Prince of Tennis: The Emperor's Eye

"Start a revolution, huh? Akashi-kun, you really overestimate me~" Fuji said, sounding a bit lost.

"Fuji-kun, Seigaku is already standing at the edge of a cliff. Right now, it's only barely hanging on thanks to the reputation left by Echizen Nanjirō-san. In recent years, Seigaku hasn't even appeared at the Kanto Regional Tournament. As for why, you know very well yourself!" Akashi's tone was still mocking.

"Akashi-kun, of course I know all that, but if I really go through with it, who knows what kind of consequences it might bring? The worst-case scenario might be something I can't handle." Fuji was serious now, opening his eyes and staring at Akashi.

"Heh, that's exactly why I called you over today, Fuji-kun~" Akashi suddenly flashed a strange smile.

"Akashi-kun, just be straight with me—what exactly are you planning?"

"It's actually simple. First, Fuji-kun, you need to find a way to show your real strength in front of Coach Ryūzaki. Of course, that probably won't change her mind, but the district tournament is starting soon, and you know a lot of schools have first-years as regulars this year. Fudomine is the most outstanding of them all," Akashi spoke calmly, then paused before continuing, "If we meet Seigaku at districts, that's perfect. If not, it's fine. Once everyone sees us first-years crushing the competition and taking the championship, that's your best chance, Fuji-kun."

"So Akashi-kun is completely set on winning the district tournament. I do believe you have the skill. This method of yours actually might work—I'll seriously consider it." Fuji clearly approved of Akashi's approach.

"Looks like you've made up your mind, Fuji-kun. Good! Here, take this training plan and look it over. I think it'll help you a lot." Akashi took a folder out of his bag and handed it to Fuji.

Fuji took it, curious, and glanced through the training plan inside. His face instantly showed shock, and he looked at Akashi in disbelief. "This training plan is amazing. I couldn't have put together something this perfect myself. But why give this to me, Akashi-kun? If I succeed, we'll definitely be rivals from now on."

"I put this together based on what I learned from our last match, plus Tezuka told me about your return shots. So don't be surprised. As for why—Fuji-kun, don't you think it's boring if you have no real rivals on the way to a championship?" Akashi grinned recklessly.

Fuji put away the folder, stared deeply at Akashi for a few seconds, then stood up, bowed formally, and said, "Honestly, I think you're a little too confident, Akashi-kun. But your advice and this training plan are huge help for me, so thank you very much!"

"Don't worry about those details, Fuji-kun. I hope you won't let me down. Also, look further ahead—after all, we won't always be rivals, right?" Akashi said mysteriously.

Fuji was stunned. He didn't really understand what Akashi meant about not always being rivals, but he still thanked him again, then the two just chatted casually for a bit.

Soon all the Fudomine regulars finished their basic training and started coming over to drink water. Fuji introduced himself briefly to everyone and then left the club.

After Fuji left, Tezuka came over to Akashi and asked, "So, Akashi-kun, do you have any solutions for Fuji's current situation?"

"Don't worry, Tezuka. Fuji-kun already knows what he should do. The rest is up to him." Akashi and Tezuka didn't say anything more.

Time flew by, and the day before the district tournament started, in the Fudomine tennis club's meeting room, everyone was looking over the match schedule for all the schools. The regulars were discussing plans for the next day's district prelims.

During this period, everyone's tennis skills had improved a lot, and Akashi's training plans had played a huge role.

Akutsu's skill had steadily reached the peak of Kanto level, and he was already close to national level. Most importantly, he had barely mastered the Light Strike—even if the power was maybe only a quarter of Akashi's, it was still impressive. All he had to do was keep refining his technique.

Krauser had finally broken through the barrier of ten-ball continuous rally, and that secret technique was nearly finished too. He still wasn't skilled enough to use it in real matches, but he'd probably fully master it by the time of the metropolitan tournament.

Kite's skill had also reached the Kanto level. With Akashi's help, he'd already started to master hanshichen, but what surprised Akashi was that Kite even grasped mugen—he'd really put in the effort.

