“Whoa~ So fast!”
“Huh? How do you know that?”
A girl in the audience suddenly cried out in excitement, startling her boyfriend beside her. The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
Girl: “(￣(エ)￣)ゞ???”
Boyfriend: “Σ(дlll)!!!”
Other spectators: “( )······”
‘Holy crap!’
‘Now that’s a juicy piece of gossip.’
Cold sweat trickled down the boy’s forehead as he hurriedly tried to explain himself.
“No, wait! Let me explain. Right! What did you mean by ‘so fast’ just now?”
The girl gave him a meaningful look before replying.
“I was talking about the pace of this match. Whenever I came here before to watch games, a single set usually lasted twenty-five to thirty minutes. But this time, they’ve already finished two sets, and it hasn’t even been forty minutes yet.”
“I see…”
Thanks to her, many nearby spectators suddenly realized what had felt off.
No wonder the players from Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa were sweating so heavily. It wasn’t abnormal at all; it was the pace of the game.
“That’s right! No wonder these first two sets felt different. Looking back, the offense and defense were extremely intense! They barely used any timeouts for two straight sets. Both teams’ powerful attacks practically smashed through each other’s defenses. At that pace, of course, their stamina consumption would be unbelievable.”
“Exactly! That’s exactly right!”
The boyfriend secretly wiped the cold sweat off his forehead and nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Just when he thought he had escaped disaster, he heard his girlfriend’s icy voice beside him.
“Oh, by the way, Shota Kun, I think we should break up. You can’t give me the happiness I want.”
Shota: “…NO!!!”
“Hah… Hah… Hah…”
……
Heavy breathing could be heard from players on both teams. Their scorching breath seemed to raise the temperature of the entire gym by several degrees.
Even the beads of sweat on Wakatoshi Ushijima’s face were denser than in any previous match.
After all, he had spent the entire second set attacking nonstop. That would be a huge test of stamina for any player.
Off the court, coaches Irihata Nobuteru and Washijō Tanji watched expressionlessly.
As veteran coaches, they had naturally noticed the change in tempo long ago.
Yet neither of them had attempted to stop it.
If this were a regular-season match, neither coach would have permitted such a “speed versus speed” strategy. Even if it secured a victory, it would likely leave both sides exhausted and benefit their next opponent.
But this was the finals.
Even if both teams ended up battered and drained, all that mattered was securing the final victory.
Besides, since both coaches had allowed things to continue, they naturally had their own calculations.
Washijō Tanji was confident in his players’ stamina, which he had developed through rigorous training, so he was happy to see a high-tempo match unfold.
Meanwhile, Irihata Nobuteru hoped that exhausting Shiratorizawa would create cracks in their coordination.
In short… Both Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa’s coaches were harboring their own schemes and pushing their players even harder as a result.
The third set began.
Aoba Johsai made a slight adjustment to their formation.
Due to Shiratorizawa’s five-man serve-receive formation, the effectiveness of Aoba Johsai’s “continuous bombardment” serving strategy had decreased significantly. If they maintained the same setup, Shiratorizawa would become more accustomed to the serves of Oikawa and Asuto, and their scoring efficiency would drop significantly.
It would be better to separate the two. This might even produce an unexpected tactical advantage.
“Asuto-chan, let’s proceed according to the plan.” Oikawa secretly winked at Asuto.
Asuto nodded.
“I understand.”
Shiratorizawa favored simple, straightforward tactics.
Aoba Johsai, however, was the exact opposite.
They loved fancy plays and complicated schemes.
After all, the craftier a team was, the better they could utilize tactics. When it came to cunning, combining every player from Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa probably wouldn’t match Oikawa alone.
As for the plan Oikawa mentioned, it was actually very simple.
He and Asuto had agreed upon it before the match even started.
Simply put…
They wanted Asuto and Ushijima Wakatoshi to avoid matching up directly against each other.
Asuto still wasn’t quite on Ushiwaka’s level in terms of pure attacking ability.
However, with Oikawa’s support, he had a chance of fighting Ushijima Wakatoshi head-on.
But did he really need to go head-to-head with Ushijima?
