Atobe, You Lost!

"Atobe, you lost."

Tezuka slowly walked over and smiled faintly. "Are you satisfied with my skills?"

"Ha..."

His shirt was soaked with sweat, and his steps had grown heavy. His breathing quickened. His mind went blank, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Had he lost?!

When he returned from England and stepped through the gates of Hyotei Academy, he had imagined every possibility.

But he had never imagined that he would lose!

And in the very area where he excelled most.

Yet the glaring 6–3 on the scoreboard, along with the way everyone around him looked at him, all made it clear: he had lost, and lost badly.

Perhaps he could use other means to claim the title of Emperor of the tennis club.

But who was he?

Keigo Atobe!!

He could accept this defeat, even if it had happened in front of everyone.

"I... lost."

Atobe lowered his head. He felt utterly hollow. Unable to hear the commotion around him, he put his racket away in its case and left the tennis club on his own.

Tezuka watched Atobe's retreating figure, lost in thought, but didn't try to stop him.

Meanwhile, Oshitari, who had been thoroughly beaten 6–0, didn't look too pleased either.

However, he didn't care much about winning or losing, and soon came to terms with it. He also noticed Keigo Atobe leaving the tennis club alone, dejected.

Oshitari turned to look at Kamikawa, who was only lightly sweating, and asked worriedly, "Aren't you going to stop him? That guy's got a lot of pride..."

"No need to worry. He won't give up tennis." Kamikawa waved it off.

He was Keigo Atobe. No matter how great the setback, he would turn it into fuel to move forward.

Atobe was still too weak. He was even weaker than Sanada was at this stage.

Tezuka had seemed ruthless, but in truth, he had held back most of his strength.

Aside from the Zone of Self-Actualization, he had only used Tezuka Zone.

There had been no sign of him using Zero-style Slice or Limit of a Hundred Refinements.

Tokyo Metropolis.

In a castle straight out of a fairy tale, a purple-gray-haired boy with a middle part and a somewhat youthful face lay on a floating mat in the middle of a large swimming pool in the courtyard.

The courtyard was vast, like an exquisite royal garden.

Its European retro style, exquisite reliefs, and carved window frames all spoke of the family's immense wealth and lofty status.

"I, the great Atobe, actually lost."

The boy lifted his head and stared at the stars. He couldn't accept defeat.

Ever since he had honed extraordinary powers of observation while overcoming adversity, he had never lost to anyone his age. But now... he had lost to someone his age whom he had never even met before.

That guy was stronger than him.

"That peculiar spin."

Atobe raised his arm, recalling how it had felt when he returned the ball earlier. The spin had been subtle; unless he focused on sensing it, he might not have noticed it at all.

It had taken several rallies before he finally sensed the spin in that instant.

He had also tried to counter it with reverse spin, but to no avail.

His opponent had drawn him in with ease. At the slightest misstep, he even risked increasing the spin's force and causing the ball to veer off course, handing Tezuka plenty of points.

"I, the great Atobe, will never admit defeat."

Atobe rose from the mat, his eyes flickering slightly. "Tezuka Kunimitsu! I'll remember you."

As soon as he finished speaking, Atobe leaped up and dove headfirst into the pool.

The butler nearby panicked at the sight and hurriedly called for help, afraid that Atobe might be in danger. The young master was the sole heir to the Atobe Financial Group; he absolutely couldn't suffer so much as a scratch.

In a courtyard down a small alley, a handsome boy slowly lowered his racket. Tennis balls were scattered all over the yard, and he lay on the ground as if completely exhausted.

"Ha..."

Kamikawa glanced at his stats panel. It clearly showed that he had completed today's mission.

Although there was no sign that his five stats had improved, Kamikawa could clearly feel his abilities steadily increasing.

Some things couldn't be measured by the five stats.

"Today, I witnessed the beginning of a revolution."

The changes at Hyotei had gone far more smoothly than expected. Even without him or Tezuka, Atobe's own influence would have been enough to bring them about.

Rikkai Dai!

Perhaps those two had also begun a new round of changes.

Yukimura and Sanada were among the most gifted players of their generation, if judged purely by tennis talent.

Together with Rikkai Dai's third player, the data genius Yanagi Renji, the three of them had allowed Rikkai Dai to overcome the other prestigious tennis schools and win the National Tournament twice in a row.

"Hyotei isn't bad now, either~"

Three national-level players and three Kanto-level players: that was the lineup needed to dominate the country and claim the top spot at the National Tournament. Makino had relied on the same kind of lineup to take first place last year.

The school's King, in particular, was even stronger than the upper limit of the national level.

Come to think of it, that guy hadn't been there when they played a practice match against Yamabuki today.

The person Kamikawa meant was the hidden oddball at Yamabuki.

Akutsu Jin, the monster hailed as a once-in-a-decade talent.

Akutsu's athletic ability was astonishing, and his natural flexibility let him excel in every field.

Kamikawa had once considered recruiting Akutsu to Hyotei.

But after Tezuka joined, he abandoned the idea.

The reason was simple: there were only three singles spots. Atobe, Tezuka, and Kamikawa were all unwilling to play doubles, and Akutsu was even less likely to agree.

If that guy, who hadn't matured yet, were made to play doubles, he'd probably beat his own partner into the ground...

Although there was no longer a place for him at Hyotei,

other schools could use him, such as Yamabuki or Seigaku...

If Akutsu went to Seigaku, he'd send those old-timers who thought they knew best flying. He might even bring out their potential, including that hidden Seigaku genius.

Fuji Shusuke!

"Fuji Shusuke, Oshitari Yushi, Niou Masaharu..."

Kamikawa smiled and raised his racket. "It seems these geniuses don't like to give it their all when they play."

Honestly, the talented tennis players emerging in this generation were no less gifted than those of Byodoin's generation. But unlike Byodoin, who thrived on competition, the geniuses at each school always preferred to keep a low profile. Put another way, they simply didn't understand the joy of playing tennis.

They had become tennis players only for the sake of their teams' victories.

Come to think of it, the practice match against Yamabuki had gone exceptionally smoothly.

Though they called it a practice match, they had really just simulated the Metropolitan Tournament lineup. No matter the result, they played all five matches. Only the doubles matches had been given to regulars from the second and third years.

The remaining singles matches had been played by Kamikawa, Tezuka, and Oshitari.

That's right, Oshitari.

After losing to Tezuka, Atobe had left the tennis club without looking back.

He was the kind of person with overwhelming pride, and for the time being, he couldn't accept losing to someone his own age.

Even though Atobe had already played several rounds and used up a great deal of energy, and the second- and third-year regulars at Hyotei had all acknowledged him, he still couldn't accept it.

Having Tezuka beat him early could help him grow, so Kamikawa didn't pay Atobe much more mind.

Atobe would return to the tennis club before long.