Prince of Tennis: The Emperor's Eye

Chapter 83: Chapter 83: The Revolution Begins Early

The older students watching were furious, all scolding Suzuki for humiliating the upper grades by losing so badly to a first-year middle school kid.

Akashi ignored the trash shouting across the court and turned to walk toward Oni and the others. Oni nodded approvingly, finding Akashi more and more to his liking.

The first-year high school players slowly dispersed. Even though Akashi wasn’t one of them, seeing the second- and third-years get humbled still made them happy.

Akashi followed Oni’s group to an empty court. With a quick glance under the Emperor Eye, he noticed there were no surveillance devices—this had to be where Oni’s group usually practiced.

The three coaches knew perfectly well what was going on but didn’t care. Top players always had certain privileges, and there were a few courts in the camp without cameras set up specifically for that reason.

”Alright, Akashi-kun, you can rest here for a bit. Although that match just now probably wasn’t much for you~” Irie said with a smile.

Akashi nodded and sat down on a bench by the court. Oni then spoke up.

”Kid, congrats on officially joining the camp. Getting into Court No. 10 on your first day is impressive!”

”Thank you, Oni-senpai! But was that guy really a Court No. 10 player? His level was too low. I know at least ten middle schoolers who could easily crush him,” Akashi said, though he already knew the answer.

”Oh? The middle school scene is that strong now? That guy’s already close to national-level strength~” Tanegashima asked curiously.

”Well... for example, at my tennis club, all our regulars are national-level players, so...” Akashi trailed off, giving Tanegashima a look that said everything.

Tanegashima’s eye twitched hard—seriously? Not even their generation had an entire team of national-level players. Even Makinofuji couldn’t manage that. But Akashi didn’t seem like the type to brag without proof.

”Kid, which school are you from?” Oni couldn’t hold back his curiosity.

”Fudomine Middle School!” Akashi answered directly without hesitation.

”Fudomine? I’ve never heard of it. Sorry, Akashi-kun, I don’t mean to disrespect you. Which region is your school in?” Irie asked with a puzzled look.

”It’s fine, Irie-senpai. I understand—before this year, Fudomine was pretty much unknown, so it’s normal you haven’t heard of it. Our school is in Tokyo, and we just won the Kanto Regional Tournament,” Akashi said with a smile.

”Hah? You guys actually broke Rikkai’s hold on the Kanto championship?” Tanegashima said in surprise.

”Yeah, but we were lucky. Rikkai is still incredibly strong—it took a long, hard fight for us to win~” Akashi replied with a playful tone.

”So you’re saying most middle school players this year have the strength of a Court No. 5 player? That’s unbelievable!” Oni muttered, falling into thought.

”By the way, Irie-senpai, is something going on in this camp? It feels like the older students don’t get along with you first-years,” Akashi finally asked, wanting to confirm the situation.

”Oh my, you’re quite sharp~ Yes, as you’ve noticed, the camp is basically split into two factions now—one made up of us first-years, and the other of the second- and third-years. But I think things will change very soon,” Irie said frankly.

”Hmph! Those trash players will all be sent straight to hell sooner or later!” Oni added with a scowl.

”Ah~ looks like the peaceful days are almost over. What a pain~” Tanegashima said with a shrug.

The four of them then chatted a bit more about the current state of middle school tennis. But when it came to the camp’s split, Oni’s group kept the details vague—they didn’t want to drag Akashi into it. The revolution would be their job as seniors.

In the camp’s monitoring room, Kurobe was focused intently on the computer screen in front of him, which displayed an initial analysis of Akashi’s exact abilities compiled by professionals.

Name: Akashi Seijurō

Age: 13 years old

Height: 167 cm

Weight: 48 kg

Initial estimated five key attributes:

Power: 5.5

Speed: 5.5

Stamina: Cannot be measured

Technique: 6.5

Mental: Cannot be measured

Total: Cannot be measured

Saitō Itaru and Tsuge Ryūji both stared silently at the report for a long time. They had thought Akashi’s strength was just in his mental power, but they never expected his physical abilities to be so exceptional. And this was only a preliminary estimate—Akashi hadn’t even used any techniques in that match, so the technique stat probably wasn’t accurate either.

”I can’t believe this kid looks so delicate, yet his physical ability is off the charts. Reaching this level at his age—he’s a total monster~” Tsuge Ryūji finally said. As the conditioning coach, he knew better than anyone what those numbers meant.

”With Akashi-kun’s strength, he might even be ready for the first string. But with the camp’s current situation, I doubt that’s a good idea,” Saitō Itaru said worriedly.

Kurobe Yukio thought for a moment, about to speak, when a special phone on the table rang. All three of them tensed up, and Kurobe quickly answered.

”Hello! Head coach, what are your orders? ...That might be a bit... yes, but... you’re sure you want to do this? ...Understood, I’ll make the arrangements,” Kurobe said before hanging up. He took a deep breath and fell silent.

”What did the head coach say? Don’t just stand there!” Tsuge Ryūji snapped, while Saitō Itaru also stared at Kurobe.

”The head coach reviewed Akashi’s report and told us to change our strategy. Starting now, we’re to schedule a shuffle match for Akashi every day to see how far he can climb. If he reaches Court No. 1 before Byoudouin and the others return, we’ll immediately arrange an official shuffle match for a spot in the first string,” Kurobe said in a low voice.

”What?! But right now, if Akashi reaches Court No. 1, those guys will definitely lose it—who knows what might happen then!” Saitō Itaru said, visibly anxious.

”I know. But the head coach’s exact words were: ’It’s time to clean up this camp.’ We have no choice but to follow orders,” Kurobe said helplessly.

”This is really going to blow up. I’ll go let Oni know so he can keep an eye on Akashi,” Tsuge Ryūji said, scratching his head so hard he messed up his hair.

Akashi had no idea about the storm that was brewing. But even if he knew, he probably wouldn’t care. Only Oni and Byoudouin could pose any real threat to him in this camp.

Just like that, Akashi’s first day at the U-17 training camp quietly came to an end. He’d already gotten a good sense of the current situation and looked forward to what was coming next.

Early the next morning, Akashi arrived at Court No. 10 for his daily basic training. Although the drills didn’t do much for him, he still followed the camp rules for now.

Some upperclassmen on the court glared at Akashi with vicious eyes, but he ignored them completely, which only infuriated them more. Still, with the court under surveillance, they couldn’t do anything.

At noon, Oni personally came to Court No. 10 to take Akashi to the first-string dining hall. Since most first-string players were on overseas expeditions, the place felt deserted.

After yesterday’s match, Oni and the others knew Akashi had no problem reaching the first string, so they decided to let him get used to it early. Besides, Coach Tsuge had passed along a message yesterday.

Irie was also eating in the dining hall—even though he was only on Court No. 5. No matter how good his acting was, his true strength hadn’t escaped Oni and the coaches’ eyes.

Not long after training resumed in the afternoon, Kurobe Yukio’s voice rang out from the loudspeakers, announcing Akashi’s next shuffle match. His opponent would be a second-year student from Court No. 9.

Akashi froze for a moment when he heard it, but then his lips curled into a playful smile as he walked toward Court No. 9.

The players on Court No. 9 were in an uproar—they couldn’t believe it. Didn’t that Akashi kid just have a shuffle match yesterday? How could he be scheduled for another today? But no one could refuse a match ordered by the coaches.

Fifteen minutes later, a second-year player knelt on one side of the net, while Akashi stood calmly on the other side wearing his jacket, his expression cold and blank. The nearby upperclassmen looked furious.

”Match over. Akashi Seijurō advances to Court No. 9. Karikawa Masato drops to Court No. 10!”

From then on, Akashi advanced one court every day, and it quickly became clear to everyone in the camp that the coaches were determined to push Akashi up the ranks as fast as possible.

But when Akashi faced a third-year player from Court No. 5 while still on Court No. 6, he realized the opponent was actually a true national-level player. Unfortunately, it didn’t make any difference—ordinary national-level players still couldn’t score a single point against Akashi, and he advanced to Court No. 5 with a 6-0 win.

