The score was 3–1.
Karasuno used the Freak Quick Attack to take back a point and regain the serve.
Following the rotation, Kageyama Tobio moved to Position 1. At that point, Kageyama was essentially Karasuno’s only powerful server… well, almost. To be precise, they also had half of another key server.
However, this “half” key server’s serving technique was still far from mature.
“Only let him serve this one ball!” Oikawa called out from behind the block.
Holding the ball, Kageyama stepped behind the end line, took a deep breath, and slowly tossed the volleyball into the air.
Bang!
The next instant, the ball traced a beautiful arc across the sky before smashing directly into the block.
“Uh…”
The air seemed to go silent for a few seconds. But Sawamura Daichi was the first to recover, shouting encouragingly:
“Don’t worry about it, Kageyama!”
For once, Kageyama actually blushed.
A service error is a common occurrence in volleyball matches. However, it was the particular opponent standing on the other side of the net that made Kageyama feel differently this time.
“Pfft~ So lame!”
Oikawa covered his mouth and laughed.
Iwaizumi glanced at him. His fist tightened for a moment, but he decided not to bother with the childish idiot for now.
4–1.
The serve was returned to Aoba Johsai.
“Give us a good serve, Kindaichi!”
The Aoba Johsai players cheered him on. Standing behind the end line, Kindaichi casually executed a standard overhand serve.
And then…
They scored.
The point surprised the Aoba Johsai team, yet somehow it didn’t.
It wasn’t because Kindaichi’s serve was particularly good. It was because Karasuno had made a coordination mistake.
Since Kageyama had moved to the back row, he had to move immediately after Aoba Johsai’s serve to get into a better setting position.
However, during that movement, his line of sight briefly crossed with that of Azumane Asahi, who was preparing to receive in the backcourt. Neither of them noticed the ball properly for just a moment, and Asahi ended up missing the pass.
If Aoba Johsai had made this kind of mistake, it would have seemed amateurish.
But for Karasuno, it felt almost natural.
After all, Karasuno’s fundamentals were lacking in this area. Aoba Johsai had already experienced this firsthand during their previous practice match.
5–1.
Although the point came as a surprise, the Aoba Johsai players celebrated enthusiastically.
“Nice serve, Kindaichi!”
“Great ball!”
“You lucky bastard, you’ve really stepped in it this time!”
…
A group of teammates gathered around Kindaichi, vigorously rubbing his head and loudly celebrating.
In contrast, the atmosphere on Karasuno’s side was far less relaxed:
It was 5–1 right from the start.
Compared to the original story, the gap was much larger.
On the sidelines, Ukai Keishin bit his nails, looking worried.
The opening of this match had been brutal.
Ukai didn’t know exactly what had happened during the previous practice match, but from what he could see now, the difference in the two teams’ basic skills was enormous.
Tweet!
The referee blew the whistle.
Kindaichi, standing behind the end line, quickly served again.
Now that they were prepared, the likelihood of another accident was low. After Asahi received the volleyball, Kageyama swiftly moved into the optimal setting position.
“Come on! Who’s getting this one? Are they going to use the Freak Quick Attack again?”
Oikawa and Iwaizumi, who had just moved into the front row, fixed their eyes on the ball. Their minds raced as they tried to predict Kageyama’s next move.
But before they could reach a conclusion, the volleyball suddenly flew out of Kageyama’s hands as though it had been fitted with a rocket.
Whoosh!
In an instant, it reached the net.
In that direction, a figure had already leapt high into the air.
“Heyah! Fly on over for me!”
With an excited shout and a powerful swing of his arm, the volleyball shot past the block and slammed into the court of Aoba Johsai.
“RAAAAAAHHHH~~!!”
Tanaka Ryunosuke roared passionately after scoring the point. His fiery energy almost single-handedly revived the previously lifeless atmosphere on Karasuno’s side.
“Nice! Great job, Tanaka!”
“Ooooooh! Nice one, Tanaka-senpai!”
…
“Oh? That bald guy is full of spirit.”
“It feels like his spike instantly brought Karasuno back to life.”
“Tch, looks like he’s going to be quite troublesome.”
Oikawa stared at Tanaka Ryunosuke across the net, a faint gleam flashing in his eyes.
5–2.
Karasuno clawed back a point.
The next rally began with Tanaka rotating to Position 1 to serve. After the volleyball crossed the net, Kindaichi in the back row received it steadily.
This was the key difference between Karasuno and Aoba Johsai.
They were all first-year students. Perhaps Karasuno’s Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shoyo, and Tsukishima Kei were more naturally talented than Yutaro Kindaichi.
Unfortunately, Hinata and Tsukishima had only started playing volleyball seriously after entering high school.
Perhaps in the future they would surpass players like Kindaichi.
But right now, Kindaichi, who had been playing since junior high, was clearly the stronger player.
Once the volleyball rose above Oikawa Toru’s head, the Karasuno players facing the net immediately became alert.
Among them, Hinata Shoyo and Azumane Asahi unconsciously focused much of their attention on Akashi Asuto. Only Sawamura Daichi remained calm, seemingly unaffected.
The next moment…
The volleyball left Oikawa Tooru’s hands and suddenly arrived directly in front of the already-jumping Iwaizumi Hajime.
Faced with this first-tempo quick attack, Hinata and Asahi, whose attention had been drawn toward Akashi Asuto, were already a step too late to stop it.
But Sawamura Daichi instantly appeared directly in front of Iwaizumi.
“Hm?”
Seeing the sudden wall in front of him, Iwaizumi was slightly surprised, but he still swung decisively.
BAM!
The volleyball traced a sharp cross-court angle across the court, perfectly avoiding Sawamura Daichi’s block and scoring cleanly.
“Little guy, and that really tall ‘held-back student’ over there, if you focus too much on our rookie, you’re going to pay for it.”
After scoring, Oikawa Tooru smiled as usual and offered his “friendly” reminder.
Azumane Asahi: “(;Д｀)… Held-back student?”
Asahi visibly deflated.
It felt as if someone had stabbed him right through the heart.
The score became 6–2.
From the moment they fell behind at the start of the set until now, Karasuno had been unable to close the gap.
The situation was gradually creating considerable pressure within the team.
And in the next instant, that pressure increased even further.
Because it was now Oikawa Tooru’s turn to serve.
(End of Chapter)