Prince of Tennis: The Emperor's Eye

Chapter 11: Chapter 11: First Meeting with Fuji Shūsuke

Hearing that, Tezuka was taken aback. He slowly lifted his head and looked at Akashi, eyes filled with doubt. He couldn’t understand why Akashi suddenly invited him to attend a middle school he had never heard of.

”Fudomine Junior High? Akashi-kun, are you planning to enroll in that school? But I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything about its tennis club. Am I just ignorant?”

”Of course you haven’t heard of it. Right now, Fudomine’s tennis club is basically a cesspool—a gathering place for trash. But yes, I do plan to attend Fudomine. Just recently, I acquired ownership of the school. I’m now a permanent board member of Fudomine, and I’ll soon be the tennis club captain too. I plan to wipe out all the current members and rebuild from scratch. I’ll recruit players who truly love tennis. And the most important thing is, my tennis club will have only one rule—strength above all. In this world, victory is everything. The winner is always right. The loser is always wrong. So if you have ability, you can get everything you want.”

Akashi spoke openly, hiding nothing from Tezuka. In fact, he had always intended to win Tezuka over. He didn’t want to see him get dragged down by the mess that was Seigaku. Not just Tezuka—Akashi also planned to bring other gifted players from the original story into his club. This might not be the world of Kuroko no Basket, but he had no problem creating a miracle era for The Prince of Tennis.

”So that’s your goal... to build a tennis club of your own,” Tezuka said, slightly surprised as he looked at Akashi.

”No, you got it wrong, Tezuka. It’s to build our tennis club. Trust me. I’ll find more strong, like-minded partners. My one and only goal is a triple national championship!”

As he said this, an overwhelming aura of confidence radiated from Akashi.

Tezuka’s eyes lit up. A triple national championship—that was something no school had ever achieved. Not even the current kings, Makinodai, who had only managed two consecutive championships. And with most of their third-year regulars graduating, the national title this year was likely to change hands.

”I have to say, Akashi-kun, you’ve got quite the ambition. But I don’t dislike it. A triple national championship... that’s a very tempting challenge. Still, I need to think it over. At the very least, I should find out for myself if Seigaku really is how you described it.”

Although Tezuka didn’t agree immediately, it was clear from his tone that he leaned toward joining Akashi to dominate the nation. It was a sign of his recognition of Akashi’s strength. But being the cautious person he was, he had to do his own research on Seigaku first.

”Of course. No problem. You should definitely look into Seigaku’s situation yourself. It won’t be hard. Here’s my contact info. Once you’ve decided, just give me a call. I’ll be waiting for you at Fudomine’s tennis club.”

After saying that, Akashi stopped talking to let Tezuka think in peace. The car soon arrived at Tezuka’s home. After expressing his thanks again, Tezuka got out of the car, greeted his grandfather briefly, then went straight to his room. After setting down his tennis bag, he sat at his desk, thought for a moment, then picked up his phone and dialed a number...

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Akashi handed his trophy to the butler as soon as he walked in.

”Put this in the display room. I don’t really care about a junior tournament trophy.”

After taking a shower and completing another round of basic training, he called the butler over.

”Tanaka, contact the current principal of Fudomine for me. Tell him I’ll visit in person in a few days. Also, tell him to begin cleaning up the tennis club. I don’t want any trash getting in my way once I enroll.”

”Yes, young master. I’ll arrange it immediately,” the butler answered with a bow, then went off to carry out the order.

Two days later, under the enthusiastic welcome of Fudomine’s principal, Akashi visited Fudomine Junior High for the first time.

This school, which had originally made a striking debut under the leadership of the Kyushu lion Tachibana Kippei, eventually faded into irrelevance. But now, with Akashi’s arrival, it would walk a path completely different from the original story.

Inside the principal’s office, Akashi talked for a long time with the principal of Fudōmine. Actually, it was mostly Akashi giving instructions. Most of it was about reorganizing the tennis club and importing tennis equipment. In addition, Akashi planned to tear down an old abandoned school building and use the space to expand the tennis facilities. The initial plan was to build 10 courts and adjust further based on progress.

The principal took careful note of all this. There was no other choice. The boy in front of him was not someone he could afford to offend. The Akashi Group’s influence in Japan—and even globally—wasn’t just empty talk. Now that the whole school belonged to the Akashi family, naturally whatever Akashi said went.

After leaving the principal’s office, Akashi instructed the butler to get the company’s construction team to start work at the school as soon as possible. He also asked the German branch to finalize the equipment procurement. Meanwhile, he started drafting plans for the future development of the tennis club. The top priority was recruiting members. There was still a little over a month before middle school entrance. Akashi already had a shortlist in mind. But for two of them, he might need to travel personally.

After leaving Fudōmine, Akashi got in the car, planning to go home and map out everything in detail. At that moment, his phone buzzed. When he saw the caller ID, he couldn’t help but smile. The name on the screen was—Tezuka Kunimitsu.

”Tezuka, looks like you’ve made your decision.”

”Yes, Akashi-kun. I’ve decided. I’ll attend Fudōmine Middle School and chase the dream of a national three-peat with you.”

”A very wise decision. Welcome, Tezuka-kun. I believe we’ll get along well.”

”I hope so too. By the way, Akashi-kun, do you have time right now? A friend of mine wants to meet you. Of course, if you’re busy, just ignore what I said.”

”Oh? A friend of yours wants to meet me? Perfect. I’m out anyway and not doing much. Where are you? I’ll have the driver head over.”

”Thanks, Akashi-kun. I’m at Seishūtai Tennis Club right now.”

”Alright, I got it. See you soon.”

”See you soon.”

After ending the call, Akashi put away his phone and told the driver to head to Seishūtai Tennis Club. At the same time, he quietly wondered who this friend of Tezuka’s could be. After a moment, an image popped into his mind—half-closed eyes and a gentle smile. A friend from Tezuka’s elementary school days, connected to tennis... it could only be him.

Soon, the car pulled up to the entrance of Seishūtai Tennis Club. Incidentally, Akashi’s family was a major shareholder of this club. Though they didn’t interfere in daily operations, that didn’t stop the staff from showing him respect. On the way there, the butler had already called the club’s manager.

When the manager saw Akashi and his group step out of the car, he immediately came over with a fawning smile. This was the top shareholder. If he could get on Akashi’s good side, his career at the club would go smoothly. But before he could finish sucking up, Akashi cut him off.

”Take me to Court 13. I’m here to meet two friends. Also, without my permission, don’t let anyone disturb us.”

”Of course, of course. Don’t worry, Akashi-sama. With me here, no one will get in the way of your meeting.”

Under the manager’s lead, Akashi soon arrived at Court 13. Inside, two boys seemed to be chatting. When they saw Akashi, both stopped talking at the same time. Tezuka walked forward and greeted him.

”Good to see you again, Akashi-kun. Let me introduce you. This is the friend I mentioned on the phone. His name is Fuji Shūsuke. His tennis skills are very impressive.”

”Nice to meet you. I’m Fuji Shūsuke. Please take care of me.” Fuji smiled as he extended his right hand.

Akashi gave a small nod, then also extended his hand for a quick shake. He gestured for the butler and manager to leave them alone. Then he turned to Fuji and spoke slowly.

”I heard from Tezuka that you wanted to meet me. Well, I’m here now. So go ahead—what’s your reason?”