Beep—!

  The first set ended, with Aoba Johsai taking the victory.

  "Ahhh—we lost the first set!!" The audieed in groans of disbelief. This result was more ued than aicipated.

  "Well, it's not that surprising," an older spectator ented. "When Atsumu messed up his first serve, I had a bad feeling. After all, st year, we watched them blow a six-point lead and lose to their oppo in a shog reversal."

  "Ugh…no way…"

  "With first and sed-years still proo insistency, who knows? They might eve a new record for colpses today."

  "U-uncle, please stop…"

  [Inarizaki bench area]

  The loss of the first set came swiftly. Head Coaune Kurosu had hoped Aran Ojiro could hold out a bit longer.

  Frankly, the defeat redictable after the first timeout. Aoba Johsai was a formidable oppo, and with Inarizaki falling behind early, it was difficult to cw back the deficit purely through adjustments.

  Victory would've relied on the oppo's mistakes—but Aoba Johsai roving to be a posed, mature team, without any obvious oints to exploit.

  Atsumu Miya's attempt to ter with a rick shot had been blocked, leaving him visibly affected. His performan the tter half of the set cked the usual fir and creativity he was known for.

  But this shift recisely what Norimune Kurosu wanted. Atsumu's performance hadn't deteriorated; it had simply berounded.

  Since losing the first set was likely iable, it portunity to gather intel. From the first set alone, ohing was clear—Aoba Johsai's first-year ace could be tained.

  Now, the pn was simple: take away his ons and see what other options Aoba Johsai could bring to the table.

  "You useless idiot, didn't you say you'd never choke?" Osamu Miya s Atsumu, not holding back.

  "Hah?! I didn't make any mistakes! My sets were spot-oime!" Atsumu retorted indignantly. "You're the pig who couldn't score points—maybe you should refle that!"

  "Your sets were stiff and predictable! Am I wrong, idiot?"

  "You're the one who got blocked, you moron!!"

  "Trash!"

  "Loser!"

  "Why did you two stop using the rategy ter on?" Kita Shinsuke asked the twins, his expression as stoic as ever. "Were you scared after getting blocked once? Or are you afraid of Aoba Johsai's #10?"

  "Ha! As if!" The twins fired ba unison.

  "I just wao see how many attack variations he has," Osamu gritted his teeth. "Turns out, it's nothing special. set, I'll shut him up."

  "Since we know we handle #10's straight shots, there's o triple-block his diagonal attaext time," Kita tinued calmly. "The back row will cover it. You shift to assist the blo atacker upfront."

  "That way, the front row won't leave another Aoba Johsai hitter pletely unguarded."

  "Got it…" Osamu ceded.

  "Atsumu, are you letting the entary about peting with Aoba Johsai's #1 for the title of best high school setter get to you?" Kita turned his attention to Atsumu.

  "You're clearly w harder than he is. The truth is, as long as Inarizaki beats Aoba Johsai, everyone will know who's superior. Rankings don't matter as much as results."

  "Uood…" Atsumu aowledged, realizing he'd been distracted by unnecessary parisons.

  After addressing the twins, Kita moved on to the others.

  "Rintarō, are you warmed up?"

  "Mm…" Suna Rintarō muttered, averting his gaze.

  "In the set, you'll o tribute not just in blog but also in offence."

  "Got it."

  "Ginjima, don't tense up too much. You've been doing well so far."

  "Yes!" Ginjima Hitoshi answered firmly.

  Norimune Kurosu closed his eyes and leaned back, tent. With Kita Shinsuke ensuring everyone uood their roles, the coach didn't o intervene further.

  The sed set would begin with a relentless offerategy. No major adjustments were necessary—yet.

  Both teams switched sides, and the sed set began.

  Aoba Johsai's lineup:

  Front row—Wing Spiker Kunimi Akira, Middle Blocker Kaedehara Taichi, Setter Oikawa Tōru.

  Back row—Wing Spiker Hanamaki Takahiro, Opposite Hitter Kyōtaarō (Libero Watari Shinji) and Wing Spiker Iwaizumi Hajime.

