Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament Venue (Men's Team Competition!)
The Rosen Tennis Center. Just a few months ago, the Junior Tournament was held here. It's truly one of Tokyo's most bustling tennis venues. As usual, this year's Metropolitan Tournament is also being hosted at the Rosen Tennis Center, and it's just as lively as ever.
Compared to the block qualifiers, the Metropolitan Tournament is much grander in scale. The block qualifiers had only twelve teams vying for two spots to advance to the Metropolitan Tournament, while this tournament has a total of 108 teams competing for just four spots to move on to the Kantou Tournament.
That's precisely why the audience size for the Metropolitan Tournament is more than ten times larger than the block qualifiers. Most of the spectators are well-known tennis club coaches, keeping a close eye on their own club's players and always looking out for promising new talent.
"Ginka, Yamabuki, St. Rudolph..."
In the crowd, a middle-aged man in a plaid shirt, tie, and shoulder bag looked at the surging crowd, muttering as he scanned the entry list in his hand.
"It's the same teams that made it to the Metropolitan Tournament this year."
"Hyotei and Rikkaidai, who made it to the National Tournament last year, are both listed as the top seeds. But Seigaku, who only made it to the quarterfinals of the Metropolitan Tournament last year, is competing as the runner-up this year?!"
He was Inoue, a well-known reporter from "Tennis Weekly," who had published a lot of exclusive information, including the changes at Hyotei and Rikkaidai. He was always in the thick of it.
"This year's Yamabuki, though, has some new faces."
Inoue followed the flow of people and saw Yamabuki's regulars approaching. After their third-year regulars graduated last year, the newcomers who were just picking up balls on the court seized the opportunity and became team regulars. But Yamabuki is different this year; you can spot a few fresh, youthful faces on the team.
"Only seven of them?"
Inoue silently counted the Yamabuki regulars walking past. Generally, for team matches, eight players need to be registered. This is a strategy to ensure that a substitute player can step in in case of a tie or unexpected circumstances.
As Inoue's thoughts flickered, a pale-faced boy with dyed gray hair appeared behind them, followed by an elder with graying temples, well past sixty.
"Old man," the pale-faced, gray-haired boy in front said with displeasure, "If this match isn't as interesting as you said, then I'm going straight back."
"Don't worry, Akutsu," the elder with graying temples said with a smile. "Hyotei is in this Metropolitan Tournament, the guy who came to challenge us last time and beat you. He'll be participating this time too."
That guy! Akutsu's pupils dilated, and the corners of his lips curled up slightly, as if he'd fallen into a state of excitement. He had been waiting for this day for a very long time. If Old Man Ban hadn't kept stopping him, he would have stormed Hyotei ages ago to settle the score with that guy. Akutsu had defeated everyone in every field he'd ever challenged, but in tennis, he had been beaten in a humiliating way.
From the end of the block qualifiers to the Metropolitan Tournament finals, Akutsu had trained day and night just to face that guy. And now, Ban had actually said that the team that guy was on would be playing in the Metropolitan Tournament.
"Old Man Ban~"
At that moment, a boy with orange hair suddenly stopped. He had secretly overheard Akutsu and Ban's conversation, and with a curious look on his face, he asked, "Who's this guy you're talking about? Is he really strong?"
"That guy..." Old Man Ban's mind conjured an image of Kamikawa, and he nodded, "He is indeed very strong."
"Is that so~" The orange-haired boy seemed a bit more excited. There weren't many people Old Man Ban acknowledged and praised.
"That guy is my prey!"
Those defiant eyes stared intensely at the orange-haired boy, who instinctively swallowed, as if saying "no" in the next second would lead to him being completely torn apart by this guy.
"Useless garbage, get out of my way!" Akutsu looked at the other boy with contempt, pushing him aside directly with his hand, then walked straight ahead. The second and third-year regulars who blocked Akutsu's path dared not say a word in protest. Whether it was skill or fighting, they were no match for Akutsu. Though nominally they were his seniors, and some were even the tennis club captain, they were nothing in front of Akutsu. In Akutsu's eyes, might makes right; as for "seniors," he'd only listen if they could beat him.
"Sengoku~" Old Man Ban's voice drifted up leisurely. "You still shouldn't provoke Akutsu. The only reason he's staying in the tennis club is for that guy."
"Old Man Ban~~" Sengoku's curiosity grew even stronger. He was so curious what had happened to make Akutsu so determined to defeat that person. Could it be... He suddenly thought of something but quickly dismissed the idea.
No way! How could a monster like that be defeated by anyone else?
On the other side, learning from the lessons of the previous block qualifiers, Tarou Sakaki had no intention of letting the A-team play this time. After the drawing of lots, he sent out the B-team. Even Hyotei's B-team's strength was incomparable to those third-rate tennis schools. They easily won 5-0, each match being a dominant 6-0 shutout. With a massive club of over two hundred members, their cheering alone could intimidate some weaker tennis schools, making their matches remarkably easy.
Since these were minor matches, Tarou Sakaki wasn't sitting in the coach's box. Instead, he had Hikaru Gen lead the team from there. Hikaru Gen, after all, possessed A-team level skill, and even if he was at the bottom of the A-team, his insight and leadership were beyond what an average person could match. If it weren't for Atobe, Tezuka, and those guys, he would have been the captain of this year's Hyotei Tennis Club.
Even with the strength they showed, it was enough to make many schools tremble. In the second match, right after it began, the opposing coach explained the situation to the referee and directly forfeited, ending their Metropolitan Tournament journey. In the third match, their opponent held out for a bit, managing to snag a single game from Hyotei's B-team, but it was just one game. Hyotei still swept them with absolute dominance.
Without shedding a drop of blood, they successfully advanced to the Round of 16. As for the B-team member who lost that one game, annoyance and frustration showed on his face. He was currently standing in front of Atobe, being lectured. A third-year senior, a head taller than Atobe, being scolded by a first-year middle schooler—the scene was quite comical.
"Kawatani-senpai, this is the first time!"
"I hope next time, when I see you on the court, you won't drop even a single game in a match!" Atobe's tone was calm, his words full of displeasure.
The third-year named Kawatani didn't dare say a word in disagreement, only lowering his head and listening to Atobe's scolding.
"You're dismissed." Atobe finished speaking, glanced at the other regulars, and noticed someone was missing. His brow furrowed slightly. "Where did that guy Kamikawa run off to again?"
"I don't know," Shishido said, glancing around, slowly shaking his head.
"Maybe he went to buy a soda," Mukahi mused.
"That guy..." Atobe had always adopted a "don't manage, don't teach" attitude towards Kamikawa. After all, Kamikawa's skill was superior to his. Until he could definitively defeat him, Atobe generally wouldn't concern himself with what the other boy was doing. However, the quarterfinals were about to begin soon. And that guy was on the roster for this tournament.
"Speaking of which, Tezuka doesn't seem to be here either," Oshitari said, pushing up his glasses slightly.