"Next up, the group shuffle match between Court 5 and Court 3 is about to begin!"
On the high chair, the referee glanced at the lineups and team leaders before announcing in a solemn tone, "According to the rules of the U17 training camp, the losing team will either be collectively demoted or promoted. The match will follow a best-of-five format, consisting of two doubles matches and three singles matches. Each match will be decided in a single set."
Around the court, high school students who had gathered to watch listened intently to the referee's instructions.
A group shuffle match! This was something that had almost never happened within the U17 camp. Based on the referee's announcement, it seemed that Court 5 had initiated this challenge.
Whoosh!
In an instant, all eyes turned to the imposing, fiery-red-haired young man with a fierce expression. Many were curious about his motives for initiating this group match.
Some thought of Inui. Since he and Oni were close, perhaps this was Oni's way of avenging Inui's loss, especially since the coaching staff hadn't planned for such a match.
But most didn't believe that. Oni wasn't the type to do something so petty. There had to be another reason.
"First match, Doubles 2!" the referee announced loudly. "Court 5's Toda Naoya (2nd year) and Iwami Haruto (2nd year) versus Court 3's Hara Tetsuya (1st year) and Takei Toshio (3rd year)."
As the names were called, the four players stepped onto the court.
"Isn't that the rookie who defeated Suzuki-senpai?" Toda and Iwami exchanged glances upon seeing Hara Tetsuya.
"It's fine, this is doubles. As long as we stick to our strategy and play our usual game, we'll definitely win!" The two from Court 5 were brimming with confidence.
The match began.
Having reached Court 5 and earned Oni's trust to be selected for this match, Toda and Iwami were no pushovers. Right from the start, they launched a fierce offensive.
Takei Toshio from Court 3 responded actively. In the early exchanges, he managed to hold his own against the two, even gaining the upper hand at one point.
But Hara Tetsuya sensed something was off and tried to step in to assist, only to be brushed off by Takei, who was overly confident in his ability to handle the two second-years alone.
This turned out to be a mistake.
Toda and Iwami lured Takei into a trap and then launched a relentless assault. Without Hara's support, Takei was quickly overwhelmed, losing three games in a row.
Takei's confidence crumbled. Despite his skills, he had overestimated himself. Facing the coordinated attacks of two opponents, he had no chance.
In the fourth game, Hara Tetsuya finally stepped up.
He had been observing coldly from the sidelines, unmoved by his partner's struggles.
"You're too arrogant!" Toda and Iwami taunted. "It's too late to step in now. Do you really think you can take us both on?"
But when Hara began his assault, the two quickly realized how naive they had been.
Every shot from Hara was devastatingly powerful. Within a few exchanges, their hands were numb from the impact, and their returns started to falter.
Seizing the opportunity, Hara launched a relentless offensive, winning five consecutive games and securing the match point.
Whoosh!
As the ball soared into the air, Hara leapt up, his eyes sharp like a hawk's. With a powerful smash, he sent the ball hurtling down.
Below, Toda and Iwami desperately tried to block the shot, stacking their rackets together in a last-ditch effort.
Thud!
But Hara's smash was too powerful. It tore through both rackets and sent the two sprawling to the ground.
"Game over!" the referee announced. "Court 3's Hara Tetsuya and Takei Toshio win, 6-3!"
"He's… so strong," the surrounding high schoolers murmured, their eyes filled with awe as they looked at Hara.
Facing two opponents alone and turning the tide in such a dire situation—this level of skill and confidence was far beyond what most second-string players could achieve.
"Has he gotten even stronger?" Suzuki, watching from Court 5, narrowed his eyes. Compared to two weeks ago, Hara's skills had clearly improved. This made Suzuki, who was eager for revenge, feel a sense of urgency.
"Don't overthink it," his teammate Mukahi patted his shoulder. "Focus on our match first. We can worry about revenge later."
"I know," Suzuki nodded.