No matter how strong Ushijima was, he couldn’t win the entire match alone. Moreover, the finals were played as a best-of-five series. If Ushijima wanted to maintain peak performance, he would need moments to catch his breath.
Those moments would be Asuto’s opportunity.
Unlike Hinata Shōyō and Kageyama Tobio, Asuto wasn’t obsessed with confronting powerful opponents head-on.
To him, strength, tactics, experience, and technique were all merely weapons used to secure victory.
As long as he won in the end, temporarily retreating was perfectly acceptable.
The third set officially began.
Aoba Johsai’s Iwaizumi Hajime served first.
The opening attack opportunity went to Shiratorizawa. As Oikawa had expected, Shiratorizawa did not pass the ball to Ushijima Wakatoshi for the attack after receiving it. Instead, they entrusted it to their other Ace… Goshiki Tsutomu.
Goshiki jumped and swung decisively for a spike.
But at the exact moment he struck the ball, a figure appeared before him and raised a hand to block it.
THUD!
The volleyball bounced straight back onto Shiratorizawa’s side of the court.
Aoba Johsai scored first:
1–0.
“I may not be able to stop Ushijima-senpai’s spikes. But if you think I can’t stop yours, then you’re seriously mistaken… Blocking you is about as easy as swatting a fly off a screen door.”
Asuto activated his self-taught Taunt talent, delivering the most heart-piercing insult imaginable in the calmest tone possible.
Goshiki’s face instantly turned red.
It definitely wasn’t from embarrassment, though.
The rest of Shiratorizawa’s players were stunned.
‘Good grief! Are first-years this arrogant nowadays?’
‘We thought our own first-year, who challenged Ushiwaka the moment he joined Shiratorizawa, was cocky enough. Who knew there was someone even bolder?’
However, after a moment, something started to feel off.
After all, they had played a practice match against Aoba Johsai not long ago.
At that time, Asuto had seemed ruthless but quiet.
Not much time had passed since then.
‘Could a person’s personality really change that drastically in such a short time?’
The Shiratorizawa players found that hard to believe.
Then, someone happened to notice Oikawa standing behind Asuto, covering his mouth as he tried to suppress a laugh.
Immediately, enlightenment struck.
“I see now. So you’re the one behind this.”
Everything suddenly made sense.
After facing Oikawa for so long, the Shiratorizawa players might not know every detail of his scheming personality, but they certainly knew enough.
Changing someone’s personality overnight was unlikely.
But if Oikawa had taught Asuto those lines… Then everything was perfectly understandable.
“Tch. That bastard Oikawa! He won’t even spare a first-year rookie. Just as expected… setters are all black-hearted.”
Shirabu Kenjirō: “What? If you’re insulting him, what does that have to do with me? Not all Setter are like him.”
Of course, Oikawa had no idea that laughing once would result in such a serious accusation.
After all, his plan was only to have Asuto provoke Goshiki a little.
He hadn’t given any further instructions.
Unleashing a taunt of this caliber could only be attributed to Asuto’s natural talent.
Sure enough… Goshiki Tsutomu was so furious that he practically ascended to heaven on the spot.
There was no helping it.
As the saying goes: “Don’t hit someone in the face, and don’t expose their sore spots when insulting them.”
Unfortunately for Goshiki, Asuto had managed to do both at once. Everyone knew that during his high school years, Goshiki had two people he desperately wanted to defeat:
One was Ushijima Wakatoshi.
The other was Asuto.
His feelings toward Ushijima were complicated—a mixture of admiration and the desire to surpass him.
One reason he attacked so decisively was to imitate Ushijima’s cool, overwhelming scoring style and spike over Asuto’s head.
If he succeeded, he would satisfy his admiration for Ushijima and fulfill his wish to defeat Asuto.
Two birds with one stone.
Yet Asuto had not only blocked his spike…
Asuto had also taunted him, essentially saying that he wasn’t even close to Ushijima’s level.
The entire sequence could only be described as: Destroying the opponent physically and emotionally.
Had Goshiki’s mental fortitude not been reasonably strong, he might have cracked right then and there.
The match continued.
