Tezuka Kunimitsu

"Tezuka, you're here."

After helping Akutsu to the sidelines to sit down, Muneyoshi greeted Tezuka as he walked onto the court.

"Yeah. Hello, Saeki. I came to honor our agreement."

Tezuka pushed up his glasses and replied coolly.

But the corner of his eye still flicked toward Akutsu Jin.

Tezuka had actually arrived a while ago. When he saw Saeki playing against someone, he decided to watch.

At first, he hadn't thought much of their match.

With his sharp eye, he'd noticed right away that Akutsu had no foundation in tennis and was relying entirely on his natural talent.

And although Saeki, who had invited him, was quite skilled, he hadn't shown anything that made Tezuka feel threatened.

It wasn't until Saeki returned Akutsu's smash with a technique much like the one he'd just used to punish him that Tezuka finally grew serious.

He knew full well that Muneyoshi's approach was based on overwhelming his opponent with power and mental pressure.

It was a completely different system from the path Tezuka had taken.

But it was still powerful enough to threaten him.

That made him glad. This was the kind of approach he wanted to understand.

Only by testing himself against opponents like this could his tennis improve as quickly as possible.

So when he saw Saeki help Akutsu to the sidelines, he walked onto the court.

Muneyoshi had of course noticed the eagerness in Tezuka's eyes, but he was just as excited.

"Do you need to warm up?"

Tezuka nodded, then went to the side, took out his racket, and began his pre-match warm-up routine.

"Hah, damn it! Is he the opponent you've been waiting for?"

Looking at Akutsu, who glared at him viciously, Muneyoshi didn't answer. He simply nodded solemnly.

Having already experienced Muneyoshi's crushing strength firsthand, Akutsu knew all too well how terrifying he was.

Seeing how seriously Muneyoshi treated this opponent, Akutsu—who had originally planned to leave after losing—found himself wanting to watch the match.

"Hah, you damn bastard! I'll beat you for sure!"

Watching Saeki Muneyoshi start warming up too, Akutsu's negative feelings flared again.

They'd already played a match, and now he needed to warm up?

That meant his match against Muneyoshi hadn't even counted as a warm-up!

But Muneyoshi paid Akutsu no mind. He turned his gaze toward the figure across the court.

As he watched Tezuka Kunimitsu carefully warm up, Muneyoshi's expression grew distant and complicated.

Ever since Saeki Muneyoshi had come to this world and learned that it was the world of The Prince of Tennis, he'd looked forward to meeting its true geniuses.

He'd first picked up a racket and started practicing tennis six years ago. Now he'd graduated from elementary school.

His skills had improved rapidly, but he'd never gone looking for the geniuses of this world.

He knew he wasn't strong enough yet and still had plenty of room to improve.

But now, he'd stalled at the threshold of the National Level, unable to break through.

Deep down, he already understood that to cross this boundary, he had to face a genuine match.

A match against a strong opponent.

That was why he'd invited Fuji before, and why he'd played Akutsu today.

He was searching for an opportunity to break through.

But neither of them had put enough pressure on Muneyoshi.

Yukimura Seiichi was strong enough, but he wouldn't readily agree to play someone.

Besides, Yukimura's tennis was still too dangerous for Muneyoshi at his current level.

After considering it from every angle, Tezuka was the only choice.

Among those his age, only Tezuka Kunimitsu had the skill to put him under immense pressure.

He'd only wanted to challenge Tezuka once. He hadn't expected Tezuka to agree, let alone that they'd actually meet on the court. For a moment, Muneyoshi didn't know what to say.

Tezuka might have thought they'd only just met, but Muneyoshi didn't see it that way.

Back when he was still in elementary school, he'd been thrilled to learn he'd come to the world of The Prince of Tennis.

He'd picked up a racket almost immediately, pushing himself forward with memories of Tezuka and Yukimura's strength and brilliant accomplishments.

