"Whoa!" Kikumaru gasped, "Who was that guy?! We almost got into a fight!" He'd never seen anyone like him before.
"That's Akutsu Jin! A first-year from Yamabuki Middle School who just enrolled this year. He played as Singles 2 in the semifinals and defeated Rakuhua Middle School's captain in less than ten minutes until he was completely exhausted."
"Rakuhua Middle School is a regular at the Kanto Tournament, and their captain was even a Kanto-level player who could go toe-to-toe with Captain Oishi last year!"
Inui flipped open his notebook and quickly found information on Akutsu. "And from what I know, Kawamura, you were at the same school as him before, right?"
Kikumaru and the others turned their gazes to Kawamura. The usually honest-looking Kawamura nodded, then shook his head. "He wasn't at the same school as me, just a neighbor. He really loved to fight; all the delinquents on our street were taken care of by him."
"I remember one time, Yuuki even called him to practice karate. But those older students who tried to provoke him got a serious beating from Akutsu."
"He wasn't even fighting karate; it was just a regular street brawl. Even so, Akutsu... he defeated more than ten middle school seniors from the karate club!"
"Akutsu was only eight years old back then!"
Kawamura's memory was vivid. That day was his first week in the karate club, but because of Akutsu's appearance, Kawamura eventually gave up karate.
"Eight years old fighting middle schoolers?!" Kikumaru's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. An eight-year-old kid beat up middle schoolers?
"Yep! And they were even third-year middle school seniors." Kawamura nodded emphatically. "Even though there was an element of surprise, Akutsu is really strong. He defeated countless delinquents almost purely by instinct."
"Kawamura, with your power, you should be able to stop him, right?" Oishi instinctively asked. Through their interactions recently, everyone knew that Kawamura had strength far beyond ordinary people. His power was such that even second and third-year seniors couldn't return his shots. It's just that Kawamura's ball sense was terrible; he often couldn't control his monstrous strength and would frequently hit super home runs over the net.
"Me?" Kawamura scratched his head. "I... I'm not Akutsu's opponent either."
"Strength not inferior to Kawamura's, relying on pure instinct to defeat opponents, plus the explosive speed he showed in his previous match..."
Inui continued to jot down Akutsu's unique data. He had a hunch that Seigaku would face Yamabuki, and specifically Akutsu, in the upcoming Metropolitan Tournament.
"Third match!"
"Singles 3!"
"Hyotei's Kamikawa Muzuki versus Yamabuki's Akutsu Jin!"
"One set, winner takes all!"
"Yamabuki's Akutsu to serve!"
"Kamikawa, I'm going to crush you!"
Toss, bend knees, a slight leap, and a quick swing. Akutsu's movements were fluid. As his left foot landed, he swiftly stepped towards the net, serving and rushing forward, initiating an attack.
Whoosh!!
The ball landed in the right service box, and in an instant, it was already by Kamikawa's side.
Thwack!
Kamikawa's eyes flickered slightly, and his hand movements quickened. He aimed at Akutsu's movement, using his superb control to hit the ball to a spot that service-and-volley players disliked the most.
"Hmph!" Akutsu snorted with disdain. His body twisted into a strange position, leaping up. The spot that was originally at his feet, unfavorable for hitting the ball, instantly changed with Akutsu's movement, creating a perfect hitting stance.
Watching the ball, he lowered his body in mid-air, somehow managing to use this posture, and then, relying on his formidable strength, hit a sharp cross-court shot.
"That guy, using his body's flexibility, he actually made such a weird move!"
Outside the court, the Seigaku first-years had never seen such a return. Sadaharu Inui's eyes widened. "His speed is almost instantaneous, and the return power is immense. It's hard to believe this is tennis from someone who's been out of practice for so long!"
"What?!" Kikumaru turned to Inui, his face full of disbelief.
"Yamabuki's Akutsu, according to the data I've collected, only played tennis for a short while before suddenly giving it up. He only rejoined the tennis club about a month ago." Inui pushed up his glasses. He had collected almost all the information he could, but some things were impossible to gather. Then, Inui looked at Kawamura.
Kawamura awkwardly ran a hand through his hair. "Uh... I'm not too sure about that either."
Thud!
Thud!!
The two exchanged several rallies. Akutsu relied on his physical prowess to forcefully hit cross-court shots. But no matter how fierce Akutsu's attacks were, Kamikawa calmly returned them.
"That kind of powerful drive, with that much force and speed, most people wouldn't be able to handle it. But Kamikawa's arm isn't shaking at all, and every single one of his returns lands precisely on the sidelines."
"Hyotei's Kamikawa Muzuki! What a terrifying guy."
Compared to Akutsu's incredibly sharp offensive, what was more astonishing was Kamikawa's flawless ball control. Akutsu seemed to be on the offensive, but in reality, Kamikawa held the true advantage.
Thud!!
Screeeech...
"This guy..." Akutsu's brow furrowed as the ball spun violently on his racket.
He thought that a month of constantly improving his speed and power was enough to finally surpass this guy today. However, from their current performance, this guy could steadily return all of his shots, and his skill was far beyond what Akutsu had initially anticipated.
In that case!
He would just speed up the match as much as possible, making his fast shots even faster.
Thud!!
Suddenly, Akutsu put more power into his shot. He slammed the ball, lowered his body, and used his powerful explosive strength to quickly rush to the net. The ball had barely landed before he exploded forward, solidifying his position at the net.
Kamikawa quickly moved towards the ball, lowering his racket face. Before the ball could even land, he pushed off his legs, lightly leaped, and scooped the ball up with his racket.
Thwack!
A crisp sound. The ball soared high over the net.
"A perfect lob!" Oishi instinctively leaned forward, his hands on the net.
He had also been researching a unique lob technique recently, and the lob Kamikawa had just hit was perfect in terms of timing, angle, and power. That ball went over their heads, reaching its highest point near the center of the net. Even with the strongest physical abilities, it wouldn't be possible...
Before Oishi could fully process it, Akutsu's body bent, leaping towards the sky in a very strange movement. His figure appeared in front of the ball, and in mid-air, he straightened his back, swinging his racket down to smash the ball towards the ground.
Thud!!
A powerful smash, aimed at Kamikawa's other side of the court.
Kamikawa quickly moved forward, twisted his body for a backhand, and lowered his racket face. The ball spun violently on his racket, finally losing its spin and gently bouncing away.
Akutsu landed and instinctively extended his racket, wanting to hit a drop shot to retaliate. However, the ball, upon landing, bounced slightly to the right, slowly falling like a maple leaf.
"0-15! Kamikawa!"
"That guy..." Akutsu's gaze swept over the ball.
Then, he looked at Kamikawa again, Kamikawa's figure growing larger in his vision. "That guy, he's infuriating!"