Ichinose Guren's sudden shout drew everyone's attention. The Karasuno players immediately understood who he was calling out to, and why.
For Aoba Johsai, though, Guren's appearance was somewhat puzzling.
Except for a few members of the coaching staff who knew his past record from Kitagawa Daiichi, the rest of the team looked at this shouting substitute, a little bewildered.
Yudai Hyakuzawa, however, suddenly snapped awake.
Right…
What am I doing?
Why am I stubbornly forcing myself against a situation when there's a better solution?
If I'm not satisfied, I should go back and practice receiving three times…
But now, what I have to do is trust my teammates!
"Nishinoya! Daichi-senpai!"
Hyakuzawa raised his voice as well. "Please!"
"Got it! Leave it to me."
Nishinoya Yuu responded immediately to Hyakuzawa's plea, and team captain Daichi nodded solemnly, signaling that he would handle the ball.
Hyakuzawa stepped back from the baseline. Taking his place in the back row were Karasuno's current libero, Nishinoya Yuu, and setter Kageyama Tobio. Although Kageyama was the setter, he knew that without a proper pass, any set would be meaningless.
So at this moment, they had to receive the ball!
In the front row, Sawamura stretched as much as the pre-serve positioning allowed, preparing to move as far back as possible to cover the incoming serve.
Oikawa raised an eyebrow.
A courageous giant, letting go of his pride, choosing to trust his teammates instead of stubbornly going solo.
And I… will make it happen for him.
With a mischievous grin, Oikawa unleashed a serve at the maximum power within his control, aimed directly at Hyakuzawa.
It was yet another unexpected strike, the kind Oikawa always pulled out when the opponent thought they were prepared, a weapon unrelated to their expectations, catching them completely off guard.
Hyakuzawa, taken by surprise, barely managed to get his hands on the ball. He prevented it from touching the ground, but the sheer force of the impact ruined the quality of his reception.
There was almost no room left for a tactical set.
He's forcing us to go head-to-head!
During warm-ups, Oikawa had already analyzed Karasuno's main offensive axis: his genius underclassman setter and that small middle blocker, forming their quick attack duo.
If he could disrupt Karasuno's reception, preventing the quick attacks, he could force them into high-ball exchanges. And with their two-meter giant switching to the back row, Aoba Johsai could rely on their height and blocks to fight back, avoiding the same situation where Hinata's fast attacks dominated.
But in this scenario, there was no tactical set option.
Kageyama, without hesitation, decisively, almost impatiently, sent a long, lightning-quick set to the back row.
It was as if some invisible force was urging him to pass immediately.
The Aoba Johsai defenders' eyes tracked the ball, their bodies moving instinctively before their minds fully registered.
But this ball… was not something you could defend by reacting after seeing it.
Quick attack!
Hinata Shoyo twisted and leaped with enormous agility, tearing apart everyone's spatial awareness on the court. The orange-haired boy seemed to teleport, appearing right in front of the volleyball.
In fact, Hinata's jump even preceded Kageyama's set. He was like a magnet, drawing all attention toward him.
The volleyball reached his hands.
With the wind whistling past, the orange-haired boy smashed it down to the Aoba Johsai court.
Spike! Point!
"Nice! Hinata!"
Karasuno's players swarmed around Hinata, celebrating as he broke Aoba Johsai's streak of consecutive points.
Among the celebrators, Tanaka Ryunosuke was the most enthusiastic, ruffling Hinata's hair repeatedly. "You kid, that was awesome!"
Meanwhile, Katsuri Sugawara on the sidelines worried about Kageyama's emotions. The praise should have gone to the setter, yet Hinata was the one receiving the spotlight.
"Nice set, Kageyama!"
Caught off-guard by being cued, Kageyama was a little confused. "Ah? Hii~?"
Sugawara's ability to read the mood and sense emotions was exceptional. But for someone like Kageyama, whose world revolved entirely around volleyball, his thought process was simple:
If I score the point, it's my point. Even if you score off my set, it's still my point.
Even though everyone was praising Hinata, Kageyama didn't feel pleased about it.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria