Knock, knock, knock!
A knocking sound echoed.
After a moment, Tarō calmly replied, "Come in."
As the door slowly opened, Coach Tarō saw a tall young man with short silver-grey hair, streaks of azure blue in his bangs, a handsome face with sharp features, and dressed in an Hyotei Gakuen Tennis Club uniform. With an astonishing height of 226cm, the doorframe blocked his entire face. The young man had to slightly bend down to step through the doorway.
Coach Tarō's gaze met the young man's. The young man's calm and composed face now showed a slight smile.
"Coach Kami, long time no see!"
"Oh~ Long time no see, Moonlight!"
Coach Kami stood up, a little surprised. Ever since Ochi enrolled in Hyotei High School, he rarely saw him. He heard that Ochi had even received an invitation to the U-17 training camp recently. He never expected Ochi to proactively visit the middle school today. "Coach Kami, I'm here to say goodbye this time."
Ochi smiled as he walked forward, politely nodding to Coach Kami.
"Goodbye? Aren't you participating in this Kantō Tournament?"
"Not anymore. Do you remember what I mentioned to you before? I'm going to the U-17 training camp."
Ochi mentioned it casually. The U-17 training camp, to put it simply, is geared towards the world. The U-17 training camp holds a U-17 World Cup every two years. At the World Cup, he would face tennis players selected from various countries, some of whom were even professional players. What he wanted was to stand on the professional stage.
"U-17."
Coach Kami nodded and said, "That is indeed the stage for you. Speaking of which, if you had been born a year later, Hyotei this year would have no blind spots at all."
"Yes," Ochi smiled and nodded.
"Oh, right."
As if remembering something, he suddenly said, "I remember this year's tennis club, besides Gen and Kawamura, everyone else is a first-year freshman?"
"And the captain and vice-captain positions are both held by first-years, who led Hyotei to win the Metropolitan Tournament?"
"Yes!" Coach Kami nodded.
Ochi's heart stirred. He said, "I want to see the current Hyotei regulars."
"See them?"
Coach Kami was a little surprised, then he seemed to realize something and said, "You're not planning to give those guys a hard time, are you? But you've already moved up to high school, so that wouldn't be by the rules."
"I just want to see them."
Ochi shook his head. He had the thought of playing a match, but not overwhelmingly so. Not just anyone could pique his interest, but Hyotei was an exception; Hyotei was his root. Even after receiving an invitation to the U-17 training camp, he still came to Hyotei to say goodbye to Coach Kami before heading to the training camp, and to see the current Hyotei.
"Alright," Coach Kami stood up and walked towards the tennis club. Ochi said nothing more and simply followed behind Tarō.
The two quickly arrived at the tennis club. Some club members who were still anxiously training noticed the two standing at the entrance. One of them proactively approached, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"O-Ochi-buchou?!"
That third-year tennis club member was one of Hyotei's previously designated regulars. However, his strength wasn't enough, and he was now the main singles player for the second team. The moment he saw Ochi, he couldn't believe his eyes. This was the legendary captain who led Hyotei to the Nationals.
"Gather up!"
Coach Kami didn't say much, first gathering everyone who was still training on the court. He calmly looked at the crowd and said, "Some first-years who just joined the club not long ago might have heard of him. The person standing beside me is the former captain of the Hyotei Tennis Club, Ochi Tsukimitsu!"
As his words fell, many first-years who had just joined two or three months ago trembled, their faces filled with surprise. The second and third-years straightened their backs the moment they saw Ochi, not daring to even breathe. They had all lived through Ochi's era. Ochi himself was extremely strict, unsmiling, and allowed no room for error in his eyes. All of this stemmed from his own power.
Nationals-level top-tier strength!
"Ochi, why don't you say a few words?"
Coach Kami glanced at Ochi, his gaze sweeping through the crowd. Tezuka, Atobe, and the others were all there, but one person was missing.
Ochi nodded and walked forward. Coach Kami stepped back slightly and walked over to Tezuka, quietly asking, "Where's Kamikawa?"
"He finished training today and went to buy cold soda," Tezuka truthfully replied, but his gaze never left Ochi. Even in elementary school, Tezuka had heard of Ochi Tsukimitsu's legend. He was the number one singles player in the Kantō region, practically leading Hyotei to the Nationals all by himself.
"That guy, of all times to buy cold soda, he picks now," Coach Kami's mouth twitched. He knew Ochi's personality better than anyone. If someone left in the middle of training to buy cold soda, he would definitely get angry. He could only hope that when Kamikawa returned, Ochi would have just finished his speech.
Who would have thought, at that moment, Kamikawa walked over from behind, leisurely carrying two cans of cold soda. Seeing everyone gathered, he thought Coach Kami was about to give a pep talk before the Kantō Tournament.
"Excuse me... excuse me..."
Kamikawa kept pushing his way through the crowd. The Hyotei tennis club members were simply too many, filling the entire court. Kamikawa struggled quite a bit to finally reach the front.
At this time, everyone's gaze fell on Kamikawa, some with pity, some with confusion, but mostly with schadenfreude. Most people were well aware of Ochi Tsukimitsu's temper. In this situation, causing such a big stir, Kamikawa was doomed.
Indeed, Ochi paused, his gaze falling on Kamikawa through his hair. "Is this also a Hyotei tennis club regular?! Would you mind telling me your name?!"
Upon hearing this, everyone held their breath. They could also sense a hint of anger in Ochi's tone.
Kamikawa was stunned for a moment. After seeing the person standing in the center, his expression changed slightly: "Ochi-senpai?"
