Tezuka Kunimitsu

"Tezuka-kun, you're here."

Helping Akutsu to the side of the court to sit down, Muneyoshi greeted Tezuka as he entered the court.

"Yeah, hello Saeki-kun, I've come to keep our appointment."

Pushing up his glasses, Tezuka said coolly.

However, his peripheral vision still flickered towards Jin Akutsu standing nearby.

Tezuka had actually arrived a while ago and, seeing Saeki dueling with someone, decided to watch.

Initially, Tezuka hadn't paid much attention to their match.

With his insight, he had long since noticed that Akutsu had no tennis foundation and was playing purely on talent.

And Saeki, who had invited him, while skilled, hadn't displayed any techniques that could threaten him.

It wasn't until Tezuka saw the counter to Akutsu's smash and this final move, which resembled a penalty shot, that he became truly serious.

He knew very well that the technique Muneyoshi was using was an oppression of both strength and spirit.

This was a completely different system from the path he was on.

But it was powerful enough, enough to threaten him.

This made him feel delighted; this was the path he wanted to understand.

Only by testing himself against such an opponent could his tennis skills grow the fastest.

Therefore, seeing Saeki helping Akutsu to the sidelines, he walked in.

Muneyoshi naturally noticed the eagerness in Tezuka's eyes, but the excitement in his own heart was no less.

"Do you need to warm up?"

Tezuka nodded, then walked to the side, took out his racket, and began various pre-match warm-up exercises.

"Hmph, you damn guy, is he the opponent you were waiting for?"

Looking at Akutsu, who was glaring at him fiercely, Muneyoshi didn't answer, just nodded solemnly.

Having already experienced the crushing power of Muneyoshi, Akutsu knew how terrifying he was.

Seeing that even Muneyoshi was taking this seriously, Akutsu, who had originally wanted to leave after losing, subconsciously wanted to watch.

"Hmph, you damn guy, I will definitely beat you!"

Looking at Saeki Muneyoshi, who was also starting to warm up, Akutsu's negative emotions erupted again.

After playing a match with him, he still needed to warm up?

This meant that his previous match with the opponent didn't even count as a warm-up!

However, Muneyoshi ignored Akutsu at this moment, turning his gaze to the figure opposite him.

Looking at Kunimitsu Tezuka on the other side, who was seriously warming up, Muneyoshi's eyes held a hint of daze, and a touch of complexity.

Ever since Saeki Muneyoshi arrived in this world and learned it was the world of Prince of Tennis, he had been looking forward to meeting these true geniuses.

From the first time he touched a racket to practice tennis six years ago, to now, graduating from elementary school.

Although his own strength had been rapidly improving, he had never sought out the geniuses of this world.

He knew his strength was still insufficient, and he still had a lot of room for improvement.

But now, standing at the threshold of the national level, he was unable to cross it.

He understood in his heart that to cross this level, he needed to experience real matches.

Matches against strong opponents.

So, he had previously invited Fuji, and today he had played a match with Akutsu.

All of this was to find a breakthrough.

But they didn't put enough pressure on Muneyoshi.

Seiichi Yukimura's strength was sufficient, but he wouldn't easily agree to matches.

Moreover, his tennis was still too dangerous for the current Muneyoshi.

After much thought, it was still Tezuka.

Currently, among those his age, only Kunimitsu Tezuka possessed sufficient strength and could give him immense pressure.

He had only thought of challenging Tezuka once, and he never expected him to actually agree. Now that he was actually meeting him on the court, Muneyoshi found himself at a loss for words.

Although to Tezuka, they were just meeting for the first time, Muneyoshi didn't see it that way.

Back when he was still in elementary school and learned he had come to the Prince of Tennis world, he was incredibly excited.

He had immediately picked up a racket, using the powerful strength and glorious deeds of Tezuka and Yukimura from his memory as motivation.

In that sense, Tezuka could be considered his lifelong inspiration.

It was just that Tezuka didn't know it.

