sjar Chapter 83 You Have Failed in Your Duty as Vice Minister
Chapter 83 You Have Failed in Your Duty as Vice Minister
The child froze when his name was called.
"Both are paired with first-year students, and Yanagi is paired with Ryohei Koizumi from Hyotei. They haven't practiced together before, and this is their first time playing on the grass field."
"Why is it that Yanagi and Koizumi's teamwork is so effective, while yours is full of holes from start to finish? Koizumi was never dispossessed by Yanagi the entire time, so why didn't your partner even have a single decent shot opportunity?"
Aoyama's fingers gripped the handle of the racket tightly, and his lips trembled slightly.
Mochizuki Ryou withdrew her finger, her voice turning cold, each word precisely striking the spot Sanada least wanted to face.
"Isn't your unspoken attempt to shirk responsibility also a form of shirking responsibility?"
"And then there's the reasonable division of labor you mentioned. In team play, doubles is handled by the doubles players, trusting your partner, which is perfectly reasonable."
He stared directly into Sanada's eyes, his gaze sharp, and his voice suddenly rose, causing everyone around him to tremble.
"These are all predicated on you already having qualified doubles partners. But what if you don't? What if Rikkai doesn't recruit Marui, Kuwabara, Niou, or Yagyu, and you don't have a single usable doubles pair? What then?"
Sanada's brows furrowed even more.
The whole team stared blankly.
Wang Yueling answered for him, her tone light and her smile cold and devoid of warmth, "Anyway, you're the final player in the singles. No matter how badly the doubles matches go, as long as you're there to keep things under control, that's enough."
"Am I right? You don't really think that as long as you're the last one in singles, it doesn't matter how bad the doubles matches are, do you?"
Sanada's jaw tightened abruptly, and he did not answer.
"If Rikkai University really doesn't have a single doubles team that can hold its own for the next three years, how many rounds can you hold out with just your singles match? Team matches are based on total points, not on your individual wins or losses."
"He's already in his third year of high school, and after three years as vice minister, he doesn't even have a single doubles strategy that he can pull off in a critical moment. He just hides in his area of expertise and leaves the difficult problems to others to solve."
He put his hands back in his pockets, relaxed his shoulders, as if stating a simple fact.
"You didn't just lose this doubles match. You failed in your duty as vice minister."
dereliction of duty.
Sanada's chest heaved violently.
His lips parted beneath the brim of his hat; he opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back. His fists, hanging at his sides, clenched and unclenched repeatedly.
No one on the sidelines made a sound.
The wind rustled through the pine branches beside the field.
The swans on the distant lake had somehow wandered outside the court's netting, flapping their wings and making cooing sounds.
Wang Yueling's gaze shifted away from his face.
All eyes followed him and landed on the field.
Kirihara was chasing Marui's return shot from the baseline to the net, taking quick, small steps on the grass, his black curly hair blowing wildly in the wind.
The ball he caught was of poor quality and was bounced to the other sideline by Marui's special shot.
Kirihara felt the gaze directed at him, but he was too far away to hear what they were saying. His nervousness caused him to stumble, and he nearly slipped and fell on the grass again.
He hurriedly regained his balance, muttered something under his breath, glanced furtively at the coaching bench, and then quickly refocused on the game.
"Kirihara is also a doubles black hole."
Watching Kirihara's retreating figure, Mochizuki Ryo's tone returned to its usual languidness, "Just like his knuckle serve, reckless, impulsive, and completely lacking in teamwork. But he's different from you in one way."
"But he's obedient, willing to follow his seniors' arrangements, and willing to try to accommodate his partner. He's also a newcomer to doubles, his skills are still developing, and when he gets angry, no one can stop him. But as long as someone pulls him along, he's willing to follow."
"And you."
Mochizuki Ryou withdrew her gaze and returned it to Sanada's face, without the slightest fear.
"You have top-tier talent and exceptional fundamental skills. During your three years of junior high, you had countless opportunities to improve your doubles game. You didn't. You didn't even try."
"This is not a flaw, it's arrogance."
Sanada's Adam's apple bobbed.
"Because in your heart, singles is above all else. Doubles is secondary, a secondary battlefield, a field where a top singles player like you shouldn't condescend to improve."
His gaze passed over Sanada's shoulder and landed on the Rikkai University doubles pair in the crowd behind him.
When Mochizuki Ryo's gaze swept over them, Niou's hand, which was twirling his braid, stopped; Yagyu's movement of pushing up his glasses froze for a moment; and Marui almost swallowed the gum in his mouth. Kuwabara's head-scratching motion froze in place.
The same thought popped into the minds of all four of them at the same time.
Is he going to scold us after he's finished scolding Sanada?
Kuwabara silently blocked half of Marui's view.
Niou mentally reviewed whether he had done anything today that could give others a handle to use against him... Was he slacking off?
Maybe not.
He hasn't even started yet.
He quietly took a breath and reflexively hid behind Yagyu.
Mochizuki Ryo observed their reactions, and a subtle twitch appeared at the corner of his lips. However, he didn't speak, but instead withdrew his gaze and returned it to Sanada's now darkened face.
"Each of them has the ability to be a one-man ace."
"Niou Masaharu, the con artist, can create illusions of his opponents in singles matches, so realistically that even you would be fooled. Yagyu Hiroshi, his laser beam precision is at the national level, and if he were to play singles, he would at least be among the top four in the Kanto region."
Marui Bunta, a master of net volleys, possesses a variety of skillful shots; calling him a genius wouldn't be an exaggeration. Kuwahara Jack, with his incredible stamina, never tires out; his singles style is defensive counter-attacking, a prolonged battle; you might not win against him in a stamina contest.
