Chapter 172: Sanada, Niou vs. Tsukimitsu, Mouri

Kintaro said: "Didn't the Coach just say that we can challenge the 1st String at will?"

"I want to challenge Takahashi!"

Shiraishi replied: "Kintaro, the Coach just said we can challenge the 11th-20th members of the 1st String at will!"

"Takahashi is No. 2, he is not on the list the Coach mentioned!"

"However, the Coach said that tomorrow, representatives will be selected from the middle schoolers to have a Shuffle Match against the top 10 of the 1st String."

"So Kintaro, your target for today is the 11th-20th of the 1st String!"

Kintaro became excited.

"Great! I've wanted to play a match against Takahashi for a long time, it's a pity that Takahashi's name never appeared in the random matches."

Kirihara said: "Master is so powerful, he is the No. 2 of the 1st String, how could he just play whenever he wants?"

Fuji said: "The number of times Takahashi has played in matches is truly few and far between!"

"Tomorrow should be a rare opportunity for Takahashi to play in a match."

Following this, the middle schoolers and the 11th-20th of the 1st String engaged in chaotic Shuffle Matches.

……

Inside the Monitoring Room.

"I didn't expect the progress speed of this group of middle schoolers to be so fast!"

"It's completely different from when they first entered the Training Camp!"

Watching the scene on the monitoring screen where each middle schooler successively achieved victory in their matches against the last 10 players of the 1st String and successfully obtained their Badges, Saito couldn't help but exclaim.

Kurobe took a sip of coffee and spoke leisurely: "The talent of this batch of middle schoolers is quite good, and after undergoing our scientific and effective training, their growth speed is indeed astonishing."

"It is no surprise that they were able to take down the 11th-20th of the 1st String!"

"I organized all the match videos of this group of middle schoolers since they entered the Training Camp yesterday and discovered something very interesting!"

Saito asked: "What is it?"

Kurobe said: "The progress speed of the team members from Rikkai is about 1.5 times that of other schools."

Saito said: "It's Rikkai under the leadership of Takahashi, right!"

"Takahashi defeated Tanegashima and became the No. 2 in the Training Camp, plus Mouri Jusaburo, there are now two members in the top ten of the 1st String who are from Rikkai, and both of them are very young, so their future development potential is very great!"

"I estimate that after the middle schooler list comes out, Rikkai's proportion will still be very high."

Kurobe nodded and said: "Besides Takahashi, the strength of the original Three Giants of Rikkai is also quite good."

"They had a good foundation to begin with, and they encountered a Captain who knows how to guide them; although the players from other schools are also good, they cannot be mentioned in the same breath as Rikkai."

……

The next day.

On the main Court.

"Stop wandering around, hurry up and assemble!"

Oni's stern voice rang out.

Takahashi moved lazily to the 1st String's side.

"That Oni is actually wearing the No. 5 Badge!"

Kintaro noticed the Badge worn on Oni's collar.

"Oni was originally No. 5 of the 1st String, but he didn't follow the 1st String on the expedition due to some special reasons, so he let Kaji Kaze take his place."

"Now he has returned to his position!"

Tokugawa, who was standing with the middle schoolers, replied.

"Let me ask you! Then who did Takahashi defeat to get the No. 2 Badge!"

Kintaro continued to ask.

"Tanegashima Shuji, but he is No. 4 now. I heard from the 1st String people that the original No. 4 was injured by someone during the expedition!"

Tokugawa said, then he turned to the group from Seigaku and continued:

"The one who injured him seems to be your Seigaku team member Echizen Ryoma's brother, Echizen Ryoga."

"After hearing that Echizen Ryoma had returned to the United States, he also left!"

Listening to Tokugawa's words, Fuji and the others were lost in thought.

"In that case, if I defeat Takahashi, can I also get the No. 2 Badge!"

Kintaro was very excited.

"Theoretically yes, but the difficulty is very high."

Tokugawa said.

"I easily defeated No. 14 yesterday, I'm full of confidence today!"

Kintaro's bright voice rang out.

"Although there are 20 people in the 1st String, the difference in strength between the top ten and the bottom ten is like heaven and earth!"

Tokugawa added.

……

The broadcast sound rang out.

"The match between the U17 representative team and the middle schoolers will now begin."

"The first round is a doubles match between No. 10 Mouri Jusaburo and No. 9 Tsukimitsu against middle schoolers Sanada Genichiro and Niou Masaharu!"

"Best of three sets, first is Tsukimitsu's Serve game!"

……

"No. 10 Mouri is a senior from Rikkai, right!"

Inui Sadaharu asked.

Yanagi Renji nodded and said, "Yes, he is one grade above us!"

Kikumaru was very surprised, "In that case, besides senior Ochi, the remaining 3 people in this match are all from Rikkai."

Atobe took up the conversation, "Tsukimitsu Ochi is a senior from our Hyotei, and he is also the Captain who once led Hyotei into the National Tournament."

Momoshiro laughed, "So is this doubles match a game between old acquaintances?"

Atobe said, "No, when I entered Hyotei, Ochi had already left!"

Just as the few middle school students were chatting.

"Bang!"

"Thud!"

"15-0!"

"Point for the Ochi and Mouri pair!"

……

"What just happened?"

"How could there be such a fast Serve?"

Kikumaru felt extremely shocked.

"This must be Tsukimitsu Ochi's Mach Serve!"

Yanagi Renji spoke up.

……

On the court.

"Niou, don't be too lax!"

Sanada's stern voice rang out.

"Sanada, don't be in such a rush to lecture me, you were the one who didn't return it just now..."

Niou said.

Before he could finish his sentence, Niou felt something whistle past his ear.

Immediately after.

"Thud!"

"30-0!"

"Point for the Ochi and Mouri pair!"

Niou turned his head to look at the tennis ball bouncing incessantly on the ground, and drops of cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

At this speed, he hadn't reacted at all.

He hadn't seen the trajectory of the tennis ball in the air at all.

……

"What was up with those two balls just now?"

"I could only hear the sound of the tennis ball landing; I couldn't see the ball's path at all."

Momoshiro exclaimed.

"It feels about as fast as my master's Serve!"

Kirihara said.

"This is Tsukimitsu Ochi's Mach Serve, which benefits from senior Ochi's 226-centimeter height, plus his jump, allowing him to hit a perfect flat shot."

"And his success rate for hitting the ball is one hundred percent!"

"Most people can't see the ball's path; no, they don't even have time to react."

Yanagi Renji said.

……

Inside the court.

"Bang!"

"Thud!"

"40-0!"

Sanada and Niou stood in place without moving, letting Ochi score with his Serve!

……

"Thud!"

"Score 1-0!"

"Point for the Ochi and Mouri pair!"

……

Beside the court.

"The first game was actually scored by the opponent so easily!"

Kikumaru exclaimed.

"This Serve is really troublesome; as long as this Serve exists, they can hold their own service game."

"Is this the strength of the top ten in the 1st String?"

Fuji said with some seriousness.

"We wouldn't get shut out by the opponent in the first doubles match, would we!"

Momoshiro was a bit nervous.

"That shouldn't be the case; Sanada taking the initiative to partner with Niou for doubles must be because he has his eye on that ability of Niou's."

Yukimura said slowly.

"What ability?"

Kikumaru asked curiously.

"Nio Mirage!"

At the same time as Yukimura's words rang out, the person beside Sanada on the court suddenly transformed into Takahashi.

"Eh! Am I seeing things? Why is Captain Takahashi up there playing the match?"

Kikumaru rubbed his eyes, unable to believe it.

"That is Captain Takahashi, imitated by Niou!"

Yanagi Renji explained.