Hitting a line shot through a triple block was something Asuto used to do quite often.
But that was back in junior high.
High school volleyball was an entirely different world.
Even Asuto rarely managed to pull off such extreme spikes in official high school matches. It wasn’t just a matter of technique; it was also a tremendous test of mental fortitude.
What’s more, the set Ushijima Wakatoshi had received this time wasn’t even a good one.
…
Asuto and Kindaichi both felt that Ushijima Wakatoshi’s spike had been absurd.
Only Iwaizumi Hajime felt particularly frustrated.
Still, life…
No, the match…
Had to go on.
After Oikawa finished serving, it became Ushijima Wakatoshi’s turn.
Aoba Johsai briefly considered copying Shiratorizawa’s serve-receive strategy, but quickly realized it wasn’t practical.
Because Ushijima Wakatoshi’s serves were completely different from Oikawa’s.
Oikawa’s serves were the kind that opponents couldn’t even touch.
Ushijima’s left-spinning serves, on the other hand, were the kind opponents could touch, but couldn’t control.
Bang!
The volleyball roared over the net.
Libero Shinji Watari successfully tracked the ball’s trajectory, but the moment his arms made contact with it, the powerful leftward spin dragged the ball away.
2:2
Shiratorizawa tied the score.
Losing points this way naturally left Watari unwilling to accept it.
But some things were like meeting an online friend in person… Even if the person who showed up wasn’t what you’d hoped for, you’d still have to deal with it through tears.
So, with no other choice, Watari gritted his teeth and charged forward.
The result?
Ushijima blasted him with two more serves in a row.
And he failed to receive either one.
2:3
Only on Ushijima’s third serve, when he finally made an error, did Aoba Johsai regain a point.
3:3
Shinji Watari was on the verge of tears.
Today’s match felt like he’d accomplished absolutely nothing. He was basically just a target dummy being bombarded by artillery fire.
With tearful eyes, he looked toward Asuto.
Asuto was the type who responded better to vulnerability than aggression. Seeing his teammate being relentlessly bullied by the opposition, he immediately declared:
“Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to avenge you.”
‘Why “do my best”?’
‘It was not because Asuto lacked confidence.’
The real issue was that he couldn’t precisely control the trajectory of his serves.
Sure enough, after the next rotation, Asuto’s very first serve flew directly toward Shiratorizawa’s libero, Yamagata Hayato.
Compared to Oikawa and Ushijima, Asuto’s serves had an entirely different characteristic.
With Oikawa’s serves, you could see the ball, but couldn’t reach it.
With Ushijima’s serves, you could reach the ball, but couldn’t receive it properly.
Asuto’s serves were different.
After evolving once again, his serves had reached a point where opponents couldn’t even clearly see the trajectory.
The ball simply moved too fast.
Ordinary liberos couldn’t accurately track its speed.
As a result, Asuto’s serves had recently become prone to causing… accidents.
For example…
THUD!
A dull impact echoed across the court.
This time, it wasn’t the sound of the volleyball hitting the floor. It was the sound of the volleyball smashing directly into Yamagata Hayato’s forehead.
The instant the ball struck him, Yamagata’s mind went completely blank and only one thought echoed through his head:
‘If you’re getting revenge, go after Ushijima! Why are you hitting me?!’
Right in front of everyone, Yamagata performed a dramatic backward fall. But what was truly miraculous was that although the volleyball had smashed into his forehead, he actually received it successfully.
And not just successfully… It was a pretty perfect receive.
At the very least, it was much better than the set Goshiki Tsutomu had made earlier.
The ball arced high into the air in a nearly flawless trajectory.
Seeing the opportunity, Ushijima Wakatoshi didn’t even wait for the setter. He launched himself from the back row and spiked immediately.
With a single swing, he blasted straight through Aoba Johsai’s hastily assembled double block.
3:4
…
“This guy… does he really not have any weaknesses left?”
Even after facing him so many times, Issei Matsukawa still found Ushijima Wakatoshi’s power unbelievable.
Aoba Johsai’s blocking had always ranked among the very best in the prefecture. Yet even for them, when it came to stopping Ushijima Wakatoshi’s spikes, the number of successful blocks could no longer be described in terms of a success rate.
It was measured by the number of times it had ever happened.
In fact… Ever since Ushijima’s second year of high school, Aoba Johsai had successfully blocked his spikes fewer than five times in total.
And that count included practice matches.
“Alright, alright~~ Don’t worry about it. Haven’t we known for a long time how strong Ushijima is? We just need to do our best on defense and trust our teammates with the rest!”
Compared to Matsukawa Issei’s frustration, Shinji Watari was actually in quite a good mood.
‘As expected of Asuto-kun. When he said he’d avenge me, he really did avenge me.’
The match continued.
Since they had already secured the first set, Aoba Johsai’s morale hadn’t suffered too much damage yet.
However, during the remainder of the match, Aoba Johsai…
Especially the first-year players…
Finally came to fully understand why Ushijima Wakatoshi was known as one of the Three Great Aces of Japan.
Shiratorizawa executed their strategy with absolute consistency.
Five players focused on receiving.
As for offense, aside from a handful of exceptions, nearly every single ball was sent to Ushijima Wakatoshi.
And yet…
That one player alone completely overwhelmed Aoba Johsai.
Straight spike.
Straight spike.
Straight spike.
Cross-court spike.
Straight spike.
Power breakthrough.
Straight spike.
…
What is height?
What is strength?
Ushijima Wakatoshi’s performance provided Aoba Johsai with a perfect demonstration of those.
The set lasted nearly twenty minutes. Yet throughout the entire game, Aoba Johsai failed to block a single one of Ushijima Wakatoshi’s spikes.
Even having Asuto and Oikawa block together wasn’t enough.
This wasn’t a matter of technique. Nor was it a matter of experience.
The simple reality was that whenever Ushijima reached the highest point of his jump, nobody on Aoba Johsai could stop his spike.
Because even Kindaichi, the player with the greatest blocking height on Aoba Johsai, couldn’t compare to Ushijima at his peak.
In the end, Aoba Johsai lost the second set.
BEEEEEP~~~
When the whistle signaling the end of the set sounded, the players of Aoba Johsai lowered their heads and silently walked off the court.
One person.
A single player.
Had shattered the momentum of an entire team.
That was Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Looking at Aoba Johsai’s rapidly declining morale on the opposite side, Coach Tanji Washijō spoke calmly: “Strength and height. As long as you possess these two weapons, you can defeat any opponent.”
The overall score was now tied at 1–1.
After a brief break, the third set soon began.
However, just as the players from both teams stepped back onto the court, many spectators in the stands noticed something unusual.
“Hey… don’t you think the players from both Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa are sweating a little too much?”
“Huh? What nonsense are you talking about? They’ve already played two sets. If this were a regular match, they’d be entering the deciding set by now. Isn’t it normal to be sweating at this point?”
“No, that’s not what I mean. What I’m trying to say is…”
The spectator was about to explain, but at that moment, a sudden cry of surprise erupted from someone nearby.
…
(End of Chapter)