Prince of Tennis: The Emperor's Eye

This time, after hearing Akashi's words, Inoue Mamoru was really shocked and quickly asked, "Akashi-kun, are you serious? All your tennis club's regulars are first-years? Most of the members too? That's just unbelievable! So where did the original second and third years go?"

"No need to be so surprised, Inoue-san. Our tennis club follows the rule of the strong—if you have the ability, you can be a regular. In fact, if anyone can beat me, they can even become the captain," Akashi answered calmly.

"As for the former members of the tennis club, I'm sure you know about Fudomine's results in past years. Forget the Kanto Tournament, they couldn't even make it to the city tournament. What's the point of keeping such useless people around? They simply have no reason to exist here!" Akashi said without a ripple in his voice.

"This… alright, I get it. So right now, the regulars are the strongest in the club, right?" Inoue Mamoru was clearly not used to Akashi's cold attitude—it was completely different from the gentle smile he wore just a minute ago.

"Of course. If you'd come last week, Inoue-san, you could have seen our regulars' amazing tennis level. They became regulars by beating all the competition, step by step."

"Thank you very much for telling me all this, Akashi-kun. Lastly, I'd like to ask—what are the tennis club's goals for this year? Of course, if it's not convenient, you don't have to answer." Inoue Mamoru had finally accepted the reality.

"Goals? There's nothing inconvenient about that—you can even publish it in Tennis Monthly if you want. Our Fudomine tennis club has only one goal: the national tournament championship, and we'll achieve three consecutive championships. No school can stop us!" Akashi's expression was still cool, but his words carried a fierce confidence.

"I have to say, Akashi-kun, you're really confident. That's a big dream. I hope you can lead your club to achieve it!" Inoue Mamoru said with a polite smile, but honestly, he didn't believe it. After all, no school had ever won three straight championships, and with only first-years at Fudomine, winning nationals would be even harder.

But right now, Inoue Mamoru hadn't realized that with this year's new term, many schools had seen the rise of monster freshmen—Akashi's club just had more than most.

"Thank you very much for your time today, Akashi-kun. Oh, before I go—what's that badge on your chest?" Inoue Mamoru was really curious about Akashi's badge, since he'd seen it on the other regulars too.

"You mean this? This badge represents our tennis club regulars' rankings. You can see the exact number on each badge, which shows their rank," Akashi explained, taking off the badge from his chest and holding it out for Inoue Mamoru to see.

Inoue Mamoru took a close look and saw that Akashi's badge had "No1" on it. With a touch of emotion, he said, "So Akashi-kun is the strongest in the club, huh? But this ranking style of yours is pretty unique, kind of like… never mind. Anyway, Akashi-kun, if you don't mind, could I tour the tennis club? Maybe interview some of the other regulars, too?" Inoue Mamoru clearly left something unsaid.

"Of course, no problem, Inoue-san. Feel free to look around. All the other regulars have already been told, so you can interview them anytime," Akashi replied, a smile reappearing on his face.

Akashi could pretty much guess what Inoue Mamoru hadn't said. With his network and experience, Inoue-san had to know about the existence of the Japanese U-17 training camp, and probably made the connection with their ranking system. But for middle schoolers, U-17 was still a secret.

Akashi understood, though. After Echizen Nanjirō, Japan's tennis world basically had a long slump—there were hardly any real representatives, and even people like Sasabe and his dad could become known figures. That just said it all.

After that, Inoue Mamoru followed Akashi for a tour of the entire Fudomine tennis club. He was even more shocked after seeing how the courts were organized—it was just like the U-17 camp, though Inoue Mamoru didn't let it show.

It's worth mentioning, when he tried to interview the regulars, Akutsu didn't give Inoue Mamoru any chance to ask questions—he just turned around and walked away, leaving Inoue Mamoru a bit embarrassed. Akashi, meanwhile, was secretly amused on the side. 'That's so like you, Akutsu.'

When he finished gathering all his material, Inoue Mamoru thanked Akashi again and left—he needed to get back and write up his report. The shock he felt at Fudomine today was huge, though there were some things he couldn't mention in the article.

Just like that, a week later, while Akashi and the others were quietly training, the newest issue of Tennis Monthly was released. Many tennis fans were used to subscribing every month, just to keep up with the latest news. In this month's issue, the junior high section had a headline that was completely different from before:

"First-year captain and regulars appear in the tennis club! This might mean a new era is coming!"

