The Rise to Fame

The sound of a tennis ball slicing through the air rang out.

In the mind of the Fuwa the Iron Man, no matter what the opponent holds back, as long as he keeps fighting, victory will surely be his!

"Snort!"

"Welcome your own mirror image!"

Step... step...

Tezuka was completely unaffected by the opponent's identical response.

He suddenly exerted force to reach the landing point of the tennis ball and returned the shot with the same move. The racket struck the tennis ball, producing a cracking sound.

Bang!

Tezuka's hawk-like eyes were fixed silently on Fuwa the Iron Man.

After four consecutive games, he had figured out the principle behind his opponent's move.

"After combining mental strength with one's own foundation, can it be used at a deeper level?"

He had already encountered such an opponent, and the opponent's growth put even more pressure on him than that of Fuwa the Iron Man.

While the mirror image created by using mental power is powerful, it is ultimately just a mirror image!

The constant back-and-forth tug-of-war continued, and each point seemed to take a considerable amount of time.

This singles match has been going on for over forty minutes, while many schools have already finished their five matches and are gradually heading towards their respective courts.

As information about the Makino Fuji is of great interest to many schools.

This includes Hyotei Academy, Rikkai Dai, Shitenhoji, Shishigaku, and others.

However, when they arrived at the competition venue and saw the scoreboard, they were all shocked to see that the singles match had just started.

"Seigaku actually managed to fight Makino Fuji to this extent!"

"Who's playing right now? Is it Seigaku's captain Tezuka Kunimitsu?"

"Who is this? A first grader? Are you kidding me?!"

The more familiar schools in Tokyo Metropolis remained somewhat silent.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu!!!" That's Sanada.

"Huh? Seigaku's captain Tezuka Kunimitsu? Not bad..."

Meanwhile, Tachibana Kippei and Chitose Senri from Shishigaku, who had gathered around, and the others from Shitenhoji were all watching the two contestants intently.

"Another rival has appeared... Tezuka Kunimitsu..."

On the field.

"Prepare to accept defeat, Tezuka Kunimitsu!"

The seemingly Fuwa the Iron Man's eyes gleamed with an inexplicable light, and his aura continued to rise.

"Senior, I need to concentrate fully now!"

Tezuka's face remained expressionless, completely unaffected.

As soon as he finished speaking, a white aura suddenly appeared around Tezuka in the pupils of the Fuwa the Iron Man. The aura expanded rapidly and converged towards Tezuka Kunimitsu's left hand.

An immense aura instantly swept across the entire stadium, and a burst of multicolored light suddenly emanated from his hands and body, as if dyeing the air itself dazzlingly.

"This is!"

Fuwa the Iron Man, a strong sense of oppression emanated from the boy opposite him.

At that moment, he seemed to see his former seniors.

Tezuka slid his left foot forward, drawing a semi-circle. The tennis ball, which had flown to the corner, appeared in front of him as if it had been pulled. The muscles on his arms bulged, and his sleeves were stretched taut.

Boom!

The ball made a deafening sound, and the tennis ball was violently deformed by the double force Tezuka applied.

The force of that shot even made the Fuwa the Iron Man's scalp tingle.

Everyone who saw this ball knew the power and amazing spin it contained.

"The Mirror Eye, here you go!"

With Fuwa the Iron Man charged forward, racket in one hand, to meet the whistling tennis ball. At that moment, an aura of selflessness began to emanate from his body.

Snap!

Almost instantly, before the power of the "No Self" technique had truly been fully formed, the force attached to the tennis ball was transmitted to the hands of the Fuwa the Iron Man through the racket.

His hands unconsciously chose to let go.

Thump!

The metal fence behind them was dented from the impact, and the tennis ball bounced high into the air, flying over the railing and landing in the stands.

"Game, Tezuka Kunimitsu, score 5-4."

"What?"

"What was that just now? How did the tennis ball fly back to him? And what was that light?!"

"No self... the State of Selflessness!"

"Moreover, it's one of the three gates of selflessness, the Pinnacle of a Thousand Forgings!"

Chitose Senri stared wide-eyed, greedily gazing at the light enveloping Tezuka Kunimitsu.

That was the state he had always pursued.

"Has Seigaku's captain already come to this point?"

He's only in first grade!

