Ever since Krauser played Akutagawa and Akashi in matches, his progress in Shura Path training had sped up significantly. He still couldn't control it as freely as Akutsu, but he was close to reaching basic mastery.
Also, during this training camp, Akashi noticed that not just Yukimura and Sanada from Rikkai, but also Fuji and Inui Sadaharu from Seigaku, as well as Shiraishi from Shitenhōji, had started practicing Super Sweet Spot techniques.
Akashi wasn't surprised. After all, the sweet spot technique wasn't a secret. Anyone who studied tennis seriously would know about it. Now that nearly all the third-years had trained at the U-17 camp, even the multi-ball rally method was likely common knowledge.
So Akashi simply handed over the training methods for Super Sweet Spot and multi-ball rallies to a few captains. How far they advanced with it would depend on their individual talent.
Basically, being able to rally eight balls already meant national-level strength. Ten balls marked peak national level. Beyond that was world-class. As of now, only Tezuka, Yukimura, and Akutsu could likely manage that.
Once Akutsu finished his Shura Path training, Akashi had him focus on increasing the rally count. In fact, the multi-ball rally was the foundation of the Alaya Awareness, but that technique required extreme physical ability—only Akutsu and Byoudouin could use it.
Akashi also kept a close eye on Dan Taiichi's training. He was curious just how far this rarely featured character could go. But Dan's talent still couldn't match Kintarō or Ryōma.
Speaking of Ryōma and Kintarō, they were still constantly challenging others to matches after training. But lately, almost no one agreed to play Kintarō anymore. Anyone a little weaker risked physical injury.
Ryōma, however, had recently been challenging many third-years. He lost more than he won, but eventually found Sanada and asked to play a practice match. Of course, Ryōma still used that same cocky tone, which made Sanada decide to teach him a proper lesson in manners.
On an empty court, Ryōma and Sanada stood at opposite baselines. On the sidelines, Akashi, Yukimura, and Fuji watched with amused smiles, clearly interested in the match.
Akashi, because of his past life knowledge, wanted to see how long Ryōma could last against Sanada. He didn't believe the same scenes from the original story would play out.
Fuji simply looked forward to whatever amusing things might happen during their match. He probably just wanted to see Ryōma get crushed—those frustrated expressions Ryōma made were just too entertaining.
After spending time with Ryōma, Fuji had no doubts. Losing wouldn't crush him. That stubborn refusal to admit defeat was carved deep into Ryōma's bones.
"Echizen Ryōma! Let me drag you into the depths of defeat!" Sanada said sternly, eyes locked on Ryōma.
"Oh? Then I'll be counting on your guidance, senpai," Ryōma replied without the slightest fear, meeting Sanada's gaze head-on.
"Hmph! You can serve first. I heard you've got a side spin serve—let's see what you've got," Sanada said, turning and walking to the backcourt.
Since it was just a practice match, there were no formal rules. Yukimura acted as umpire but didn't even bother sitting on the chair. With his skill level, he could easily judge the outcome from the sideline.
Ryōma didn't say anything else. He immediately began the serve. Holding the racket in his right hand, he launched a side spin serve. His left hand had more power, but the right gave better angle and control.
Unfortunately, it didn't work at all on Sanada, who returned it easily and instantly followed up with Swift as the Wind. Ryōma's vision blurred—and the ball had already shot past and landed out of bounds.
The rest of the match played out the same. Ryōma pushed his dynamic vision to the limit, but all he could see were ball afterimages. His body simply couldn't keep up. He couldn't help but think of his match with Akashi.
"Game, Genichirō! 1-0!" Yukimura calmly announced from the sideline.
Sanada had broken serve with ease. On his own service game, he didn't hesitate—immediately using the Invisible Takeback with Swift as the Wind. Ryōma stood frozen, unable to react at all.
From Ryōma's perspective, Sanada only tossed the ball up, his right arm moved slightly, and suddenly the ball was behind him. At least against Akashi, he could still see the serve motion. Was Sanada's serve even stronger than Akashi's?
Actually, it was just an illusion caused by Ryōma's lack of skill. Akashi's serve speed was much higher than Sanada's Swift as the Wind. But to Ryōma, it made no difference—he couldn't see either one. The invisible takeback just made it worse, blinding him to all of Sanada's movements.
"Game, Genichirō! 2-0!"
"Game, Genichirō! 3-0!"
"Game, Genichirō! 4-0!"
The match quickly became one-sided. Ryōma had no way to counter Sanada's Fū Rin Ka Zan. Right now, he hadn't even earned the right for Sanada to use Thunder or Shadow.
But then, a surge of Muga no Kyōchi aura suddenly erupted around Ryōma. He entered the Muga state, unleashing a series of techniques he'd seen before. Sadly, Sanada broke each one down with ease.
"Using a move with such severe side effects? Don't embarrass yourself, Echizen Ryōma," Sanada said without holding back.
But inside the Muga state, Ryōma ignored the taunt. He kept switching techniques and launching a fierce offensive—but still couldn't stop the flood of lost points.
"Game, Genichirō! 5-0!"
The match quickly reached match point. In the final game, Ryōma stayed in Muga no Kyōchi, trying every way he could to win even a single point from Sanada—but he failed each time.
Still, the boost from Muga no Kyōchi let him finally see Sanada's serve and barely return it. Sanada noticed the stubborn look on Ryōma's face and began to think slightly better of him.
Then, whether by coincidence or something else, Ryōma used the power of Muga no Kyōchi to imitate an incomplete Zone. It was far weaker than Tezuka's, but it still made Sanada's eyes flash.
"Move like thunder!"
Ryōma's unpolished Zone shattered instantly under the power of Thunder. The tennis ball streaked past his feet like lightning and bounced out of the court.
"Game! 6-0! Match over!" Yukimura called out from the sideline.
"Echizen Ryōma! You're still too early to challenge me. Go train harder," Sanada said seriously after the match.
After this practice match, Ryōma stopped hunting down opponents to play. He poured all his time into training. Even meeting his daily targets wasn't enough—he kept pushing for more. In the end, Akashi and Fuji had to step in and stop him. After all, his body had its limits.
Time flew by, and the training camp came to an end. Today was their last day at the estate. The training load had dropped a lot, and the afternoon was set aside for everyone to relax.
That evening, as if it were tradition, a pillow fight broke out in the dorm. No one was happier than Kintarō, who laughed while jumping between people, attacking nonstop.
When everyone had enough fun, they returned to their rooms and went to bed. This camp had been a totally new kind of experience for Ryōma and the other first-years.
They also heard that another camp like this would probably be held after the Kanto Regional Tournament, and they all looked forward to it. For the second- and third-years, though, it was nothing new.
A week before the Kanto Tournament started, Fudomine once again welcomed representatives from many schools. Inside Fudomine's largest meeting hall, the draw ceremony for the Kanto Tournament began.
Since Fudomine had won the Kanto Tournament two years in a row, they were assigned the number 1 slot and didn't need to draw. Akashi sat back and watched the others draw with interest.
Originally, Akashi thought the results would be similar to the original story, meaning Fudomine would likely meet Seigaku in the first round. But the final draw turned out completely different.
This time, Ginka didn't draw Rikkai. Instead, they ran into Hyōtei in the first round—so they were doomed either way. Thanks to Oishi's draw, Seigaku landed in the bottom half and would face Yamabuki—not in the first round, thankfully. Rikkai only faced minor schools before the semifinals.
As for Fudomine, Akashi looked over the tournament schedule. If nothing went wrong, their second-round opponent would be Rokkaku. This would be the first time they played each other, but to Akashi, Rokkaku wasn't much different from a background school.
That said, Akutsu, Krauser, and Akutagawa had all been helped by oyaji in the past. Akashi had also learned a lot from him, so he didn't want Rokkaku to lose too badly. He decided to send some second-string players in that match, though not the entire lineup.
After the draw ceremony ended, all the school representatives left Fudomine one after another. Yukimura and the others said goodbye to Akashi before leaving. Everyone was gearing up for the Kanto Tournament.
Many schools had no hope of winning. Forget the championship—even a top-four finish was out of reach. Most were just hoping to scrape a sixth-place slot.
Over the next week, everything went smoothly. Everyone followed their training routines. Yukimura found time to visit the hospital for a checkup—he was completely healthy, with no signs of relapse.
On the day of the Kanto Tournament, tennis fans and media from across the region gathered once again at Midorimori Tennis Park to watch this year's event.
Unlike the national tournament, regional tournaments like this were always held at fixed venues. The organizers at these places were long-time partners of the Junior Tennis Association.
It was the same this year. Only schools that finished in the top six at the Kanto Tournament could qualify for Nationals. And because this year's Nationals would be held in Tokyo, the Tokyo district got one extra recommendation spot. That meant seven schools from Kanto would enter Nationals.
In the original timeline, that extra spot went to Hyōtei. They were unlucky—knocked out by Fudomine in the Tokyo finals, barely scraped through the loser's bracket into the Kanto Tournament, then got eliminated by Seigaku. In the end, they only reached Nationals thanks to the extra spot.
But now Hyōtei clearly didn't need that anymore. Akashi figured the spot would likely go to St. Rudolph. Compared to the filler teams, they at least had some strength.
Fudomine's first-round opponent was Kyōyō Middle School from Tochigi. No surprise—they were a filler team. In the original, they at least made it to round two before getting knocked out by Rokkaku.
Thinking back, it was pretty wild that Rokkaku made it to the Kanto semifinals in the original. Both Yamabuki and Hyōtei had already been eliminated by then.
