Individual Determinations

Saeki Muneyoshi didn't really want to watch the match between his team and the current Seigaku.

They were both trash, so what was there to see?

The system founded by Ryūzaki Sumire, where first-years were ball boys and second-years began training on the court, had been all the rage because Echizen Nanjirō had emerged from it.

When Echizen Nanjirō was at his peak, Seigaku, and even Ryūzaki Sumire, received countless praises and adoration.

This system was revered as gospel.

Compared to other private middle schools that made their own changes and omissions.

Fudomine, a public middle school, had perfectly inherited this system and further developed it.

Unlike Seigaku, where second-years could enter the court for practice and participate in ranking matches.

Fudomine didn't even have ranking matches, and only third-years could participate as regular players.

As for who got selected, it was entirely up to the coach's discretion.

Therefore, at Fudomine, the most important thing wasn't being able to play tennis, but having a good relationship with the coach.

Ohashi Miku had a very good relationship with him, so she was chosen as the captain and became singles one.

Muneyoshi, being young and unwilling to suck up to the coach, wasn't favored, even with school leadership recommendations.

Although he was given a spot as a regular player, it was equivalent to getting a free best seat to watch the match.

It had to be said, this move was played quite skillfully.

Muneyoshi, drinking his beverage, walked in a secluded part of the park, looking for a place to lie down and rest.

Just then, he heard the sound of a tennis ball being hit.

"Heh, as expected of the Prince of Tennis world, tennis sounds can be heard everywhere."

Muneyoshi was drawn over and saw a familiar figure in a blue and white training uniform, with tea-colored hair and glasses, practicing there.

"Huh? Tezuka!"

Muneyoshi recognized the figure on the court at a glance; it was Seigaku's Tezuka.

"Yo, classmate Tezuka, long time no see!"

Thwack!

Hearing the voice behind him, Tezuka stopped his shot, turned around, and seeing who it was, adjusted his glasses and said calmly, "Oh, it's classmate Saeki..."

As he spoke, Tezuka noticed Muneyoshi's attire: all black, with only a few red and white accents, and the large characters for Fudomine on the back.

Fudomine's regular player uniform.

Tezuka's breath hitched. After a slight pause, he said, "Congratulations, classmate Saeki, on becoming a regular player for Fudomine!"

Muneyoshi, who was well aware that his spot as a regular was just for show, didn't say anything about it and changed the subject, striking up a casual conversation.

Muneyoshi could see that Tezuka wasn't wearing Seigaku's regular player uniform, which meant he hadn't been accepted by Ryūzaki Sumire yet.

This made Muneyoshi look down on him even more. He thought about how Echizen Ryoma would become a regular player as a first-year in the future.

But the current Tezuka was far stronger than Ryoma, yet he could only be a ball boy.

If Ryoma enrolled and she insisted on making him a ball boy too, Muneyoshi might have thought a little more highly of her.

But now?

Is this all?!!

Isn't Tezuka better than Ryoma?

In the end, it's all about connections, that old hag!

However, Muneyoshi was a bit surprised to see Tezuka's left hand intact and uninjured.

According to the plot, if Tezuka wasn't a regular player now, his hand should have been broken by a senior!

Now that it looked completely unharmed, was this the butterfly effect?

In fact, Muneyoshi had no idea that Tezuka hadn't been injured because Akutsu Jin had stepped in last time and beaten another regular player until he vomited blood, scaring him so badly that he quit tennis.

Such a terrifying brute had instilled fear in the entire Seigaku tennis club.

Even their attitude towards first-years had improved considerably during this period, and no one had bothered Tezuka yet.

Muneyoshi wasn't aware of these details; he didn't even know Akutsu Jin had gone to Seigaku.

Ever since his match with Tezuka, he had been immersed in training to explosively improve his skills and hadn't paid attention to matters concerning other schools.

Aside from Hyotei and Rikkai Dai, whose news had already been reported, he was unclear about anything else.

However, he couldn't say for sure how Tezuka, who was now unharmed, would develop.

Meeting Tezuka again after two months, he felt a renewed desire to compete.

