20demayo Chapter 131 You are no longer qualified to be my equal!
Chapter 131 You are no longer qualified to be my equal!
Chapter 131 You are no longer qualified to be my equal!
Arena Stadium was packed with people.
Where the gaze falls, the two teams that will compete for the championship today stand at the entrances on either side, looking at each other at the same time.
The faces of the Hyotei members shone with a faint glow, radiating confidence and warmth.
Rikkai University exudes a cold, sharp aura that is intimidating.
Especially Yukimura Seiichi, with his gentle appearance and sharp aura, exudes an air of authority that makes people want to back away.
"Hyotei Academy vs. Kaidai Affiliated Middle School, National Tournament Finals, best of five games, the first side to win three games will be the champion of this tournament."
A speech came over the loudspeaker:
'
...Now, I hereby declare the 27th National High School Tennis Championships Finals officially open!
The audience erupted in applause.
"Three years have passed in the blink of an eye."
Guan Yuechu said, "It's a pity that our St. Rudolf Academy didn't make it into the national competition in the 25th, 26th and 27th sessions."
Yuuta Fuji added, "Mitsuki didn't even make it into the Kanto Tournament, okay?"
Guan Yuechu: "What are you talking about, Yuta? You have to make it into the Kanto Tournament next year. If St. Rudolf Academy doesn't make it into the 28th National Tournament, I won't let you off the hook."
"No, it's about winning the national championship." Guan Yuechu began to fantasize, gesturing wildly.
Fuji Yuuta was stunned: "Mitsuki, don't you want to look at what you're saying? Natsume Tsukiya is also a second-year student."
Guan Yuechu was stunned.
Ryuki Sakuno looked up: "Inui-senpai, is this the 27th National Tournament?"
"Yes, it's the 27th." Inui Sadaharu nodded.
Kikumaru Eiji: "I never imagined that our last competition in the third year would end on the 27th."
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"what!"
Satoshi Horio exclaimed in surprise, "Doesn't that mean the first one was in 1974?"
"That's a good calculation," Fuji Syusuke praised.
"Why was the first National Tournament held in 1974?" Ryuki Sakuno continued to ask.
"You'll have to ask Inui about that," Fuji Syusuke said, looking at Inui Sadaharu.
Sadaharu Inui pushed up his glasses: "That's because 1974 was the tenth anniversary of the Olympics, which led to the first National Championships."
Inoue Mamoru chimed in, "Decades have passed in the blink of an eye."
"Mr. Inoue, were tennis players always this good in the past?" Ryuki Sakuno asked.
Mamoru Inoue: "In international individual competitions, the real honors are won in women's singles. In the past, Ryoma Echizen's father, Nanjiro Echizen, was considered the most promising man to achieve a Grand Slam, but he gave up his professional career. To be honest, the competition is always fierce."
"Echizen's father?" Ryuki Sakuno murmured to herself.
Satoshi Horio pointed behind him and shouted, "Echizen, what are you doing there? Come here!"
As the son of a professional gamer, Ryoma Echizen was quite pleased to hear someone praising his father, but he simply lowered the brim of his hat.
"Senior Qian knows so much."
Katsuo Mizuno praised it.
Fuji Syusuke: "You guys need to know this if you want to play tennis."
"What?" Horio Satoshi exploded, "We need to know too? What's the use?"
3
"Um?"
Inui Sadaharu nodded and patiently explained, "Whether it's soccer, dribbling, or basketball, if you want to play well, you need to understand their development in the country, the efforts of your predecessors, their honors, and their history. Only then can you draw strength from their spirit. This is essential. The same goes for tennis, especially the national championships and team events. Understanding these things not only broadens your horizons but can also give you strength in crucial moments!"
The first and second graders exclaimed in sincere admiration.
Seeing Ryoma Echizen sitting beside her, Sakuno was delighted and asked, "So, Inui-senpai, do girls need to know these things too?"
"Internationally, our domestic women's tennis is far ahead of men's tennis," Fuji Syusuke said with a smile.
"Completely leading men's tennis?" Satoshi Horio exclaimed in surprise. "Really?"
Qian Zhenzhi said, "Of course it's true. There are national competitions for women too, it's just that people don't pay attention to them."
2
"How could this happen?"
Ryuki Sakuno had always thought that men's tennis was the best, so she was surprised to hear that women's tennis was even better.
"Actually."
