Prince of Tennis Fraudster

"Tokyo Fudomine Junior High School, number 6!"

"Tokyo Yamabuki Junior High School, um... number 8!"

"Ok?"

Almost instantly, the expressions of Yamabuki's ministers, Minami and Sengoku, changed drastically.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Opening Ceremony of the Kanto Region [Second Update, Please Subscribe!]

Swish!

Many people present immediately looked in the direction where Yamabuki was.

As they expected, the two leaders of Yamabuki both showed varying degrees of change in expression the moment they heard "number 2".

Sengoku was alright, only feeling a jolt in his heart, but Minister Minami's face suddenly turned deathly pale.

Such a performance, as seen by the elites of the Kanto region, caused many to sigh inwardly, thinking that Yamabuki was finished. Many others also expressed utter contempt for Minami's performance; for a minister to perform so poorly based solely on the results of a draw, Yamabuki's defeat to Rikkai was inevitable.

"No!"

Nan's thoughts raced, and finally, an arrogant face appeared in his mind. Gritting his teeth, he whispered to Sengoku, "Sengoku, could you go and find that guy...?"

That guy was none other than Akutsu Jin, who had left the team after the tournament. Deep down, Minami harbored no goodwill towards Akutsu; he believed that Akutsu's presence would affect the unity within the Yamabuki organization.

But his first opponent was Rikkai, and for the sake of his dream of winning the Yamabuki National Tournament, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and lower his stance.

"This one……"

Sengoku was somewhat troubled; he was well aware of Yamabuki's predicament. But he knew even better the price and difficulty of bringing that guy back!

"Please, Sengoku!"

"Okay, fine, I'll try my best..."

Aside from Yamabuki's situation, some observant people have noticed that Rikkai's opponents in this Kanto Tournament are almost all top-tier schools in Tokyo.

Even Niou, who was sitting in the corner, was somewhat surprised by the result of the draw.

"Interesting. This way, we've practically run into all the strongest schools in the Kanto region from the original story!"

"To answer the host, the original timeline was at difficulty level 3. However, due to the difficulty dice, the current difficulty is close to the midpoint between 3 and 4."

It turned out to be the case.

Nioh has a deep understanding of how terrifying the difficulty of the world is.

He dared not touch that thing again until he was fully grown. Who knows what might happen if he caused a 6 o'clock disaster, resulting in a tsunami, landslide, or meteorite impact?

Furthermore, the current level of difficulty is just within an acceptable range for him.

After carefully verifying the draw results, the person in charge said, "Thank you for your cooperation. This meeting for the draw of the Kanto Tournament is now adjourned!"

The meeting concluded, and the top students from each school left Rikkai's gates with their own thoughts and feelings.

Time flies. Two weeks after the Kanto draw, as the burgundy sun slowly rose on the eastern horizon of Tokyo, teams of schools wearing different colored uniforms began to enter and leave the venue of the Kanto Tournament.

Click click!

Click click!

The sound of camera shutters flashed by incessantly.

"Hey~"

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Inoue, dressed in his ever-present shirt and t-shirt, glanced around at his colleagues with a hint of urgency. With the development of tennis in Japan, this globally popular sport was gradually gaining attention.

There is a gradual increase in tennis coverage, especially in magazines covering junior tennis.

As a result, Inoue, who was in charge of the junior section of the professional tennis monthly magazine, suddenly felt a surge of pressure.

"Inoue-senpai!"

Suddenly, a tense voice rang out. Dressed casually, yet exuding mature feminine charm, Shiba Saori spoke: "They're here!"

"Huh?"

Inoue turned his head, his eyebrows immediately rising.

Unlike his colleagues who were still observing and waiting, he quickly walked forward and, not far from the group of young people in blue and white coats, quickly pressed the shutter of his camera, taking several close-up shots.

Qing Xue!

If anyone has the potential to threaten Rikkai's dominance, Seigaku is undoubtedly one that Inoue values ​​highly.

Indeed, as Rikkai's vice-captain Sanada said, Seigaku used to rely solely on Tezuka, barely managing to reach the Kanto semifinals...

But the situation is completely different now. The second-year players from the same year as Tezuka have been transformed by the accumulation of competition experience compared to last year.

The most representative of these is the young man with brown hair, a handsome, fair face, and a smile that is almost always on his face—Fuji Syusuke.

Not only that, but Seigaku now has an unknown super genius - Echizen Ryuuma!

With a generational shift and a major overhaul of the starting lineup, Seigaku's strength has grown rapidly, and they may well be the biggest dark horse in this year's junior high school tennis tournament.

"Teacher Longzaki!"

After taking the photos, Inoue went up to them and greeted each of the Seigaku members with a smile.

"So, Tezuka, are you confident of winning the Kanto Tournament this year?"

"Ok!"

