Chapter 44: Mountain Trial : Facing the New challenger
Just like the day before, at exactly 7:30 AM, the teams gathered in front of the lodge. Groggy eyes, sore muscles, and light yawns filled chilly, pine-scented morning air. Some players still had messy, sleep-tangled bed hair. Others were in the middle of tying their laces.
But today, something was different.
The tension wasn’t just between Horizon and Toyonaka anymore.
Because today... there were new challengers, not just saying they’re challengers, but declaring: ’We are the challengers. And we’ll prove it—today.’
Standing beside Coach Tsugawa were five men—older, broader, confident. These weren’t high schoolers. These were college athletes. Former players who had trained under Coach Tsugawa, now back to repay their suffering... by dishing it out.
Shingo "Buzz" Kawada—the buzzcut lightning-haired star who already had a JBL contract in his pocket—stood at the front of them, spinning a ball on his finger with a smirk.
"Since we’ve got some new guests here," Coach Tsugawa began, clutching his clipboard, "we’ll keep it simple. Same routine as yesterday. Morning jog to the mountain court."
Groans rumbled through the crowd.
"First to arrive gets the exemption ticket for today’s meal," Coach added. "And you all know how important that is."
Dirga’s jaw clenched. No way. No freaking way he was eating that tasteless nutrient block again. Not after seeing Kaito—their reliable, ever-composed captain—go pale mid-bite like he’d been poisoned.
That grey paste haunted him.