"Whoa, "
"Ushijima is still Ushijima! That power is terrifying!"
"Who would've thought we'd get to see two of Japan's top three aces go head-to-head during summer break? We really hit the jackpot!"
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Inside Aoba Johsai's training facility, the matches were still ongoing.
However, the teams had shifted. It was no longer Aoba Johsai vs. Itachiyama, but now Shiratorizawa vs. Itachiyama.
And the audience sitting courtside, previously Shiratorizawa's players, had now been replaced by the members of Aoba Johsai.
In the earlier match...
Aoba Johsai had ultimately lost the third set to Itachiyama by the slimmest of margins, 23–25.
Akashi Asuka, who had performed exceptionally well up until that point, failed to maintain his form in the final set. A series of errors during his attacks led to their defeat.
After a break, the second scrimmage of the day began: Shiratorizawa vs. Itachiyama.
This match was like a clash between a spear and a shield. Right from the start, the two top-three national aces, Ushijima Wakatoshi and Sakusa Kiyoomi, went all out, exchanging blow after blow, racking up points in rapid succession.
Both players were red-hot.
Ushijima, fired up after watching the earlier match between Aoba Johsai and Itachiyama, was brimming with fighting spirit.
And Sakusa Kiyoomi? As Ushijima's self-proclaimed fanboy, his biggest motivation for coming to Miyagi in the first place was to face off against him. Naturally, he was more fired up than ever.
In their current state, neither player felt merely "strong", they were downright frightening.
Even from the sidelines, the members of Aoba Johsai could clearly feel the invisible pressure radiating from the court.
"Seriously scary… So this is what they mean by 'genius'... sheesh."
Oikawa Tooru clasped his hands behind his head and clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Only to get a hard bang on the head from Hajime Iwaizumi.
Back in the day, Iwaizumi used to tolerate Oikawa's "genius envy" and chalked it up to normal jealousy. Everyone feels that way sometimes.
But after the Nationals, when he found out Oikawa had nearly lost to Magisaka High simply because he let jealousy of Akashi Asuka's talent get in his head, Iwaizumi stopped going easy on him.
In short:
Oikawa could mess around all he wanted off the court.
But on the court, if he let emotions cloud his judgment, he was getting punched.
Boom!
Back on the court, Sakusa Kiyoomi launched a powerful jump serve.
Although his serves lacked the raw power of Ushijima's or Akashi Asuka's, they carried a disgusting amount of spin.
Shiratorizawa's libero tracked the ball immediately, but the moment his hands made contact, the spin overwhelmed him, he was sent flying sideways, completely out of bounds.
12–11.
Itachiyama pulled ahead.
Sakusa stepped up for his second serve.
This time, Yamagata Hayato managed to barely dig it, but the ball soared off in a completely different direction, nowhere near the setter's zone.
"Watch Ushiwaka!"
Seeing Shiratorizawa's formation fall into chaos, the Itachiyama players immediately keyed in on Ushijima.
It was a standard countermeasure against Shiratorizawa, and, frankly, against any team with a top-tier ace.
Whenever a team like that ran into trouble, the ball would almost always end up with the ace. Even if their tactics were read by the opponent, the setter wouldn't change the target, because every such team believed in one thing:
"Even triple-blocked, our ace can still score."
Shiratorizawa was no different.
So when Itachiyama preemptively set up a 2+1 block against Ushijima, Shirabu Kenjiro didn't even blink.
He calmly set the ball right over Ushijima's head.
Three Itachiyama players leapt, creating a massive wall in front of the net.
But the very next second, their expressions changed.
Because at the peak of their jump, there was no sign of Ushijima Wakatoshi.
"Damn, it's a feint, it's a delayed spike!"
BOOM!
Just as the blockers began their descent, Ushijima took off, and in a single leap, soared above all three of them, hammering the ball straight down with a devastating spike.
12–12.
Tsukasa Iizuna, Itachiyama's captain, glared across the net at Shirabu Kenjiro.
"When did Shiratorizawa start using combo plays?"
Back in their match against Aoba Johsai, Itachiyama had already been shocked by how rapidly Aoba's players had improved their individual skills.
But this?
This was even more shocking.
Compared to Aoba Johsai, Itachiyama knew Shiratorizawa much better. Both teams were regulars at Nationals and frequent opponents.
And for as long as they could remember, Shiratorizawa had always been a team that leaned heavily on individual dominance. While there was some coordination, it was always designed around one core purpose: supporting the ace.
From the bench, the Itachiyama coach narrowed his eyes. "Looks like Coach Washijo is under a lot of pressure lately… enough to start changing the team's style."
Coach Washijo remained expressionless. "Shiratorizawa's style hasn't changed. So long as everything serves the ace, the method doesn't matter."
During this exchange training camp, the coaches of Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa had temporarily swapped teams to provide instruction, and both sides picked up a number of tactics from each other.
But fundamentally, their identities hadn't changed.
Aoba Johsai had seen a sharp rise in individual skill, but their core style remained team-centric.
Shiratorizawa, on the other hand, had integrated some of Aoba's tactical plays, but only to better serve Ushijima.
They took the best and left the rest.
And in that regard, both teams had done an excellent job.
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The intense match against this new opponent, Itachiyama, gave both Shiratorizawa and Aoba Johsai's players a clear sense of growth.
And that was a huge boost to morale.
After all, not everyone had a system panel like Akashi Asuka, where you could literally see your progress in stats.
For most people, the biggest obstacle to improvement isn't hardship, it's losing sight of hope.
Originally, Itachiyama had planned to stay in Miyagi for three days.
Once the three-day exchange ended, they were set to return to Tokyo.
But on the night before they left, Akashi Asuka suddenly said:
"Eh? You guys are leaving already? Another team is coming tomorrow, aren't you gonna stick around and see them?"
The members of Itachiyama: "???"
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria