Prince of Tennis: The Emperor's Eye

"Who?!"

Akutsu whipped his head around toward the voice. A red-haired boy in a suit, followed by a middle-aged man dressed like a butler, was slowly walking over.

Of course, that boy was Akashi. The moment he saw the mushroom-cut youth, the name Akutsu popped into his mind. That's right—the scowling teen with the slightly adorable haircut was none other than the once-in-a-decade athletic prodigy from the original story—Akutsu Jin.

"No need to glare at me like that. I'm just a little curious," Akashi said. Then he glanced at the two middle schoolers curled up on the ground and added, "Just what kind of trash gets beaten up this badly when they've got the advantage in both age and numbers?"

His mocking tone made the two on the ground tremble in silent anger. But with Akutsu still pressing down on them, they didn't dare move a muscle, afraid they'd provoke another beating.

"Tch. Mind your own business. Get lost!"

Akutsu's voice was vicious, but Akashi knew he wasn't a true delinquent. His personality was just explosive and withdrawn. Combined with overwhelming physical talent, he'd developed an arrogant, wild nature—more like a lone wolf than anything else.

"Heh~ A couple of losers like them… how much money could they even have? Why don't we make a bet instead?" Akashi replied playfully, unfazed by Akutsu's attitude.

"Don't order me around!" Akutsu's eyes flared with rage. He glared at Akashi with murderous intent and pressed down harder with his foot, making the two unlucky guys scream and scramble to pull out their wallets and hand them over.

Akutsu took a few bills, tossed the wallets back, lifted his foot, and said coldly, "Beat it. And don't let me see you again."

The two middle schoolers didn't look back. They ran off as fast as they could, abandoning even their rackets by the fence. They just wanted to get away from the devil standing there.

Akutsu spat again and turned to leave. But after a few steps, he saw the red-haired boy blocking his way with a smirk. The sight made his anger boil over.

"Move it! Or I'll make you move!"

"Oh? I'd love to see how you plan to do that~" Akashi answered coolly, still provoking him.

"Bastard! You're asking for it!"

Akutsu lunged with a punch aimed at Akashi's face. But Akashi, with his Emperor Eye, simply tilted his head slightly to dodge it. At the same time, he kicked Akutsu square in the stomach, sending him tumbling backward.

"Dammit! I'm gonna kill you!" Akutsu got up, ignoring the pain, and charged again. His fists flew at Akashi in a frenzy. Though wild, his attacks had shocking explosiveness, flexibility, and balance, making them fierce and dangerous.

But they were useless.

With the Emperor Eye, Akashi could read every move. He dodged with ease, then suddenly threw another punch right into Akutsu's abdomen.

"Ugh!" Akutsu cried out again. Even with his physical resilience, he couldn't take it. He clutched his stomach and sank to the ground, but still glared at Akashi with bloodshot eyes, as if ready to devour him.

"Feeling calmer now?" Akashi stood tall, looking down at him. The butler stood quietly off to the side. He knew his young master's ability well and showed no signs of worry.

"You bastard… I'm not letting you off!" Akutsu growled. As the pain eased slightly, he lunged again.

But the result didn't change.

No matter how he attacked, he couldn't touch Akashi. Meanwhile, every strike from Akashi knocked the wind out of him and left him stunned for seconds.

After taking seven or eight such hits, Akutsu finally realized—he was completely outmatched.

"Dammit! What the hell do you want?!"

Collapsing again, he no longer tried to stand back up. His eyes still fierce, but his voice carried frustration and confusion.

"Finally quieted down? Like I said before—I want to make a bet with you," Akashi said, watching Akutsu finally soften just a little.

"Damn it! I told you not to order me around! What the hell are you betting?" Akutsu snapped.

Hearing that tsundere response and seeing that eye-catching mushroom cut, Akashi nearly laughed out loud. He steadied his tone and said, "I saw you betting with those two losers just now, right? Well, I'm pretty confident in my tennis. How about this—we play a match. If you win, I'll give you 1,000,000 yen. But if you lose, I won't take your money. All I ask is for you to agree to do one thing for me. Deal?"

"Tennis? 1,000,000? Are you serious?" Akutsu sneered. "Maybe I can't beat you in a fight, but tennis? That boring, simple game? There's no way I'll lose. You're basically handing me money!"

"Boring and simple, huh? Naïve as ever~ Still, looks like you've agreed. I'll give you 5 minutes to warm up. After that, let's play. And don't worry—1,000,000 is nothing to me. I think you can tell."

Akashi looked at Akutsu's dismissive attitude and was already planning to let him taste a bit of brutal reality. Given Akutsu's physique, hitting a little harder shouldn't be a problem.

"Tch~~ No need. For something as easy as tennis, warming up is pointless. Let's just get it over with. You don't see free 1,000,000 offers every day." Akutsu stood up, grabbed a random racket and tennis ball from the ground, and walked to one side of the court.

Akashi didn't say anything else. He also picked up a racket that the earlier two had left behind, walked to the opposite baseline, took off his blazer, and tossed it to Butler Tanaka.

"I'll let you serve first. If you've got what it takes, that 1,000,000 is yours. Tanaka, be the umpire."

"Yes, young master!" The butler immediately went over to the sideline chair.

"Don't order me!" Akutsu snapped again. Then he tossed the ball and slammed it straight at Akashi.

Akashi reacted without delay and returned the shot. But he held back slightly—he wanted to gauge Akutsu's current tennis level.

Akutsu rushed the net and smashed the ball aggressively. The rally quickly turned into a fast-paced exchange. After several volleys, Akashi had a rough read. Power, speed, explosiveness, flexibility—Akutsu excelled at all of them. His physical attributes far surpassed others his age.

But he had no tennis technique. He was just swinging on instinct. Though it looked wild and free, to Akashi it was crude and unrefined.

With that, he stopped holding back.

Akutsu sent another return. Akashi stepped into position and swung full-force.

To Akutsu, it was like a yellow beam exploded at his feet.

"0-15," the butler called out.

"What the hell?! I didn't even see his shot? No way, that had to be luck!" Akutsu couldn't believe it. He refused to accept that Akashi could land a shot faster than he could react.

He served again and launched a fierce assault.

But without Akashi holding back, Akutsu couldn't even keep up.

"0-30"

"0-40"

"GAME! 1-0"

"GAME! 2-0"

"GAME! 3-0"

"GAME! 4-0"

"GAME! 5-0"

"40-0"

The match quickly reached match point. With Akashi serious, Akutsu couldn't even touch the ball outside of serve. He was getting completely dismantled.

Now drenched in sweat, Akutsu stood there, stunned. He stared at Akashi, unable to understand how something as "simple" as tennis could be so overwhelming.

Akashi looked at the beast-like boy across the net and took out one last ball.

"Final point. Let me show you the real power and beauty of tennis."

The ball in his hand suddenly glowed with intense golden light.

Then—BOOM!

A thunderous crack rang out. The ball, glowing like a sunshot cannonball, rocketed toward Akutsu's half of the court.

Akutsu froze.

The golden glow felt like it pinned him in place. Fear took over. His back was soaked in cold sweat.

Then came the impact.

With a deafening roar, the ball struck the ground. The court instantly cratered, leaving a half-meter wide hole.

The ball bounced. It didn't slow.

It soared out of bounds, pierced through the chain-link fence, and slammed into a nearby streetlamp.

A loud crash rang out. Metal screeched.

In everyone's shocked silence, the streetlamp wobbled—then toppled.