"Hohoho..."
"I'm going to cripple you!"
Akutsu Jin's aura grew even more terrifying, but unfortunately, it had no effect on Muneyoshi now.
"If you can do it, then give it a try!"
Bang!
Bang!
The match continued. Akutsu Jin truly had extraordinary talent. After only a few exchanges, he began adapting to the pressure Muneyoshi was putting on him and started fighting back.
His returns grew more powerful and faster with every shot.
But no matter how he changed or how much stronger he became, Muneyoshi could still return the ball with ease and score.
Agitated by Muneyoshi, Akutsu's aura grew increasingly volatile. He was like a peerless beast, launching one attack after another.
As his opponent, Muneyoshi was like a seasoned hunter. No matter how Akutsu struggled, it was as if he had fallen into a trap Muneyoshi had laid in advance.
And as Muneyoshi began to reveal his strength, Akutsu found it harder and harder to keep up. He was utterly suppressed.
Bang!
Akutsu unleashed another powerful shot, then lowered his body until he was almost crouching. He took off in a sprinter's starting stance, his expression more serious than ever.
Step!
His explosive power became unmistakable. Akutsu shot forward like a sprinter bursting off the starting line, leaving a blur behind him.
He read Muneyoshi's movements and calculated where the ball would land in advance.
Seeing this, Muneyoshi's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Fell for it..."
He slightly extended his arm and forcibly changed his stroke. Lowering his elbow a few centimeters, he tilted his racket and sliced at the tennis ball while it was still in the air.
Thwack!
The ball picked up a slight underspin and shot straight through Akutsu's legs, landing on the baseline.
Tap!
"3–0."
Muneyoshi announced the score. His completely unbothered attitude drove Akutsu nearly mad with rage.
But as the match went on, Akutsu's aura grew quieter.
The terrifying presence spilling across the court was becoming more and more intense, yet he no longer shouted and taunted as before. His pale golden eyes, like a demon's, were fixed on Muneyoshi.
As if ready to pounce and devour him at any moment.
When Akutsu regained the serve, a different light flickered across his face. It seemed something new was about to take shape.
"Hohoho... It's my serve now!"
Akutsu's lips curled slightly, his gleaming white teeth catching the sunlight as he let out a chilling laugh.
He stared straight into Muneyoshi's eyes, squeezing the tennis ball in his hand until it creaked. Muneyoshi's constant provocation had driven Akutsu to undergo a fierce evolution.
Everything that had happened in less than twenty minutes, along with Muneyoshi's half-smiling expression, had thoroughly stirred the emotions buried deep inside him.
His dangerous aura grew stronger. He was going to use his attacking tennis to crush that irritating white-haired brat across the net.
A hazy gray aura suddenly took on a tangible form around him. His violent, savage presence filled his entire side of the court, then began spreading toward Muneyoshi's.
"Ha... Hah..."
With every breath, the savage aura swelled more fiercely.
At last, under Akutsu's control, the aura that had been wildly scattered began to move in sync with his breathing.
As Akutsu reined it in, the aura drew back and gathered around his body and behind him, forming a wavering gray glow that enveloped him completely.
"You bastard! Get ready to go to hell!"
Without another word, once all his aura had been drawn in and his presence had reached its peak, Akutsu casually tossed the ball into the air.
Whoosh!
"Beautiful!"
Muneyoshi couldn't help admiring how Akutsu kept learning and evolving under his pressure.
Akutsu's form wasn't especially polished, but he instinctively managed to bring the strength of his entire body into play.
He really was a genius!
"Bastard, you're playing a match with me! What the hell are you thinking about?"
Seeing Muneyoshi's admiring gaze, Akutsu struck the ball. A gray aura wrapped around it as it smashed into the ground, then bounced unpredictably toward Muneyoshi's face.
Muneyoshi shook his head.
He barely moved. Crossing his right leg behind his left, he leaned slightly and swung his arm in a diagonal arc, driving the ball sharply toward the opposite corner.
"The same trick won't work on me!"
Akutsu roared. He raced forward with the speed of a track athlete, his feet kicking up a breeze as he caught up to the ball.
Thwack!
Muneyoshi raised an eyebrow. He could indeed feel Akutsu's strength changing constantly, and he was surprised by how quickly Akutsu was evolving.
But he had already been able to do this two years ago!
Step, step!
He took two light steps and sprang forward, gently sweeping his racket to send a lob toward Akutsu's blind spot.
Akutsu looked up, charged forward again, leapt into the air, and slammed his racket down.
Bang!
The ball hurtled toward Muneyoshi like a cannonball. The fierce scraping sound made its power unmistakable.
"Hmm, now you're starting to look the part. I can take you a little more seriously!"
He bent his knees slightly. His powerful will surged outward like rising flames, spreading across the world and bringing the smashed ball to a halt for a single millisecond.
"Raise Fire to the Heavens!"
Bang!
A deafening boom rang out, and a dazzling flash of fire blazed.
A yellow streak of light, like a shooting star, flashed behind Akutsu in an instant.
The tennis ball that Akutsu had smashed toward Muneyoshi's body—
Now it flew back toward the left side of Akutsu's court, faster and more powerfully than before, with explosive force.
It left a mark beside Akutsu's foot, then shot away again and slammed into the chain-link fence behind him.
Thud!
When the ball rolled to the ground, Akutsu was still standing there, stunned and motionless.
Looking at Akutsu, Saeki Muneyoshi decided that the match was now utterly pointless.
Was Akutsu a genius?
Definitely!
But he was still far too inexperienced. Despite his strong physical abilities, he had never received any proper, systematic training in the fundamentals of tennis.
Throughout the match, he had relied entirely on what he had picked up at public courts.
He had held on through his inborn, keen instincts and that terrifying aura.
Right now, he was simply too weak.
Even with his aura as an advantage, he had no idea how to use it.
In terms of strength, he could have been a Regular on any team—a top choice, even.
But standing before Saeki Muneyoshi, who was on the verge of breaking through the national-level threshold and joining the top tier of middle-school players, the gap was enormous.
Muneyoshi glanced out of the corner of his eye and spotted a familiar figure he had been waiting for.
"My important business is here. I'm done playing with you!"
With that, he rested his racket on his shoulder and turned to walk toward Tezuka without looking back.
"Trying to run away?"
Seeing Saeki Muneyoshi leave, Akutsu taunted him.
Muneyoshi was at a loss for words. He turned around and looked coldly at Akutsu.
"You're too weak right now. You don't even have the slightest foundation in tennis. Why would I run away?"
"If you want to play tennis, you can come find me. I'll teach you!"
Akutsu had already reined in his fury and settled into a cold calm, but now he erupted again, his expression twisted with rage.
"Don't you dare run! I told you, don't order me around!"
The ball rose into the air once more. With a fierce grin, Akutsu struck it hard toward Muneyoshi's body again.
But the next moment, his smile froze.
Muneyoshi frowned as he read the ball's trajectory, displeased by Akutsu's attempt to blast the ball at his body.
Though such tactics were common in tennis around the world and entirely fair, that wasn't how proper matches in Japan were played. This was the style of public courts.
"Looks like I'll have to teach you that tennis isn't a way to hurt people!"
"Ha! Scorching Sun Burn!"
The muscles in his arm swelled sharply. His powerful mental force nearly became tangible, and Akutsu was instantly dragged into a dazed illusion.
He saw a dazzling sun flash before his eyes. The air filled with a faint scorched smell, and his skin felt as though it were burning. Then a churning pain seized his abdomen.
"Urgh—"
Unable to withstand the pain in his stomach, Akutsu vomited.
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