The luxury bus was heading back to Fudomine Middle School. Unlike usual, Akashi didn't have the driver take the regulars straight home. Instead, he told everyone they had an announcement to hear and instructed them to return to school first.
While Akashi sat with his eyes closed, resting quietly, a familiar system prompt suddenly echoed in his mind.
"Ding! Congratulations, host, on completing the side mission: Dominate the Tokyo District Preliminary Tournament. Reward: 1 Dimensional Shard. Total shards in possession: 2. Side mission updated: Become the new Kanto Champion. Reward: 1 Dimensional Shard."
Akashi let out a quiet sigh. 'So in the system's eyes, district prelims, city finals, and Kanto Regionals are all the same—each one only gives 1 shard.' Still, if he won the Kanto Regional Tournament, he'd have 3 shards. Hopefully, the Nationals would reward 2. That would let him awaken the Dimensional Power.
Back at Fudomine, everyone got off the bus one by one at the school gate. Though it was the weekend, Akashi had already arranged for security to let them in. Since the Nishioda incident, the principal had made sure every teacher and staff member knew Akashi's identity, just in case anyone with no sense decided to cross him.
Once the team gathered at the tennis court, Akashi motioned for everyone to assemble on the open area in front of Court 1. He then stepped forward and addressed them calmly.
"As you all know, the Tokyo District Preliminary Tournament has concluded. Fudomine won the championship. While it's not the highest honor, it still marks a small step forward on the path to the national title. So from here on out, the Kanto Championship belongs to us!"
The crowd erupted in cheers. Even though most hadn't played, they were still part of the Fudomine tennis club and had gone to the matches to support the team.
"Alright, settle down! To better prepare for the Kanto Regional Tournament, I'm organizing a month-long training camp. All regulars are required to participate unless there's an unavoidable reason. As for regular club members, talk with your families. If they approve and you're willing, you can join too."
The announcement caused quite a stir. But Tezuka wasn't surprised—Akashi had mentioned this plan to him a few days ago. Those already in the loop had given their families a heads-up.
One notable case was Akutsu. His mother, Yuki, had been worried—not about him living away from home, but whether he'd clash with others during the training. What if there were fights?
Thankfully, Akashi had the principal step in and reassure her. In the end, she was relieved and happy that her son had finally found something he was passionate about.
When the chatter began to die down, Akashi continued.
"This training camp won't be just us. Hyōtei and Yamabuki will be joining, and we're currently in talks with Seigaku. Barring any surprises, they'll be part of it too."
The crowd was visibly shocked. Four schools? That was way beyond their expectations. If they knew Akashi was still considering inviting Rikkai too, they'd be even more stunned.
"Also, you won't need to worry about falling behind in academics. We'll have subject teachers at the camp. Class schedules will be flexible, but tennis training will be the top priority."
That bombshell dropped with perfect timing. Some members had secretly been excited about skipping class and just playing tennis for a month—but Akashi's words hit like a sledgehammer. What? Training camp and still have to study?
"As for the camp location, I've arranged for it to be held at a mountain estate in the outskirts of Tokyo. There'll be plenty of staff handling logistics and daily needs. All you need to do is focus on improving your tennis. Understood?"
"Understood!" everyone answered in unison.
"Good. That covers everything for now. Go home and discuss it with your families. If you're joining, sign up with the two managers. Dismissed."
At Hyōtei, Atobe also returned and announced the training camp together with Sakaki Tarō. Akashi had already briefed Atobe over the phone, and of course Sakaki had known the details beforehand.
There were no objections from Hyōtei's side. However, Atobe didn't plan to include the regular club members. While Akashi might not mind, Atobe wasn't about to lose his noble dignity in front of him.
The same went for Yamabuki. After returning, Banji informed his team about the training camp. The only surprise was that Mitsuya wouldn't be attending. He had already received a special invitation from the U-17 training camp before the tournament, inviting him to join as a provisional strategist.
Banji fully supported this. It was rare for the U-17 camp to accept junior high students, and Mitsuya had been singled out as a special case. Banji was a bit surprised, but when he considered Mitsuya's unique talents, it made sense.
With the Diamond Generation—Byoudouin and Oni—rising in the camp, the U-17 program had started turning its attention to younger prospects. Given that Mitsuya was already a lead strategist in his second year of high school in the original storyline, it was clear that Mifune had had his eye on him for a long time.
Right now, Banji was already thinking about how to convince Ryūzaki Sumire to approve the training camp. In the original story, it was also Banji's persuasion that made her agree to let Tezuka go to Germany for his arm treatment. That Germany trip not only caused the Japan team to lose a key player at the World Cup, but also gave rise to a powerful new rival.
