"Looks like I won't need to step in after all!" Atobe said with disdain.
"Didn't think Irie-senpai would lose like that. Was it real or just an act~?" Shiraishi raised an eyebrow, his tone oddly skeptical.
"Doesn't matter if it was real or not. He brought this on himself," Akashi's voice suddenly came from behind them.
"Akashi! What brings you here today, ah~" Atobe glanced over at Akashi, a playful smirk on his face.
"Starting now, I'm joining Court No. 3. You'd all better be ready," Akashi replied flatly, ignoring Atobe's teasing.
At that moment, the speakers by the court crackled on with Kurobe Yukio's voice:
"Attention, players! Based on the results of the group shuffle matches, all 15 members of Court No. 5 have been promoted to Court No. 3, and all members of the original Court No. 3 will be moved to Court No. 5. That is all!"
"Yare yare~ Didn't expect to lose so completely. Yukimura-kun's strength really is far above mine~" Irie, who'd been zoning out on court, finally spoke to Yukimura in front of him.
"If Irie-senpai had used his full strength from the start, the match might've turned out totally different. Still, I'm thankful for the mercy you showed me today~" Yukimura smiled again, speaking with layered meaning.
"Mercy, huh..." Irie didn't respond directly. He muttered softly to himself.
While the middle schoolers were celebrating their first victory in the group shuffle matches, off in a corner of the court, Tokugawa stared with wide eyes, his face full of shock and confusion. That final shot from Yukimura had shown a level of power far beyond anything Tokugawa expected.
"What was that shadow just now?!" Tokugawa asked, his voice unsteady.
"That's an Alternate Dimension! Like the name says, it's tennis from another dimension. By the way, that Black Hole move Irie-senpai taught you is also Alternate Dimension-level technique, y'know!" Mitsuya explained beside him, his face all gentle smiles.
"How do you know I can use Black Hole?!" Tokugawa snapped his head up and stared hard at Mitsuya.
"How do I know? Tokugawa-kun~ Don't forget, data doesn't lie... unless it's beyond your control," Mitsuya replied, smiling as always.
"I knew it~ Our little captain's a real monster! I bet his strength's already in the top three~" Mōri said dramatically from the side.
"Brace yourself. At this rate, we might not be able to hold on to our top ten spots for long," Ochi said coldly.
"Alternate Dimensions, huh? I thought only people from Akashi-chan's school had those. Didn't expect middle schoolers from other places to have them too. Things are gonna get messy~" Tanegashima said with a grin, watching Yukimura and Akashi from the sidelines.
Oni, who'd been silently watching the match from the sidelines, slowly walked over to Yukimura. His eyes locked onto him, and just as everyone wondered what he was about to do, Oni gave a strained smile and said:
"You kid... not bad. Keep going down your path."
"Thanks, Oni-senpai!" Yukimura smiled and nodded.
"Looks like you guys have been hiding your strength from me, huh? Fine, get ready. The real monsters are coming back soon!" Oni turned to address the rest of the middle schoolers.
"Just the way I like it. This time, I'm gonna raise hell!" said Akutsu, who had suddenly appeared behind the group, grinning wickedly.
"Akutsu! Where the hell have you been this whole time?" Tachibana Kippei laughed when he saw who it was.
"Hmph! I don't have time to play house with you guys," Akutsu didn't bother answering directly.
"Come on now~ You're part of Court No. 3 too!" Chitose tried to smooth things over from the side.
"Enough. Since you're back, you should know what you're supposed to do next, right?" Akashi cut in calmly, looking at Akutsu.
"Of course. I've been waiting a long time for this!" Akutsu flashed Akashi a cruel grin.
"Good. You all go train on Court No. 3 for now. I'll go talk with the coaches. Judging by the time... they should be back soon," Akashi said after hearing Akutsu's response. As he spoke, his eyes shifted toward Tezuka across the court. When Tezuka gave a subtle nod, Akashi turned and left.
In the following days, the middle schoolers on Court No. 6 launched a group shuffle match against Court No. 4. As a result, they successfully advanced to Court No. 4. Right after that, the coaches announced a new round of reshuffling—most of the middle schoolers were now gathered onto Court No. 3.
At the same time, atop the Cliff of the Heart, Mifune looked at the group of middle schoolers in front of him, now wearing black uniforms, and grinned wildly before shouting:
"You brats! I've got nothin' left to teach you! Now get in there and raise hell in that camp!"
"Yeah!!!" the group roared back in unison.
The next day, while the camp players were going through their regular training, a group of black-uniformed figures slowly stepped through the main gates. Each carried a tennis bag and wore visible injuries, but their eyes were razor sharp.
"Who are they? They look kinda familiar…" one high schooler whispered to his teammate.
"I think they're that group of middle schoolers who got eliminated earlier... Wait! Those black uniforms…" The second student's face froze as realization hit.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the middle schoolers in black uniforms walked steadily toward Court No. 2, clearly moving with a plan. Leading the group were two shorter figures—Tōyama Kintarō and Echizen Ryōma.
Ryōma's cap was torn and ragged, with hair poking out from the gaps. Kintarō looked just as worn-out, his face dotted with scratches. But their eyes shone much brighter than before.
The middle schoolers following them were dusty and clearly exhausted, but every one of them looked fully energized. It was obvious their strength had grown. Before long, they stood in front of the gates of Court No. 2.
The players training on Court No. 2 paused their drills and turned around. When they saw a group of middle schoolers wearing black uniforms, they froze for a moment. Then, someone remembered something—and their face turned serious.
"You're the ones from Court No. 2, right?" Ryōma called out to them first.
"That's right. What do you want?" one of the third-years replied.
"We just came down from the mountain. There's nowhere for us to train. How about handing this court over to us?" Ryōma asked with a confident grin, voice raised.
"Huh? What the hell are you saying? Who do you think you are?" another high schooler shouted, clearly annoyed.
"Didn't get it? Fine, I'll say it differently. Let's play a match. Loser leaves. Simple." Ryōma still wore his calm, cocky expression.
"There's a hidden rule in this camp," the first high schooler who'd turned pale earlier began slowly, "If someone wearing a black uniform challenges you to a match, no one's allowed to refuse."
"Just as I thought. That rule must've been made by Mifune-sensei. Probability: 100%," Yanagi Renji said plainly.
"When someone branded with failure returns wearing that black uniform, their strength changes drastically. Rumor has it they can even match those on Court No. 1. No one knows who started calling them this, but now they're known as… the Black Uniform Returners," the high schooler continued, repeating the story that circulated around the base.
Meanwhile, over at the central plaza, a large group of players had gathered in front of the bulletin board, voices rising in excitement. On the board was an announcement and a roster.
According to the coaching staff's decision, a group shuffle match between Court No. 3 and Court No. 1 will be held this afternoon. The following are the matchups:
Singles 3 – Tokugawa Kazuya vs. Akashi Seijurō
Doubles 2 – Kimura Shunsuke & Ayase Tatsuya vs. Liliadent Krauser & Kite Eishirō
Singles 2 – Shibasaki Takumi vs. Akutsu Jin
Doubles 1 – Imai Sōta & Nakama Yūsei vs. Shiraishi Kuranosuke & Marui Bunta
Singles 1 – Ishiguro Yōta vs. Atobe Keigo
Reserve – Tanegashima Shūji vs. Oni Juujirō