While Akashi and the others were settling into the rhythm of training camp, Ryōma's group finally made it through the jungle and arrived at the base of the mountain wall. Everyone looked up at the cliff above, a bit overwhelmed.
"Don't tell me we're supposed to climb this?" Momoshiro asked uncertainly.
"Obviously. Looks like your intelligence could use a boost, Momoshiro," Oshitari adjusted his glasses with a mocking tone. He had intentionally lost to Mukahi just so he could come here to train again.
"Musclehead through and through," Kaidō chimed in at just the right moment.
"Hah?! You wanna fight, you damn viper?!" Momoshiro snapped back instantly.
"Hahahaha! This looks super easy to climb! Come on, hurry up!" Just then, Kintarō's voice came from above them.
He'd already started climbing with zero hesitation. Ryōma, not to be outdone, immediately followed. With no choice, the rest began to climb one after another.
Along the way, several of them nearly slipped and fell, but were saved at the last second by their teammates grabbing their hands. What none of them realized was that a drone was hovering nearby—every move they made was being monitored.
By the time they reached the summit, it was already midday. In front of them stood a worn-out, rickety suspension bridge, and the path ahead lay on the other side.
"This bridge doesn't look safe at all…" Kirihara gulped nervously.
"It's totally gonna collapse, right?! Right?!" Konjiki Koharu said with a face full of panic.
"If everyone gets on the bridge at once, the probability of collapse is 99%! Puri~" came Inui's voice, followed closely by Niō's catchphrase.
"Now's not the time for illusions, Niō!" Oishi said, tense and uneasy.
"Didn't expect the regular route to be this dangerous…" Oshitari muttered under his breath, squinting his eyes.
"What's the big deal? You guys scared? Watch this—hyaah!" Kintarō leapt without a care, flipping through the air before landing right in the middle of the bridge.
Everyone stared as the bridge swayed wildly, hearts practically jumping out of their chests. But no one could blame Kintarō—nobody here had ever been able to control him. Even Kamio and the others were helpless against him.
"Kin-chan! Be careful!" Ishida Tetsu couldn't help calling out.
"Relax, relax! This bridge is super sturdy. Look!" Kintarō said as he started shaking it hard on purpose.
"We got it already!!! Knock it off, Tōyama!!!" Everyone yelled in panic.
Still, thanks to Kintarō's antics, the tension eased up a little. The bridge turned out to be sturdier than it looked, but they still had to be extremely careful.
"Don't rush. Cross in groups. If everyone gets on at once, it won't hold!" Oishi shouted, his inner babysitter kicking in.
"Sounds reasonable. Tanishi, you go last," Kai said to the teammate beside him.
"What's that supposed to mean?! You calling me fat?!" Tanishi said with an unhappy glare.
"Come on. You really don't know the answer to that yourself?" Sakata, dressed like a rapper, mocked from the side.
"Hah?! Say that again if you dare!" Before Tanishi could reply, Kai was already baring his teeth at Sakata.
To Kai, Tanishi was one of their own—he could joke around without hurting their bond. But if some outsider dared mock Tanishi's size, it was an insult to all of Higa.
"Then shouldn't Kabaji go last too?" Sengoku said quietly from the side.
"What's that mean? Think Hyōtei's got no one to stand up for us?" Hiyoshi snapped, glaring at Sengoku.
"All of you, shut up! You think this is the time to fool around?!" Jackal suddenly barked, his voice carrying a trace of Sanada's authority.
"The top priority now is to get across the suspension bridge—can't you even understand that much?" Yagyū, standing beside Jackal, spoke up calmly.
"The probability of successfully crossing the bridge is less than 5%," Yanagi said quietly, his tone flat.
While everyone was still arguing, Ryōma had already followed Kintarō to the second half of the bridge. The others started crossing in groups. Tanishi, still sulking, sat at the starting point—he'd been ordered to go last. Kabaji, despite his large build, had been sent ahead since he actually weighed less than Tanishi.
Tanishi grumbled where he sat, then—just like in the original plan—couldn't hold back and charged onto the bridge. Just as the others were about to warn him, a black blur flashed past their eyes.
The sound of rope snapping followed immediately. The whole suspension bridge shook violently. The ropes on both sides started breaking one by one. In an instant, everyone on the bridge fell with it.
Their expressions changed drastically as they looked down. Below was a raging river—falling into it could be disastrous. Fortunately, the banks were lined with small trees that helped cushion the impact, and miraculously, no one was hurt.
Soon after, they set up campfires along the riverbank. With the sky darkening, stomachs began to growl. Luckily, the mountain was teeming with small animals. Using his sharp wild instincts, Kintarō managed to catch quite a few. Others pitched in as well, and together they even brought down a wild boar.
Of course, the MVP was Niō—he turned into Byōdōin with an illusion, and a single Glowing Shot sent the poor boar straight to the afterlife. Kawamura volunteered to prep the ingredients. Amazingly, he even carried kitchen knives with him. Truly a man who plans to inherit a restaurant someday.
Everyone gathered around the fires, grilling all kinds of meat. The scene looked more like a camping trip than anything else. This, too, was captured by the drone hovering above. The coaches back at the training camp couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths as they watched.
After the meal, they looked up at the towering cliff ahead—far steeper than the one they'd just climbed. But having come this far, no one was backing down. They talked it over and decided to keep climbing.
Kintarō once again charged up first. His nimble moves made him look more like a monkey than a human. Not to be outdone, Ryōma pushed himself hard to catch up.
Everyone climbed with all their might. Niō and a few others were already familiar with this place—they knew exactly what was waiting at the top. Still, they quietly followed without saying a word.
While Kintarō was jumping around energetically, a tennis ball suddenly rolled down from the top. Kintarō reacted quickly and dodged it. But the next second, dozens of tennis balls came raining down.
Many balls slammed into the cliffside, knocking loose chunks of rock, making it way harder to climb.
"Where the hell did all these tennis balls come from?!" Kadowaki Satoru grumbled in frustration.
"Interesting... Looks like someone up top doesn't want us there," Ryōma sneered, speeding up.
"They better pray I don't find out who did this, or they're dead!" Momoshiro shouted, furious.
"As expected of Momoshiro, so brave~" Oshitari rolled his eyes at him, tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Looks like the show's about to start! Puri~" Niō grinned like a cunning fox.
Soon, most realized that a few third-years were dodging the tennis balls effortlessly—like they'd done it a hundred times before. Remembering that they'd already been to the U-17 training camp, the others began putting two and two together.
Not long after, Kintarō was the first to reach the summit, with Ryōma right behind. Just as they let out a breath of relief, the scene in front of them made both freeze in place.
The entire mountaintop was covered in scattered "corpses." Some were slumped over, some kneeling, some lying flat on their backs. The whole thing looked horrifying, like a crime scene straight out of a horror movie.
The pitiful high schoolers.
Not far from the pile of "corpses," sitting on a wooden stump, was a burly man. He took a heavy swig from his gourd, then slowly turned his head. That piercing glare sent chills down their spines.
Mifune Nyūdō.