Chapter 77: Inoue's Interview, A Twist of Fate

Oishi Shuichiro stood nervously to the side, watching Tezuka speak with someone wearing a yellow and white team uniform; the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense.

Oishi recognized that it was the Rikkai team uniform.

Rikkai was, after all, the hegemon of the Kanto Region, having won the Kanto Tournament for 15 consecutive years.

How did they end up facing someone from Rikkai right from the start?

Oishi felt very anxious and uneasy inside.

"Oishi, Tezuka, why haven't you gone in yet?"

A relaxed and cheerful voice rang out behind them.

It turned out to be a representative from Yamabuki Middle School.

With the addition of others, the atmosphere between Sanada and Tezuka eased somewhat.

"Then we'll head in first!" Tezuka said to Sanada.

Sanada nodded, watching the group walk away.

Sengoku from Yamabuki asked Oishi: "That's Rikkai, right! The champions of Kanagawa."

Oishi said: "Yes!"

"I hope we don't run into them right at the start..."

The group walking away chatted as they moved.

Sanada remained standing where he was, waiting and looking on with eager anticipation.

With 3 minutes left, Sanada finally saw someone wearing the same color clothes as himself.

Just as Sanada prepared to go up and speak to him, he was surprised to discover that the person approaching had a seaweed-like hairstyle.

It was Kirihara Akaya.

"Why is it you?"

Sanada's complexion turned completely black.

Seeing Sanada's gloomy expression, Kirihara also felt a wave of lingering fear.

He stammered: "Master... told me to come."

"He said... since we are a seeded team and don't need to draw lots, I should just come over and go through the motions."

"The ones who should really have a headache are the op... ponents who draw to play against us."

Looking at Sanada's completely darkened face, Kirihara's words also became stuttered.

But Kirihara felt that what Master said made a lot of sense.

How could such a small matter trouble Master to come out in person?

What did a tiny little draw count for?

No matter which school they played against, Rikkai would win.

It was just that Kirihara didn't understand why Vice Captain Sanada's expression was so ugly.

"Look, everyone who came today is a Captain or Vice Captain."

"Is this kind of thing something you can substitute for?"

"Too lax!"

Sanada lectured Kirihara without mercy.

In fact, Sanada also knew that with Rikkai's strength, the Kanto Tournament championship was already in the bag.

But Yukimura was ill, and the newly appointed Captain Takahashi was someone who didn't manage things.

This put a lot of pressure on him as Vice Captain.

Therefore, he vented all the dissatisfaction currently in his heart onto Kirihara.

If Takahashi were here, Sanada really wouldn't dare to lecture him like this.

After all, Takahashi's strength was above his, and he was the Captain of the Tennis Club.

As Vice Captain, Sanada wouldn't dare to overstep his bounds like that.

But since it was Kirihara here now, Sanada had no qualms about scolding him.

"Bang!"

The tennis ball, like an arrow released from a string, shot straight toward the opponent's rear flank.

It landed and bounced up.

The opponent stood where they were, without any reaction.

"6-2!"

"Sanada wins!"

Sanada spoke to the person on the other side of the court, saying: "Senior Jin, your technique has regressed."

The person on the other side couldn't help but sigh: "Sanada, you've improved again."

"At this rate, you'll be able to play in matches as soon as you enter high school."

Beside the court.

Inoue Mamoru and Shiba Saori from Tennis Monthly stood together.

Shiba Saori raised the camera in her hand and kept taking photos of the two with a clicking sound.

While taking photos, she sighed: "Too amazing."

"To think that even an OB player is no match for Sanada."

It turned out that Inoue Mamoru, as a reporter for Tennis Monthly, wanted to conduct an interview with the perennial victors of the Kanto Tournament, Rikkai.

Sanada happened to be coming today to play a friendly match against an OB player.

It also happened to be the day of the Kanto Tournament draw.

Putting three things on the same day saved the Captain a great deal of time.

Sanada felt gratified that he was so good at arranging and managing time.

He believed that even if Takahashi was afraid of trouble,

he would still agree to doing three things in one day.

But he hadn't expected that Takahashi would send Kirihara to come in his place.

Although Takahashi did not come, the work still had to be done.

This was his duty as Vice Captain, which he could not shirk.

……

"Mr. Inoue, our Rikkai's three consecutive National Tournament victories are flawless."

Sanada said domineeringly toward the two reporters.

Shiba sighed: "The Kanto Tournament hasn't even started yet, and you're already setting the National Tournament as your goal; you really are confident."

Inoue said: "His confidence stems from Rikkai's formidable strength."

Shiba disagreed somewhat and said: "Seigaku, led by Tezuka, will also be a powerful opponent for Rikkai with the addition of Echizen Ryoma."

"Compared to Seigaku, I think Hyotei can barely be considered our opponent."

Sanada said slowly.

Both Inoue and Shiba were very surprised; they hadn't expected that Sanada completely disregarded Seigaku.

At this moment, the match on the other side was also nearing its end.

"To actually be able to go toe-to-toe with an OB player, is this the strength of Rikkai's second-year ace, Kirihara Akaya?"

Inoue was deeply moved and continued, "However, he looks a bit exhausted."

Sanada explained: "This is his eighth opponent."

Today's events had made Sanada very unhappy.

Therefore, Sanada had arranged a dozen or so opponents for Kirihara all at once, which could be considered training Kirihara's stamina and endurance.

"What?"

Hearing Sanada's words, both Inoue and Shiba were greatly shocked.

To actually be able to defeat so many OB players all at once.

"Then Sanada, are you not a match for Kirihara either?"

Shiba asked toward Sanada.

"How is that possible? Kirihara has never won a single game against me."

Sanada said with some dissatisfaction.

Shiba was very alarmed upon hearing this and felt worried for Seigaku.

"Then, what about the Captain? Can we interview him separately?"

Inoue said.

As the Captain of the Tennis Club that had won two consecutive National Tournaments, Inoue was very interested in interviewing Yukimura.

Sanada raised his hand to press down on his hat and said: "The Captain didn't come today."

Shiba was a bit dissatisfied and said: "Wasn't it agreed that we would interview him today?"

Inoue said: "Since Captain Yukimura has something to do and didn't come, interviewing you, Sanada, is the same."

Listening to Inoue's words, Sanada was stunned.

It turned out they still didn't know that Rikkai had already changed Captains.

Takahashi not coming could be considered a happy accident.

The existence of this peerless genius had not been exposed to outsiders in advance.

Although Sanada had many dissatisfactions with Takahashi's personality,

there was no doubt that Takahashi's existence was Rikkai's secret weapon and an important guarantee for Rikkai to continue winning the National Tournament championship for the next few years.

Therefore, for now, the less the outside world knew about Takahashi's information, the better!

Wait until Takahashi truly grows up and can serve as an excellent Captain, then have him make a shocking debut and appear powerfully in everyone's line of sight.

This was not just Sanada's personal thought, but even more so Yukimura's hope.

Thinking of this, Sanada remained silent and did not continue to respond to Inoue's words.

"Since that's the case, then our interview ends here."

"Thank you for your cooperation, and I wish you excellent results in the Kanto Tournament."

Inoue said while packing his things to leave.

Walking on the road, Shiba asked Inoue: "Why didn't you show Takahashi's photo to Sanada? Perhaps Takahashi is someone from Rikkai?"

Inoue gave a wry smile and said: "Rikkai's Regular Members are famous throughout the country and are the focus of attention from many sides."

"If Takahashi were a player for Rikkai, with his strength, he would definitely already be famous nationwide."