"Aoba Johsai struggled under Mujinazaka's relentless assault, ultimately losing the first set."

  "Hah, so this is the so-called dark horse? Aoba Johsai dropped the first set to Mujinazaka," a spectator sneered from the stands.

  "Not necessarily," another spectator chimed in. "Aoba Johsai pyed better ier half. They mao stop the gap from widening further. Sure, they lost, but it wasn't disgraceful. This match is far from over."

  "To matter how hard they fight, it doesn't ge the fact that they lost the first set!" The disdain in his voice suggested his bias was deeply ingrained.

  -----

  "Damn it, Mujinazaka's blog is a tough nut to crack!" Iwaizumi Hajime grumbled.

  "They're quick to read t i."

  "You've already done really well, Iwa-!" Oikawa Tōru reassured him with a grin.

  "Did I ask for your opinion?" Iwaizumi retorted, elbowing Oikawa before turning to Kaedehara Taichi. "But seriously, putting all the offensive pressure on Taichi isn't sustainable. You better e up with something, Oikawa."

  "Got it, got it…" Oikawa ducked away from Iwaizumi's chase, dodging him skillfully.

  "Well, if that guy—who's on par with Ushiwaka—is so hard to deal with, let's target their setter instead~," Oikaroposed with a sly smirk.

  Iwaizumi shot him a wary look.

  Oikawa might not have definitively earhe title of the best high school setter, but if it came to being the craftiest setter, Iwaizumi thought he deserved the hands down.

  "Mujinazaka's foe in the first set didn't feel like a spur-of-the-moment strategy," Oikawa mused, a thoughtful expression on his face. "That setter of theirs seems sunny oside but is probably a total schemer at heart."

  "Are you talking about him or yourself, Oikawa-senpai?" Taichi had approached quietly, his ent dripping with dry humour.

  "Tch." Oikawa flicked his head in modignation, his eyes narrowing with resolve. "Fihe's mess with him. Let's see if he's as tough as I am…"

  Meanwhile, on the Aoba Johsai bench, Matsukawa Issei approached Kyōtaarō."What?" Kyōtani snapped impatiently, gring at Matsukawa. He was still bitter about being subbed out earlier.

  "Kyōtani! Show some respect to your senpai!" Yahaba Shigeru reprimanded, ready to intervene.

  Matsukawa waved Yahaba off with a calm gesture. "o be so serious." Turning back to Kyōtani, he said, "You must've noticed from the sidelines earlier—we mao block Kiryū Wakatsu's spike. He's not invincible. Just like we defeated Shiratorizawa, teamwork wins matches. Six pyers together are what makes a team strong."

  But Watari Shinji cast him a dejected look from the side.

  "Uh, okay, not just six. I meaire team," Matsukawa quickly corrected himself. "I heard Iwaizumi say that once."

  He even dragged Iwaizumi into the mess.

  "We need your firepower, Kyōtani," Matsukawa said early.

  "Fine." Kyōtani sighed. He uood that the resolve of the third-years surpassed his own. "As long as I'm on the court, I'll give it my all."

  With a switch of sides, the sed set began.

  Aoba Johsai's lineup:

  Front row—Middle Blocker Kindaichi Yūtarō, Opposite Hitter Kyōtaarō, Setter Oikawa TōruBack row—Wing Spiker Hanamaki Takahiro, Wing Spiker Iwaizumi Hajime and Middle Blocker Kaedehara Taichi (Libero: Watari Shinji).

  Mujinazaka's lineup remained unged:

  Front row—Wing Spiker Hondo Subaru, Middle Blocker Unnan Keisuke, Wing Spiker Naoharu EzotaBack row—Wing Spiker Kiryū Wakatsu, Middle Blocker Nozomu Mami (Libero: Bishin Haruma), Setter Usuri Michiru

  Coach Irihata made adjustments on Aoba Johsai's side, moving Kindaichi to position 4 to better ter Kiryū. Kyōtani remained iarting lio boost their offence.

  "It seems Aoba Johsai realized that simply taining Kiryū isn't enough. They're fog on strengthening their overall attack."

  "Exactly. After all, Kiryū won't let himself be restrained for long. Oher hand, when Aoba Johsai relies solely on Kaedehara Taichi, their firepower is a bit g."

  Aoba Johsai's serve.

  Taichi unched a jump float serve.

  Mujinazaka's libero, Bishin Haruma, faltered on the receive, sending an imperfect pass. Kiryū dived in to save it, bumping the ball to the front row for Unnan Keisuke to execute a powerful spike.

  From the right wing, Unnan's blistering cross-court hit screamed toward Aoba Johsai's court.

