Prince of Tennis Fraudster

"Is this... going for special training?"

Special training programs were something Rikkai had done before, involving training camps with some ordinary tennis clubs. Of course, these were only for a group of students that the clubs favored; Rikkai's professional players in Japan wouldn't even consider students at the level of mere junior high school students.

"Ah."

Sanada didn't hide anything, but simply instructed, "Meet at 7:30 tomorrow morning. If you're late, walk there yourself."

"Remember to bring your water bottle."

"understood."

The group nodded; going out for training was nothing unusual for them. Kirihara, in particular, had come to regard this training camp as a rare opportunity for a vacation.

The group dispersed, and Niou returned home.

Seeing his mother cleaning his sister's room, Niou was a little puzzled, but didn't ask any questions: "Mom, I'm going out for training tomorrow and I probably won't be back."

"go Go."

Keiko waved her hand at King Ni as if shooing away a fly, and with a hint of doubt, King Ni returned to his room.

Chapter 8 Deep in the Mountains [3/5, Please Subscribe!]

The next morning, inside the Beitong Station.

Niou and his group had reunited. Sanada frowned, glancing into the distance from time to time.

Marui, chewing bubble gum, glanced at his watch and chuckled, "It's 7:25. Akaya's probably going to walk there now... *snap*!"

Clack clack...

Just then, a figure appeared in the distance—it was Kirihara, dressed casually. He was carrying a backpack and pulling a large suitcase, jogging and calling out, "Vice-Minister, I'm here!"

Jackal chuckled, "This guy really knows how to scout things out!"

"Huchihuchi..."

Upon approaching, Kirihara regulated his breathing, wiped the sweat from his brow, and exclaimed in surprise, "How come everyone only brought this little bit of stuff?"

Everyone only brought a hiking backpack and a tennis bag.

Marui winked at him and said, "So what do you think you should bring?"

"Uh……"

Kirihara was stunned, vaguely sensing that something was wrong.

Sanada waved his hand and said, "Let's go, we'll be late if we don't get on the bus soon."

The group followed him onto the bus, with Kirito sitting nervously in the back. The bus started moving, taking a route that didn't include the tennis club they had visited before.

At first, no one really felt anything.

But once the car left the city and entered the suburbs, they realized something was wrong.

Kirihara, feeling anxious, asked, "Vice-Vice Minister...where are we going?"

However, Sanada stood with his arms crossed, remaining silent as if in deep meditation.

"Oh no..." Kirihara's heart skipped a beat.

As more and more farmers worked along the roadside, not only Kirihara, but also Marui and others noticed something was wrong.

"Sanada..."

Just as Marui was about to speak, the car began to shake violently.

dong dong dong...

The group quickly looked out the window and saw that the car had driven onto a muddy country road. The car shook violently, and the group swayed back and forth, but their hearts sank back to normal.

Niou narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself, "It seems this special training won't be easy..."

Neither he nor Liu were involved in the planning. The training location was suggested by Sanada and submitted for school approval. They originally thought it would be a regular training session, so they didn't ask many questions, but now it seems that it's far more complicated than that.

crunch~

After driving for about two hours on the mountain road, the car stopped. The driver said, "The car can only go this far. You'll have to walk the rest of the way on your own."

Sanada, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, nodded and said, "Thank you."

After the group got out of the car, the driver turned the car around and leaned out, saying, "As agreed, I'll be waiting for you here in three days."

After saying that, he started the car and drove away. Watching the bus disappear into the distance, apart from Sanada and the other two, the hearts of the other four regulars sank.

Marui chewed his bubble gum twice and asked, "Sanada..."

"Let's go."

Sanada walked forward without looking back.

Niou and Yanagi followed behind him. Yanagi thought for a moment and then followed, followed by Marui and Jackal. Only Kirihara remained, carrying large bags and small bags and dragging a suitcase.

"Hey!"

He suddenly snapped out of his daze and jolted awake: "What do I do?"

Half an hour later, the group ventured deep into the mountains and forests, where a clear stream stretched out before them.

"What clear water!"

