What Is Your Limit, Akutsu?

"You damned bastard!"

Bang!

The perfect, standard serve once again flew out of Akutsu's hands.

Muneyoshi reacted quickly; the instant Akutsu swung his racket, he anticipated the trajectory of the shot, and out of the corner of his eye, he caught Akutsu's running motion.

With light steps, Muneyoshi reached the landing point of the tennis ball in just a few strides, and then swung his arm out with great ease.

The tennis ball flew over the middle net and landed in Akutsu's half of the court.

Seeing this, Akutsu's lips curled into a slight smile, his long, slender leg muscles instantly tensed, and he stomped his left foot backward, leaping forward with astonishing speed.

Swish...

The wind and waves generated by his vigorous running swept past his ears, making his hair look disheveled.

Akutsu's hands hung naturally at his sides, remaining still. His body moved with the agility of a cheetah running at top speed, and in the blink of an eye, he arrived at the landing point of the tennis ball.

Bang!

With a powerful, muscular swing of his arm, he sent the tennis ball flying directly toward Muneyoshi's weak backhand baseline.

The counterattack wasn't over yet; Akutsu used the same tactic again, rushing towards the net at an astonishing speed.

"Impressive sprint speed, and a keen sense of smell!"

Muneyoshi's eyes lit up. Akutsu's movements were fluid and graceful. Compared to his previous reliance on physical strength, his tennis fundamentals had been solidified.

His excellent technique, combined with his superb athletic physique, has brought him to the top level in the Kanto region.

His current strength is almost the same as when Saeki Muneyoshi first faced him a year ago.

"Is he really targeting me?"

Seeing Akutsu's unwillingness to back down and his desire to crush him head-on, Muneyoshi also abandoned his casual attitude.

"Then let me see your limits, Akutsu!"

Rather than passive defense, Muneyoshi's personality does indeed bear a striking resemblance to Akutsu's.

Those who know him well know that he is definitely not the kind of player who waits for an opportunity to play a defensive counter-attacking style.

Instead, he is an all-around player who seizes every opportunity and takes the initiative in the attack.

Although he seems more inclusive compared to Akutsu's Hyper-Offensive tennis style, it would be a mistake to think that Muneyoshi is incapable of fierce attacks.

With each step he took, Muneyoshi began to run, his feet simultaneously plunging downwards as he charged forward.

Immediately afterwards, his center of gravity began to rise and fall.

His perfectly sculpted physique began to unleash its power. Muneyoshi pushed off with the toes of his right foot and lifted his left foot in a step.

After a brilliant mid-air lateral shift and change of direction, his speed did not decrease at all, and he rushed directly towards the tennis ball that Akutsu had pulled into a slanted line of light.

He leaped into the air, holding the racket in both hands, the racket slightly raised backward, and his elbows lowered a few centimeters at the same time.

With his body slightly tilted and all his weight on his wrist, he swung the tennis ball hard while it was still in the air.

The members of Seigaku were very familiar with this movement and posture.

Especially Momoshiro Takeshi, who was still quite inexperienced at the time, exclaimed in surprise, "This is the Center of Gravity Vertical Jump Style I'm learning!"

Of course, this is a different term than the more common name for Center of Gravity Vertical Jump Style.

Muneyoshi prefers to call it:

"Jack Knife!"

Bang!

A wisp of purplish-black flame flashed across Muneyoshi's body, and the tennis ball was also brought out with a slight black glow, bouncing straight towards Akutsu's feet.

"Saeki Muneyoshi, I've seen your tennis ball! You're too slow, get over here!"

With his astonishing dynamic vision and athletic ability Akutsu instantly arrived at the landing point of the tennis ball, a chilling smile playing on his lips.

Akutsu stretched out his arm and scooped up the tennis ball with his backhand.

He then used his arm muscles to try and hit it back.

However, the next moment, his smile froze on his lips.

The moment the racket touched the tennis ball, Akutsu's eyes narrowed sharply. This seemingly ordinary return shot contained astonishing power.

Not only was Muneyoshi's terrifying strength, but his entire weight was pressing down on this ball.

Akutsu only held on for a second before feeling a sharp pain in his wrist as Muneyoshi knocked his racket away with a powerful blow.

Snap!

The tennis ball's force was not diminished at all by Akutsu's obstruction; after bouncing up, it slammed heavily onto the iron net behind him, creating a small dent in the net.

