hotmtlnovel #183 - National Competition
#183 - National Competition
Time passed day by day.
In the blink of an eye!
August!
The annual National Tournament begins!
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
“Ooooh! Ooooh! Ooooh! Ooooh! Ooooh! Ooooh! Ooooh! Ooooh!”
Countless spectators cheered, waving their arms excitedly, their faces flushed with excitement.
This is the grandest competition.
It is also a moment that excites all tennis enthusiasts.
“Ladies and gentlemen!”
“The National Tournament is about to begin!”
A host stood below, shouting with excitement,
Welcoming the cheers that resounded once again within the gymnasium.
“First! Let us welcome the previous National Champion, Rikkaidai!”
With the host's voice, the surrounding audience cheered again.
“Rikkaidai! Rikkaidai! Rikkaidai!”
The entire gymnasium was filled with only the words Rikkaidai.
Under everyone's gaze, Rikkaidai emerged from the entrance.
Leading the way was naturally Yukimura, his jacket swaying slightly on his shoulders.
Followed by Sanada Genichirou, Yanagi Renji, and others.
The moment Yukimura appeared.
“Child of God! Child of God! Child of God!”
Another voice resounded within the gymnasium!
“The captain's popularity is really high!”
Akaya Kirihara, at the back, said softly as he watched the cheering.
This was only Yukimura's popularity in the country; his popularity abroad was only higher.
Echizen Ryoma was already familiar with this kind of scene!
“The National Tournament, it’s finally starting.”
Marui chewed gum, somewhat excited.
They had waited a year for this moment to finally arrive!
National Three-peat!
Jackal Kuwahara, Niou Masaharu, and Yagyu Hiroshi wore smiles on their faces.
The championship!
Is destined to be Rikkaidai's!
After Rikkaidai stood in their position, the host shouted again:
“Next, let us welcome Hyotei Academy!’
In an instant, the audience cheered again, including members from Hyotei themselves who came to the venue to watch the opening ceremony.
Soon.
“Next, let us welcome Seishun Academy!'
“Next, let us welcome Fudomine Academy!”
“Next, let us welcome…
The teams participating in the National Tournament had gathered.
After all the teams gathered, the organizers said a few words, and then announced that the National Tournament had officially begun!
Cannon salutes and cheers resounded throughout the sky.
After the tournament began.
As in previous years, the top four teams had a bye in the first round.
However, the order of matches was changed slightly.
Displaying Singles 3, Doubles 2, Singles 2, Doubles 1, Singles 1.
The first match for Rikkaidai was in the afternoon.
In the first round, each team had to play all five matches.
The other schools began to pray that they would not run into Rikkaidai in the afternoon.
There was no way around it.
Rikkaidai's reputation and strength were simply too strong; encountering Rikkaidai would probably lead to forfeiture.
Time flowed by!
In the blink of an eye, the afternoon arrived.
Rikkaidai also welcomed their first match.
Rikkaidai's opponent in the afternoon was Higa Middle School.
“Go.”
After learning of the opposing school, Yukimura only said to the Rikkaidai members.
“Yes, Captain!”
All Rikkaidai members answered in unison.
Thirty minutes later.
“Match over! Rikkaidai Singles 3 Echizen Ryoma wins! Score 6:3!”
Echizen Ryoma's performance did not disappoint the crowd. “Match over! Rikkaidai Doubles 2 Yagyu Hiroshi, Marui Bunta wins! Score 6:0!”
“Match over! Rikkaidai Singles 2 Sanada Genichirou wins! Score 6:0!”
Without any difficulty, Rikkaidai directly won; no matter how superb Higa Middle School's Shukuchi-ho was, it was as if it was nonexistent in front of Rikkaidai.
Three consecutive victories.
Rikkaidai had already advanced.
Since all five matches had to be played, there were still two matches to be played.
However.
In all the matches, Rikkaidai would not give the opponent any chance.
Even if it was an “exhibition match,” they had to stand in front of everyone with an undefeated stance.
After Rikkaidai finished their five matches.
Before long.
Hyotei, Shitenhoji, Seishun Academy, and other schools also finished their matches.
And Rikkaidai was still the team that finished the fastest.
They were also the record holders for match time in the entire National Tournament.
Unsurpassed!
Subsequently, Rikkaidai swept all the way from the beginning of the promotion.
Until the semi-finals.
Rikkaidai faced Shitenhoji; it couldn't be said that there were no changes, but it didn't have any impact on Rikkaidai.
In the end, the victor would only be Rikkaidai.
After the match ended.
Yukimura received news of another semi-final.
“Captain, Hyotei lost.”
Yanagi Renji said calmly.
In fact, for Rikkaidai, it didn't matter who their opponent in the finals was, but hearing that Hyotei had lost, Yukimura still felt a bit curious.
During the Kanto Tournament, Atobe Keigo's performance was definitely not worse than Tezuka Kunimitsu's.
Moreover, Yukimura could also see that he had improved after that match with Sanada Genichirou.
Although Seigaku was also very strong, there was still a bit of a gap compared to Hyotei.
“What happened?”
Yukimura asked after pondering.
“Atobe lost to Tezuka.”
“As expected.”
While speaking, Yukimura looked at Sanada Genichirou.
The next day.
The day of the National Tournament finals.
The captains and players of both teams were all third-year students.
After this match.
They would not be able to continue participating in the National Tournament.
So, in a sense, this National Tournament was the last National Tournament for some people.
Outside the gymnasium.
A group of high school students wearing red, white, and black jackets walked over.
Leading the way was a high school student with yellow hair wearing a gold headband.
Followed by a red-haired, rugged-looking high school student.
“Byodoin Houou! ! ? ?”
“Oni Jujiro? ? ”
“Irie Kanata? ? ”
“Tanegashima Shuji? ? ”
“Ochi Tsukimitsu, Kimijima Ikuto, Tono Atsukyo, hey hey hey, aren't these people from the U-17 team? Why are they here?”
That's right, the people who came were indeed Byodoin Houou, Oni Jujiro, Irie Kanata, Tanegashima Shuji, and others.
“Leader, it seems like a lot of people recognize you.”
Duke Watanabe said with a smile.
Oni Jujiro said, looking at the expressions of the surrounding people: “It is indeed a bit unexpected.”
Byodoin Houou nodded.
Originally, they thought that after a period of time, people's impression of them would fade, but they didn't expect to be recognized as soon as they arrived.
Some people even had their exclusive magazines at home; how could they forget!
Die-hard fans!
As for why the U-17 first-string members were here?
You must know, Rikkaidai's captain.
Child of God—Yukimura Seiichi, is a member of the U-17 first string!
Thinking of this, people suddenly thought: “Could it be that they are here to pick up the Child of God?”
Just as they were thinking, the first-string members had already disappeared from where they were.
As a member of the U-17 first string, it was still possible to get a few tickets to the National Tournament.
The first-string members were wearing ordinary clothes instead of the U-17 training camp uniforms.
This time, in addition to watching this final, there were two purposes.
One was to see what the level of this year's middle school students was like.
The second was to take Yukimura away.
In order to prepare for the next U-17 World Cup.