Futakuchi Kenji's sed serve came with eveer power, a whistling shot aimed towards Iwaizumi Hajime's dire.

  Smack!

  The crisp sound of the ball meeting hand sighe beginning of Aoba Johsai's terattack.

  Iwaizumi hahe serve with ease, a and steady reception that set the tone for the rally.

  Oikawa Tōru's gaze briefly passed over Kaedehara Taichi.

  The glimmer in the 'Monster's' eyes was even brighter than before—a pure focus, a thirst freater heights.

  It was as though nothing else existed in his vision besides the blockers before him.

  "Go for it…" Oikawa murmured under his breath, his voice soft but brimming with trust in his teammate.

  With precise movements, he adjusted his position like a fiuned cog in a mae, sending the ball s high into the air—a bridge leading Taichi straight to the pinnacle.

  Kaedehara Taichi unched from the back row, his approach brimming with explosive energy like a predator about to strike.

  Thud!

  With that resounding sound, he leapt into the air, his body carving a graceful arc as he asded. Every muscle in his arm tensed, primed to unleash a devastating strike.

  At that moment, time seemed to slow. Everyoheir breath, eyes fixed on the airborne figure, awaiting the iable.

  "Double block!" Aoakanobu and Koganegawa Kanji jumped to meet him.

  For the first time, Date Tech's coach found himself doubting his deferategy.

  Perhaps, when Kaedehara Taichi was in the front row, it was necessary to always deploy a triple block...

  From Taichi's perspective, Koganegawa's blog posture was slightly off, a gap f in the Golden Iron Wall.

  But—

  What he wanted was not to exploit the gap.

  He wao crush the wall head-on!

  —BO—OOOM!!!—

  The volleyball deformed against Taichi's palm as it tore through the air with overwhelming force, hurtling toward Date Tech's blockers.

  —Smack!

  Despite extending his arms as high as possible, Aone could only mao graze the ball with the top of his hand.

  "Oouch!"

  The ball rebounded upward, and Aone believed the py wasn't over yet.

  But when he g his teammates and saw no movement, he turned around—only to realize the ball was nowhere in sight.

  A sudden realization struck him, and he looked up. The volleyball was now resting in the hands of a third-year senior seated in the back rows of the stands.

  [Aoba Johsai 1 – 1 Date Tech]

  "It's not enough..."

  Taichi's eyes glimmered like two deep kes. His focus had narrowed, zeroing iirely on the fines of the 18m × 9m court.

  The serve rotated, and Oikawa Tōru stepped up to the service line.

  Date Teed their most cautious reception formation. Every pyer felt an unpreted pressure weighing down on them.

  Yet, the source of this pressure wasn't the server standing at the baseli was the unusually calm presence of Kaedehara Taichi in the front row.

  Oikawa tossed the ball.

  Boom!

  In the blink of ahe serve reached Date Tech's baseline.

  Smack!

  Sakunami Kōsuke dove to save the ball, defleg it out of bounds. Obara Yutaka reacted sharply, chasing the ball down and sending it bato py.

  Under such immense pressure, it wasn't only Aoba Johsai evolving; Date Tech ting as well.

  Onagawa Tarō sprinted into his approad leapt, knowing he couldn't tribute to blog in the front row. His responsibility was to deliver on offense.

  Oher side of the , Hanamaki Takahiro jumped to block.

  Onagawa's st attempt at tooling the blockers remained vivid in Hanamaki's mind, so this time, he held back slightly, prepared to adjust mid-air.

  Onagawa noticed Hanamaki's hesitance. Sometimes, it recisely the intelligence of a defehat could be their undoing.

  With a slight wrist snap to pensate for his ck of raw power, Onagawa aimed his shot toward the midli the back of the court.

  Just as he executed the strike, he caught a glimpse of a shadow out of the er of his eye.

  The figure moved as if from a standstill to full speed in an instant.

  The transition from absolute stillo explosive a was so sudden that it made everyone else's movements appear sluggish.

  Just as Onagawa's hand ected with the ball, a pair e hands emerged, c the path he thought en.

  Smack!

  Thump!

  Kaedehara Taichi had leapt, colliding slightly with Hanamaki mid-air but maintaining his bance. His hands stretched out diagonally, f an ued wall.

