Chapter 45: Why Challenge When You Can Win by Lying Down?

Atobe said, "He is very strong!"

Sakaki Taro thought he had misheard.

But he understood Atobe very well; as the captain of the 200-plus members of the Hyotei Tennis Club, Atobe's observational skills and leadership were both excellent.

Moreover, given Atobe's arrogant personality and extremely strong self-esteem, he would not easily use the word "strong" to evaluate others.

Anyone who received such an evaluation from him had strength that could not be underestimated!

This made Sakaki feel a bit suspicious.

Do experts really exist at the Street Tennis Court?

"So his name is Takahashi."

Atobe muttered to himself.

Inoue's face showed joy as he asked, "Then do you know which school he is from?"

"I don't know; I only met him once."

"He is definitely not from our school."

Atobe said.

Hearing Atobe's answer, the joy on Inoue's face vanished instantly.

But this actually piqued Sakaki's interest.

"Have you played against him? What was the result!"

Atobe said, "We only played one point. His Serve was exceptionally fast; Huadi didn't even touch the tennis ball and lost the point."

"What! He didn't even touch the ball!" Sakaki was somewhat surprised.

One must know that Huadi's strength was among the best in the 200-plus member Hyotei Tennis Club.

He was a player Sakaki Taro valued highly, possessing an astonishing talent for imitation.

Such a powerful Huadi had actually failed to return the opponent's Serve.

If anyone else had said such a thing, Sakaki Taro would certainly have thought they were living in a dream.

However, this was said by the Captain, Atobe Keigo.

He had no choice but to believe it!

At the same time, he developed a strong curiosity about this mysterious Takahashi.

Inoue continued to press Atobe about which tennis court it was and demanded that Atobe take him there.

Sakaki Taro followed as well, and the three of them walked to the Street Tennis Court.

They asked the others at the tennis court.

They indicated that they had seen Takahashi, but they did not know which school he was from, did not know his specific details, and did not know when he would come again.

In short, they knew nothing at all.

And at this moment, Takahashi was completely unaware of the sensation he had caused in the Tokyo area schools by sheer coincidence.

As Rikkai University Affiliated Middle School successfully won first place in the Kanagawa regional tournament.

His match against Captain Yukimura Seiichi was also about to begin.

Several Regular Members had learned the news in advance and arrived at the Court early to wait.

It was not until Yukimura Seiichi and Takahashi Yanichi both arrived at the Court and stood on either side of the net that the other club members reacted.

Takahashi, who had been Vice Captain for less than half a month, was actually challenging the Captain.

"I really didn't see it coming, Takahashi's ambition is actually this big!"

"Yeah, I feel like his match against former Vice Captain Sanada was just yesterday, and today I open my eyes to see him challenging the Captain again."

"What a fantasy world!"

"I seem to see last year's Kirihara, he was just as reckless, wanting to challenge the Three Giants as soon as he arrived."

"Takahashi is different from Kirihara. Kirihara challenged the Three Giants and never won a single match, being completely crushed by them. But Takahashi actually beat Sanada."

"Takahashi's strength is indeed stronger than Kirihara's, but to challenge the Captain in less than half a month is still too young and naive!"

"What kind of existence is the Captain? Sanada's nickname is Emperor, but the Captain's nickname is Child of God. They aren't even on the same level."

"Why is Takahashi in such a hurry? If he waited a year or two to challenge the Captain, his chances of winning would be higher."

"In another year or two, what would he be challenging the Captain for? He would be the Captain himself."

"Oh right, Captain Yukimura is moving up to high school next year, and Takahashi will automatically be promoted to Captain as Vice Captain. And with his strength, among the current second-years, no one can do anything to him!"

"I don't understand. If he wants to be Captain, he can just wait a year, why go through all this trouble? He could really just lie back and become Captain."

"I'm so envious. The captain of the Rikkaidai Tennis Club! This is the captain of the number one tennis club in the country!"

"So, I am still very confused. It's clearly a simple matter, why does he have to make it so complicated and go challenge him?"

"Perhaps this is the pride of a top expert—to obtain status through strength is something we cannot understand."

"But challenging the Captain now carries a high probability of losing. Why work hard when you can win by lying down!"

"I told you Takahashi is the type of top student who studies secretly behind people's backs, and you didn't believe me! Only such a person would not choose to win by lying down; he wants to prove himself with his strength, prove his own power, and not accept handouts!"

"He has strong self-esteem and pride!"

"I don't care about his self-esteem and pride; I am just particularly envious, jealous, and hateful. Have you noticed? Regardless of whether he wins or loses this match, the position of Captain will always fall into Takahashi's hands; it's just a matter of time."

"Yeah! But having the courage to challenge the current Captain instead of hiding and waiting—such a person is always more worthy of respect."

"Well said. If he just waited for the current Captain to retire, I would look down on such a Takahashi. Daring to face a challenge directly—even if Takahashi loses today, in my heart, he is already a qualified Captain for the future."

"Right, what we want is a Captain who can lead us further, not one who only knows how to wait passively. Even if he loses, Takahashi is a real man!"

"Well said, a real man is not afraid of losing!"

"Is Takahashi definitely going to lose? He has only been in the Tennis Club for a few months and has already created one miracle after another; maybe he can create a miracle this time too."

"It's hard to say, that is Captain Yukimura after all! He was already famous nationwide during elementary school, and after entering middle school, he pushed Rikkai to the throne of National Tournament champions."

"You have to know, before Captain Yukimura arrived, our Rikkai could only dominate the Kanto region; it was Captain Yukimura who allowed us to dominate the nation."

"Actually, for this match, it wouldn't matter if Takahashi lost, after all, Captain Yukimura is so powerful, but what if he wins?"

Everyone fell silent.

If he wins, then he will surpass Yukimura Seiichi and become a legend of Rikkai.

An existence even more dazzling than Yukimura Seiichi.

"I still think Takahashi will win!"

"No, Captain Yukimura will still win!"

Before the match had even begun, different voices were already spreading among the club members.

The other few Regular Members watched from the side, but none of them spoke up.

Because, compared to the ordinary members, they understood Yukimura's power even better.

Because, they had fought side-by-side with Yukimura at the National Tournament.

Therefore, they knew that even if Takahashi defeated Sanada.

He would still be defeated in the face of that move of Yukimura's.

No one can dodge that move.

Takahashi is no exception!

Even if Takahashi fails, just as those members said, Takahashi is still worthy of their respect.

Because, compared to waiting, Takahashi chose a much more difficult path.

He did not take a shortcut, but instead met the difficulty head-on and faced the challenge directly!

Even if he loses, he will still be glorious in defeat!

Even if he loses, he is still the future Captain recognized by them!