With the Tokyo tournament's top four set, everyone was once again shocked by Fudomine's record. Even after reaching the city tournament, they still hadn't lost a single match—way beyond anyone's expectations.
But even though the semifinals were set, there was still a week before the matches began. The audience could only wait patiently for next week's games.
Fudomine's opponent for the semifinals was already confirmed: Hyōtei Academy, led by Atobe Keigo. This year, Hyōtei also had several first-year regulars. It wasn't as wild as Fudomine's full first-year lineup, but it was still rare for a strong school to have so many first-years in the main roster.
During this week, the Fudomine team kept up their regular training. Nobody cared about Hyōtei's reputation as national semifinalists—they had complete confidence in their own strength. Besides, Hyōtei's actual power this year was a question mark.
With Ochi Getsurō and the others graduating, Hyōtei's overall strength dropped sharply. If not for Atobe suddenly rising up, they might not have even made it to the Kanto tournament. In the original story, Atobe as a first-year might not have even been national-level yet, but even so, he managed to defeat all the regulars on his own. That just showed what kind of team Hyōtei really had.
But even with all this confidence, Akashi still called all the regulars to the meeting room the day before the match. Once everyone was there, Akashi started talking:
"Tomorrow's the city tournament semifinal. I'm sure you all know who our opponent is, and you should be familiar with Hyōtei's info by now. Honestly, even using our regular lineup, we can win easily. But we still have to think about the final."
"Given the current situation, even though Seigaku's new regulars like Fuji and the others made them stronger, beating Yamabuki is basically impossible. So the odds are, our opponent in the final will be Yamabuki."
When Tezuka Kunimitsu heard Akashi's words, he felt a bit sorry for Fuji, but he understood. With Seigaku's current strength, they really couldn't beat Yamabuki yet.
Seeing that nobody objected, Akashi nodded and kept going:
"Yamabuki has a really tricky player, Mitsuya Akuto. You should all know him—that's the guy I talked with after last week's match. He's not just good at data tennis, he's an expert at intelligence gathering and team strategy. Most of Yamabuki's match orders aren't decided by their coach Banda Mikiya, but by him, based on all the intel he collects."
"So if we keep using the same lineup, there's a good chance we'll get countered in the final. Even though I trust your skills, Yamabuki is famous for their doubles, and with Mitsuya's strength, honestly, anyone except me could lose if they face him." Akashi looked dead serious.
Everyone went silent, thinking it over. They wanted to argue, but with all the info they'd seen, Akashi might actually be right.
Akashi didn't care about their silence. He knew what was going through their heads—Fudomine's run had been way too smooth, so they all subconsciously thought middle school tennis was just like this. Suddenly facing Yamabuki made it hard for them to adjust their expectations.
"Alright, enough worrying. Let's get back to Hyōtei. Tomorrow's match, I'm switching up the lineup. That's why I had you all doing partner drills all week."
Only now did everyone realize—usually they'd follow their own training routines, with only the doubles pairs practicing together. But this week, Akashi had everyone rotating partners in training. At first they didn't get it, but now it made sense—Akashi planned it all.
"Tomorrow, doubles two: Tachibana Kippei and Kite Eishirō, you're up!" Akashi said, looking at the two.
Tachibana Kippei and Kite Eishirō glanced at each other and nodded. They'd always played doubles anyway; changing partners was no big deal. Everyone in the club knew each other's play style, so they could work it out.
"For doubles one, Krauser, Akutsu, you two go!" Seeing that Tachibana Kippei and Kite Eishirō had no objections, Akashi turned to Krauser and Akutsu Jin.
Akutsu was surprised Akashi picked him for doubles. He looked annoyed, but knowing Akashi's personality, arguing would get him nowhere. He just grunted and stayed silent.
Krauser didn't care at all—singles, doubles, whoever his partner was, as long as they could win, he was good. Plus, he believed Akashi had his reasons for this.
"As for singles three, I'll play myself! I know Atobe—he'll want to finish things in the first three matches, so I'll join him for a round~" Akashi said with a strange tone.
"For singles two, Chitose Senri, and singles one, Tezuka Kunimitsu. That alright? Though you two might not even get to play~" Finally, Akashi looked at Tezuka and Chitose.
