Chapter 27

The day of the Rikkai University finals was also the day when Seiichi Yukimura had surgery.

"Damn it, we're already in the finals, shouldn't the order of the matches be changed to give us a surprise?!" Marui Bunta is still in doubles this time.

Niou Masaharu replied seriously: "This is the arrangement of the military advisor, but we will finish the game quickly this time, right~Biru."

"Yeah." Yagyu Hiroshi nodded.

Kirihara Akaya placed the gifts he had prepared on the school bus. "Don't worry, seniors. The match will end in singles three, so everyone will be able to catch up with Captain Yukimura's surgery."

As soon as I got on the school bus, the sky was covered with dark clouds and suddenly became dark.

Sanada adjusted the brim of his hat. "The rain is coming."

Yanagi Renji glanced at the sky and flipped open his notes. "The probability of rain is 43 percent, which is about as low as it gets."

"It's raining before the game starts, and we don't know if it will be delayed." Jackal Sangyuan recalled the recent weather forecast, which said it would rain a lot. In fact, the probability of the weather forecast matching the weather was 50-50.

Niou Masaharu put his hands behind his head. "Pfft! Who knows? Maybe we'll have to change the time. Anyway, the spot for the national competition has been decided. I just need to finish this match before the national competition."

"It's just a little rain, it won't have much of an impact. It's not like we haven't played in the rain before." Kirihara Akari has played in so many games, and he has basically never encountered a game being suspended due to rain.

Marui Bunta chewed his bubble gum and patted Kirihara Akaya's head in the front seat. "Are you an idiot, Akaya? Wouldn't it be better to postpone it? We could just go straight to the hospital and take Minister Yukimura to the surgery."

"That's right! It's okay to compete a day or two later. The champions will all belong to Rikkai University anyway, so we can still bring the trophy and medal to see Minister Yukimura." Kirihara Akaya touched his head.

Yagyu Hiroshi calmly pointed out the second option. "We could also play indoors. There's an indoor court near the tennis park. It all depends on what headquarters thinks."

When we arrived at the stadium, the rain showed no sign of stopping, but it wasn't heavy either, just a light and dense rain.

"Well, I'll go to the headquarters first." Sanada put on his tennis bag.

Yanagi Renji stood up. "Let's go together."

The director and coach of Rikkai University was not replaced after Yukimura was hospitalized. Normally, the coach should have been the one to negotiate, but the situation at Rikkai University was special, so they sent an agent to inquire about the news.

"I'm going too, Vice Minister Sanada." Kirihara Akaya raised his hand actively.

Marui Bunta looked at the things in the car. "Let's go, everyone. Once we have the confirmed information, we can take action."

In the rest area next to the final venue, the players of Qingxue were waiting inside early. Coach Ryuzaki had not returned from the headquarters yet.

"Hey~ the sky was still sunny when we came out." Kikumaru Eiji leaned over the table.

Inui Sadaharu calculated with a pen. "The chance of rain this afternoon is 50 percent. If the rain stops and the course dries up this afternoon, we can still play. I think the chances of the match being terminated are very high."

"Should we compete or not?" Kikumaru Eiji glanced at the weather.

Momoshiro Takeshi grew increasingly irritated, swinging his racket. "This is so frustrating! I'm full of fighting spirit right now."

"No matter how angry you are, the sky won't suddenly clear up." Echizen Ryoma opened a bottle of Fanta.

Akira Kamio and An Tachibana from Fudomine looked out over their umbrellas at the bustling Seigaku. "It's quite lively!"

"What? Are you here to cheer?" Taocheng Wu greeted.

Kamio Akira denied it. "Idiot, we're here to investigate. We want revenge at the national tournament."

"I'll record the game and bring it to my brother to watch." Ju Xing held up the DV.

Fuji Shusuke asked, "How is Tachibana's health?"

Before Kikyou could answer, with the sound of lightning and thunder, the appearance of a group of people from Rikkai University paused the conversation between Seigaku and Fudomine.

Rikkai University usually arrives on time, and this time is no exception.

"It's Rikkai University." Akira Kamio of Fudomine stared at Akaya Kirihara.

