“P-Point scored!”
“A brutal serve from Akashi Asuto! Morinen High School’s defenders couldn’t react at all… Let’s check the speed on that serve!”
“Ohoho! Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable! 110 km/h! According to the tracking equipment, Asuto’s opening serve at Nationals reached an astonishing 110 kilometers per hour!”
“Without a doubt, that’s a new record!”
“…”
The arena fell dead silent.
Then…
ROAR!
“No way!”
“110 km/h? Can a high schooler really serve that fast?”
“Seriously, that impact sound scared the hell out of me! It was so loud, like a cannonball!”
The commentator’s excited voice left the audience stunned for three full seconds before the entire venue erupted. At the same time, the referee blew his whistle for a timeout.
“As we can see, faced with Aoba Johsai’s relentless offensive pressure, Morinen High School’s coach has urgently called for a timeout…”
Over at Morinen’s bench, their coach got straight to the point.
“From now on, focus your defense entirely on their number 8.”
None of the players objected. A player capable of serving at 110 km/h more than deserved special attention; after all, even at the professional level, a serve exceeding 100 km/h was considered impressive.
And now, on a high school court, someone had suddenly fired off a 110 km/h missile. Was he trying to kill someone?
Only Morinen’s setter offered a different opinion.
“I don’t think Aoba Johsai’s setter is ordinary, either. We might want to keep an eye on him too.”
The coach didn’t reject the suggestion, but they simply didn’t have the manpower to spare. The idea was temporarily shelved.
…
Meanwhile, on the other side of the court…
Asuto’s serve hadn’t just shocked their opponents; it had startled his own teammates and coaches as well. They could tell Asuto was in good form today, but none of them expected the speed to be this outrageous.
“Nice one!”
“Asuto, you really stole the spotlight with that serve!”
“Seriously, though, don’t you feel nervous at all? This is being broadcast live to the whole country. I’m freaking out just sitting on the bench.”
Asuto took a sip of water, looked at them, and asked with genuine confusion, “What’s there to be nervous about? It’s just Nationals. It’s not like it’s my first time.”
The others: “…”
‘Damn it. He really pulled that off.’
Watching Asuto casually flex, the Aoba Josei players felt their fists tightening. Just then, Iwaizumi Hajime spoke up.
“Thanks, Asuto. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have gotten such a big advantage at the start.”
Asuto replied calmly, “If I’m carrying the title of Ace, that’s just what I’m supposed to do.”
Iwaizumi’s tone toward Asuto was surprisingly polite. Then, he turned around and immediately smacked someone across the back.
SMACK!
The crisp sound alone was enough to make everyone wince.
“Oi, you idiot Oikawa! You should’ve adjusted to the atmosphere by now! Stop making your underclassmen bail you out every single time, you trashykawa!” Iwaizumi roared.
A moment ago, Oikawa had been standing there deep in thought with a faint smile on his face, his eyes practically radiating calm and confidence. Now, he instantly shrank back and raised an obedient thumbs-up.
“Don’t worry, Iwa-chan! Everything’s under control now!”
Iwaizumi snorted. “Good. If you’re finally ready, then it’s our turn.”
He clenched his fist and pointed toward the court.
“Let’s show the world what Aoba Johsai is really capable of. Move out!”
“YEAH!!!”
The entire team answered in unison and charged back onto the court behind Iwaizumi with overwhelming momentum. Left behind at the very end, Oikawa stood there alone.
‘Wait… who’s the captain here again?’
Tweet!
The referee blew his whistle, and both teams returned to the court. At this point, the score was 3–2.
Asuto stepped up to serve. Because of the timeout, his momentum had been broken. His second serve wasn’t an service ace, though Morinen’s defenders only barely managed to receive it.
Morinen immediately launched their synchronized multi-directional attack again. All four attackers moved at the same time, but this time, Aoba Johsai’s blockers didn’t bite.
Only after the actual hitter revealed himself did Issei Matsukawa slide across the front row, instantly appearing right in front of Morinen’s ace. The sudden shadow and Matsukawa’s impressive height startled the spiker. At the last second, he was forced to change his straight shot to a cross-court attack.
But the moment he hit the ball, Iwaizumi Hajime was already waiting right behind Matsukawa’s shadow.
Smack!
The volleyball was cleanly dug back into the air. The sight instantly changed the expressions of everyone on Morinen’s side.
“There it is, Aoba Johsai High’s trademark rotational defense!”
“Excluding the libero, Aoba Johsai’s starting lineup averages over 184 centimeters in height. No matter how they rotate, they can always maintain a powerful presence at the net.”
“A flawless blocking system, an iron-wall defense, this is another one of Aoba Josei’s greatest strengths.”
“And the blocker who forced Morinen’s ace to alter his attack was Aoba Johsai’s number 2, Issei Matsukawa! At 187 centimeters tall, he’s the second-tallest player on the team.”
Oikawa moved under the ball, preparing to set it to Asuto for a quick attack. But at the exact moment Oikawa jumped to make contact, Morinen’s front-row players charged toward Asuto’s position. In an instant, a massive triple block formed.
“Morinen High School predicted it… No, this is a three-man mark!”
“Morinen has chosen to focus entirely on Asuto! This is an extremely rare tactic at Nationals, usually, teams only do this against a top-tier national ace!”
“It seems Morinen is already treating Asuto as a national-level threat and is fully prepared to shut him down. Asuto is in trouble this time!”
“Let’s see what Asuto does with the set.”
“N-No, wait!”
“It’s not Asuto! It’s number 3, Takahiro Hanamaki…!”
The commentator’s voice suddenly rose several octaves. Both the crowd in the arena and the viewers watching at home froze, their eyes fixed on the court.
What they saw left everyone stunned.
Oikawa was already airborne. His body weight had shifted, his momentum committed, and everything suggested the ball was going to Asuto. Yet at the very last split second, Oikawa didn’t set to Asuto at all.
Instead, he delivered a perfectly placed back set in the exact opposite direction.
The ball flew straight to Takahiro Hanamaki. Faced with an entirely open court, Hanamaki slammed it down with ease.
In an instant, every player on Morinen went rigid. Meanwhile, the spectators widened their eyes in disbelief, as if they had just witnessed the impossible.
“Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!”
“Aoba Johsai’s number 1, Oikawa, forcibly changed the direction of his set at the very last second!”
“Despite his center of gravity already being completely committed, he delivered a pass with unbelievable precision, rescuing his ace from a triple block and tearing Morinen’s defense to shreds!”
“Allow me to introduce him once again.”
“Oikawa Tooru. Number 1 of Aoba Johsai High School. A third-year, 184 centimeters tall. Setter… and team captain.”
The commentator paused for a brief, breathless moment before continuing:
“Maybe you’ve never heard that name before today.”
“But in the future…”
“The world will eventually discover Oikawa!”
(End of Chapter 130)