Chapter 21
After paying the hotel bill, Sanada headed towards his home kendo gym.
At the beach venue, Kirihara Akaya ran to pack his luggage after Vice Minister Sanada announced the disbandment.
Marui Bunta and Jackal Kuwahara tacitly made room for Yanagi Renji and Niou Masaharu.
Yagyu Hiroshi pretended not to notice Niou Masaharu's gaze and pushed up his glasses. "Well, I'll go back first."
"Nio." Yanagi Renji just opened his mouth.
Niou Masaharu immediately admitted his mistake three times. "Ah~ Military Advisor, I know I've gone too far in testing you. But there's something really wrong with Sanada, haha."
"While there's a 20%+ chance that Sanada will improve, a 60%+ chance that the situation will remain the same as it was when Yukimura was there, and a less than 10% chance that Yukimura's condition will be severely affected, there's even a 1% chance of something else. The data predicts the probability, so naturally, multiple options are available." Yanagi Renji usually doesn't need to interfere with team dynamics; this time, it's Nioh's problem. As a data expert, he can be prepared for any predicted probabilities.
Niou Masaharu argued, "Sanada is not inclined towards change, he is more conservative and traditional."
In fact, Niou did what was in his mind at that time. Even if he wanted to provoke someone, he would not be so obvious. He would just quietly look for an opportunity to let Sanada know who it was without leaving any evidence.
"Normal, Niou, you wouldn't play weak and force your opponent to give up. You always win by narrowly edging out a stronger position. And Niou, didn't you selectively forget that you synchronized with Sanada?" Yanagi Renji was merely giving Niou a reminder, even though according to previous logic, Sanada would at least have tugged on Niou's collar. "You've definitely become more composed."
Niou Masaharu nodded. "Pfft, I won't do that next time. This time I just gave it a try because it just came to me. I won't do it in the official competition."
After the training camp, the Kanagawa District Competition is not far away, and Yukimura's surgery time is also not far away.
Ever since his conversation with Yanagi, Niou Masaharu rarely appeared around Sanada, fearing he might antagonize him. He felt something was off about Sanada, but the feeling didn't dissipate, but rather intensified. He was certain it was Sanada himself, perhaps because Minister Yukimura's illness was too much pressure.
Sanada, the representative of the tennis club, stood at the front. Yanagi Renji looked at Sanada's sullen face, then at the completely silent crowd below, which resembled the stillness of military training. "Welcome new students to the tennis club! The Rikkai University tennis club has achieved two consecutive national championships, and they have very strict requirements for both regular and non-regular players. If you're a tennis enthusiast, you can join the Tennis Club. Also, the tennis club is all about results. Newcomers have the opportunity to challenge for regular players. If they win, they earn their spot on the regulars. If you're interested, step forward now."
"No, this time, there was at least one Kirihara in the previous session." Marui Bunta looked at the new crowd without any movement.
Jackal Sangyuan didn't dare to refute. In his first year, most of the starters on the scene, except for the Big Three, were just one of the people in the crowd.
Niou glanced at Sanada. "Maybe he was intimidated by Vice Minister Sanada. If the momentum had been this high last year, Kirihara might not have dared to stand up."
"Nonsense, who, who said I don't dare." Kirihara Akaya didn't even look at the center of the team and spoke stutteringly.
Seeing that no newcomers stepped forward to challenge, Yanagi Renji arranged for the newly joined first-year students to adapt to the training of the tennis club.
Sanada's mind was in turmoil, especially recently he had dreams about the past. He missed Yukimura's surgery and didn't give his all. What if there were any changes to this surgery...
No one noticed anything wrong with Sanada's actions. Even if he was thinking about something else, Sanada, whose tennis skills had improved, would reveal some flaws in his basics, and he would complete the task faster than before.
Yanagi Renji sorted through the new students' files and looked at Sanada, who had already put them away. "Training is complete, so it looks like the data needs updating. Sanada, are there any changes to the match lists for this district qualifier?"
"Just arrange it, Liu." Sanada felt that apart from Liu's selfish motives in the schedule for the Kanto tournament, there was nothing wrong with anything else.
Marui Bunta twirled his racket, waiting for the other teammates to finish training. "Kirihara, hurry up, you're the only one missing. We have to go see Chief Yukimura today."
"I know, it's not me who asks for extra training. Why would we have to take another English test in less than a week?" Kirihara Akaya complained. He didn't expect that it would be the day of collective action.
Yagyu Hiroshi threw the towel to Niou Masaharu. "You've been training without permission again."
"It's my fault for losing to Sanada before. Haha~ I'm going to secretly get stronger and get back at him in the next main draw." Niou Masaharu took the towel and covered his face with it.
Except for Yagyu Hiroshi, no one noticed that Niou was mixing private work into training. Usually, Niou was slow in training. He was not the slowest, but he felt relaxed.
"I'm ready, senior. Let's go." Kirihara Akaya finished the extra training and saw that everyone on the field was waiting for his senior.
