Chapter 169: Takahashi VS Byodoin, Four Points to Decide the Winner

As soon as Takahashi's calm words were spoken, the entire venue went quiet.

Mouri looked at Takahashi in surprise.

He had not expected that one day, someone in the Training Camp would actually dare to speak to Byodoin Houou like that.

Byodoin was, after all, the No. 1 of the Japan U17 Representative Team, and without a doubt, the number one person among all the high schoolers.

Everyone else on the representative team was respectful toward Byodoin; this was not only because Byodoin was the Captain of the representative team, but also because of his incredibly formidable strength and equally powerful temper.

He had not expected that Takahashi, only 12 years old and just in his first year of middle school, would dare to speak to Byodoin, who was six years his senior, in such a way.

Was it a case of a newborn calf not fearing the tiger?

Or did he simply not understand how terrifying Byodoin was!

Hearing Takahashi's words, Byodoin narrowed his eyes.

"A bit of strength, and you're actually this arrogant!"

"I hope your strength can live up to your words!"

Oni spoke solemnly: "Stopping you from competing is not Coach Kurobe's intention; it is the intention of Mifune General Coach."

"Byodoin, are you not even going to listen to Mifune General Coach's words?"

Hearing the name of Mifune, Byodoin hesitated slightly.

"No match, just a brief exchange."

"Just one game, 4 points, that's fine, right?"

Takahashi's words rang out.

Oni looked at Takahashi with great shock.

His impression of Takahashi had always been that he was powerful but lazy, with a gentle personality and no sharp edges.

He had not expected that once he got serious, he would be so aggressive!

Whether it was the content of his words or the tone in which he spoke, Oni Jujiro found it somewhat difficult to handle.

Takahashi was clearly 6 years younger than him.

Yet Oni felt that, at this moment, Takahashi was even more overbearing than Byodoin!

"It's settled then! 4 points!"

Seeing this, Byodoin also agreed to Takahashi's proposal.

"Since the parties involved have both agreed, stop worrying about it."

Seeing that Oni still wanted to speak, Byodoin cut him off.

On the court.

Byodoin said to Takahashi: "In consideration of you being six years younger than me, I'll let you serve for all 4 points of this game!"

Takahashi said: "Is it really okay to let me serve?"

"If I serve, you might not be able to return a single ball."

Facing Takahashi's repeated provocations, Byodoin could no longer suppress his own anger.

"I have seen many people like you who are immensely proud just because they have some strength, and you have seen their ends, such as Tokugawa, who is currently in the Training Camp!"

……

Hearing the name Tokugawa spoken by Byodoin, Sanada was somewhat surprised and asked: "Tokugawa, is that the Tokugawa from Court 1? Did he also fall at the hands of Byodoin?"

Irie nodded and replied: "Yes, that was all last year!"

Yukimura asked: "Who exactly is this Byodoin?"

Oni said: "The Captain of the Japan Representative Team, and also the strongest person in the entire Training Camp."

Kirihara was very worried and said: "The strongest, then can Master beat the opponent?"

Oni said: "Hard to say!"

"However, Takahashi has also defeated Tokugawa before."

Yanagi Renji said: "In other words, Captain Takahashi might not necessarily suffer a crushing defeat, so why do you still want to stop the match between the two of them?"

"I thought the Captain was bound to lose, which is why you stepped in to stop it."

Oni's expression was somewhat gloomy as he said: "If the difference in strength between the two was too great, then the coaches would not have gone to stop this match."

"It is precisely because the two sides are similar in strength that it must be stopped."

Sanada said: "Only when strengths are similar does a match have meaning."

"If one side is destined to lose, then there is no need to compete at all."

Irie said: "You don't understand Byodoin; he is a person who crawled out of hell, and his obsession with victory is stronger than you can imagine."

"When encountering an opponent who can go head-to-head with him, Byodoin will exert his full strength, and may even surpass his own limits."

Yanagi Renji said: "A match is exactly when one must exert their full strength!"

At this moment, Oni recalled his conversation with Mifune General Coach.

