Tokugawa snapped back to his senses the moment he heard Mitsuya's voice and immediately said,
"Sorry! That was my mistake just now. Thanks for the reminder, Mitsuya-kun!"
"It's fine! Let's keep watching the match. Who knows, maybe Court No. 1 will face a shuffle match soon too~" Mitsuya smiled meaningfully.
Meanwhile, in the coaches' office, Kurobe looked at Fuji Shūsuke's latest five-attribute data and muttered in admiration,
"Fuji Shūsuke, third-year, captain of Seishun Academy's tennis team. Power 4.5, Speed 5.5, Stamina 6, Technique… unable to measure. Mental 5. Total score unknown. He's unexpectedly strong!"
"With just a bit more power, these stats could already rival a professional player," Tsuge Ryūji said, also surprised by Fuji's data.
"Maybe this is just what Fuji-kun wants us to see. Only he knows what his true strength is," Saitō Itaru suddenly chimed in.
Having watched Akashi and the others play during their middle school years, Saitō understood better than anyone how terrifying their talent was. Especially with a monster like Akashi leading them, their training results might not be any worse than the U-17's.
The reason they came to the U-17 training camp in their second year was simply to face stronger high school opponents. The stronger the opposition, the faster they evolved.
Back on the court, the match was still going, but seeing Yamato Yūdai's state, everyone knew he had no chance left. Fuji had only used four of his counters, yet Yamato was already exhausted trying to keep up.
Yamato dashed forward with all he had, barely managing to intercept the ball. He quickly returned it, altering his motion mid-swing to unleash Gen'u Yume Utsutsu.
But Fuji had already seen through it completely. He ignored the ball's trajectory and turned to flash to the other side. With a swift backhand flick upward, a tennis ball appeared in the air and shot toward the opposite high court.
Yamato's first instinct was "Hakuryuu," but he quickly noticed there was no wind on the court. Reflexively, he leapt high and smashed the ball down. But the moment he finished his smash, he immediately ran to the backcourt—because he knew Fuji's Kirin Otoshi was coming next.
Fuji paused for a second at Yamato's reaction, then smiled and said,
"Captain Yamato is guarding against my Kirin Otoshi? Too bad. Right now, I've got a strong urge to attack~ Wind-based attack technique—Aoi Fubuki!"
Fuji instantly rushed to the frontcourt. Using the ball's rebound height, he also leapt up and smashed down fiercely. The ball turned into a blur, flashing past Yamato's side and kicking up dust like scattering snow under the sunlight.
"Game, Fuji Shūsuke! 5-0!"
"So it's still no use… Looks like I really can't beat you anymore, Fuji," Yamato said, exhaling and steadying his breath.
"You've grown a lot since middle school, Captain Yamato. As long as you keep working hard, there will always be results," Fuji replied, trying his best to offer some words of comfort.
Just as Yamato was about to respond, an unbearably sharp voice suddenly rang out from the sidelines:
"That was pathetic!!! Yamato, you little brat—have you forgotten? You're representing us high schoolers now! What? Were you holding back against your underclassmen from the same school? I've said it before—a useless guy like you doesn't deserve to be on Court No. 3!"
Yamato turned to see Matsudaira Chikahiko glaring at him, teeth clenched. For a moment, Yamato looked embarrassed. Honestly, if he were capable of holding back against Fuji, he'd already be on the First String.
"Shut up!!! Matsudaira! This is Yamato's match, and we've all seen how hard he's tried. Fix your own attitude!" Miyako Shinobu suddenly shouted, cutting off whatever Matsudaira was about to say next.
"But Shinobu…" Matsudaira still wanted to object.
"I said… shut up!!" Miyako Shinobu's tone had turned dark.
Irie said nothing from the side. He simply gave Matsudaira a cold glance, the same gentle smile still on his face—as if he hadn't heard anything.
As for Akashi, he didn't even bother acknowledging Matsudaira. To him, Yamato belonged to the high school group and wasn't strong enough to compete on the world stage. He was irrelevant.