Tachibana Kippei and Chitose Senri kept pushing their training, focusing on all five attributes, and finally broke into the national level. They were still just getting started at that level and not totally stable yet, but no doubt about it, this was real national-class strength.

Tezuka's progress was quick too. Maybe it was thanks to Chitose's influence, but now Tezuka had even opened the door to Saiki Kanpatsu no Kiwami. Chitose was super jealous and kept saying Tezuka was the man closest to Teni Muhō no Kiwami lately. Also, Tezuka had started to grasp the sweetspot technique, making him even better at spin shots.

At Akashi's suggestion, Tezuka also began experimenting with turning Zero Shiki Drop into a serve—just like Zero Shiki Serve from the original story. But the move put a huge strain on his arm, so Akashi strictly limited his practice time, and he hadn't fully developed it yet.

As for Akashi himself, his other attributes hadn't changed much, but he focused hard on stamina and kept working to boost his fusion rate, aiming to hit one hundred percent as soon as possible.

At this moment, everyone was discussing the lineup for the district prelims. Honestly, there weren't any schools in the district that Fudomine really needed to watch out for, but it was still their first official appearance. Akashi watched everyone throwing out ideas but not coming to a decision, so he knocked the table, looking annoyed, and said,

"Alright, I'll decide. Doubles Two: Liliadent and Kite. Doubles One: Tachibana and Chitose. Singles Three: Akutsu. Singles Two: Tezuka. Singles One: me! That's the arrangement."

"Kite, you improved fast, but you're better in doubles. Your shukuchihō can create a perfect defense, and Liliadent's power will smash the enemy. As for teamwork, I trust you'll figure it out yourselves."

"Tachibana, you and Chitose know each other inside out, so you two are our ace doubles pair."

"Akutsu, your priority is to keep raising your five attributes. Your style only works for singles."

"As for Tezuka and me, there's nothing more to say. That's final. I told you, in the tennis club my orders are absolute!"

Everyone glanced at each other and didn't say a word. Since Akashi had spoken, there was no point arguing. Only a fool would pick a fight with Akashi now.

"Okay, now that the order is set, let's talk about our goal for districts. The championship is a given, but I want all of you to win without dropping a single point. I won't accept any slip-ups. Got it?" Akashi said with authority.

"Relax, there's no way anyone can score against us!" Tachibana Kippei said confidently. The others all nodded in agreement.

"Good! Get yourselves in top shape and rest tonight. Tomorrow morning, I'll have a bus pick everyone up at school at seven sharp—don't be late! That's all!" Akashi waved his hand, signaling everyone to get ready.

The next day, at the entrance to the park where the Tokyo District Preliminary Tournament was being held, a Marcopolo G7-1200 luxury bus rolled in. The black body had three big white letters—Fudomine!

Everyone nearby started whispering. A bus like this was super rare in Japan, and when the doors opened, Akashi and his group stepped out in cool team uniforms, carrying tennis bags, and walked down.

This time Akashi had brought the whole club, so everyone could get a feel for the tournament atmosphere. Once everyone was off the bus, Akashi signaled for the two senior managers to take everyone to the stands while he and Tezuka led the regulars to register at the official desk.

On the way, people kept pointing and whispering, with some even mouthing off.

"Hey, which school are those guys from? Their uniforms look awesome!"

"Isn't it written there? Fudomine. Who cares if they look cool? They're all first-years, they'll get knocked out fast."

"I think I saw that school in the tennis magazine. The whole tennis club was rebuilt."

"Yeah, I saw that too. The article said all their regulars are first-years. No idea what their school admin is thinking—this is just chaos."

"Hah! Fudomine was a trash school for years. Not a single strong player in the tennis club. I thought things would be different after the rebuild, but it's all first-years? That school's finished!"

Akashi and his team didn't care about the gossip at all. Even Akutsu just looked bored—after Akashi's 'iron fist of love' discipline, he didn't react to meaningless chatter anymore.

When they reached the registration desk, Akashi stepped up and calmly announced,

"Fudomine Middle School Tennis Club. All seven regulars are present!"