"Phew..."
Night fell, and darkness covered all of Tokyo Metropolis.
In a courtyard, a figure darted back and forth.
Years of swinging the racket and hitting the ball had gradually left a shallow dent in the courtyard wall. With every swing, the boy hit the tennis ball precisely into that dent.
Thwack!
Thwack!!
The boy continued practicing in the courtyard.
His clothes were already soaked with sweat, but he still kept the tennis ball under precise control, hitting the same spot again and again.
To see this level of accuracy in a boy of just twelve or thirteen was enough to astonish even a professional coach. Such control was rare among middle schoolers, let alone high schoolers.
Each swing made his chest rise and fall. Even the cool air couldn't mask the burning sensation in his lungs.
Thwack!!
With a powerful swing, the boy finally stopped. The tennis ball rubbed against the dent before bouncing back, landing squarely in his palm.
He had kept up this nightly training for three years.
"Sanada, Yukimura, and Tezuka!"
Kamikawa Mutsu's face showed a hint of exhaustion.
Every night, this courtyard became Kamikawa's own stage.
Ever since he had transmigrated into this world and met Tezuka Kunimitsu, Kamikawa had realized he had come to a world centered around tennis.
At first, Kamikawa hadn't been sure. His ball sense had been poor in his previous life, but in this one it was remarkably good. He had also discovered that his mental strength seemed far greater than other people's.
Since then, Kamikawa had trained in the courtyard almost every day, going from sending tennis balls flying everywhere to controlling them precisely enough to hit a single spot.
His father, the old man of the family, was Kamikawa Kuniyoshi.
Generation after generation, the Kamikawas had excelled at cooking. Kamikawa Kuniyoshi was the fifth-generation heir to Kamikawa Cuisine. Though he had trained under Kamikawa Kenjiro from a young age, he had no interest in cooking. Instead, he'd insisted that he wanted to become a manga artist—one who would amaze all of Japan!
After all, Tokyo had no shortage of manga artists!!
It wasn't until Kamikawa Mutsu was born that the father and son's relationship began to improve. Seeing his own father grow older, and realizing that his manga skills really weren't much to speak of, Kamikawa Kuniyoshi returned to the family and took over the old man's restaurant.
[Kamikawa Mutsu.]
[Age: 12]
[Strength: 3.5]
[Speed: 4.1]
[Stamina: 3.8]
[Technique: 4.0]
[Mental Strength: 4.5]
[Today's Training: Hit a single target 2,000 times (Completed), 5-kilometer endurance run (Completed), two sets of 15-pound dumbbell flyes (Completed)]
The system's function was simple. It boiled down to one word: "Train." Every day, it provided a set of exercises to follow, allowing him to train systematically.
With his five stats nearing a total of twenty, he was almost at the level of a nationally ranked middle school player. On top of that, the combination of his mental strength and specific techniques could let him unleash bursts of power on par with nationally ranked players.
Of course, Kamikawa knew full well that he still wasn't good enough...
At this point, Tezuka and Yukimura had already found their own paths in tennis. That was why Sanada had lost to them: he hadn't yet found his own path.
Besides, nationals were only the starting point. Beyond that were the U-14s, the U-17s, and even world-class and professional players. By comparison, Kamikawa still had a long way to go.
"My five stats haven't improved much lately. It seems I've hit a limit."
"Looks like I need to find my own path before I can break through it."
Kamikawa stared at the system panel. His mental strength had never increased, not since he'd first transmigrated and unlocked the panel. It seemed he needed some kind of special catalyst to surpass his current limit.
He had a feeling that catalyst was connected to his own path in tennis.
"Tezuka... I wonder if he's figured it out yet."
"If not, maybe I'll have Akutsu go stir things up later?"
"With the way Akutsu is, breaking that troublemaker's hand shouldn't be a problem..."
"I'm home."
Kamikawa opened the door, kicked off his shoes, and called out.
"You brat, you went out to play tennis again?!"
From the head seat on the sofa, a stern-looking old man with a square face glanced at Kamikawa by the entrance. His voice was every bit as imposing as his appearance.
"Hehe... Grandpa, I only played for a little while." Kamikawa craned his neck and glanced at his grandfather.
He set his tennis bag on the shelf by the entrance, then dashed off to wash his hands. The food on the table was untouched. Clearly, Grandpa had waited for him to come home before eating.
The old man glanced at the tennis bag and sighed before saying, "That boy's just like his father. Maybe he'll understand when he grows up."
"Grandpa, Dad isn't coming home for dinner tonight?" After washing his hands, Kamikawa sat back down and asked casually.
"The restaurant's busy. Kuniyoshi and Kannana won't be home for dinner tonight."
The old man glanced at Kamikawa and replied calmly.
"Oh."
Kamikawa nodded, not surprised.
Ever since his grandfather had retired, his parents had been busy with the restaurant all day. Most nights, they didn't get home until after ten.
The old man looked at Kamikawa as if something had just occurred to him. "Brat, you said you wanted to go to that Hyotei school, right? Your grandpa's already arranged things for you. Hyotei's a prestigious school, so don't cause me any trouble."
"Hehe... Got it, Grandpa."
Kamikawa nodded repeatedly, like a little chick.
"Brat, go help out at the restaurant when you have time. Don't spend all day lazing around and playing tennis. Once your father retires, you'll have to take over the restaurant."
The old man leaned back in his chair and looked up at Kamikawa.
"Got it, Grandpa."
Kamikawa nodded again and again.
As long as his grandfather didn't forbid him from playing tennis, that was enough. He couldn't imagine giving it up now, not after all those years of hard work and getting into Hyotei.
"I heard you entered this year's JR Tournament?"
The old man asked casually.
He didn't know much about tennis, but he'd heard a thing or two.
It was the most prestigious tournament for elementary school players. Making it to the semifinals meant a player had real talent for tennis.
"Yeah."
Kamikawa nodded, then sneaked a glance at the old man and said softly, "I entered with Tezuka. We've already made it to the quarterfinals."
"Oh."
A glimmer of light flashed in the old man's cloudy eyes, then quickly faded. He put on an indifferent look and said, "If you make it to the semifinals of the JR Tournament, I'll let you play tennis."
"Brat, if you've decided to play tennis, then stick with it. Don't end up like your useless father, trying to be a manga artist and having to take odd jobs just to put food on the table!"
Huh?
He agreed?!
Kamikawa abruptly raised his head and looked at his grandfather.
His grandfather was as stubborn as a rock in a latrine, foul and hard as they came. And now he was agreeing? Had the sun risen in the west?
"Brat, are you asking for a beating?"
The old man glared at Kamikawa and said bluntly, "If you don't want to play tennis, just say so. Go be Kuniyoshi's assistant already. Looking at you makes me mad."
"Hehe, don't be mad, Grandpa."
Kamikawa obediently scratched his head.
The old man puffed up his cheeks and glared at him, but when he saw Kamikawa's obedient little-boy act, he could only sigh. He didn't know much about tennis, any more than he had understood his son's determination to draw manga back then.
But...
The old man knew one thing very well: no matter what you did, it came down to two words—"perseverance!"
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