The Prince of Tennis: My tennis skills come from Naruto

With the precedent of Ibukiyama Academy's crushing defeat in mind, Hyotei's subsequent opponents either simply forfeited or, with a hint of resentment, still went onto the field, only to be swept 6-0 by Hyotei in three straight matches and eliminated in less than half an hour.

So, the next afternoon, Hyotei won the regional championship with a perfect record of 6-0 in every match.

Then followed a relatively simple awards ceremony.

Kamiya You, representing Hyotei as captain, accepted the trophy symbolizing the regional championship on the simple awards stage.

The moment he lifted the trophy, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the area where the Hyotei team members were located.

"Oh—!!! We, Hyotei, are the champions!"

After taking a super cool photo holding the trophy, Kamiya You stepped down from the podium and said to the crowd, "To celebrate winning the regional championship, we've booked the whole place for hot pot today, it's on me!"

"oh oh--!"

"Long live the Minister!!"

The atmosphere at Hyotei became even more lively.

So, the group boarded the bus again and headed straight to the nearby hot pot restaurant where they had made a reservation in advance.

On the bus, Kamiya You noticed that Shishido Ryo and the others kept glancing at the trophy that Fujii Yuko was holding.

Eiji Kikumaru was particularly conspicuous. He acted like a cat that had just seen a novel toy, unable to contain himself and constantly glancing at the trophy as if he were secretly eyeing it, his eyes filled with restless desire.

Then, Kamiya You smiled slightly, gave Fujii Yuko a look, and said,

"Everyone has a share in this trophy, so anyone who wants to touch it can do so now."

"Great!" Kikumaru Eiji clenched his fist in delight.

And so, the trophy began to be passed from hand to hand.

The first to receive the trophy was Keigo Atobe, who was sitting in the row behind Yuko Fujii. He glanced at the gilded trophy from head to toe, and felt a rare sense of emotion.

Although Atobe has won many certificates and trophies, this one is a tennis match he won with his tennis teammates (the lineup was discussed with Coach Sakaki and ultimately agreed to by Kamiya).

After expressing his feelings, Atobe Keigo, no longer lingering, handed the trophy to Mori Jusaburo.

After taking it, Mori Jusaburo only glanced at it twice before handing it directly to Kikumaru Eiji, whose gaze was constantly following the movement of the trophy.

Kikumaru Eiji, unable to contain his excitement, accepted the trophy and then placed it between himself and Oishi Shuichiro.

Without prior rehearsal, the two of them, one on the left and one on the right, simultaneously and in exactly the same way, carefully touched the metal trophy with their fingertips, feeling its cool touch, yet their hearts were burning with excitement.

This is the first team tennis tournament he/she has participated in, and the championship trophy.

Unexpectedly, just one month into junior high school, he and his teammates (especially his doubles partners Oishi/Kikumaru) won a championship trophy...

As Kikumaru Eiji gazed at the words "21st National Tournament Regional Champion" engraved on the trophy's base, he felt as if he were in a different world.

It's worth noting that before joining Hyotei, he always wanted to pursue a singles career, but unexpectedly, he shone in the doubles position...

But it's not bad, is it? Kikumaru Eiji turned his head to look at Oishi, and Oishi Shuichiro happened to be looking over as well.

Their eyes met unexpectedly in mid-air. They smiled at each other, their eyes filled with unspoken understanding and contentment.

Then, Eiji Kikumaru passed the trophy down the line.

After everyone had touched the trophy, it returned to Yuko Fujii's hands. Yuko Fujii then asked Taro Sakaki to keep the trophy for her while she quickly opened her bag.

At this moment, Kamiya You slowly stood up from his seat, smiling as he scanned every face in the car, before summarizing the regional competition: "You all did a great job! A wonderful victory!"

With that, he waved his hand casually, "So, every member who participated in the regional competition will receive a red envelope!"

As soon as Kamiya You finished speaking, Fujii Yuko, who had already taken out a thick stack of exquisite red envelopes with the Hyotei school emblem from her bag, stood up and began to distribute red envelopes to the regular players participating in this regional tournament.

Sengoku Kiyosumi and the others were truly surprised by this unexpected treat after the hot pot meal. They accepted the red envelope from Fujii Yuko, subconsciously feeling its thickness, and then their joy deepened.

"Wow!!"

"Long live the Minister!"

"The boss is so generous, ya!"

On one side, Hyotei swept everything in its path, and the bus to the hot pot restaurant was filled with laughter and joy. On the other side, the experience at Seishun Academy was not so pleasant.

Because Seigaku had just lost to a random academy, Hoshimi Junior High School, in the finals with a score of two wins but three losses.

Although Seigaku successfully qualified as runners-up, the first-year students, led by Tezuka Kunimitsu, were extremely unhappy when they saw the runner-up trophy and Yamato, the captain, sitting below Hoshimi Junior High School captain on the award stage.

In the regional tournament, against such weak opponents, Seigaku only managed to get second place?!

Although I knew from the start that the regular seniors from Seigaku weren't very strong and only bullied the first-years, I never expected them to perform even worse in the tournament...

Inui Sadaharu shook his head inwardly, summarizing succinctly: This is just a case of bullying only at home!

No wonder Seigaku, the cradle of Echizen Nanjiro, has recently declined to the point where they can't even make it into the Kanto Tournament. With these regular players, it's no wonder they can't get in!

Besides being disappointed with Seigaku's performance this time, Tezuka Kunimitsu was even more disappointed that Coach Ryuzaki would rather let those regular players who hadn't trained much in the tennis club since they were third-year students embarrass Seigaku on the court than give them, the first-year students who wanted to contribute to Seigaku's future, a chance to become regular players!

Innovation is necessary!

Their gazes met in mid-air, and they all saw in each other's eyes the flames burning with resentment and discontent.

Ryuzaki Sumire herself was also dissatisfied with this runner-up position. Her dissatisfaction stemmed from her feeling that Seigaku's regular players were a bunch of hopeless cases, and with a coach like her in charge, how could they only achieve such results?!

Twenty minutes later, the group from Seigaku returned to the tennis club of Seigaku Academy by bus.

After getting off the bus, Sumire Ryuzaki stormed off, while Yuta Yamato gathered everyone on the court for a post-match debriefing.

He immediately began by praising everyone: "You all did a great job in the regional competition and achieved a runner-up position. I hope you can continue your efforts in the Kanto Tournament."

Yamato Yuta wanted to say more, but Tezuka Kunimitsu could no longer bear it and was unwilling to endure it any longer!

His usually cool voice suddenly sharpened, interrupting him directly, "Captain Yamato!"