The street tennis court park was eerily quiet.
The sudden appearance of the fierce and intimidating Akutsu had left the hundred or so street players completely stunned.
At the same time, Akutsu—known for his violent temper and tendency to solve problems with his fists—found himself facing an unprecedented sense of danger when confronted by the seemingly harmless Hyotei rookie.
His instincts screamed at him.
If he insisted on fighting, the outcome would likely be disastrous.
But for someone like Akutsu, how could he tolerate such blatant provocation?
"I told you not to boss me around!" Akutsu's eyes blazed with anger, his muscles tensing like a coiled beast ready to strike.
"Akuto!"
Just then, a clear female voice called out from a distance.
A woman with short brown hair and a striking figure jogged over to Akutsu.
"*Huff, huff...*"
The woman—Akutsu's mother, Yukki—was completely out of breath. She paused to catch her breath, then noticed the bag in Akutsu's hand.
"My bag! Thank you so much, Akuto!"
Yukki took the bag, her face lighting up with joy as she jumped up and down.
Then, she spotted the skateboarder lying unconscious on the ground, his face swollen from Akutsu's punch.
"Serves him right!" she said angrily, hands on her hips. "People like that deserve to be taught a lesson!"
Her feisty, almost delinquent demeanor made Akutsu break out in a cold sweat.
But now, with his mother here, there was no way he could start a fight.
"Tch."
Suppressing his frustration, Akutsu glared at the boy in front of him. "Hyotei brat, if I remember correctly, our teams are playing next week. We'll settle this on the court!"
With that, he grabbed Yukki, who was still muttering to herself, and left.
"Uh..."
The street tennis players watched the two leave, completely baffled.
What just happened?
He's just... leaving?
"Settling it with tennis, huh?"
Ishikawa watched Akutsu's retreating figure, a faint smile on his lips.
This actually aligned perfectly with his plans.
"And as for her..."
He glanced at Akutsu's mother. If he remembered correctly, in the original story, she was supposed to be a very gentle person, right?
Had having her bag stolen made her lose her temper?
Then again, considering she'd had Akutsu at around 19 and had a rather bold, mature style, it was likely she'd been a bit of a delinquent in her youth. Her earlier behavior made sense in that context.
Afterward, they waited for the police to arrive and arrest the skateboarder before resuming their tennis practice.
---
Meanwhile, as Akutsu and Yukki walked away, Yukki suddenly looked up and smiled. "Akuto, you did great back there. Sometimes, it's best not to resort to violence!"
"Hmph."
Akutsu snorted in annoyance.
He knew she'd misunderstood the situation. She thought he hadn't wanted to fight at all. Her act as a feisty delinquent had been to divert attention and prevent a real confrontation.
But as he thought about it, a complicated expression crossed his face.
He knew that if Yukki hadn't intervened, he wouldn't have been able to walk away so easily.
Yes, at that moment, Akutsu had actually considered following his instincts and avoiding a fight with the black-haired boy.
That guy... was seriously dangerous.
If it came to a fight, Akutsu had no confidence he could win.
"A first-year from Hyotei, huh?"
As he reached the stairs, Akutsu narrowed his eyes, a glint of determination flashing in them.
"Fine. We'll settle this with tennis!"
---
With the little incident over, Ishikawa's training returned to normal.
His daily routine of training continued, and he also received a request from Ootori to help plan training for Hyotei's new doubles pair.
Shishido was still as tsundere as ever, but Ishikawa could see that his arrogance had diminished significantly.
For someone as shy and gentle as Ootori, Shishido's sense of responsibility had kicked in. He'd toned down his pride and was doing his best to guide his new partner.
Over the past few days, Shishido had come to a realization.
Instead of stubbornly trying to defeat Ishikawa, it was better to focus his energy on nurturing a junior like Ootori.
Moreover, after switching to doubles, Shishido found that he wasn't as resistant to the idea as he'd thought. In fact, he was starting to feel quite comfortable with it.
---
While Hyotei continued their training, Seigaku and Yamabuki were also intensifying their preparations.
At Yamabuki, everyone was surprised to find that Akutsu—who usually had no interest in tennis—was now training in a secluded corner of the court.
However, he seemed determined to keep it a secret. Whenever someone approached, he'd pretend to be randomly hitting the ball with his racket, as if practicing for a fight. If the person didn't leave, he'd glare at them until they did.
Most of the team didn't have a good impression of him. Aside from the always cheerful Senri and the first-year newcomer Tani, no one wanted to get close to him.
But Coach Banda found it all very interesting.
"Did something provoke him?"
From a distance, he watched Akutsu repeatedly hitting the ball against a wall under the shade of a tree. A pleased smile spread across his face, but there was also a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
"I wonder who could have influenced him like this."
This development aligned perfectly with Banda's plans.
And he was confident that once Akutsu truly focused on tennis, his potential would explode in a way that would shock everyone.
---
At Seigaku, as the No. 2 seed in the Tokyo Metropolitan Tournament, this year's journey had been smoother than ever. Their lineup was also stronger than in previous years.
But after witnessing the intense match between Ishikawa and Tachibana during the first half of the tournament, the team felt as if a heavy weight had been placed on their shoulders.
As the training advisor, Inui had chosen not to increase the intensity of their training for the sake of the team's physical condition.
