Thud! Thud!
In the forest, two figures were sprinting desperately.
Screech!
Behind them, several shadows circled high in the sky, waiting for the right mont to strike, hindered only by the dense branches.
However, these were no ordinary hawks. Trained by Mifune from a young age, they were highly intelligent. Given enough space, they would swoop down on their prey.
Huff... Huff...
In the forest, Ishikawa and Oni leaned against a tree trunk, each holding a balloon string, trying their best to stay out of the hawks' line of sight.
Only five minutes had passed since the training began, but the two were already exhausted. In comparison, they were nowhere near as composed as Inui.
Of course, this wasn't because Inui was stronger. It was because the two were weighed down by heavy gear. The extra load felt like wearing a suit of armor, making every movent slow and laborious. If not for their explosive strength, they would have been caught by Mifune's hawks right at the start.
"This training from Coach Mifune is no joke," Ishikawa said, panting as he glanced at the hawks circling above. "We can't keep hiding like this. If we want to see results, we need to face them head-on."
Oni shook his head. "Easier said than done. There are too many of them."
"Let's split up," Ishikawa suggested. "I'll draw so of them away, and you can make your move."
"Alright," Oni agreed.
As Ishikawa had said, hiding wouldn't get them anywhere. They were here to get stronger, not play hide-and-seek with these birds of prey.
With that, the two sprang into action. Ishikawa lured a group of hawks away, while Oni headed in the opposite direction.
"Not bad," Mifune muttered with a smile from a small hill in the distance. "If you'd kept hiding, I would've been disappointed."
The hawks were there to train the players' reflexes. Normally, Mifune would add an elent of competition, pitting the players against each other. But Ishikawa and Oni were different. They knew exactly what they wanted and didn't need external motivation to push themselves.
And so, the forest beca a battleground. The two figures dodged and weaved under the relentless attacks of the hawks. The heavy weights they carried slowed them down, but their reflexes improved visibly as they outsmarted the birds.
"These two..." Inui, who had already passed the first test, narrowed his eyes. Due to their different physiques, the weights they carried varied. However, Mifune, with data from Kurobe and the others, had calculated the load precisely. Inui was certain that both Ishikawa and Oni had started from the sa point as he had during his first training session.
But their improvent was far beyond what he had achieved.
"Is this the talent of top-tier geniuses?" Inui thought, feeling a mix of emotions.
Especially when he looked at Ishikawa, who didn't seem particularly strong physically, yet was adapting at an astonishing rate. Oni, being a power-type player, made sense. But Ishikawa? That was just ridiculous!
"Surprised?" Mifune asked, noticing Inui's expression. "You probably don't know this, but Kurobe couldn't asure Ishikawa's five-dinsional stats."
"What?!" Inui turned sharply. "That's impossible!"
In the entire U-17, only two people had ever received such an evaluation: Byoudouin and Oni.
But then he rembered how Ishikawa had defeated Oni in the group shuffle match yesterday and couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
Of course! If Ishikawa could beat Oni, it made sense that his stats were imasurable.
"Ishikawa Shin..." Inui turned his gaze back to the forest, where Ishikawa had disappeared again. "He's using the pressure from the hawks to push himself to the limit."
Not only was Ishikawa strong, but he was also incredibly decisive. Even in situations where it wasn't necessary, he pushed himself to the brink during training. Compared to him, even Tokugawa, who was training hard to defeat Byoudouin, seed a step behind.
Inui seed to have an epiphany. "Perhaps only soone like him could rise to such heights as a newcor."
Thirty minutes later, Ishikawa and Oni, drenched in sweat, moved sluggishly, their faces showing clear signs of exhaustion. But their eyes were brighter than before. Both Mifune and Inui could sense that their ntal fortitude had grown stronger.
"Good," Mifune nodded. "You did well in the warm-up."
"Warm-up?" Ishikawa and Oni exchanged glances, their pupils contracting.
"What, scared?" Mifune sneered. "If you're afraid, you can leave now."
