Kaedehara Taichi stood at the service line, his eyes fixed on Ushijima Wakatoshi. Despite being provoked so btantly, Ushijima’s expression remained calm and unreadable.
"Then I'll just increase the iy," Taichi muttered, a sly grin spreading across his face.
For his sed serve, Taichi unleashed a powerful left-handed jump serve, targeting her than Ushijima Wakatoshi.
During Shiratorizawa's training camp, Ushijima had struggled to receive Taichi's left-handed power serves, a rare weakness he had undoubtedly worked hard to address.
But who could possibly replicate a serve with the same overwhelming force as Ushijima’s own?
Perhaps only Kaedehara Taichi, after another month orous training, had achieved the strength and precision to do so.
Boom!
The moment Taichi struck the ball, Shiratorizayers felt a chilling sense of familiarity—it was as if their otain had unleashed the serve.
The trajectory, the power, the spin...a near-perfect replica of Ushijima’s trademark on.
Ushijima reacted swiftly, stepping out with perfect timing as he predicted the ball's path. He lowered his hands, fog all his strength on a trolled ptform receive.
Smack!
The ball smmed into Ushijima’s arms with immense force. Rarely involved in receiving, Ushijima found himself grappling with a serve that rivalled his own power.
Just as he thought he had the ball under trol, it ricocheted off at an even sharper angle, careening out of bounds.
A service ace.
[Aoba Johsai 5 – 3 Shiratorizawa]
Even Ushijima Wakatoshi couldn’t handle “his own” serve.
"Iing," Ushijima murmured, straightening up and log eyes with Taichi.
Shirabu Kenjirō blinked in disbelief. Did I hear that right? Did Ushijima-senpai just say something like that?
He turned sharply to firm, only to see an almost imperceptible smile on Ushijima's face. It was unbelievable—over the course of this match, Ushijima had smiled more than iwo years Shirabu had known him.
[Ding! Ushijima Wakatoshi has entered Burst Mode]
[Ushijima Wakatoshi (Burst Mode): Overall Ability Rating: 96Height: 189.5 bsp;| Power: 100 | Jump: 95 | Stamina: 100 | Speed: 92Teique: Serve: 98 | Receive: 96 | Set: 90 | Spike: 100]
A palpable pressure filled the court. Ushijima Wakatoshi, standing at the pinnacle of high school volleyball, was even strohan before.
Kaedehara Taichi's bck eyes burned with determination as he stared down the Shiratorizawa ace. This was exactly what Taichi wao force Ushijima into his peak state.
Shiratorizawa had been evolving as a team, with Ushijima steadily iing into their more dynamic gamepy. But Taichi’s pn was to disrupt that process entirely, isoting Ushijima and f him bato the role of a solitary ace.
Taichi stepped up for his third serve. Another on fired from his left hand, a test of whether Ushijima could overe his terpart.
Smack!
This time, Ushijima mao receive the ball, sending it high into the air.
Despite the imbance caused by his powerful reception, Ushijima began his approach from the back raining perfe in just a few strides.
Shirabu knew what this meant. The ball was going to Ushijima, and there was no stopping him.
—Whoosh!
The ball soared high, perfectly positioned for Ushijima. The Shiratorizawa ace leapt, his powerful silhouette momentarily eclipsing the lights above Aoba Johsai’s front line.
"Triple block!" Oikawa Tōru, Iwaizumi Hajime, and Kindaichi Yūtarō rose to challenge him.
—BOOM!!—
Even with his spike exceeding the blockers’ reach, Ushijima aimed directly for Kindaichi, the tallest of the trio.
Crack!
The ball struck Kindaichi's arms with a deafening thud, bsting through his blod smming into the court.
An unstoppable force.
[Aoba Johsai 5 – 4 Shiratorizawa]
Kindaichi stumbled as he nded, colpsing onto the floor in a daze.
Kunimi Akira, sitting on the bench, quietly edged further back. He had no desire to face such a monstrous spike, whether iion or blog.
"Taichi, how does it feel?"
For the first time, Ushijima took the initiative to speak to an opposing pyer.
Taichi froze for a moment before realizing that Ushijima was eg the very question he had posed earlier.