"They willingly put aside their singles glory and practiced doubles day after day, sacrificing their personal statistics to transform themselves from 'aces' into 'doubles players'."
"For what? It's... so the team can win."
Mochizuki Ryo took a step forward, her toes almost touching Sanada's shoes.
"But what about you? You hid in your own singles comfort zone, refusing to compromise or fill the doubles gap for the team for three years."
You even harbor a deep-seated disdain for the doubles position and deny the contributions of your teammates. You say that doubles should be left to the doubles players.
Do you think they can't understand what you're implying?
He withdrew his gaze, not intending to listen to his explanation, and directly gave his cold conclusion.
"This is ignoring the team and ignoring your teammates."
Everyone listening froze, not daring to breathe. They knew Mochizuki Ryo was outspoken, but they never expected him to speak so bluntly and without reservation in front of Sanada.
This is not a subtle suggestion; it's tearing away all pretense and striking at the most painful spot.
Sanada's face was extremely pale, and the oppressive atmosphere around him was almost tangible.
"So, you lost more than just a practice match. When you treated the doubles match like a personal show, isolating your teammates and playing your own game the whole time, you failed to live up to your role."
Mochizuki Ryo looked at Sanada, her tone no longer sharp, and slowly began to speak.
"They enjoy the glory of being emperors, the final figures, and vice ministers, but are unwilling to shoulder the corresponding responsibilities and sacrifices. They occupy the highest positions but do the most irresponsible things."
"Don't you think this is ridiculous?"
The entire room fell silent.
Someone dropped their tennis racket with a thud.
No one dared to bend down and pick it up.
Sanada wanted to retort, to say that Mochizuki Ryo had no right to comment on how much he had sacrificed for Rikkai over the past three years. But those words stuck in his throat, and he couldn't utter a single one.
Because everything that Mochizuki Ryou said seemed to be true.
He has indeed never specifically trained in doubles.
He never felt that doubles was worth his time. He spent every doubles practice session practicing his singles skills. Whenever his teammate suggested playing together, he felt it was a waste of time.
Yukimura was at the hospital, Yanagi was in charge of data, and he took over the responsibility of leading the team's training, but he only ever focused on each person's singles performance.
Yagyu adjusted his glasses and tilted his head slightly towards Niou beside him, as if to say something. Niou didn't respond, but simply turned his face away.
From afar, the shouts of Kirihara chasing the ball and the light, bouncy sound of Marui's return bounced from the court. Those sounds seemed to belong to another world, very, very far away.
Wang Yueling was too lazy to argue with him anymore. She waved her hand impatiently and said, "Stand aside and think carefully about everything I said today. Double the training volume today."
Sanada looked into Mochizuki Ryo's eyes, then lowered his gaze, the brim of his hat obscuring his entire face. He took a step back, turned, and walked towards the edge of the fence. He didn't look up again, but each step he took was heavy.
The members automatically made way for him; no one dared to follow, and no one called out to him.
Mochizuki Ryou watched Sanada's retreating figure and remained silent for two seconds.
A barely perceptible hint of melancholy flashed in his eyes, a lingering resentment hidden beneath his sharp tongue.
Sanada's defeat in the Kanto Tournament finals was never due to Echizen Ryoma. It was due to his inherent stubbornness and arrogance, and his selfishness in prioritizing personal desires over the team.
They keep their trump cards hidden, saving them to deal with their destined rivals, refusing to reveal their secrets to the team.
Ignoring Yukimura's entrustment during his illness, and disregarding the team's efforts in fighting all the way to the finals, he only cared about his own "honorable" dignity and his own obsession with being the strongest.
In the end, what they lost was not just a game, but also Rikkai's dream of winning the championship again, and everyone's sweat and expectations.
He had been holding onto this dissatisfaction for a long time.
Today's terrible doubles match was originally just something I wanted to tease him about. His comments were so infuriating that they became the fuse that ignited all my emotions.
Wang Yueling didn't look at him again, but turned her head to look at Liu, who was still standing in the same place, her expression still calm and composed.
"Renji, I won't address your question separately."
Liu opened her eyes slightly, waiting for him to finish speaking.
"Find someone else to collect the data for this match later." Wang Yueling flipped to the next page on the record board. "I won't waste my breath. Your problem isn't too big; you can just look at the compiled data yourself later."
Liu closed her eyes and nodded gently.
"clear."
Wang Yueling tucked the scoreboard under her arm and shifted her gaze to the two first-year students still standing on the sidelines.
Yota Aoyama and Ryohei Koizumi both felt a jolt at the same time.
The two were already standing close together, and when Wang Yueling glanced at them, they subconsciously took half a step closer to each other, their shoulders bumped together, and they both took half a step back at the same time.
The two exchanged a glance, their eyes clearly conveying the same thought.
Are they finally going to start criticizing us?
"You two played very well today."
The two were stunned by the sudden praise.
Wang Yueling first looked at Qingshan Youtai, the corners of her mouth curving slightly, her tone very gentle.
"Aoyama, even when you can't catch the ball, you keep your eyes on it. You didn't give up when you were behind and kept trying. It's already amazing that you could withstand the pressure of the whole game and stay on until the end. If you improve your mentality and teamwork in training, you will make progress."
Then he looked at Ryohei Koizumi.
Koizumi was trying hard to suppress the excitement on his face, but the light in his eyes couldn't be hidden. "Koizumi, you have a solid foundation and a calm mindset. You hit exactly where Yanagi points, your execution is very strong, and you played very methodically today."
The two first-graders bowed deeply at the same time.
"Thank you, Coach Ling!"
Aoyama's eyes behind his glasses instantly reddened, and his nose tingled slightly. All the grievances and self-blame he had felt earlier vanished in the face of that compliment.