Oishi Hide's face was filled with thoughts of the match footage provided by Tachibana An. "Kirihara Akaya, the one who caused Tachibana to get hurt."

"Long time no see, Seigaku." Kirihara Akaya noticed everyone was looking at him, and he was clearly the center of attention. "Hmph! Fudomine~ Are you here to beg Seigaku to help you get revenge?"

"We will never lose to you again like last time." Kamio Akira said unconvinced.

Kirihara Akaya challenged: "Then I will wait and see. If you are still vulnerable, our fight will be meaningless."

"Who did you say was vulnerable? It was obviously you who did it on purpose, causing my brother to be injured and hospitalized." When Anzu Kihara was stimulated by Akagi Kirihara, she remembered the situation of her brother's injury.

Kamio Akira quickly stopped Tachibana An.

Kirihara Akari emphasized without any concern: "Injury is proof of vulnerability, not only Tachibana Yoshihei of Fudomine but also Tezuka of Seigaku."

"What did you say!" These words immediately irritated Momoshiro Takeshi.

Vice-captain Oishi Shuichiro held Momoshiro down. A conflict occurred before the game. Not to mention the game, he could not even participate in the national competition. Seigaku only had the opportunity to participate in the national competition this year.

Marui Buntai tilted his head and whispered to Niou Masaharu. "I didn't expect Akaya to be so good at provoking people. The faces of those people over there have changed."

"I don't think there will be a fight." Jackal Kuwabara was a little worried.

Niou Masaharu waved his hand and immediately arranged for Sanada to fight. "Just some regular bullying. Those rumors at the lottery were probably from other schools. Even if a fight breaks out, what's there to be afraid of? We have Sanada here. One-on-nine is no problem. Pfft~"

"Kirihara, let's go. There's still something else to do after confirming the match." Sanada calculated the time in his mind. The headquarters should have the results by now.

Kirihara Akaya turned around and agreed: "Okay, Vice Minister Sanada."

"Wait a minute, don't leave in such a hurry. You said a lot of nonsense here before. You should at least apologize if you want to leave." Momoshiro Takeshi stepped forward.

Sanada frowned. Although he was well aware of Kirihara Akaya's provocative behavior, he thought it was normal for an opponent. Turning around and facing Momoshiro Takeshi, Sanada spoke calmly and seriously, "I don't know what he said, so there's no need to apologize."

"Pfft~Pfft." Niou Masaharu covered his mouth, and Sanada lied without changing his expression as if it were true.

Having heard everything, Marui Fumita, who also felt there was no need to apologize, blew a bubble and urged, "Hurry up and go. Seigaku guys, do you always have to apologize before starting the game after saying something harsh?"

"Kirhara from your team said that being injured is proof of being vulnerable. Is your captain also in the hospital?" Momoshiro Takeshi shouted.

The incident involving Yukimura stopped Rikkai University in its tracks.

Yanagi Renji flipped open his notebook and said in order, "Kawamura was injured in the district preliminaries and finals, Echizen Ryoma was injured in the matches against Fudomine, Jounari Shonan, and Yamabuki, and Tezuka's old injury was targeted in the match against Hyotei..."

"That's right, instead of arguing with Hyotei, who has more than 200 support teams, they help an irrelevant team." When Marui Bunta heard Liu's data, he realized that Qingxue had encountered many such things.

Niou Masaharu tilted his head. "If you don't want to fight, just forfeit. Didn't the guy on your team, the one with the wave ball, forfeit? He was clearly holding on all by himself. His wounds are serious. Don't blame us juniors from Rikkai University. Pfft~"

"I haven't heard that Tezuka's injury was blamed on Atobe. Is there any difference between Tachibana Kippei's game and this? Was Aka also hitting Tachibana Kippei's legs?" Marui Bunta said bluntly.

Rikkai University's words left the people of Seigaku speechless. When Seigaku and Hyotei fought one-on-one, Hyotei's Atobe relied on his eyesight to find Tezuka's weak point, and the battle was prolonged.

While Seigaku and Rikkai University stared at each other in silence, Coach Ryuuzaki returned from the meeting at headquarters.

