"Tch!"

  Even though he scored, Tōru Oikawa still seemed dissatisfied.

  After two deceptive float serves, Kazuya Sugimoto suddenly switched to a powerful jump serve.

  The uy pyers hadn't expected Akira Kunimi to rea time to receive it. Yet, when Shinji Watari stepped in to set up the ball, they had enough time taheir respo they failed to execute a proper block.

  "The seniors are still holding back, huh? How leisurely," Oikawa said through gritted teeth, addressing the three pyers in the front row of the uy team.

  Caught on, huh? And here I thought they'd celebrate sg.

  Ichisuke Takahashi, the uy team's ace, looked seriously at Oikawa. "We're not holding back. We're just testing how far you go."

  Oikawa didn't reply. Instead, he focused and got into position. This match would be tougher than he initially thought.

  Aoba Johsai's serve. Kentarō Kyōtani unleashed a ferocious jump serve.

  "That's a powerful one," someone murmured.

  Yuri Kobayashi adjusted his stand quickly moved to the ball's nding spot.

  Thwack!

  The ball rebounded high—he mao receive it, though some of its force wasn't fully absorbed.

  "I got it!"

  Heiji Morita stepped uhe ball a steadily toward the .

  "Triple block!" Hanamaki Takahiro, Oikawa Tōru, and Kindaichi Yūtarō jumped as one, f a solid wall.

  Boom!

  On the right side of the akahashi's powerful spike broke through, smming into Kindaichi's arms.

  "Oouch!"

  The force was overwhelming. Kindaichi barely absorbed the impact, and Iwaizumi Hajime had to scramble to keep the ball alive. Oikawa quickly set it to the left side.

  Kindaichi leapt for the spike, aiming high, but three t uy pyers formed an imperable wall in front of him.

  "Damn it…"

  He spiked with all his might, but the ball was blocked and rebouo his feet.

  [Aoba Johsai 2 vs. Uy Team 4]

  "Sorry!" Kindaichi hung his head.

  Oikawa immediately spoke up, as if to cover for him. "It's my bad, Kindaichi. The set was a bit low."

  "Huh? Not at all, Oikawa-senpai! It was a great set!"

  "Kindaichi, if you he ball in a specific spot, just tell me. On the court, it doesn't matter who's senior or junior—we're just a setter and a spiker. Got it?" Oikawa said.

  Kindaichi wasn't a starting pyer, and as a substitute, he rarely had the ce to lead an attack.

  Oikawa wao use this opportunity to better uand his offeyle.

  "I'll deliver the ball exactly where you want it. But iurn, I expect you to push yourself to reach every set I send your way!"

  "Yes!" Kindaichi replied seriously.

  "Jump with everything you've got!"

  The uy team's serve. Ichisuke Takahashi stepped to the service line.

  What if this 190-timeter ace wasn't great at serving? Akira Kunimi specuted absentmindedly.

  Bang!

  The serve struck the court with thunderous force. Takahashi scored directly.

  [Aoba Johsai 2 vs. Uy Team 5]

  "Everyone's serves are monstrous…" Kunimi groaned internally.

  pared to the high school pyers still in their volleyball club, the uy students had superior stamina, power, speed, and endurance.

  Years of specialized training also gave them sharper teical skills in serving, setting, passing, spiking, and blog—not to mentioactical uanding and ability to read the game.

  Of course, individual talent and hard work meant some high school pyers had already reached advanced levels, rivaling or even surpassiain uy pyers. But for the vast majority, the gap in skill was evident.

  Bang!

  [Aoba Johsai 2 vs. Uy Team 6]

  Bang!

  [Aoba Johsai 2 vs. Uy Team 7]

  Takahashi's serve brought in three secutive points before he missed his fourth serve, sending the ball out of bounds.

  [Aoba Johsai 3 vs. Uy Team 7]

  With a serve rivaling Wakatoshi Ushijima's raw power and Oikainpoint accuracy, Aoba Johsai could only hope for Takahashi to make an error before they could rotate him off.

  "Coach Irihata, isn't this a bit harsh on them? Nationals are less than a month away—what if they lose their fidence?" Sadayuki Mizoguchi, usually the loudest on the bench, uedly showed .

  "That's precisely why I called these guys back. Getting them all to agree to this wasn't easy," Irihata replied with a chuckle before turning serious. "If we repyed the prefectural finals now, would you guarantee we'd still win?"

  "Well…no. Shiratorizawa is still incredibly strong, and we barely edged them out," Gōguchi admitted sheepishly.