Since this was the first round, all five matches had to be played. As per the usual routine, Akashi sent out second-string members. The regulars watched the match from the sidelines.
It was worth noting that among the second-string players, Ibu Shinji and Fuji Yūta had reached half-step national level, though they were still some distance from the national threshold. Kamio Akira and Ishida Tetsu had both hit the peak of the Kanto level. As for the others, their talent lagged slightly behind, still hovering at the standard Kanto level.
Facing Fudomine's second-string team, Kyōyō Middle's players had no ability to resist. They didn't even seem to have the will to fight—just going through the motions without a shred of desire to win.
Only their third-year captain managed to win a single point off Ibu in the final singles match, but he still lost with a crushing 6-0.
Fudomine handed Kyōyō five straight 6-0 matches without breaking a sweat. Honestly, the school wasn't totally without strength. With some effort, they didn't have to lose so badly—but they had zero fighting spirit.
After the match, everyone on the Fudomine team packed up and boarded the bus. There were no surprises or upsets in this round—everything went exactly as Akashi expected.
The next day, the Fudomine team returned to Midorimori Tennis Park. Today, they were set to face Rokkaku, with the winner advancing to the Kanto semifinals.
Akashi led the team to the match court. Coincidentally, Rokkaku arrived around the same time. Both sides sent their players into the arena one after another.
Upon arriving, Akashi first went to greet oyaji. After exchanging a few polite words with Aoi Kentarō, he returned to Fudomine's coaching area.
As the umpire took their place, the Doubles 2 match was about to begin. Fudomine sent out Ishida Tetsu and Ibu Shinji, while Rokkaku fielded Saeki Kojirō and Marehiko Itsuki—just like in the original story.
To be honest, this Rokkaku pair theoretically countered Ibu and Ishida. Saeki's insight let him accurately predict Ishida's Hadoukyu and Ibu's temporary paralysis. Plus, Marehiko's no-spin shots weren't friendly to Ibu at all.
Still, the overall skill gap was clear. Akashi wasn't worried about the result. At most, Rokkaku might take a game or two—he'd allow that much out of respect for oyaji.
Technically, all the Rokkaku players had attended the training camp, so they should've been stronger than in the original. But for some reason, their strength stayed at early Kanto level. Especially the third-years like Saeki—it probably just came down to talent.
"Now starting the Doubles 2 match! Representing Fudomine: Ibu Shinji and Ishida Tetsu. Representing Rokkaku: Saeki Kojirō and Marehiko Itsuki! Players, please take the court!"
The four walked to the net and exchanged brief greetings. They'd seen each other often at camp, and while they weren't exactly close, they were at least familiar faces.
The coin toss went to Ibu, who won the right to serve. Akashi couldn't help but wonder if he was cursed on tosses just like Tezuka.
"Game one begins! Fudomine to serve first!"
Standing on the baseline, Ibu tested the bounce of the tennis ball, then served a side spin shot. The ball flew over the net, heading straight for the backcourt and toward Marehiko. He moved into position, but once the ball landed and spun, it shot up toward his face.
Marehiko had known Ibu could do this, but since he never played him at the training camp, he flinched and instinctively dodged.
"Ace! 15-0!"
On the next serve, Ibu once again sent out a side spin shot. This time, Marehiko learned from the last point and managed to return it. The ball flew back toward Ibu without a hint of spin.
That was Marehiko's signature move—his no-spin shot. In the original story, he even used it to shut down Fuji's Counter. Though Fuji later found a counter, it wasn't reliable.
Ibu knew what to expect. Seeing the no-spin ball approach, he changed tactics and sent a topspin shot toward the frontcourt—aimed straight at Saeki.
But Saeki, thanks to his sharp perception, instantly saw through the strategy. He stepped aside, letting the ball pass, and Marehiko appeared behind him to take the shot with a firm drive.
The spin on the ball vanished instantly, turning it into a regular flat hit. This annoyed Ibu—his temporary paralysis wouldn't work now. He'd have to win with raw skill.
Eventually, Ibu found a gap and took the second point. Meanwhile, Saeki never let his guard down against Ishida's Hadoukyu, watching him constantly.
"30-0!"
From there, the match heated up. Though Ibu's skill level was clearly above theirs, this was still a doubles match. And Marehiko's no-spin technique countered him hard. Each side had their wins and losses, but overall, Fudomine held the advantage.
"30-15!"
"40-15!"
"40-30!"
"Game, Fudomine! 1-0!"
The second game was Marehiko's service game. He stood on the baseline and served a flat shot. Even his serve had zero spin—something that made Ibu roll his eyes.
Ibu quickly moved to intercept the return and sent it back easily. At the net, Saeki intercepted and fired a straight shot directly at Ibu.
Ibu, instead of returning immediately, glanced to his side. Seeing no one nearby, he stepped aside. Behind him, Ishida Tetsu had already taken the stance for a Hadoukyu!