Geniuses kept appearing one after another, but none of them truly stood out. Their most glorious achievement was defeating the Seigaku team led by Echizen Nanjirou at the peak of his career!
It could be said that they had made a name for themselves with that one match.
At the same time, it showed Coach Banji's skill.
Just as Chiba Yun Chuan entered Yamabuki Middle School, a middle-aged man came in from outside.
He hurried over and stopped right in front of him.
"Young Master Yun Chuan, the person you're looking for isn't in the tennis club. He's at a tennis court nearby. I'll take you there now."
Hearing this, Chiba Yun Chuan casually replied, "Lead the way."
At his words, the man walked ahead and showed him the way.
Chiba Yun Chuan followed him leisurely to the tennis court!
At that moment, a match was underway at a tennis court beside Yamabuki Middle School.
But the two players were nowhere near the same height. One was a head taller than the other!
A closer look revealed that the taller player couldn't fight back at all.
Thwack!
Thwack!
By the time Chiba Yun Chuan reached the court, the taller player had already lost two points!
"How could this happen? Shiragami can't handle an elementary school kid at all!"
"Yeah, what's wrong with Shiragami?"
"Shiragami must be hiding his real strength. That's got to be it. Otherwise, how could he be this weak?"
The onlookers looked utterly incredulous, making excuses for the taller player named Shiragami.
Chiba Yun Chuan had now reached the edge of the court. Seeing what was happening, he watched with interest.
"I can't believe I stumbled onto such a famous scene right away. I'm way too lucky, aren't I? Isn't this the match where Akutsu beat up that arrogant kid, Shiragami?" Chiba Yun Chuan thought as he watched.
But why was the timing off? This was supposed to happen when Akutsu was a kid!
And the person was wrong, too. This Akutsu looked almost the same as he would a year later!
He was only a little shorter. Everything else was about the same!
That left Chiba Yun Chuan a little puzzled.
But he didn't think too much of it. If things were different, so be it!
That was even better. This Akutsu was stronger!
On the court, Akutsu began reciting Shiragami's impressive record.
A boy with a wild, frizzy hairstyle, a somewhat fierce-looking face, and unusually shaped eyes crouched low and kept hopping around.
As he bounced, he said,
"You've been playing tennis since you were five and haven't won a single championship. You have no talent."
Those words hit Shiragami hard! It was a blatant provocation.
Even Chiba Yun Chuan almost laughed. He wondered how Shiragami had managed to keep going when he was always the runner-up.
Thwack!
The next point began. After a few exchanges, Akutsu smashed the ball with tremendous force, sending it whistling straight toward Shiragami's face!
Shiragami couldn't dodge in time. The ball struck him right in the face, sending him flying two or three meters!
That showed just how strong Akutsu was. And he was only in his first year of middle school!
Chiba Yun Chuan was in his first year, too, but he had a system!
Shiragami struggled to push himself up from the ground. His face was already injured. He stammered,
"You—you hit me in the face on purpose!"
Akutsu slowly walked to the net and stared at him.
"Not at all. This is only the beginning."
Then he flashed a devilish smile.
"Get up!"
Shiragami suddenly scrambled to his feet and fled in a panic.
"Whoa, he's ridiculously strong!"
"Shiragami actually ran away!"
"That brat's despicable! That wasn't even tennis!"
"Shiragami! Shiragami!"
In the blink of an eye, everyone had gone after Shiragami. Only Akutsu remained at the court, along with Chiba Yun Chuan, who was walking in with a tennis bag on his back.
"Well, that was nothing special. Tennis is so boring!
I don't care about it at all!"
Akutsu rested his racket on his shoulder and turned his head to look into the distance.
Akutsu was all alone.
Chiba Yun Chuan had now walked up in front of him.
Looking down at him, he said,
"Is that so? Then do you have the guts to play a match with me? I'll show you what real tennis is!
Those guys just now were a bunch of weak rookies. I could beat them anytime.
What's there to be proud of in beating a few rookies?
You don't think that's what tennis is, do you?
Akutsu."
Chiba Yun Chuan acted as if he were the greatest person in the world, with only his nostrils left to point skyward!
"Has no one ever told you how annoying you are? And I don't like people looking down on me!
Got it?"
Perhaps because he'd noticed the middle-aged man behind Chiba Yun Chuan, Akutsu didn't argue. He picked up his racket and started to leave the court.
"Are you scared? Afraid you'll lose?" Chiba Yun Chuan knew Akutsu's personality and how to get him to accept the challenge.
Sure enough, the moment he finished speaking, Akutsu stopped walking.
He turned around and fixed his brown eyes on Chiba Yun Chuan.
"What are you talking about? If we're going to compete, let's set the stakes. If you lose, I'll smash your face in. Heh heh heh~~~" As he spoke, he let out a monstrous laugh.
"If you lose, you'll transfer to Hyotei Academy and join its tennis club!" After saying that, Chiba Yun Chuan walked over to the edge of the court, opened his tennis bag, took out his racket, and headed to the opposite side from Akutsu!
Unknown tennis court
Match participants: Chiba Yun Chuan, Akutsu
Both players were now ready.
This time, Chiba Yun Chuan decided to make the first move and completely overpower Akutsu.
"Akutsu, I hear you're a genius. Today, I'll show you what a real genius looks like! Let's see if you can win even a single point against me!" After saying that, Chiba Yun Chuan took a tennis ball from his pocket and bounced it twice on the ground. Then he tossed it into the air, his muscles bulging as he swung his racket at it!
A loud thwack rang out.
The ball flew toward Akutsu's side of the court with powerful spin. It landed with a soft hiss, then sprang sharply back up!
Powerful Topspin Serve!
This was an upgraded version of the Outer Spin Serve, invented by Chiba Yun Chuan using his physical advantages!
But the spin's strength depended entirely on how hard Chiba Yun Chuan hit it, so he could control its power!
The ball wasn't particularly fast, and Chiba Yun Chuan hadn't aimed at Akutsu's face, so it was simply a powerful topspin serve!
"Your serve is way too slow. Is that all you've got?"
Akutsu raised his racket and swung at the ball as soon as it bounced.
But the ball's powerful spin made his pupils contract.
"What is this?"
The ball shot off his racket and flew out of bounds to his left.
Watching it fly out of the court, Akutsu didn't get angry.
Instead, he started laughing.
"Ahahahaha! Now this is interesting. Again!"
He crouched down and began bouncing up and down again!
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