Inoue Mamoru continued, "The reason why Echizen Ryoma's father was at the peak of his career was actually because men's tennis was weaker than women's tennis. From the Olympics to the present, in the junior Grand Slam singles, Nakazawa Matsuko is the first Asian player to win two junior Grand Slam singles titles in a single year. These two titles are the Wimbledon junior girls' singles title and the French Open junior girls' singles title. The men's singles and team events cannot surpass that."
"What?! Is that how it is?" Satoshi Horio asked. "Why is that?"
"That's because the training methods for men and women are different. Women's tennis relies on domestic training, while men's tennis mostly relies on overseas training."
Inoue Mamoru continued, "For example, the path that Seigaku's Tezuka family wants to take is the model of cultivating overseas elites. Tezuka, am I right?"
"That's right!" said Kunimitsu Teya.
"For example, like Echizen, Kintaro Toyama of Shitenhoji, who is known as a Kansai supernova, also has a professional coach. Echizen Ryoma's father, Echizen Nanjiro, was a male professional tennis player, while the Kansai supernova's coach is a retired female professional tennis player."
Inoue Mamoru's words caused another round of surprise.
"I see."
Everyone nodded.
Inoue Mamoru continued, "People in men's tennis tend to think that men's tennis is the mainstream, but in fact, women's tennis has always been the mainstream in the country. According to our magazine's sales data and surveys, the player with the most female fans among junior high school students nationwide is Natsume Tsukiya from Hyotei Academy."
"Natsume Tsukiya?" Kikumaru Eiji exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't it Tezuka?"
"No."
Inoue Mamoru: "The number of female tennis players far exceeds that of men. Tei may be very influential among men, but currently, Natsume Tsuki also has absolute dominance among women."
Everyone was speechless.
Guan Yuechu: "Really? That guy actually has so many female fans?"
"I'm so envious."
Sengoku Kiyosumi looked at the sea of female fans and said.
Everyone looked around and saw bright, young girls' faces, and now they had no choice but to believe it.
"The Hyotei Academy vs. Ritsukaidai Affiliated Middle School, Doubles Match 2, is about to begin..."
'
"Hyotei, Hyotei!"
"Rikkai University, Rikkai University."
Flags were waving throughout the venue.
The sounds from both sides were equally loud.
Although Rikkai lost the Kanto Tournament, they were still the champions of the 25th and 26th National Tournaments, so their popularity was naturally high.
However, the flag is much worse than Hyotei's.
Not to mention that the Shinzuma Takara family itself has business sponsorships, other companies have been sending endorsement invitations to Natsume Tsukiya after the youth charity tournament. Since men's tennis is weaker than women's tennis, the official organizers are also very willing to see promotion, resulting in almost all the endorsement sponsorships being related to Hyotei.
"In this crucial first match between Rikkai and Hyotei, who will be fielding their players?"
Ms. Zhi pressed the camera button and looked up to ask.
Inoue Mamoru glanced at both sides and said, "It's definitely going to be special, but we'll only know for sure when both sides come out to play, unlike before when the rosters were given out before the match."
"Rikkai University Affiliated Junior High School, Genichiro Sanada and Renji Yanagi!"
The announcement was made very loudly over the loudspeaker.
Everyone was immediately filled with confusion.
"Sanada? Sanada is actually playing in doubles?"
"It seems that Rikkai has been forced into a corner by Hyotei."
"However, doesn't Rikkai seem a bit inferior in comparison?"
"How could that be?"
"Their minister said those things yesterday, and today they've even split their strongest singles team into doubles. Isn't that incredibly pathetic?"
"If that's the case, then it seems so."
Genichiro Sanada and Renji Yanagi appeared, looking so aloof and cold.
"Hyotei Academy, Keigo Atobe, Yuushi Oshitari!"
The moment these names were revealed, everyone was in an uproar.
Kai Yujiro: "Those two guys, all they know how to do is use shadow clones, right?"
"I never expected Hyotei would send Yuushi Oshitari and Keigo Atobe..."
""
Everyone was surprised.
Go!
Shintaro reappeared on the coaching seat.
His philosophy is to win.
Sitting here now, as the coach of Hyotei, the pride in his heart is beyond words.
He had always hoped that Hyotei would stand on the stage of the National Championship Finals, and now it had really happened.
Shintaro pointed to the center of the field.
On the other side, Yukimura Seiichi: "Go! Reclaim the victory that belongs to Rikkai!"
