The samurai shadow behind Ryōma vanished as quickly as it appeared. He once again readied his stance for the Battōjutsu swing and struck the rebounding tennis ball with a powerful backhand. The ball spun fiercely, arcing across the air toward Irie's right baseline corner.
"Samurai Stroke!"
"Ararara~ One after another, you younger guys are all like this. What are we going to do with you?" Irie said helplessly.
Just as he finished speaking, a massive Black Hole appeared behind him—but like Ryōma's samurai shadow, it flickered for an instant before disappearing. The ball vanished mid-air. The next moment, a tennis ball slowly appeared in front of Ryōma, then dropped near the net and bounced lightly a few times before coming to a stop.
"Game! 7-5! Match over! Winner: Irie Kanata!"
"You'd better start climbing your way up from Court 16, Echizen Ryōma," Irie said with a smile after winning the match.
"Hmph! Next time, I'll make sure you have no choice but to go all out, senpai!" Ryōma replied stubbornly.
"Oh? What are you saying? I already gave it my all—you almost won just now, Echizen~" Irie said with a surprised expression.
Ryōma gave Irie a dark look, then turned around without another word. He wasn't in the mood to talk to this annoying senpai anymore. As the match ended, the surrounding crowd began to disperse.
Though Ryōma had lost, the high schoolers at the training camp now had a clearer sense of the middle schoolers' strength. Ryōma's use of Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami had shocked many. After all, that was the legendary move of Echizen Nanjirō, and no one else at the camp had ever awakened it.
What they didn't know was that a year earlier, Oni had already awakened Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami during a training match against Akashi. He'd just kept it hidden and never used it publicly. Whether Oni had awakened it on his own or was guided by Akashi—only the two of them knew for sure.
"Echizen Ryōma's five-attribute stats have been compiled. At the moment of that final shot, he clearly broke through the national level threshold," Kurobe said slowly, watching the data on the screen in the coaches' office.
"No surprise, considering he's Nanjirō-san's son. With that kind of talent, it's expected. But he still needs polish. Maybe we should send him to the head coach," Saitō Itaru said thoughtfully.
"The list of players being sent to the head coach has already been drafted by Akashi-kun. I had the strategy team review it too. Nothing stands out as a problem. So I'll leave the rest to you, Saitō," Kurobe said with confidence.
"Alright then, no problem. Leave it to me!" Saitō Itaru replied with a smile.
"As for the remaining middle schoolers, I'll take over their training! I just happen to have a training plan from Akashi-kun," Tsuge Ryūji said as he continued his sit-ups.
"Ara~ With Akashi-kun around, it feels like us coaches are just decorative," Saitō joked lightly.
"When Akashi-kun eventually retires, maybe he'll keep producing new generations of top players for Japan—if the Akashi family permits it," Kurobe said quietly as he looked over the files on the computer.
The afternoon passed quickly. The middle schoolers began to get used to the daily training routines inside the camp. For the third-years who had been here before, everything was already familiar.
At Fudomine, Kamio and Shinji had just now realized how closely their tennis club's training system resembled U-17's setup. It seemed their captain had borrowed the base's framework.
On their first night at U-17, many of the newly arrived middle schoolers were still excited—especially after seeing Ryōma's match with Irie that afternoon. It had shown them the sheer strength of the high schoolers. Ryōma, who in their eyes was already immensely strong with his awakening of Ten'i Muhō no Kiwami, still couldn't win.
The next morning, all the middle schoolers were called to gather in the central plaza. Akashi, Fuji, and the other captains already knew what was coming this year. After training yesterday, Akashi had informed them of the coaches' plans and the list he had drawn up.
As for first-time trainees like Ryōma, they'd learned a lot through last night's conversations. They now understood their third-year senpai had already been to the base when they were just first-years, and had spent most of their second year training at the facility.
They even had a general idea about the World Tournament. Just the thought of having a chance to stand on the world stage made excitement burn in everyone's heart—Ryōma included.
Once all the middle schoolers gathered in the central plaza, Saitō Itaru slowly stepped onto the balcony holding a loudspeaker. He looked down at the group and spoke gently:
"All selected middle schoolers! I'm the mental coach here—Saitō Itaru! Before we start today's training, I need to assess your overall strength. So now, each of you must find a partner. Once everyone has one, I'll tell you what comes next!"
Those who already knew the truth started scanning for their target. The others assumed it would be a doubles test and quickly looked for friends they got along with. But on closer inspection, many pairs clearly weren't actual doubles partners.
At that moment, Ryōma suddenly walked up to Akashi and spoke with a respectful tone:
"Akashi-senpai! How about we partner up this time? I heard you're pretty good at doubles too!"
"Sure. Just don't regret it," Akashi replied coldly, glancing at Ryōma before agreeing.
"Niō, why don't we team up for this?" Yukimura said with a gentle smile.
"Since the captain himself asked, of course I'll play along! Puri~" Niō replied with a glint in his eye, smiling back.
"Tōyama! Let's go together this time," Tezuka said calmly to Kintarō.
"Yay! Let's beat everyone!" Kintarō shouted excitedly.
"Kaidō! We've never paired up before, right? Want to give it a shot today?" Fuji asked with a soft smile.
"Yes, captain!" Kaidō answered immediately without hesitation.
Soon, pair after pair was formed. Anyone familiar with inter-school dynamics would've found the combinations strange—many unlikely duos had suddenly teamed up.
The final pairings included: Akashi and Ryōma; Krauser and Kirihara; Tezuka and Kintarō; Yukimura and Niō; Sanada and Yagyū; Fuji and Kaidō; Inui Sadaharu and Kawamura Takashi; Tachibana Kippei and Momoshiro; Chitose and Yanagi Renji; Atobe and Hiyoshi Wakashi; Marui and Jirō; Shiraishi and Kabaji; Kite and Kai; Akutsu and Sengoku, and more.
Of course, there were also pairs that had been longtime doubles partners, like: Oishi and Kikumaru; Mukahi and Oshitari; Ishida Gin and Oshitari Kenya; and Banji and Tsuda. In any case, once everyone had found a partner, Saitō's voice rang out again—this time chillingly cold:
"Now that everyone has a partner, I'll announce the next step. You will play a Strong Seven match against your own partner. The winners will remain in the training camp. The losers will be eliminated immediately."
That announcement instantly threw the middle schoolers into chaos. Yet Akashi, Yukimura, and the others stayed silent, standing still as if none of it concerned them. Ryōma was already beginning to regret his decision.
He'd thought he was teaming up with a powerhouse, but it turned out he had picked a nuclear warhead instead. The massive reversal left him feeling almost hopeless—until he remembered what Akashi had said earlier: "Sure. Just don't regret it."
"Akashi-senpai! You knew this would happen, didn't you?" Ryōma asked directly.
"What? You scared? If that's all the guts you have, maybe leaving the training camp is the right choice," Akashi replied coldly, not answering him directly.
"Tch. Fine! A match is a match! You did take care of me a lot back at Fudomine. Time to pay you back properly!" Ryōma's eyes were now blazing with determination.