When Asuto carried the volleyball to position one, Iwaizumi, Issei Matsukawa, and Yutaro Kindaichi, who were in the front row at the time, all instinctively covered the backs of their heads and moved towards the edge of the court.
You might not believe it, but…
Ever since the end of the 2v2 match between Asuto and Iwaizumi, his Aoba Johsai teammates had become even more afraid of his serves than his opponents were.
After evolving once again, the destructive power of his Power Jump Serve had firmly secured its place as the best in the prefecture.
So now…
They felt that if they got hit in the back of the head by someone else’s serve, then it would hurt.
But if they got hit by Asuto’s serve, they’d probably lose the ability to feel pain altogether.
The Aoba Johsai players’ reactions left the Ōmisaki High School members completely confused.
However…
They quickly understood why.
Bang, Bang, Bang…
Asuto casually bounced the volleyball a few times.
Most official match balls were brand new. While they looked nice, they usually didn’t feel that great in hand.
“For the first serve, I’ll just use eighty percent strength.”
After bouncing the ball a few times, Asuto found it somewhat uncomfortable to touch.
So to play it safe, he decided to slightly reduce his power on the first serve and use it to get a feel for the ball.
He lightly tossed the volleyball upward.
Approach. Jump. Strike!
Bang!
There was a loud, explosive impact as the ball screamed past the blockers and hurtled towards the back-row opposite hitter of Ōmisaki High School.
Then came a heavy thud.
The ball struck the player squarely in the chest, instantly knocking him to the floor.
The ball rebounded, bouncing along the ground with a series of ‘dub, dub, dub’ sounds.
For a moment… The Ōmisaki High School players froze.
The Aoba Johsai players froze as well, but the reason the Ōmisaki players froze was because:
‘How the hell is something that feels like a cannonball considered a serve?’
Meanwhile, the Aoba Johsai players froze because:
‘Why does today’s serve feel so weak? Is Asuto not feeling well?’
The Aoba Johsai members had long since become accustomed to Asuto’s usual serves, which looked as though they were designed to outright kill people.
So now that he had reduced the power slightly, they actually found it strange.
For the Ōmisaki players, however, this was their first time seeing Asuto serve.
With Asuto’s current strength stats, even eighty percent power still possessed at least the same level of serving force he had during the Junior High Nationals.
And just how terrifying those serves had been back then…
The Aoba Johsai upperclassmen who had participated in the welcome match understood that deeply.
“Whoa! What was that just now? What a ridiculously powerful serve!”
“Who exactly is Aoba Johsai’s Number 8?”
“Tch! That damned ‘monster’… even after reaching high school, he’s still terrifyingly strong.”
………
Waves of discussion erupted from the spectator stands.
But Asuto paid little attention to them.
His focus was completely fixed on the volleyball as he prepared for his second serve.
The Ōmisaki High School players saw him preparing and immediately shouted:
“Careful! The second serve is comi…”
Boom!
Before the player could finish his warning, a yellow-and-blue afterimage suddenly flashed past him.
By the time he reacted, the volleyball had already hit the ground, bounced back up, and smashed into the wall several meters behind him.
Instantly…
Every single player from Ōmisaki High School froze once again.
‘Had the power increased again?’
This was the thought running through the minds of several Ōmisaki players.
Although phrased like a question… It was actually a statement of certainty.
“How is this even possible? The power of that serve actually increased? Is this guy some kind of monster?”
The hearts of Ōmisaki High School’s players were being violently questioned, and the team’s morale visibly plummeted at a speed noticeable to the naked eye.
Even Oikawa’s earlier five consecutive service points had failed to achieve this.
“Tweet!!!”
The Ōmisaki High School coach immediately called a timeout.
During the break…
The Aoba Johsai players also returned to their bench area.
They had originally planned to take the opportunity to drink some water, but then they realized they were not thirsty at all.
Thinking about it, this made sense.
After all, up to this point in the match, aside from Shinji Watari receiving one serve earlier from Ōmisaki High School, every single point had been scored by either Oikawa or Asuto.
As for everyone else, their role on the court had basically been equivalent to decorative markers.
Issei Matsukawa put down his unopened water bottle and complained,
“Seriously, thank goodness Asuto joined Aoba Johsai. Otherwise, just imagining having to face this guy in the future makes my body tremble uncontrollably.”
The moment he said that, someone immediately objected.
“Hey, hey, hey, Matsukawa-chan! Don’t forget that I also scored five points in a row with my serves just now. Even if Asuto were our opponent, I wouldn’t necessarily lose,” Oikawa said.
Hearing this, Issei Matsukawa patted Oikawa on the shoulder and sighed.
“Sigh… Oikawa, just accept reality. People can’t be compared equally, and Serves are no different. You scored five straight points earlier and still couldn’t force the other side to call a timeout. But Asuto only served twice, and their morale was already on the verge of collapse. Think about that carefully.”
Oikawa: “…”
Even though they were both scoring through serves, there was a completely different meaning to it.
‘Unable to receive the serve at all’
And
‘Receiving the serve but still being unable to stop it.’
Especially the latter.
The psychological trauma it inflicted on a player was absolutely enormous.
On this point, Shigeru Yahaba had full authority to speak.
Shigeru Yahaba: ‘Was that really necessary?’
“By the way, Asuto, are you not feeling well today? The two serves you hit just now didn’t seem to be at full power.”
Asuto shook his head.
“No, I’m just not used to these new balls yet.”
Everyone suddenly understood.
“So that’s it. Brand-new balls don’t affect spiking much, but they definitely affect the feel of serving.”
Not long after… the timeout ended.
Nobody knew exactly what the coach from Ōmisaki High School had said, but after returning to the court, the team, whose morale had previously been close to collapse, actually looked spirited once again.
“Oh? This team’s mental fortitude is pretty impressive,” Oikawa remarked in surprise.
In truth, they had already noticed something earlier.
Usually, when Oikawa scored five consecutive service points, most teams would start to fall apart mentally.
Yet Ōmisaki High School had not even called a timeout back then.
“Unfortunately, strong willpower alone isn’t enough. Their ability still falls a little short.”
Boom!
As Oikawa sighed inwardly, an explosive sound far louder than any previous impact suddenly echoed across the court.
The next second, a volleyball, carrying violent wind pressure and a piercing roar, smashed fiercely into the court of Ōmisaki High School.
In an instant…
The expressions of the Omisaki High School players, whose morale had only just recovered, froze once again.
(End of Chapter)