Yamabuki Junior High.
The vast court was empty except for the mushroom-haired boy and an old man well past sixty.
"Akutsu, he's strong, isn't he?"
Old Man Ban came over, smiling.
In his view, Akutsu needed this match to ignite his fighting spirit.
After losing, his overwhelming pride would drive him to become stronger!
Old Man Ban ought to thank the boy from Hyotei. He had awakened Akutsu's deeply buried competitive drive and taught him that there would always be someone stronger.
"Old man, are you talking to me?!"
Akutsu raised his head. His beastlike gaze grew even fiercer, as if he wanted to tear Old Man Ban apart and swallow him whole.
"Akutsu, join Yamabuki's tennis club."
Old Man Ban smiled warmly. His narrowed eyes slowly opened as he stared at Akutsu. "I'll make you stronger—strong enough to surpass that guy."
"Old man, don't give me orders!!"
His voice was low and rough, every word hard and defiant. His words were full of contempt for the old man before him.
Who was he?!
He was Akutsu Jin.
With his own talent, it wouldn't take long for him to surpass that guy.
Did he need to join the tennis club? Did he need that old man's guidance?!
"Akutsu, the Metropolitan Tournament is about to begin."
Old Man Ban spoke leisurely. "He'll represent Hyotei at the tournament. It'll be your earliest chance to play against him. Join the tennis club, Akutsu. With your talent, you're sure to become a top tennis player."
Akutsu fell silent, unusually. He stared at the tennis ball clenched in his hand, shot Old Man Ban a cold look, then turned and headed off the court. "Whatever, old man."
A defiant nature couldn't be corrected with just one or two defeats.
But Akutsu's actions were also an unspoken agreement to join Yamabuki's tennis club.
"Kamikawa Mutsu!"
"Just you wait! One day, I'll surpass you!!"
Even though his legs were weak, he still walked with a fierce edge. His shoulders were slightly raised, his steps heavy and forceful. Every stride spoke of the resentment burning inside him.
"Akutsu Jin!"
Old Man Ban's heart stirred, and he secretly rejoiced. "Yamabuki's future has arrived!"
He understood Akutsu's nature all too well. He was domineering and did things his own way, without regard for the rules. That was exactly why he had talent beyond ordinary understanding.
People like him often had exceptionally strong pride.
Defeat would only drive him to become stronger and climb to the pinnacle of Japanese tennis.
"Hyotei..."
Old Man Ban thought of the people who had just been standing off the court and spoke quietly. "It looks like we'll see a whole new Hyotei at this Kanto Tournament. The winds of change seem to be blowing through Hyotei."
And so,
time flew by.
On Saturday, an unusually large crowd had gathered at the tennis club.
After several days of intramural ranking matches, all eight qualifiers stood at the front of the group.
Tezuka and Atobe were the club president and vice president, so neither had entered the ranking matches. Even if they had, they would have advanced from their groups near the top.
Kamikawa hadn't entered either. In Atobe's words, "If anyone can beat that guy head-on, they won't need to take part in the ranking matches afterward."
Kamikawa hadn't played many matches, but his match against Oshitari alone was enough to silence most people. Oshitari was already far stronger than the second- and third-year upperclassmen, and he even seemed to have an overwhelming advantage over them.
Mukahi and Shishido had performed well in the ranking matches, too, successfully making it into the top eight.
Aside from them, one player's appearance caught Atobe's attention.
On the court,
a curly-haired boy about the same age as Shishido and Mukahi kept intercepting the ball at the net.
His serve-and-volley timing and strokes seemed to have the third-year upperclassman across the net on the back foot.
"Who's that?"
Atobe pointed at the curly-haired boy on the court, then turned to Tezuka beside him. Tezuka held a roster of the eight qualifiers, with names like Oshitari and Mukahi clearly listed.
"Akutagawa Jiro. One of the three stars of Hyotei Elementary School. He's stronger than Shishido and Mukahi."
Kamikawa stood beside Atobe, scratching his head with one hand and resting his chin on the other as he murmured.
"Interesting! I didn't expect one of these guys to be hiding someone so intriguing."
Atobe raised an eyebrow, looking rather interested. From what he'd seen, Akutagawa was an out-and-out net player, and his volleys were pretty good.
But when Atobe had provoked the tennis club earlier, why hadn't Akutagawa stepped forward with Shishido and Mukahi?
Judging by his performance, he was every bit as good as Oshitari.
"Have him play Oshitari next."
Atobe pointed to Oshitari's name on the roster. No one else could draw out Akutagawa's full strength. Of all the players in the ranking matches, the only one qualified to do so was the Kansai Wolf, Oshitari Yushi.
"Okay."
Tezuka had no objections.
He wanted to see Akutagawa's strength, and take the opportunity to assess Oshitari's as well.
In Tezuka's view, Kamikawa beating Oshitari 6–0 was only natural. Kamikawa was strong enough that even Sanada, back then, might have been bageled by him.
You couldn't judge someone's potential by the score alone.
"Tezuka, keep an eye on that match for me."
After saying this, Atobe stood and looked at Kamikawa. "Kamikawa, it's about time you and I had a match. I've been waiting a long, long time for this."
"As vice president, you can't refuse a challenge, can you?"
"And the Regional Tournament is coming up, so we need to decide the lineup."
Normally, the lineup was based on strength, unless they planned to use an unusual strategy.
If they lost both doubles matches, the third singles match would become crucial. They would need a strong player at third singles to hold the line.
Of course, the strongest player usually took first singles, with the next strongest at second singles.
The same principle applied to doubles.
By bringing up the lineup, Atobe had given Kamikawa a reason he couldn't refuse.
"You really want to play this match?"
Kamikawa asked with a smile.
"Of course. I've been longing for it!"
Ever since Atobe had watched Kamikawa play Akutsu at Yamabuki, his desire to face Kamikawa had only grown stronger.
Taking advantage of the intramural ranking matches that day, he challenged Kamikawa—and, at the same time, planned to test how much he'd improved.
It was all so he could challenge that guy.
Atobe looked at Tezuka again. "Tezuka, you don't have any objections, do you?"
"No."
Tezuka slowly shook his head.
He wanted to see how much Atobe had improved, and also how Kamikawa had changed during that time.
In Tezuka's view, Kamikawa hadn't even used his full strength in his match against Akutsu. He'd simply used his exquisite ball control to wear Akutsu down.
"All right."
Kamikawa smiled, picked up his racket, and headed toward an empty tennis court.
Since Atobe was so determined to play, Kamikawa didn't mind humoring him.
"Kamikawa Mutsu."
Atobe also picked up his racket and watched Kamikawa's back. "Let me see... just how strong you are!"
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