A Famous Prince of Tennis Scene: Sanada's Crushing Defeat

By the time Saeki Muneyoshi woke up, the final match of the Tokyo Metropolis Junior Tournament had already concluded.

The two finalists were Yukimura Seiichi and Sanada Genichirou, both of whom had been heavily favored before the match.

Both were geniuses and star seeds from Kanagawa Prefecture, thus drawing immense attention.

However, the match didn't unfold like a meteor collision as the audience expected. Instead, it was entirely under Yukimura Seiichi's control, without any surprises.

Even though Sanada gave his all, he only managed to win a few games against Yukimura, which had no bearing on the final score.

Yukimura Seiichi once again defeated Sanada Genichirou, clinching the championship title for the Tokyo Metropolis junior division.

Sanada, once again, lost to his good friend. Despite his unwillingness, Sanada could only swallow this bitter pill.

After the organizers finished the award ceremony and distributed the prize money, the two packed their belongings and left the venue, preparing to take the train home together.

Unbeknownst to them, not far from the park venue entrance, they were stopped by another participant who was delayed due to other matters.

"Ugh, Grandpa really insisted on taking me fishing. Looks like this tournament is over again."

Tezuka Kunimitsu, who had been dragged away by Tezuka Kuniichi to go fishing, rushed to the venue after dealing with his grandfather's affairs.

However, seeing the sparse crowd and scattered spectators in the park, he knew the competition was likely over.

Tezuka pushed his glasses up his nose, a look of helplessness on his face. Having an unreliable grandfather was truly a headache.

And this wasn't the first or second time this had happened. Ever since he went to Germany two years ago for an exchange with a club there.

After returning to Japan, Tezuka Kunimitsu could be said to have had bad luck, or perhaps a streak of misfortune.

Every competition he wanted to participate in was plagued by various minor incidents.

He had the skills, but no opportunity to showcase them in a match, which was somewhat frustrating.

However, he wasn't someone who cared too much about fame. More than winning awards or titles, Tezuka hoped to compete against strong opponents to improve his own abilities.

"It seems I've missed my chance to compete again. I guess I'll have to wait until I enter junior high..."

Tezuka thought to himself and prepared to leave.

Just then, he saw the various participants gradually emerging from behind the spectators, and a thought struck him.

"Since I just came here to test my skills against worthy opponents, wouldn't it be simpler to just challenge the champion directly?"

Tezuka was a man of action. Without hesitation, he pushed the edge of his glasses, a flash of white light reflecting off the rimless lenses, his poker face filled with calm composure.

He began to observe carefully.

Finally, at the very back of the crowd, he spotted Sanada Genichirou and Yukimura Seiichi, wearing silver and gold medals respectively, walking out hand in hand.

He was slightly taken aback when he saw Sanada, but he didn't dwell on it. The second-place finisher was actually someone he knew.

However, driven by his goal, he quickly walked up to them and blocked their path.

"Excuse me, could you have a match with me?"

Tezuka didn't look at Sanada but directly asked Yukimura, as he was the one wearing the gold medal.

Tezuka's straightforward request made Yukimura frown. However, his personality was such that he only wanted to compete in official matches and wouldn't engage in meaningless ones.

He especially didn't want to deal with some so-called challenger who appeared out of nowhere.

He had already experienced such things enough times.

Yukimura glanced at Tezuka expressionlessly, thinking, If you really want to compete, why didn't you sign up?

Or perhaps you're just an insignificant person who signed up but got eliminated in the early rounds for being clueless.

How baffling!

However, he didn't pay attention to or scold the person he considered to be like that, choosing instead to ignore him and pulling Sanada, who was about to say something, to leave.

"Sanada, let's go, it's getting late!"

This time, however, Sanada didn't reply. Instead, he stared intently at Tezuka, pulled down the brim of his baseball cap, and said coldly:

"Tezuka, you guy, you didn't come late again, did you?"

"Let me guess, did your grandfather drag you fishing again this time?"

Sanada's tone became filled with dissatisfaction. He and Tezuka were from families that had known each other since their grandfathers' generation.