But considering his current situation, he held back.

"Tezuka, I hope next time we can have a match on a real court!"

Hearing the cheers from a distance, Muneyoshi knew the match between the two teams had started, but he wasn't in a hurry to go. Instead, he spoke to Tezuka about the promise they made during their last match.

"These were the words I spoke after our last match ended. I wonder if you remember them?"

Tezuka, who had finished wiping his sweat and getting dressed, nodded upon hearing this. "I've always remembered them, Saeki-kun!"

"I hope you won't make me wait too long!"

Sensing the determination in Muneyoshi's words, Tezuka felt a sense of urgency rise within him. "I won't!"

"The festering sore that is the Fudomine tennis club has stunk for too long. I plan to personally eradicate it after this regional preliminary!"

Saeki Muneyoshi's eyes were filled with ferocity, but his tone was incredibly firm.

"What about you, Tezuka-kun? Can you still tolerate Seigaku continuing to suppress you?"

"These outdated rules should have been thrown into the toilet paper pile long ago. Hyotei's Atobe Keigo and Rikkai Dai's Yukimura and Sanada have already ignited this revolution."

"Are we... going to be weaker than them?"

After speaking, he tossed the soda can in his hand into a trash can seven or eight meters away and walked towards the match venue without looking back.

"Are we going to be weaker than them?"

Muneyoshi's resolute words echoed in Tezuka's ears. He was momentarily stunned, then remembered what Akutsu Jin had said to him two weeks prior.

"Hehehe... Is this the strength of Seigaku's regulars?"

"It's truly pathetic..."

"Tezuka, if you want to stay in this garbage tennis club forever, I won't accompany you. You should know why I came to Seigaku..."

Images flashed through his mind: Akutsu Jin, Fuji Shusuke, Oishi, Eiji, Kawamura, Akan...

All those figures who trusted him implicitly, as well as Yamato Yūdai constantly mediating between the first-years and Ryūzaki Sumire.

"Everyone! I won't let you down!"

Tezuka's expression became resolute, his voice firm. "Seigaku needs to change too!"

Returning to the match venue.

Actually, there wasn't much to say about the match. With Yamato Yūdai injured, Seigaku, who had sidelined their first-years, and Fudomine were pretty much evenly matched.

A match between rookies.

The play was incredibly ugly.

However, Seigaku's raw strength was slightly superior to Fudomine's. But under the special training from Tony Oki and Ohashi Miku, Fudomine had learned a repertoire of disgusting, underhanded tactics.

Yet, it was precisely because of these tactics that they managed to win back a doubles match and another singles match.

In these two victories, Fudomine had employed a street-baseball style of play.

Attacking the lower body, or constantly kicking up pebbles to hit the opponent's eyes.

The jeers from the sidelines were incessant, but these players felt no shame, rather pride.

The score was tied 2-2!

This gave Fudomine a real hope of winning.

However, Saeki Muneyoshi knew there was no chance at all. Yamato Yūdai's skill, even injured, was something Ohashi Miku couldn't contend with.

As expected, even with all sorts of dirty tricks, Ohashi Miku failed to win a single point.

The match ended 6-0.

Ultimately, Seigaku defeated Fudomine 3-2 and advanced to the next round.

After watching the entire match, Muneyoshi's expression by the sidelines was grim, his boundless anger reaching its peak.

Before finally leaving the court, he exchanged a glance with Tezuka on the opposite side.

They both saw the determination in each other's eyes.

ps: "Newcomer seeking votes"

I didn't expect to receive good news at the start of the new week yesterday. When I went to work at ten in the morning, I received a notification on my phone saying I could sign the contract. I felt very happy because I truly write books out of passion. For my first book, I didn't pay attention to it at all, but I still wrote 714,000 characters offline. Later, I felt the outline had collapsed too much and needed to rethink it before finishing, but I didn't plan to give up.

Writing The Prince of Tennis was really just to change my mindset. This is Danyang's second book and his first to be signed. I will write it seriously and hope not to disappoint everyone. Please also support and invest.