Metamorphosis! A Challenge from Atobe!

Yamabuki Middle School.

On the vast court, only the mushroom-haired youth and an old man over sixty remained.

"Akutsu, he's strong, isn't he?"

Bannou leaned closer, saying with a smile.

In his eyes, Akutsu needed this battle to ignite his fighting spirit.

After a loss, his strong pride would also drive him to become stronger!

Bannou should thank that young man from Hyotei; he was the one who ignited Akutsu's competitive spirit hidden deep within his heart, making him understand that there's always someone better!

"Old man, are you talking to me?!"

Akutsu tilted his head up, his beast-like eyes growing fiercer, as if he wanted to devour Bannou whole.

"Akutsu, join the Yamabuki tennis club."

Bannou said with a chuckle, slowly opening his squinting eyes and gazing at Akutsu, "I will make you stronger, so strong that you'll surpass that guy."

"Old man, don't order me!!"

His voice was low and rough, each word carrying an undeniable toughness, filled with disdain for the old man before him.

Who was he?!

He was Akutsu Jin.

Relying on his own talent, he would surpass that guy in no time.

Did he need to join the tennis club? Did he need the guidance of this old man?!

"Akutsu, the Metropolitan Tournament is about to begin."

Bannou said leisurely, "He will represent Hyotei in the Metropolitan Tournament, which is also the earliest you can play against him. Join the tennis club, Akutsu. With your talent, you will definitely become a top tennis player."

Akutsu fell into a rare silence, looking at the tennis ball gripped in his hand. He glanced coldly at Bannou, turned around, and walked towards the sidelines, "Whatever you say, old man."

His rebellious nature absolutely couldn't be corrected with just one or two losses.

However, Akutsu's actions were also an implicit agreement to join the Yamabuki tennis club.

"Kamikawa Mutsu!"

"Just you wait, I'll surpass you one day!!"

Even though his legs felt weak, his walking posture still carried a fierce energy. His shoulders were slightly raised, his steps heavy and powerful, each one speaking of his inner unwillingness.

"Akutsu Jin!"

Bannou's heart stirred, and he secretly rejoiced, "The future of the Yamabuki tennis club has arrived!"

He knew Akutsu's personality too well: domineering, unconventional, and precisely because of this, he possessed talent beyond ordinary understanding.

Such people often had extremely strong pride.

Failure would only drive him to become stronger, thus reaching the pinnacle of Japanese tennis.

"Hyotei~"

Bannou's mind conjured the figures standing off the court earlier, and he said leisurely, "I'm afraid the Kanto Tournament will see a brand new Hyotei. The winds of change seem to have blown towards Hyotei."

And so, Time flew by.

This Saturday, the tennis club was unusually crowded.

After the internal ranking matches over the past few days, the top 8 players stood at the front of the crowd.

Tezuka and Atobe, as president and vice-president, did not participate in this internal ranking match. Of course, even if they had, they would have advanced to the top ranks.

Furthermore, Kamikawa also did not participate in this internal ranking match. In Atobe's words: if someone could defeat that guy head-on, they wouldn't need to participate in the internal ranking matches afterward.

Although Kamikawa hadn't played many matches, the single match against Oshitari was enough to silence most people. Oshitari's strength already far surpassed that of the second and third-year seniors, showing a clear dominance.

In this internal ranking match, Mukahi and Shishido's strength was also not bad, and they successfully entered the top 8.

Besides them, one person's appearance caught Atobe's attention.

On the court.

A curly-haired boy, who looked about the same age as Shishido and Mukahi, was constantly making volleys at the net.

The timing of his serve-and-volley and his hitting motion subtly put him ahead of the third-year senior opponent.

"Who is that?"

Atobe pointed at the curly-haired boy on the court and turned to look at Tezuka beside him. Tezuka was holding the roster of the players who had entered the top 8, with names like Oshitari and Mukahi clearly appearing on the list.

"Akutagawa Jiro. One of the three swordsmen from Hyotei Elementary School, his strength is above Shishido and Mukahi."

Kamikawa, standing beside Atobe, scratched his head, propped his chin with one hand, and murmured.

"Interesting! I didn't expect there to be such an interesting guy hidden among these people."

Atobe's brow twitched, a flicker of interest appearing on his face. Judging by his performance, Akutagawa was a true net player, and his volleys were quite good.

Why hadn't this guy stepped forward with Shishido and Mukahi when he'd provoked the tennis club earlier?

Based on his skill, he wasn't inferior to Oshitari at all.

"For the next match, let him play against Oshitari."

Atobe pointed at Oshitari's name on the list. Others couldn't force out Akutagawa's true strength. The only one participating in this school ranking match who had the qualifications to do so was this Kansai Wolf, Oshitari Yushi.

"Okay."

Tezuka had no objections.

He also wanted to see Akutagawa's strength and, by extension, evaluate Oshitari's.

Being Soru'd 6-0 by Kamikawa was normal in Tezuka's opinion. After all, Kamikawa's strength was undeniable; even Sanada might have been Soru'd bald back then.

Potential couldn't be judged solely by the score.

"Tezuka, please help me watch that match."

After speaking, Atobe stood up and looked at Kamikawa. "Hey Kamikawa, we should play a match too. I've been waiting for this match for a very, very long time."

"As the vice-captain, you wouldn't refuse a challenge, would you?"

"Besides, the regional qualifiers are coming up soon, and we need to decide the lineup."

The standard lineup was naturally based on strength, unless they wanted to change things up.

If both doubles matches were lost, the third singles match would become very important, requiring a strong player to anchor it.

Of course, usually, the strongest player was placed in the first singles, with a slightly weaker one in the second singles.

It was the same for doubles.

Atobe mentioning the lineup now gave Kamikawa a reason he couldn't refuse.

"Do you really want to play this match?"

Kamikawa asked with a smile.

"Of course. I've been dreaming of it!"

Ever since Atobe saw Kamikawa's match against Akutsu at Yamabuki.

The desire to play against Kamikawa had intensified.

Taking advantage of today's school ranking match, he was also using it to challenge Kamikawa and, at the same time, test his growth over this period.

All of this was in preparation for challenging that guy.

Atobe's gaze fell on Tezuka again, and he asked, "Tezuka, you don't have any objections, right?"

"No."

Tezuka slowly shook his head.

He also wanted to witness Atobe's growth during this time.

And to see Kamikawa's changes.

In the previous match against Akutsu, Tezuka felt that Kamikawa hadn't used his full strength at all, relying entirely on his exquisite ball control to wear down Akutsu's stamina.

"Fine."

Kamikawa smiled, took out his racket, and walked towards an empty tennis court.

Since Atobe was insistent on playing, Kamikawa didn't mind indulging him.

"Kamikawa Mutsu."

Atobe also took out his racket, staring at Kamikawa's retreating back. "Let this great master see... your strength!"