darknovel #113 - 15 consecutive championships in Kanto
#113 - 15 consecutive championships in Kanto
"It seems the headline on the tennis magazine tomorrow will be about the captain again," Morio Juzaburo said with a chuckle.
"Ah..." Yukimura just smiled gently, not saying much.
Besides Rikkai Dai, other school tennis clubs were also holding official player selection matches.
It was April, and there were only a few days left before the Kanagawa Prefecture regional preliminaries began.
This also meant that the new National Tournament was about to begin.
All teams were working hard for this National Tournament.
Especially Hyotei, Seigaku, and Shitenhoji!
Shitenhoji lost to Rikkai Dai in the National Tournament finals last year, so this time Shitenhoji would definitely work harder.
The same was true for Hyotei, who lost to Rikkai Dai in both the Kanto Tournament finals and the National Tournament.
Adding to Atobe Keigo's personality, Hyotei would definitely get their revenge in this year's Kanto Tournament finals!
Yukimura didn't seem to care about any of this, for one simple reason...
That was, Rikkai Dai could not possibly lose.
As long as they won this year's Kanto Tournament championship, Rikkai Dai would have achieved a 15-year consecutive Kanto championship!
A 15-year consecutive championship was something that had never happened in the history of Japanese tennis.
And Rikkai Dai was about to make history!
Time passed, and soon it was time for the opening of the regional preliminaries across the country.
Apart from Niou Masaharu and Yagyu Hiroshi, the second and third-year players in the tennis club were no match for Kirihara Akaya.
During his time in the tennis club, Kirihara Akaya had become much more well-behaved, especially when facing Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi Renji.
It was a respect from the bottom of his heart.
April passed in the blink of an eye, and the National Tournament officially began!
In May, the regional preliminaries were being prepared, and as soon as the time came, the official matches could begin.
At the same time, during this period, news about Rikkai Dai, Hyotei, Seigaku, Shitenhoji, and other school tennis clubs came from time to time.
Especially Seigaku, whose tennis club had recently attracted much attention.
Seigaku was a nationally renowned team a few years ago, but due to the lack of talent in the tennis club, it had become desolate.
Until this year, when Seigaku's captain, Tezuka Kunimitsu, changed the rules of Seigaku.
Not only that, but it was said that Seigaku's strength this year was comparable to Hyotei's.
"Tezuka Kunimitsu..." Yukimura's purple eyes flashed with a gleam.
I wonder what level Tezuka Kunimitsu has reached now?
I hope he won't disappoint me...
Date: May 10th.
Time: 8:00 AM.
Location: Kanagawa Prefecture Sports Park.
Today was the official start of the National Regional Preliminaries, and all teams had to participate in the first round of matches.
Even Rikkai Dai, as the champion of last year's National Tournament, had to participate.
The sports park was filled with many tennis enthusiasts.
Everyone gathered at the notice board, which listed the teams participating today.
"As expected, Rikkai Dai is in Group A!"
"Those teams in Group A are doomed!"
"Yeah, who in Group A can compete with Rikkai Dai?"
Seeing the team list on the notice board, the surrounding people couldn't help but start discussing.
For the Kanagawa Prefecture regional preliminaries, no one was surprised, because they knew Rikkai Dai would win.
Ten minutes later, many teams had arrived at the sports park.
However, when they saw that they were in the same group as Rikkai Dai, their faces instantly changed.
How could they play the match?
There was no way to compete!
Maybe they should just admit defeat...
At this moment, many teams thought so in their hearts.
"Rikkai Dai is here!!"
Someone shouted.
Immediately, all eyes turned to the entrance.
Then, a group of figures in khaki uniforms appeared.
"The Child of God!!"
"That person is the Child of God!!"
Seeing the figure leading Rikkai Dai, everyone's eyes showed admiration.
That was a world-renowned middle school student!
"Rikkai Dai gives me a feeling... they seem to be even stronger than last year."
"I think so too, this year's Rikkai Dai is even more terrifying!"
The moment they saw the Rikkai Dai team, everyone subconsciously made way.
Yukimura had a gentle smile on his face, and directly led the team to the registration desk.
Then, he placed the completed registration form in front of the staff, and after completing all this, he came to the rest area.
"It seems that Rikkai Dai has a first-year this year?"
"It seems that this first-year is very unusual!"
"Last year, the Child of God, Sanada Genichirou, and Yanagi Renji were all first-years, don't forget how strong they were!"
"That's right, this time Rikkai Dai's first-year must be extraordinary!"
The audience noticed Kirihara Akaya and started discussing in low voices.
Now, when many people talk about first-years, they think of Rikkai Dai and Hyotei last year!
Rikkai Dai was not only the national champion last year, but Hyotei was also in the national top four. Both teams had one thing in common, and that was that their captains were all first-years!
Not only the captains, but some of the other players were also first-years!
There were very few second and third-year regular players!
Because of this, many people have changed their perception of first-years.
Many tennis reporters around had already started taking pictures, which would be their headlines tomorrow.
Half an hour later.
The match officially began.
Because the rules of the National Tournament had not changed yet, they only needed to finish the first three matches.
Best of five sets!
Winning three matches was the victory.
And Rikkai Dai's first match was against Suirin Middle School.
The two teams stood in front of the court, and before they could even shake hands, Suirin Middle School collectively shouted: "We are feeling a little unwell, we forfeit this match."
Hearing the words of the Suirin Middle School players, Yukimura was also stunned for a moment.
Forfeit?
"Suirin Middle School actually forfeited collectively?"
Many spectators around were also very surprised, but they didn't laugh at Suirin Middle School for forfeiting directly.
Even in their opinion, it was normal for Suirin Middle School to forfeit. If they were on the court, they would probably do the same.
After all, the gap between the two sides was too great!
The gap was so great that it could not be bridged, not to mention that there was also a Child of God on the opposing side!!
Just the three words "Child of God" gave Suirin Middle School an extremely heavy pressure.
Before the match even started, they had no confidence in the match, and were even a little desperate!
"Tch, boring," Kirihara Akaya said, curling his lips in the team.
"Since the other side admits defeat, it saves a lot of time," Yukimura said.
"Let's go."
Although the words sounded arrogant, when Yukimura said them, many people felt that ------ this was a very normal thing.
Because Yukimura had the qualifications!
Rikkai Dai was a seeded team, and also the champion of last year's National Tournament, so after the first match, there were no more matches.
The remaining matches would be held tomorrow.