Prince of Tennis: The Emperor's Eye

Seeing that Ryūzaki Sumire still looked troubled, Yamato quietly sighed, then glanced at Fuji, whose eyes were flickering as if he was plotting something, and couldn't help but speak up again:

"Coach, I know what you're worried about, but I've recently learned a few things myself. I wasn't planning to say this, but now the situation has reached its breaking point, so I have to speak my mind!"

"This time, besides us at Seigaku, the other district champions are still the usual schools. Yamabuki and Hyōtei, both from Tokyo, also took their respective district titles. The key thing is, both these schools had first-years on their main roster, and they did pretty well!" Yamato noticed the changes in Ryūzaki Sumire's expression and kept talking.

"And Hyōtei's captain, just like Fudomine, is also a first-year regular—Atobe Keigo. I'm sure you've heard of that name before. Plus, the absolute kings of Kanto, Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku, have a bunch of first-year regulars this year. Even their captain and vice-captain are first-years!"

"And just the other day, my old friend Hirayoshi from Kansai was telling me that their Shitenhōji tennis club has recruited a bunch of first-year prodigies. Now, Shitenhōji already has three first-year regulars. Coach, I'm not saying all this for nothing, but I really think Seigaku should at least give the first-years a fair shot too, don't you think?" Yamato let it all out in one go.

After hearing Yamato's words, Ryūzaki Sumire stayed silent for a long time, but her expression kept shifting quickly. She'd started realizing during the district tournament that her insistence on tradition might be a problem, but sometimes, people just instinctively run away from problems, like how she'd been avoiding the issue of first-years—sometimes consciously, sometimes not.

Now that Yamato laid out all the situations at other schools, Ryūzaki Sumire had no choice but to face this decision head-on. Should she keep sticking to tradition, or try giving the first-years a real chance? Her rational side told her that the first-years were probably much stronger than the current regulars, but her emotional side kept saying that traditions exist for a reason, and if she gave them up, everything she'd insisted on all these years would turn into a joke.

In the end, Ryūzaki Sumire seemed to make up her mind and spoke in a serious tone:

"Yamato, I understand what you mean. I've actually been thinking about this a lot over the last few days. Just now, you said you want to let Fuji and the others fight for themselves—what do you mean?"

"Coach, I think we should do another open tryout for regulars. No age restrictions, anyone can enter. Let Fuji and his group show what they've got. That way, it's fair and everyone will be convinced." Yamato said his idea without any hesitation, clearly having thought it through for a while now.

"Is that so? All right! Fuji, I trust your strength. Maybe it really is time for Seigaku to change. Please go let all the first-years know to get ready. I'll also have Yamato prepare a formal announcement and let everyone know about this soon!" At this moment, Ryūzaki Sumire finally let go of her old ways. Thanks to Akashi's interference, Seigaku's fate was about to change for good.

"I got it, Ryūzaki-sensei! I'll let Oishi and the others know. Also, I'll prove at the Tokyo Tournament that Seigaku isn't done yet! I'll head out now!" Fuji finally felt relieved, glad things hadn't taken a turn for the worse.

Watching Fuji's departing back, Ryūzaki Sumire's face—already showing her age—seemed even older. In the end, she broke the tradition she'd worked so hard to build. Yamato, standing by her side, was honestly happy for Seigaku and for Fuji's group. He'd done all he could; what happened next was up to them.

While Seigaku was about to experience a huge shakeup, a lot of other schools also felt the impact of Fudomine's championship.

At Rikkai Daigaku Fuzoku, in the tennis club's meeting room, Yukimura, Sanada, and Yanagi were discussing the recent tennis news, each looking pretty serious.

In another corner of the meeting room, Mōri Juuzaburō was fast asleep—after all, he'd been caught trying to skip training by the little captain himself, and once dragged to the meeting, found nothing to do as the main guys kept discussing their strategies, so he just dozed off before he realized it.

"You're way too lax!" Sanada frowned and scolded when he heard snoring from the side.

"Enough, Sanada. Just catching Mōri-senpai and bringing him here is good enough. The actual plans and details are all up to Renji, anyway. As long as Mōri-senpai wins his matches, that's all we need." Yukimura looked a bit exasperated, but as long as it meant victory for Rikkai, he could live with it.

"Actually, Yukimura, I think as long as you officially beat Mōri-senpai, based on his personality, there's a 95% chance he'll stick to training from now on," Yanagi Renji said from the side.