  "Exactly. And even a powerhouse like Shiratorizawa hasn't made it past the quarterfinals at Nationals these past two years," Irihata said grimly. "We've got no room for pcy. There's still so muprove."

  "Ihird set of the finals, Ushijima's te-game serves brought Shiratorizawa to match point. At that level, the smallest pse opens the door to infinite possibilities."

  "Let them experience a higher standard of py firsthand. Make them huo grow stronger. We need Aoba Johsai to bee a tree deeply rooted in solid ground!"

  Aoba Johsai's serve. Tōru Oikawa stepped up.

  No matter the oppo, serving was the most effective way to score directly.

  Boom!

  The ball rocketed over the , cutting a sharp arc before smming into the bae of the uy court.

  Oikawa fired back with a direct service ace!

  [Aoba Johsai 4 vs. Uy Team 7]

  "Great serve, Oikawa-senpai!" Kindaichi shouted, as if finally catg his breath.

  Takahashi's gaze revealed his admiration. As expected of a team that made it to the nationals. Even that ferocious blond earlier had an impressive serve, but this setter was on another level.

  No wonder Coach Irihata ofteiohis ōru Oikawa was undoubtedly ae-national-level pyer during high school. Takahashi felt genuinely proud of his alma mater, Aoba Johsai.

  "Ha! S!" Kazuya Sugimoto gri Oikawa. It had taken him until uy to specialize in two types of serves, yet his jump serve still didn't pare to this younger sate's.

  No wonder I never made it to Nationals. These guys are monsters.

  "Thanks for the pliment, senpai~" Oikawa responded with a cheeky grin.

  That grin irked Sugimoto for reasons he couldn't quite expin.

  Oikawa served again.

  Bang!

  Yuri Kobayashi anticipated the ball's trajectory and dove to save it with a perfect dig.

  "Cover!"

  The ball soared high, passing over the and nding ba Aoba Johsai's court.

  "ce ball!" Watari shouted, as Kindaichi and Hanamaki moved into position.

  Oikawa g Kindaichi, silently signaling him: Redeem yourself.

  Kindaichi sprinted forward, leaping into the air. The ball rose to meet his extended hand at its optimal hitting point. He felt every part of his body move in perfect harmony—his shoulders, wrist, and fiips—free from the restris of hesitation.

  I'll get this point no matter what!

  "Triple block!" The uy's front row reacted swiftly.

  But Kindaichi's spike soared past the blockers, smming into the oppo's court.

  [Aoba Johsai 5 vs. Uy Team 7]

  "YES!!" Kindaichi roared in triumph, his teammates rushing to pat his ba celebration.

  "Nie, Kindaichi!"

  "Great spike!"

  "Well done!"

  "One more ball!" Oikawa Tōru extended his hand toward Kindaichi, and the two exged a fident high-five.

  "Yes, Oikawa-senpai!"

  Kindaichi felt a surge of warmth and a faint tingle in his palm—not just from the joy of sg, but from the trust radiating from his teammates.

  He raised his gaze, log eyes with the uy pyers across the . But this time, unlike before the match, he didn't nervously avert his eyes. Instead, he studied their movements carefully.

  Aoba Johsai's serve—Oikawa switched up his strategy and unleashed a jump float serve.Uchida Subaru reached out and dug the ball with a low stance.

  Morita Heiji moved in to set the ball, sending it to the left side, where Sato Ryo spiked a sharp, line-hugging attack past Iwaizumi's defense.

  "Your float serve still needs work~" Uchida Subaru taunted Oikayfully, wagging his finger from side to side.

  [Aoba Johsai 5 - 8 Uy Team]

  -----

  [Aoba Johsai 18 - 25 Uy Team]

  [Aoba Johsai 20 - 25 Uy Team]

  Two sets down, the uy team secured a 2-0 victory. The gap betweeeams arent.

  Aoba Johsai only mao put up a solid fight during Oikawa's service rotations or when Kyotaaro was at the front row.

  Unfortunately, the opposing ace, Takahashi Ichisuke, rotated to the front at those critical moments, intensifying the defensive pressure on Aoba Johsai and limiting the quality of their sets to Kyōtani.

  At times like this, they couldn't help but miss that sharp-toeammate of theirs.

  Somehow, when he was around, it always felt like there was a way to cw back a few more points, even against seemingly impossible odds.

  "Their spirits seem pretty steady, even after the loss," Morita Heiji remarked with a smirk. "Should we have gone even harder on them?"

