This time, Bokuto’s ‘negative mode’ kicked in so quickly that it caught not only the Fukurōdani players off guard, but Oikawa Tooru and Akashi Asuto as well.
“So this is the ‘negative mode’ you were talking about?” Oikawa asked in disbelief. “Why did it happen so fast?”
Before the match, Akashi Asuto had already shared everything he knew. Even if he hadn’t, Oikawa had spent most of the night watching match footage and had figured out the pattern behind Bokuto’s mood swings. But neither of them had expected Bokuto to crash this early in the match. It completely threw off the plan they had made beforehand.
“Uh… maybe… possibly… I might be just a tiny bit responsible for that,” Akashi Asuto said, suddenly sounding far less confident.
Oikawa fell silent for a moment.
“…So, should we move the plan up?”
Akashi sighed and nodded helplessly. “Looks like we don’t have a choice.”
Bokuto’s emotional slump didn’t immediately change the overall flow of the match. Standing by the sideline, the referee—like an emotionless machine—blew the whistle for play to continue without hesitation.
Aoba Johsai served again.
Even without their ace, Bokuto Kotaro, Fukurōdani’s offense continued to run as smoothly as ever. It almost looked as if the team’s system worked just as well whether their ace was on the court or not.
Akaashi Keiji received the libero’s pass and used a quick timing play to shake Kindaichi off the block. Perhaps because Akashi Asuto had blocked Bokuto on the very first point—though it had been pure coincidence—Akaashi chose not to set in Akashi’s direction this time. Instead, he sent the ball to their number 12 middle blocker, Onaga Wataru, attacking through Oikawa’s side.
Seeing Onaga jump in front of him, a knowing smile slowly spread across Oikawa’s face.
“Just as I thought. Once the ace goes into ‘negative mode’, the team’s willing to stop using him for a while. Efficient… but pretty ruthless.”
As naturally as breathing, Oikawa tossed out a few words to mess with the opponent’s head while jumping for the block, completely sealing Onaga’s line shot.
Bang!
Smack!
With the line closed off, Onaga had no choice but to switch to a cross-court spike. Unfortunately for him, Shinji Watari was already waiting there. He dug it cleanly, sending the ball high into the air—a nearly perfect first touch.
Oikawa immediately sprinted into position. At the same time, Akashi Asuto had already started his approach.
Whoosh!
The two executed a lightning-fast quick attack.
Aoba Johsai’s counterattack was incredibly fast. From the receive to the ball arriving above Akashi, the entire sequence took barely three seconds. Even so, by the time Akashi jumped to spike, Fukurōdani had already reacted. No. 12 middle blocker Onaga Wataru and No. 7 outside hitter Konoha Akinori both recovered in time, forming a solid double block.
“Tch… their reactions are seriously fast,” Oikawa clicked his tongue.
He had expected as much. A simple quick attack was never going to shake off the blocking defense of a national powerhouse like Fukurōdani. Still, as a setter, having his offensive intentions read so easily left him more than a little frustrated.
Four arms rose in front of Akashi Asuto, forming a tight wall. Two were high, and the other two were lower.
The higher pair completely shut down any chance of an overhand spike. Even though this wasn’t Akashi’s maximum contact point of 343 cm, he had gotten a full jump, so he was still hitting the ball from well over 330 cm. At the high school level, plenty of players couldn’t even reach 330 cm with a full approach, which showed just how high that block really was.
Of course, that wasn’t surprising. The owner of those hands, Onaga Wataru, was already 191 cm tall. His vertical wasn’t anything special, but for a blocker, height mattered more than jumping ability.
From a purely technical standpoint, attacking over the lower pair of hands was clearly the smarter option. But if Akashi really chose that route, Fukurōdani’s libero—already waiting behind No. 7 outside hitter Konoha Akinori—along with another back-row defender, would be there to receive it.
Even without their ace, Fukurōdani’s offense and defense remained airtight. That was the real reason the team could stay among the nation’s elite, even with a player like Bokuto leading them.
But…
BOOM!
A thunderous impact echoed through the gym.
Onaga Wataru’s outstretched arms were suddenly blown backward as if struck by an overwhelming force. A dull thud followed as the ball slammed into the floor before bouncing high into the air, soaring all the way into the second-floor stands.
Point!
“Aoba Johsai’s ace, Akashi Asuto, has once again blasted straight through the block with a cannon-like spike! An unstoppable attack earns them another point!”
The players of Fukurōdani Academy all widened their eyes in shock.
What unbelievable power.
They already knew from Aoba Johsai’s match against Morinen that their ace possessed incredible strength. But they had never imagined it would be this overwhelming. This wasn’t the kind of physical power a first-year was supposed to have.
This was only the fourth time Fukurōdani had encountered something like this. Even when Bokuto wasn’t on the court, only three teams in the entire country had ever been able to score on Fukurōdani’s defense this effortlessly. Those teams were Shiratorizawa, Mujinazaka, and Itachiyama. And the aces of those three schools were none other than the current top three national aces.
Other than them… even the remaining ace ranked in the nation’s top five alongside Bokuto Kotaro couldn’t score this easily against Fukurōdani’s defense.
“This guy…”
Watching Akashi Asuto land after his spike, Akaashi Keiji suddenly felt a powerful sense of unease. A shadow slowly spread across his face.
For some reason… he couldn’t shake the feeling that they’d fallen into a trap. The problem was, he couldn’t figure out where.
The faint pressure radiating from Akashi Asuto wasn’t overwhelming, but it was undeniably there. Like a dark cloud hanging over the court, it settled over the Fukurōdani players, making the air around them suddenly feel much heavier.
Just then, Akashi slowly turned around. Having grown another centimeter recently, he now looked down at the Fukurōdani blockers from his greater height and spoke calmly.
“Hey.”
“I’m not one of the nation’s top-ranked aces…”
“But if you think one blocker is enough to stop me…”
“…don’t you think that’s a little naive?”
(End of Chapter)