Kirihara, completely overwhelmed by the Mental Pressure, had all five of his attributes significantly reduced. But slowly, the madness in his mind began to push back against the fear, bringing him back into a bloodthirsty state.
He tossed the ball high into the air and swung hard. Though the speed had clearly dropped, the ball still flew straight at Akashi's body. Akashi glanced at it, then swung his racket in a clean strike.
The ball zipped across the net and landed in Kirihara's court. Kirihara rushed forward to intercept, but after it landed, the ball shot straight toward his head and blasted him off his feet.
"Execution Technique—Firing Squad!"
"15-0!"
Since there were many spectators nearby, Akashi didn't use Glowing Shot. Instead, Tōno Atsukyou's Execution Techniques were quite handy here. Back during the U-17 training camp, Akashi had already analyzed all of Tōno's moves with the Emperor Eye. With his current skills, replicating them was easy.
Though Akashi personally disliked Tōno's brutal style, it was fitting for the situation. It was time to show Kirihara what true violent tennis looked like.
Kirihara, now back on his feet and ignoring the pain, served again, still targeting Akashi's body. Madness had completely taken over his mind.
Seeing the ball flying directly at him, Akashi casually sidestepped and swung his racket. The ball turned into a blur and slammed hard into Kirihara's stomach—far harsher than before. Kirihara was once again knocked into the air.
"Execution Technique—Seppuku!"
"30-0!"
Everyone from Rikkai and Fudomine looked shocked, including the third-years from Seigaku and Hyōtei in the audience. They could all tell Akashi was using Tōno Atsukyou's Execution Techniques.
"Looks like Kirihara really pissed him off… he's in trouble now," Kikumaru muttered, shivering a little.
"That's Fudomine's style. Their players don't attack lightly, but if someone dares take a shot at them, the payback is brutal," Inui said seriously.
"So this is Japan's violent tennis?" Ryōma stared thoughtfully as Kirihara kept getting knocked around.
In the front row, Rikkai's team looked tense. Jackal glanced at Kirihara with concern.
"Hey, is this really okay?"
"You mean the Execution Techniques? This might actually be good. Think of it as an early lesson in the cruelty of the world," Sanada said coldly, though he was also worried.
"Kirihara's condition needs to be dealt with somehow. Maybe this will teach him a lesson," Yanagi Renji added calmly.
"I didn't expect Akashi to master the Execution Techniques too. I thought he hadn't had any real contact with Tōno-senpai," Niō narrowed his eyes.
"You're not really in a position to talk," Yagyū Hiroshi said quietly beside him.
On the court, Kirihara still couldn't land a single hit on Akashi. With the added pressure of Mental Pressure, he was now weaker than when the match started.
"Execution Technique—Beheading!"
"40-0!"
"Execution Technique—Iron Pear Blossom!"
"GAME! Fudomine! 5-0!"
By the end of game five, Kirihara was covered in bruises. He looked absolutely wrecked, yet his expression was still fierce, as if he couldn't even feel the pain.
Game six was Akashi's serve. He didn't hesitate, serving again with the Execution Techniques. On the other side, Kirihara, who had completely lost his mind, charged straight at the ball.
The next second, the ball bounced and struck Kirihara directly in the throat. He couldn't even cry out—he just collapsed to the ground, clutching his neck in silence.
"Execution Technique—Columbian Necktie!"
"15-0!"
Just as Akashi was about to serve again, Kirihara slowly reverted from his demon form and passed out. The referee immediately called for a timeout.
Medical staff rushed onto the court and did a quick check. Shortly after, they signaled to the referee that Kirihara was unable to continue due to complete exhaustion.
This was one of the biggest weaknesses of Demon Mode—extreme stamina drain. After activating Demon Mode, Kirihara was first crushed by Akashi's Mental Pressure, then battered by one Execution Technique after another. His body had long reached its limit.
Yukimura walked onto the court and informed the referee that Rikkai would forfeit. There was no point in continuing the match.
"Due to the Rikkai player being unable to continue, this is considered a forfeit! The match is over! Score: 5-0! Winner: Fudomine Middle School!"
As the referee made the announcement, Kirihara was carried off on a stretcher. His beaten state made the crowd shudder, but they had no idea—the World Tournament would be far more brutal than this.
Yukimura walked over to thank Akashi. He knew for a fact that Akashi had held back—otherwise, Kirihara would've been seriously injured, maybe even hospitalized for a long time.
Akashi didn't care much and replied casually. To him, Kirihara wasn't even worth getting angry over. Like an elephant ignoring the bite of an ant, he had just given Kirihara a light warning.
In truth, Demon Mode Kirihara and the usual Kirihara were almost like two different people. That much was clear from how Kirihara never remembered what he did while demonized.
Only when Kirihara masters Angel Mode will he truly be in control of his actions. He'll have the physical boost of Demon Mode while staying fully rational.
With the match between Akashi and Kirihara finished, this year's Kanto Tournament officially came to an end. What followed was the award ceremony, something Fudomine was already familiar with. After the ceremony, all the players gradually returned to their schools.
Once the tournament ended, the schools went back to their regular training. The schools that had previously joined the training camp were now just waiting for Fudomine to send out another invitation.
But this time, things weren't going to be that simple. Before that could happen, Akashi got a call from Sakaki Tarō, saying he wanted to talk about something.
Turns out the Japan Youth Tennis Association had notified all the school coaches about an upcoming Kanto Regional Selection Camp, held in a training camp format, in preparation for a friendly exhibition match against a visiting team from the American West Coast.
This caught Akashi off guard. He vaguely remembered this happening in the original timeline, but he'd already changed a lot of events. Still, the so-called American West Coast team had somehow shown up in Japan anyway.
Akashi quickly got over it. Since they wanted to come and get crushed, he wasn't going to stop them. It was a good chance for middle schoolers to get a taste of international matches—even if the whole thing was basically a joke.
Soon after Sakaki's call ended, Akashi received an official call from the Japan Tennis Association confirming the match with the American West Coast team. He said he was willing to cooperate with the arrangements, but had different thoughts about the coaching staff.
This made the association reps sigh in relief. They agreed to let Akashi choose the coaches. If he had refused, the whole event probably couldn't happen at all. And they knew the truth—this so-called exhibition was just a commercial event.
The top brass at the association hadn't wanted to approve it either. But thinking it over, this year's middle school players—especially those in Kanto—were ridiculously strong. If the Americans insisted on playing them, they were bound to get completely wrecked.
And so the situation ended up like this. Even so, Akashi still planned to hold his own training camp—it was basically tradition at this point. The association wouldn't be calling up all the players, so those not selected could go train with him instead. That included the players from Shitenhōji.
Soon the association officially announced the selected schools. Multiple schools were chosen. First were the Kanto top four: Fudomine, Rikkai, Hyōtei, and Seigaku. Then there were Yamabuki, Rokkaku, St. Rudolph, and Jōsei Shonan.
Only Fudomine had its full regular team selected. Rikkai got its Big Three plus Niō. Hyōtei had Atobe, Jirō, and Oshitari Yūshi. Seigaku had Fuji, Inui Sadaharu, and Echizen Ryōma. From Yamabuki, only Sengoku made the cut.
Rokkaku had only Saeki Kōjirō. St. Rudolph had two: Mizuki Hajime and Akazawa Yoshiro. Jōsei Shonan had Kajimoto Takahisa and Kamijō Reiji.
But when they arrived at the camp, many looked disappointed. The facilities here were way worse than those at Akashi's private camp. Some even thought it wasn't worth coming and would've preferred being at Akashi's training estate.
St. Rudolph and Jōsei Shonan's players were the exception—they seemed pretty satisfied. Mizuki Hajime even smiled and greeted Akashi's group politely when they met.
Since he didn't want to cause a scene, Akashi returned the greeting with a polite smile. Just then, the coaches for the camp appeared to welcome everyone.
There were four total: Sakaki Tarō from Hyōtei, Banda Mikiya from Yamabuki, Hanamura Aoi from Jōsei Shonan, and "Ojii" from Rokkaku.
In the original story, the players were divided into four groups. But now, thanks to Akashi's influence, three of the four coaches—everyone except Hanamura Aoi—were already familiar with most of the players, so there was no need to split into groups.
The day after camp began, a flight from America landed at Tokyo Airport. A blond-haired boy stepped off the plane, his eyes cold as he looked at the buildings around him. He muttered to himself:
"So this is Japan… Don't worry, Father. This time, I'll make everyone see that Japan tennis is worthless. And Echizen Ryōma, son of Echizen Nanjirō—you'd better be ready!"
This boy was one of the members of the American West Coast team—Kevin Smith. His goal was simple: revenge for his father.
As a child, Kevin had watched his father spiral into alcoholism after losing a match to Echizen Nanjirō. That defeat burned into his mind. Now, he was determined to restore his father's honor. In the future, Kevin would also become a core member of the American team in the World Tournament.
Meanwhile, Ryōma, still unaware he'd become someone's target, continued training at the camp. Like the others who'd attended Akashi's previous training camps, he couldn't help but feel this place didn't compare to the luxury of Akashi's estate.