Sanada Genichiro remained silent, as did Yanagi Renji. The Kanto Tournament had ended in a crushing defeat under their leadership, a defeat that defied explanation. The only solution was to reclaim victory.
This rematch against Hyotei is a blessing from heaven for Rikkai, giving them the opportunity to settle scores with Hyotei personally, and even better, it's happening on the stage of the National Tournament Finals.
Genichiro Sanada was determined; he would win the match even without Seiichi Yukimura's prompting.
Genichiro Sanada didn't think he would lose to anyone, not even Yukimura.
Both players quickly stood in front of the net.
The four people faced each other across the net.
"What a coincidence, Sanada!!"
Keigo Atobe said, "The last match was against the Misai team, wasn't it? If it weren't for you, never mind."
"Atobe, that match wasn't just yours alone."
Genichiro Sanada said, "I am not one of your Hyotei people, and I have no obligation to obey you."
"Since you put it that way, then I have nothing more to say. Let this game be the one to make up for the goals we didn't achieve before."
Atobe Keigo's words concealed a deep sense of dominance.
In the doubles match against the US West Coast team, Keigo Atobe and Genichiro Sanada formed a doubles pair against Billy Casey and Mike Lee.
After the score reached 5-0, Natsume Tsuki also said that Atobe Keigo would take over the sixth inning.
Genichiro Sanada stubbornly refused, which led to them losing several points in that game.
This prevented them from achieving a clean sheet.
Atobe Keigo's words refer to that time.
"Atobe, do you really think you can beat our champion Rikkai?"
Genichiro Sanada was furious. He wanted to make this match his revenge. He knew very well that Keigo Atobe meant that since they hadn't managed a shutout that time, they should shut out Rikkai High School this time.
"Sanada, you did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Atobe Keigo's expression suddenly turned cold.
"What are you saying? I don't understand."
Genichiro Sanada felt a sudden surge of panic.
Genichiro Sanada's greatest pain was not losing the Kanto Tournament, but that his obsession led him down a different path, a path that went against his own life beliefs.
The story of this road begins when Kirihara Akaya was admitted to the hospital.
Given Genichiro Sanada's personality, he would never do such a thing as sabotaging a match; he believes he has never been that kind of person.
But in the match against the American West Coast team, he suddenly lost control and felt a slight lapse in concentration when facing Billy Casey's rope serve.
Although he might catch it, he might not.
However, this slight relaxation was incredibly clear; it wasn't just a simple physical relaxation, but a relaxation accompanied by a fleeting, deliberate thought.
It was Natsume Tsukiya's shutout that spurred him on, it was Kirihara Akaya's shutout that ended his athletic career, it was the pressure from all sides after Rikkai's crushing defeat, and it was Yukimura Seiichi's expectations that spurred him on.
For a fleeting moment, he didn't want Natsume to succeed either.
The oppressive look in Atobe Keigo's eyes at that moment was not a rebuke for his mistake, but a deliberate expression of disdain.
"Whoosh whoosh~"
When the two sides were choosing sides, Genichiro Sanada's mind wandered.
"Sanada!"
Atobe Keigo turned and took a few steps before speaking, "You are no longer qualified to be my equal!"
Genichiro Sanada was startled.
He naturally knew what Atobe Keigo meant. It was because of that incident. He had been speculating about it before, but today he finally understood. Atobe Keigo had been very clear about his actions back then.
Pain or whatever, it doesn't matter, but Rikkai must achieve a national three-peat in 25/26/27!!
Genichiro Sanada turned and walked back.
"Hyotei Academy vs. Rikkai University Affiliated Junior High School, Doubles Match 2, now begins, Rikkai Renji Yanagi serves!"
""
"It's finally here, who will win?"
"In my opinion, a clean sheet would be best."
"Only a shutout can allow Hyotei to shine."
"What are you talking about? That's Sanada from Rikkai University! Do you think he's just some random guy?"
There were various opinions from outside the venue.
"Tap tap tap!"
As Liu Renji dribbled the ball, he was puzzled. What did Atobe Keigo mean by what he said just now?
Sanada's demeanor also seemed a bit off.
Liu Lian'er instinctively gave a warning before grabbing the ball.
I looked up and glanced at the other side.
The two men were calm and collected, yet they seemed like dream beasts.
He couldn't help but frown.
He glanced at Genichiro Sanada one more time.
Only then did he throw the ball high into the air.
"Bang!"
A ball was shot at extremely high speed into the opposite field.
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