Before long, the dical staff carried Kudo Tōya out of the arena. Before leaving, they reassured everyone:
“Don’t worry, he’s just ntally over-exhausted. He’ll be fine after so rest.”
After that, Team B’s players gradually left the field. Ryūma stretched lazily and waved at Yo Hiori.
“Hiori~ I’ve got no strength left. Co support ~”
Yo Hiori hurried over to hold him up, giving him a puzzled look.
“You overworked yourself too, Ryūma?”
“Not that bad. I’m just tired. I an, who would’ve thought that right after I developed the standard double-speed Slow-Motion World, I’d run straight into a monster like Tōya?”
“And to beat , that guy literally kicked himself straight into the hospital. Crazy, right?”
“Oh, good thing you’re fine, Ryūma. But yeah, Kudo Tōya is seriously strong—especially that skill of his that lets his teammates awaken. It’s basically cheat-level.”
Ryūma brightened at Hiori’s reminder.
“Exactly! I need to find a way to experience Tōya’s ability myself. Maybe then I can figure out how to overco the disconnect in my quadruple Slow-Motion World.”
“Mm… but judging by how he was just now, it’ll be a while before he can use that ability again.”
“I just hope he doesn’t end up unable to play against the U-20 National Team…”
【Grrr—umble~~】
Ryūma froze, clutching his stomach with a helpless sigh.
“Forget Tōya for now, Hiori—take to the cafeteria before I faint. I’m starving T﹏T”
“Uh—yes, yes, let’s go.”
As they reached the exit, Ryūma stopped, turned, and called out:
“Hey, Rin! You heading to the cafeteria? Co with us!”
“...Yeah. Let’s go.”
Ryūma blinked. He didn’t expect Rin Itoshi not only to respond, but to actually agree to eat with them.
Ryūma grinned.
“Oh? One match and Rin’s whole attitude disappeared?”
“Nice, Rin! I really like you like this~”
“Shut up, idiot. Instead of talking nonsense, hurry up and eat. Sounds to like you’re not hungry at all.”
With that, Rin sped up and walked ahead into the hallway.
“Alright, let’s go too, Hiori.”
“Mm!”
...Inside the cafeteria...
“Finally… I feel alive again T﹏T”
“Haha, Ryūma—every ti I watch you eat, my food tastes even better!”
Yo Hiori took another bite, then suddenly rembered sothing.
“Oh right, your next match is against our old rivals!”
“Ah, right. I can’t wait~ But hey—Karasu Tabito and Eita Otoya… those two better have improved.”
“Who knows? It’s a sha I can’t fight alongside you, Ryūma.”
Ryūma glanced at the suddenly quiet Yo Hiori, then smirked and aggressively ruffled his hair.
“Co on, O. There’ll be tons of chances for us to fight side by side.”
Right after saying that, Ryūma spotted Rin heading toward the cafeteria exit.
“HEY! Hold up, Rin! Want to go check on Tōya with later?”
Rin didn’t stop, nor did he look back.
“Hmph, pointless. Better to spend that ti reviewing the match footage and finding my own mistakes.”
He walked straight out. Ryūma shrugged helplessly and stood up too.
“Let’s go, Hiori. Co with to visit Tōya—he’s our old friend. Let’s see how his recovery’s going.”
“Mm, okay!”
...Six hours later, inside the arena...
“Long ti no see, Karasu! Otoya!”
Ryūma waved cheerfully from a distance.
“Hey!”
“We’re not that happy to see you, baa~ka!”
Karasu scratched the back of his head, battle intent burning in his eyes.
Soon after, the rest of the players entered the field.
Ryūma froze when he saw who arrived—then imdiately sprinted forward and threw his arms around one of them.
“Nagi?!”
“I was wondering whether you’d pick again… and you did!”
Before Seishiro Nagi could reply, the purple-haired boy beside him shot Ryūma a sour glare.
“You’re close with this weird guy, Nagi?”
“Yeah, Reo. He was my teammate in the second round. He’s really strong.”
That purple-haired boy was, of course, Reo Mikage—face full of complaint and simring resentnt.
Reo knew Ryūma was strong. After all, he’d witnessed Shidō Ryusei’s strength firsthand—and Shidō was TOP 3.
Ryūma was TOP 1.
He didn’t need to think twice to know Ryūma wasn’t simple.
But he still found him extrely annoying. (You know the vibe.)
“Uh… hello?”
Ryūma looked at the speaker, thinking for a mont.
“Oh, I rember you.”
“You’re… Kenzaki Tetsuzan, right?”
“Uh—no, it’s Zantetsu Tsurugi!”
“Ah…right……”
Indeed, Team A’s combination was: Reo Mikage, Seishiro Nagi, and Zantetsu Tsurugi.
Ryūma scratched his head in embarrassnt, then turned toward Team C’s side.
“Oh? Seems like there are familiar faces over there too.”
“Yo! Long ti no see, Chigiri!”
Hyōma Chigiri clearly hadn’t expected Ryūma to greet him so energetically.
(Huh? Are we really that close?)
Still, Chigiri politely waved back.
“Ah… scary! They all look insanely strong!”
“Haha, we et again, Karasu, Otoya.”
With those words, Team C’s lineup beca clear:
Hyōma Chigiri, Aoshi Tokimitsu, Kenyu Yukimiya.
Third Selection – Adaptive Training
Second Match: Team A vs. Team C!!
Ryūma studied Team C, thinking:
(Can’t underestimate this lineup. It’s completely different from Team B.)
(Team B only had Tōya and Ryusei as real threats. Barō was passable, but the other two were basically fillers.)
(But Team C? Their average level is high.)
(Aoshi Tokimitsu —lovingly called “muscle bulletl” by Kiyora.)
(Hyōma Chigiri—whose long-distance speed nearly matches mine.)
(And Kenyu Yukimiya—originally TOP 5 material, known as the strongest in Japan in one-on-one battles.)
(But hey, our side’s not weak either. There’s Zantetsu, whose burst speed nearly matches mine… Nagi Seishiro with monster-level trapping…)
(And Reo Mikage, the ‘Chaleon,’ who’s about to awaken!)
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