In this report, there was a special focus on the current state of several well-known schools in the junior high tennis world. For example, it mentioned how the three giants of Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku had completely taken over their tennis club, and how Atobe Keigo took down the entire Hyōtei Academy tennis team by himself to become the new captain. Throughout the article, it emphasized that many first-year students were starting to make a name for themselves.

Of course, the report also talked about the rebuilding of Fudomine tennis club, the new captain, and the news that all the regulars were first-years. But hardly anyone paid attention—after all, Fudomine had always been so obscure that in most people's minds it was just a third-rate school, not worth mentioning in terms of tennis skill.

Also, for reasons unknown, Inoue Mamoru didn't include Akashi's talk about winning three consecutive national championships in the article. Maybe he was worried Akashi would be mocked or disliked by others.

People were really curious about a tennis club letting a first-year be captain, and the fact that so many first-years became regulars this year. That was totally outside what they were used to.

At that moment, in the Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku tennis club meeting room, Yanagi Renji brought the latest issue of Tennis Monthly to Yukimura Seiichi and Sanada Genichirō, asking, "Yukimura, take a look at this news. Is the Akashi Seijurō they mention in the article the one you talked about before?"

When Yukimura and Sanada heard Akashi's name, they both looked at the Tennis Monthly in Yanagi's hand. After reading the whole report, Yukimura and Sanada exchanged glances, both seeing the heaviness in each other's eyes.

"That's right, Renji, it's him. I didn't expect him to go to Fudomine, let alone become their captain. Looks like we'll really have to pay attention to Fudomine at the national tournament this year," Yukimura said seriously.

"I also saw Tezuka Kunimitsu's name. He went to Fudomine too! Yukimura, I think Fudomine is going to be our biggest rival for the championship this year!" Sanada cared a lot about Tezuka.

"Is that so? Got it. I'll keep a close eye on information about Fudomine from now on," Yanagi replied slowly.

"Sorry to trouble you, Renji. By the way, I haven't seen Mōri-senpai today. Is he slacking off again?" Yukimura asked with a smile, like he suddenly remembered something.

Yanagi just gave a helpless shrug. He really had no way to deal with that upperclassman.

"Hmph! Way too lazy!" Sanada barked, clearly annoyed.

When it came to Mōri Juuzaburō, Sanada totally couldn't stand him. That kind of lazy personality, skipping tennis club activities just to avoid training—Sanada couldn't accept someone like that at all.

But the awkward thing was, in a practice match not long ago, Sanada was totally defeated by Mōri. That left him so frustrated he couldn't say anything to push Mōri to work harder. And since Mōri was so strong, he just slacked off even more, always looking for ways to get out of practice.

Because of that, Yukimura and the others had been troubled for a while, but hadn't found a good solution. Right now, Yukimura was probably the only one who could totally suppress Mōri Juuzaburō, but he didn't do it. As for why, maybe only Yukimura himself knew.

"Oh, Yukimura, by the way, just like you asked, I've been watching our new first-years closely, and I found someone interesting, though he didn't join the tennis club," Yanagi suddenly said.

"Oh? Really? I trust your eye for talent, Renji. What's his name?"

"Niō Masaharu!"

Meanwhile, at the Hyōtei Academy tennis club in Tokyo, Atobe Keigo looked at the Tennis Monthly in his hand, a cocky smile on his lips. He said proudly, "Didn't expect that the moment I get back to Japan, I'd see your name, Akashi Seijurō! Our families are rivals in the business world, so let's settle things on the tennis court too!"

Then Atobe stood up and headed for coach Sakaki Tarō's office. Even though he was confident, he knew Akashi wasn't simple, so he wanted to talk things over with Sakaki-sensei and get more information about Fudomine.

At Seishun's tennis club, Yamato Yūdai was leading the second- and third-years in routine practice, while Ryūzaki Sumire watched from the side. All the first-year members were picking up balls and doing support work, not participating in the actual training.

Among the first-years, a few moved especially quickly, but their faces showed some frustration and helplessness. A red-haired boy walked up to a brown-haired boy with soft, layered hair and said playfully, "Fuji, did you hear? This month's Tennis Monthly says lots of schools have first-year regulars, and even some first-year captains. Look at us—we just pick up balls all day."

"Eiji, stop complaining. I think Ryūzaki-sensei has her own ideas. But, who was the first-year captain you mentioned?" Fuji Shūsuke asked gently.

"I remember there were three—Yukimura Seiichi, Atobe Keigo, and one more… Akashi Seijurō, right!"

When Fuji heard Akashi's name, his eyes narrowed sharply, and a certain unforgettable memory came rushing back into his mind.