[He scored! He scored!]
[Aoba Johsai High School’s first-year ace, Akashi Asuto, has blasted through Morinen High School’s defenses with a cannon-like spike, tying the score!]
[What incredible power! Truly worthy of being Aoba Johsai’s ace!]
After a three-second stunned silence, the commentator’s excited roar exploded through the arena, instantly igniting the crowd.
“OOOOHHHHHH!”
“That spike was insane! He punched straight through a double block! Who is that guy?”
“Amazing! Did you hear that? He’s already the team’s ace as a first-year! Who exactly is Aoba Johsai’s Number 8?”
The atmosphere at Nationals was on a completely different level from the prefectural qualifiers. Thousands, even tens of thousands, of spectators gasping and cheering together created a deafening wave of excitement.
The members of Aoba Johsai’s cheering squad played their support songs with flushed faces, caught up in the energy of the moment. Even Akashi Kana, who normally had little interest in sports, felt her blood pumping.
The other Aoba Johsai players rushed toward Asuto, cheering loudly. Nothing boosted morale like a spike smashing straight through an opponent’s block. Likewise, nothing crushed morale more than having both your block and back-court defense blown apart by a single strike.
“Can that guy really be a first-year?” One of Morinen’s middle blockers flexed his numb fingers. For a moment after making contact, he honestly wondered if he had blocked a volleyball or a steel ball.
“It’s not just the power. His jumping ability is unbelievable, too. Honestly, I don’t think that was even his maximum height…”
“Huh? You’ve got to be kidding me.” A Morinen player stared at Asuto from across the net in disbelief. “With that kind of power and that kind of jump, don’t tell me he’s another Ushiwaka?”
Any team capable of reaching Nationals wouldn’t give up easily. Even so, they had to admit it: that spike had genuinely rattled them.
While the other players focused on Asuto, Morinen’s setter noticed someone else, Oikawa Tooru.
Asuto’s strength was obvious to the naked eye, but the danger he sensed from Oikawa was just as intimidating. In fact, it gave him a distinctly bad feeling.
“Another Ushiwaka?” The Morinen setter murmured to himself. “If only it were that simple.”
1-1.
The match continued, and now it was Morinen’s turn to attack.
After the libero’s pass, Morinen’s setter moved under the ball. In the next instant, four Morinen attackers, everyone except the libero, moved simultaneously.
[Here it is! Morinen High School’s trademark, the Synchronized Multi-Directional Attack!]
As one of Saitama’s longtime powerhouse schools, Morinen was famous for its perfectly coordinated offense. Four players attacked at the same time, making it nearly impossible to determine who would actually spike the ball.
None of them were mere decoys. Until the setter released the ball, every attacker remained a legitimate option.
Thud!
The volleyball hit the floor.
It was the first time Aoba Johsai had faced an offense like this, and they were completely thrown off. Morinen scored.
1-2.
[A flawless synchronized attack! Morinen High School remains completely unfazed. In response to Aoba Johsai’s powerful ace, they immediately strike back!]
“Oooh! That’s some incredible teamwork!”
“Their movements are practically identical!”
Iwaizumi glanced at the ball rolling behind him and clicked his tongue. “Tch. As expected of Nationals. Every team has something up its sleeve.”
“Hey, stay focused. The next ball’s coming.”
With the serve back in their hands, Morinen immediately launched another attack. They didn’t have an especially powerful server, but every team that reached Nationals shared one trait: consistency.
The serve dropped steadily into Aoba Johsai’s back court, landing in an awkward spot for Watari Shinji. Although Watari managed to keep it up, the receive was disrupted.
“Nice serve!”
The Morinen players’ eyes lit up. Quickly settling into defensive positions, they began predicting who Aoba Johsai would rely on for the next attack.
But while Morinen was still trying to read the play, Asuto suddenly moved.
Before the ball even reached Oikawa’s hands, Asuto was already airborne, soaring high above the net.
The sight caught Morinen completely off guard. Before they could register what was happening, the volleyball had already arrived perfectly in front of Asuto.
The sudden set shocked Morinen’s blockers. They scrambled toward Asuto’s position and jumped in a hurry, but the moment they left the ground, horror spread across their faces.