However, the relationship between the two families wasn't particularly close. The main reason was that the grandfathers of both families often bickered like children.

This also led to a strong sense of competition between the younger generation.

"Sanada, it's just as you said."

Hearing this, Sanada's anger flared. In his eyes, where punctuality and training were paramount, being late was a significant offense.

Especially being late for something as trivial as fishing.

"You're really too lax, Tezuka!"

Tezuka was not surprised by Sanada's attitude. After all, although they didn't grow up together, they had interacted frequently since childhood.

He paid no mind to Sanada's scolding, nor did he acknowledge it. Instead, he turned his head and looked at Yukimura, who was beside him.

"Classmate, excuse me, would you like to have a match with me?"

The words, which sounded like a question yet were filled with confidence, reached both their ears. Tezuka gently pushed his glasses up, exuding an aura of presence.

They were both young, twelve or thirteen years old. Who hasn't been young? At this age, they were in their chuunibyou phase, and Tezuka hadn't yet become the captain of Seigaku.

He was also a boy who occasionally liked to act cool.

"You guy, since you want to play so badly, I'll play with you."

For some reason, whenever the two of them were together, Sanada couldn't control his emotions. Before Yukimura could even reply, Sanada was already enraged by Tezuka's disregard.

He was already in a bad mood after only getting second place in the tournament. Then he encountered Tezuka, this infuriating guy, and Tezuka even dared to ignore him, Sanada.

Could he stand for this?

With a mixture of anger, he prepared to teach Tezuka, this guy who always acted profound, a good lesson.

Tezuka glanced at Sanada, thought for a moment, and decided that second place was good enough, so he nodded in agreement.

The two entered a nearby open court.

There was no need for a warm-up. Sanada's previous match had ended only forty minutes ago, and he had already fully warmed up. He had also rested for a considerable amount of time afterward, so his stamina was sufficient.

Tezuka had rushed here, jogging the whole way, and had also done his warm-up.

They exchanged a look and began. Yukimura, meanwhile, took on the role of referee.

"Best of two sets, the match begins!"

Forty minutes later.

Sanada was drenched in sweat, his hands gripping his knees with effort. He bent over, gasping for air, sweat dripping down his face and chin.

The imposing aura and fighting spirit he had possessed earlier were gone. He struggled to lift his head and looked at Tezuka opposite him, his eyes filled only with confusion and bewilderment.

Who am I?

What am I doing here?

Oh! I'm in a match...

Tezuka Kunimitsu, radiating with light, is so strong...

He had been crushed by sheer strength. The pressure and defeat he felt were even greater than what Yukimura had inflicted.

Even when he used his full power with Swift as the Wind and his aggressive play, he had barely managed to win one game.

And that one game was likely given to him by Tezuka as he familiarized himself with Sanada's moves.

6-1.

6-0.

In the second set, he had been completely shut out by Tezuka, not scoring a single point.

Whether it was The State of Selflessness: Hundred Refinements, which could double the spin, power, and speed of a return, or the Tezuka Zone, which manipulated extreme spin, each technique required ordinary people to spend a lifetime to master.

Anyone who could learn any one of his skills would be considered astonishing. Yet, these powerful techniques were incredibly easy for this detestable guy opposite him.

This was the first time Sanada had experienced being completely outmatched by someone his own age. Even Yukimura, who was acting as the referee, was staring intently at Tezuka with a serious expression.

He too felt immense pressure. At this moment, even Yukimura felt that he might not be able to defeat Tezuka if he were to play.

Sanada, who finally collapsed from exhaustion, waited for a full fifteen minutes before recovering.

He stood up and looked at Tezuka, who had already put his racket back in his bag and was dressed neatly. Sanada was silent for a moment before slowly saying:

"I lost, Tezuka... However, next time, I won't lose to you again!"

Without any angry outbursts or hysterics, Sanada calmly admitted his defeat and then walked away without looking back.

Yukimura followed a few steps behind. He paused briefly, took a good look at Tezuka, and said nothing, seemingly wanting to engrave him in his memory.