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“What about the rest of you?”
Omae Masato brushed the weeds from his hair and turned towards the others.
“Mmm~~~ As for me, I’m not planning to join any clubs in high school anymore.”
It was Kurata Mao who spoke up.
“After the entrance exams, I’ll first try applying to Shiratorizawa High School. If I don’t get in, then I’ll choose between Aoba Johsai, Ouu High School, and Hakusui Hall.”
The schools that Kurata Mao listed were all renowned academic high schools in Miyagi Prefecture.
Moreover, these schools allowed students to skip club activities entirely and focus solely on preparing for university entrance exams.
Clearly, Kurata Mao had already done a great deal of research in this regard.
“My original plan was to join the shogi club in high school, but recently…”
Oda Miki stretched one hand towards the sky as he spoke.
“I feel like I’ve finally started to understand the fun of volleyball. So… If we can successfully make it to Nationals, then maybe I’ll continue on this path after entering high school too.”
He then looked towards Asuto and Mishita Ryuhei.
“What about you two?”
Asuto opened his mouth, about to answer, but before he could speak, Omae Masato suddenly interrupted him.
“Alright already, Asuto, you bastard. You don’t need to answer. Whatever you do in the future, you’ll probably succeed anyway, so stop talking before you crush the rest of us.”
Considering Asuto’s increasingly impressive volleyball skills and his consistently top-three academic ranking in the entire year group in recent monthly exams, the other members of the Volleyball Club nodded in agreement with Masato.
Seriously, it was ridiculous.
They had lived for fifteen years and had never seen someone this monstrous.
This year has really broadened their horizons.
Mishita Ryuhei said, “As for me… if nothing unexpected happens, I’ll probably focus mainly on academics in high school too. As for club activities, I haven’t really decided yet…”
“In that case, the chances of us meeting again on the same court in high school are probably pretty small, huh?”
Omae Masato suddenly turned toward Asuto and loudly declared:
“So did you hear that, Asuto? This is our last chance to fight together. That means tomorrow’s match, no matter what, you have to win!”
“At the very least, let us walk alongside you a little farther at Nationals. That way, if you become famous someday, we’ll have something to brag about to our sons.”
Asuto: “Uhh… if I remember correctly, volleyball is supposed to be a team sport, right?”
“Shut up!” Omae Masato glared at him.
“Do you really think we’re clueless middle-schoolers who don’t understand our own level? I know perfectly well how capable I am. So in tomorrow’s finals, even if your legs break from exhaustion, you still have to win. Got it?”
Asuto: “…”
“You guys really are amazing teammates.” Asuto rolled his eyes before continuing: “But don’t worry. We’ll definitely win tomorrow’s match. Definitely.”
······
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Saturday!
The finals officially began.
Over the course of the past week, the Sengoku Junior High Team had watched the match recordings dozens of times and had already gathered a fairly complete understanding of Kosen Junior Academy.
Overall, Kosen Junior Academy was an extremely strong team.
This generation of players didn’t possess any “geniuses” or exceptionally talented individuals.
However, the school’s strong foundation allowed them to maximize the potential of ordinary students through training alone.
In the original timeline, Kosen Junior Academy’s ability to suppress Kitagawa Daiichi in the first set was enough to prove their strength.
Furthermore, although Kosen Junior Academy’s players weren’t “gifted monsters,” they certainly weren’t ordinary students.
After all, they had two blockers who were an impressive 188 centimeters tall.
“Everyone, listen carefully!”
Before the match began, Kosen Junior Academy’s coach shouted:
“Our opponents aren’t as terrifying as you imagine. Yes, they defeated Kitagawa Daiichi, but you have all seen the recording. Kitagawa Daiichi had internal problems. Otherwise, nobody can say who would have won in the end.”
“Sengoku Junior High’s star player has tremendous offensive power, but our defense isn’t weak either. As long as we can contain him, victory will definitely be ours.”
“Understood!”
· · · ·
The two teams stepped onto the court at the same time.
After exchanging greetings and bows, the match officially began.
There were even more spectators for the final.
Behind both Sengoku Junior High and Kosen Junior Academy, there were rows upon rows of school bands and large groups of students, all cheering them on.
This is also one of Japan’s unique cultural traditions.
Tweet!
The referee blew his whistle.
Kosen Junior Academy did not have someone like Kageyama Tobio, who could counter Asuto with his serving pressure alone.
Their defense also relied mainly on blocking.
Although their back-row defense was excellent as well, at best it was only around the same level as Kitagawa Daiichi’s.
So for the very first point of the match, Shimokawa Mitsuto directly chose to let Asuto serve.
The moment Asuto walked to Position 1…
Whether it was the Kosen players on the court or the coach on the sidelines, everyone’s expressions instantly became serious.
Although Kosen’s coach had outwardly claimed that “the opponents weren’t that scary,” deep down he understood very clearly just how terrifying Asuto truly was.
Without exaggeration, the player they were facing now was basically another monster child on the level of Ushijima Wakatoshi.
The sound of the cheering band echoed throughout the stands.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Holding the volleyball,i Asuto lightly bounced it a few times.
He slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled.
The moment he opened his eyes again…
The Kosen players on the opposite side suddenly felt an inexplicable chill run through their bodies. The other Sengoku Junior High players silently covered the backs of their heads and moved aside to make space…
Kosen Junior Academy’s captain stood in the back row, staring fixedly at Asuto across the court as he loudly warned:
“Everyone, stay alert, the ball’s coming…”
Thud!
Before he could even finish speaking… A muffled sound suddenly came from right beneath his feet.
Kosen’s captain froze on the spot.
Before he could even react, the referee’s whistle had already sounded.
Tweet!
Sengoku Junior High scored directly off the serve.
1:0.
Kosen Captain’s pupils instantly widened.
He stiffly turned his head…
Only to discover that the volleyball that had been in Asuto’s hand had somehow already flown behind him.
“What… was that?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Was that really a serve?”
The throats of many Kosen players suddenly felt dry.
This was their first time personally facing Asuto’s serve, but they were absolutely certain of one thing…
Whether in power or speed, that serve was vastly stronger than what they had seen on the match recordings.
Kosen’s captain raised his head to look toward Asuto on the opposite side, only to find that Asuto’s gaze was deep and unwavering, while his entire body radiated a silence so calm that it became unsettling.
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(End of Chapter)
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