Tap, tap, tap.

  The ball bounced lightly on the court.

  The setter's iion has been read?! Oikawa Tōru whipped his head around, only to see Kuroo Tetsurō grinning slyly at him.

  "Hey, don't bully my setter!" Kuroo teased, his voice directed at Kaedehara Taichi.

  Taichi: "…"

  Wait a minute, Kuroo-senpai, the ball you blocked wasn't even one I spiked…

  Oikawa Tōru: "…"

  Acc to you, Taichi 'bullied' your setter, right? So why are you taking it out on me?!

  ------

  "Spike it!"

  "Ah, it's been received! But—"

  "ce ball!"

  "Let's go again!"

  "Left side!"

  "Kuninami, spike it!"

  "Argh—it's been picked up again!"

  "Once more!"

  The ball was sent to Taichi's position. Using a feint, he tricked Inuoka aly tipped the ball over, nding it right behind him.

  Aoba Johsai scores.

  [Aoba Johsai 22 VS 18 Nekoma]

  "Phew…" The pyers of Aoba Johsai were breathing heavily, sweat dripping down their faces.

  "Senpai, have you noticed? It's getting harder and harder for us to score," Kindaichi fumed, furrowing his brows.

  Yahaba Shigeru nodded gravely. "Yeah, they're adapting to our offence. Each rally is dragging on longer and longer."

  The ball was being increasingly difficult to nd.

  Nearby, Kyōtaarō's face twisted in frustration. For spikers like him, nothing was more annoying than a team like Nekoma.

  Three points left. It was only the first set, yet from midway through, every rally had bee an exhausting grind. Each point was desperately fought for, eaent spent wishing the ball would just hit the floor already.

  Yet their oppos refused to let go.

  Even though Nekoma was trailing, not a single pyer showed any sign of panic.

  "We are the blood that flows, smooth and unyielding, delivering oxygen to ehe 'brain' funs properly!"

  This wasn't just a motivational mantra. Every Nekoma pyer was giving their all to extend the duration of the first set, creating as much time as possible for Kozume Kenma to think.

  Don't let the ball hit the floor!

  Until Kenma pleted his analysis, this was their only mission.

  Now, Kuroo Tetsurō noticed Kenma's slightly tilted head finally lower, his eyes glinting as subtle signals began to radiate toward his teammates. Kuroo knew—Nekoma's "brain" had finished processing.

  Aoba Johsai served. Fukunaga Shōhei smoothly passed the ball to Kenma, who set it high above the he remaining Nekoma pyers unched into an attaation simultaneously.

  Which side? Taichi's mind raced. Kenma's dey in moving made it impossible to predict the spiker.

  As the ball hovered just above the , Kenma suddenly jumped and gave it a light push.

  The ball's trajectory shifted slightly, veering toward Aoba Johsai's court before naturally dropping into their side.

  Kenma Kozume scores with a setter dump!

  [Aoba Johsai 22 VS 19 Nekoma]

  "Damn it, I pletely fot about that." Kaedehara Taichi stood frozen in pce, his mind uo process what had just happened.

  "That was a setter dump right?!" Kindaichi whipped his head toward Yahaba Shigeru. "I remember that's a move Oikawa-senpai loves to use."

  "It was," Yahaba replied through gritted teeth, frustration evident in his tone.

  Another setter better than me…

  Yahaba had always been fident in his abilities. Among Miyagi's Top Four, he believed himself on par with pyers like Kazumasa Hanayama from Wakunan, Kaname Moniwa from Date Tech, and Kenjirō Shirabu from Shiratorizawa.

  What held him back, however, was the presence of an exceptionally talented senior setter. For two years, Oikawa Tōru's brilliance had overshadowed Yahaba, limiting his opportuo shine.

  Yet, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. After all, it wasn't every day you entered a setter so talehat you had no choice but to admit defeat.

  However, Yahaba's ret experiences had shaken his fidence. First, there was Kageyama Tobio from Karasuno—a first-year whose talent even Oikawa aowledged as superior. And now, today, he was fag Nekoma's Kozume Kenma.

  "To think a frail-lookier could pull off a plex setter dump like that...It's pletely ued."

  "Huh? Why would you say that?"

  "Well, someone like Oikawa-senpai has a strong presence, you know? His serves as are powerful, and even his setter dumps feel like they're mog the oppo."

  "But Nekoma's setter….he's so unassuming. Even when he does something amazing, it doesn't feel as obvious."

  Is that really how it looks to noers? Yahaba fell into deep thought.

  "It's because of Nekoma's exceptional reception skills," Coach Irihata interjected, having overheard the pyers' discussion. He was alleased to see his team thinking critically, though he couldn't help but feel Kindaichi wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed.

  "To execute such a varied offehe most important thing is to return the ball accurately to the setter. Nekoma's reception allows their setter to fully unleash his potential."

  "Our owion, however, isn't at that level. Oikawa pensates for it by running all over the court to set, which requires immense skill. Naturally, it makes him stand out more."

  Coach Irihata mused silently, If Aoba Johsai is a team held together by Oikawa Tōru's extraordinary talent, Nekoma is a team that ects through collective reception precision.

  "By the way, Taichi's earlier misjudgment also stemmed from this. Because Nekoma's first touches are so precise, their setter barely o move. With minimal preparatory motion, it's nearly impossible to predict where he'll set the ball."

  Bang!

  The sound of the ball hitting the court echoed as Nekoma scored again.

  [Aoba Johsai 22 VS 20 Nekoma]

  The game was slowly shifting into Nekoma's rhythm. The longer you pyed against them, the harder it became to break through their defence.

  Nekoma served. Inuoka's serve was unremarkable, easily received by Iwaizumi Hajime. Oikawa leapt ahe ball, triggering a multi-direal attack from Aoba Johsai.

  "Smack!"

  Iwaizumi's back-row attack was received by Yaku Morisuke.

  Nearly every Nekoma pyer excelled at receiving, and their one-on-one deferategy had a surprisingly high success rate against Aoba Johsai's multi-attacks.

  Taichi immediately moved up, this time fixating on Kenma's every a.

  As Kenma prepared to set, Taioticed a fleeting goward Yamamoto Taketora on the left rear side.

  A feint?!

  Without hesitation, Taichi stepped sideways, positioning himself to block Taketora's potential spike.

  "No. It's going to the right."

  Kenma's soft voice broke the silence as he set the ball to Kuroo Tetsurō on the right.

  Boom!

  Kuroo spiked the ball down.

  [Aoba Johsai 22 VS 21 Nekoma]

  Was that gnce just a trick? Oikawa had also caught Kenma's subtle look toward the left rear earlier.

  "Taichi, you're pretty sharp," Kenma said, fixing his gaze on Kaedehara Taichi. "You observe your oppos and think critically during the game."

  "And your reas are quiough to keep up with your thoughts."

  But that's precisely why you were fooled, Kenma thought, though he didn't say it out loud.

  Instead, he smiled at Taichi, his eyes brimming with anticipation.

  "Do you have something eveer up your sleeve?"

  _________

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