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Boom!!!
A thunderous explosion suddenly echoed across the court.
Before Kitagawa Daiichi’s back-row players… Kageyama Tobio, the libero, and the opposite hitter, could even react; a sharp gust whistled past their ears.
By the time they had recovered, the volleyball had already pierced their defense.
Tweet~
The referee blew the whistle while the line judge forcefully pointed the flag towards the ground.
Sengoku Junior High scored directly off the serve.
13:11.
Kageyama stood frozen to the spot.
As he listened to the whistle announcing the point, it felt as though the entire world had suddenly fallen silent.
He looked up towards the opposite side of the net.
At that exact moment, Asuto landed and straightened up.
In that instant, Kageyama suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of pressure crashing down on him.
“No… I can’t lose. I cannot stop here…”
· · · · ·
Kitagawa Daiichi’s coach hurriedly called a timeout.
Just like in the previous set, the purpose of the timeout was to disrupt Asuto’s serving rhythm. Since his own team had a genius like Kageyama Tobio, the coach understood very clearly just how terrifying the momentum of a “monster” could become once they found their serving form.
Perhaps because he had himself been stunned by Asuto’s sudden serve…
For a moment, Kitagawa Daiichi’s coach failed to notice the abnormal state Kageyama was in.
Maintaining one’s ‘condition’ is extremely difficult for any athlete.
Many times…
Even a one-minute timeout could completely break a player’s hot streak.
After the timeout ended and Asuto served for the second time, Kageyama could clearly feel that his concentration had dropped noticeably.
Nevertheless, the second serve still blasted past the block at terrifying speed, relying purely on overwhelming power.
Bang!
At the very last moment, Kitagawa Daiichi’s libero finally managed to touch the volleyball.
However, the angle of the receive was completely different from the setter’s position, forcing Kitagawa Daiichi’s opposite hitter to send up a high toss at the last moment.
Kindaichi was not Asuto.
It was difficult for him to score with a set that offered nothing but height.
Bang!
Thud!
The spike was completely blocked by Sengoku Junior High’s triple block.
The score became 14:11.
Asuto’s third serve went into the net, reducing the gap back to two points:
14:12.
Compared to before, the score difference looked like it had only increased by one point.
But, in reality, the flow of the match had already been broken.
In volleyball, victory requires a lead of two points.
Moreover… The next serve belonged to Kitagawa Daiichi, meaning Sengoku Junior High still had the advantage in the rally.
The score soon became 15:12.
Victory seemed to be within the reach of Sengoku Junior High’s players, instantly boosting their morale.
For a moment…
The exhaustion weighing on every Sengoku player seemed to lessen slightly.
Sengoku Junior High regained the right to serve, though Asuto was not the one to serve this time.
After the volleyball crossed the net, Kitagawa Daiichi’s libero lightly received it and passed it to Kageyama Tobio.
It was an excellent first receive.
Given Kitagawa Daiichi’s level, as long as they played steadily, they would most likely win this point.
However, the moment the volleyball left Kageyama Tobio’s hands… another mistake occurred.
Kindaichi, the ace spiker, leapt up and swung his arm.
Yet his palm never felt the sensation of hitting the ball.
Thud!
The volleyball landed outside the boundary line.
The referee blew the whistle, and the numbers on the scoreboard changed once again.
16:12.
“Haven’t I told you several times already?! When using the Quick Attack, you have to jump earlier! If you want to win, you need to adapt to my sets!” Kageyama roared furiously.
But, to everyone’s surprise, Kindaichi didn’t argue back this time. He merely glanced at him indifferently before turning around and walking away.
Everyone present assumed that Kindaichi had simply accepted it.
However, only Akira Kunimi vaguely sensed an ominous feeling.
Sengoku Junior High retained the right to serve.
After a burst of enthusiastic celebration, they continued serving.
Kitagawa Daiichi’s libero received the ball and passed it to Kageyama Tobio.
As he watched the volleyball fly through the air, only one thought filled Kageyama Tobio’s mind:
“Faster… the set has to be even faster. Only then can we avoid their blocks. Only then can we score. I have to keep winning, keep moving forward…”
Whoosh!
His thoughts accelerated faster and faster.
With a light flick of his fingers, the volleyball shot forward instantly.
“Good. That set felt perfect.”
Kageyama was satisfied with how he had touched the ball.
If nothing unexpected happened, he should score this point.
That was what he thought.
But the very next second… The sound of the volleyball hitting the floor rang out again.
This wasn’t the sound of a spike.
It was simply the sound of the ball falling untouched.
‘What had happened?’
‘Had there been a mistake?’
Kageyama turned his head in confusion… only to see Kindaichi standing motionless, not moving at all as the volleyball hit the ground.
“Kindaichi…”
“I won’t hit any of your sets ever again.” Kindaichi looked at Kageyama Tobio coldly and spoke in a calm voice.
The moment those words fell, Kageyama Tobio froze, seemingly unable to process what had just happened.
But when he looked at the rest of the team… What greeted him were faces filled with utter indifference.
In that instant, it felt as though an enormous chasm had suddenly opened up between Kageyama Tobio and the rest of the team.
His mind instantly descended into chaos, and his consciousness turned completely blank.
No one knew how much time had passed.
It was only when the referee’s whistle sounded that Kageyama finally came back to his senses.
Then he heard the coach speak.
“Kageyama, sit out and rest for now.”
……
“Did they… start fighting again?”
The sudden incident at Kitagawa Daiichi left not only the audience stunned but also left Omae Masato and the others dumbfounded.
“I think this time, it’s probably more than just an argument,” Kazama Jujirō replied.
Although they didn’t know what had happened inside Kitagawa Daiichi, one thing was beyond doubt: Kageyama’s setting ability was absolutely vital to the team.
Yet, at such a critical moment, Kitagawa Daiichi’s coach had still chosen to substitute him out.
This alone showed how serious the situation had become.
“But honestly, the setter on the other side is just too intense. He’s incredibly skilled, sure, but with that kind of personality, people probably don’t want to play with him.”
“Yeah, he feels even fiercer than our side’s ‘Ace’ when serving,” Omae Masato nodded in agreement.
Akashi Asuto: “???”
‘What kind of bizarre comparison was that supposed to be?’
Asuto naturally understood why Kageyama had been substituted out, but he didn’t react much to it.
At this point, Kageyama’s issue was no longer as simple as emotional sensitivity in a teenager.
The world of geniuses had always been different from that of ordinary people.
Unless he met the right person, even Kitagawa Daiichi’s coach would struggle to change Kageyama’s mindset.
······
(End of Chapter)
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