Early Morning.
Sakusa Kiyoomi zipped up his backpack with a satisfied expression, carefully tucking away a book inside. Through the shadow of the open cover, a signature that read "Asuka" could just barely be seen.
"Hurry up, Sakusa! Time to head to the training ground!"
"I'm coming."
Komori Motoya's voice called from outside the dorm. Sakusa slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out.
By now, most of the players from Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa had already gathered. All three teams were now assembled, ready to head to the parking lot to welcome their newest guests.
Unlike the players from Itachiyama, who had arrived earlier, the new arrivals had flown in directly to Sendai City.
Moments after they reached the parking lot, two buses driven by Shiratorizawa and Aoba Johsai's assistant coaches slowly pulled in.
The door opened, and the first to step out was a bald boy with a bold, four-striped hair pattern.
"Tch, another pain in the ass–" both Sakusa Kiyoomi and Oikawa Tooru muttered simultaneously, each twitching their lips in distaste.
"Welcome to Miyagi, players of Mujinazaka High!"
The coaches greeted each other first, exchanging a few courteous words. Only then did the players start to mingle.
Wakatsu Kiryu approached Akashi Asuka, but first nodded toward Ushijima Wakatoshi and Sakusa Kiyoomi.
"Been a while, Ushijima, Sakusa."
Then, turning to Akashi, he said,
"As promised, we're here."
Akashi gave him a polite smile. "Welcome. We've been expecting you."
What was particularly interesting about this visit was that the invitation hadn't actually come from coaches like Tanji Washijo or Irihata Nobuteru, in fact, Irihata had no real ties to Mujinazaka High at all.
Considering that Mujinazaka was located in Ōita Prefecture in Kyushu, the southernmost region of Japan, the distance was significant. Even though Washijo was acquainted with their coach, he hadn't planned to invite them.
No, the reason Mujinazaka had come all the way here was because of Akashi Asuka.
After Nationals, Akashi had somehow gotten the contact info of both Wakatsu Kiryu and Kotaro Bokuto. Then, not long after, rumors started spreading that Aoba Johsai was undergoing a brutal one-month summer training camp.
Wakatsu had reached out to Akashi to verify the rumor. One thing led to another, and the two began keeping in touch.
Eventually, after Itachiyama arrived at the camp, Akashi and Wakatsu exchanged messages again. During one of those chats, Akashi casually tossed out an invitation.
And he really had just said it in passing.
After all, Kyushu was all the way down south, while Miyagi was up north, he never actually thought Mujinazaka would take him up on it.
But Akashi had clearly underestimated their financial firepower.
When Wakatsu mentioned the invitation to his coach, the response was essentially:
"Hold up, three of the country's top six aces are going to be there? There's no way Mujinazaka isn't joining!"
That very day, their coach went straight to the school administration. By the next day, the budget was approved.
On the third day, early in the morning, Mujinazaka's team boarded a flight straight to Sendai Airport in Miyagi Prefecture.
They moved so fast, it could've made Karasuno cry from sheer envy.
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Mujinazaka hadn't come for sightseeing.
Soon after arrival, without even much rest, all four teams launched straight into practice matches.
As expected, the evolution of Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa shocked the players from Mujinazaka. The difference was like night and day.
At the same time, Mujinazaka's own specialized training style offered valuable insight to the other three teams.
After all, among all the national-level schools, Mujinazaka ranked near the top in terms of professional, structured training.
By the time the morning practice matches wrapped up, it was already noon.
In the afternoon, due to accumulated fatigue, the four teams scaled back the intensity. Instead of grueling matches, they switched to a game-based training format.
The rules were simple.
Players were randomly grouped into 3v3 teams and rotated through short matches.
At first, things went smoothly. Despite the smaller team sizes making for more intense play, the short duration of each match kept it light and fun. When one team played, the rest of the players gathered around to watch and cheer.
Until one round…
…produced a rather explosive lineup.
Red Team: Akashi Asuka, Oikawa Tooru, Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Blue Team: Sakusa Kiyoomi, Wakatsu Kiryu, Komori Motoya.
The moment the teams were announced, the entire gym fell into silence.
Even the coaches, who had been relaxing and chatting on the sidelines while their assistants supervised, turned to look.
"Well, with a lineup like this, might as well make it a proper match–" said Washijo, officially calling it.
Excitement exploded.
Players immediately rushed back to the dorms, and within minutes, people were running out with bags of snacks, bottles of soda, chips, sunflower seeds, you name it.
"This is gonna be epic!"
"Just look at that roster! Four national-level aces, the top-ranked libero in the country, and one of the top five setters nationwide!"
"Damn, this is so hype, I kinda wanna pee, but I don't wanna miss the opening!"
"Bro, don't you dare pee your pants. Stay far away from me!"
"I almost forgot, this summer training camp roster is insanely stacked!"
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Even the coaches were getting hyped now. They pulled over stools and sat around to watch the showdown.
After all, even for coaches from top-tier schools, this kind of lineup was a rare treat.
Several players whipped out their phones and opened the camera app, ready to record.
And under the weight of dozens of eager eyes, the six players, whether they liked it or not, reluctantly walked onto the court.
On the red team, Akashi and Ushijima both wore their usual expressionless faces, but Oikawa looked downright annoyed, his displeasure almost spelled out across his forehead.
He clearly wasn't thrilled with this team assignment.
Meanwhile, on the blue team, Sakusa and Wakatsu were equally stoic. Maybe it was just a trait of powerful aces, they were all a little too cool.
But standing behind them, Komori Motoya wore a bitter smile.
While it might've looked to everyone else like the four aces had zero motivation…
Standing there on the court with them, Komori could feel it. That molten pressure boiling just beneath the surface, ready to erupt like lava from a volcano.
It was so intense that even Komori, the top libero in Japan, found it hard to breathe.
Bracing himself, he adjusted his kneepads and muttered quietly:
"…Great. Looks like I'll have to risk my life for real this time."
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A/N: This might be the battle of century…