A week had passed since Ito came to the tennis club to pick a fight and cause trouble.
To deal with bullies who picked on the soft and feared the hard, Satoru Yuki chose to beat him into submission once and for all, leaving him no room to maneuver.
Sure enough, after that day, he was never seen near the tennis club again. After all, Fudomine no longer had Yokoyama to back people like Ito up.
Examinations by the doctor showed that Ping Minchun's injuries were not severe; after getting bandaged up and resting for a few days, he made a full recovery.
What brought Satoru Yuki a sense of relief was that through his match with Ito, Ping Minchun successfully found his confidence in tennis.
In the daily practice matches that followed, he played with noticeably greater initiative and drive, elevating his skill level to a new tier.
Beyond that, facing Ito's intimidation and threats, the first-year freshmen shared a common hatred for the enemy, standing up together to speak out for Ping Minchun.
This not only deeply touched Ping Minchun, but also greatly boosted the favorable impression everyone else in the tennis club had of them.
Consequently, despite having just joined the club not long ago, the first-year freshmen got along exceptionally well with the second-year members.
The cohesion of the tennis club grew stronger little by little in this manner.
"Pay attention to the rhythm of your breathing, and adjust your pace!"
"A tennis match is not only a contest of speed, but also a grueling test of endurance!"
"Yes!"
Seeing Akira Kamio start panting through his open mouth with his footwork falling into disarray, Satoru Yuki pointed out the problem from the sidelines without delay.
As captain, he now carried the responsibilities of a coach as well.
Satoru Yuki walked between several tennis courts, observing the newly joined freshmen.
Akira Kamio, Shinji Ibu, Tetsu Ishida.
These future second-year regulars of Fudomine were all among the newly joined freshmen; only Tachibana Kippei had not yet transferred over.
He silently made mental assessments of how each of them was progressing in their training.
"Among them, if anyone has the chance to become Fudomine's third pillar in the future, it has to be Shinji Ibu."
On the court, Shinji Ibu was engaged in a rally practice with a second-year senior.
His deep blue hair swayed gently with the shifts in his footwork, and his athletic posture made him stand out prominently in the crowd.
Facing multiple attacks from his opponent, he handled every shot with clever finesse, not only easily returning the incoming balls, but also precisely placing them right where he wanted them to go.
"He's holding back against his opponent. It seems a tender heart is hidden beneath that icy exterior."
Satoru Yuki nodded silently to himself, then suddenly spoke up.
"Ibu, return the ball properly!"
Hearing the captain's command, Shinji Ibu's movements paused for a split second, a sharp gleam flashed through his eyes, and the speed of his swing instantly increased by twenty percent.
Bang!
With a crisp crack, the second-year senior failed to react in time as a streak of light shot past the baseline.
He stood frozen in place for a full two seconds before reaching up to scratch the back of his head, looking at Shinji Ibu in startled disbelief as he blurted out, "I had no idea you were this good!"
Having a point easily taken off him by a newly joined freshman didn't make him angry at all; instead, his tone carried a hint of pleasant surprise.
The current Fudomine was light-years away from the old Fudomine.
By evening, as club activities drew to a close:
"Everyone, hold on a minute!"
Satoru Yuki suddenly called out to stop everyone who was about to leave, and announced a piece of news everyone had been eagerly anticipating.
"In preparation for the regional preliminaries in May, three days from now, the tennis club will hold official regular member selection matches."
"All tennis club members are eligible to sign up, including the first-year freshmen!"
The moment his voice fell, the quiet tennis court instantly erupted into a buzz of excitement, with the first-year freshmen looking particularly thrilled.
What they were told during club sign-ups turned out to be true!
They had assumed it was merely a recruitment gimmick used by the tennis club that would never actually materialize, but they never expected they would genuinely have a chance to become regular members.
One had to realize that the other clubs their classmates joined—the basketball club, the football club, and so on—all required members to wait until their second year before they could participate in official matches.