Tezuka nodded, a perfunctory smile appearing on his perpetually icy and indifferent face: "We will do our best!"

Although it was just a polite remark, the experienced Inoue still saw a confidence in Tezuka's eyes that he hadn't seen a year ago.

"Hey, what's that over there...?"

A young man with burgundy hair and bangs parted to the left and right and curled upwards looked in surprise in another direction.

"What's wrong, Eiji-senpai?"

A young man with straight, black hair and full of energy also looked over.

Inoue raised an eyebrow. "That is..."

Tezuka, Longzaki, and the others also turned their gazes in that direction.

A deafening roar of cheers gradually spread. And only one school in the entire Kanto region could boast such a massive response—Hyotei!

Sure enough, among the approaching group in the distance, a group of young men in greyish-white coats could be vaguely seen. The one in the lead had a dashing and unrestrained demeanor, with graceful steps, exuding a strong aristocratic air that contrasted sharply with the simple and unadorned Seigaku.

"wrong!"

Kikumaru, who had spoken earlier, suddenly changed his expression, and his eyes widened.

"Not just Hyotei, but also... Rikkai?"

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Before the Match [1/5, Please Subscribe!]

Li Hai?

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze followed Kikumaru and turned to the several earthen-yellow figures not far away.

Saori Shiba exclaimed in surprise, "It really is!"

Rikkai actually came with Hyotei?

"Hyotei!" "Hyotei!" "Hyotei!"...

"What a terrifying display of force..."

As the powerful cheers grew louder, Momoshiro and Kaidou, who was wearing a dark green headscarf, changed their expressions slightly.

Unlike the other third-year regulars, they had never experienced such a terrifying level of support. A cheerleading squad of over two hundred people—that was almost equivalent to the number of people waiting at a major airport.

Furthermore, their slogans were perfectly synchronized, and their shouts terrified the other teams nearby, turning them all pale with fright.

"horrible!"

Inoue's eyelids twitched slightly. With such a terrifying formation, Hyotei could control the atmosphere outside the match at any time, making their opponents fearful before the battle even begins.

He glanced sideways at the lone Rikkai group beside him. In particular, when Inoue saw the slightly hunched figure following closely behind Yanagi, the muscles at the corners of his eyes widened slightly.

"Just as rumored, he succeeded Yukimura!"

It's hard to imagine that just three months ago, Niou was nothing more than a complete novice in tennis. Now, to be precise, after Yukimura was hospitalized, he has naturally taken over that coveted position.

Thinking of this, Inoue couldn't help but sigh, "Another monster..."

"Tch, these people are so noisy."

Kirihara, standing at the back of the group, curled his lip. Although Hyotei's momentum was impressive, their status as only a top 16 team in the country seemed like a publicity stunt to him.

Of course, only someone with a straightforward personality and a two-time national champion's regular team member would dare to think that way.

However, considering only the Kanto region, Hyotei's two consecutive runner-up finishes in Kanto are quite significant.

"Ah……"

The two teams walked side by side. Unlike the silent Sanada, Atobe smiled slightly and said in a low voice, "Sanada, I didn't see you at the last draw. Is Yukimura's illness really that serious?"

Sanada remained unmoved, simply saying calmly, "No comment!"

Indeed, there were some problems with Yukimura's side during the Kanto lottery. However, Sanada didn't really take Atobe, who exuded an air of extravagance and ostentation, very seriously.

Both were top-tier junior high school players; one used sheer power to intimidate, the other used righteousness. Atobe used tennis to subdue others and to please himself. Sanada, on the other hand, used tennis to hone his skills and defend his position as emperor with an upright and honorable attitude.

Their personalities and styles are completely different.

Sanada, who was extremely confident in himself, also looked down on Atobe's exaggerated abilities. In his opinion, there was no need for him to be present at the Kanto lottery; if it weren't for the fear that others wouldn't be able to hold the fort, he would have sent someone who wasn't a regular player.

"Ah……"

With a dry laugh, Atobe's smile gradually faded.

At that moment, almost simultaneously, both of them saw the Seigaku members standing in front of them. Their blue and white jackets, along with the distinctive appearances of the regulars, made Seigaku stand out remarkably.

In particular, Sanada's eyelids twitched slightly when he saw that familiar figure. It was very discreet, but it didn't escape Atobe's eyes.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu...?"

Between Tezuka and Sanada, Atobe was more interested in the latter. Although the former had a good reputation, Seigaku's overall strength was much weaker.

As for the latter, Hyotei lost to Rikkai in 4 matches over 2 years. Atobe needed to focus at least 9% of his attention on Sanada, especially Sanada whose abilities were fully revealed after Yukimura became seriously ill.

After all, he had never experienced Tezuka's terrifying willpower and tennis skills. Without Tezuka's tennis that shocked him and even changed his personality, Atobe's future trajectory was uncertain.