The Man Who Challenged the Tokyo Metropolis Tennis Club in Legend

Seigaku Tennis Club.

News that the "monster" Akutsu Jin was competing against a student from another school quickly attracted the attention of many club members.

The court where the match was being held was completely surrounded by a throng of spectators, making it impossible to move.

When Tezuka slowly walked towards the court and saw the situation, with club members neglecting their training, he frowned and was about to reprimand them.

However, just then.

An uninvited "guest" had already arrived at Seigaku, appearing at the corner intersection outside the tennis court.

The newcomer was a reporter in his forties, wearing a light green shirt, with short, chestnut-colored hair, a red tie, a briefcase, and a camera hanging from his chest.

This middle-aged reporter was Inoue Mamoru, who had previously photographed Hyotei Academy.

As soon as he arrived at Seigaku and rounded the corner, the first thing that met his eyes was the current scene of a packed crowd, which greatly surprised him.

"Didn't they say Seigaku's tennis club was being reorganized and undergoing changes?"

"How is it more lively now..."

As early as the first match of the regional qualifiers began, Inoue Mamoru had gathered information on the outstanding seeds from most schools in Tokyo Metropolis.

What excited him the most were the changes at Hyotei and Rikkai Dai.

Therefore, he had kept an eye out, wanting to see if Seigaku had any promising talents, but he was greatly disappointed after his visit.

Compared to Hyotei and Rikkai Dai, who were actively reforming, Seigaku still maintained its old ways of thinking.

But yesterday afternoon, after returning from a business trip to the Kyushu region, he heard exciting special news.

--A very significant event had occurred in the Seigaku Tennis Club.

A first-year student named Tezuka Kunimitsu had overthrown the entire tennis club and defeated the former captain, Yamato Yūdai, to become the new captain of the Seigaku Tennis Club.

The first thing he did after taking office was to hold an intra-school ranking match to select the regular members based on their abilities.

In this ranking match, the first-year students performed exceptionally well and moved up the ranks.

Among the upperclassmen, except for the former captain Yamato Yūdai, everyone else was defeated.

It's important to note that such an event completely went against the rules that Seigaku had always followed.

It just so happened that at the time of this incident, Seigaku Tennis Club's coach, Ryūzaki Sumire, was "coincidentally" ill.

She was expected to be absent for four months, giving her no chance to prevent such an event.

Because of this, Seigaku became the third team to undergo a complete transformation, following Hyotei Academy and Kanagawa's Rikkai Dai.

Upon learning this news, Inoue Mamoru couldn't sit still.

Seigaku's tennis club had always held a special place in Inoue Mamoru's heart.

Although it had been weak for many years and its results had been poor in recent years, generally yielding no valuable news.

However, this school was the alma mater of his only idol—the legendary samurai—Echizen Nanjirō.

This tennis club was also the starting point of Echizen Nanjirō's tennis journey.

To Inoue Mamoru, Seigaku always possessed a legendary filter.

With such a drastic change occurring now, how could he not pay attention?

Coupled with his keen journalistic instincts as an excellent reporter, he felt there was definitely a story to be uncovered behind this incident.

This was the reason for his appearance at the Seigaku Tennis Club.

Originally, Inoue Mamoru thought that Seigaku's atmosphere wouldn't be very good after this upheaval, but at this moment.

The sight of the crowded tennis court still surprised him, completely contrary to his expectations.

The entire tennis court was surrounded, and without a doubt, something big must have happened.

Inoue Mamoru had intended to gather some material, but as he looked up, he saw a figure with an outstanding aura slowly walking towards him from a distance.

His eyes immediately lit up, and he quickly walked towards Tezuka.

Tap...

Hearing the approaching footsteps and feeling an intense gaze, Tezuka felt curious. He turned around and looked up.

"Hello, my name is Inoue Mamoru, and I'm a reporter from Tennis Professional Monthly."

"I'm here today because I heard a few days ago that many significant things had happened at the Seigaku Tennis Club, and I've come to understand the situation."

"You must be Tezuka-kun, right? If it's convenient, could I conduct a brief interview?"

Tezuka was taken aback. Still a first-year student, his aura wasn't as strong as it would be two years later, but he could maintain his composure in the face of major events.

Therefore, Tezuka agreed to Inoue Mamoru's request and asked him to follow him to a less crowded area on the other side of the court for the interview, where he could also observe the match.

