Tezuka

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Tezuka Kunimitsu (手冢)
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Yamabuki Middle School; Japan Junior High School Representative Team 229 500
Occupation/Role	Yamabuki Tennis Club captain; competitive tennis player 500 527
Status	Active
First Appearance	National Elementary School Tennis Tournament quarterfinals 8

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Tezuka Zone	75	Uses spin to draw incoming balls back to his side of the court, allowing him to return Kannagi Shinichi's heavy shots; Kannagi breaks through it with Director's Two-Handed Thunder Rumbling Eight Trigrams. 75
Muga no Kyochi: Limit of a Hundred Refinements	76	Opens the first gate of Muga no Kyochi, concentrating a white aura in his left hand to greatly enhance his returns. 76
Zero-Shiki Serve	113	Reveals a serve that lands without bouncing and rolls toward the net, immediately winning the opening point against Sanada Genichiro. 113
Muga no Kyochi: Limit of Talent Blooming	231	Opens a second Muga gate, enabling him to predict opponents' shots and seize consecutive points against Hirata Hirotomo. 231
Evolved Hundred Refinements	252	Learns to shift Hundred Refinements' aura between body parts—such as from his hand to his feet—enhancing speed, reactions, and striking power as needed. 252
Limit of Seamlessness: Radiance of Fortitude	391	Awakens the final gate of Muga after accepting Yamabuki's support; the Radiance of Fortitude is born from his bond with his teammates. 391
Supreme Realm / Quick Drop Zero	391	Fuses Tezuka Zone with Tezuka Phantom into a stronger Realm capable of drawing back Akutsu's seven-shot return, then scores with the evolved Quick Drop Zero. 391

Background / History

Tezuka competed among Japan's elite elementary-school players, reaching the National Elementary School Tennis Tournament quarterfinals, where he was scheduled to face Sengoku Kiyosumi. 8

After entering Seigaku, jealous upperclassmen assaulted him with rackets and broke his arm. Tezuka and five other first-years left both the tennis club and the school; he later joined Yamabuki Middle School, where Coach Bandou arranged treatment for his arm in Germany. 37

At Yamabuki, Tezuka became captain and carried a strong personal obligation to lead the team to national prominence in gratitude to Bandou. Fuji Syusuke eventually makes him recognize that Yamabuki's future should be carried by the entire team, rather than by Tezuka alone. 391 405

Appearance

Tezuka is a brown-haired junior-high-school player whose normally impassive expression is repeatedly compared to ice or an iceberg. 391 561

• Brown hair. 391
• Usually maintains an icy, composed expression even under pressure. 75 561
• His left arm can become visibly red and swollen after repeated use of his Zero-Shiki Serve or Tezuka Phantom. 252 296

Personality

Tezuka is calm, disciplined, and exceptionally difficult to rattle. Even when opponents break his techniques or overwhelm him, he responds without panic and adjusts his play with remarkable maturity. 164 296

He is intensely ambitious about becoming stronger, particularly in pursuit of Kannagi Shinichi. This drive can become self-destructive: Tezuka repeatedly continues using arm-damaging techniques against Tanegashima Shuji despite warnings from allies and opponents alike. 250 252

Though initially burdened by the belief that he alone must repay Yamabuki and lead it to victory, Tezuka ultimately accepts his teammates' support. That change in mindset directly precedes his awakening of Seamlessness and the Radiance of Fortitude. 391 405

Abilities & Skills

Muga no Kyochi

Tezuka is a specialist in Muga no Kyochi and develops its gates unusually early.

• Limit of a Hundred Refinements — concentrates Muga's white aura to amplify physical performance and return power. 76 252
• Limit of Talent Blooming — predicts and models opponents' trajectories, though unpredictable shots can disrupt its simulations. 231 251
• Limit of Seamlessness — awakened as the Radiance of Fortitude through his connection with Yamabuki; enhances his already advanced techniques. 391 406
• Limitation: activating multiple Muga gates consumes substantial stamina in prolonged matches. 230 251

Tezuka Zone and Supreme Realm

Tezuka manipulates spin to control where the ball travels after landing.

• Tezuka Zone pulls opposing shots back toward his own court, enabling highly reliable defensive coverage. 75 165
• He can combine the Zone with Hundred Refinements to control exchanges while amplifying his counterattacks. 230
• The Zone can be broken by sufficient power or counter-spin, as demonstrated by Atobe and France's Ability Resonance pair. 166 296
• Supreme Realm fuses Tezuka Zone with Tezuka Phantom, drawing even Akutsu's seven simultaneous shot paths back to Tezuka. 391 405

Zero-Shiki Techniques

Tezuka possesses several professional-level “Zero” techniques centered on extreme spin and precise placement.