Ignoring the commotion outside the court, Fuwa the Iron Man rubbed his wrist and picked up the dropped racket.

The face of the Fuwa the Iron Man showed no sign of being discouraged, but was instead filled with excitement.

He hadn't expected that what the other party was hiding was actually the State of Selflessness, and that they had already reached a very deep level.

Just now, because it happened so suddenly, there wasn't enough time. Now, as he kept savoring that fleeting feeling, he gradually grasped the key to it.

A confident smile played on his lips as he looked in Tezuka's direction, "Let you have a taste for yourself."

As the image of the Fuwa the Iron Man continued to appear, wisps of the aura of selflessness gradually gathered and were eventually successfully suppressed into his right hand.

He successfully mirrored Tezuka's signature move once again.

Tezuka stood on the service line, and his expression remained unchanged even as he watched his opponent successfully copy his signature move.

A flash of white light appeared on his glasses, and Tezuka's breathing began to change, but he did not cancel the Pinnacle of a Thousand Forgings; instead, he maintained it.

"Da da... da da..."

Tezuka bowed slightly, tapping the tennis ball in front of him, his gaze still calm.

Even now that he has reached the decisive moment, even if his opponent has mirrored his selfless technique, it cannot shake his resolve in the slightest.

He quietly searched for his feel for the ball until a certain moment.

Swish!

The tennis ball was thrown vertically from his palm.

The next moment, Tezuka did not jump high as he would for a normal serve, but instead raised his left hand, twisting his elbow dramatically.

At the same time, he subtly lowered the angle of his racket, striking the falling tennis ball directly.

Bang!

The angle was still as tricky as ever, the tennis ball shot out a straight pale yellow beam, landing precisely on the backhand half of the court of the Fuwa the Iron Man.

"That's such a simple serve! Let me show you your signature move!"

Fuwa the Iron Man glanced up, a confident smile appearing on his face.

Tap tap.

Just as he quickly caught up and ran to the point where the tennis ball landed, preparing to return the shot.

"Hiss hiss hiss--"

The tennis ball landed with a loud thud, but before the entire audience could react, it didn't bounce at all.

It rolled smoothly towards the center of the net.

"It didn't bounce at all?!"

Fuwa the Iron Man's confident smile froze, and his movements stopped.

He suddenly raised his eyes to look at the thin, frail figure opposite him. His light brown eyes narrowed abruptly, and an indescribable emotion rose in his heart.

Meanwhile, the audience outside the stadium erupted in chaos!

"You can actually do that?"

"The serve doesn't bounce?"

How can you possibly receive a serve like that?!

At this moment, not only the ordinary viewers, but also the school's Regular who had already advanced all narrowed their eyes, feeling immense pressure from Tezuka.

"Genichiro, let's go. We should head back. Our opponents for the second round have been decided, and it's none other than Seigaku you've been longing to face."

Yukimura glanced at the figure enveloped in multicolored light in the arena, then left with the Rikkai Dai Regular.

Sanada was also extremely excited at this moment.

Meanwhile, Atobe, Chitose, and Tachibana Kippei of the Hyotei Academy gave Tezuka a deep look, as if they wanted to remember him.

Tezuka Kunimitsu of Seigaku truly rose to fame at this moment.

Moreover, they used the reputation of the legendary Makino Fuji to promote Seigaku's fame.

As expected, four Zero Style Serve the victory for Tezuka, bringing the score to 6-4.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior!"

Thank you for your guidance.

After shaking hands, Fuwa the Iron Man watched the boy's departing figure with some emotion.

He seemed to see a new genius, similar to Byōdōin Hōō Tanegashima Shūji, emerge in the middle school world.

At this point, how could he not understand that his opponent had been using his basic strength to fight him to the very end in the fifth round before unleashing his full power?

After winning the fifth game, his serve will seal the victory.

Such composure and calmness, such tennis prowess.

"The Makino Fuji has indeed declined..."

Unsurprisingly, Akutsu and Fuji both won their subsequent matches.

Akutsu also taught Kadokawa Go a profound lesson.

Seigaku's first National Tournament saw them completely defeat the reigning Makino Fuji.

This news quickly spread throughout the secondary school community.

The name of Tezuka Kunimitsu Seigaku finally become widely known.