Akashi didn't care much. With his level of skill, he could train anywhere. Besides, the association's facilities here were at least fully equipped—better than what most schools had.
A few days later, Yukimura approached Ojii to ask about Kirihara's condition. Ojii thought for a moment, then said he'd need to see him in person to make a judgment.
After that, Kirihara came from Akashi's training estate to the camp. The Tennis Association staff just turned a blind eye to it. Kirihara looked a bit dazed when he arrived.
Under normal circumstances, Kirihara's personality wasn't bad aside from being a bit brash and impulsive. In the original story, he was also selected to join the camp. Even when other players criticized him, he didn't argue back—instead, he sincerely apologized.
After seeing Kirihara's red-eye state, Ojii got a general idea of the issue and shared with Yukimura a method to help Kirihara control that power within him.
It was actually simple. Kirihara couldn't rely entirely on external suppression. He had to learn to control it himself. Before this, Yukimura and Sanada had only tried to force Kirihara not to use his red-eye state.
Ojii also discussed it with Akashi, and they came to a conclusion: Kirihara wasn't suited for Shura Path training. His mental state had flaws, and forcing it could have unpredictable consequences.
If Kirihara could fully control that inner power, even when entering the state, the damage to his body would be minimal, and it wouldn't affect his future pro career much.
Yukimura was already satisfied with that result. He thanked Ojii and brought Kirihara to find Yanagi Renji so they could quickly put together a method to help Kirihara gain control. The best option was for Akashi to guide him using Pseudo ZONE, but unfortunately, Akashi wasn't interested in helping Kirihara at all.
Even with Angel Mode, Kirihara would only be considered strong among national-level players. Only when he combined the powers of demon and angel into his blue-eyed state would he reach half-step world class. Sadly, that state lasted only ten seconds—not enough to make a real difference in a match.
Now that so many players had surpassed the original timeline's level, Kirihara's presence in the upcoming world tournament didn't matter much. So Akashi couldn't be bothered to get involved.
While everyone at the training camp was busy practicing, Kevin had already started searching for Ryōma. His first stop was Seigaku, but none of Seigaku's regulars were there—some were at the training camp, others at the private estate. Only the regular club members were left.
Kevin didn't find Echizen Ryōma, but he still challenged the school. He issued a direct challenge match and utterly humiliated Arai, defeating him 6-0 and shaving his head.
After that, Kevin went around challenging all the schools in the Kanto region. Since the top players were either at camp or the training estate, Kevin easily steamrolled every opponent. No school could stop him.
This only deepened Kevin's contempt for Japan tennis. To him, it was just as weak as he'd expected. Producing someone like Nanjirō was already a miracle.
But there was one school that puzzled him. Recently, he'd heard that Fudomine was currently the strongest school in the Japan middle school circuit, so of course, he went there to challenge them too.
The result? Not a single person was at the Fudomine tennis club—not even a gatekeeper. Kevin was confused. He asked a Fudomine student about it, but the student, seeing he was a foreigner, didn't say much—just that the club members weren't around.
So Kevin had to give up. In any case, the one he really wanted to fight was Ryōma. As for Fudomine, he saw them as nothing special—just another overhyped team that rose because the top dogs weren't around.
Time passed bit by bit, and the date of the youth exhibition match between America and Japan drew closer. The training camp was coming to an end, and now it was time to finalize the roster.
During selection, everyone in Fudomine except Akutsu and Kintarō declined to participate. They weren't interested in that kind of match. Akutsu only stayed because Kintarō pestered him into it.
When the final roster was announced, it made all the other players gasp. The lineup had eight names: Yukimura Seiichi, Sanada Genichirō, Niō Masaharu, Akutsu Jin, Atobe Keigo, Fuji Shūsuke, Tōyama Kintarō, and Echizen Ryōma.
Ryōma was listed as a reserve. Judging by this lineup, he probably wouldn't get to play. Unlike the original, Ryōma wasn't upset—every person on the list was clearly stronger than him.
The reason he was included at all was due to a small request from the association staff. After all, the Ryōma–Kevin storyline was a marketing angle for the match. Since he was just a reserve, no one objected to the arrangement.
Of course, the staff didn't dare mention anything to the team about Kevin's grudge. They didn't want to stir up unnecessary trouble. What they didn't know was that Akashi already understood everything clearly—but he didn't care. He wasn't planning to get involved in this match anyway.
The next day, a plane landed in Tokyo, Japan. Richard Baker stepped off with the full American West Coast team in tow. This time, he planned to make a big profit in Japan.