  Onagawa's spike smmed directly into the wall and was sent crashing bato Date Tech's court.

  [Aoba Johsai 2 – 1 Date Tech]

  "What incredible focus! Such rapid reflexes!!" Kunimi Akira stared in astonishment at the se before him.

  Rotating to the front row, Kunimi had also noticed Onagawa Tarō's ge in spike trajectory. However, in that split sed, he found himself uo do anything.

  The dire of the spike was toward the opposite side. Even if he had shouted a warning, it would have been too te for his teammates to react.

  The only thing Kunimi could do was to shift slightly to his right, just in case a teammate mao barely save the ball—he would be in position to back them up.

  "No, now's not the time to think about that."

  Kunimi gnced beside him to see Hanamaki Takahiro crouched on the ground, clutg his waist.

  Kaedehara Taichi paused for a moment before kneeling to che him.

  Hanamaki's eyelids twitched slightly. You're just as fast at cheg on your senpai as you are at blog, huh?

  "Taichi, be more careful ime..."

  "Hanamaki-senpai, are you okay?" Taichi asked, a bit embarrassed.

  Hanamaki rolled his eyes. "If I weren't okay, why would I bother telling you to be careful?! If this keeps up, you'll shatter my bones into pieces!"

  "Tehe~" Taichi scratched his head with a sheepish grin.

  "That wasn't a pliment, Taichi!"

  Hanamaki stood up and stretched a little. Fortunately, it was nothing more than a minor ache and didn't cause any serious injury.

  Oikawa Tōru served again.

  Obara Yutaka once again anticipated the trajectory and received the ball. The volleyball soared high, h he .

  At that height, the ball would normally be sent back to Aoba Johsai's side, but Date Tech's setter, Koganegawa Kanji, had other pns.

  Leapihe , Koganegawa cast a quice at Aoba Johsai's formation before suddenly spiking the ball one-handed.

  Smack!

  Oikawa received it with precision. As a professional setter, he wasn't easily deceived by basic moves—though it seemed like Koganegawa wasn't even trying to fake him out.

  The ball was sent back toward the . Kunimi set it high, the trajectory and stable.

  Yet, he couldn't ighe palpable hunger for a spike radiating from the pyer beside him.

  "It's ing!"

  Kaedehara Taichi's eyes lit up as he locked onto the two blockers in Date Tech's front row.

  Aoakanobu and Koganegawa Kanji both noticed his gaze. It was a clear challenge.

  Taichi's energy shifted, being more subdued. His awareness honed in on the pivotal moment approag.

  As he looked up, the volleyball reached the perfect height. His muscles tensed, a reservoir of power ready to be unleashed as he began his run-up.

  —Boom!

  Taichi's foot struck the floor with a heavy thud, his legs propelling his entire body upward.

  Across the , his keen vision captured everything—Aone's i, Koganegawa's movements, and the positioning of every pyer on Date Tech's side of the court.

  "Double block!"

  Date Tech's Iron Wall, fed through tless battles, was as formidable as ever.

  Taichi swung his arm mid-air, the sensation of the ball already vivid in his mind even before tact.

  At the exaent of impact, his palm pressed firmly against the upper half of the ball. With a sharp wrist snap, he delivered a powerful strike infused with speed and spin.

  —Boom!!!—

  The volleyball tore through Aone's blod smmed into Date Tech's court with an eg crash.

  [Aoba Johsai 3 – 1 Date Tech]

  "Phew—"

  Taided smoothly, his breathing steady yet deep. Sweat dripped from his forehead, spshing onto the hardwood floor.

  The relentless jumping and spiking took a signifit toll on his body. Yet—

  "This feels amazing!"

  Whether it was the instant his hand struck the ball mid-air or the moment he broke through Date Tech's wall, it was exhirating.

  Kaedehara Taichi couldn't help but anticipate the phase. He knew Date Tech's blocks would only tio grow stronger—and the thought filled him with excitement.

  "Taichi! ACE!! Taichi! ACE!!"

  "Aoba Johsai! Victorious!! Aoba Johsai! Victorious!!"

  Banners embzoned with "Rule the Court" waved amidst the sea of blue cheers.

  Aoba Johsai's momentum was unstoppable!

  _________

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