Only Fuji on the court had a suddenly cold look in his eyes. Inui Sadaharu, who knew him well, was the first to notice—Fuji was angry now. What would happen next, even Inui's data couldn't predict.
"Heh~ Can't vent your anger on Fuji, so you start picking on your own teammates? What a pathetic and cowardly piece of trash," Atobe said with a voice full of disdain and mockery.
"Ohh~ I've got a feeling this guy's gonna be in trouble~" Shiraishi said, clearly enjoying the drama.
"Useless brat, huh... Haven't heard that one in a while." On the court, Fuji lowered his head and whispered softly.
"Sorry, Fuji! That must've been embarrassing for you. Let's continue the match," Yamato spoke gently, finally catching on.
"This has nothing to do with you, Captain Yamato. No need to apologize." Fuji smiled at him, but the chill in his gaze made even Yamato sense something was off.
Though Yamato was a bit concerned about Fuji's current state, there wasn't much he could do. He could only walk back to the baseline to prepare for his serve. Right now, he just wanted to finish the match quickly, before Fuji did something extreme.
Yamato quickly served the ball, not even bothering to use Gen'u Yume Utsutsu. Fuji looked like he had returned to normal, using Hecatoncheires no Monban to return it. Yamato felt a bit relieved.
"Fault! 0-15!"
Even if Fuji seemed calm again, Yamato still had no way to counter Hecatoncheires no Monban. That helpless feeling of doing everything you could, yet still not getting the ball over the net, was overwhelming.
What Yamato didn't see was the growing rage on Matsudaira's face behind him. He knew these middle schoolers were incredibly strong, but Yamato's performance was downright humiliating. More importantly, if they lost this shuffle match, they'd be dropped to Court No. 5.
Fuji caught all of Matsudaira's changing expressions from the court. While playing Yamato, he was also thinking about what he should do next. As for the consequences, he didn't care at all. With Akashi around, who could say anything? This was U-17 Training Camp, a place where only the strong had a say.
"Fault! 0-30!"
"Fault! 0-40!"
The next two points were the same. Fuji easily scored with Hecatoncheires no Monban again. Yamato could only smile bitterly and gave up resisting, just hitting the ball back out of formality—he didn't even expect it to clear the net.
"Looks like Fuji's about to make a move! Aren't you gonna stop him, Akashi?" Oni asked from the sidelines, sensing Fuji's rising pressure.
"Stop him? Why would I? If you have the nerve to provoke, you'd better be ready to pay the price," Akashi replied coldly, not caring at all about what Fuji might do.
After hearing that, Oni didn't say anything more. Honestly, he'd only asked on impulse. He didn't really care much about what was going to happen. But if the one playing was Akutsu, maybe Oni would've worried a little.
At that moment, Yamato served again. A fierce aura exploded from Fuji. In a flash, he moved to the spot where the ball would land. It felt like countless gales had gathered around his left hand. Everyone could only hear the roar of the wind.
Fuji's racket, wrapped in surging winds, slammed into the incoming ball. The next second, Yamato felt a violent gust whip past him, followed by a thunderous boom behind him.
The tennis ball had turned into a massive tornado, like thousands of wild horses running free. It tore across the court, kicking up clouds of dust, and smashed down at the baseline, carving deep ruts into the ground.
The rebounding ball flew straight toward Matsudaira. In his stunned and panicked gaze, it slammed into the wall behind him. Cracks spread instantly across the surface, and chunks of broken stone pelted Matsudaira, making him look utterly pathetic.
"Game! 6-0! Match over! Winner, Fuji Shūsuke!"
"You bastard! What the hell are you doing!? Trying to attack your senior?!" Matsudaira finally snapped out of it just as the umpire called the result, yelling furiously at Fuji.
But before he could even finish his sentence, a golden light flashed before his eyes. A massive glowing orb, wrapped in blue plasma, blasted straight toward him. Matsudaira had no time to react as an immense force slammed into his body, launching him straight into the air.
"Stupid trash with no self-awareness! Are you in that much of a hurry to die, you mongrel?" Akashi slowly lowered his racket not far away, his eyes staring coldly at the crumpled Matsudaira on the ground.