Because Oni Jujiro was also very curious about who was actually more powerful, Byodoin or Takahashi.

At that time, Mifune General Coach had said this.

"Byodoin has already found his own path; that path is to destroy first and then establish, to destroy first and then be reborn, just like his name, the Phoenix being reborn from the ashes."

"In terms of basic strength, the current Takahashi may not be a match for Byodoin. But the phantom of the other dimension formed by Takahashi's Asura Divine Path—Taotie—is superior in quality to Byodoin's other dimension."

"Moreover, Takahashi's growth speed is extremely fast; I still cannot see where his limits are. Perhaps Byodoin can defeat Takahashi after evolving, or perhaps the hidden trump card of Takahashi can defeat the evolved Byodoin."

"So, who is truly more powerful can only be known after the two of them truly compete."

"It's just that the U17 World Cup is right around the corner, and Byodoin's evolution comes at the cost of his own life."

"Once the two sides begin a true confrontation, one side will definitely be seriously injured. At this critical juncture, there is no need to start internal strife; we should be united against the outside."

"Maintaining the current state is fine. Byodoin, as No. 1, serves as the leader of the high schoolers of the Japan Team, and Takahashi, as No. 2, serves as the leader of the middle schoolers of the Japan Team."

Therefore, Mifune General Coach had Oni and Irie keep a constant watch on Takahashi and Byodoin; once the two had any intention of having a real duel, they had to step in and interrupt the match.

Irie looked at the solemn-faced Oni and comforted him:

"After all, they are only playing 4 points, not a full match, so there's no need to worry too much!"

"Perhaps it won't reach the point of risking their lives."

"If there is any accident, I will contact the General Coach immediately."

On the court.

Takahashi took a tennis ball out of his pocket and bounced it on the ground.

Accompanied by the rhythmic thumping of the tennis ball, he looked at Byodoin in front of him.

Takahashi could well understand Byodoin's desire to compete with him; after all, during his time on the overseas expedition, a middle school student had defeated the former No. 2 Tanegashima Shuji and taken his place.

As the captain of the 1st String, Byodoin must be very curious about this middle school student's strength.

Especially since Byodoin, in order to enhance his own strength, searched for opponents all over the world; there was no reason he would let go of a ready-made opponent in the Training Camp.

But Takahashi did not expect that Byodoin would actually challenge him in such a way.

Judging from the words of Oni and Irie, the coaches seemed unwilling for Takahashi and Byodoin to have a real test of strength; although he didn't know why, Byodoin's act of hitting a Light Strike at the Rikkai group had angered Takahashi.

Even if he couldn't finish a real match, Takahashi decided to let Byodoin witness his strength with his own eyes.

Neither Takahashi nor Rikkai was someone he could look down upon!

"Bang!"

Accompanied by the crisp sound of the ball being struck, the tennis ball turned into a yellow streak of light and headed toward Byodoin.

Good speed and spin, it's just a pity that the power is still a bit lacking.

Byodoin made his assessment of the tennis ball flying toward his half of the court.

Wait, this complex spin.

"Thud!"

After the tennis ball landed, it spun in place for several turns before rolling backward toward the net.

"15-0!"

"Takahashi scores!"

Irie, acting as the umpire, announced the score loudly.

Mouri's eyes lit up as he watched the match, and he said in surprise: "Zero-Style Serve, I didn't expect our Rikkai first-year to have such a technique."

Kirihara said excitedly: "That's right, Zero-Style Serve!"

"All 4 points are served by Master; if all 4 are Zero-Style Shots, then Master will definitely win this game."

Mouri said: "Zero-Style Serve is considered a very high-level skill among middle school students, but in front of Byodoin, it is impossible to hold one's serve using Zero-Style."

"The reason Takahashi was able to score on this ball is mainly due to the element of surprise!"

"If it happens again, Byodoin will be able to return it successfully."

Kirihara said in disbelief: "Is that so?"

Oni said: "Mouri is right! Byodoin is a genuine World Level player, don't underestimate him too much!"