My Prince of Tennis has a high proficiency level.

He certainly remembered the terms of the bet, but at the time he was confident of victory and hadn't taken the agreement to heart at all. Now that he had lost, he was momentarily embarrassed.

After a moment, as if he had found some reason, he spoke up: "If I remember correctly, you are neither the captain nor the vice-captain of Yamabuki, just a regular starter on the team. Even if I wanted to join Yamabuki, could you decide that?"

"That's not important."

Shibukawa smiled faintly upon hearing this, then shook his head and said, "You just need to fulfill your promise or break it. As for the ministerial position... is it that difficult?"

At the end, he asked a question that left both Mizuki and Yuta stunned.

Yes.

With such formidable strength, if Shibukawa wanted to compete for the ministerial position, no one should be able to stop him, right?

only......

Yuta glanced at Shibukawa's appearance and couldn't help but wonder, is this senior really the kind of person who is high-profile?

In his memory, whether it was Tezuka, the current vice-captain of Seigaku, or Imura, the captain of Sarujima where he was now, despite their different strengths, they both possessed an inexplicable leadership quality.

But with his black hair covering his eyes, Shibukawa, who at first glance appears quite introverted, clearly lacks that unique charm.

"really."

Unlike Yuta.

Shibukawa's reaction confirmed Mizuki's suspicions, and he gave the other person a deep look.

The seemingly unassuming and harmless young man before me likely harbors a shocking ambition beneath his introverted exterior.

"That's all I have to say."

Shibukawa didn't waste any more words. He glanced at Mizuki, who was slumped on the ground, and then looked at Yuta in front of him: "Yuta, do you want to come to Yamabuki?"

"Me, me?"

Yuta paused for a moment, then pointed to himself with a somewhat unsure of himself.

"Yes."

Shibukawa smiled and said, "Don't underestimate your talent. In my opinion, you're more than just Fuji's younger brother. Your tennis skills can definitely forge your own path."

Upon hearing this...

Yuta's body trembled violently.

This was the first time he had ever heard someone say that.

"Fuji's younger brother?"

Mizuki looked at Yuta with some surprise.

The information about the name 'Fuji' that he had been investigating recently immediately came to mind.

"That genius Fuji's younger brother?"

He looked at the young man in front of him with some surprise, seemingly not expecting that the other party had this other identity.

Actually.

Mizuki's solo investigation was indeed only intended to gather preliminary intelligence. In the original story, he first conducted sufficient research in the Kanto region before beginning to recruit talent.

As for Yuta, he wouldn't meet him until a month later, when Mizuki led the St. Rudolph team to train on Sarujima.

The reason he valued Yuta was because he had heard that the other was Fuji's younger brother. He already had a plan in mind to use the [Outside Spin Ball] to provoke Fuji and ultimately defeat him in the match.

pity.

Because of Shibukawa's appearance, Yamabuki had more practice matches with Sarujima, causing the two to meet earlier than planned. Furthermore, Shibukawa decisively defeated Mizuki, altering the original storyline.

"Gentlemen, I should be going now."

"No matter what, the doors of Yamabuki are always open to you."

"Furthermore, my goal has never been to make it to the national tournament. I hope to see you all in Yamabuki in the future."

After saying that, Shechuan turned and left.

Watching his retreating figure, Mizuki and Yuuta fell silent. Each lost in their own thoughts, they remained speechless for a long time.

...

After leaving the tennis court, Shibukawa found a place to begin his training for the day.

After completing the basic training exercises and working up a good sweat, he put away his racket and headed to the meeting place that Bantian had told him to go beforehand.

On his way, he passed the place where he had competed with Mizuki, but it had been occupied by another group of Sarutojima team members who were training there. He didn't know where the other two had gone.

Shibukawa's decision to recruit the two was merely a spur-of-the-moment thing. However, he wasn't lying; both Mizuki and Fuji Yuuta would bolster Yamabuki's strength.

As Fuji's younger brother, Yuta naturally possesses considerable talent. In the original story, his prolonged practice of the "Outside Spin Ball" had already taken a toll on his body.

To some extent, his position as the worst among junior high school students in the U17 team was also influenced by this factor.

But it's not too late now.

If the opponent joins Yamabuki, Shibukawa is confident that he can train them to a level that is no less than that of the other second-year members of the strong teams in the original work.

In any case, it can't be worse than the original work, and it certainly won't be inferior to a minor character like Muromachi.

The reason Mizuki joined was simple: Shibukawa needed his data tennis skills.

Throughout the original work, all four major teams, except for Hyotei, have players with strong data-driven skills. The rapid improvement in the strength of the Seigaku team is also largely due to Sadaharu Inui's data-driven abilities.

If Mizuki were to join Yamabuki, given her abilities, Shibukawa wouldn't need to bother with data collection and management at all; he would be able to keep track of the Yamabuki members' data changes in real time.

Only by having access to real data can we develop training plans tailored to each individual's specific circumstances.

