[With the referee's whistle, we see Inarizaki's Ginjima launch a powerful jump serve.]
[As one of Inarizaki's main attackers aside from Aran Ojiro, while Ginjima may not possess the elite serving prowess of the Miya twins or Aran, his serve is still nothing to scoff at.]
[Unfortunately, their opponents this round are none other than Aoba Johsai, and one of their key back-row defenders, vice-captain Hajime Iwaizumi, easily receives the ball and passes it up to Oikawa Tooru.]
[Let's see how Oikawa decides to orchestrate this attack, will he set it to… ohhhh! A setter attack! Oikawa's gone into a full approach! Is he going for a direct spike across the net?!]
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On the court,
Thanks to Iwaizumi's flawless first touch, Oikawa was suddenly struck with the idea of a setter attack.
The setup was perfect.
But just as he leapt and shaped up for the spike, Miya Atsumu from Inarizaki charged in, shutting down the attack path in an instant.
"Not a chance…"
"Tch, damn mind-reader," Oikawa muttered under his breath.
Ever since he'd been matched up against Atsumu, Oikawa, once a setter known for sneaking in points himself, had barely landed a direct hit.
Every time he so much as thought about attacking, Atsumu would seemingly anticipate it ahead of time and shut him down.
Of course… it worked both ways.
Just as Atsumu could read Oikawa, Oikawa could also read Atsumu.
The two were like a pair of scheming rogues, dangerous on their own, but when clashing together, their rivalry created electric, unpredictable sparks.
Reluctantly, Oikawa switched his attack into a feint and set the ball high above Akashi Asuka.
And thanks to Oikawa's clever misdirection, most of Inarizaki's defense had been drawn to him, leaving only Aran Ojiro in position to block Akashi.
Suddenly, it became a one-on-one showdown between two national-level aces.
The entire crowd exploded with excitement.
This was what they'd been waiting for all match long, a head-to-head clash of titans.
Black and white, two figures launched into the air simultaneously, chasing the descending ball.
But the moment they jumped, Aran realized something was off.
"No way… he jumped that high?!"
Akashi was already 5 cm taller than Aran. Combine that with his monstrous vertical leap, and the moment they were airborne, Akashi surged upward like a rocket, immediately gaining a massive height advantage.
From Aran's perspective, Akashi's face gradually disappeared from view, his eyes, then nose, then mouth, chin…
One by one, vanishing into his blind spot.
BOOM!!!
With a thunderous crack, Akashi smashed the ball down like a cannon blast.
Right in front of the entire nation, Akashi delivered a perfect "over-the-block" kill, showing everyone what it meant to dominate above the net.
The crowd, which had been buzzing in anticipation, fell into stunned silence.
That's it?
After all that build-up, after all the hype over a clash of aces, it ended in one clean hit?
Even the commentators were briefly lost for words.
"Aran… didn't even stand a chance."
Luckily, the game went on.
[Akashi Asuka with a devastating spike straight over Inarizaki's Aran! That's the point, and Aoba Johsai has now reached match point!]
[24:23.]
[Inarizaki is now on the edge of elimination. If they can't tie the score with the next point, they'll be knocked out in Round 3 of this year's Spring High Tournament.]
Just like that, the crowd roared back to life.
"SUGOI!"
"Aoba Johsai's incredible! They've got Inarizaki on the ropes!"
"It's a total reversal! Inarizaki was last year's national runner-up, how did they fall this far?!"
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But even standing on the brink of defeat, Inarizaki showed no signs of panic.
In fact, the closer they got to the edge, the calmer they became.
This mental fortitude was something only a true powerhouse could possess, and it was built on the foundation of qualifying for nationals thirty-one times over the past three years.
"Whoa… that's Inarizaki for you," Oikawa said, impressed.
Despite the pressure, the players of Inarizaki stood tall, their expressions steady and unshaken.
"Still…" Oikawa added, lips curling into a confident smirk,
"Mentality alone doesn't win matches. In the end, it all comes down to raw strength."
BOOM!
Right on cue, Iwaizumi unleashed a powerful jump serve from the back row.
In moments like this, the players who could stay calm under pressure weren't exclusive to Inarizaki.
The serve soared over the net, a perfect blend of speed and placement. It was, without a doubt, Iwaizumi's best serve of the entire tournament.
And yet…
Atsumu received it perfectly.
"Nice one, Atsumu! I'll take it from here!" shouted Miya Osamu as he leapt up.
He was going for a setter attack, just like Oikawa had earlier!
"I told you, Aoba Johsai's path to the championship… allows no surprises."
Suddenly, Akashi Asuka dashed forward.
Even though he was alone, he instantly cut off all of Osamu's potential attack angles.
The sheer pressure of his defense hit Osamu like a wall, and even he couldn't help but falter.
But just as panic crept into his eyes, Osamu grinned.
"Just kidding! Atsumu, it's all yours!"
With a sudden cry, Osamu twisted mid-air, his body unbalanced, and pulled off an outrageous set.
A lightning-fast parallel toss that slipped past the entire Aoba Johsai block.
And at the end of that pass,
Atsumu was waiting, mouth curled in a wild grin, ready to spike.
Twin Combo Attack, Revised Version.
A brand-new synchronized play, created and refined by the Miya twins, debuting now in the heat of crisis.
The ball soared toward Atsumu, and he swung with full force toward the exposed corner of Aoba Johsai's court, completely undefended. A guaranteed point.
But just as the ball was about to land…
A figure surged in from the right.
With both hands raised, he threw up a wall, a final, towering block to end it all.
BOOM!
SMACK!
Two impacts rang out nearly simultaneously.
The ball, traveling with the same velocity as Atsumu's spike, suddenly ricocheted back onto Inarizaki's side,
THUD.
It hit the floor with a dull, final thump.
Atsumu, suspended in mid-air, froze, his face contorted in disbelief.
He looked up.
And reflected in his dark pupils, clear as day—
Was the smirking face of Oikawa Tooru.
"Not… today," Oikawa said with a grin as he landed.
"I'm guessing you were about to shout 'Point!' just now, right?…Not so fast, second-year."
"Not against us."
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria