The regular club members were all very interested in the intensive training that was about to begin, each of them looking forward to it.
Taking in everyone’s reactions, Uesugi nodded in satisfaction.
“In that case, follow us.
But I’ll warn you in advance—only the top ten will qualify for the training.”
Top ten?
Qualify for the training?
Before anyone could react, the regulars, led by Uesugi, moved out in perfect unison.
The group left the tennis courts and began warming up by running around the wire fence surrounding the four courts.
Only then did everyone realize what was happening and hurriedly follow.
Clearly, the selection Uesugi had mentioned was about keeping up with the regulars’ pace.
And it made sense.
If they couldn’t even keep up during the warm-up, there was no point in considering intensive training.
It would only be a waste of time.
…
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Outside the tennis courts, the Yamabuki players ran at a brisk pace with Uesugi at the front.
The first- and second-year members in particular were running with everything they had.
By comparison, the regulars looked much more composed.
Under Uesugi’s lead, their breathing and cadence remained steady and rhythmic.
They didn’t seem to be running particularly hard, yet the regular club members behind them consistently trailed by a considerable distance.
Some refused to accept that and gritted their teeth before surging ahead.
But they hadn’t led for long before the regulars overtook them again.
Worse, after burning too much Stamina on their sprints, they gradually slowed down and were passed one after another by the others, eventually falling to the very back.
‘Idiots.’
Watching from within the pack, Muromachi sneered inwardly.
‘Do they really think becoming a regular is that simple?
Speed is only one part of it.
Stamina and mentality are the real tests.’
He knew perfectly well that if the regulars actually started sprinting, there was no way people like them could keep up.
The difference in explosive power and Stamina between the two groups simply wasn’t on the same level.
Meanwhile, Shibukawa silently kept pace with the crowd.
Unlike Muromachi, however, his thoughts were focused on what Uesugi had said earlier.
‘If they’re only selecting ten people, there are two ways they could do it.
The first is to rank everyone by time.
The second is to keep running until only ten people are left.’
At that thought, his focus sharpened.
Although his various forms of training during this period had improved his fundamentals considerably and strengthened his Stamina by quite a bit, the original body’s foundation had been weak to begin with. This story is hosted at g.com.
There was no guarantee he could beat these people.
Taking a deep breath, Shibukawa calmed himself and settled into the same state he normally used during his Running training.
He controlled his cadence and focused on the rhythm of his breathing.
Gradually, he became completely absorbed in his run, tuning out everyone around him.
…
“Hm?”
Outside the running path, Banda stood with his shoulders drooping and his body slightly hunched.
His narrowed eyes opened a fraction.
“This kid knows what he’s doing when it comes to running too.”
At this point, the regulars and ordinary club members had separated into two groups in his eyes.
More accurately, two and a half: Muromachi was behind the regulars but clearly ahead of the other members.
However, Banda’s attention was focused on someone farther back in the pack—a boy whose eyes were hidden beneath long black bangs.
He had looked into him after going home yesterday.
The boy’s name was Shibukawa Shin, a second-year who happened to be in the same class as Minami Kentaro.
As far as Banda remembered, there had been nothing remarkable about him, and his presence had been particularly faint.
He had even asked vice-captain Minami about him, only for Minami to be just as surprised, with no idea when Shibukawa had started to change.
He only felt that Shibukawa had indeed become much more composed recently.
Especially during Swing practice, he was extremely serious, and even Minami had been surprised by how textbook-perfect his movements were.
And now, in Banda’s eyes, Shibukawa was displaying another ability of his…
Running.
More precisely, it was his control over his own breathing.
His rhythm was even, his stride consistently stayed within a moderate range, and the cadence of his feet remained steady.
On the surface, he didn’t seem as impressive as the more conspicuous Muromachi.
But as time passed, those who had been ahead of Shibukawa were overtaken by him one after another.
Had Shibukawa sped up?
No.
Banda could see it clearly.
Shibukawa had maintained the same steady pace all along.
The real reason was that the others couldn’t keep going and were gradually falling behind.
Even Muromachi’s form was beginning to break down and his speed was gradually dropping, while Shibukawa remained unchanged.
“What an impressive kid.”
The longer Banda watched, the more he liked what he saw.
It was rare to find someone Shibukawa’s age who was this steady and disciplined.
Based on that temperament alone, Banda already rated him more highly than Muromachi.
…
“All right.”
At that moment, Uesugi, who was leading the group, looked back to confirm the number of people before saying, “The warm-up is over.
The ten of you who managed to keep up with the regulars can move on to the next stage of training.” Get faster updates on g.com.
‘Just as I thought.’
Hearing that, Shibukawa nodded inwardly.
The advisor and captain’s selection method was pure survival of the fittest.
They had no intention of bothering with something as pointless as rankings.
“However…”
After a brief pause, Uesugi swept a sharp gaze across everyone.
“Don’t think this means you’ve passed the selection.
Let me make this clear: there’s no set end point for this intensive training.
It won’t stop until no one can keep up with the regulars anymore.”
“Understood.”
Everyone nodded solemnly.
It was obvious that this intensive training wasn’t just empty talk.
They were going to get serious.
In fact, it wasn’t only the regular club members who felt the pressure.
Even the regulars themselves could feel it.
They knew Uesugi had been hit hard by the brutal reality of his crushing defeat against Atobe, and he still hadn’t recovered from the impact.
Afterward, the ten selected members, including Shibukawa and Muromachi, followed the regulars through the rest of the warm-up.
Once that was over, they moved on to practice matches.
Shibukawa, playing a proper match for the first time, gave an unremarkable performance and was nowhere near as eye-catching as Muromachi.
The latter darted left and right across the court, looking extremely active.
Even when facing the regulars, whenever an opportunity presented itself, he attacked without the slightest hesitation.
His outstanding performance drew murmurs of admiration from the others, while Uesugi and the other regulars nodded approvingly.
Banda, on the other hand, kept his attention fixed on Shibukawa.
“It’s obvious this is his first practice match.
The transition between his movement and counterattacks isn’t particularly smooth.
It’s even a little stiff.”
If it had been anyone else, Banda probably wouldn’t have spared them another glance.
But toward this player, who approached everything steadily, methodically, and by the book, he had far more patience than usual.
On the court, Shibukawa was also thinking rapidly as he practiced.
At first, he had indeed been somewhat overwhelmed.
A tennis match was continuous, and his opponent wasn’t going to give him time to calm down, carefully analyze the situation, make a judgment, and then react.
But because of his transmigration, Shibukawa’s mental fortitude was nowhere near as weak as that of the body’s original owner.
After his opponent scored, Shibukawa took advantage of the brief interval while both sides adjusted their positions.
Once he had calmed down, he deliberately broke the match down into a simple model and reduced it to three stages: see, run, hit.
In other words: read the action, move into position, and Swing to return the ball.
Solving problems by following a fixed formula might be rigid, but for a beginner like him, it helped eliminate all the other complicated distractions.
And so…
Under Banda’s surprised gaze, Shibukawa’s movements suddenly became much simpler and quicker.