  The uy pyers—mostly juniors and seniors—were unfamiliar with the current Aoba Johsai lineup. The only one among them who had pyed alongside this batch was sed-year libero Kobayashi Yuri, who smiled awkwardly.

  "Morita-senpai, isn't it a bit harsh for a first meeting?" Kobayashi ughed. "Pying like this makes it feel like we're ba high school."

  As the uy pyers caught their breath, Takahashi Ichisuke turo Uchida Subaru and Sugimoto Kazuya. "I didn't expect to see you both still pying volleyball!"

  "Yeah," Uchida replied curtly, his cold exterior hiding his warmth as always.

  "Ha, same here. Didn't have anything else I assionate about, so I just stuck with volleyball, I guess..." Sugimoto said wistfully. It was rare for the high school teammates to reunite like this after everyoheir separate ways.

  Sato Ryo, the ever-thoughtful one, gnced around and smiled. "Aoba Johsai's made it back to Nationals for the first time in five years, and Coach Irihata went through the trouble of gathering us here. We've got to give it our all!"

  "Of course!"

  Though they hadn't achieved it themselves, they all shared the dream of seeing the words Rule the Court proudly unfurled oional stage.

  "Um...Senpai, I'm Oikawa Tōru," Oikawa interjected cheerfully. "Si's rare for you all to e back, how about we py something fun before the day's over?"

  Thus, Oikawa joihe uy team for a friendly 4v4 match after a brief rest.

  Morita's Team: Takahashi Ichisuke (Wing Spiker), Matsumoto Kentaro (Middle Blocker), Morita Heiji (Setter), Kobayashi Yuri (Libero).

  Oikawa's Team: Sato Ryo (Wing Spiker), Uchida Subaru (Wing Spiker), Sugimoto Kazuya (Middle Blocker), Oikawa Tōru (Setter).

  Thrown into a team with far more experienced pyers, Oikawa showed no outward signs of unease.

  However, it was clear that he struggled initially. With little uanding of each pyer's style and capabilities, even Oikawa's movements seemed slightly rigid.

  "e on, Oikawa! If yoing to py like that, this isn't fun," Morita jeered without holding back.

  Kobayashi, however, could see through Oikawa's iions. After all, he had been there in Oikawa's first year, watg the freshman snatch the startier position from a third-year with his exceptional skills.

  "My bad—would it help if I set a little further from the ?" Oikawa suddenly asked Sato after one of his spikes was blocked.

  "Uh, yeah, that'd be great," Sato replied, slightly taken aback by Oikawa's did question.

  "Thanks, senpai! I'll adjust my sets accly," Oikawa said with a dazzling smile.

  "Uchida-senpai, would you prefer higher sets?"

  "...Yeah," Uchida admitted, a bit unfortable with Oikawa's ued enthusiasm.

  Gradually, the initial awkwardness faded. With each rally, Oikawa refined his sets to perfectly suit his teammates, his fidence spreading throughout the team. His presence was like a catalyst, elevating the group's synergy to ued heights.

  As their coorditacks began to rival those of seasoeams, both Uchida and Sato couldn't help but feel a sense of wonder.

  "It feels like we've been pying together for years. Every set feels just right," Uchida mused."This kid...he's amazing," Morita grumbled. If they had been on the same high school team, Morita thought bitterly, he might've spent his entire career as a backup setter.

  Oikawa's ability to hypothesize, test, and adjust iime allowed him t out the best in everyone around him. By the end of the match, Oikawa's team had found a rhythm that felt unstoppable.

  -----

  After about thirty mihe match drew to a close.

  [Morita's Team 25 - 21 Oikawa's Team]

  Yet, as Morita watched his team secure the final point, a nagging thought lingered: If we pyed one more set, the outight've been different.

  "Thank you for the guidance, senpai!" Aoba Johsai's team lined up after the match to express their gratitude.

  "Make sure you perform well at Nationals!" the uy pyers replied.

  "Yes, we will!"

  As the seniors began to leave, waving goodbye, Oikawa suddenly called out.

  "Senpai! Let's py again before Nationals!"

  The uy pyers stopped and turned, waiting for him to eborate.

  "You haven't met our ace yet. He'll make things much more iing~" Oikawa said with a mischievous grin.

  Takahashi g Coach Irihata, who nodded approvingly. This must be the other pyer the coach often spoke so highly of.

  "Alright then, two weeks from now," Takahashi replied, seeing no objes from the others.

  "Thank you, senpai!" Oikawa's smile deepened, brimming with determination.

  "ime, we'll win!"

  _________

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