As soon as he arrived at Court No. 5, Akashi immediately felt a different atmosphere. Almost all the players there were first-years. Originally, there had been two third-years, but Akashi had just knocked one down, leaving only one third-year left.

At that moment, the question that had been nagging at Akashi was answered. No wonder he hadn’t seen a single first-year or any familiar faces from the original story in the earlier courts—they were all here on Court No. 5. It made sense, since Irie was also on Court No. 5.

Among these players, Akashi finally saw many familiar faces from the original story, though they still looked a bit inexperienced. One player in particular caught Akashi’s eye—a towering figure who was none other than Hyōtei’s former captain Ochi Tsukimitsu. With his skill, it was strange he was still on Court No. 5.

There were also players like Date Danji, Ban Rikiya, the Mutsu brothers, Kimijima Ikuto, Kaji Kazena, Omagari Ryūji, Suzuki Shun, Washio Issa, Hakamada Izō, Akiba Kōyō, Nakagauchi Sotomichi, Miyako Shinobu, and Matsudaira Chikahiko—many characters who’d appeared in the original story.

But Akashi didn’t see Tōno Atsukyou, which probably meant he’d become a first-stringer and gone on the overseas expedition. Some of the others also had enough strength to make the first string, yet for some reason they were still in Court No. 5—it looked like these first-years had their own plans.

Irie Kanata walked up with a smile, bringing Akashi to meet everyone. The first to greet Akashi was Kimijima Ikuto, fitting for someone known as a negotiator on the court.

Meanwhile, in the camp’s monitoring room, Kurobe Yukio looked at the shuffle match application Kimijima Ikuto had just submitted and fell silent. He hadn’t expected the first-year players to use Akashi’s rise as a chance to act early.

But that saved them a lot of trouble. The expedition team would be back in a week, and it would soon be time to clean out the camp’s troublemakers.

The next day, the mood on Court No. 5 was relaxed. No one picked on Akashi because of his age, and the lone remaining third-year was completely isolated—no one cared what he thought.

After yesterday’s afternoon chats, Akashi had become familiar with everyone. Even the usually aloof Ochi Tsukimitsu came over to say hi, although at 223 cm tall, he made Akashi look like a little kid standing beside him.

In the original story, Ochi Tsukimitsu was 226 cm in his third year—practically the same height as Yao Ming. If he played basketball, he’d probably be just as successful, but this was the world of tennis.

At that moment, the loudspeakers announced another shuffle match. But this time, it wasn’t Akashi’s personal match—it was a team shuffle match: Court No. 5 would face Court No. 4.

Just like in personal matches, if Court No. 5 won, everyone would advance to Court No. 4. If they lost, nothing would change, but they wouldn’t be allowed to request another shuffle match for three months.

Irie Kanata came over and whispered to Akashi:

”This time, you’ll be playing Singles 3, Akashi-kun~”

”Why me? Is everyone okay with that?” Akashi asked in surprise. He’d thought he wouldn’t be involved this time.

”This was the coaches’ special request, but don’t worry—everyone has full confidence in you!” Irie said with a wink.

The lineup for Court No. 5 was quickly finalized, and aside from Irie, no one objected.

Doubles 2: Suzuki Shun and Washio Issa

Doubles 1: Mutsu Yūma and Mutsu Yūho

Singles 3: Akashi Seijurō

Singles 2: Irie Kanata

Singles 1: Ochi Tsukimitsu

”I’m so weak—why would you guys make me play Singles 2? I’m just going to drag everyone down,” Irie said with a pained expression.

Kimijima Ikuto ignored him completely. He knew Irie’s personality all too well—there were hardly any players on Court No. 5 who could beat Irie, himself included, unless Irie decided to throw the match.

When Irie saw everyone ignoring him, including Akashi, he lost interest, and his face immediately returned to a calm smile as if nothing had happened.

With that, the players from Court No. 5 arrived at Court No. 4, where the upperclassmen were already prepared. The revolution within the U-17 training camp had officially begun!