The Karasuno players fell into complete silence.
They all stared at the volleyball rolling across the floor, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Hinata Shoyo’s pupils contracted.
For the first time in his life, he experienced the overwhelming pressure of facing a truly formidable opponent.
Tweet…!
Ukai Keishin immediately called Karasuno’s second timeout.
“For the rest of the match, as long as Aoba Johsai’s Number 8 is in the front row, don’t use the Freak Quick Attack.”
“Huh?”
The Karasuno players froze.
This was the first time Ukai had ever forbidden them to use their signature attack outright.
The person most affected by those words was undoubtedly Hinata Shoyo. He might be a little slow at times, but that didn’t mean he was clueless.
His greatest asset on the court right now was the Freak Quick Attack he performed with Kageyama.
Without it, he simply wasn’t as useful in other aspects of the game as the rest of the team.
Sure enough, the next thing Ukai said was:
“As for Hinata, you’ll come off the court for now. Oda will take your place.”
The moment those words were spoken… Hinata’s pupils shrank sharply.
The others were also stunned.
They opened their mouths as if they wanted to say something but remained silent in the end.
“I think you’ve all noticed it already,” Ukai continued. “When Number 8 blocked the Freak Quick Attack just now, he did it with one hand. At that speed, being able to stop the Freak Quick with one hand can only mean one thing.”
“He has completely seen through Kageyama and Hinata’s attack pattern. If he had merely figured out your signals, that would be one thing. But, unfortunately, judging from my observations on the sidelines, that’s not the case.”
“So for the time being, whenever Aoba Johsai’s Number 8 is in the front row, Kageyama and Hinata absolutely cannot use the Freak Quick Attack.”
“As for when he rotates into the back row, whether or not to use it will be your decision, Kageyama.”
Karasuno had already used up all of its timeouts.
For the remainder of the match, it would be difficult for Ukai to provide tactical guidance.
The responsibility for making adjustments would largely fall to Kageyama himself.
Kageyama nodded.
“I understand.”
The match resumed.
When Asuto stepped onto the court and noticed that Hinata had been substituted out and Oda Miki had taken his place, he merely glanced in their direction before calmly looking away.
Seeing that reaction, Oda Miki immediately smiled bitterly.
“This is bad… Asuto, you bastard…”
Aoba Johsai continued serving.
After the ball crossed the net, Kageyama set to Azumane Asahi.
Asahi jumped decisively for a spike, but Asuto shut him down with a direct block.
14:11
The score Karasuno had only recently managed to tie was instantly stretched apart once more.
“Damn it. Is his blocking really this strong, too?”
On the sidelines, Ukai Keishin’s expression darkened.
He had never imagined that merely changing Aoba Johsai’s tactical centerpiece would result in such a dramatic transformation.
Coincidentally…
Asuto’s blocking ability had only recently improved after the match against Ōmisaki High School the previous day.
Karasuno had become the very first team to experience what Asuto’s defense looked like after reaching this new level.
The next rally began.
After another Aoba Johsai serve, Karasuno once again chose to attack through Azumane Asahi.
This time, Asuto still managed to block the spike. Unfortunately for him, he failed to keep the ball inside Karasuno’s court.
The volleyball flew out of bounds, gifting Karasuno a point.
14:12
The following rally:
Karasuno served, and Aoba Johsai went on the attack.
Karasuno had clearly realized how Aoba Johsai’s offense worked after shifting its core to Asuto. So the moment Oikawa delivered the set, all three front-row players rushed over to form a block against Asuto.
Asuto received the set.
Facing a triple block directly in front of him… He unleashed an utterly unreasonable cross-court spike.
A spike launched from well inside the attack line.
15:12
“You can hit a cross-court shot from that angle too?!”
A feeling of helplessness began to spread through Karasuno’s players after seeing that shot.
On that play, the three blockers had practically sealed off every conventional attacking route available to Asuto.
And yet…
He still scored with apparent ease.
The gap in strength was so overwhelming that it inspired despair.
The match continued.
Relying on his outstanding individual ability, Kageyama managed to barely keep the score difference from growing out of control. However, the gap between the two teams still continued to widen.
And the reason for that was simple: the consecutive heavy-power serves from Oikawa and Asuto.
Even with Nishinoya performing beyond his limits, Karasuno still couldn’t completely neutralize them.
The score difference eventually stretched to five points.
20:15
Aoba Johsai was the first team to reach twenty points.
The combination of the large deficit and Asuto’s overwhelming strength placed immense pressure on Karasuno. The psychological burden, combined with their growing physical exhaustion, caused the players’ movements to become increasingly stiff.
By the end, even basic attacks like spikes were starting to go wrong.
Hinata swung his arm for a spike in midair but failed to hit the ball cleanly.
His hand slipped, causing the volleyball to float awkwardly over the blockers.
Fortunately, the mishit ended up scoring.
20:16
The gap narrowed slightly.
Yet there wasn’t a trace of joy on any Karasuno player’s face.
On the sidelines, Ukai Keishin wore a grave expression.
One of his legs bounced restlessly.
‘This won’t work. They are nearing their psychological limit. They could collapse at any moment.’
‘Is there any way to change the flow of the match? Even if it’s only enough to lighten the atmosphere a little… Is there…?’
‘Wait!’
Suddenly, Ukai remembered something.
He turned toward a certain figure sitting on the bench.
Tweet…!!!
The referee blew the whistle for a substitution.
The Karasuno players turned around, and they were all left stunned in the next moment.
Because standing in the substitution area was a player who had never participated in an official match before.
He was holding the substitution board while trembling uncontrollably.
“Uh… No way.” A young man in the spectator stands slapped his forehead.
“I already told them that Yamaguchi still can’t reliably control his serve yet…”
The player entering the court was Yamaguchi Tadashi, who had joined the volleyball club at the same time as Tsukishima Kei.
His current role was that of a pinch server.
After exchanging number paddles with Hinata, who had rotated into the back row, Yamaguchi walked toward the service zone while clutching the volleyball with shaking hands.
Seeing his appearance, not only were his teammates worried… Even the players on Aoba Johsai’s side began worrying for him.
“Seriously, is this guy going to be okay?” Issei Matsukawa asked.
“Don’t get distracted. Stay focused on defense,” Iwaizumi reminded him.
After a while… Yamaguchi took several deep breaths in succession.
Finally, he gradually calmed down.
He tossed the volleyball into the air and struck it gently.
“A jump float serve?” Iwaizumi Hajime’s heart skipped a beat.
At that moment, Yamaguchi’s serve reached the net.
Then…
Thunk!
The ball slammed directly into the top of the net.
The sight startled both teams.
Yamaguchi himself was equally shocked.
Fortunately…
In the very next second, the volleyball barely managed to crawl over the net before it began dropping straight toward the floor.
A wave of relief washed over Yamaguchi.
At the same time, he silently thanked his lucky stars.
‘Thank goodness…’
“Damn it! This is bad!” Iwaizumi’s expression changed drastically.
He sprinted forward, trying to save the ball, but he was too far away.
All he could do was watch helplessly as the volleyball slowly descended.
At that critical moment… A leg suddenly shot out beneath the ball.
Smack!
The volleyball bounced off it and was kicked back up into the air just before touching the floor.
…
(End of Chapter)