"Next up, Doubles 1!" the referee continued. "Court 5's Suzuki Akira (3rd year) and Mukahi Kazuya (3rd year) versus Court 3's Yamato Yuudai (2nd year) and Nakagauchi Naikido (3rd year)!"
The four players stepped onto the court.
As former members of Court 3, they were all familiar with each other. Without any formalities, they quickly decided the serve and took their positions.
All four were strong players. In singles, Nakagauchi was arguably the strongest, but this was doubles, and Suzuki and Mukahi had impeccable teamwork.
However, this was also doubles, and Yamato's signature move, Mugen no Yume (Infinite Dream), which created illusions akin to Kyoka Suigetsu, was fully unleashed.
The score remained tight, reaching 5-5.
In the end, Suzuki and Mukahi activated their doubles synergy ability, Sync, and clinched the match.
"Game over! Court 5's Suzuki Akira and Mukahi Kazuya win, 7-5!"
With one win and one loss, the next match was Singles 3, featuring Court 3's Mori against Court 5's Dosaka Rintaro, a second-year.
Without any surprises, Mori dominated the match, winning 6-0.
"Huff… huff…" Dosaka, exhausted after just 10 minutes, stared at Mori in disbelief. "This guy… he's a monster."
From start to finish, Dosaka hadn't won a single game—or even a point. This level of skill made Mori seem like a first-string player. It was hard to believe he was just a rookie.
"Not bad," Coach Kurobe nodded in approval from the coaching room. "Mori has improved significantly. If things continue like this, he'll likely take second place in the fall tournament."
"Second place… right," Coach Saito agreed after a moment's thought. He had momentarily forgotten about Ishikawa, who was in a league of his own, surpassing even the rookies.
As for the fall rookie tournament… it had essentially become a battle for second place.
"Speaking of which, does that kid even need to participate in the rookie tournament?" Coach Tokugawa mused, his expression odd as he watched Ishikawa on the screen.
The more he observed Ishikawa, the more he realized just how monstrous the boy's talent was. Not only was he a prodigy in tennis, but he was also skilled in kendo and ancient martial arts. Words like "monster" or "genius" hardly did him justice.
"Perhaps…" Tokugawa suddenly said, "this is why Oni chose to initiate the group shuffle match at this time."
"Fourth match, Singles 2!" the referee announced. "Court 5's Tsunomori Shinobu (3rd year) versus Court 3's Matsudaira Chikahiko (3rd year)!"
The two players stepped onto the court.
"Matsudaira," Tsunomori said coldly at the net, "if you forfeit now, I might forgive your disrespect."
"Are you joking?" Matsudaira, who usually addressed Tsunomori with deference, even calling him "young master," sneered. "You don't actually think you can still beat me, do you?"
In their previous matches, Matsudaira had never won. But after witnessing Tsunomori's humiliating defeat at the hands of Ishikawa, Matsudaira's perspective had changed. The shadow of Tsunomori's dominance had lifted, and he had secretly trained harder than ever, waiting for this moment.
Now, the opportunity had arrived.
"This time," Matsudaira said with fierce determination, "I'll make sure you never rise again!"
Bang!
Twenty minutes later, as Tsunomori's smash landed beside Matsudaira, the latter's expression froze.
"Game over! Court 5's Tsunomori Shinobu wins, 6-2!"
"Idiot," Tsunomori muttered coldly as he landed. Without a second glance at Matsudaira, he walked off the court.
Tsunomori had no interest in Matsudaira. After his crushing defeat to Ishikawa, Tsunomori had focused solely on improving himself. With Ishikawa as his goal, this minor victory meant nothing to him.
Whoosh!
Tsunomori's gaze shifted to the imposing, red-haired figure on his team's side. Then, his eyes locked onto the black-haired, handsome youth on Court 3.
The group shuffle match was tied at two wins and two losses. The final Singles 1 match would determine the outcome.
At this moment, everyone—Tsunomori, the other high schoolers, and even the three coaches—was focused on this last match.
In fact, one could say that this was the match they had all been waiting for from the very beginning!
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