They couldn’t reach him. No matter how hard they stretched, they couldn’t match the height of his spike.
Even when they tilted their heads back as far as possible, the first thing they saw wasn’t the volleyball, it was Asuto’s chin on the other side of the net.
“Damn it!”
“Don’t tell me that wasn’t even his highest point earlier?!”
BANG!
Meeting Morinen’s block head-on, Asuto struck the ball from nearly half an arm’s length above his opponents’ reach, hammering it straight down.
[OHHH! Point for Aoba Johsai! An incredible contact point! Asuto and Oikawa have combined for a perfectly timed first-tempo quick attack! Using his overwhelming height advantage, Asuto once again breaks through Morinen High School’s block and scores!]
[In just two attacks, Aoba Johsai’s first-year ace Akashi Asuto has showcased both tremendous power and astonishing jumping ability. This style of completely overwhelming opponents with pure physical dominance inevitably reminds me of one of the nation’s Three Great Aces, Ushijima Wakatoshi!]
[And coincidentally, Aoba Johsai defeated Ushijima’s Shiratorizawa not long ago. Could it be that another national-level ace is about to emerge?]
“OOOOHHHHH~~~!”
The commentator’s passionate call sent another wave of excitement through the arena.
But amidst the roaring crowd, Morinen’s setter felt a chill run down his spine. His bad feeling had come true. While everyone else was focused on the height of Asuto’s attack, he had noticed something else: Oikawa had delivered a flawless set.
Morinen’s setter stared across the court at Oikawa, his wariness rising sharply. That guy is dangerous.
“Hey… why do I suddenly have a bad feeling about this?” Morinen’s libero muttered.
The setter froze. For a moment, he thought the libero had noticed the threat Oikawa posed. But following his teammate’s gaze, he realized that wasn’t the case at all. The libero wasn’t looking at Oikawa; he was staring at Asuto, who was walking toward Position 1 with the ball in hand.
“You feel it too?” Morinen’s opposite hitter chimed in.
“Yeah. I don’t know why, but every time I see that guy standing in the service area, I get chills.” He swallowed nervously. “His serve isn’t insane too, is it?”
“No idea.” Morinen’s setter clicked his tongue. “Damn it. Since they’ve never been to Nationals before, there’s barely any information on them.”
As unbelievable as it sounded, truly elite athletes often carried a distinct presence. Ordinary people couldn’t sense it, but fellow competitors could.
As a setter himself, he naturally picked up on the danger coming from Oikawa, but he hadn’t felt the pressure radiating from Asuto, at least, not until he noticed something strange.
The moment Asuto walked to Position 1, several Aoba Johsai front-row players instinctively covered the backs of their heads and stepped aside, leaving a wide open space in the middle of the court.
The sight immediately set off alarm bells in his head. Something’s wrong…
[Next to serve is Aoba Johsai’s ace, Akashi Asuto. According to available information, Asuto is also highly skilled at serving. Let’s see what he can do…]
In truth, the commentator was struggling as well. The scouting information on Aoba Johsai was far too limited; even when he wanted to elaborate, there just wasn’t enough data available.
Standing behind the baseline, Asuto felt none of the nervousness gripping his teammates. Instead, he was unusually calm. The roar of the crowd echoed in his ears, yet none of it reached his mind.
‘Feels good. No stiffness. My muscles are moving smoothly. I’m not completely in the zone yet… but this is enough.’
He exhaled slowly and tossed the volleyball into the air. The instant the ball left his hand, the entire court seemed to fade into a blank white world.
There was only the ball.
His approach.
His jump.
His swing.
His contact.
BOOM!
A sound far louder than anyone expected exploded through the arena. The spectators fell silent.
The volleyball emitted a sharp, compressed screech in midair. Under the terrifying force of the impact, its shape visibly distorted, denting inward as it pushed past its limits.
Then,
WHOOSH!
A violent gust tore through the air. The volleyball shot forward like a raging beast, roaring toward Morinen’s court.
In the blink of an eye, Morinen’s libero watched helplessly as a ball that had been over ten meters away appeared right in front of him. He didn’t even have time to react before it slammed into the floor.
(End of Chapter)