But such a cheap taunt had no effect on the two.
"Alright," Mifune waved his hand, bored. "Take a ten-minute break, then we'll start the next training."
With that, he headed back to the cabin.
During the break, Mifune returned with two black rackets.
"Here you go, rookies," he said, tossing one of the rackets to Ishikawa from a few ters away.
Ishikawa caught it cautiously, imdiately feeling the weight of what seed like a block of iron.
"This is a pure lead racket," Mifune explained. "It's coated with an alloy, so don't worry about it."
"Got it," Ishikawa nodded.
Normally, skin contact with lead wasn't harmful. But at their level, the vibrations from swinging the racket could cause the lead to break apart, potentially leading to poisoning if inhaled. However, that wasn't the main concern. The real issue was the sheer weight of the racket. Lead was denser than iron, and most rackets were designed to be lightweight for optimal performance. But Mifune had given him a racket made entirely of lead. Just holding it was a challenge, let alone using it in a match.
"Oni, here's yours," Mifune said, tossing the other racket to Oni.
Oni caught it, but his expression changed instantly. Unlike Ishikawa's racket, his was incredibly light. With his 90kg grip strength, he could crush it easily. Fortunately, he held back, avoiding embarrassnt.
"Your racket is made of a special material," Mifune explained with a smirk. "It's very light but also extrely fragile. Be careful when practicing."
"Your tasks are simple," Mifune continued, pointing to two newly marked areas. "Ishikawa, your target is the tennis ball placed on a block of tofu. You need to hit the ball into the bucket without damaging the tofu."
Ishikawa's eyes narrowed. He was confident in his skills, but with this racket, the difficulty was off the charts.
"Oni, your target is that rock," Mifune pointed to a boulder half the height of a person, weighing at least five or six tons. "You need to smash it with your racket."
"Each of you has one hour of practice ti per day. Complete your task, and you pass this stage."
"Understood," Ishikawa and Oni nodded, though their expressions were grave.
"This won't be easy," Inui muttered, his expression serious.
Mifune's training might seem like a circus act, but it was designed to enhance Ishikawa's strength and Oni's control.
"Inui," Mifune turned to him. "Their hunting phase is over. Now it's your turn."
With that, Mifune whistled sharply. A shadow swooped down from the sky, heading straight for Inui.
Inui's face paled, and without hesitation, he turned and bolted into the forest.
"Alright, kids!" Mifune laughed, stroking another hawk perched on his arm. "Let's get to work!"
anwhile, at the U-17 training camp, in Court 3, Marui and Hara were going through their usual drills. But unlike usual, the atmosphere was heavy and silent. Everyone knew why—Ishikawa was absent. This was highly unusual, but no one dared to ask.
"Why the long faces?" Suddenly, Saito, dressed in his white lab coat, appeared. "Where's the energy from yesterday? Get moving!"
The players exchanged glances and reluctantly resud their training.
"Marui, Hara," Saito called out. "In two days, the second and third batches of newcors will arrive. The coaching staff has decided to hold the U-17 Autumn Newcors Tournant. You two better prepare."
"Newcors Tournant?" The others, including Oishi and Nakagauchi, turned their heads.
The U-17 Newcors Tournant held special significance. The top two winners would earn the right to participate in the shuffle matches against the top players. For them, this was a golden opportunity.
"Mr. Saito," Marui asked, "do you know where Ishikawa is?"
Ishikawa hadn't returned since yesterday. As his roommate and partner, Marui couldn't help but worry, even though the U-17 camp was generally safe.
"Ishikawa?" Saito raised an eyebrow, then smiled. "Don't worry about him. Instead, focus on the Autumn Tournant. If you perform well, you might get the chance to play alongside him."
Marui and Hara exchanged puzzled looks, while the others seed to realize sothing, their eyes gleaming.
"So, he's really gone to that place?"
"The Autumn Tournant shuffle matches..."
"If I rember correctly, those guys are coming back."
"This shuffle match is going to be exciting!"
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