The Hell Gatekeeper

"Where's the prey the coach assigned to me? What, did it escape?"

Oni Jūjirō slowly walked off the court. He stood quietly in front of the net, his gaze sweeping around as he turned his head, but he couldn't find Akutsu's figure.

However, he was not in a hurry. Judging from his interactions yesterday, Akutsu was not someone who would back down.

Therefore, Oni Jūjirō stood there, waiting for Akutsu to arrive.

His imposing, towering physique, like a small mountain, immediately drew the attention of everyone passing by.

"Oni Jūjirō, Akutsu's upcoming opponent!"

At this moment, the middle school students who were "late to the party" finally arrived at the place.

"Hey, I wonder how tough this guy called Oni is. You know Akutsu is no pushover!"

Watching the figures on the field, the middle school students who arrived later whispered among themselves.

Although their discussion was not loud, there were quite a few high school students in the lower-ranked games who were watching the game, and they all made strange noises upon hearing this.

"No way! Didn't you middle schoolers do any research before the competition? He's Oni Jūjirō!"

"Even Ghost Brother got scheduled to play! His middle school opponent is just too pitiful..."

"Exactly! Judging from their tone, they actually dare to dream of defeating Boss Gui! They have no idea what kind of monsters they're facing!"

In fact, the high school students had already gasped in surprise when the coaches made the announcement over the loudspeaker.

Now, after hearing the nonsensical remarks of the junior high school students, they are even more unceremoniously belittling them.

Most of those making exclamations and disparaging remarks were contestants from the second and third years of high school.

They had been in the training camp for a long time, and many of them had personally witnessed the match between Oni Jūjirō and Byōdōin Hōō.

These people probably don't have a clear understanding of the relative strengths of Irie Kanata, who usually stays away from training, and Tanegashima Shūji, who seems easy to bully.

However, they were deeply impressed by Oni Jūjirō, who had fought to a standstill against the No. 1 Byōdōin Hōō of this training camp in a match.

The level of their fight was completely beyond the comprehension and imagination of ordinary people like them.

They were well aware of and absolutely acknowledged the power of Oni Jūjirō.

Therefore.

Most of the high school students who came here at this time had a "the more the merrier" mentality.

Listening to the high school students' discussions and belittling, the junior high students also frowned.

They weren't stupid; anyone who could be so feared by these guys must be no ordinary person.

"Looks like a formidable fellow!"

Atobe brushed a strand of hair from his forehead and gave the surrounding high school students a cold look.

The danger posed by Oni Jūjirō can be glimpsed from the words and actions of these high school students.

"As expected of the place where Saeki Muneyoshi grew up, it seems there are quite a few monsters here!"

Not far away, Shiraishi touched his forehead.

However, despite this, his gaze never left the court for even a moment.

At that moment, the Seigaku members finally arrived at the court.

"Akutsu, be careful in this match. Your opponent looks very strong and won't be easy to deal with."

Fuji's smile vanished, and like Tezuka beside him, he looked at Akutsu with utmost seriousness.

In this match, Tezuka and Fuji were completely unable to intervene, and Inui Sadaharu just learned about the danger of this person through gathering information.

Stadium No. 5, Oni Jūjirō!

He was called the gatekeeper of hell by this group of high school students!

All who attempt to challenge him will be subjected to the most painful punishment and sent back to hell.

This dangerous title, coupled with his formidable record, made Tezuka feel suffocated.

However, Akutsu seemed unconcerned about their concerns.

On the contrary, knowing the strength of his opponent made him even more excited and threatened.

"If we beat him on Court 5, he'll be one step closer to Saeki Muneyoshi!"

Akutsu's dark golden pupils contracted, and he glared fiercely at the imposing figure on the court.

"Akutsu! Do your best!"

"That's right, Akutsu, teach these high schoolers a lesson! We middle schoolers are counting on you!"

The middle school students also cheered for Akutsu.

Although the high school students around them were bragging a lot, they weren't particularly confident.

However, the thought that they had also defeated a group of high school students yesterday shattered their belief that high school students were definitely stronger than them.

Even if some exceptional individuals are very strong, they should still be able to put up a fight against Akutsu, who is among the top tier of junior high school students.

If even Akutsu isn't an option, then most of them should just shut up.

"Tch, I wanted to fight him yesterday!"

Akutsu paid no attention to the cheers around him. He nodded to Tezuka and walked straight onto the court.

As he got closer and closer to Oni Jūjirō, his eyes began to Great Unity.

At the same time, Akutsu also felt a heavy expectation weighing on him.

This is a responsibility on behalf of junior high school students in this training camp.

Akutsu wasn't used to this feeling, and it made him feel very uncomfortable.

However, the image of Saeki Muneyoshi then flashed before his eyes. If he wanted to enter Stadium No. 1, then this match would be the basis for him to test the waters.

