In the end, Shibukawa was the only one who managed to return Sengoku’s Kohō serve during the advanced training session.
That made him the center of attention at Yamabuki, and everyone—including Captain Uesugi—began looking at him in a new light.
But that was all.
Shibukawa’s life didn’t change.
Basic training.
Practice matches.
Every day, he repeated the same dull, monotonous routine at the tennis club while eating as nutritiously as possible, making sure his body had enough fuel to grow after enduring such high-intensity training.
As time passed, everyone’s attention on him gradually faded.
Shibukawa kept a low profile, while Muromachi was the type who liked to show off, so before long, the white-framed-sunglasses-wearing boy once again became the main topic of conversation around the tennis club.
Only Shibukawa himself could clearly sense that, under the influence of the Proficiency System, his strength was improving at an astonishing rate.
As he grew stronger, he continually adjusted the volume of his basic training.
In practice matches, he kept defeating every club member outside the regular lineup, gradually establishing himself as the strongest player below the regulars.
Until one afternoon.
Things finally changed again.
“98.”
“99.”
“100…”
After Shibukawa completed three consecutive sets of one hundred push-ups, the familiar panel notifications appeared before his eyes once again.
[Completed an Excellent Push-Up]
[Push-Ups EXP +2]
[Current Push-Ups Level: Lv5 (1/3000)]
[Through persistent training, your physique has improved.
Power +0.1]
Immediately, a warm current surged from Shibukawa’s core and spread throughout his entire body.
But before he could enjoy the sensation, the panel before his eyes suddenly changed.
‘Wait, this is…’
The panel now took up several times as much space as before, with far more detailed information and entries.
Even with Shibukawa’s current mental composure, he couldn’t help growing excited.
‘Finally!
My own data panel has been activated!’
At that moment, what appeared before him was a comprehensive data panel systematically displaying his overall information.
[Name: Shibukawa Shin]
[Age: 13]
[School: Yamabuki Junior High]
[Speed: 1.5, Power: 1, Stamina: 2, Technique: 1.5, Mental: 3, Total: 9]
(Note: For a normal fifteen-year-old male, the passing value for each of the five dimensions is 1.)
[Skills: Swing Lv6 (3785/10000), Running Lv5 (334/3000), Push-Ups Lv5 (1/3000), Sit-Ups Lv4 (967/1000)]
[Tennis Techniques: None] New chapters come out on g.com first.
[Abilities: 1.
Rapid Backswing (Passive): Increases Swing speed by 10%.
(Upgrade Requirements: Technique ≥ 3 and score at least 20 direct points in any single game.)]
[Tennis Alternate Dimension: None]
‘Stats like these…’
Shibukawa frowned.
He could clearly feel just how much he’d changed during this period.
Not only had his physique grown considerably stronger, but his Speed, Power, and Technique had all improved significantly as well.
Compared to the complete beginner he’d been when he first transmigrated, his current self was almost absurdly stronger.
Yet on the Proficiency System’s panel, his five-dimensional stats were so low that he could hardly believe them.
‘The panel wouldn’t lie, so there’s only one possibility: the original Shibukawa was simply too weak.’
Shibukawa’s five-dimensional stats now totaled 9 points.
The original Shibukawa’s total probably hadn’t even reached 5.
After all, according to the panel, the passing value for each of the five dimensions for a normal fifteen-year-old male was 1 point.
And the original Shibukawa’s physical condition hadn’t even met that standard.
That wasn’t particularly strange.
If Shibukawa remembered correctly, late in the original manga’s U-17 arc, Gin Ishida—the strongest middle-schooler in terms of Power at Shitenhoji—and Hyotei’s Munehiro Kabaji, who possessed a Pure Heart, both had a Speed stat of only 1.
Then there was Kei Tanishi of Higa, who pushed protagonist Ryoma Echizen to a tiebreak in the second round of the National Tournament.
Even his Stamina was only 1.
‘At the end of the day, the five dimensions are only one standard for measuring strength, not the whole picture.
Tennis techniques and special abilities aren’t things that can be measured through ordinary training either.’