On the court, the two individuals who had clashed again displayed completely different states.

Compared to over two months ago, Muneyoshi's strength had undergone a sea change. With the help of Tezuka and Fuji, Akutsu had also systematically learned the true tennis system and common techniques.

Furthermore, he had corrected many bad habits and, under systematic training, his strength had also greatly improved.

However, the gap between him and Muneyoshi had not closed because of this.

The score of a clear 4-0 in less than fifteen minutes also spoke volumes about the difference between the two.

Bang!

Akutsu once again powerfully hit the ball to Muneyoshi's left half of the court.

Swish!

Muneyoshi paid it no mind, a slight smile on his lips, and slid his foot.

He appeared at the ball's landing spot, extending his arm forward.

Bang!

The moment his racket intercepted the tennis ball, Muneyoshi applied a slight force to his forearm and pulled it horizontally.

The tennis ball, to Akutsu's astonished gaze, refracted in the opposite direction towards the corner of his left baseline.

A very beautiful line-hugging shot.

"Game, switch sides, score 5-0."

Seeing Akutsu's disbelieving eyes, Saeki Muneyoshi, inspired by Atobe's "cup-holding" aura after playing a match against him, wanted to tease Akutsu a bit more.

"How is it, Akutsu? Don't get lost in my magnificent tennis skills, alright?"

The smile on Muneyoshi's lips grew more amiable, and he stared intently at Akutsu, perfectly mimicking Atobe's tone and posture.

Akutsu's brow furrowed slightly, and his dark gold eyes coldly glared at the clowning Saeki Muneyoshi.

He didn't curse or yell like before, merely walked towards his baseline with a solemn expression.

However, his inner turmoil was far from calm.

At this moment, Saeki Muneyoshi had risen to the top of his list of most disliked people.

"I'll crush you!"

Squeezing the tennis ball forcefully, Akutsu tossed it upwards. As his elbow rotated, his arm swung down with immense power.

Bang!

A wisp of gray light seemed to appear on the tennis ball, and a terrifying and dangerous aura suddenly descended upon the court.

Muneyoshi, on the opposite side of the court, felt as if his body was being suppressed, all his movements seemingly slowed down.

"Hmm, an aura? Is this... the aura of a beast?"

"Or the aura of a demon?"

Carefully sensing the invisible suppression that enveloped the court, a hint of surprise flashed in Muneyoshi's eyes.

Because of him, Akutsu, who was introduced to the right path of tennis in his first year, was now undergoing a transformation that only happened in his third year in the original story?

One Atobe, one Akutsu, both evolved ahead of schedule because of him.

This world would likely be very interesting in the future!

This was also in line with Muneyoshi's original thought: without the entanglement of regretful matters, they should have shone even brighter.

Now, all of this was merely walking on the correct path.

"If that's the case, then what about you two, Tezuka! Fuji!"

Muneyoshi's gaze shifted to the other side of the court, where Tezuka, who had just finished his interview, and Fuji, who had joined him at some point, were standing.

As if sensing Muneyoshi's intentions, the smiles on their lips faded, and their expressions turned solemn.

"Akutsu, your progress is fast, but it's not enough. I'll show you and everyone else my current tennis!"

A dark aura surged from his body, and a flash of black, ethereal light enveloped the entire tennis ball flying towards him.

"Inoue-kun, the second round of the regional preliminaries is about to begin, and then comes the Metropolitan Tournament. How should we write the next issue of the monthly magazine?"

Recalling the editor-in-chief's words, Inoue Mamoru spread out all the photos he had taken on his desk, contemplating the content of the magazine.

He was certain that the new issue of the monthly magazine would be very rich in content.

Just then, he saw another set of photos taken at Seigaku beneath the other pictures.

A silver-haired boy in black also left a deep impression on him.

Moreover, he had been hearing news about this boy from other schools and informants these past few days.

Could he also use this boy as a focal point for this issue's magazine?

Inoue Mamoru thought for a moment, then made his decision. He then wrote in the corner of the magazine:

The Man Who Toppled Tokyo Metropolis's Tennis Scene

The man who, in legend, challenged the tennis club of Tokyo Metropolis.

PS: "Please vote with monthly and recommendation tickets. I won't refuse any. Otherwise, Muneyoshi won't know where to go next."