Yukimura shook his head and calmly said, "No, you're wrong, Renji. My tennis probably won't motivate Mōri-senpai at all. It might even backfire. But Sanada, if you can break through to another level, I'm sure you can suppress Mōri-senpai."

"You don't need to tell me that, Yukimura!" Sanada replied, sounding a little frustrated.

"I trust you, Sanada! All right, back to what we were talking about earlier—you've all seen Fudomine's results. Even though it's just the district preliminaries, I can say for sure they haven't even shown their true strength, so we need to stay alert!" Yukimura spoke with a serious expression.

"I get it, Yukimura. I've already collected some intel on Fudomine. But even if we do play them, the earliest will be at the Kanto tournament. In the meantime, I think we can't underestimate Hyōtei or Yamabuki, either," Yanagi Renji replied coolly.

"Of course! I'll leave the intel to you, Renji. Sanada and I will focus on club training. If we want to keep our winning streak at the Kanto tournament going—turn that 13-game streak into 14—it's not going to be easy. Sanada, keep a close eye on the other regulars' training. As for Mōri-senpai… well, we'll see about him," Yukimura said with a hint of resignation.

"I understand, Yukimura! But I'm going to break through as soon as possible. We can't just let Mōri-senpai slack off anymore!" Sanada said, his face serious.

At Hyōtei Academy Tennis Club in Tokyo, Atobe looked at the news reports in his hand and let out a scornful laugh. Next to him, Oshitari Yūshi was calmly sipping tea, looking like he couldn't care less.

"Heh, what a joke. There are still people complaining about age, saying Hyōtei only won by luck. But I am Atobe Keigo! No matter who it is, they'll fall to my dazzling tennis. Isn't that right, Oshitari?" Atobe declared with his usual arrogance.

"Heh, Atobe, since when do you care about these articles? Isn't there another school that's getting it even worse than us? Fudomine, right?" Oshitari teased.

"Those guys? I'd love to see their captain's angry face, but I think he probably doesn't care at all. When the Tokyo Tournament starts, I really want to see for myself what kind of strength Fudomine's got, Akashi Seijurō!" Atobe's eyes flashed with a dangerous glint.

"Oh? So you and their captain know each other? And it seems like you're not just casual acquaintances, huh~" Oshitari looked like he'd uncovered some big secret, smiling slyly.

"Who'd be friends with that annoying guy? Spread the word—everyone on the main team has to step up their training. I don't want to see anyone losing matches at the Tokyo Tournament!" Atobe snapped, then got up and left.

At Yamabuki Middle School Tennis Club office, Banda Mikiya was smiling as he drank his tea, glancing at the articles on his desk and speaking with a hint of emotion:

"Oh my, young people these days are really something, aren't they, Mitsuya-kun?"

"This year's first-years really are coming in strong, huh, Banda-san? That's what you mean, right?" Mitsuya replied in his usual gentle tone.

"You really are something, Mitsuya-kun. But you're not wrong. The first-years this year are definitely special. Geniuses everywhere. Have you felt any pressure?" Banda Mikiya kept smiling.

"As long as we've got the right intel, there's nothing to be afraid of. Fear comes from the unknown. That's why information is a weapon, too!" Mitsuya said confidently.

"That's just like you. By the way, how are those kids coming along? Our first-years can't lose to other schools," Banda Mikiya asked as if remembering something.

"Minami Kentarō and Higashikata Masami's teamwork has gone up 7.43% compared to last week. Code signal strategy proficiency is at 58.4%. Factoring in overall strength and match conditions, their probability of winning at doubles two in the Tokyo Tournament is 67.8%!"

"Nitobe Inakichi's compatibility with me is at 41.3%. If we pair up for doubles one at the Tokyo Tournament, our average win rate is 84.9%. But if we do that, singles strength will drop by 72.4%, and Yamabuki's overall win rate would drop 27.6%!"

"Sengoku Kiyosumi's overall improvement is 4.2%. Probability of skipping practice is 97.1%. Based on his personality and skills, the chance he'll win at singles three in the Tokyo Tournament is 39.6%!" Mitsuya rattled off data, leaving Banda Mikiya a bit stunned, though he was used to it by now.

"Is that so? Looks like Sengoku needs to taste a tough loss. For the Tokyo Tournament, Mitsuya, you'll play doubles one until the semifinals. That way, Nitobe can get some big-match experience. Once we're in the top four, you'll switch back to singles," Banda Mikiya's expression turned calculating.

And just as every school was grinding away at training and steadily moving forward, the start date for the Tokyo Tournament was getting closer!