"It feels great!" Taichi replied with a wide grin.
-----
The match tinued with ferocity, the scoreline climbing as both teams traded points.
It was less a team battle and more a duel between two titans—Kaedehara Taichi and Ushijima Wakatoshi.
No defence could tain them.
Both aces shredded through blocks and back-row defences alike with their distinct styles: Taichi’s dazzling teical pys and Ushijima’s raw, uing power.
Point after point after point.
Even during the teical timeout, their energy didn’t waver.
By the time the sed teical timeout was called, both Taichi and Ushijima had exhausted their Burst Modes. The score stood at:
[Aoba Johsai 16 – 15 Shiratorizawa]
In the span of half a set, Taichi had scored 13 points, and Ushijima 12. The gap was negligible, but Taichi’s true goal had already been achieved.
Shiratorizawa had reverted to a one-dimensional strategy: feeding the ball to Ushijima for every attack.
"From here on out, it’s all up to you guys," Taichi said between ragged breaths.
Oikawa Tōru’s expression tightehis sario was exactly what Aoba Johsai had phe night before. Taichi was supposed to push Shiratorizawa into a er within half a set, even if it meant sacrifig the first set entirely.
But not only had Taichi delivered—he’d done so with flying colours, leaving Aoba Johsai with a narrow lead instead of a deficit.
Oikawa gnced across the Ushijima. Though still posed, the slight rise and fall of his chest betrayed the toll of his relentless attacks.
"You’ve dohe hardest part. Leave the rest to us," Oikawa said, a fident smile spreading across his face.
"Don’t uimate Shiratorizawa just because they rely on individual brilliaaichi warned, worried that Oikawa might bee pt.
"I know, little monster." Oikawa ruffled Taichi’s hair affeately. When did he get taller than me?
"I’ve spent years losing to a team like theirs," Oikawa added, his tourning serious.
"And I’m not losing again."
-----
Break ame Resumes
Both teams returo the court. The Shiratorizayers felt that Aoba Johsai had undergone some subtle ge, though they couldn't quite pinpoint what it was—at least, not yet.
During the earlier rally, the most shocked were undoubtedly the Shiratorizayers. After all, Ushijima Wakatoshi was one of the nation's top three aces. To see someone capable of trading blows with him was astonishing. In their experiehe only other pyer who could go head-to-head with Ushijima in such a manner was Mujinazaka's Kiryū Wakatsu, aop-three ace.
As for Itachiyama's Sakusa Kiyoomi, they had her faced him directly nor seen him py in the same style.
Still, even among the nation's top three aces, the Shiratorizayers firmly believed that Ushijima would never lose to a sed-year pyer.
But Kaedehara Taichi of Aoba Johsai was only a first-year...
Their thoughts drifted to Karasuno, the team they'd just faced. While their first-year Hinata Shoyo wasn’t as overwhelming as Taichi, he too yer not to be uimated.
What is it with these monstrous first-years…?
Aoba Johsai served , with Kindaichi Yutaro delivering a straightforower jump serve. Yamagata Hayato received it ly.
The simplicity of the serve almost felt f, allowing him to set up a perfect pass without trouble.
The ball naturally went to their ace. Ushijima Wakatoshi leapt from the back row as the ball soared toward the right wing.
Bang!
The ball whizzed past Iwaizumi Hajime's blo the right side, nding heavily on Aoba Johsai's right sideline.
Ushijima Wakatoshi scored with a fwless spike.
[Aoba Johsai 16 – 16 Shiratorizawa]
-----
"Siaichi is no lohe offensive focal point, why not sub him out to rest?" Manager Sadayuki Mizoguchi asked Coaobuteru Irihata, puzzled by the choice to leave the seemingly exhausted first-year on the court.
"He doesn't want to e off!" Irihata ughed, looking slightly exasperated yet fond.
Mizoguchi raised a sceptical eyebrow. "..."
He wao say, Sure, we all know you favour this kid, but we get serious for a moment?
Irihata, notig Mizoguchi's expression, chuckled for a moment before responding warmly. "What I said is indeed one of the reasons. Taichi won't agree to e off the court right now."
"Besides, who in their right mind would bench a pyer perf as well as our ace?"