"Tezuka-kun, thank you for coming. I hope we can have a good match this time, and please don't hold back. You also want to improve yourself, right!"

After finishing their warm-up, Saeki Muneyoshi stood at the net and extended a hand, smiling gently.

"I will, Saeki-kun. Let's give this match our full attention."

Extending his own hand to grasp Muneyoshi's, a glint flashed in Tezuka's eyes.

Muneyoshi felt his blood begin to boil. Though he had grown accustomed to life in the Prince of Tennis world, he still felt something different about Tezuka.

After all, the man's name alone carried a sense of anticipation.

Muneyoshi didn't know how strong Tezuka Kunimitsu was right now, but he would naturally find out as their match continued.

"Toss?"

"Heads."

Saeki Muneyoshi said calmly. Tezuka Kunimitsu nodded.

Tap...

The racket spun a few times before falling to the ground. Muneyoshi glanced at it and said, "Tails. It seems Tezuka-kun is luckier today."

With that, they each returned to their respective baseline.

Watching Tezuka Kunimitsu, who was about to serve, Saeki Muneyoshi cast aside all distracting thoughts, focusing all his energy on the court.

Seeing Muneyoshi's solemn expression on the opposite side of the court, Tezuka showed no outward reaction.

Tap... tap... tap!

Standing sideways, his toes tapping lightly, Tezuka leaned forward slightly, pressing the yellow ball in his palm.

He calmed his mind and slowly raised his right hand, tossing the tennis ball into the air as he bent his knees and arched his back to jump.

His elbow bent, and his long arm swung the racket back. His body, honed through constant training, tensed.

Tezuka's perfect muscle definition flashed briefly as his shirt lifted, his strong physique unleashing astonishing power.

He swung his racket with his left hand, the entire serving motion fluid and seamless.

Bang!

Akutsu only saw a blur before his eyes, followed by a crisp sound.

Like a gazelle leaping, the tennis ball traced a refracted, angled path through the air, landing like a cannonball precisely on the corner line of Saeki Muneyoshi's receiving area.

"What a fast, powerful serve!"

Akutsu, watching from the sidelines, his eyelids twitched slightly. He looked at the cold-faced, bespectacled man with surprise.

"Is this the opponent this detestable guy has been waiting for?!"

"So tennis can be played like this... Interesting..."

Saeki Muneyoshi paid no mind to Akutsu Jin's changing expression from the sidelines. His reaction speed was incredibly fast; the moment the tennis ball landed, he had already anticipated its trajectory.

Using the explosive power of his legs, he instantly moved to the side of where the ball landed.

Facing Tezuka, Saeki Muneyoshi had no confidence or capital to hold back.

His arm muscles bulged as he used his strength, which was considered powerful even among junior high students, to smash the tennis ball back with great force.

Bang!

The orange tennis ball, like a cannonball, whistled through the air and sped across the net.

Furthermore, not only did he return the ball after receiving it, but Muneyoshi also quickly sprinted towards the net.

He was going for a serve-and-volley, a technique he rarely used.

This was also a technique he had practiced for years with Saeki Kojiro.

After all, in his original world, Kojiro's most notable skills were his net play and his insight.

Tezuka's mirrored eyes flashed. He didn't comment on Muneyoshi's choice but slightly adjusted his return angle.

His racket left a blur.

Bang!

With a roar, the racket heavily struck the just-bouncing tennis ball.

Swoosh!

It shot towards Muneyoshi's feet.

The best way to counter a serve-and-volley was to attack the feet.

Muneyoshi frowned slightly. Tezuka's timing was always so precise.

Forced into a hasty half-volley, Muneyoshi hit the ball slightly too high over the net.

But Tezuka had already reached the net and leaped up, unleashing a full-force smash.

Muneyoshi's expression shifted slightly. At the last second, he switched his racket from his right hand to his left to catch the ball.

However, Muneyoshi felt a strong spin from the tennis ball on his racket, and then the ball slipped directly off the strings and flew out.

"15-0."

ps: "To all my dear readers, please recommend and collect this new book! o(╯□╰)o"