In that sense, Tezuka had been an inspiration to him all along.

Tezuka just didn't know it.

"Tezuka, thanks for coming. I hope we can have a proper match today. And please don't hold back. You want to take another step forward too, right?"

Once they'd finished warming up, Saeki Muneyoshi stood at the net and held out a hand, smiling faintly.

"I won't. Let's give this match our full attention, Saeki."

Tezuka took Muneyoshi's hand, a flash of brilliance in his eyes.

Muneyoshi felt his blood begin to boil. He'd gotten used to life in the world of The Prince of Tennis, but Tezuka still stirred something different in him.

After all, the very name of this man filled him with anticipation.

Muneyoshi still didn't know just how strong Tezuka Kunimitsu was, but he'd find out as their match went on.

"Who'll call?"

"Heads."

Saeki Muneyoshi answered casually, and Tezuka Kunimitsu nodded.

Clatter...

The racket spun a few times before landing. Muneyoshi glanced at it and said, "Tails. Looks like you're in luck today, Tezuka."

After that, the two of them returned to their respective baselines.

As Tezuka Kunimitsu prepared to serve, Saeki Muneyoshi cast aside every stray thought and focused completely on the court.

Seeing how solemn Muneyoshi looked across the court, Tezuka showed no reaction.

"Pa... pa... pa!"

Standing sideways, he lightly bounced on his toes and leaned forward slightly, pressing his palm against the small yellow ball.

He focused, slowly raised his right hand, tossed the tennis ball into the air, then bent his knees and sprang upward.

His elbow bent as his long arm swung back with the racket. His well-trained body began to tense.

Tezuka's perfectly defined muscles flashed beneath his lifted shirt, and his powerful physique unleashed an astonishing burst of energy.

He swung the racket in his left hand with force. The entire serving motion flowed smoothly, all in one breath.

Thwack!

Akutsu's vision blurred. Then a sharp crack rang in his ears.

Like an antelope leaping across a valley, the ball took a sharp, angled path through the air, then landed on the corner line of Saeki Muneyoshi's service box like a cannonball.

"What a fast, powerful serve!"

On the sidelines, Akutsu's eyelid twitched as he looked at the cold-faced guy with glasses, startled.

"So this is the opponent that bastard was waiting for?!"

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

Saeki Muneyoshi paid no attention to Akutsu Jin's changing expression. His reflexes were extremely quick; the moment the ball hit the ground, he'd already judged where it would land.

Using the explosive power in his legs, he reached the spot beside the ball in an instant.

Against Tezuka, Saeki Muneyoshi couldn't afford to hold back.

The muscles in his arm bulged as he used strength that would have been impressive even among middle schoolers to slam the ball back.

Thwack!

The orange ball shot across the net like a cannonball, whistling through the air.

And that wasn't all. As soon as Muneyoshi returned the ball, he sprinted toward the net.

He was serving and volleying, a technique he rarely used.

It was a technique he'd practiced for years with Saeki Kojiro.

In the original world, Kojiro's strongest assets had been his net play and Insight.

A glint flashed across Tezuka's glasses. He didn't seem to have an opinion on Muneyoshi's choice, but he adjusted the angle of his return slightly.

His racket left a streaking afterimage.

Thwack!

With a roar, his racket slammed into the ball just as it bounced.

Screee!

The ball shot toward Muneyoshi's feet.

The best way to counter a serve-and-volley was to target the opponent's feet.

Muneyoshi furrowed his brow. Tezuka's timing was always so precise.

Caught off guard, Muneyoshi had no choice but to hit a Half Volley. The ball cleared the net a little too high.

But Tezuka had already reached the net. He leaped high and smashed the ball with all his might.

Muneyoshi's expression shifted slightly. At the last possible moment, he switched the racket to his left hand and returned the ball.

But he immediately felt a powerful spin coming from the ball against his racket. It slid across the racket face and shot away.

"15–0."

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