Yukimura was hospitalized in Kanai General Hospital. In the garden, he waved goodbye to the little girl in the same hospital and returned to the ward before his teammates who were visiting him arrived.
Yukimura leaned against the headboard, the door to his ward gently opening. Yanagi Renji walked in first, ignoring Yukimura's shabby room. "Yukimura, I've compiled the training and match recordings you missed, along with some new tactical analysis. Oh, and my class notes..."
The teammates from the tennis club who came in later, carrying fruit baskets or Yukimura's favorite plants, walked into the ward one after another, filling the small ward.
"I'm here, Minister Yukimura~" Kirihara Akaya remembered to lower his voice this time.
Yagyu Hiroshi brought a new mystery book.
GenichirÅ Sanada walked at the back. "What's the situation?"
"The surgery time has been confirmed, two months from now. Maybe I can make it in time for the Kanto Tournament." Yukimura replied.
Kirihara Akaya was surprised: "Really?"
"How is that possible, Akaya? Minister Yukimura also needs to rest after the operation." Niou Masaharu pressed down Kirihara Akaya's head.
None of the players on the Rikkai University tennis club were worried about the Kanagawa district qualifiers. Compared to the members of the competition tennis club, they were more worried about Yukimura's surgery. After all, the success rate of that surgery was not very high.
Marui Bunta thought about the free time after the game. "If the surgery is during the game, I can come directly to see Yukimura after the game. Military Advisor?"
"Okay, we can just make up for that day's training then." Yanagi Renji agreed directly. There was no need to ask Sanada's opinion on such matters, as Sanada would agree.
Sanada remained silent. This time, without the halo of being the son of God, he finally saw Yukimura's true form. It wasn't the undefeated Yukimura he'd always been. However, Sanada hoped Yukimura would be the way he saw him, standing fearlessly on the court, charging forward.
Yukimura looked at his teammates one by one. "Don't worry, Sanada. I'll be back on the court."
"I know. You should have a good rest, Yukimura. We will come to see you next time." Sanada was indeed worried about Yukimura, fearing that there would be some changes in the operation.
Coming out of Yukimura's ward, Sanada, who was walking at the end, had put quite a distance between himself and his teammates.
In a trance, I heard someone complaining loudly in the middle of the hospital garden.
Having lived through the Heian, Warring States, Edo, and Taisho eras, Yato wakes up in the modern era and is actively looking for work. "That's unscientific. Shouldn't the Land of Life and Death be where desires are strongest? Why isn't there anyone who can see me?"
"Haven't you understood this, Yato? And God shouldn't believe in science but in theology. Those people just said it casually, they don't necessarily believe in God. It's said that instead of coming to a big city, it's better to go to a closed countryside where you have more hope of meeting your destined one." The divine artifact Xueyin suggested.
The man and the knife were talking in public, and the nurses and patients passing by seemed to be blind and no one saw this scene that required contacting a mental hospital to arrest the person.
Yato noticed the unintentional pause in Sanada's speech.
Yato, whose origins lie in fighting and plundering, though he's a nameless god, immediately flashed before Sanada. "You can see me, right? Hey, I can help people fulfill all kinds of wishes. Any wish will do. It only costs five yuan. Make a wish."
Sanada's experience of being transported back in time and returned to his youth for unknown reasons has made him less of a materialist. Hearing Yato's question, Sanada thought of Yukimura's illness. The price of his return was the family sword. So, it wouldn't be a big deal to use five yen to guarantee a successful surgery. "Anything?"
"Of course, it's only five yuan, and your wish is guaranteed to come true." Yato didn't think that his promotion was a lie that wouldn't even work on modern children.
Sanada rummaged through his wallet and found a five-yuan coin besides a few whole bills. What a strange coincidence. "I hope Yukimura's surgery is successful."
Placing the five elements in Yato's hand, Sanada raised his hand to signal Yanagi Renji and caught up with the group.
"I'll accept your reward. Your wish will come true." Yato held the reward for the first order of the business.
"That person smells like a sword, and I believe you find it strange too. Even if you see that kind of person, you would think it's fake. It's unscientific." Yukine's blade shook, and she found it incredible to see Sanada making a wish.
Yato waited until the evening, excited about receiving the order, until he gradually lost interest. "Looks like this is the only order."
"I thought Aka was the only one who got lost." Niou turned his head to look at Sanada who had caught up with the team.
"Sanada?" Yanagi Renji asked. There was nothing there just now, but Sanada reached out his hand.
Sanada opened his wallet. "The coin fell out."
As soon as Sanada said this, Yanagi Renji quickly calculated that it was the money from the last training camp. After Sanada paid it in advance and reconciled the account, there was exactly a change. Yanagi, who was familiar with Sanada, did not erase the change, but entered it into Sana's account with the whole amount in full.
"The car is here!" Marui Bunta waved.
Kirihara Akaya looked around, puzzled. "Why does Vice Minister Sanada seem to be in a better mood now that he lost his money?"
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