Of course, all of that was only Hibarida's personal opinion. He had no idea what anyone else thought.
Up in the stands, Hirugami raised an eyebrow when the match resumed and Tendo and Kawanishi stepped onto the court. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, lazily propping his chin up with one hand as he began watching more closely.
The earlier part of the match had been exciting too, but Hirugami had always felt that something was missing. Something about it had seemed slightly off.
Now that Tendo and Kawanishi were on the court, it suddenly clicked.
The previous lineup had looked perfectly solid, but it lacked a certain fluidity. It was like watching a movie that kept stuttering whenever Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki joined the action.
But with Tendo and Kawanishi on the court, it was as though someone had oiled the gears. Everything flowed smoothly.
No matter how talented Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki were as first-years, their chemistry with the rest of the team still wasn't quite there yet.
Shiratorizawa hadn't become this strong overnight.
Over the past three years, every player had gradually learned to rein in the instincts that came with being strong and suppress the urge to play like a lone beast, slowly molding themselves into a cohesive team.
Before arriving at Shiratorizawa, every one of them had been the prized talent of their previous school.
Getting a group of geniuses to learn how to play together was never going to be easy.
Even though Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki were already relatively easy to work with, coordinating with them still took more effort.
Hirugami let out a quiet sigh and pushed those thoughts aside, returning his full attention to the court.
Both teams were back in position.
The referee glanced from side to side. Once everyone was ready, he blew the whistle to resume play.
"Fweeeeeet!"
The clear whistle echoed through the arena.
The atmosphere, which had cooled during the timeout, immediately heated up again.
The players instinctively tensed at the sound.
Every pair of eyes locked onto the volleyball in Kishimoto's hands.
As far as Kishimoto was concerned, serving was always one of the highlights of his life.
After all, this was the moment when everyone had to look at him.
He loved it.
Under everyone's wary gaze, Kishimoto moved.
He tossed the volleyball into the air and followed it into his approach.
As the ball reached its peak and began to descend, Kishimoto jumped.
The instant his palm touched the volleyball, he poured strength into the strike.
"Bang!"
The sharp impact echoed through the court.
The volleyball shot toward Shiratorizawa like a bullet.
Yamagata had been watching the ball from the moment Kishimoto tossed it.
His feet immediately began adjusting.
By the time Kishimoto struck the serve, Yamagata had already moved into a suitable position.
He tracked the ball's trajectory, ready to receive at any moment.
The volleyball spun violently, almost as though it had been caught in a gale, racing toward where Yamagata stood.
Under his unwavering gaze, the ball closed in quickly.
Yamagata dropped sharply into a crouch.
His eyes never left the volleyball as he extended both arms forward and raised his platform to meet it.
The ball struck his arms squarely with a dull impact.
"Bang!"
Yamagata successfully received the serve.
The moment the ball went up, it was as though someone had flipped a switch.
Everyone moved.
Shirabu was positioned ahead of Yamagata. Hearing the contact behind him, he looked up at the rising volleyball and began running along its trajectory.
Ushijima sprinted toward the net, choosing a spot that was temporarily free of blockers and preparing to attack.
This time, Reon didn't stay behind him to cover the offense.
Instead, he joined Tendo at the net to block.
With Kawanishi on the court, Reon could leave offensive coverage to him.
Earlier, Reon had stuck close behind Ushijima because he hadn't been able to relax. He'd been worried that Sakusa might immediately send a blocked ball right back at them, and Tsutomu Goshiki still wasn't experienced enough at preventing that kind of opportunistic attack.
So during the earlier rallies, Reon had been forced to keep one eye on the offense and the other on the defense.
It had stretched him thin.
Now that Tendo and Kawanishi had joined the lineup, Shiratorizawa immediately became far more formidable.
Sakusa looked at Tendo and Reon blocking the path in front of him and felt a headache coming on.
Ryosuke alone had already been troublesome enough.
Now Ryosuke had finally been substituted out, and before Sakusa could even enjoy the relief, Tendo had come in.
Tendo and Reon sealed off Sakusa's route so completely that they didn't leave him even the smallest opening.
They gave him no chance to slip forward and capitalize on a loose ball.
As long as Sakusa couldn't get through, he had no opportunity to pick up an easy point.
And even if Iizuna set to Sakusa later, Tendo and Reon would be able to react immediately.