Tezuka and Chitose both shook their heads, not caring either way. Tezuka was used to this—he and Akashi hardly ever got to play matches. Chitose didn't mind either; unlike Tachibana Kippei, he wasn't the fiery type and was fine with a break.
"Good. Then tomorrow's lineup is set. Akutsu, I know you're not happy, but you'll have to learn doubles eventually. The stage will only get bigger from here—we can't stay in the same place forever. All of you need to remember that. That's all." After Akashi finished, he gestured for Tezuka to stay, while everyone else gradually left the meeting room.
"What is it? Akashi, you told me to stay behind—do you have something important to say?" Tezuka looked seriously at Akashi.
"Tezuka, Akutsu is just one breakthrough away from national level. Even though we can beat him easily, the pressure we give him as teammates probably isn't enough. So I plan to let him experience a loss in an official match. With his personality and talent, he'll definitely break through. What do you think?" Akashi's eyes were deep as he spoke.
"Akutsu, huh? To be honest, I've never seen talent like his. The speed at which his strength grows… aside from you, he's already surpassed all of us. Even without pressure, I think he'll break through quickly. Is this really necessary?" Tezuka frowned a little.
"You're right, Tezuka. In some ways, his growth rate even surpasses mine. But if we can speed up his progress, why not? And a loss in an official match might be really good for his mindset."
"That… makes sense. I have no objections. What's your plan?" Tezuka didn't question it anymore.
"In the Yamabuki match, have him play singles three. There's a good chance Mitsuya will be at that spot against us, to stabilize the team if things go wrong." Akashi spoke seriously.
"You're not planning to play Mitsuya-senpai yourself?" Tezuka was a bit surprised.
"No rush, I'll get the chance later. Right now, Akutsu's development is more important." Akashi did want to test himself against Mitsuya, to see if Emperor Eye or data tennis was stronger, but when it came to nurturing Akutsu, he was serious.
The next day, the city tournament semifinals finally began. Tons of spectators showed up early at the venue, waiting for the four teams to arrive.
Just like before, the luxury bus with "Fudomine" printed on it slowly rolled in. As it was about to enter, two other luxury buses pulled up from the other side—these had "Hyōtei" written on them.
Everyone got hyped at the sight. Wow, before the match even started, the showdown was already on. The whole place went quiet, everyone waiting to see what would happen next.
When both teams' buses parked, all the players got out one by one. Honestly, the contrast in uniforms was huge—Fudomine's were mostly black, while Hyōtei's were white in the center with dark blue sleeves. The difference couldn't be more obvious.
The first off the Hyōtei bus was Sakaki Tarō, dressed in a wine-red suit that made him look even taller and more imposing. He only nodded at Akashi—no words. He knew the real star now was Atobe.
Sure enough, as soon as Atobe got off, he led the Hyōtei regulars straight toward Akashi's group. Akashi didn't hesitate either, leading his own team over.
"Didn't expect you to play tennis too. If I remember right, you only cared about basketball before, Akashi Seijurō~" Atobe opened with full-on sarcasm.
"Heh~ That was years ago. Looks like you didn't make any progress at all in England, Atobe Keigo~" Akashi shot right back.
If anyone was watching from the side, they'd see a red and a blue flash sparking from Akashi and Atobe's eyes, clashing fiercely.
"You can talk big for now, but in a bit, Fudomine won't have a chance to win!" Atobe declared, raising his right hand high. All the Hyōtei members behind him started shouting.
"Hyōtei will win! The victor is Atobe!"
"Hyōtei will win! The victor is Atobe!"
When Atobe snapped his fingers, the shouts finally stopped. Seeing this, even Tezuka and the others, not to mention Akashi himself, couldn't help twitching a little. You're just a first-year, dude! You're already pulling these narcissistic stunts? There's no one left you care about, huh?
Though Akashi was roasting him hard inside, his face stayed calm and cool. He said slowly, "Atobe, you know how I do things. No matter how loud your cheering is, it won't change your fate. Your loss is guaranteed."
"Is that so? Well, I'll be waiting to see it!" Atobe stared back without backing down.
At that moment, Sakaki Tarō, probably fed up with the confrontation, stepped forward and stopped the two from going any further. After saying hi to Akashi, he led the Hyōtei group to the registration desk.
Akashi and his team went to the other registration desk. The match hadn't even started, but the tension was already sky-high between both sides.