Coach Ryuzaki, holding an umbrella, was surprised to see both teams present. "They're all here. Headquarters has reached a conclusion. The match will be postponed for a week."

"Ah!" Kikumaru Eiji held his head.

Momoshiro Takeshi was frustrated. "It's just a little rain. It won't affect the game at all."

"Stop making trouble. The headquarters' decision cannot be changed." Coach Longqi advised.

After hearing the news from Coach Ryuuzaki, Sanada looked at the members of Rikkai University. "Let's go."

Niou Masaharu glanced at the still-raging Momoshiro Takeshi. "If you're not convinced, you can just compete now. The losing team can just forfeit the next match."

Hearing Niou Masaharu's proposal, the people from Seigaku looked up.

Coach Ryuzaki refused: "Let's wait until the day of the competition."

"Tsk~ You still don't dare. Even after a week, you will still lose." Kirihara Aka said disdainfully, his eyes full of contempt.

The members of Seigaku were upset and wanted to agree to a fight, but the team's coach, Ryuuzaki, was not so impulsive. He thought that if they had this time to intensify their training, they would have a better chance of winning the game.

Sanada nodded at Coach Ryuzaki and said, "See you at the game, Coach Ryuzaki."

Under Coach Ryuuzaki's suppression, the players of Seigaku were speechless, and the Rikkai University players returned to the school bus under the leadership of Sanada.

"Akaye, you are quite talkative, why are you silent now~" Marui Bunta took the towel that Jackal Kuwahara found and wiped his head.

The people from Rikkai University didn't bring umbrellas and kept arguing with the people from Seigaku in the rain.

Niou Masaharu straightened his clothes. "But Seigaku's really bold. Forget about being Fudomine's manager. She's Kippei Tachibana's sister. What's the relationship between Seigaku and Fudomine? Why not ask Atobe of Hyotei to apologize if he has the time?"

"That's right~" Chiye felt particularly wronged, feeling that his expectations had been wasted. He hadn't intentionally hit anyone in the foot during the match. Besides, Tachibana Kihei had once been on par with the three giants of Rikkai University, and the difference in their abilities was too great.

Yagyu Hiroshi consoled the clamoring Kirihara Akaya. "Rumors abound everywhere, so don't take them to heart. Just follow your own routine."

"The result speaks for itself. It's all good as long as we win the game." Jackal Kuwabara concluded. Every time Rikkai University wins, it's all good news and no one cares about the loser.

Sanada confirmed: "That's right."

Everyone on the Rikkai University team has bad rumors, and Sanada is also worried about the captain being sick, so he takes advantage of the situation and tries to grab the position of captain of the Rikkai University tennis club.

Hiroshi Yagyu joined the tennis club halfway through and partnered with the regular Nioh Masaharu to take the doubles position. In the early days, many people said that it was all thanks to Nioh that Yagyu was able to become a regular in the team.

Yukimura was often called the "son of God" for not playing, and many losing teams made up for it. If Rikkai University hadn't finished the game in three games, they wouldn't have had a perfect record if they had switched singles players to start first...

Hyotei lost to Fudomine in that match. Not to mention the outside world's evaluation of Hyotei, even Fudomine, who defeated the strong with the weak, also had bad comments about him.

After all, even if he managed to win against Hyotei, his reputation in Tokyo would be different. Tachibana Kippei's former identity would be dug out, and the tactical arrangements that were praised would be said to be avoiding war.

This time, Hyotei lost to Seigaku. Regarding the much-publicized match between Atobe and Tezuka, many people said that Atobe Keigo's victory was unfair. Actually, Atobe Keigo also had a lot of support. It's just a matter of opinion. Should Atobe Keigo give up the victory just because his opponent was injured?

Moreover, the battle between Kirihara Akaya and Tachibana Kippei was really not intentional. Others may not know it, but the players of Rikkai University have all experienced Kirihara Akaya's demonization.

That is intentional fighting. Even if there is no opportunity, you will create one to fight.

People at Rikkai University don’t care about rumors outside. Victory is the best answer and can defeat all empty messages.