This has deeply captivated tennis players.

"Saeki... Muneyoshi scores, 30-0."

"What's wrong, Akutsu? You can't even hold on with that little strength?"

Seeing Akutsu's shocked expression and the equally horrified looks on the faces of the Seigaku members after that shot, Muneyoshi's lips curled into a smirk, and he blurted out another trash talk:

"It seems I overestimated you. Your progress isn't as great as I imagined. I'd better hold back a bit more!"

Akutsu had just recovered from the numbness in his arm and picked up his dropped racket, flew into a rage upon hearing this:

"Who asked you to hold back? I was going to hit that ball back to you!"

"Oh? That's ambitious. If you can do it, then give it a try!"

Bang!

It was still serve-and-volley; Akutsu's stubborn nature showed no sign of backing down, even when facing Saeki Muneyoshi.

Muneyoshi, of course, would not back down.

He took a step forward, and his body once again soared into the air, with strands of extremely dim purplish-black light swaying in the sunlight.

Bang!

With a flick of his wrist and a downward thrust of his racket, Muneyoshi once again perfectly utilized the force of his falling body, bending down in mid-air to smash the ball.

The tennis ball made a sharp, crisp sound, and a pale yellow beam of light slammed into Akutsu's backcourt, where he had no way to get back.

"Game, Saeki Muneyoshi, Score 1-0!"

After the change of ends, the game continued.

However, the audience was even more surprised by their performance than by their clashes on the field.

Especially these first graders.

The clash between the two, far surpassing their own level, made everyone afraid to miss a single exciting moment.

"Gurgle."

"They're both so strong!"

The first-year members of Seigaku and Fudomine, who were watching, stared wide-eyed.

The intense, fast-paced attacks and explosive returns on the court were clearly felt even by those watching from the sidelines.

From the second game onwards, the clash between the two was like a whirlwind.

Akutsu's attacks and Saeki Muneyoshi's counterattacks came wave after wave, giving neither of them a chance to breathe.

However, the players who had improved their skills had already seen through the situation of the match.

Although Akutsu still looked fierce, he was already at his limit under Muneyoshi's relentless pressure.

Although his attacks still looked sharp, and his speed remained fast...

However, he still struggled to score any points against Muneyoshi.

Moreover, a sudden attack from Muneyoshi could shatter the offensive rhythm he had painstakingly built up, leaving him in a state of disarray once again.

"Akutsu, is this your limit now?"

Bang!

Muneyoshi's voice rang out as he effortlessly countered Akutsu's attack once again.

"If this is all the revenge you've got, and this is the best you can do with your aggressive tennis, then I'm afraid I had too high expectations of you!"

His voice was filled with disdain, belittling, pity, and a hint of disappointment.

Such words were extremely damaging to Akutsu, who was most intolerant of being told what to do or being pitied by others.

"Aaaaaah! Saeki Muneyoshi, no!! lecturing me!!! I'm going to beat you to a pulp!"

Spurred on by Muneyoshi's words, Akutsu, who had already reached a bottleneck and was trapped in an offensive predicament, unleashed a burst of power once again.

His aura was filled with malice; the mere presence he exuded was enough to frighten anyone.

However, Muneyoshi's expression remained unchanged. This kind of Aura Path had already appeared in Akutsu a year ago, and it didn't mean anything.

"The Aura Path is useless; you might as well surrender!"

"He seems to have had enough, "Muneyoshi's voice was filled with coldness.

It also seems that they are dissatisfied with the fact that Akutsu's strength has only increased slightly so much.

Muneyoshi also started to use more force.

Without anyone noticing, a faint light flashed on Muneyoshi's racket, and he forcefully returned the incoming tennis ball.

Moreover, because Muneyoshi applied strong spin to the tennis ball, it caused it to shake violently as it flew over the middle of the net.

Four tennis balls appeared directly in Akutsu's half of the court.

"Damn it!!! How... how could I... give up!"

Under the pressure of Saeki Muneyoshi's overwhelming strength, Akutsu seemed to have returned to the time when he was powerless, and he roared madly.

At the same time, the grayish-white aura that had been surrounding him began to show faint wisps of silver light, and the outer edge of the aura resembled burning ash flames.

The aura became increasingly tangible.

This is a manifestation of spiritual power extending into the external world.

P. S.: "Everyone, tell me, isn't this love between Akutsu and the main character? Akutsu is the protagonist's favorite!!!"