  Inarizaki's lineup:

  Front row—Setter Miya Atsumu, Middle Blocker Suna Rintarō, Wing Spiker Miya Osamu.

  Back row—Wing Spiker Ojiro Aran, Middle Blocker ōmimi Ren (Libero Akagi Miari) and Wing Spiker Ginjima Hitoshi.

  To maximize Atsumu's serving advantage, Inarizaki rotated him from Position 1 to Position 2, while Aoba Johsai kept their formation unged.

  Aoba Johsai bega with Iwaizumi stepping up to the service line.

  "Something feels…off. Inarizaki's atmosphere has ged. What happened during the break…?" murmured a spectator.

  The Inarizaki supporters, who had previously been yelling disruptive ts, now focused on intensifying their drumbeats. The rhythmic pounding grew faster and faster, creating a tense and almost oppressive vibe.

  "It's getting annoying," someotered.

  Iwaizumi sent a powerful serve across the .

  "Uh-oh!"

  The toss had been slightly low, and the ball grazed the top of the .

  It made it over!

  Iwaizumi let out a breath of relief as the ball dropped into Inarizaki's court.

  "Save it!"

  Inarizaki didn't falter in the face of the ued situation.

  Osamu dashed forward, extended his arm, and puhe ball up with a single fist. Atsumu moved swiftly into positioing the ball toward the .

  A quick A-tempo attack!

  Su high for the spike, with Taichi fully extending his arms to blo front of him.

  Bang!

  Suna Rintarō's spike thuhrough Kaedehara Taichi's blod nded in Aoba Johsai's court.

  [Aoba Johsai 0 - 1 Inarizak

  Taichi blinked in fusion.

  "???"

  He was certain he had positioned himself well against Suna's attack. Judging by Suna's hand ahe spike shouldn't have taken an ued trajectory.

  Even after watg hours of footage to cross-refere with his meta-knowledge, seeing it live on the court was something else entirely.

  He couldn't figure out how to stop it—at least not yet.

  Inarizaki's serve. Atsumu stepped up to the line.

  "If my jump float serve is strohan their setter's, I'll score as many points as I here!"

  Bang!

  The ball floated along the left sideline and curved into Aoba Johsai's court.

  Based orajectory—

  "Out!" Hanamaki shouted decisively.

  But as the ball desded, it suddenly swerved eerily into Aoba Johsai's court.

  Bang!

  It nded squarely ihe boundary. Atsumu had scored directly off his serve.

  [Aoba Johsai 0 - 2 Inarizak

  "Yesss!" Atsumu roared in exhiration. He was on fire.

  "Atsumu! Atsumu! Great serve!"

  "Keep it up, Atsumu!"

  "Let's go for another one!"

  "That ball definitely curved!"

  "Holy, I thought it was going out too!"

  "It looks like Miya Atsumu has adjusted quickly. His form in the sed set is impeccable," a entator remarked.

  "This is bad news for Aoba Johsai. It looks like they'll have to scramble for every ball, even the ohat initially look like they're going out."

  Aoba Johsai was suddenly under immense pressure to receive.

  Atsumu served again.

  The ball zipped through the air and rocketed toward Watari's face.

  "No time…!"

  Caught off guard, Watari tensed up, his body freezing for a split sed. All he could do was tilt his head bastinctively.

  Bang!

  The ball smmed into Watari's fad deflected upward.

  "Save it!"

  Iwaizumi quickly moved in to dig the ball, setting it toward the front row. Oikawa leapt up, aiming to spike.

  "I've got this!" Ojiro stepped forward and received the spike ly, sending the ball toward Atsumu.

  In the front row, Osamu suddenly sprioward the far right side of the court—a movement Oikawa and Kaedehara immediately reized.

  "Not good!"

  Osamu jumped for the spike, with Kaedehara and Oikawa closing in to block him.

  But the ball didn't e. It was a decoy!

  Bang!

  Atsumu set the ball to the left, where Suna Rintarō hammered it down for another point.

  [Aoba Johsai 0 - 3 Inarizak

  "Oh? Looks like you fell for it," Osamu said with a sly grin, gng at Taichi. "Doesn't seem like you've figured out this py yet, huh?"

  _________

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