Seeing him, Chiba Yun Chuan launched another Powerful Topspin Serve!
This time, though, the ball was faster. Akutsu still managed to track where it would land.
He swung directly at the ball. Racket and tennis ball ground against each other, making a continuous scraping sound as Akutsu tried to cancel out the spin!
"Go back!"
With that, he put all his strength into his arm and hit the ball back just after it bounced!
Seeing his serve returned, Chiba Yun Chuan wasn't surprised at all. If Akutsu didn't have at least that much ability, it would be a waste of his talent!
"Watch closely, Akutsu. This is real tennis!
Light Bullet!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Chiba Yun Chuan was already at the ball's bounce point. He swung at it, the muscles in his hand bulging as his arm swelled a full size!
Then Akutsu saw the moment Chiba Yun Chuan committed himself to tennis. The ball on Chiba Yun Chuan's racket glowed gold, and Akutsu felt it hurtling toward his court amid a golden wave of air.
As the ball raced toward him, Akutsu didn't back down. Instead, he grew even more excited!
He ran to where the ball was about to land, got into position, and prepared to return it. Then he swung at the ball!
"Don't underestimate me, kid!" But before he could finish speaking, he sensed something was wrong!
Even with Akutsu's formidable arm strength, he could barely withstand the impact with one hand! His knees bent slightly, and he quickly put his left hand on the racket too!
"Gaaaaah!" Akutsu let out a thunderous roar that sent a chill down the spine!
But—
With a sharp crack, the tennis ball shot straight through Akutsu's racket and landed on the court.
"Bang!"
Akutsu turned his head in shock. A crater had appeared behind him on the right, but the ball had vanished!
The sight shook Akutsu to the core. So a tennis ball could do that? This was so much fun.
There was a marked change in Akutsu's eyes!
Chiba Yun Chuan had awakened the desire buried deep in Akutsu's heart!
Now he was interested!
"So tennis can be this much fun. You really are different from them, kid!
But if you want me to go to Hyotei, you'll have to keep playing until I can't move anymore!"
An hour later, Chiba Yun Chuan was sweating. It was only the second time he'd broken a sweat: the first had been when he faced all of Hyotei's regulars one after another, and now he was sweating again after playing Akutsu!
It wasn't because Akutsu was especially strong. They'd played until Chiba Yun Chuan ran out of stamina!
Chiba Yun Chuan had also wanted to see where Akutsu's limits were, so he'd been holding back the whole time!
Akutsu's physical gifts really were extraordinary. In Chiba Yun Chuan's eyes, Akutsu was even stronger than he'd seemed in the anime. Maybe he hadn't stood out as much because Echizen Ryoma's protagonist aura had overshadowed him!
But the Akutsu standing before him had already surprised Chiba Yun Chuan.
The match was over now.
Chiba Yun Chuan looked at Akutsu, who was lying on the court opposite him, then slowly walked over and gazed down at him.
"I'll take care of your transfer paperwork, and I'll find your mother a good job.
All you have to do is report to Hyotei's tennis club tomorrow!
Then, together, we'll win the National Tournament."
With that, Chiba Yun Chuan walked to his tennis bag, put away his racket, and slung the bag over his shoulder. He slowly walked away under Akutsu's exhausted gaze.
Akutsu would never forget that silhouette—the silhouette of a god!
Time flew by. Before long, the Kanto regional preliminaries were about to begin!
Hyotei Academy
Tennis Club
The two hundred members of the tennis club had gathered.
Even Chiba Yun Chuan was among them!
"The regional preliminaries start tomorrow. Hyotei's definitely going to win!"
"Hyotei always qualifies as champion."
"Regulars, huh? When will I ever make the team? I'm so jealous!"
The players and spectators around them chatted excitedly.
"The regional preliminaries start tomorrow. This is our first step toward the National Tournament, no matter how strong our opponents are.
I want you all to take every match seriously. Don't underestimate anyone.
Anyone who loses will have to play Chiba tomorrow after we get back. I'm sure none of you want to play against him, right? So I expect you to give it everything you've got!
Remember: never underestimate your opponents!
We have a bye in the first round tomorrow. As for the matches after that, we'll see how the draw goes. I want us to qualify without a single loss—not even dropping one game! Can you do it?"
"Yes!"
The Hyotei players were full of confidence. They had the skills, and their training had paid off!
"Though I'd love to play Chiba, there's no way I'm losing!" Akutsu was the first to speak.
"Please, Coach Hana, anything but that. Playing against the Captain is torture!" Ootori Choutarou spoke up. Chiba Yun Chuan had put him through the wringer plenty of times over the past few months, but his skills had improved by leaps and bounds!
"This great man's dazzling tennis will never lose. Except against that guy." After speaking, Atobe glanced at Chiba Yun Chuan, who was standing behind Hana.
Hana was giving them a pep talk before the tournament, but the punishment for losing was to play Chiba Yun Chuan?
All of Hyotei's regulars had now gathered. After several months of intensive training, the team's regulars had been finalized! They were:
Chiba Yun Chuan, Atobe Keigo, Mukahi Gakuto, Oshitari Yuushi, Akutagawa Jirou, Shishido Ryo, Ootori Choutarou, Kabaji Takahiro, Hiyoshi Wakashi, and Akutsu!
After months of training, Hyotei had been completely transformed!
Using the data she'd collected and the weaknesses of Hyotei's regulars that Chiba Yun Chuan remembered, Hana had created tailored training plans!
The regulars were now far stronger than they had been in the original story—not just by a little, either.
Atobe Keigo had improved the fastest. He'd perfected his serve, making it even more difficult to deal with than the original Donnerwelle Serve!
That wasn't all. Atobe had also developed his own techniques: Destructive Waltz and World of Ice!
Of course, he'd mastered them while playing against Chiba Yun Chuan.
Atobe was now among the top three national-level players! As for his exact ranking, they'd have to play to find out!
Aside from Atobe, the player who had improved the most in Hyotei's tennis club was Akutsu!
Even Hana had praised his tennis talent more than once. His powerful body and abundant stamina made it clear just how much potential Akutsu had.
He was second only to Chiba Yun Chuan in Hyotei's rankings, and on par with Atobe.
Akutsu and Atobe had played each other before, but every match had ended in a draw. Of course, neither had gone all out!
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