The Blonde Boy from the West Coast

"Tezuka, when you played Saeki Muneyoshi, you were far from this level. Are you still holding back instead of showing me everything you've got?"

As Akutsu stared straight at the radiance surrounding Tezuka, he seemed to be caught in a swirling whirlpool. Yet he showed no panic—instead, he grew even more excited.

He even kept urging Tezuka to unleash his full strength.

"Fine, Akutsu. You asked for it!"

Tezuka nodded. He knew that he couldn't beat Fudomine on his own, so he wanted to make Akutsu even stronger than he was now.

And only if Akutsu grew stronger could he put Tezuka under greater pressure.

"Give it everything you've got, Akutsu!"

Suddenly, Tezuka, who had already activated Cloudbreak, erupted with another dazzling burst of light. A second radiance appeared.

The particles of the silver glow gathered and turned white, and the pressure bearing down on Akutsu grew even heavier.

"Good! That's more like it! Come on!"

Akutsu roared, crouched low, then sprang into action. His pale aura grew incredibly concentrated, and a pair of blood-red eyes appeared behind him.

Then Akutsu shot forward.

Sss—!

Blood-red and golden light intertwined.

Boom!

The ground shuddered as the tennis ball slammed into the court.

A huge crater appeared beside Tezuka's feet in an instant.

The blood-red and golden light kept tearing through everything around them, but Tezuka's Cloudbreak didn't waver in the slightest.

Thwack!

Tezuka moved to meet the ball as it bounced up, racing toward it at astonishing speed, his figure nothing but a blur.

Another thunderous crack rang out, and the ball shot straight toward Akutsu.

The roar of their exchanges mingled with the terrifying thwacks coming from far away, echoing through Seigaku's quiet Tennis Club.

Fuji Shusuke was the only spectator on the entire court.

As if they'd had