Chapter 209: Mifune's Arrangements, the Semifinals Begin

Mifune said, "In the match against Q. P, Takahashi used his second Otherworldly Avatar, which is an enlarged version of himself."

"At that time, Q. P's body was enveloped in three rays of light."

"The D Country people call it the Light of Restraint, while we call it the limit of Peerless Perfection."

Kurobe seemed to understand something and exclaimed, "That is the Selfless State!"

"The Asura Divine Path and the Selfless State are known as two of the highest realms in tennis."

"What can contend with the three-in-one Light of Restraint without falling into a disadvantage should be the main gate of the Asura Divine Path."

Mifune said, "Yes."

"Besides that, I also observed that after Takahashi's second Otherworldly Avatar appeared, his strength continued to grow, as if he had no bottleneck period at all."

"And Byodoin has been trapped in a bottleneck period for a long time."

"With such a performance, I believe that at the end of that Path of Hell, he entered through the main gate."

Mifune paused to take a sip of alcohol and continued, "Although Byodoin has never faced Takahashi head-on, both of them have faced Amadeus."

"Two years ago, in the match between Byodoin and Amadeus, Byodoin lost two sets in a row at the beginning, but by the final set, Byodoin successfully evolved his Otherworldly Avatar and began to catch up in the score."

"Due to weather conditions, their match was not finished."

"If it had been a best-of-three, Byodoin would have already lost."

"And during the group stage a few days ago, Takahashi basically suppressed Amadeus throughout the entire match, even playing until Amadeus voluntarily forfeited."

"Amadeus had not turned professional two years ago, and after two years of baptism in the professional circuit, his progress should be greater than Byodoin's."

"Therefore, I can now confirm that even the evolved Byodoin is no match for Takahashi."

"Takahashi is the strongest member of our team."

Listening to Mifune's account, Kurobe and the others were silent.

They had thought that with Takahashi's talent and potential, one day his strength would surpass Byodoin's, but they did not expect this day to come so quickly!

The most surprised among them was Kurobe, who had once personally investigated Takahashi.

He knew that Takahashi only started playing tennis in his first year of middle school.

Now he is still in his first year of middle school, and his strength has already surpassed the strongest member of the Japan U17 Representative Team.

This was even personally certified by the Head Coach of the representative team, who is also the teacher of the former strongest member of the representative team.

Kurobe did not know what to say for a moment.

Looking at the stunned expressions of the three people in front of him, Mifune laughed and said, "A 12-year-old middle school student carrying the burden of the entire Japan Team is indeed somewhat shocking."

"But this is also a good thing. Originally, our Japan could not compete with the top four in terms of elite combat power. In the days without Takahashi, I could only let Byodoin walk into the fork of the Asura Divine Path."

"Because this was the only way he could quickly improve his strength, but the price was cruel."

"Now, Takahashi's rapid growth has made up for our lack of elite combat power and has also given Byodoin a bright future. After all, his tennis career is still long, and he cannot just focus on immediate gains and losses."

"Even if Takahashi eventually loses to Borg in the semifinals, it does not matter. In the next world tournament two years from now, no one will be able to stop Takahashi's momentum."

While speaking, Mifune picked up a pen and wrote Takahashi's name in the Singles 1 position.

"As for the two professional doubles players from D Country, let Byodoin and Duke form a doubles pair to face them; the winning percentage is not low."

Mifune said while continuing to write.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

The phone Mifune placed on the table rang.

Mifune picked up the phone and discovered that the caller was actually the D Country coach, Returu.

He pressed the answer button and walked out.

10 minutes later, Mifune returned to the room.

Looking at the complex expression on Mifune's face, Kurobe asked, "Head Coach, what happened?"

Mifune said, "We were just discussing whether to have Byodoin or Takahashi face Borg, and the other side is also worried about this matter."

"They are also worried that we will have Byodoin play in Singles 1."

"After all, from the outside world's perspective, Byodoin is the captain of our Japan Team. It is only natural for the captain to play in Singles 1."

Tsuge said in surprise, "Could it be that they also want Takahashi to face Borg?"

"Does the D Country team value Takahashi so much because of the match where Q. P lost to him?"

Mifune said, "Yes!"

"It is said that this was requested by Borg himself."

"Actually, this is easy to understand. From Borg's perspective, the 12-year-old Takahashi has already defeated another professional player, Amadeus."

"As a professional player himself, Borg also saw a threat in Takahashi."

"Moreover, with Takahashi's current strength, if he does not face Borg, he will definitely secure a victory. Considering the team as a whole, they do not want to let Takahashi run wild in other positions."

Saito said worriedly, "Since Borg wants to face Takahashi so much, he must have absolute confidence that he can defeat Takahashi. They are trying to lock in a victory directly."

Mifune said in a deep voice, "Borg is, after all, the strongest active professional player, and there is indeed no one on our team who can compare to him."

"Having the team's strongest player, Takahashi, play is the optimal plan. At the very least, he won't be shut out, and perhaps he will have a chance to take a set."

"But I am also a bit worried. Since Borg is so focused on Takahashi, will he use some special ability against Takahashi during the match and cause a negative impact on him?"

Saying this, Mifune was silent for a few seconds.

Then, he put on a smile again and said:

"However, this matter is not without its benefits. They do not know that we have placed Takahashi in Singles 1."

"In exchange, they told me that in the semifinals, Tezuka Kunimitsu will play as Singles No. 3."

Saito said, "Tezuka Kunimitsu? Is that the former Seigaku Captain who was recruited by D Country U17 in advance?"

Kurobe replied: "Yes."

"He previously defeated the pair of Fuji and Duke in an exhibition match, and now there is a bunch of middle schoolers on our team who want to face him."

Mifune frowned and said: "However, given the strength he has displayed, I'm afraid no one among the current group of middle schoolers can handle him, except for Takahashi."

A few days later.

The scene of the U17 World Cup semifinal between the Germany Team and the Japan Team.

"D-Guo Team, go!"

"D-Guo Team, go!"

"Japan Team, go!"

"Japan Team, go!"

The voices of the spectators rose one after another.

"Strange! There are actually quite a few people in the audience cheering for us this time."

"During the last exhibition match, the audience was overwhelmingly cheering for the Germany Team!"

Kirihara looked around the entire arena and said.

D Country is a global tennis powerhouse, and they are the reigning champions with nine consecutive U17 World Cup victories, so they possess a massive number of fans.

And during the previous exhibition match, the members of the Japan Team had already witnessed the overwhelming cheers of the opponent's fans.

They had originally expected today to be a repeat of that scene.

Unexpectedly, there were quite a few people in the stands cheering for the Japan Team, which left Kirihara feeling very surprised.

Kurobe smiled and said: "That is because the biggest dark horse of this World Cup has appeared on our team."

"As the youngest player in the U17 World Cup, Takahashi has successively defeated Q. P of D Country and the professional player Amadeus, becoming the most eye-catching tennis player in this tournament."

"Influenced by Takahashi, more and more spectators are paying attention to our Japan Team."