"But—" Mizoguchi started, wanting tue that resting Taiow could help him perform better in ter sets.
Irihata cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"Furthermore, there's oask on the court only Taichi aplish right now."
"Only Taichi?" Goshoku echoed, his curiosity piqued.
-----
The serve rotated, and Shiratorizawa took their turn.
Boom!
Goshiki Tsutomu delivered a powerful jump serve aimed straight at Aoba Johsai's back row, targeting Kaedehara Taichi. Instead, Watari Shinji slid in to intercept the serve.
"Darn it!" Goshiki grumbled, frustrated that he hadn't forced Taichi to receive. He quickly retreated into position to defend.
But just as he steadied himself, Taichi was already airborne in the back row. Though they were both first-years, Goshiki couldn’t shake a faint feeling of inferiority as he watched Taichi mid-flight.
"Triple block!" Shiratorizawa's Shirabu Kenjirō, Tendō Satori, and Ushijima Wakatoshi closed off all crosscourt angles, leaving only a narrow straight line open foshiki to cover.
Bang!
The ball didn’t e toward him.
Oikawa Tōru's back-row set had flown to the far right, nding precisely in front of Kyōtaarō. With no defenders in sight, Kyōtani hammered the ball down for an untested point.
[Aoba Johsai 17 – 16 Shiratorizawa]
A pyer who had just racked up 13 points as the team's ace had now bee a decoy.
To Shiratorizawa, this was an inprehensible strategy.
However, this wasn't the first time Aoba Johsai had employed such tactics. Shiratorizawa quickly adjusted their mi. If anything, this only reinforced one belief: their ace was still the stro.
Kaedehara Taichi, oblivious to their thoughts, simply marvelled at how unshaken Shiratorizawa seemed despite being tricked. If he were aware of their mi, he’d likely just think hic it was for the stro pyer to end their journey without a championship.
The serve rotated again, and Iwaizumi Hajime stepped up. His power jump serve was only growing fiercer.
Smack!
Goshiki received the ball ly. Shirabu hesitated as he processed Aoba Johsai's shift in strategy. Should Ushijima take a breather as well?
"Shirabu!" Ushijima's anding voiapped him out of his indecision.
There was o overthink. With Ushijima in the front row, the optimal choice was clear: set it to the ace.
Ushijima leapt, his form perfect, effortlessly out-jumping Kyōtani and Hanamaki Takahiro.
—Boom!
The ball soared toward the court, but a shadow suddenly appeared between it and the ground.
Smack!
Ushijima's pupils tracted. The ball ricocheted off Kaedehara Taichi's arms and flew out of bounds.
[Aoba Johsai 17 – 17 Shiratorizawa]
He had read Ushijima’s spike trajectory?
This wasn’t a fluke. Ushijima was certain of it. Was it possible Taichi had improved not just as an attacker but also as a receiver?
Taichi shook out his ag arms. Receiving Ushijima's spikes required an adjustment period—for both the immense ford the left-handed spin.
But the first step had been successful. Thanks to beach volleyball training, he could now track Ushijima’s spiking trajectory!
Shirabu stepped up to serve, but the pressure weighed on him. Ushijima’s spike being received had rattled him.
Shirabu’s toss faltered—too low—and his serve hit the .
[Aoba Johsai 18 – 17 Shiratorizawa]
"Sorry!!!" Shirabu shouted, jolted by the whistle’s sharp tone. He spped his cheeks forcefully, trying to clear his head.
When your oppos’ setter and ace were this exceptional, the pressure on Shirabu felt suffog.
Among the four key pyers on their side, he always felt like the odd o.
"Shirabu, you're the setter I trust mht now," Ushijima said calmly, without turning around.
He uood the immense pressure Shirabu was under, particurly when faced with Oikawa’s brilliance.
"Thank you, Ushijima-san. I uand," Shirabu replied, steeling himself.
"They're special," Tendō Satori said with a grin, gng back at Shirabu. "Just focus on being yourself."
"Uood, Tendō-san," Shirabu responded, his posure returning.
"Ah, is the selling session over?" Oikawa quipped from the service line, pointing pyfully at Shirabu.
"Now, it’s my turn to attack~"
_________
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