While Sakusa was getting increasingly frustrated on one side of the court, Ushijima had already reached the net on the other, poised to attack.
Shirabu barely needed to look.
Just from the sound of the footsteps, he could tell where Ushijima was.
Still, for the sake of accuracy, Shirabu glanced over to confirm his position.
Then he put strength into his wrists and sent the volleyball toward Ushijima.
Ushijima tilted his head slightly, listening to the ball approaching, and hovered near the net while waiting for it to arrive.
The moment Kishimoto and Nishio saw the set heading toward Ushijima, they both rushed over.
Doichiro hesitated briefly between staying near Sakusa and joining the block.
In the end, he chose to block.
Judging from the situation, Sakusa might not even get a chance to attack the next ball. Tendo and Reon were guarding him so tightly that even Doichiro found it excessive.
The volleyball flew from Shirabu's hands toward Ushijima.
Ushijima glanced back, took several steps away from the net, and prepared his approach.
By then, Kishimoto and Nishio had already reached the net.
Doichiro was still on his way.
A two-man block definitely wasn't enough to stop Ushijima.
Against one of his spikes, a three-man block was practically the bare minimum.
Of course, people like Tendo, Ryosuke, and Hirugami were exceptions. They were basically at the forefront of human evolution.
After all, ordinary people didn't exactly have the courage to face one of Ushijima's cannon-like spikes head-on.
Ushijima planted both feet and launched himself into the air.
His body arched like a drawn bow.
He raised his left arm, then unleashed all the power stored through his body.
The volleyball arrived beneath his hand almost before anyone noticed.
Ushijima struck it so hard that the ball visibly deformed before shooting toward the blockers' arms.
And yes, there really were three blockers.
Even Ushijima hadn't expected someone else to jump into the block at the last possible moment.
He had originally aimed between Kishimoto and Nishio, at the open space beside them.
But Doichiro had suddenly appeared and filled that exact gap.
Right where Ushijima had aimed.
"Bang!"
The volleyball slammed into Doichiro's arms with a deafening impact.
The spectators in the first three rows could hear it perfectly clearly.
By the time the sound reached the back rows, it had faded into something closer to an ordinary impact.
But considering the size of the arena, the fact that it carried that far at all was ridiculous.
"A light little volleyball hits someone's body, and it can make a sound that terrifying?"
Hoshiumi shuddered as he voiced what everyone was thinking, his face twisting in discomfort.
If a ball like that hit him, his smaller frame might collapse on the spot.
In the front row, Oikawa looked sick as he clenched his fists and lowered his head.
His hair covered his eyes, hiding most of his expression.
Only his lips kept moving.
If anyone listened carefully, they could hear him muttering darkly, almost like he was reciting a curse.
"Damn it... Ushijima's gotten even stronger... No. This can't go on. The second this match ends, I'm going back. I'm shutting myself away to train! I'm going to train until I beat Ushijima! ...But that spike just now was seriously cool. A spike that cool is wasted on Ushijima... Ah!"
Iwaizumi's fist came down on Oikawa's head.
"Bang!"
The crisp sound that came from Oikawa's skull was surprisingly impressive.
That was the sound of a sturdy head.
Iwaizumi stared at Oikawa with an utterly fed-up expression.
Had this idiot gotten out of bed that morning and left his brain behind?
Did he ever think before opening his mouth?
Iwaizumi's voice turned ominous.
"Don't make me slap you in the middle of such an exciting match."
After that threat, Oikawa didn't dare make another sound.
He knew perfectly well that Iwaizumi meant what he said.
Seeing Oikawa go completely quiet, Iwaizumi nodded in satisfaction.
Oikawa and Iwaizumi had been childhood friends for years.
Oikawa had spent all that time repeatedly dancing across every single one of Iwaizumi's nerves.
The fact that he was still alive after all these years proved one thing.
Oikawa was exceptionally good at knowing when to surrender.
Looking at the large bump on Oikawa's head, Iwaizumi felt guilty for approximately 0.01 seconds.
The thought flashed through his mind and vanished just as quickly.
Please.
Who was he?
He was Iwaizumi.
Why would he ever feel guilty about hitting Oikawa?
He returned his attention to the match.
The volleyball remained pressed against Doichiro's arms for what felt like a frozen instant.
Doichiro felt as though his arms had snapped.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, he put more strength into the block and tried to force the ball back.