As for clubs where first-years could become regular members? They had never even heard of such a thing.
The freshmen instantly felt their blood surge with excitement; an opportunity like this was one they absolutely could not miss!
Those who had participated in tennis tournaments back in elementary school rubbed their palms together eagerly, wishing they could start the matches right this second.
It wasn't just the freshmen who were stirred up; even the second-year seniors felt a wave of burning eagerness well up inside them.
When they were first-years, all they could do was retrieve balls; it wasn't until Yokoyama was dismissed and Satoru Yuki encouraged them that they finally picked up their rackets again.
After training through this period, everyone had been eagerly waiting for a chance to play in matches.
Once the dates for the selection tournament were locked in, the club members who had been preparing to go home noisily tossed their backpacks aside, grabbed their rackets, and rushed straight back onto the courts.
The thwack of balls being struck, the patter of running footsteps, the grunts of exertion—
Under the glow of the setting sun, the tennis court was a scene of blazing activity.
Throughout the three days that followed, every single member of the Fudomine tennis club poured one hundred percent of their passion into their training.
Everyone hoped to see their name on the roster for the matches in May.
Soon, three days flashed by in the blink of an eye.
On Saturday morning, the school was occupied solely by the members of the tennis club.
Satoru Yuki stood before the group, watching the twenty-seven people neatly lined up on the court.
Among them, eight were second-year seniors, and nineteen were first-year freshmen who had joined not long ago.
Counting himself, the Fudomine tennis club currently had a total of twenty-eight members, and everyone was present.
The court was dead quiet as everyone waited for Satoru Yuki to announce the start of the tournament.
Satoru Yuki cut straight to the point.
"This official regular member selection tournament will adopt a group round-robin format."
"First, we will draw lots to divide the twenty-eight people into four groups of seven, and each group will conduct a round-robin elimination tournament."
"The top two from each group will become regular members and represent us in next month's regional preliminaries!"
"That is all!"
Satoru Yuki took in the murmurs and stirs running through the crowd below.
The so-called group round-robin tournament meant that every person within a group had to play against the other six members, with final rankings determined by accumulated points.
This selection method was relatively fair, preventing a scenario where two powerhouses met prematurely and a single loss knocked someone out of contention for a regular spot.
However, this format was rather tedious, as each person had to play six matches.
Fortunately, Fudomine only had twenty-eight members right now. If the scale of the tennis club expanded in the future, this selection method would no longer be viable.
"Step forward to draw your lots. Once you've drawn, go to your corresponding court and prepare for your matches."
With that, Satoru Yuki stepped up first and drew a slip of paper, which clearly bore the number 1.
He was going to participate in this selection tournament as well; only by winning his matches could he earn the qualification of a regular member.
As the creator of the system, Satoru Yuki had to step up and uphold it himself.
Seeing that Satoru Yuki had already drawn his lot, the rest of the members stepped up one by one to draw theirs.
"I'm on Court 2!"
Akira Kamio held up his slip of paper and smiled at Tetsu Ishida beside him.
The two of them were in the same class, so naturally they grew familiar with each other much faster than the others did.
Hearing this, Tetsu Ishida unrolled his own slip with a helpless expression.
"I'm on Court 2 as well."
Being on the same court meant he and Akira Kamio would have to compete against each other for the two spots in Group 2.
There was a distinct possibility that one of them might miss out on a regular spot.
"Ishida, bring it on! I'm going to crank the rhythm up to the absolute maximum!"
Seeing Tetsu Ishida's hesitation, Akira Kamio immediately issued a loud challenge to clear away any misgivings.
The two of them then exchanged a smile, a blazing light surging in their eyes as their fighting spirit flared to the max!
Meanwhile, off to the side, Shinji Ibu gripped his slip of paper tightly.
His eyes were locked unwaveringly on Satoru Yuki standing at the very front.