Eiichirō participates in a tournament after 3 months of hellish training. He learns about active rest while participating in the tournament and makes it to the final. Terashima is his opponent. Eiichirō shocks Terashima with how his game has changed and manages to win 6-1, 6-0. In all of his matches the closest game was 6-2. After the match Coach Miura informs Eiichirō he will have a week off before they do another 3 weeks of hellish training. He informs Eiichirō that this type of training will continue for the rest of the year, with him eventually getting down to only two days of rest inbetween. With a week off, Eiichirō helps his school perform their yearly cultural festival, a festival which ends up serving only to bring him and Natsu a little closer.