Aoba Johsai served again.
After Shiratorizawa received the ball, Shirabu Kenjirō set it to Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Asuto immediately rushed over to form a block.
Still, Ushijima scored with a contact point higher than Asuto could reach.
1–1.
After tying the score, the Shiratorizawa players were about to gather and celebrate.
But unexpectedly, Asuto spoke up again.
“See that? That’s how an Ace is supposed to score. You’ve still got a long way to go.”
Goshiki Tsutomu: 「(°ヘ°)???」
The rest of Shiratorizawa: ∑(O_O；)?????
‘Are you out of your mind?!’
‘We’re the ones who just scored! Why are you praising us for it?’
This round of Taunt left not only Shiratorizawa confused but also Aoba Johsai, who couldn’t understand what Asuto was doing.
Only Oikawa’s mouth twitched slightly.
‘Had I accidentally switched on some strange mode inside Asuto Chan?’
The serve rotated.
The third rally began with Shiratorizawa serving.
After the ball crossed the net and was received, Oikawa set it high above Asuto.
“I’m blocking this one!”
After enduring Asuto’s constant taunts, Goshiki Tsutomu finally lost his patience.
He rushed forward and jumped to block. However, the moment he rose in front of Asuto, he realized something was wrong.
Asuto was still on the ground and he hadn’t moved at all.
A chill ran through Goshiki’s heart.
‘Oh no! I’ve fallen for it! It’s a solo time-difference attack!’
Sure enough, by the time Goshiki started to descend, Asuto bent his knees and launched himself into the air.
The timing between them was perfectly staggered.
Though Goshiki’s eyes were filled with frustration, he could only watch helplessly as Asuto swung his arm.
But in the very next instant… Another figure appeared in front of Asuto, arms wide, forming an imposing wall.
“Not so easy to get past me! I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. After all, the most delicious food always tastes best when saved for last.”
The newcomer was none other than Tendō Satori, and he spoke with a slightly unhinged smile on his face.
His eyes were fixed on the volleyball in midair as though it were the most exquisite feast imaginable.
“Tendō-senpai!” Goshiki cried out excitedly.
But Tendō didn’t seem to hear him.
At that moment, his full attention was on the volleyball above.
He was waiting for the moment his hands would block Asuto’s spike completely.
For him… that would be the pinnacle of bliss.
And so Tendō waited.
And waited.
And waited…
Until suddenly… He realized something strange.
The volleyball kept moving farther and farther away from him.
It seemed to be floating upward into the sky.
No.
The ball wasn’t rising. He was falling.
Tendō’s expression froze.
“Why?”
“Why am I the one descending first, even though I jumped later?”
At that moment, Asuto, who seemed to be suspended in midair, finally seemed to say something to Tendod.
“Hey, Tendō. When you were at Shiratorizawa, did you ever block Ushiwaka’s spike?”
Tendō was stunned.
Then, as if he had realized something, his pupils suddenly contracted.
The next second… A sharp impact echoed above the block.
BANG!
The volleyball shot downward like a meteor. It crashed onto Shiratorizawa’s court with a violent thud.
At the same time, Tendō landed on the floor. He stared blankly at the faint mark the ball had left on the court behind him.
For a moment, he couldn’t react.
Then, he slowly turned around.
Across the net, a tall figure descended from the air. The gymnasium lights shining from above obscured the person’s face.
Yet it was precisely that vague silhouette that made every hair on Tendō Satori’s body stand on end.
Tendō Satori possessed extraordinarily sharp instincts.
Those instincts had allowed him to develop his unique technique.
“Guess Block.”
It wasn’t a method with a perfect success rate.
Throughout his high school years, however, Tendō had used Guess Block to stop countless opponents’ spikes.
Yet there was one player’s spike he had never successfully blocked.
Not even once.
No matter how perfect a net might be, it can only trap prey, but it can never imprison a beast.
In that brief moment just now, he saw a figure standing across the net.
From the figure standing across the net…
Tendō sensed a threat strikingly similar to that person’s.
A threat that reminded him of only one person:
Ushijima Wakatoshi.
(End of Chapter)