13. Songyuan Mingyi vs Akutsu Jin

"Stop acting so self-important, kid. Who do you think you are?" Akutsu shrugged off his white jacket, revealing a sleeveless green vest, and addressed Masami Higashi in a cold voice, "Hey, give me the racket."

"Ah... okay." Masami Higashi responded instinctively. He had never seen Akutsu like this—so much more unreasonable when facing outsiders, and now accepting a tennis challenge. Should he buy a lottery ticket today?

He glanced at Mei Matsubara, whose lips curled in a faint smile. What kind of spell had this guy cast on Akutsu?

In truth, there was no magical chemistry between Akutsu and Mei Matsubara. The former wanted to beat up Mei simply because someone had asked him to.

Akutsu and Hajime Mitsuki had known each other for quite some time. At first, Akutsu couldn't stand this quirky, tousled-haired guy. But through casual conversation, Akutsu found Mitsuki at least knew how to talk to him, and his gaze wasn't as annoying as others', so Akutsu didn't take his anger out on Mitsuki.

Yesterday, Mitsuki called him out, saying that today a short, black-haired boy would come looking for him, probably to try recruiting him. Akutsu's task was straightforward: upon meeting the boy, beat him up as badly as possible.

Akutsu didn't understand why Mitsuki hated this boy so much, nor did he know what grudge lay between them. He agreed simply because he was being paid to solve someone else's problem.

Back at Ginkai Junior High, Akutsu's attempts at delinquency were thwarted when Saotome found an opening and escaped. That left Akutsu annoyed. So this time, facing Mei Matsubara, he not only aimed to do something in his own style but also wanted to help Mitsuki—and vent a bit.

This kid was worth challenging. The idea struck Akutsu suddenly.

Just now, the boy had blocked his full-powered punch with a single finger. That was no fluke.

With the racket slung across his back and both hands in his pockets, Akutsu strode slowly toward the tennis court.

Watching Akutsu's attire, Mei Matsubara recalled scenes from "The Prince of Tennis," where Akutsu battled Ryoma Echizen to help him overcome his mental block. Mei wasn't comparing himself to Ryoma, but Akutsu at this moment reminded him of the long-missed theme music unique to Akutsu after Seigaku faced Yamabuki.

He drew a tennis ball from his pocket. As Mei Matsubara stood ready on the far side, Akutsu, enraged, gritted his teeth and shouted, "Hah!"

The tennis ball shot forward in a streak of light, a visual assault. Mei Matsubara rushed to receive it, feeling the immense force through his racket, his eyes narrowing as he swung with all his strength.

"Ha!"

The match with Akutsu was nothing like Mei Matsubara had imagined. Akutsu's serves and shots, from any angle, were highly threatening!

He’s only a first-year, yet he already rivals the strength of a third-year? Mei Matsubara’s expression darkened.

Akutsu's beast-like, brutal playing style overwhelmed Mei Matsubara; scoring was out of the question—just returning Akutsu’s shots was already a struggle!

"You actually bragged about beating me..." Akutsu, furious, bent his body into an odd arc, like a sprinter preparing to dash. He eyed Mei Matsubara’s weak return, then sprang up like a coil, limbs limp as he ascended. Raising his head slowly, a fierce gleam flashed in Akutsu’s eyes. With arms defined by beautiful lines, he struck with force. "Don’t kid yourself!"

Smack!

The tennis ball zipped past Mei Matsubara at incredible speed, bounced, and landed out of bounds.

"15-0." Akutsu, holding the ball, announced in a voice as cold as ice.

Mei Matsubara stood frozen, stunned by losing a point. Masami Higashi’s hair stood on end—clearly, facing Akutsu was no joke.

Akutsu served again, each time with an explosive impact. Now Mei Matsubara could barely keep up, let alone go toe-to-toe. After just a few returns, Akutsu, crouched in a sprinter’s stance, shot the ball back even faster. In the next three points, the boy scored none.

"Score: 1-0." Watching Mei Matsubara stand motionless like a statue, Akutsu sneered, "What’s wrong, kid? Weren’t you going to claim my first time? Looks like yours just got taken instead."

For Akutsu, Mei Matsubara had once again shown him how dull and boring tennis could be. He wanted to end this meaningless match quickly.

"I’ve never seen Akutsu like this before..." Taiichi Dan was in awe of Akutsu’s aggressive, wild style. Compared to the time Akutsu rescued him, this was a different person entirely!

"You’re new to Yamabuki, so you don’t know Akutsu well. Whenever he gets serious, he enters this mode—flexibility and explosive power combined. To him, Mei Matsubara... is just prey right now," Masami Higashi said, sweat forming on his brow.

"I remember, with my friend Kenta Minami, passing by an outdoor tennis court at a club, and Akutsu used that strange posture to defeat all twenty adults present!"

Masami Higashi recalled those terrifying scenes—even though Akutsu ended up battered and torn, the adults were clearly worse off. This guy... he played murder tennis!

"He’s treating Mei Matsubara as prey..." Taiichi Dan looked at the silent Masami Higashi, turned to the court, and muttered.

Akutsu...

Mei Matsubara gradually calmed his panic, his eyelids lowered. Seeing Akutsu’s odd, long-armed stance, he couldn’t help but quip, "Pretty wild style—should’ve been a sprinter, not a tennis player."

It was Mei Matsubara’s turn to serve. Facing Akutsu, he launched a high-speed, spinless serve powered by traction!

Whoosh!

Watching the blurred yellow-green streak hurtle toward him, Akutsu, deliberately hunched, pupils contracted sharply. He stepped forward early, then returned Mei Matsubara’s serve with an almost seductive motion.

"What... that strange posture!" Taiichi Dan’s cheeks blushed, Akutsu’s bizarre cross-stepping again shattered his perception. Was that really something a human could do?

Easily returning the spinless high-speed serve, Akutsu slid quickly backward.

Mei Matsubara wasn’t too surprised—given Akutsu’s athletic talent, if he couldn’t return that serve, there’d be no point recruiting him for the tennis club!

With a shout, Mei Matsubara used repulsion and traction to cancel all speed and spin from the incoming ball, then executed a seamless drop volley.

!

Seeing this from the backcourt, Akutsu dashed forward like a leopard, arriving at the net in a few strides!

Just as Mei Matsubara expected Akutsu to smash the ball and retreated, Akutsu’s lips curled in a chilling smile.

"Here, kid!"

A sharp diagonal shot flew right, and realizing something was off, Mei Matsubara chased after it, barely managing to return the ball. Akutsu, propping himself with one hand, had already turned away.

So what if he saved the ball? With his body off balance, what could he do? In the end, he was just a clown desperately trying to catch up.

"I’d advise you not to underestimate my tennis," Mei Matsubara rolled to stabilize himself, and Akutsu looked back in surprise. The ball was spinning rapidly on Akutsu’s side of the court, and under his and Taiichi Dan’s astonished gaze, bounced back!

Smack.

Seeing Mei Matsubara catch the ball, Taiichi Dan exclaimed, "He managed to hit a slice shot like that while completely off balance..."

"This isn’t just any slice; it’s a super slice," Masami Higashi added gravely.

Meanwhile, doubts arose in Masami Higashi’s mind: was this Mei Matsubara really from some unheard-of school like Evergreen Academy?

That kind of slice shot—executed while utterly off balance, with no leverage—not even Captain Kenta Minami, nor the skilled Seishun Sengoku or Shin Watanabe... could pull it off!