However, every regular, including Tezuka, was pushing themselves to improve.
For example, the Golden Pair—Oishi and Kikumaru—were...
Every day during their training sessions, the two of them were focused on testing the effectiveness of their new formations. They constantly sought out others to challenge them, aiming to identify any flaws or weaknesses.
Momo and Kaidoh were also intensifying their doubles training.
Despite their usual disagreements, the unprecedented pressure they were under seemed to keep them from arguing even once.
As for Ryoma.
This super rookie from Seigaku, like everyone else, was quietly training day after day, steadily improving his skills.
Until one Friday.
After returning home from school, Ryoma, still troubled by something, picked up his racket and glanced toward the small bell tower behind the house. "Hey, old man, got time for a match?"
"Huh?"
At that moment, a middle-aged monk, lying casually under the bell tower and flipping through a colorful magazine, raised an eyebrow. "Sure, kid. Since you're asking, I'll play with you. Ouch, ouch!"
He tried to stand up and strike a cool pose, but he forgot about the rope tied to his toe that was connected to the bell. In an instant, he was hanging upside down like a bat.
"Sigh."
Seeing this, Ryoma couldn't help but facepalm.
It was hard to believe that this sloppy, unkempt man who spent his days reading questionable magazines was the legendary undefeated samurai of the tennis world, Nanjiroh!
"Ahem."
After freeing himself, Nanjiroh cleared his throat. "Alright, let's see how much you've improved."
Actually, the two had just played a match the previous week.
Knowing his son, Nanjiroh had assumed Ryoma wouldn't challenge him again so soon.
But to his surprise, just a week later, Ryoma was asking for another match.
It reminded Nanjiroh of when Ryoma was younger, always picking up his racket and challenging him after a loss, never crying but always determined.
However, as Ryoma grew older and started competing outside, he had fewer matches with his father.
Soon, the two were playing on the makeshift court Nanjiroh had drawn in the temple's courtyard.
"Phew, huff..."
The match ended as usual, with Ryoma completely exhausted and unable to score a single point. He bent over, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.
"This kid..."
Recalling Ryoma's aggressive and reckless playing style during the match, Nanjiroh couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Hey, kid."
With his racket tucked under one arm and his pinky finger digging into his nose, Nanjiroh smirked. "Did you lose to someone again?"
Last time, Ryoma had clearly been defeated by someone, but it had ignited his fighting spirit.
This time, however, Nanjiroh sensed a different kind of pressure in Ryoma. His playing style had changed—no longer strategic, just raw power and brute force.
This wasn't a change Nanjiroh wanted to see.
But he also knew that Ryoma was growing up, and simply lecturing him wouldn't help.
"Dad."
Ryoma looked up, his face drenched in sweat, his expression complicated. "Do you think... my tennis talent is really that good?"
"Huh?"
Nanjiroh was taken aback. For Ryoma, who was usually so confident, to question his own talent was unprecedented.
"Your talent is... well, it's decent. Actually, it's pretty good."
Normally, Nanjiroh would have teased him, but seeing the look on Ryoma's face, he softened his tone.
"Really?"
"Of course! Why would I lie?"
Nanjiroh scoffed. "As my son, how could your talent be anything less than great?"
It was true.
As a former legend in the world of tennis, Nanjiroh's talent was among the best in history.
And as his son, Ryoma had inherited that talent.
From a young age, Ryoma had been trained daily by a world-class player. His experience and natural ability far surpassed his peers.
In Nanjiroh's eyes, the opponents Ryoma had faced in the U.S. hadn't pushed him to his full potential.
Winning four junior championships in the U.S. hadn't brought out Ryoma's true strength the way these past two months at Seigaku had.
But Nanjiroh was confident.
Once Ryoma fully unlocked his potential, his future in tennis would be limitless.
"Don't worry about it."
Nanjiroh tapped Ryoma's shoulder with his racket. "Losing to someone older isn't a big deal. Just beat them next time."
"I... never mind. I'm going to take a shower."
Ryoma shook his head, picked up his racket, and walked away.
"This kid..."
Nanjiroh narrowed his eyes. "Something's definitely up."
He hurried to the living room and picked up the old landline phone, dialing a familiar number.
"Hey, old lady, did you guys have a match recently?"
"The regional tournament?"
"Did the kid lose to someone?"
"No?"
"Strange."
"He came back acting weird today, like something's bothering him. Hmm... you don't think he's got a girlfriend, do you?"
Nanjiroh suddenly thought back to his own youth.
If it wasn't a match that had affected Ryoma, it had to be something related to his personal life.
"Heh."
He chuckled to himself. "That kid, who would've thought? Takes after his old man, I guess."
"Idiot!"
On the other end of the line, Coach Ryuzaki snapped. "Not everyone was as shameless as you when they were young!"
"But..."
"If you're saying Ryoma's acting strange, it might have something to do with that person..."
"The first-year from Hyotei?"
After hanging up, Nanjiroh's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "A first-year who defeated a top player from Kyushu in the regional tournament?"
"Interesting."
"If even Ryoma's feeling the pressure, this Hyotei first-year must be something special."
With that thought, Nanjiroh's curiosity grew even stronger.
(End of Chapter)