is that?"
"It wasn't a spin shot or Slice Shot; it was like it was floating in the air and flying straight at me."