  However, Hanamaki Takahiro having anticipated the shot, mao dig the ball.

  Oikawa scrambled outside the court to set it from a difficult position, delivering it to Kindaichi.

  "Double block!"

  Uo find an angle for a spike, Kindaichi Yūtarō gently tipped the ball over the . Usuri Michiru saved it with a one-handed dig.

  Ezota Naoharu, filling in as the setter, set the ball to the left wing. Hondo Subaru unched a powerful attack.

  "Double block!"

  "Oouch!" Kyōtaarō shouted loudly.

  The ball flew toward the sideline. Hanamaki Takahiro sprio save it, managing to keep it in py. Oikawa Tōru leapt up, setting the ball to the right wing.

  This py would reigheir momentum—

  "Mad Dog-!"

  Kyōtaarō charged in from the side, his body aoward the as he jumped.

  "Triple block!" Mujinazaka's blockers were determio shut down Aoba Johsai's attace more.

  Bang!

  The ball slipped past Ezota Naoharu's side and smmed into Mujinazaka's sideline.

  Kyōtaarō scored!

  [Aoba Johsai 1 - 0 Mujinazaka]

  "It…it was a straight shot!"

  "Mujinazaka's blockers had grown too aced to Kyōtani's cross-court spikes, so they naturally shifted to block that angle. Who would have thought Kyōtaarō would deliver such a beautiful straight shot at this critical moment!" entator ōtomo excimed excitedly.

  "It wasn't just their previous assumptions. Kyōtani's approagle was deliberately deceptive, further fusing the blockers. This ferocious spike has set the tone for the sed set!"

  Aoba Johsai tiheir serve.

  Taichi abandoned his jump float serve for a mgressive tactic, targeting Mujinazaka's setter, Usuri Michiru, directly.

  Taichi's precision was exceptional, f Usuri into a difficult first pass. Hondo Subaru opted to set a quick attack to Unnan Keisuke he .

  "Oouch!" Kindaichi, fident in his height, met the attack head-on.

  Oikawa Tōru's set erfectly in position, sending the ball to the right wing where Kyōtani awaited.

  "Triple block!" Hondo Subaru, Unnan Keisuke, aa Naoharu all jumped to form a wall.

  However, their instinctive focus on defending against araight shot opened a gap. Kyōtani capitalized, aiming a sharp diagonal spike toward the interior er.

  Smack!

  Usuri Michiru sprinted forward, diving to save the ball.

  The ball ricocheted bato Aoba Johsai's court, floating above their side.

  Boom!

  Kindaichi, leveraging his height advantage, smmed the ball back. It struck Usuri, who had just risen to his feet and deflected out of bounds.

  Kindaichi Yūtarō scored!

  [Aoba Johsai 2 - 0 Mujinazaka]

  "Incredible! Aoba Johsai has taken two secutive points with aggressive pys!"

  "Kyōtani's sharp diagonal spike forced Usuri into a desperate save, leaving Mujinazaka vulnerable for Kindaichi's follow-up!"

  "They've taken two points. But didn't they also lead at the start of the first set? Didn't they lose in the end anyway?" a sceptical speuttered from the stands, tinuing to doubt Aoba Johsai.

  Aoba Johsai maintaiheir serve.

  Kaedehara Taichi's sharp eyes locked onto Usuri Michiru at Mujinazaka's bae. "He must be feeling the pressure," Taichi remarked with a smirk. "A setter uo deliver proper sets? That's got to hurt."

  He chuckled softly. "Let me push you a bit further."

  Bang!

  Kaedehara unleashed another jump float serve, targeting Usuri again.

  Too high! Taichi realized his mistake the momeruck the ball. His posure had wavered.

  The ball sailed over the and dropped rapidly. Mujinazaka's experienced libero, Bishin Haruma, had already predicted its trajectory.

  "Out!" Mujinazaka's pyers rexed, certain the ball would nd beyond the boundary.

  But then—

  Usuri Michiru, tense and jittery, reached up and touched the ball awkwardly.

  Tap, tap, tap...

  The ball deflected off Usuri's hands and spun out of bounds, the sound of it hitting the ground particurly grating.

  "A mistake?"

  "Usuri's receiving errives Aoba Johsai another point!"

  [Aoba Johsai 3 - 0 Mujinazaka]

  Oikawa turo g Taichi, who was still standing at the service line. A sly gri across his face.

  "Well, well. Looks like we're thinking along the same lines…"

  Then, Oikawa shifted his gaze to Mujinazaka's setter. A hint of pity flickered in his eyes.

  "Really? You're breaking down already? And I haven't even started pying seriously…"

  _________

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