"Phew..."
Night had fallen, blanketing all of Tokyo in its dark embrace.
Inside a certain courtyard, a figure darted back and forth.
Years of relentlessly swinging and hitting the ball had gradually carved a shallow dent into the courtyard wall. And with every swing, the young boy precisely aimed the tennis ball right at that mark.
Whack!
Whack!!
In the courtyard, the boy kept going.
His uniform was already soaked with sweat, but the tennis ball remained firmly under his control, hitting that single spot.
For a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy to display such precision was truly astounding, enough to shock even professional coaches. That kind of ball control? Forget middle schoolers, even most high schoolers would have trouble pulling that off.
Every swing made his chest heave, and even the cool night air couldn't mask the burning sensation in his lungs.
Whack!!
With a powerful final swing, the boy stopped. The tennis ball spun against the dent, then bounced back, landing perfectly in his palm.
He'd been keeping up this nightly training for three years now.
"Sanada, Yukimura, and Tezuka!"
Kamigawa Muzuki's face showed a hint of exhaustion.
Every night, this courtyard was Kamigawa's stage, all his own.
Ever since he'd transmigrated to this world and first encountered Kunimitsu Tezuka, Kamigawa knew for sure. He'd crossed over into this world of tennis.
At first, Kamigawa was a bit unsure. In his previous life, his ball sense was terrible, but in this life, it was surprisingly good. Plus, Kamigawa also discovered that his mental power seemed to be much stronger than others'.
From then on, Kamigawa trained in the courtyard almost every day, going from tennis balls flying everywhere to now precisely controlling them to a single point.
His old man, Kamigawa Muzuki's father, Kamigawa Kokuen.
The Kamigawa family had been master chefs for generations, and Kamigawa Kokuen was the fifth generation successor of "Kamigawa Cuisine." He'd been trained by Kamigawa Kenjiro since he was young, but he had no interest in cooking at all. Instead, he loudly proclaimed he wanted to be a mangaka, a mangaka who would shock all of Japan!
And let me tell you, Tokyo is absolutely full of mangaka!
It wasn't until Kamigawa Muzuki was born that the relationship between father and son softened. Kamigawa Kokuen saw his own father getting older by the day, and since his manga skills really weren't that great, he returned to the Kamigawa family and inherited his father's restaurant.
[Kamigawa Muzuki]
[Age: 12]
[Power: 3.5]
[Speed: 4.1]
[Stamina: 3.8]
[Technique: 4.0]
[Mental: 4.5]
[Today's Training: 2000 hits to one target point (Completed), 5 km endurance run (Completed), Two sets of 15 lb dumbbell flyes (Completed)]
The "cheat system" was super simple, just one word: "Train." Every day, it would provide specific training guidelines for a systematic workout.
His nearly twenty points across his five stats put him on the cusp of the national level for middle schoolers. On top of that, any specific technique combined with his mental power could instantly give him the immediate combat strength of a national-level player.
Of course, Kamigawa knew in his heart that he still wasn't enough...
At this point, Tezuka and Yukimura had already found their own unique tennis paths. That's why Sanada lost to Tezuka and Yukimura – Sanada hadn't yet found his own tennis path.
What's more, nationals were just the starting line. Beyond that, there were U-14, U-17, and even world-class, professional tennis players. Compared to them, Kamigawa's strength still wasn't enough.
"Lately, my five stats haven't improved much. It seems like I've hit a wall."
"It looks like I need to figure out my own path first before I can break through that limit."
Kamigawa stared at the system panel. His mental stat, among the five, hadn't increased since he transmigrated and activated the panel. It seemed to require some special catalyst to break through its existing limit.
And Kamigawa had a feeling that catalyst was connected to his own tennis path.
"Tezuka, I wonder if he's figured things out yet."
"If not, maybe I'll have Akutsu go stir things up later?"
"Given Akutsu's personality, breaking that troublemaker's arm should be fine, right...?"
"I'm home."
Kamigawa pushed open the door, taking off his shoes as he called out.
"You brat, out playing tennis again?!"
From the head of the sofa, an old man with a dignified, square face glanced at Kamigawa, who was standing at the entrance, his voice full of authority.
"Hehe... Grandpa, I just played for a little while," Kamigawa stretched his neck, peeking at his grandpa as he spoke.
He placed his tennis bag on the shelf by the door and scurried off to wash his hands. The food on the table hadn't been touched; it was clear his grandpa was waiting for him to come back to eat.
The old man sighed, glancing at the tennis bag. Then he said, "This kid, he's got the same stubborn streak as his father. Maybe he'll understand when he gets older."
"Grandpa~ Isn't Dad coming home for dinner tonight?" After washing his hands, Kamigawa sat back down at the table and casually asked.
"The shop's busy. Kokuen and Kanna aren't coming home for dinner tonight," the old man said calmly, looking at Kamigawa.
"Oh~"
Kamigawa nodded, not surprised.
Ever since his grandpa stepped down, his parents had been busy with the shop almost every day, and they'd usually only get home for dinner around ten or later.
The old man looked at Kamigawa, and as if remembering something, he said, "You brat, you said you wanted to go to Hyotei, right? Your grandpa here has already taken care of it for you. Hyotei is a prestigious school, so don't you dare cause me any trouble."
"Hehe... Got it, Grandpa," Kamigawa nodded repeatedly, like a little chick.
"You brat, go help out at the shop when you have time. Don't be so scatterbrained all the time, only thinking about tennis. When your dad retires, the restaurant will need you to take over."
The old man leaned back in his chair, looking up at Kamigawa as he spoke.
"Got it, Grandpa."
Kamigawa kept nodding.
As long as he didn't oppose him playing tennis, it was fine. If he had to give up tennis now, he probably couldn't accept it, especially after working so hard for so many years and even getting into Hyotei.
"I heard you entered this JR tournament?"
The old man said casually.
Even though he didn't understand tennis, he'd heard a bit about it.
It was the most prestigious competition for elementary schoolers, and making it to the semifinals meant having a certain talent for tennis.
"Yeah."
Kamigawa nodded, secretly glancing at the old man, and whispered, "Tezuka and I entered together. We've already made it to the quarterfinals."
"Oh~"
A flicker of light passed through the old man's cloudy eyes, but it quickly dimmed. He looked indifferent as he said, "If you can make it to the semifinals at the JR tournament, I'll allow you to play tennis."
"You brat, since you've decided to play tennis, then stick with it to the very end! Don't be like your useless father, who wanted to be a mangaka but still has to work odd jobs just to make ends meet!"
Huh?
He agreed?!
Kamigawa suddenly looked up, staring at his grandpa.
His old man was usually as stubborn as a rock in a latrine – smelly and hard. For him to agree today? Had the sun risen from the west?
"You brat, are you asking for a beating?"
The old man glared at Kamigawa, saying directly, "If you don't want to play, just say so. Hurry up and go be an assistant to Kokuen. Just looking at you makes me mad."
"Hehe~ Don't be mad, Grandpa," Kamigawa scratched his head obediently.
The old man, puffing his cheeks and glaring, looked at the obedient-looking Kamigawa and sighed helplessly. He didn't understand this path of tennis, just like his son's insistence on manga back in the day.
But...
The old man knew very well in his heart that doing anything came down to just two words: "Persevere!"