• Zero-Shiki Serve / Zero Style Serve — lands without bouncing and rolls toward the net; it is considered effectively unreturnable except by top-level players. 113 296
• Zero-Shiki Drop Shot — a low, short ball that can be countered if the opponent reaches it before its bounce. 296
• Quick Drop Zero — an evolved rapid version used after awakening Seamlessness. 391
• Limitation: the serve places severe strain on his arm, causing redness and swelling after repeated use. 252 296

Tezuka Phantom

A powerful spin technique that forces the ball out of bounds after contact.

• Used to break opponents' serves and score directly. 296 447
• Forms part of the foundation for his later Supreme Realm. 391
• Inflicts arm damage comparable to the Zero-Shiki Serve and is discouraged for repeated use. 252

Foundational Tennis

Tezuka's greatest natural talent is technique rather than physicality or mental strength.

• His technical ability is described as the closest to professional level among Japanese junior-high players, including many high-school students. 390 404
• His movement and strokes are highly efficient, with no wasted motion when serving. 164
• He can use spin to weaken powerful incoming shots before returning them. 75
• His stamina remains a relative weakness in extended matches, especially when he relies on multiple high-consumption techniques. 230 296

Relationships

• Kannagi Shinichi — principal rival and benchmark for Tezuka's growth. Tezuka repeatedly challenges him to measure the gap between them, while Kannagi recognizes Tezuka's potential and urges him to keep improving. 186 489
• Fuji Syusuke — Yamabuki teammate and Tezuka's closest emotional confidant; Fuji helps Tezuka relinquish his self-imposed burden of carrying the team alone. 391 405
• Coach Bandou — Yamabuki coach who takes Tezuka to Germany for arm treatment and provides him a place to develop after the Seigaku incident. 37
• Atobe Keigo — recurring rival. Their matches test Tezuka's Zone, Muga, and Zero-Shiki techniques, and both express respect and determination to improve afterward. 163 167 561
• Akutsu Jin — rival whose overwhelming physical talent forces Tezuka to awaken Seamlessness and evolve his Realm. 391 405
• Yukimura Seiichi — doubles partner on Japan's representative team; the pair display seamless coordination against France. 293 294

Story Role / Major Arcs

Seigaku Departure and Yamabuki Transfer

Following the assault that injures his arm, Tezuka leaves Seigaku with five first-year students and joins Yamabuki. His transfer turns Yamabuki into a major rival for Hyotei. 37

Hyotei and Rikkai Dai Matches

Tezuka demonstrates his superiority over Sanada by defeating him 6–0 in thirty minutes, even after Sanada uses Wind Forest Fire Mountain. 114

He later faces Atobe in a prolonged tactical duel. Atobe breaks the Tezuka Zone, but Tezuka ultimately wins with the Zero-Shiki Serve. 163 166

U-17 Shuffle Battle

As the first junior-high representative in the shuffle match against U-17 Court 1, Tezuka defeats Hirata Hirotomo after combining Tezuka Zone, Hundred Refinements, and Limit of Talent Blooming. 229 231

He then challenges second-ranked U-17 player Tanegashima Shuji. Tezuka wins four games with the Zero-Shiki Serve but damages his arm; during the match, he evolves Hundred Refinements to redistribute its aura throughout his body before ultimately losing 6–4, 6–1. 252

Japan vs. France

Tezuka partners with Yukimura for Japan against France. The pair use Mirage of Overlapping Shadows and Tezuka Zone to overwhelm their opponents early in the match. 293 294

When the French pair activates Ability Resonance, Tezuka counters with Hundred Refinements, Talent Blooming, Zero-Shiki Drop Shot, Tezuka Phantom, and the Zero Style Serve to secure the first set 6–1, despite worsening damage to his arm. 296

Awakening Against Akutsu

While trailing Akutsu 5–0, Tezuka confronts the pressure he has placed on himself as Yamabuki's captain. Encouraged by Fuji and his teammates, he awakens the Limit of Seamlessness: Radiance of Fortitude, evolves Tezuka Zone into the Supreme Realm, and develops Quick Drop Zero. 391 405

Later Rivalries

Tezuka defeats Niou Masaharu in an 11–9 tie-break after reviving his Supreme Realm through Seamlessness. 556

In a later Singles 3 match against Atobe, Tezuka withstands Atobe's destructive offensive play, holds his own service games with the fast Zero Style Serve, and wins 6–4 after two hours. 561

Notable Quotes

“It’s worth it.” — Tezuka, on continuing to use the arm-damaging Zero-Shiki Serve against Tanegashima Shuji. 252

“I will!” — Tezuka, declaring that he will catch up to Kannagi after Fuji's encouragement. 391

“I definitely will.” — Tezuka, answering Kannagi's call to keep getting stronger. 489