—BOOM

  "That's a shot aimed directly at the sideline! Miya Osamu moved early to position himself, but he failed to dig it!"

  "Aoba Johsai's Kaedehara Taichi has suddenly bee a force to be reed with ier half of the sed set. His left-hatacks are particurly striking. Once again, he's a standout from Miyagi Prefecture. ōtomo-san, doesn't he remind you of someone?"

  "You're thinking of Ushijima Wakatoshi, aren't you? And it's not just you—many viewers following the Nationals probably recall that same figure right now."

  "Indeed, Ushijima Wakatoshi, also hailing from Miyagi, is one of the top three spikers in the try. His most notable on is his devastati-hatacks!"

  "However, Kedehara Taichi gave a pletely different impression before. Throughout Aoba Johsai's matches, he relied heavily on speed and precision with his teique, rarely adopting such a dired power-orieyle."

  [Aoba Johsai 16 – 20 Inarizak

  Miya Osamu rubbed his forearm, his gaze fixed on the first-year across the court.

  paring Taichi to Ushijima Wakatoshi was absurd—there was simply no petition.

  Ushijima's spikes were far more powerful than even Inarizaki's ace, Aran. His left-handed spin was on another level altogether.

  But this kid…His spike power had noticeably increased and was almost catg up to Aran's.

  "It's seriously annoying…"

  Osamu muttered under his breath. They had just adapted to Taichi's left-hatacks whehan half a set ter, his pystyle had ged again.

  "Serve us a good one!"

  Taichi tossed the ball into the air, his figure already springing into motion. The very sed—

  "It's not a jump float!" Inarizaki's libero, Akagi Miari, shouted.

  Boom!

  The ball nded.

  "Out!" The line judge signalled.

  [Aoba Johsai 16 – 21 Inarizak

  Akagi broke out into a cold sweat. That trajectory was strange. Did he just try a left-handed serve with the meics of a right-handed one?

  He wasn't able to rea time.

  "…Idiot! Have you ever practised jump serves? Have you ever used your left hand to serve? You—!" Oikawa was fuming. He had told Taichi to py freely, but this was ridiculous.

  Taichi remained silent. He had gotten so aced to using his left hand that he fot the meics of serving properly. No wohe toss and swing had felt off earlier.

  Oher side of the court, Miya Atsumu's face was dark. This guy ying even wilder than them.

  Inarizaki served again. The whistle barely finished when Osamu unched his serve.

  The pt recise, f Oikawa into an awkward first touch. The ball soared toward the .

  "Cover it!"

  "I've got it!"

  Hanamaki Takahiro scrambled to position uhe ball, but before he could set it, Taichi charged in, leaving Hanamaki no choice but to push the ball upward in a panic.

  Taichi leapt from the back row.

  "Double block!" Atsumu and Suna Rintarō formed an imperable wall.

  "Taichi!" Oikawa shouted, fearing he would lose trol and force the py.

  Taichi hesitated—there was no way to break through.

  "Pop!"

  The ball ricocheted off Suna's hands and rebounded high above Aoba Johsai's side of the court.

  "Again!" Taichi roared, retreating to the back row to create space for a proper approach.

  "Is he iionally setting up a rebound attack?" Atsumu positioned closest to the , stared in disbelief at Taichi's manoeuvre. "What…What even is that?"

  "Atsumu!" Akagi called out, as Taichi unched himself into the air once more from the back row.

  Atsumu was caught off guard and jumped into position for another block. Was he trying to vert a rebound into a quick attack?

  Did he even know how absurd it was?!

  Boom!

  "On the li's in! That was a beautiful waist-high crosscourt shot!"

  [Aoba Johsai 17 – 21 Inarizak

  "What was that? Did he just hit a crosscourt spike from the right side with his left hand?"

  "Is this guy ihat didn't go out? It had to be luck! He's treating the Nationals like a practice match!"