As for Mizuki, he's certainly not a good person in the original story. He's ruthless in achieving his goals, and his sinister personality makes him quite unlikeable.

But none of this matters to Shechuan.

In his view, Akazawa Yoshiro, the Minister of St. Rudolf in the original work, was ultimately just a figurehead. The true manager of St. Rudolf was always Mizuki.

Yamabuki is different.

Shibukawa was confident that he could use Mizuki, this sharp blade, for his own purposes, without being harmed by her.

after all.

In his plan, Akutsu was also part of his strategy to dominate the national tournament. Compared to this ferocious tennis beast, Mizuki's so-called danger seemed rather trivial.

"With the current lineup, Yamabuki is simply not enough to dominate the nation. But if these three people join, the situation will be very different."

Although there is still more than a month until the end of the year, the plan in Shechuan's mind has already begun to take shape.

Originally, he planned to dominate Yamabuki and then look for a suitable opportunity to pick up some players from other teams in the original work.

But today's chance encounter undoubtedly saved him that step.

"so."

Thinking of this, Shibukawa, who had already reached the parking lot, looked at the orange-haired boy sitting on the bus with his eyes closed and resting: "What I need to do next is to get rid of the troubles blocking my way."

The thought crossed my mind.

Beneath his long, black bangs, a glint of shrewdness flashed in his dark brown eyes.

Not long after.

The group gradually returned.

Once everyone had arrived, Banta greeted the coaches from Sarujima and then led the team away back to Yamabuki.

Because it's the weekend.

Maintaining a two-game winning streak in practice matches also put Banta in a good mood. He dismissed everyone and returned to his office to tackle the last problem that was bothering him.

Everyone dispersed.

Uesugi didn't leave immediately. He was in a good mood after the team's two consecutive wins, but as the team captain, he currently faced a very important problem.

After he graduates, who will take over the position of minister of Yamabuki?

His original favorite was undoubtedly Sengoku, who possessed both talent and strength. Unfortunately, the other party had a carefree personality and lacked the composure of a captain.

Besides Sengoku, the only person Uesugi truly favors is Vice-Captain Minami. Given his steady personality, even if he can't lead Yamabuki to any remarkable achievements, maintaining the team's current influence in the Metropolitan Tournament would be sufficient.

but.

The appearance of Shechuan showed him another possibility.

However, that boy was too low-key. Despite his hard work in training and his rapid improvement in strength, he had only been a regular member for a short time.

Furthermore, Uesugi was unsure whether the other player could handle the most stressful position on the team, that of captain.

Therefore, he planned to secretly observe the performance of the three in the near future. Especially Shibukawa; if possible, he would like to meet with him privately to fully understand this most mysterious and low-profile regular member of the Yamabuki team.

"Ok?"

However, to Uesugi's surprise, Shibukawa, who used to train at the tennis club until evening without fail, was nowhere to be seen.

"what happened?"

The sudden turn of events left Uesugi somewhat bewildered.

He had initially thought of Shibukawa as someone meticulous and persistent. But now it seemed that the image of him as a hardworking and diligent person in the eyes of others wasn't so solid after all.

This also caused his original idea to waver.

Can someone like that really take over as head of Yamabuki?

...

the other side.

A street tennis court near Yamabuki.

Because it was the weekend, the place, which usually only gets lively in the evenings, was already quite crowded. Most of them were tennis enthusiasts from nearby schools, who had gathered with friends to play during the holiday.

However, because they are tennis enthusiasts, their skill level is not particularly high. Not to mention Yamabuki, even the players from Sarujima or Kakigi Junior High School could easily sweep them aside.

but.

Today is different.

Here comes a player from another region, a regular from Hinino Fifth Junior High School who made it into the Metropolitan Tournament.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

on the field.

The boy, dressed in a black jacket and with his light yellow hair flying, swung his racket rapidly, leaving his opponent, who was not far away, struggling to defend himself.

"hiss!"

"Is this the student from Hino Fifth Junior High School?"

"They're too strong. Schools that can make it to the Grand Prix are simply not something that ordinary tennis enthusiasts can compare to."

"Nonsense, those are all top-tier teams! Any one of them could easily sweep aside players of that caliber!"

"Speaking of which, are there no teams around here that can make it to the Grand Prix? How come we're being bullied to our doorstep and we don't dare to fight back?"

"I think there should be. If I remember correctly, Yamabuki was one of the top four in this year's tournament."

"If he's really that strong, we should send someone to take care of him! How many games has he won? This is the sixth one, isn't it?"

"Tsk, do you really think other teams have it so easy? They never play in places like this. Playing too many matches at this level will lower their skill level."

The conversation between the crowd was clearly heard by the people in the stadium. He felt even more pleased, especially when he felt the awe in their eyes.

boom!

Immediately.

He struck hard.

They completely stunned the other side.

"next."

He waved his hand dismissively as he entered.

A player of his caliber would be nothing short of stomping on a street tennis court. Other players who make it to major tournaments wouldn't even dare to do something like that.