Thirty: Change! New blood was needed to drive it forward! Do what you believe is right! Tezuka!

Why him?!

If Atobe became the tennis club's captain, he would never let anyone become vice-captain. Nearly everything in the club would be decided by him. That had always been Atobe's way of doing things.

But Tezuka had asked him to be vice-captain.

Mitsuya had always been by Tezuka's side. If Tezuka was going to choose someone, it should have been him.

What nerve!

He truly couldn't do it.

By the time Atobe arrived at the tennis club, the first-years, along with the second- and third-year students, were all standing in formation on the court, waiting for everyone else to arrive.

There was no helping it. They couldn't beat him, but they couldn't just quit the tennis club over yesterday's defeat, either.

"At someone's request..."

Atobe walked to the front of the gathered crowd and said slowly, "I'll be serving as vice-captain of the Hyotei tennis club from now on. My demand is simple: everyone must meet their daily training goals."

"If anyone disagrees, they can challenge me directly. If I lose, I'll gladly hand over the position of vice-captain."

Atobe's gaze swept first over the second- and third-year regulars, his eyes cold.

The former regular players exchanged glances, their faces betraying obvious alarm.

"As for the daily training, that guy will announce it when he gets here."

Atobe didn't give them any orders himself. Instead, he left the training schedule to Tezuka. "For now, everyone can do as they please. Find a court and play a little, or do some training—whatever you like."

"That's all. Dismissed."

Once he was done speaking, Atobe picked up his racket and went to train in an open area.

Tezuka hadn't told him today's assignment, and Mitsuya hadn't mentioned it earlier, either. Atobe couldn't be bothered to worry about those things. His priority now was to get stronger—to surpass Tezuka and reclaim the throne of Emperor.

"This..."

Everyone looked at one another, unsure what to say.

In the end, they helplessly turned to the former vice-captain, Mitsuya Genko.

"Why are you looking at me?"

Mitsuya snapped, "I'm just another member of the Hyotei tennis club now, not the vice-captain. Everyone, just get on with whatever you were doing!"

What could he say? He wasn't even worth a damn now.

Just as Atobe had said earlier, he was only a few years older than Atobe and had spent those extra years eating for free.

The Hyotei tennis club now believed in strength above all else. Everything else was empty talk.

Only with real strength could they reclaim the glory that had once belonged to them.

But...

Could they really do it?

Forget Tezuka, who had defeated Atobe. Even the so-called vice-captain—Atobe—was more than enough to take down everyone here.

"Tsk..."

Mitsuya smiled. "He really is 'swift and decisive.'"

He hadn't done today's training yet.

There was still plenty of time, and they didn't have a practice match today. He might as well finish his training first.

Mitsuya found an open space, took out his racket, and pulled a marker from its case. He casually drew a few circles on the wall, nodded with satisfaction, then put the marker away, picked up his racket, and began the day's training.

Thump, thump, thump!

"Come in."

Outside the piano classroom, a refined-looking boy with glasses gently knocked on the wooden door. A dignified voice came from inside.

After receiving permission, the boy opened the door and went in.

The piano classroom looked very elegant. A piano stood by the window, and a dignified, middle-aged man sat in front of it.

"Coach Sakaki, I'm a new member of the tennis club..."

Tezuka looked at the middle-aged man before him, drawn in by his dignified presence.

The man waved a hand. "I know who you are, Tezuka Kunimitsu."

"I watched yesterday's match through the window. You have exceptional talent, and you've already mastered some fascinating techniques."

"You came here to show me some interesting little tricks, didn't you?"

Sakaki Taro's gaze was profound as he pointed at the papers in Tezuka's hand.

As Hyotei's coach, he had naturally seen yesterday's match clearly.

He had to admit that Tezuka was strong.

Originally, Keigo Atobe had been his chosen candidate to become the next captain of the Hyotei tennis club.

Long before Gekko Ochi graduated, Sakaki had anticipated the predicament Hyotei might face. He had even gone to England to meet the boy. Atobe was undeniably talented, and his personality suited Sakaki very well.

But...

Something had changed.

And the change was the Tezuka Kunimitsu standing before him.

Tezuka had even greater talent than Atobe. By all rights, he should have gone on to Seishun Academy. He shouldn't have been at Hyotei at all, yet there he was.

And during yesterday's upheaval, he had defeated the boy who had returned from England in a head-on match.

"Coach Sakaki, I've put together some reports."

Tezuka nodded and handed over the materials he had spent the morning compiling.

They detailed the shortcomings of the Hyotei tennis club, along with plans for its future development, training, and the selection of regular players.

Sakaki took a few minutes to skim through them. Then his gaze settled on Tezuka. He had to admit that Tezuka was an excellent leader, with astonishing talent to boot.

Even a quick glance at the report revealed traces of Ochi in Tezuka's approach.

In some ways, he might be a better fit for Hyotei as it stood now than Atobe.

"Have you decided who you want as vice-captain?"

Sakaki set the report aside and picked up the glass of red wine on his desk.

By asking this, he was tacitly acknowledging Tezuka's position in the tennis club.

"I want to choose Atobe."

Deep down, Tezuka had always wanted to choose Mitsuya.

Before making his decision, he had asked Mitsuya for his opinion several times.

The only answer he got was, "No."

"Atobe... Since you've already made your decision, I won't interfere."

"I know what you're worried about..."

"Those second- and third-year students may have done a lot for Hyotei in the past, and they may have been loyal to the club."

"But now... Hyotei has gone through a new transformation, so..."

"We need new blood to keep things moving."

Sakaki stated his position, each word deliberate.

As a decisive coach, Sakaki knew better than anyone what Hyotei needed now.

The second- and third-years were certainly more loyal than the new students.

But could loyalty put food on the table?

Could loyalty make the Hyotei tennis club stronger?

Clearly, it couldn't!

If so, then let the winds of reform blow even harder.

"Understood."

That was exactly what Tezuka had been waiting for Sakaki to say.

He couldn't drive change in the Hyotei tennis club by himself.

He wasn't Atobe, with the Atobe Financial Group backing him.

"Do what you believe is right."

Sakaki smiled at Tezuka, then seemed to remember something. "If anything comes up, you can come to me, or to that boy Atobe."

"He may be unhappy about losing to you, but he's not the sort of person who can't accept defeat."

Atobe's figure came to mind, and Tezuka nodded silently.

"Phew..."

At the tennis club, Mitsuya had nearly finished his ball-control training for the day. He let out a long breath.

Behind him stood a crowd of people, their faces filled with astonishment. They couldn't believe what they were seeing.

The circles he had drawn on the wall were covered in dust.

Besides that,

Not a single spot on the vast expanse of wall was stained with dust.