  Despite the absurdity of it all, Atsumu somehow uood Taichi's thought process.

  He was merely amplifying moves he had practised tless times and applying them with more force. Theoretically, it worked, so he gave it a shot.

  Atsumu g Oikawa, certaiter had said something to their uable #10.

  But now, it wasn't just Inarizaki feeling the pressure.

  "Taichi! You're out of trol!" Oikawa yelled.

  He had only meant for Taichi to py with his full force like he did against Mujinazaka—not to go off the rails! This couldn't ti looked like they were sg, but these lucky pys wouldn't work every time.

  Oikawa goward Coach Irihata on the sidelines, who was also frowning deeply.

  Oikarepared to call Taichi off, thinking this kind of experimentation could wait until after the match—

  "Oikawa, let him keep going," Iwaizumi Hajime interrupted. As a spiker himself, he could seaichi's flow.

  This wasn't just impulsiveness—it was driven by the unique challenge and stakes of this match.

  Iwaizumi spoke with vi. "Sometimes, we have to do something for our juniors too."

  -----

  Thud!

  "A quick attack from the middle! Inarizaki's #2, Ren ōmimi, scores with an overhand spike!"

  [Aoba Johsai 17 – 22 Inarizak

  "Another A-quick from the same position! Iwaizumi Hajime scores with a middle attack!"

  "What incredible coordinatioe Iwaizumi's height not being an advantage among spikers, his attacks rival the power of Inarizaki's 1.9-meter ōmimi!"

  "I heard Iwaizumi and Oikawa have been on the same team since junih."

  "Is that so?"

  [Aoba Johsai 18 – 22 Inarizak

  "Suna Rintarō's spike is received by Kunimi Akira! Was that a ce?"

  "Kyōtaarō follows up from the right with a sharp diagonal shot! What a strike! It's the kind of trajectory that leaves you in awe every time!"

  [Aoba Johsai 19 – 22 Inarizak

  "Miya Atsumu scores with a setters dump! A brief pse and Atsumu seizes the moment with a decisive strike!"

  [Aoba Johsai 19 – 23 Inarizak

  "Not to be outdone, Oikawa Tōru immediately responds with his owers dump! It seems like Atsumu anticipated it, but Oikawa still mao secure the point right over his head."

  "It's clear the duel betweeion's top two setters isn't over yet!"

  [Aoba Johsai 20 – 23 Inarizak

  "Kaedehara Taichi's left-handed spike—a relentless onball—proves too much for Inarizaki to handle!"

  "Even though Inarizaki must have prepared for his power, the left-handed spin is still something that takes time to adjust to. That's talent at work!"

  [Aoba Johsai 21 – 23 Inarizak

  Without realizing it, the gap betweewo teams had shrunk to just two points.

  Tweet!

  Inarizaki makes a substitution—Kita Shinsuke IN, Suna Rintarō OUT.

  This was Kita's first appearan the match, but none of Inarizaki's pyers seemed ed about him being nervous. With a lead, this set was theirs to secure.

  "Don't worry. Even if we 't block #10, all we need is to reach 25 points first." Kita's mere presen the court was enough to calm his team's restless energy.

  Aoba Johsai served. Kyōtaarō unleashed a powerful jump serve. As the set reached its climax, he seemed to rex rather than tense up with his preproving drastically.

  Smack!

  Miya Osamu received the serve, but the ball flew dangerously close to the sideline. Kita was already on the move, easily rec it. Atsumu bumped the ball high, sending it to the opposite court.

  "Free ball!" Hanamaki Takahiro bumped it back up.

  Oikawa delivered a set to the left wing. "Jump as high as you !"

  Kaedehara Taichi leaped into the air.

  Miya Atsumu, the lone blocker, rose to meet him, while three pyers in the back prepared for the defence.

  "Redug the blockers to focus on the reception, huh?"

  Since you're staying back...

