At the same time, at Rikkaidai Junior High.
Even before the new students enrolled, the school was already known as the King's Army, destined to dominate Kanto. New students arrive in April, and the regional tournaments begin in mid-April. In previous years, the official team members of each school would already be determined by this time. Due to this tight schedule, new students rarely had a chance to play in their first year's matches. Moreover, this was Rikkaidai Junior High, a renowned tennis school that had won multiple Kanto Tournament championships consecutively. The foundation left by their seniors was more than enough to help Rikkaidai Junior High dominate Kanto.
But Yukimura didn't think so. Neither did Sanada. In addition, there was one more person, a companion Yukimura and Sanada met after coming to Rikkaidai, who also had a unique vision. Therefore, this wind of change also swept through Rikkaidai Junior High.
"Sanada, it's time for us to act." Yukimura's deep blue eyes glowed slightly, exuding an air of looking down upon the world. Perhaps the current Rikkaidai regulars could lead Rikkaidai to the Nationals, but they definitely wouldn't be Kanto's number one. Those two guys had surely joined some other school in Kanto. He had to make a change! A change that would sweep across all of Rikkaidai Junior High.
"Mm!" Sanada pulled down the brim of his cap, his dark pupils gaining a hint of determination. His defeat a few months ago made him realize his shortcomings in tennis. He had been training day and night since then, releasing all his accumulated potential, and he had even found his own unique path in tennis... But it wasn't enough... That guy would also continue to evolve. All he could do now was try his best to surpass and defeat the boy who shone with the light of Muga no Kyōchi.
"Yanagi, let's go together." Yukimura also looked at the boy standing beside him, with a mushroom haircut and narrowed eyes. Renji Yanagi, a famous doubles genius from Tokyo, had almost monopolized every doubles event he participated in. Furthermore, Renji Yanagi possessed a special ability: his presence could make Rikkaidai Junior High even stronger. This was their first step towards dominating the nation!
"Okay!"
Renji Yanagi rarely opened his eyes, a hint of coldness showing in them. He, too, joined this wave of change.
On the other side, at Seigaku.
Without Tezuka, Seigaku continued to operate as usual. The older seniors on the court seemed to be goofing off, playing boring tennis and doing uninteresting drills. On the court, a senior club member wearing a dark blue jacket yelled at the first-year students on the court: "Seriously, first-years, hurry up and get in here and pick up balls!"
"You useless bunch of good-for-nothings, you can't even pick up balls properly. And you want to play tennis on the court? First-years, until next spring, you'll just pick up balls on the court, understood?!"
This senior club member was named Takeshi Takei, a name that sounds quite unfamiliar. However, if you recall the original culprit who injured Tezuka's left arm, causing him to need three years of treatment and only barely recover by the National Tournament, then yes, it was this person! Takeshi Takei wasn't even an official member of Seigaku's regular team. His usual behavior was to look down on first-year students, always enjoying teasing and suppressing them to satisfy himself. In the early stages of Prince of Tennis, Arai played a similar role to Takei now; it seems this kind of behavior is passed down. However, in terms of maliciousness, Takei was much worse than Arai. Even if Arai lost a match and was humiliated, he wouldn't intentionally injure someone's dominant hand, but Takei did. In later parts of the story, Takei wasn't even mentioned, but it's safe to assume he was quietly dealt with, which is typical of Seigaku's approach.
"So annoying, are we really going to be picking up balls here for a whole year?" Among the new students, a red-haired boy complained. His name was Eiji Kikumaru. He had entered Seigaku with noble ideals, but this harsh reality had hit him hard. As first-years, let alone playing matches, they didn't even have the right to practice hitting. At best, they were ball boys for the second and third-year students, standing behind them and helping to pick up balls. Yet, his skill was far superior to that of the official team members.
But... he didn't even have a chance to participate in matches to prove himself.
"Based on data analysis... the probability of us first-years participating in practice is only 2%, and the probability of participating in the regular team tryouts is only 0.2%." A bespectacled boy crouching next to Kikumaru pushed up his glasses slightly and replied calmly. This was Sadaharu Inui, Seigaku's future strategist. Data Tennis was also passed down to him after Renji Yanagi left, and it was only after he met Tezuka that he became even more convinced of the importance of collecting information.
Also, next to Sadaharu Inui were Oishi, Kawamura, and the always-narrow-eyed Fuji. Compared to the others, Fuji had heard some whispers. However, his lack of strong desire to win meant he wouldn't lead Seigaku to that revolutionary step.
Seigaku might indeed fail to make substantial changes due to Tezuka's absence.
Meanwhile, at Yamabuki Middle School.
Both sides of the school path were lined with cherry blossom trees. A gentle breeze rustled through the branches, making the cherry blossoms sway. Petals scattered across the path, and their refreshing fragrance drifted into the nostrils with the breeze.
"Tsk... the environment here isn't bad at all~" Looking at the blooming cherry blossoms at Yamabuki, the usually picky Atobe actually offered a rare compliment.
"Yes, it's quite nice." Tezuka didn't object, nodding in agreement.
Beside them, Mukahi couldn't help but speak up: "Please, we're not here to admire the scenery. We're here to... stalk... no, I mean, investigate what Kamikawa does after school."
"Yeah." Shishido nodded. "We just saw him a second ago, how did he disappear in a flash?"
"I bet he went towards the tennis club. He couldn't possibly be here to challenge them, could he?" Oshitari stroked his chin, standing in front of a signpost. He wasn't very familiar with Yamabuki's school layout, but there was a convenient signpost in front of him clearly listing the locations of club activities. Since Yamabuki was also a renowned tennis school, the exact location of the tennis club was specifically marked on the signpost, saving them from wandering around aimlessly. It wouldn't be good if they were accused of scouting for information.
"Tezuka, what do you think?" Atobe looked at Tezuka and asked.
"Hmm~" Tezuka hesitated slightly and said, "Let's go check the tennis club. Kamikawa should be at the tennis club. As for whether he's challenging them..."
To be honest, Tezuka was a bit unsure. After all, Kamikawa never really liked competing. Even in the last Junior Rally tournament, it was a complete surprise that he participated; he never even signed up for any casual matches before. Yet, despite seemingly lacking a strong desire to win, he became incredibly serious once a match began.
Atobe waved his hand and walked towards the tennis club, saying as he walked, "Don't overthink it. I'll take you guys there."
"Anyway, we just played against the Yamabuki tennis club yesterday."
"That's true..." Mukahi and Shishido silently nodded, not finding anything wrong with that statement.
Tezuka remained silent, while Oshitari felt that sentence was strange. But seeing that no one else reacted, he kept his thoughts to himself.
Finally, the list of U-17 players arrive when Mori entered high school