Chapter 101: First Entry into U17

In the hospital.

Yukimura lay on the hospital bed, watching the team members holding the Kanto Tournament championship trophy, and smiled with relief.

"Alright, students! Make way, it's time for Yukimura to go to the operating room."

The nurse said loudly.

"Yukimura, the surgery will definitely be a success. We are all waiting for you." Kirihara, Marui, and the others said to Yukimura.

Standing to the side, Takahashi revealed a trace of a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Finally, he had fulfilled his vow and successfully delivered the Kanto Tournament trophy into Yukimura's hands before the surgery.

The history of Rikkai, from this day on, would be rewritten.

The National Three-peat would also be within Rikkai's grasp!

……

Evening.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz! Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

Takahashi was sitting by the computer playing a game, his mobile phone vibrating incessantly to the side.

Interrupted, Takahashi reached out and grabbed the phone.

He took a look; it was an unknown number.

Moreover, this unknown number had called many times recently.

Takahashi was a bit puzzled, but after thinking about it carefully.

Very few people knew his mobile number; even Sanada only knew his phone number.

He had also labeled the numbers of his parents and others.

So it definitely wasn't an acquaintance calling; it was most likely a scam call.

Thinking of this, Takahashi acted nimbly, swiped his finger, and rejected the call.

While putting the phone back in its original place, Takahashi sighed that no job was easy to do these days.

Even scammers were so hardworking and so competitive.

He had rejected the call repeatedly, yet the other party still wouldn't give up, calling with such perseverance.

They were working quite seriously and quite diligently!

Fortunately, he had watched a lot of anti-scam news in his past life and knew not to easily answer calls from people he didn't know.

Trying to scam him was impossible.

It was just unexpected that Japan actually had scams too, and the scam industry was so competitive!

……

On the other side.

In a deep mountain on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Inside an office.

A staff member said to Kurobe: "Coach Kurobe, the other party still hasn't answered the phone."

"What about the registered letter?" Kurobe asked.

"The post office shows it has been delivered to the recipient's mailbox, but the other party hasn't contacted us."

The staff member replied.

Kurobe was a bit dissatisfied.

It had been 4 days since the end of the Kanto Tournament. These past few days, he had sent people to call and mail letters to Takahashi, aiming to invite him to the U17. As a result, the other party didn't return the calls, and there was no response to the letters sent.

Even if Takahashi had some strength, this arrogant attitude made Kurobe somewhat unhappy.

He was a coach for the U17, a coach for elite high school students, inviting a middle school student so sincerely, yet the other party wouldn't even give him face.

A somewhat dissatisfied Kurobe said: "Since that's the case, then just call and send letters to the Rikkaidai Tennis Club directly!"

……

The next day.

"Captain, the U17 has sent you an invitation, inviting you to participate in the training camp."

Takahashi had just entered the Tennis Club when he heard Sanada's urgent voice.

"U17, what is that?"

Kirihara asked, very curious.

"Under 17, it refers to selecting tennis elites from high school students under the age of 17, with the goal of participating in the U17 World Cup. Of course, entering the U17 is also a necessary path for them to become professional tennis players."

Sanada explained.

"High school students! But Master is a middle school student!"

Kirihara still didn't quite understand.

"It seems that this year's Australia U17 World Cup allows middle school students to participate, so Japan's U17 has also started recruiting middle school students."

Sanada said.

"Really? Master is so amazing, even high school students have noticed him..."

Takahashi didn't pay attention to Kirihara's words; hearing U17, he realized what was going on.

It was just that he remembered in the original work, the U17 only sent invitations to various schools after the National Tournament ended, but now the Kanto Tournament had just finished.

And only inviting him alone felt a bit strange.

"Captain, the people from the U17 said they had sent you letters before, but you didn't reply."

Sanada said to Takahashi.

Takahashi shrugged.

He also didn't know that there were still people who would send paper letters nowadays.

Technology is now so advanced that even water, electricity, and gas bills are paid online; he wouldn't even know how to open his own mailbox.

Because most of the people who still send paper letters nowadays are either advertisements or scammers.

Living alone, he has to be even more careful to protect himself and prevent being scammed.

Isn't it perfectly normal not to open the mailbox?

……

On the outskirts of Tokyo.

Takahashi stood in front of an iron gate, and the iron gate slowly opened.

He observed the surrounding environment.

It was the middle of nowhere, overgrown with trees.

This place is truly remote; if it weren't for the address on the invitation letter, he would have suspected he had arrived at some scam organization.

"Hmm?"

Takahashi keenly discovered that inside the gate, several surveillance cameras were pointed directly at him.

"Wait a moment, are you the genius middle school student specially invited by the coaches to participate in the training camp?"

"Although you have just arrived, come and accept the routine questioning!"

A high school student wearing white, black, and red clothes said to Takahashi.

……

So the so-called routine questioning was just hitting beverage cans with a Serve.

That person gave Takahashi 5 balls in total, saying that as long as he hit the beverage cans with 3 balls, it would count as passing.

Takahashi couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Too childish.

Even in the Rikkai middle school division, there wouldn't be such childish things.

Although he felt speechless, Takahashi still picked up his tennis racket.

"Bang!"

The tennis ball headed toward the beverage can on the far right with great speed and spin.

After hitting the beverage can on the far right, the tennis ball spun rapidly in place, then rolled along the ground to the left, knocking down the two beverage cans on the left one by one.

"This..."

The high school student was stunned.

It was his first time seeing a tennis ball roll to the left along the ground after landing.

"Clap, clap!"

The sound of applause rang out.

"As expected of the Captain of the Rikkaidai Tennis Club! Takahashi Yanichi, welcome to the U17 Training Camp."

The person who arrived was exceptionally tall, with long hair tied into a small ponytail at the back of his head, wearing a long white coat; it was the coach who specialized in mental training, Saito.

……

Saito led Takahashi to Court 16, gave him a training list, and told him the rules of the Training Camp.

The Training Camp has a total of 16 courts, ordered by number.

The smaller the number of the court, the stronger the strength of the players on that court.

As long as one successfully challenges the strong players on the next court, one can advance forward.

Conversely, if one is successfully challenged by someone of a lower level, one must be demoted.

If one is demoted to the very end, one will be sent to the Back Mountain for special training.

Saito finally said: "I wish you a pleasant challenge! Do you have any other questions?"

Takahashi was holding the training list in his hand, reading through it at a glance.

He felt a bit dizzy; how could this training volume be so high!

"Is the training volume the same for every court? Or does the court with a smaller number have less training volume?"

Takahashi asked Saito.

Saito was a bit puzzled; he had originally thought Takahashi would ask about the strength level of each court, but he didn't expect his focus to actually be on the training volume.

"The training volume is the same, but usually, the courts with smaller numbers will increase their training volume to ensure they are not demoted."

Saito replied.

"Oh!"

Takahashi was not satisfied.