Kamikawa: Try Hitting It Back, Akutsu!

Before long, Shishido and the others who had been tailing him also arrived at Yamabuki's tennis club.

The club had long since dispersed. The only people on the court in front of them were the ones there now, one of whom was Kamikawa, the person they had been following all along.

When they saw Kamikawa walk onto the court, Mukahi pointed at him excitedly. "Look... look... I told you that guy was definitely here to challenge them!"

"Mukahi, don't you think something's off?"

Shishido looked helpless as he gestured at the surroundings. Mukahi came to his senses too. "Wait, where is everyone? Why is there only one person here—and an old man?!"

"That old man seems to be Yamabuki Junior High's coach."

Oshitari stared at the elderly man acting as umpire on the court, momentarily taken aback. "I saw him in a tennis weekly before. You could say he's a legendary coach in the tennis world."

"Uh..."

Atobe eyed Old Man Ban suspiciously. "That old geezer's really a legendary coach?"

"Definitely. I couldn't mistake him. They say he was already coaching back when the legendary Samurai was still a student. Apparently, he even led his team to defeat Seigaku back then."

Oshitari nodded silently. He had heard those stories from a tennis coach in Osaka.

Come to think of it, Yamabuki's ability to qualify for the National Tournament every year was inseparable from this legendary coach.

Hearing that, Tezuka's gaze also fell on Old Man Ban. He greatly admired the legendary Samurai. They said Samurai had been the one to open the door to the State of Self-Actualization, and Tezuka had even learned the Domain Technique by watching those matches.

After Samurai Nanjirou left Japan for North America, he never used the Domain Technique again.

Or rather, none of his opponents had even been worthy of making him use it.

He had been that monstrous back then!

"The legendary Samurai, huh~"

Atobe raised an eyebrow.

Even he, who had grown up in England, had heard of someone like that.

"Now's not the time to talk about this."

Shishido suddenly called out, "Look, the match is about to start!"

The others put those thoughts aside and turned to watch the match about to begin on the court.

On the court.

"Thump... thump..."

Kamikawa bounced the tennis ball against the ground a few times, then looked up at Akutsu.

"Are you ready?"

"Obviously. Just play."

Akutsu replied coolly, tightening his grip on the racket.

His gaze fixed on the tennis ball like a hungry wolf's. Deep down, he wanted to see just how strong his opponent was to make him feel wary.

"Good!"

Kamikawa said no more. He raised his hand, tossed the ball, and bent his knees slightly.

The next second,

SMACK!!

With a sharp crack, Kamikawa swung hard.

The bright yellow tennis ball appeared beside Akutsu in an instant.

Screee~

The ball scraped fiercely along the ground, tracing a bizarre curve as it shot past Akutsu's feet and slammed into the wall. Its powerful spin sent it springing upward with all its might.

Akutsu lowered his head and stared at the black, scorched patch left beside his feet. His pupils contracted.

"What... was that just now?!"

Off the court,

Shishido and the others, who had only been there to watch the excitement, all stared wide-eyed, especially Oshitari and Atobe.

Shishido and Mukahi had at least seen that serve before.

But seeing it again left them just as stunned as ever.

Terrifying!

Bizarre!

Dazzling!

A jumble of emotions welled up inside them, leaving them at a loss for words.

"15-0!"

Only after Old Man Ban announced the score in his weathered voice did everyone come back to their senses.

"What's wrong, Akutsu!"

Kamikawa raised an eyebrow, took a tennis ball from the side, and walked toward the other half of the court.

Akutsu's astonished expression was a rare sight.

Very rare indeed!

"Damn you."

The latter swung his racket, unable to stop the previous serve from replaying in his mind.

Akutsu's dynamic vision was just as incredible. He had clearly seen the serve's trajectory, but in that moment, his body hadn't been able to react at all.

Kamikawa suddenly thought of something. He tapped the racket face lightly against his head, smiled, and said, "Oh, right. I almost forgot—you haven't touched a tennis racket in a long time, have you?"

Then he tossed the ball and raised his hand.

Another Dancing Golden Snake.

"I'll slow it down a little, then. Try hitting it back."

THUMP!!

Once again, the ball hit the ground at speed and darted around the court at bizarre angles. It was slightly slower this time, but its exaggerated swerves were far beyond anything a player could counter through normal means.

Akutsu's gaze followed the ball as it darted about. He lowered his stance and swung toward the spot where it was about to land.

Whoosh~

A whistling sound rang out as his racket swept through the air.

The tennis ball had already shot past his feet and slammed into the wall again, ricocheting away with a crash.

Old Man Ban watched with shining eyes, his amazement plain to see. He had never imagined a first-year student could hit such a bizarre serve.

The serve's bounce came so close to the ground that it was already difficult to return. And that wasn't even counting how it swerved back and forth, with such an exaggerated range of motion that the ball would slip past if you weren't paying attention.

It was hard to believe that, at his age, he could still see a tennis player with such terrifying natural talent.

"30-0!"

"What in the world is that serve?!"

After seeing that bizarre serve again, Atobe couldn't help asking.

"Dancing Golden Snake."

Tezuka answered calmly. "That's the name of the serve..."

As soon as he finished speaking,

everyone turned to look at Tezuka in unison.

Right—Tezuka and Kamikawa had always been together. He was bound to know more.

"I don't really understand how the serve works, but I'm sure he applies a specific spin at the moment he hits the ball. That's why it bounces a second time after hitting the wall."

Tezuka didn't know much about how the serve worked, but he could tell it required a particular spin. That was similar to the principle behind his Zero-Shiki.

The only difference was that the speed of that serve was just as astonishing.

"That guy didn't use this move when he played against me before."

A trace of frustration flashed in Oshitari's eyes.

He hadn't expected that, during their match, even though he'd given it everything he had, his opponent hadn't even used seventy percent of his strength—no, not even fifty percent.

There probably wasn't a single player in the entire junior high division who could hit a serve like that.

"That kind of serve must have a limitation."

Atobe rested his right palm against his cheek and watched Kamikawa through the gaps between his fingers. Four serves in a row, all aces. A serve that fearsome had to have some sort of limitation.

Even if it did have a limitation, that serve could still be a trump card for the latter half of the match.

After all, in tennis—especially singles—the most crucial thing was holding your own service games.

And with a serve that extraordinary, Kamikawa could surely hold his service games with ease.

Just that alone put him in an unbeatable position in singles.

"I really didn't think that guy could be this strong..."

A trace of dejection rose in Atobe's heart, but it was quickly swallowed up by boundless fighting spirit.

He was different from the others. When faced with an opponent they couldn't surpass, they might become afraid or lose their nerve. Atobe was different. He faced fear head-on—and overcame it.