Hyotei Academy

Hyotei Academy, the most luxurious school in the Kanto region.

Its campus covered 36,845 square meters, with an elegant environment and comprehensive facilities.

The academy offered a wide variety of club activities. The most famous, of course, was the Tennis Club, hailed as number one in Tokyo Metropolis and among the top four in the nation.

Saeki Muneyoshi glanced at the extravagantly luxurious academy before him, smiled, and stepped inside.

He had not come sightseeing today. Hopefully, they would not mind.

"What tone should I use, though?"

As he walked, Muneyoshi kept imagining what kind of tone he should use to get Atobe to play a match with him.

"Atobe, I admire you greatly. Please play a match with me..."

The image flashed through his mind, and Muneyoshi felt goosebumps rise all over his body. He hurriedly kicked that thought away.

"Hey, Atobe, want to see my tennis? Let's play a match..."

Muneyoshi shook his head again. "No, that's too stupid!"

"Atobe, I heard you're pretty good. Let me see your tennis!"

After running through countless scenarios in his head, he finally found an opening he was somewhat satisfied with. Still, repeating the same thing over and over made him irritated and restless.

"Forget it. I'll take it one step at a time and go with the flow."

Thump, thump.

The sound of tennis balls being struck continuously reached his ears.

"Finally found it!"

Hyotei Academy was far bigger than Fudomine, and Muneyoshi had spent quite a while searching before finding the Tennis Club.

As he drew closer to the courts, a familiar feeling returned to him, and the flame hidden in his heart involuntarily flickered.

At that moment, it felt as though he had returned to the training grounds at Fudomine.

Sensing the change in his own aura, Muneyoshi felt pleased. It seemed "Dark" was still affecting him.

Still, that minor change was nothing much.

He swept back his flowing hair with one hand, lifted his chin slightly, and swaggered in through the entrance.

His eye-catching presence quickly drew the attention of the club members practicing on the courts.

When Hyotei's Regulars were not practicing, the courts were used by these reserve members, who were diligent about attendance and training.

Hyotei Academy had over two hundred club members. Compared to the sparse handful of people in Fudomine's Tennis Club, Hyotei's tennis atmosphere was far more intense.

"Stop! Are you even a member of the Tennis Club?"

Seeing Saeki Muneyoshi's utterly unfamiliar face and the temperament that did not fit Hyotei Academy at all, the members who often practiced on the courts quickly sensed something was off.

Although he wore ordinary casual clothes with no indication of what school he attended, they could first rule out the possibility that he was a member of Hyotei's first or second Regular teams.

Besides, his face was completely unfamiliar, and with that playful, roguish expression... this guy had come looking for trouble!

Sure enough...

"I heard there's a guy here named Atobe Keigo who's pretty strong?"

"Tell him to come out and play a match with me!"

For some reason, Muneyoshi's tone had completely diverged from what he had originally imagined, becoming rather flippant and mocking.

Maybe that was his true nature?

Or had "Dark" caused some kind of mental change?

Before Muneyoshi could think it over carefully, his words quickly provoked the displeasure of everyone on the courts.

"Hey, where did this brat come from? How dare you call the captain by his name like that!"

"You bastard, watch your tone!"

"You came here looking for trouble, didn't you?!"

Muneyoshi's words stirred up the indignation of every club member present, and shouts of rebuke kept coming from the crowd as it gradually gathered around him.

Seeing this, Muneyoshi felt a little jealous.

Even though he had only enrolled for a little over a month, Lord Atobe's personal charisma was already beginning to shine through.

Despite his arrogant, narcissistic personality, he had somehow earned the heartfelt respect of Hyotei's Tennis Club members so quickly.

"Compared to those popular characters from the original story, I'm really lacking now."

Muneyoshi mocked himself a little.

And it was indeed true. Ever since joining the Tennis Club, Atobe had begun carrying out sweeping reforms.

Now, even some second- and third-years carried out the training Atobe assigned without cutting corners.

That kind of charisma had quickly drawn a large group of followers under his command.

Saeki Muneyoshi's words and attitude just now had been filled with disdain for Atobe. That was no small matter; it was like poking a hornet's nest.

Everyone stepped forward, wanting to teach Muneyoshi, this stranger who had appeared out of nowhere, a lesson.

Seeing how a single sentence and expression had ignited Hyotei's fury, Muneyoshi was rather pleased.

That way, he would not have to worry about finding someone to play against. He immediately made his tone even harsher.

"What's with all the nonsense? Since your captain's too much of a coward to come out, then you..."

A dark, terrifying aura spilled out. Muneyoshi released the presence he had been suppressing in his heart, one he had not perfectly controlled, and the flame rose once more.

The previously noisy courts instantly fell silent, the bright practice grounds seemingly veiled in a dark haze.

All the club members watched Muneyoshi uneasily, as though they were staring into a bottomless abyss.

Muneyoshi took out his racket and walked to the center of the court. At that moment, a cool voice came from outside.

"Looks like the Tennis Club has acquired another extraordinary monster."

An icy presence came from behind him. Muneyoshi turned around, and his eyes immediately lit up.

A young man with short dark-blue hair and rectangular glasses stood coldly at the entrance to the Tennis Club.

"Oshitari Yushi. Since he's here, Atobe probably won't be far behind..."

Muneyoshi's lips curled slightly. Oshitari Yushi posed no threat to him now, but he would do nicely as a warm-up match.

"Great, it's Oshitari!"

"Oshitari, please teach this arrogant guy who came to the Tennis Club looking for trouble a lesson!"

Seeing a genuine Regular appear, the Hyotei members finally breathed a sigh of relief. That brief wave of darkness just now had been terrifying enough.

Amid the members' overlapping explanations, Oshitari also learned what had happened.

A glint flashed across his lenses as Oshitari gave Muneyoshi, standing in the center of the court, a cold look.

"Someone from another school came to challenge us? Interesting."

"But he strode into Hyotei so arrogantly. Since I ran into him, if I don't teach him a lesson, Atobe won't let it slide..."

A sharp light flashed in his eyes. Oshitari nodded and lightly pushed up his glasses. He had already decided to teach the arrogant fool before him a lesson.

"I don't know who you are, but you're pretty confident, aren't you? Want to play a match?"

"Heh, exactly what I wanted!"

With a faint smile, Muneyoshi merely gestured slightly, seemingly unconcerned about who his opponent was.

In truth, what happened on the court completely exceeded everyone's expectations. In less than ten minutes, the match had become utterly one-sided.

Screech, screech, screech...

Clatter!

Oshitari's clothes were completely soaked with sweat, and every time he returned the ball, his wrist felt unbearably heavy.

Muneyoshi's tennis had far too much penetrating force. This time, it had made him let go of his racket outright.

"Saeki Muneyoshi scores, 15-0."

Thump!

"30-0."

Thump!

"Game, Saeki Muneyoshi leads, 5-0."

Gripping his racket again, Oshitari lightly pressed his wrist. The reddened, swollen joint sent a trace of soreness through him.

He knew he was nearing his limit, while his opponent's strength remained unfathomable.

He was probably still holding back.

But...

A determined light flashed in Oshitari's eyes. He was one of Hyotei's Regulars!

A chill rose from his body. Oshitari regained his composure, and his previously scattered presence began to gather again. He would not admit defeat so easily.

"All right, that's enough!"

Just as the tennis ball was tossed into the air, an elegant voice came from the entrance.

A handsome young man in Hyotei's Regular uniform appeared on the court. He had a beauty mark at the corner of his eye, and all of Hyotei's Tennis Club Regulars had arrived behind him!

At their head was Hyotei's captain, Atobe Keigo!

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