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“Then what has that got to do with you blocking their attack?”
Just as the others began to despair after hearing the shocking truth revealed by Oda Miki, Akashi Asuto suddenly spoke up.
Oda Miki looked at Asuto with slight surprise, then nodded.
“Of course it’s related. Volleyball is a team sport, so once one person’s ability far exceeds that of the rest of the team, it’s easy for a disconnect to appear.”
“From this perspective, Kitagawa Daiichi and we are actually the same type of team.”
At this point, Oda Miki glanced at Asuto with a somewhat complicated expression before continuing.
“It’s just that our ‘strong point’ is in a different position, which makes the two teams appear completely different on the surface.”
“But in reality, even though Kitagawa Daiichi seems well-coordinated, it’s more accurate to say that their setter is controlling the actions of the other five players himself.”
“So trying to predict their overall tactics is meaningless. In truth, we only need to predict the Setter’s thoughts.”
“And the Setter’s logic is actually very simple. Since he has such strong passing skills, when he faces our sieve-like block, he doesn’t need to make any predictions in advance. He just identifies the gaps in our defense and uses his set to bypass them.”
“That’s why we haven’t been able to read their attack routes once.”
“From the very beginning, they weren’t playing a guessing game with us. They’ve been playing with their cards face up.”
Oda Miki’s explanation was clear and well-structured.
Aside from Omae Masato, who looked a bit confused, everyone else more or less understood.
But even after understanding this, the worry on their faces didn’t disappear.
“After hearing that, I just find that guy even more terrifying,” Mishita Ryuhei said while scratching his head.
“According to what you’re saying, even if we guess his intentions, wouldn’t we still be unable to stop him if he’s attacking based on the gaps in our block?”
“No,” said Asuto. “We already have a way.”
· · · ·
Beep!
The match resumed.
Following Sengoku’s serve, Kitagawa Daiichi’s captain received the ball.
Kageyama Tobio immediately stepped forward and prepared to set.
On Sengoku’s side…
As soon as the ball was in play, Asuto positioned himself alone near midcourt while the other two middle blockers focused on sealing off Kindaichi on the right.
Kageyama jumped.
Out of the corner of his eye, he quickly scanned the front court. Then, with a light touch of both hands, the ball shot out.
In the next instant… Asuto moved.
He didn’t even look to see where the ball was going. The moment he confirmed that the ball had left Kageyama Tobio’s hands, he shifted swiftly to the left and leapt high into the air.
Bang! Smack!
First came the sensation of the ball striking his arm.
Then came two sharp collision sounds, and the ball dropped onto Kitagawa Daiichi’s court.
As Kageyama Tobio landed, he clearly saw the scene, causing his pupils to suddenly widen.
“YES!”
Oda Miki clenched his fist tightly, his eyes filled with excitement.
Although Oda Miki had proposed this blocking plan, he wasn’t entirely confident it would succeed.
After all, he had never actually tested this theory before.
His own physical ability wasn’t particularly strong. As in the previous play, even though he had correctly predicted the direction of the opponent’s attack, he could only just manage to chase it down.
That was only because Yutaro Kindaichi had been careless, giving Oda an opening.
Score: 3–3.
After a brief celebration, Sengoku High quickly moved on to the next rally.
Their strategy remained unchanged. They used their block to lock down two attackers, deliberately leaving one with one or two subtle openings.
However, this setup had major flaws.
It further dispersed Sengoku’s already weak blocking strength.
If it were another team, they would most likely rely on their star player to break through Sengoku High’s defense head-on.
But their opponent this time… was Kageyama Tobio.
His overwhelming talent created a serious ‘disconnect’ between him and his teammates. When surrounded by teammates who were inferior to him in every technical aspect, Kageyama was prone to falling into a ‘power trap.’
In other words… he would only trust his own ability.
This ‘power trap’ wasn’t unique to Kageyama.
Even Asuto was beginning to show signs of falling into it.
However, the difference lay in their roles.
An Ace Spiker who believes in his own strength becomes the sharpest spear on the court.
However, a Setter who only believes in himself will either abandon his teammates or be abandoned by them.
Without trust, a Setter can never maximize the team’s potential.
Deep down, Kageyama Tobio didn’t trust his teammates’ abilities, so his sets instinctively avoided any situation where they would have to confront the opponent’s block directly.
Even if that block was only a minor obstacle.
Bang! Smack!
The familiar sensation.
The familiar impact.
As the sound of the ball hitting the floor echoed once again, Asuto clenched his right fist and raised it high.
After a brief silence, the surrounding atmosphere suddenly exploded.
“WOOOOOO!!!”
“Re… reversal! It’s the first time the score has turned around!”
“Sengoku High, let’s go!”
· · · ·
Score: 4–3.
This was the first time Sengoku High had taken the lead since being suppressed in the first set.
For a moment, their morale surged.
Meanwhile, after losing four points in a row, Kitagawa Daiichi’s coach called a decisive timeout.
Back at the rest area… The coach maintained a calm expression. Looking at Kageyama Tobio, whose face had darkened, he sighed and said, “Kageyama, you need to learn to trust your teammates.
“I know!” Kageyama replied impatiently.
But judging by his expression, it was clear that he hadn’t taken the coach’s words to heart.
Seeing this, the coach could only shake his head in resignation, deciding not to say what he had wanted to.
With his years of coaching experience, he could easily see through Sengoku’s tactic.
To put it bluntly, this strategy wasn’t particularly sophisticated. It was almost entirely designed to target Kageyama Tobio alone.
If they wanted to break out of it, they could simply substitute Kageyama, and the problem would be solved immediately.
However, after much consideration, he chose not to do so.
‘If this set could wake Kageyama up, that might not be a bad thing.’ Kitagawa Daiichi’s coach thought to himself.
After all, for a team like Kitagawa Daiichi, they could afford to give up a single set.
It’s just that…
(End of Chapter)
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