Ushijima Wakatoshi landed cleanly on the court, his gaze fixed on Kaedehara Taichi across the net.
Without saying a word, his eyes conveyed a silent question: Why can you only jump this high? How can someone so weak claim to be Aoba Johsai's ace?
"Oy, Ushiwaka, don't bully my first-years," Oikawa Tōru chimed in at the perfect moment. He then turned to Taichi. "Hey, Taichi, if you want to become an ace, don't let this rattle you, alright?"
"Of course not," Taichi replied calmly. After all, he had already anticipated Ushijima's overwhelming strength.
But now, it's my turn.
Shiratorizawa's serve. Kawanishi Taichi stepped up to the service line, aimed at Kaedehara Taichi, and sent the ball flying with precision.
It wasn't a jump serve—it was a floater!
Kaedehara immediately identified the type of service. However, with little experience receiving floaters, he raised his hands, preparing for an overhead pass.
Fortunately, it's not a jump float. The trajectory isn't too erratic.
"Taichi! One step forward!" came a sudden shout from the back row—Watari Shinji.
Reacting instinctively, Taichi took a small step forward just as the ball, hanging unpredictably in the air, abruptly dropped.
Too late! Taichi had no choice but to switch to an underhand dig, lifting the ball up.
"Sorry!" He called as the ball arced toward Shiratorizawa's side of the court.
Ōhira Reon, waiting beneath the net, saw the ball coming and immediately jumped, ready to spike it back.
"Like I'd let you!" Oikawa Tōru leapt into action, turning his back to the net and swatting the ball with one hand toward the right side.
Kunimi Akira launched himself upward, delivering a sharp spike.
[Aoba Johsai 1 - 1 Shiratorizawa]
That was close. Thanks to Oikawa Tōru's quick reaction, not only did they prevent the ball from sailing over the net, but they turned Taichi's receiving error into a point.
Taichi exhaled in relief. "Thank you, Oikawa-senpai."
Aoba Johsai's serve. Kunimi Akira sent the ball lightly over the net.
Kawanishi Taichi received the ball steadily. Shirabu Kenjiro adjusted his position and set the ball high.
Ushijima Wakatoshi once again approached, jumped, and swung for the spike.
"Triple block!" This time, three players—Hanamaki Takahiro, Oikawa Tōru, and Kaedehara Taichi—stood at the net.
Ushijima's spike height wasn't enough to clear Hanamaki and Oikawa's combined block, but he didn't opt for a power hit or a cross-court angle past Kaedehara.
Instead, he chose the narrow line on Hanamaki's right, a direct shot—waiting for him there was Aoba Johsai's libero, Watari Shinji.
Taichi, landing from his block attempt, turned quickly.
The ball had been received! The spike that even Nishinoya Yu had needed three tries to adjust to was dug out by Watari on the first attempt.
"Taichi! What are you spacing out for?" Oikawa shouted as Taichi froze for a split second. Oikawa was forced to pass to Iwaizumi Hajime in the back row, who launched a spike of his own.
Goshiki Tsutomu received the ball cleanly. Shirabu set it high again, this time to Tendo Satori on the other side.
Snapping back to attention, Taichi moved quickly to join the block.
He deflected Tendo's spike, landing just in time to sprint toward the far right of the court. Kunimi passed the ball perfectly to Oikawa, and by this point, Taichi was already airborne.
"What's he doing?" Shiratorizawa's players watched the ball's trajectory, confused.
Oikawa jumped and delivered a pinpoint quick set. The ball zipped along a straight path, meeting Taichi in midair.
Before Shiratorizawa's blockers could react, the ball slammed into their court.
"Freak quick attack—Aoba Johsai style!"
Kaedehara Taichi scored with a decisive spike.
[Aoba Johsai 2 - 1 Shiratorizawa]
"Oh, my, is this Aoba Johsai's new weapon?" Tendo Satori remarked with keen interest, his eyes fixed on Kaedehara Taichi.
Goshiki Tsutomu's gaze also grew more intense as he looked at Taichi, admiration practically radiating from him.
Ushijima Wakatoshi, however, showed no reaction. His expression remained as composed as ever.
Is speed the only thing you're relying on to become an ace? Taichi read this unspoken question in Ushijima's eyes.
"That was a beautiful spike, Taichi. But you shouldn't have wasted the chance we got after that first block," Oikawa Tōru said.
Taichi scratched the back of his head apologetically. "I didn't expect Watari-senpai to dig that ball. It looked impossible at first."
"What are you talking about? We've been playing Shiratorizawa for two years now. Don't be fooled by how quiet Watari is—when it comes to receiving Ushiwaka's spikes, no one in the prefecture does it better than him."
True, but the reality was that not every spike with such power could be received.
Even with himself in the mix, only two players on their team had managed to barely handle Ushijima's spikes over the past two years.
Oikawa glanced at Taichi. If you can't stop the spike, that's fine. No matter how many points they score, we'll just score more.
Aoba Johsai resumed serving.
Kunimi Akira was keenly aware that any weak serve would be a crisis for Aoba Johsai, as it would hand Shiratorizawa the perfect opportunity to set up Ushijima.
Kunimi aimed for the backline, targeting the gap between Goshiki Tsutomu and Shirabu Kenjiro. At the very least, he intended to disrupt the setter's rhythm.
The ball flew swiftly between Goshiki and Shirabu. Goshiki shuffled one step to his right, preparing to receive, inadvertently blocking Shirabu's path forward.
"Out!" Shirabu called out, tugging at Goshiki's jersey from behind.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Goshiki decided to trust his senior's judgment and turned his body slightly to clear the ball's path.
The volleyball landed just outside Shiratorizawa's baseline. Kunimi's serve had gone out of bounds.
[Aoba Johsai 2 - 2 Shiratorizawa]
"Damn it," Kunimi muttered, gritting his teeth. "Sorry."
"It's fine, it was a good serve! Keep up the aggression on the next one!" Iwaizumi Hajime encouraged him.
Shiratorizawa's turn to serve. The murmurs in the audience began to grow louder as Ushijima Wakatoshi slowly stepped up to the service line.
"Relax, everyone. Ushiwaka's serves aren't as scary as mine," Oikawa said with a grin, trying to lift his teammates' spirits.
Kaedehara glanced at Oikawa and was taken aback. His shock stemmed from noticing Oikawa's serve stat had risen to an astounding 97.
It was true—though Ushijima's serves packed more raw power, Oikawa's uncanny precision and control made his serves truly monstrous.
Even in the pre-match analysis, the data showed that Ushijima's serve-scoring rate wasn't actually higher than Oikawa's.
Besides, Shiratorizawa's current formation was well within Aoba Johsai's expectations. The back row of Watari Shinji, Iwaizumi Hajime, and Kunimi Akira was their strongest possible serve-receive lineup.
Reassured, Taichi relaxed.
The volleyball slammed into the court diagonally behind Taichi with the force of Thor's hammer, the sound of its impact reverberating like a crack of lightning.
Taichi flinched at the noise.
Ushijima Wakatoshi had scored directly off his serve.
[Aoba Johsai 2 - 3 Shiratorizawa]
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