The Prince of Tennis: The Quincy of Rikkai University

Chapter 76 Finals are coming, Rikkai University vs. Hyotei
At the entrance of the Kanto Tournament, the Seigaku team, which had already left the stadium, was waiting for the bus at the door.

Qingxue lost the game 3-0, and the overall atmosphere of the entire team was naturally depressing.

Tezuka Kunimitsu still had the same icy face that never changed. He looked at the traffic in the distance, as if he was lost in thought.

Fuji Shusuke's face no longer had the calm look it used to have. He lowered his head slightly with a serious expression, still recalling the scene of the game in his mind.

Inui Sadaharu held a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other, writing non-stop, as if he was recording the data he had obtained.

As for the others, they all hung their heads and looked depressed.

Seeing this, Ryuuzaki Sumire began to play her role as a coach.

"Okay kids, don't be too sad, it's just a loss. We just need to find a way to win it back next time."

"Although we lost today, don't forget that we have secured a place in the top four of the Kanto Conference and are eligible to participate in this year's national conference."

"Qingxue's journey this year has not yet ended. There are higher stages waiting for you."

Ryuuzaki Sumire's words reached the ears of everyone in Qingxue, and made most of the people who were originally frowning feel better.

Yes, even though they lost today, they can still participate in the national conference this year!
For a moment, the atmosphere in the team was no longer as depressing as before.

"Um, Coach Ryuuzaki..."

Momoshiro Takeshi, who followed the team back, looked hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but was hesitant.

"Just ask whatever you want to ask, Momoshiro." Ryuzaki Sumire asked curiously.

"Well, I just want to ask, are the teams participating in the national conference as strong as the opponents that the seniors met today?"

Upon hearing this, Momoshiro Takeshi asked directly without thinking too much.

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere in the team, which had been warming up, suddenly came to a halt.

"Well... there are naturally many experts at the national tournament, but as last year's national champions, Rikkai University is clearly the strongest team at the moment, so it's not surprising that we lost to them today."

Ryuzaki Sumire secretly had a headache, thinking that he was really talking about something that was irrelevant.

"Of course, this doesn't mean that other schools are not strong. For example, we lost to Hyotei Academy before, but even as the runner-up of the Kanto Conference last year, Hyotei's performance in the national conference was only the top 16."

"So, we still need to train harder. Our goal at this stage is to do our best to improve ourselves and prepare for the national conference in a month."

Ryuuzaki Sumire calmly used a set of skilled chicken soup rhetoric to successfully divert the attention of everyone in Qingxue.

"Yes, that's right. We still have a national conference."

"In the next period of time, let's work hard together!"

"..."

Seeing that his teammates seemed to have come out of the shadow of defeat, Ryuzaki Sumire secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

What she feared most was that after today's game, the morale of these players would be completely destroyed.

But now it seems that the situation is not as bad as she thought. Be it Kunimitsu Tezuka, Shusuke Fuji, Sadaharu Inui, or even Eiji Kikumaru and Shuichiro Oishi, none of them are people who can be easily defeated.

This made her look forward to the tennis club of Qingxue even more next year.

As for this year…

Ryuuzaki Sumire shook his head. In his opinion, this year's Seigaku would not be able to achieve anything even if they went to the national conference.

The current youth academy has too many shortcomings and will not be competitive at all when it goes to the national conference.

……

On the other hand, the Rikkai University team did not choose to completely leave the Kanto Conference venue.

They simply disbanded the majority of the team and asked the tennis club members who came to cheer for the main players to leave first.

As for the main players, except for Mori Jusaburo who left first, the rest stayed to watch the semi-final between Hyotei and Rokkaku in the afternoon.

"Speaking of which, who do you think will win this afternoon?"

At this moment, they were sitting in a very ordinary Japanese restaurant eating lunch. Marui Bunta chatted after taking a sip of noodle soup.

"Pfft, it should be Hyotei." Niou Masaharu said nonchalantly after stuffing a sushi in his mouth.

"This year's Hyotei's main players include Keigo Atobe, Yuushi Oshitari, Takehito Mukai, Jiro Akutagawa, Oginosuke Taki, and Ryo Shishido, who were there last year. Two new first-year players have joined, namely Hocho Taro and Kabachi Takahiro."

"There is also a first-year substitute named Hiyoshi Waka who did not make the Kanto Conference roster. He has played in both the regional qualifiers and the metropolitan conference this year."

Yanagi Renji told him some basic information about Hyotei in detail, he had collected this information long ago.

"It sounds like Hyotei is very motivated this year. How does its strength compare to last year?" Marui Bunta continued to ask in a casual tone while tasting the food in front of him without looking away.

"Hyotei defeated Seigaku 3-1 in the Metropolitan Conference this year, but the Seigaku they defeated was a different team from the Seigaku we defeated today."

"If we have to compare, doubles is Hyotei's strong point at the moment, but their top singles are still relatively weak. However, their overall strength is much stronger than Seigaku who lost to us today."

Yanagi Renji analyzed slowly and told everyone present his opinion.