But if Ushijima's spikes could be stopped that easily, he wouldn't be called the "left-handed cannon."
The volleyball spun against Doichiro's hands for an instant before smashing through his arms with overwhelming force and dropping toward the floor behind him.
Iizuna had sensed trouble several seconds before Ushijima even made contact.
He didn't believe these two inexperienced brats could stop Ushijima's spike.
So before Ushijima attacked, Iizuna had already started running toward the block, ready to clean up after them.
Sure enough, just as Iizuna reached the area, Ushijima swung.
Doichiro came flying in from diagonally behind to complete the block, but there was no way he could stop the attack by himself.
Iizuna dove behind him.
The volleyball struck the arm he raised during the dive.
"Bang!"
The ball flew upward again.
The instant the contact sounded, Nishio backed up several steps to prepare for the attack.
Kishimoto wasn't in a suitable position to spike.
Doichiro was still trying to process the sensation of his arms nearly leaving his body.
That left Nishio as the only available attacker.
The volleyball rose.
In the next instant, Tendo appeared directly across from Nishio.
Reon followed right behind him and joined the block.
Ever since Reon had been able to focus solely on blocking, even breathing felt easier.
Finally, he didn't have to go cross-eyed trying to watch one thing while keeping track of another.
The moment Nishio saw Tendo jump directly in front of him, his pupils contracted.
If his attacking motion hadn't already been committed, he probably would've hesitated for a second or two.
Nobody wanted to go head-to-head with Tendo, the "Son of a Demon."
Tendo clearly saw the shock in Nishio's eyes.
A teasing grin spread across his face.
Nishio, still slightly stunned, swung at the volleyball.
Tendo didn't hesitate for even a moment.
His hands shut the attack down completely.
"Bang!"
The sound of the hit was immediately followed by the ball striking the floor.
Then came the referee's whistle.
"Fweeeeeet!"
"We've just seen Shiratorizawa make substitutions following the timeout! In the very next rally, their coordination paid off, allowing them to break Itachiyama's service run. The advantage has shifted back toward Shiratorizawa!"
The commentator watched the feeds from multiple cameras and continued his commentary attentively.
The moment the whistle awarded the point, Tendo and Reon threw their arms around each other's shoulders and turned smugly toward the sidelines.
"Did you see that, Ryosuke! Tsutomu Goshiki!"
Following their gaze, Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki could be seen staring at the court with sparkling eyes.
The moment they heard Tendo, both of them nodded furiously like chicks pecking at grain.
"That was so cool, Tendo-senpai!"
"Tendo-senpai, that was awesome!"
The two masters of praise shouted toward the court without caring who heard them.
Even Reon started feeling a little embarrassed.
Tendo, on the other hand, had absolutely no shame and soaked up every bit of praise, happily swaying his head from side to side.
Reon smiled helplessly, grabbed Tendo by the ear, and dragged him back.
"We're still in the middle of a match. Quit showing off. If you teach Ryosuke and Tsutomu Goshiki any bad habits, I'm holding you responsible!"
"Got it..."
Tendo lowered his head miserably as Reon dragged him away.
Shirabu watched them and rolled his eyes.
Tendo-senpai was already this old. How could he still be so childish?
What Shirabu didn't notice was that the corners of his own mouth had lifted while he was thinking that.
While he was still watching them, Ushijima turned toward him.
"Shirabu, you're serving next."
The faint smile on Shirabu's face instantly disappeared.
His expression returned to its usual seriousness.
He nodded to Ushijima and the others before walking to the service line.
The referee glanced toward both sides.
Once everyone had returned to position, he blew the whistle to begin the next rally.
Shirabu stood at the service line.
At the sound of the whistle, he raised the volleyball.
He took a deep breath, lifted the ball, and prepared to serve.
Shirabu tossed it into the air, ran several steps forward, then jumped and struck it.
The volleyball flew from his hand.
Hibarida, who had been watching the match, raised an eyebrow with interest when he saw Shirabu's serve.
Now that was unusual.
Coach Washijō actually tolerated someone on his team with such a weak serve?
That really was surprising.
Still, this setter's serve was completely ordinary, yet Coach Washijō, who always valued strength above everything else, had kept him in the lineup.
And not just anywhere.
He had entrusted him with the crucial position of setter.
There had to be something exceptional about him.
...
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