  Taichi swung his right arm from behind his head, spiking the ball sharply into Inarizaki's three-meter line.

  A right-handed spike down the short diagonal!

  Kita, having just returned from the sideline, dove to save the ball as it was about to hit the ground.

  Thud!

  The ball gnced off Kita's hand a out of bounds.

  [Aoba Johsai 22 – 23 Inarizak

  "That was heavy!"

  Kita felt the weight of the spike reverberate through his arm.

  He did it! Taichi's instincts were spot on. His awareness of the ball, his body trol—everythi unusually sharp.

  Just one more point!

  Kyōtani served again. This time, Osamu barely mahe receive, and Atsumu positioned himself to set.

  Aran Ojiro soared from the back row, delivering a thunderous spike that remihe audience why he was still the most dangerous attacker on the court.

  [Aoba Johsai 22 – 24 Inarizak

  "Don't panic, don't panic..."

  Taichi's heartbeat raced as his body felt both hot arified with excitement, trembling slightly from exhiration.

  Ginjima Hitoshi served, and the ball hit the umbling toward Aoba Johsai's side.

  Before Taichi's mind could react, his body moved instinctively. He scooped the ball into the air with one hand, sending it toward Oikawa. Without hesitatioreated for a running start.

  "Set it high!!!

  Oikawa, momentarily stunned by Taichi's seamless rea, realized he had no choice but to trust his junior. With a swift motion, he delivered a high toss.

  Taichi rushed from the back row, accelerating with every step before taking off into the air.

  "Inarizaki sets up a triple block!" Atsumu, Kita, and Osamu lined up in front of him, a wall of defence.

  Taichi's eyes sed the court as if time had slowed. He had options: an off-the-block, toud-go, or a soft tip.

  But he didn't hesitate. He summoned all his strength and aimed directly at Kita's block, determio overpower him.

  —BANG!

  The ball smashed into Kita's arms, sending them flying apart as the ball thudded into Inarizaki's court.

  [Aoba Johsai 23 – 24 Inarizak

  "Still staying calm, Captain Kita?" Taichi muttered, his face expressionless but his eyes full of challenge.

  Kita, shaken but smiling wryly, responded, "I've always known I'm just an ordinary person in a ba of monsters. But your real oppo isn't me."

  Behind Kita stood Atsumu, Osamu, and Aran—a fortress of talent ready for the final battle.

  Kyōtani's serve grew fiercer as the set s climax. Akagi Miari struggled to keep the ball in py, realizing that Aoba Johsai's serves were being increasingly aggressive.

  "It's that guy…" Akagi murmured. "He's pletely ged the atmosphere of Aoba Johsai."

  Even with a wayward receive, Atsumu bent low, steadying himself to deliver a precise set.

  The ball floated to the right, where Osamu was already airborne.

  "Minus-tempo, back-attack!"

  Smack!

  "Touch!" Oikawa's sharp voice cut through the air. Trusting that the ball would be kept alive, the pyers sprang into a.

  Hanamaki saved the ball from the bae a it to Oikaasn't in position to set.

  "Kunimi!" Taichi yelled, rag to the left side.

  Kunimi, who received the pass from Oikawa, immediately uood and bumped the ball in Taichi's dire.

  "Too close to the !" someone from the crowd excimed.

  Taichi didn't falter. Charging forward, he unched himself into the air.

  —Whoosh!

  "Inarizaki's triple block is up!" Atsumu, Kita, and Osamu once again formed an imperable wall.

  Taichi's right arm swung with precision, delivering aeep diagonal shot.

  The ball grazed past the block, smming into the floor.

  "Court IN?!"

  "No!" the referee signalled.

  "ouch!"

  The whistle echoed in the arena.

  "Inarizaki scores! ouch viotion on Kaedehara Taichi!"

  [Aoba Johsai 23 – 25 Inarizak

  The sed set was over.

  The winner: Inarizaki.

  _________

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