Akutsu had indeed improved at an astonishing pace, evolving constantly throughout the match. His rate of progress was even greater and more ferocious than Atobe's, but...
There was a limit to how far one person could evolve. No matter how much Akutsu improved or how often he pushed past his limits in this match, he still couldn't return Dancing Golden Snake head-on.
That was the absolute gap between the Kanto level and the national level!
It wasn't something he could overcome with a few words.
"Phew..."
Next,
Kamikawa tossed the tennis ball high into the air, bent his knees, and leaped. His gaze swept over Akutsu.
"The return won't make it past the net!"
"Are you kidding me?!"
Akutsu held his racket in both hands, his wolf-like eyes never leaving Kamikawa for even a moment.
At that instant, Akutsu suddenly felt his body grow heavier. His grip tightened around the racket of its own accord. He opened his mouth, and his pupils shrank to pinpoints.
He... He felt threatened at that moment!
A powerful threat!
Thwack!!
A dull impact rang in his ears.
By the time he realized what had happened, the ball had already curved wildly past his feet.
His whole body was frozen in place. He couldn't take a single step.
The ball's momentum didn't let up. Spinning rapidly, it slammed into the iron fence behind Akutsu and kept twisting until the ball was completely deformed and the fence had been mangled into a tangled mass. Only then did it stop.
The curly-haired boy standing in front of the fence stepped back involuntarily, then dropped onto the ground. His eyes were filled with terror, and both hands trembled uncontrollably.
The boy beside him, who had short brown hair, looked at his companion and stammered, "Mizuki... Mizuki, are you