Coach Irihata weighed the situation in his mind. On one hand, he was worried that Kunimi Akira might not withstand the uping high-iy matchups; leaving him on the court could lead to an injury.

  Oher hand, even if Kunimi forced himself to stay, he might struggle to stru effective defence against an oppo as formidable as Ushijima Wakatoshi.

  After careful sideration, Coach Irihata substituted Kindaichi Yūtarō onto the court, hoping that his strength a could at least disrupt Ushijima's rhythm.

  Shiratorizawa served.

  "ce ball!" It wasn't one of their signature powerful serves this time, allowing Watari Shinji to receive it easily.

  Once again, Oikawa Tōru's e with Taichi came into py! In the blink of aaichi was already airborne, poised for a spike.

  Smack!

  Yamagata Hayato, keeping up with Taichi's speed, barely mao move into position to receive the ball.

  The volleyball smmed into his fad bounced off, but Yamagata ehe pain and shouted, "Cover it!"

  ōhira Reon dived to save the ball, passing it to Ushijima.

  "We have to block this!" Oikawa, Taichi, and Kindaichi leapt for a triple block against Ushijima's spike.

  The ball struck Kindaichi's hand with immense force. His arm trembled, but he held firm!

  "First touch!" Kindaichi called out to his teammates behind him.

  Iwaizumi Hajime quickly passed the ball to Oikawa. Taichi dashed to the right, leaping once more as Oikawa's set arrived right on time.

  "Bring it down!" Oikawa anded.

  But this time, Ushijima was ready. His sharp reflexes made sure his block was already in positioe it being only the sed py.

  Taichi swung his arm but barely touched the ball, lightly tipping it with his fingers instead of spiking it.

  A feint!

  Ushijima's pupils dited in realization, but his body couldn't rea time.

  The ball dropped behind him.

  Aoba Johsai scored!

  [Aoba Johsai 9 - 10 Shiratorizawa]

  Ushijima gazed at his oppo, a faint but noticeable shift in his demeanour as if a string deep within him had been plucked.

  "Wow, that's scary!" Tendō Satori suddenly ented from Shiratorizawa's bench.

  "Huh? What's scary?" asked Semi Eita, puzzled. "That first-year's det, but he's not that intimidating."

  "No, no, no, I'm not talking about the first-year! I mean Wakatoshi!" Tendō excimed, his tone brimming with excitement as if he had just discovered somethiraordinary. "Didn't you see it just now?"

  "See what?" Semi still couldn't follow Tendō's peculiar thought process, though he doubted anyone else could either.

  "Just now, after losing that point....Wakatoshi smiled!"

  Aoba Johsai served. Having finally halted Shiratorizawa's momentum, Iwaizumi decided to ramp up the tempo of their offence.

  He smashed the ball across the with force. Oher side, Yamagata struggled to receive it.

  A shaky first touch! All of Aoba Johsai's pyers caught onto this immediately, adjusting their defensive formation while preparing to transition into an attack.

  "Give me the ball!"

  Ushijima Wakatoshi's calm voice carried an undeniable authority.

  But the first touch wasn't perfect. Shirabu scrambled to recover, lifting the ball as high and steady as he could.

  Ushijima began his approach, his body moving with precision. As he reached the ball's underside, he jumped with explosive power, his body stretg to its full extent. The muscles in his left arm tightened like a coiled spring, and with the force of an iron whip, he spiked the ball.

  "Three-man block!" Aoba Johsai's strategy remaieadfast: a three-person wall at the , with libero Watari Shinji positioo receive the attack.

  BOOM!

  The dull thud reverberated through the gym.

  Watari was knocked off bance, colpsing uhe impact of the spike.

  The ball ricocheted diagonally, smming directly into the courtside scoreboard. The unprepared board bore the brunt of the hit, letting out a resounding crash before toppling over.

  [Aoba Johsai 9 - 11 Shiratorizawa]

  The referee on Shiratorizawa's side drew a sharp breath. If the trajectory had shifted slightly, the ball might have hit him instead. It was in moments like these he realized volleyball officiating wasirely risk-free.

  Ushijima Wakatoshi gave a brief, silent bow of apology toward the referee and scoreboard operator. The game was momentarily paused.

  Aoba Johsai's pyers gathered around Watari, cheg on him.

  "I'm fine," Watari assured, though his reddened arms betrayed the sting of the impact.

  Beep!

  The scoreboard was quickly propped back up, and the referee signalled for the match to tinue.

  No matter how powerful a spike, it could only earn a single point. Everyone uood that. But this singur point carried an aura of invincibility, shattering Aoba Johsai's hard-won momentum.

  [Aoba Johsai 9 - 12 Shiratorizawa]

  [Aoba Johsai 9 - 13 Shiratorizawa]

  [Aoba Johsai 10 - 13 Shiratorizawa]

  [Aoba Johsai 10 - 14 Shiratorizawa]

  The match tinued, and though Ushijima didn't unleash his full power on every py, Aoba Johsai's pyers were visibly shaken.

  The sed and third years felt the weight of two years of being dominated by Ushijima, a fear they couldn't shake.

  The first years, like Kindaichi, were left bewildered.

  Taichi wao ence his teammates, but reality pressed down on him: Shiratorizawa was a mountain too steep for Aoba Johsai to climb. His voice was caught in his throat.

  Beep! Timeout called by Aoba Johsai.

  Coach Irihata khe impact Ushijima's st spike had left on his team. If it were just a matter of being outpyed from start to finish, these boys wouldn't lose hope. Their determination had brought them this far.

  But to be overtaken while leading, and then to have their hopes crushed by a single dispy of overwhelming power—eveors iands could feel the pressure. For the pyers on the court, it was suffog.

  Yet, giving up now would mean surrendering their final ce. They could either succumb or rise from the ashes.

  "If you don't want to tinue, I cede to Coach Washijo," Coach Irihata said calmly, though his heart ached.

  The pyers hung their heads in silenone of them had ever heard Coach Irihata speak this way.

  He sighed and began to walk toward Shiratorizawa's bench.

  Almost simultaneously, Kaedehara Taichi and Oikawa Tōru reached out and grabbed him.

  "I'm not giving up. We just haven't found the right opportunity yet," Taichi said firmly, his eyes brimming with resolve.

  Oikawa was more direct: "Ushiwaka's in the back row now. If we survive his serve rotation, we catch up."

  Coach Irihata turned back to face his team, sing their faces. He saw that they had all lifted their heads.

  "The's show Shiratorizawa the resolve of Aoba Johsai!"

  "Yes!" the team shouted in unison.

  ---

  "Wakatoshi, they're not giving up yet," Tendō Satori said, swaying beside Ushijima. "I thought we'd take this set without breaking a sweat."

  "Hmm. Aoba Johsai is weak, but they're persistent," Ushijima replied early. "However, persistence is meaningless in the face of absolute strength."

  Beep!

  The whistle blew, and the match resumed.

  Ushijima walked to the service line, volleyball in hand. His expression remaioic as he decred, "With this serve, I'll make them uand that again."

  _________

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