Seeing the fish swimming in the water, Kirihara's face lit up with joy. He put down his large backpack, stepped forward, and began to drink.

"Mmm, it's so sweet!"

His suitcase and some unnecessary items were left at the 'final stop', hastily covered up, to be retrieved on his way back.

At this moment, Sanada took down his water bottle, squatted down to fill it with water, and said, "Everyone should fill it up too, otherwise we'll have to come down the mountain to get water."

"Pfft...what?"

Kirihara suddenly spat out a breath and stared wide-eyed at Sanada.

Liu Sheng frowned as well: "We still have to go up the mountain?"

"Ah."

Sanada responded, put the lid on the kettle, and then walked up the path with a cold face.

"This……"

Jackal frowned and then relaxed, then sighed. Water and Sanada followed behind Sanada. The others thought for a moment and then followed as well.

At this point, they roughly guessed the location of this special training session.

It wasn't the mountain tennis club you were still fantasizing about at the 'final stop,' but a real, deep mountain.

The path was lined with lush green trees and overgrown weeds, resembling a secluded 'forbidden zone' rarely visited by humans. The chirping of cicadas and birds, the quiet and secluded valley, gave the group, who had been walking for about half an hour, a feeling of being isolated from the world.

"call……"

Breathing in the fresh air, Kirihara let out a long sigh of relief, and the anxiety in his heart dissipated somewhat.

tread!

Suddenly, Sanada, who was walking ahead, stopped.

"arrive!"

The group followed and found themselves in a spacious area roughly the size of three or four tennis courts, with a cave in the distance and surrounded by dense forest. It was a rare and tranquil place.

"How did he know about this place..."

Niou, squinting as he looked around, suddenly noticed two tree stumps with new buds growing in the distance, and next to them a black stone pit that looked like it had been burned.

Seeing Sanada familiarly tidying up the area, Niou confirmed his suspicion: "He's been here before!"

He guessed correctly; Sanada had not only been here, but had also stayed here for a long time.

Two years ago, Sanada, who had encountered a bottleneck in his training, told Iwayama about his confusion. The latter then brought him here for two weeks of meditation.

It was here that Sanada realized his own power.

After putting their things away, everyone naturally cleared away the nearby weeds and stones, and soon a clean space was cleared.

"Quack~"

At that moment, an unknown bird flew in from the sky, circled above them for a while, and then flew away.

The echoes lingered like waves for a long time before finally reaching the valley, making everyone feel a sense of insignificance.

Chapter Nine: Irregularly Shaped Court [4/5, Subscription Requested!]

Seeing that everyone had finished their work, Sanada said, "Niou and Yanagi plan the site, Yanagi and Jackal go find firewood, and Marui and Kirihara go fetch water."

Kirihara blurted out, "Then, Vice Minister, you...?"

"Find food!"

Sanada responded, then pulled out a short sword, picked up a slightly thicker branch from the side, and crept into the woods.

Seeing this, everyone started to go about their own business.

Squinting, Liu surveyed the area around the field and said, "I think this space can probably accommodate three courts. But two should be enough."

"Ah."

After a quick glance, Niou nodded in agreement.

There are more than enough places to set up three courts, but considering that they only have seven people, three courts would require three referees, and the remaining four would be difficult to allocate.

Doing only two would save time and make it easier to plan the next training session. The two checked the sun's position, determined the orientation of the court, and then began working.

laugh……

In Niou's hand, the tree branch resembled a bamboo sword. With a flick of his arm and a twist of his wrist, he drew a straight line.

"I never would have guessed he had such strong arms..."

Seeing the depth of Niou's engravings, Yanagi couldn't help but ponder. He remembered that at the beginning of the semester, Niou's arm strength was even completely suppressed by Yoshikawa.

But in the subsequent regional tournament, he actually countered Kuki's Wave Ball head-on. In the prefectural tournament, he sent Shinjo flying with a powerful, tearing strike.

Thinking about it carefully, this guy's strength growth is no slower than his skill growth!

"monster……"

Niou was the third person, after Yukimura and Sanada, to be called a monster.