"Seigaku, Akutsu Jin!"

Akutsu extended his right hand toward Oni Jūjirō, and casually announced his home address.

Rustling~

The morning mountain breeze rustled through the leaves. Oni Jūjirō Akutsu indifferently, but did not extend his hand.

He then picked up his "special" racket and walked to the backcourt receiving area.

"I'll pass the serve to you, let's finish this quickly!"

This dismissive attitude not only infuriated Akutsu but also angered the middle school students watching.

By ignoring Akutsu in this way, they were essentially ignoring all of them, the middle school students.

At this time, someone also discovered the characteristics of Oni Jūjirō's racket.

"Hey, look, that guy called 'Ghost,' his racket only has two strings!"

Can you even play tennis with a racket like this?

Many junior high school students who were seeing this for the first time started discussing it, Akutsu, of course, noticed this as well.

His mouth snarled, revealing a ferocious expression.

Akutsu Jin and Oni Jūjirō faced each other across the court.

"Asshole."

"Are you looking down on me? What's wrong with your racket?" Akutsu Jin's gaze swept over Oni Jūjirō's racket as he roared menacingly.

"Snort!"

Oni Jūjirō completely ignored Akutsu Jin's intentions and turned to walk towards his own half of the court.

"Damn redhead! I'm going to beat you to a pulp!"

A deathly pale aura emanated from Akutsu's body, and a sense of danger spread throughout the surrounding area.

The high school students who had been mocking Akutsu realized this and felt a chill run down their spines, then shut their mouths.

At least they could sense that this middle school student was not someone to be trifled with.

"This is the Aura Path!"

"Hey hey, looks like this match is going to be interesting, it won't be so boring!"

"Hehehe! Tanegashima- kun is right, that aura is truly formidable... but the Demon Lord won't be intimidated by such petty tricks."

Irie Kanata smiled as he looked at Oni Jūjirō in the arena.

Meanwhile, in the Fudomine area, Shinji, Kamio Akira, and Tachibana Kippei huddled together. When they saw Oni Jūjirō's racket, they immediately thought of what Muneyoshi had said before.

When Saeki Muneyoshi was training them, he said that if they wanted to take their explosive power to the next level, the next step for Tachibana Kippei and Keith was to adapt to the cross-string racket.

However, getting used to a cross-hat racket and then playing with it is another level altogether.

Of those present, only Ibu Shinji and Ishida Tetsu had ever experienced Muneyoshi using a cross-string racket to teach them a lesson.

In fact, before the match, Muneyoshi had suggested that Oni Jūjirō not use a cross-string racket.

After all, Akutsu's strength was far beyond what Momoshiro Takeshi could match in the original work, but Oni Jūjirō only glanced at him indifferently, yet that sense of crisis completely enveloped him.

At that moment, he suddenly remembered that Akutsu was not comparable to Momoshiro Takeshi, and that the current Oni Jūjirō was more than one level stronger than in the original work.

Having figured this out, Muneyoshi stopped worrying about it.

Oni Jūjirō knows what he's doing.

"This high school student named Oni Jūjirō can use a cross-string racket just like the captain. His skill level is probably no weaker than the captain's. Akutsu is in danger!"

Having personally experienced being humiliated by a cross-string racket, Ibu Shinji had a bad feeling when he saw this scene.

"Hmm! This person is very powerful; Akutsu will probably have a hard time..."

Keith, who was usually indifferent, surprisingly changed his expression when facing Oni Jūjirō.

In fact, Keith and Lin Xiu had already recognized Oni Jūjirō by this time.

Last year at the World Tournament, their match against the France professional star had a significant impact on them.

Even if his opponent doesn't use their full strength, Akutsu has virtually no chance of winning at this moment.

The discussion among Fudomine and his friends was overheard by the surrounding middle school students, casting a shadow over their hearts.

"The match begins! A decisive set! Akutsu Jin's serve!"

The referee from the training camp, seated on a high chair, blew the whistle to start the match.

Everyone present immediately fell silent.

Although the information they had gathered indicated that Akutsu was facing formidable opponents, the middle school students still held a glimmer of hope, especially Akutsu, who was determined not to give up so easily.

The monitors around the court were turned around, and the coaches in the small room prepared to start collecting all the data about Akutsu.

"Oh? This little guy named Akutsu has started making his move."

Saito Itaru looked at the images transmitted from the monitor to the large screen and smiled faintly.

"Well, let's see what kind of guidance this gatekeeper of hell, Oni Jūjirō, can provide."

Kurobe Yukio glanced at the video feed, then picked up his coffee and began to sip it.

Although it's clear from Akutsu's past match videos that his opponent is indeed a genius player.

However, to determine exactly where we are now, Oni Jūjirō needs to verify it himself.

P. S.: "Please vote with monthly tickets!"