Ochi Tsukimitsu!
Why was this former Hyotei captain in the middle school? According to the storyline, he should be joining the U-17 training camp by now, constantly improving his skills for the U-17 World Cup next spring.
"Would you mind telling me your name?" Ochi frowned, emphasizing his question again.
"Kamikawa Muzuki, first-year regular for the Hyotei Tennis Club."
"Kamikawa Muzuki, a Hyotei regular, huh?"
His terrifying height exuded an air of dominance. He watched Kamikawa, the gentle breeze lightly blowing his bangs. His calm, still eyes revealed a hint of coldness.
"Good!" Ochi said faintly. "Now, get on the court and play a match with me."
Play a match?
Now?!
Kamikawa was startled, unable to react for a moment. Ochi-senpai came all the way from high school just to play a match? That couldn't be it. It didn't seem like something Ochi-senpai would do. Besides, wouldn't it be better to play at the U-17 training camp? Why bother coming to the middle school to bully weaker players? How many middle schoolers could score against Ochi? Not to mention his Mach Serve, just Ochi's fundamentals alone were probably surpassed by few, even in high school. With his 226cm height, his flat shots were as powerful as other people's smashes!
"Alright!"
However, Kamikawa didn't refuse. Kamikawa had previously considered playing against Ochi Tsukimitsu. Especially after defeating Mōri, this thought had deepened considerably. Now, only Tezuka and Yukimura could still put some pressure on him. The remaining players, like Sanada and Atobe, had some gaps compared to Tezuka and the others, let alone Kamikawa himself. The only real challenge lay in the U-17 training camp, specifically the "Golden Generation" who moved up to high school.
Previously, Kamikawa wasn't sure if Ochi had joined the U-17 training camp, as Ochi's previously demonstrated combat strength was enough to join the U-17 training camp even when high school started. Playing against such a player would also accelerate Kamikawa's own evolution. Furthermore, Kamikawa also wanted to verify if his Golden Snake Dance at full power could threaten a player of Ochi's caliber.
The original gathering quickly dispersed, clearing a court. Ochi also took off his jacket, unzipped his tennis bag, and took out his tennis racket. As for warming up, he seemed to have no intention of doing so.
"That guy, he couldn't be doing this on purpose, could he?"
Atobe narrowed his eyes. He felt that Kamikawa was doing this on purpose, but how could Kamikawa know that Ochi would come to the middle school tennis club at this exact time? Atobe couldn't figure that out no matter how hard he tried. Besides, that guy had just gone to buy cold soda. His behavior seemed to contradict Atobe's suspicion.
"Do you think Kamikawa will win?" Oishi pushed up his glasses, his gaze fixed on Ochi. That terrifying height and the overwhelming aura he exuded... his own aura was like a small witch compared to a great one, not even in the same league.
"Impossible!"
"Kamikawa absolutely cannot beat Ochi-buchou!"
Gen Mitsuharu shook his head decisively, stating firmly. As someone who had participated in two National Tournaments with Ochi Tsukimitsu, he naturally knew how strong Ochi Tsukimitsu truly was. If it weren't for the previous seniors who followed Ochi being too weak, how would Hyotei have been stopped at the national semi-finals?
"Last year in the Kantō Tournament, Ochi-buchou played as singles one. But we lost to Rikkai Dai's singles two, so Ochi-buchou didn't even get a chance to play in singles one. If we had known the outcome beforehand and put Ochi-buchou as singles two, we wouldn't have lost to Rikkai Dai in the Kantō Tournament finals last year."
According to him, Kamikawa had almost no hope of winning this match. "However, I think Ochi-buchou just wants to see Hyotei's current strength; he doesn't intend to play seriously," Gen Mitsuharu surmised Ochi's intentions. His dyed hair was a mimicry of Ochi's, the only difference being that his hair tips were grey + red, while Ochi's were grey + blue.
"Ochi," Coach Tarō called out to Ochi as he was about to step onto the court. "Don't play too rough in this match. The Kantō Tournament is in a few days."
"Hmm." Ochi nodded, holding his racket, and walked towards the court.
"Kamikawa, do you think you can win?" Tezuka suddenly spoke as he walked beside Kamikawa.
"Yes! But the odds aren't great." Kamikawa took out his racket, tilted his head back, his playful expression fading as his eyes subtly gleamed.
"I want to see you play with all your might."
"You watch, and help me keep these sodas cold." Kamikawa suddenly thought of something, placing the two cans of cold soda on the ground into Tezuka's arms. Then he looked up at Tezuka, saying seriously, "You're not allowed to sneak a drink! If you want one, go buy your own."
With that, Kamikawa took his racket and walked towards the court.
The two quickly walked to the center of the court. Ochi's 226cm height formed a stark contrast with Kamikawa's 162cm. Kamikawa had to crane his neck just to see Ochi's eyes. The height difference was much greater than expected.
Seeing such a large height difference between the two players on the court, the Hyotei regulars couldn't help but laugh, especially Mukahi who laughed the loudest. "Yūshi~ Yūshi, did you see that? The height difference between those two!"
Mukahi elbowed Oishi's arm. It was the first time he had seen such a height difference. Of course, Mukahi's height was similar to Kamikawa's, perhaps even a bit shorter.
"Stop laughing, Gakuto," Oishi helplessly pulled Mukahi's arm, gesturing for him to calm down. Oishi also wanted to know the difference between Kamikawa and Ochi in this match. Even though Oishi had played against Kamikawa before and had watched him play so many matches, deep down, he always believed that Kamikawa hadn't played at his full power in those matches!
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