You could say that Tezuka joining the German team was largely due to Ryūzaki Sumire. Maybe the way he was treated at Seigaku made him totally disillusioned with the tennis scene in Japan. But because of his promise to Captain Yamato, he kept pushing Seigaku forward. Only after winning the national title did he finally let go of everything and head to Germany to chase his own path in tennis.
But now, with Akashi's interference, Tezuka was already on a completely different path. Akashi wouldn't let such an important asset just walk off to Germany.
The weekend flew by, and while everyone was getting ready for camp, Akashi went to Hyōtei and met with Sakaki Tarō. After thinking it over, he figured it was best for Sakaki to be the one to invite Rikkai. Maybe they'd say yes out of respect for Hyōtei.
Inside the Hyōtei tennis club office, Akashi and Atobe sat facing each other on the sofa. Sakaki sat off to the side in a single chair. Three of the wealthiest figures in Japan were now discussing whether Rikkai should join the training camp.
"Akashi, why are you bringing Rikkai into this? They're the ones this ore-sama plans to defeat this year… You too, Fudomine included!" Atobe leaned back lazily on the sofa, resting his head on one hand.
"I've had some dealings with Rikkai's captain Yukimura and vice-captain Sanada. Their talent and strength are on par with yours. With your current level, it's impossible for you to beat them," Akashi said calmly.
"You bastard! You only feel good after pissing ore-sama off, huh?" Atobe snapped, clearly annoyed.
"Don't get it twisted, Atobe. It's you who always makes me uncomfortable," Akashi shot back without flinching.
"Enough! We're here to talk about Rikkai joining the camp—not to listen to your squabbles!" Sakaki knocked on the table, cutting them off.
"Hmph." Atobe let out a displeased snort and turned away, sulking in silence.
Akashi gave Sakaki a slight nod and continued, "I know a fair bit about Rikkai's regulars this year. A lot of them have tennis talent far beyond average. A big part of why I organized this camp is to raise the overall level of middle school tennis across the country."
Sakaki's eyes narrowed. He stared hard at Akashi, already beginning to sense what Akashi was aiming for.
Akashi noticed that look too. He had said it out loud because he knew Sakaki probably already had inside knowledge about the U-17 program. If Atobe hadn't just returned from overseas, he probably would've known about it as well.
"Also, don't you think having Rikkai join would benefit us for the Kanto Regional Tournament? We'd get to see what kind of strength they're packing in advance. Of course, they'd also get a preview of our capabilities."
"That's not your main reason for inviting them, is it, Akashi?" Atobe narrowed his eyes. He knew Akashi well—every move he made had deeper meaning.
"Well… it's true there are other reasons. But that's not important. I'm sure Sakaki-sensei understands~" Akashi softened his tone, smiling at Sakaki.
After thinking it over for a while, Sakaki nodded. He had figured it out. Akashi's ambition clearly went far beyond just winning Nationals.
Atobe, watching them speak in riddles, grew more irritated, but didn't say anything. He knew Sakaki would explain it to him later.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Sakaki-sensei, to send the invitation to Rikkai. I've got some more prep to handle for the camp, so I'll take my leave." Akashi stood up, ready to go. Atobe and Sakaki got up to see him out.
Meanwhile, over in Seigaku's tennis club office, Banji was also discussing the training camp with Ryūzaki Sumire. As expected, she was completely against it at first. She believed her students could just train at their own school—why the need for a joint camp with so many other schools?
But Banji knew Ryūzaki well. He used just the right words so she couldn't argue back. Eventually, she contacted Yamato, who was still in the hospital, to get his opinion. Only then did she reluctantly agree, on the condition that she would be present for the entire camp. Banji passed this on to Akashi, and Akashi said that was no problem.
Akashi wasn't worried about Ryūzaki's participation at all. Please—this was his turf. What could one little Ryūzaki Sumire possibly do? Plus, with Banji and Sakaki there too, she wouldn't be able to stir up anything.
Just like that, two days flew by. The training camp was right around the corner. Over in Kanagawa, inside the Rikkai tennis club, Yanagi Renji held the invitation in his hand and approached Yukimura and Sanada, informing them of the joint invitation from Hyōtei and Fudomine.
Both Yukimura and Sanada were a bit stunned. They hadn't expected to be invited to a camp organized by the strongest schools from Tokyo. But as Yukimura thought about it, a certain figure came to mind.
"So this is your move, Akashi Seijurō~"