Shibukawa thought to himself, ‘Besides, the current timeline is still a year before the middle schoolers enter the U-17 camp.
The five-dimensional stats from the original series don’t represent how strong those players are right now.’
Take Sengoku, for example.
After suffering two defeats in the original story, he took them to heart and decided to change his style and start over.
Yet even by the later stages of the U-17 training camp, his five-dimensional stats only totaled 17 points.
By the standards Shibukawa had previously established based on the strength of characters in the original series, even Sengoku at that point had only just reached the national level.
‘So…’
Shibukawa narrowed his eyes.
‘By that logic, Sengoku’s current rating as “Kanto-level” is probably somewhat inflated.’
‘Though that’s perfectly normal.’
‘Strength ratings at each stage are inherently relative and change over time.
The top players are obviously going to be at different levels from year to year.
The timeline when the original protagonist appears is the strongest generation of Rikkai’s three-year reign.’
With that thought, Shibukawa calmed down.
By the standards of the original U-17 arc, his current strength really did put him at the bottom of the barrel.
But by present-day standards, he was probably already strong enough to be a starter at the Metropolitan Tournament level.
More importantly…
It had only been a little over a month since he transmigrated here.
As far as Shibukawa was concerned, his tennis career had only just begun!
Casting aside those distracting thoughts, Shibukawa returned to his original goal and continued solidifying his fundamentals while waiting for the right opportunity.
…
Before he knew it, Shibukawa had completely adapted to life in this world.
As far as the tennis club was concerned, he took advantage of his free time during summer vacation to train every single day, rain or shine.
At home, meanwhile, his mother Yumi’s work meant that the two of them hardly had any opportunities to talk.
That saved him quite a bit of trouble.
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
Summer vacation ended, the new semester began, and the opportunity Shibukawa had been waiting for finally arrived.
On the first day of the new semester, Shibukawa headed to the tennis club after finishing his academic classes.
He was noticeably taller now than when he’d first transmigrated, having grown from 160 cm to 165 cm.
His build was also much sturdier.
Only his hairstyle remained largely unchanged, with his long black bangs still partially covering his eyes.
However…
Compared to before, his standing within the Yamabuki tennis club had undergone a complete transformation.
Not only did the first- and second-year members treat him with considerable respect, but even many of the third-years seemed somewhat uneasy around him, unconsciously slipping into polite speech when talking to him.
Shibukawa knew perfectly well that all of this was because of how much stronger he’d become.
Especially now, with the third-year members gradually preparing to leave the tennis club, everyone had been privately discussing how Shibukawa would probably distinguish himself in the fall semester’s regular selection matches.
Then, after training ended that afternoon, Captain Uesugi Kenichi gathered everyone on the courts and announced solemnly, “Starting tomorrow, we’ll hold our first regular selection matches of the fall semester.
I’ll now announce the players who have qualified.
Group A: Honda Ryuichi, Maeda Yuji, Sengoku Kiyosumi…”
As Uesugi read out name after name, those who hadn’t been selected grew dejected.
Those who had made the cut were excited at first, but once they heard that they’d been placed in the same group as one of the stronger regulars, their faces immediately fell.
Soon, the rosters for the first three groups had been announced.
Uesugi continued, “Group D: Nakamura Hikaru, Ue Kyohei…
Shibukawa Shin…
Muromachi Tōji…
Minami Kentaro…”
Swish!
As the final few names were announced, the dark-skinned boy in white-framed sunglasses abruptly turned his head, his attention snapping sharply toward a certain spot in the crowd.
Sensing his stare, Shibukawa raised his head and faced him.
Neither could actually see the other’s eyes, but everyone around them could clearly feel the tension crackling in the air.
…
P.S.
Here are the five-dimensional stats for Sadaharu Inui and Yuta Fuji during the original U-17 arc for comparison and reference.
[Sadaharu Inui: Speed 2, Power 3, Stamina 3, Technique 4, Mental 2 — Five Stats Total: 14]
[Yuta Fuji: Speed 3, Power 3, Stamina 2, Technique 3, Mental 2 — Five Stats Total: 13]