Maya Yuuki nodded slightly, completely agreeing with Renji Yanagi's judgment.

In simple terms, Hyotei's current lineup is an advanced version of Yamabuki Junior High School. While having a strong doubles team, it also has two more Kanto-level and one national-level singles players than Yamabuki.

"Liu, since there is no doubt that Hyotei will be our opponent in tomorrow's final, what have you thought about the lineup for tomorrow's game?" asked Maya Yuuki.

"For now, I haven't thought about it carefully, but from what you said, Yuuki, you should have a plan." Yanagi Renji was quick-witted and immediately understood the implication of Yuuki Maya's words.

"I do have some ideas. For tomorrow's game, I want to go to the doubles one position."

"What's the reason?" Yanagi Renji was slightly stunned and asked back.

"Nothing, I just suddenly felt that it would be nice to play doubles occasionally to change things up." Maya Yuuki said relaxedly with her hands crossed behind her head.

Throughout the entire Kanto Conference, he had already fought against the person he was most interested in. In his eyes, the match with Hyotei was just a formality.

"I see. Who will be your partner?"

Yuuki Maya thought for a moment, and saw a kelp head eating in the corner of his eye. His eyes suddenly lit up: "Let me think...Kirhara, how about teaming up with me to play doubles tomorrow?"

"Eh?! Me?" Kirihara Akaya, who had been eating silently, was startled. He put down his chopsticks in confusion and said in disbelief.

"Why, don't you want to?"

"No, no, I will follow the arrangements made by the senior."

Kirihara Akaya nodded quickly. No matter whether it was doubles or singles, it was better to be able to play than to sit on the bench.

"That's settled then. Yanagi, you make the arrangements." Yuuki Maya turned to look at Yanagi Renji, who nodded slightly.

"In that case, you and Kirihara will form the first doubles team. I think the second doubles team will remain with Niou and his team. As for the third singles team..." Yanagi Renji pondered for a moment and looked at Sanada Genichirō: "Sanada, in tomorrow's final, I want to put you in the third singles team."

"It doesn't matter. No matter what, we can finish the game in the first three games tomorrow." Genichirō Sanada didn't care too much about his playing order.

It was just an ice emperor, he didn't take it seriously.

"Hey, what should I do? Don't I have to play tomorrow?"

After discovering that Yuuki Maya and the others had finalized tomorrow's roster in a few words, Marui Bunta suddenly realized that he didn't have to play tomorrow for some unknown reason?

"Marui, let me think..." Yanagi Renji seemed to have just remembered that after this arrangement, Marui Bunta and Mori Jusaburo would not have the chance to appear.

"Marui, in tomorrow's match, you should play the singles position number one, so that you can feel involved." Without waiting for Yanagi Renji to think, Yuuki Maya answered for him.

"What?! Am I the number one singles player?" Marui Bunta was shocked.

He actually had a day where he could become Rikkai University's number one singles player.

This is the number one singles position at Rikkai University, which is equivalent to the title of the strongest tennis player in junior high school.

"Tsk, if Marui-senpai is unwilling, I can do it for you." Kirihara Akaya showed an envious expression. This was the position he dreamed of.

"Hmph, you wish, you kelp-head." Marui Bunta grabbed Kirihara Akaya's head and teased him.

"That's too much, senior. I was just talking casually. Is that not okay?" Kirihara Akaya protested in a low voice, protecting his hairstyle.

The two began to act recklessly, and Yuki and the others did not stop them, just let them do what they wanted.

After a while, the group left the restaurant and walked back to the conference venue to watch the semi-finals in the afternoon.

Two hours later, the game was over.

As expected, Hyotei narrowly defeated Rokkaku Junior High School with a score of 3 to 1 and successfully advanced to the finals again.

This match was won without even getting a chance to play. After the match, Keigo Atobe stared at the positions of Yuki and others, his eyes full of fighting spirit.

The next day, at the same time, the finals of the Kanto Conference opened.

The stadium was packed with spectators early on, and the number of spectators for the final was several times more than that of the previous semi-finals.

Moreover, not only people from Kanto came to watch the game, but also some tennis-related professionals from Kansai also crowded here.

For today's game, most people here came for Rikkai University, especially those from Kansai. They came to see how much strength last year's national tournament champion still has this year.

In a corner of the audience, Mamoru Inoue was sitting among the crowd again as expected.

Of course he couldn't miss today's game, as this game would affect the content of his next issue of Tennis Monthly.

"I wonder how far Hyotei can go against Rikkai University this year? Especially since Rikkai University's president is in the hospital."

Inoue Mamoru thought silently in his heart.

Last year, Hyotei was easily swept by Rikkai University 3-0 and was no match for them.

In his eyes, this year's Hyotei has made considerable progress compared to last year. It should be able to cause some trouble for Rikkai University, which has an incomplete lineup at the moment, right?

Just as Mamoru Inoue was still thinking about the possible confrontation between the two sides, the broadcasting around the stadium suddenly sounded.

"The Kanto Conference finals, the match between Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School and Hyotei Academy, is about to begin."

"Please line up and enter the venue."

(End of this chapter)