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Bang!
Kageyama Tobio’s second serve arrived.
It was still outstanding in terms of speed and power, but the placement was not as vicious as the first one. At the last possible moment, Kurata Mao dived to save it, just managing to keep the volleyball from hitting the floor.
However, the ball flew straight back into Kitagawa Daiichi’s court.
“Chance Ball! I’ve got it!”
The volleyball floated above the opposite hitter position in the Kitagawa Daiichi court. The player shouted before calmly passing the ball into Kageyama’s hands.
Akashi Asuto, standing at the net, locked his gaze onto Kageyama Tobio’s hands.
“Who is he going to set this ball to? Is it Kindaichi again? Or will he involve the back row in the attack?”
When blocking in the past, Asuto usually preferred to use a ‘late block’ approach, first observing the setter’s passing direction and then immediately locking onto the spike route to intercept it.
The advantage of this style was that it was difficult for the setter to deceive him.
However, the downside was that his block reaction would always be half a beat slower.
Against previous opponents, this ‘late block’ method had worked very well. Although his reaction was slightly delayed, Akashi could compensate for this with his exceptional physical ability.
However, against a setter like Kageyama, this style was extremely ineffective.
The reason was simple.
Kageyama’s sets were too fast.
Before the set was released, there was absolutely no indication from his body posture or finger angle as to the direction of the pass.
Compared to him, the fastest quick attacks used by most other teams would probably count as nothing more than ordinary attacks for Kitagawa Daiichi.
Therefore, if Asuto wanted to stop Kitagawa Daiichi’s quick attacks, he would need to rely on prediction to a certain extent.
“Right now, the front row blockers are me, Ryuhei, and Oda. Kazama and Omae have already moved to the back court, so this is essentially the weakest blocking lineup our team has. If they’re going to attack, they probably won’t choose my side. That would be too risky, and there’s no need for it.”
“On the contrary… Not only will they avoid attacking in my direction, they’ll probably avoid wherever I’m positioned entirely. That means the most likely attack route for this ball is still…”
Whoosh!
The moment the volleyball left Kageyama Tobio’s hands, Asuto took a huge step forward and dashed explosively towards the far-left outside hitter position in the front row… towards Oda Miki’s side.
Seeing this, Kageyama Tobio’s pupils instantly contracted from the back court.
Reaching the outside hitter position, Asuto jumped in one fluid motion. At the same moment, Kitagawa Daiichi’s attacker received the set and swung downwards.
Bang!
Thud!
Asuto could clearly feel the volleyball striking his palm; he blocked the spike from Kitagawa Daiichi’s number four attacker with one hand, but after deflecting off his hand, the ball flew out of bounds.
2:5.
Since the start of the preliminaries, this was the first time that Sengoku Junior High had fallen behind by such a large margin so early in a match.
The pressure gradually began to close in.
The breathing of the Sengoku Junior High players became heavier and heavier, and the shadow of the crushing defeat they had once suffered at the hands of Kitagawa Daiichi seemed to be descending upon them once more.
······
“Whoa… that was close. I almost got blocked.”
Compared to the pressure suffocating Sengoku Junior High, Kitagawa Daiichi’s fourth attacker was also patting his chest, still fearful.
Honestly…
When Asuto suddenly burst out towards his position just now, he was genuinely scared.
Although Kitagawa Daiichi’s coach had already thoroughly analyzed Asuto’s Spikes and Blocks for them before the match, without experiencing it personally, it was impossible to imagine just how terrifying the pressure Asuto emitted in that instant truly was.
If they had been just a tiny bit closer, his spike would have been completely stopped.
No…
In fact, it had already been stopped.
He was simply lucky not to lose the point.
The referee blew the whistle for the serve again.
Kageyama carried the volleyball to the baseline. Despite having just scored and still retaining his serve, Kageyama did not feel relaxed at all.
“That guy on that last play…”
The image of Asuto predicting his set ahead of time kept replaying in his mind. Despite Kageyama’s efforts to suppress the image, the instant he tossed the volleyball into the air, his heart suddenly jolted.
“Damn it… too low.”
Bang!
Kageyama Tobio quickly jumped and struck the back of the ball with his palm.
The ball crossed the net, but it was far less powerful and fast than before. Sengoku Junior High’s back-court defenders immediately noticed the difference and stepped forward decisively to receive it.
“Chance ball!” Mishita Ryuhei shouted, sending the ball to Asuto.
Bang!
The volleyball sliced through the air in a sharp cross-court trajectory before smashing onto the floor inside Kitagawa Daiichi’s court.
3:5.
After three serves, Sengoku Junior High finally managed to regain possession of the serve.
And, after this rotation, it just so happened to be Asuto’s turn to serve.
“Make it a good one, Akashi!”
“Show them what we can do! Let those guys know they’re not the only ones who can serve!’
“Turn the score around!”
······
The members of Sengoku Junior High called out encouragement to Asuto one after another.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side, every player on Kitagawa Daiichi immediately became vigilant the moment Asuto took the ball into his hands.
Just as Sengoku Junior High had been wary of Kageyama Tobio’s fast serves, Kitagawa Daiichi’s players were equally cautious of Asuto’s powerful serves.
Asuto held the volleyball and stepped beyond the baseline.
“Hoo…”
A long breath escaped his lips, and his heart gradually calmed down.
Across the net, Kageyama felt an inexplicable chill shoot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head the instant he saw Asuto’s movements.
He stiffened and immediately shouted,
“Everyone, get ready! Don’t lose focus for even a second!”
Whoosh!
The volleyball rose high into the air from Asuto’s palm.
Approach!
Jump!
Swing!
…
Every movement Akashi made appeared exceptionally gentle, like a feather drifting gracefully through the air.
Until…
The instant his palm connected with the volleyball.
BANG!
It was as though a thunderclap had exploded above the court at Sengoku Junior High.
The sensation of this hit was something Asuto had never experienced before.
In the past, the main sensation he had felt while serving was the toughness of the volleyball’s surface.
But this time, he could actually feel a hint of softness from the volleyball.
He immediately realiZed that this was not because the volleyball had become soft. Rather, the force of his strike was so great that the ball was compressed by the immense pressure, creating the illusion of softness.
Boom!
The ball roared as it shot forward.
Even before the serve had arrived, the Kitagawa Daiichi players felt as though a raging wind were screaming in their ears.
The next instant… The howling volleyball arrived in a flash.
There was not even enough time to blink before the ball had already entered Kitagawa Daiichi’s court and slammed into the floor.
Compressed.
Half of the volleyball visibly caved inward before it rebounded violently back into the air…
Thud!
Only after the volleyball crashed into the back wall did the sound finally seem to catch up with it.
(End of Chapter)
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