The score stood at 3–1.
Karasuno had just reclaimed a point with the "Freak Quick" and regained the serve.
After the rotation, Tobio Kageyama moved to position one. He was currently Karasuno's only strong server… well, technically there was half of another key server, but that half's serving skills were still far from polished.
"Only let him serve this one!"
Tooru Oikawa called out from behind the net.
Kageyama held the ball beyond the baseline, took a deep breath, then slowly tossed it up…
Bang!
The ball arced beautifully through the air but slammed hard against the net.
"Uh…" For a few seconds, the court was silent.
But quickly, Daichi Sawamura snapped out of it first and shouted, "Don't worry about it, Kageyama!"
Kageyama's face flushed red, a rare sight.
In volleyball, service errors were common, but facing an opponent like Aoba Johsai made this feel different.
Oikawa couldn't help but laugh, covering his mouth. "Pathetic!"
Hajime Iwaizumi shot him a glare and clenched his fist but decided it was best to ignore this childish brat for now.
The score was now 4–1, with the serve back in Aoba Johsai's hands.
"Serve a good one, Kindaichi!"
Aoba Johsai's team cheered as Kindaichi stood at the baseline, lightly serving a normal float serve.
And… they scored.
This point caught the Karasuno players off guard, yet it wasn't totally surprising.
It wasn't that Kindaichi served exceptionally well; Karasuno simply made a coordination mistake.
Because Kageyama rotated to the back row, he had to quickly move after Aoba Johsai's serve to position himself for the next set.
But this movement caused a momentary visual mix-up with Azumane Asahi, who was also preparing to receive. Neither noticed the other's position, and Azumane missed the ball.
If a team like Aoba Johsai made such an error, it would seem amateurish. But for Karasuno, this kind of slip-up felt almost inevitable.
Karasuno's fundamental technical skills were clearly behind, as Aoba Johsai had already confirmed in their previous practice matches.
5–1.
Though the point came unexpectedly, Aoba Johsai players cheered loudly.
"Well served, Kindaichi."
"Nice one!"
"You're just plain lucky."
A group of players crowded around Yūtarō Kindaichi, ruffling his hair in celebration.
On the other side, the atmosphere in Karasuno was much more tense.
5–1.
This score was far worse than anything from the original timeline.
On the sidelines, Ukai Keishin bit his finger nervously, his face clouded with worry.
The start of this match was brutal. Ukai didn't know much about their last practice match, but the gap in skill between the two teams was painfully clear.
Whistle!
The referee blew the whistle as Kindaichi quickly served again from the baseline.
This time, Karasuno was ready. Azumane received the ball solidly, and Kageyama moved swiftly to the best setting position.
"Come on! Who's the target this time? Another 'Freak Quick'?"
Oikawa and Iwaizumi, now at the front row, stared intently at the ball, their minds racing to predict Kageyama's next move.
Before they could decide, the ball shot out of Kageyama's hand like it had a turbo boost, instantly arriving near the net.
And there, a figure had already leapt high.
"Heeya! Send it flying!"
A powerful shout accompanied a fierce swing, and the ball smashed across the net, landing in Aoba Johsai's court.
"Aaaahhh!!" Tanaka Ryūnosuke roared in triumph, his fiery energy breathing life back into Karasuno's once sluggish team.
"Nice! Good job, Tanaka!"
"Yeah, Tanaka-senpai!"
────────── ✦ ──────────
"Oh? That shaved-head guy's got spirit!"
"His spikes have really energized Karasuno."
"Tch, looks like a real troublemaker."
Oikawa watched Tanaka across the net, a faint glint lighting his eyes.
5–2.
Karasuno clawed back a point.
Tanaka rotated to serve from position one. The ball flew over the net and was calmly received by Kindaichi in the back row.
This was the key difference between Karasuno and Aoba Johsai.
Though all were first-year high schoolers, Karasuno's Kageyama, Hinata Shoyo, and Matsukawa Kei might have more raw talent than Kindaichi, but Hinata and Matsukawa only started volleyball seriously in high school.
Maybe in the future, they'd surpass players like Kindaichi, but right now, Kindaichi, who'd been playing since Junior High, was stronger.
After the ball reached Oikawa's hands, several Karasuno players on the opposite side tensed.
Hinata and Azumane's attention was mostly focused on Akashi Asuka, while Sawamura remained calm and unfazed.
The next moment…
The ball shot from Oikawa's hands directly to the already airborne Iwaizumi.
Faced with this "first tempo" quick attack, Hinata and Azumane, distracted by Akashi, were a step too late to block.
Only Sawamura stood perfectly positioned right in front of Iwaizumi.
"Huh?" Iwaizumi hesitated slightly at the sudden wall in front of him but swung decisively.
Bang!
The ball carved a diagonal path across the court, perfectly avoiding Sawamura's block, and landed for a point.
"Little guy, and that tall repeat-year player, if you focus too much on our rookies, you'll pay the price."
After scoring, Oikawa smiled his usual "friendly" reminder.
Azumane: "(;Д`)… Repeat-year player?"
Azumane's disappointment was visible; it felt like a knife to his heart.
The score now 6–2.
Having fallen behind from the start without narrowing the gap, the pressure on Karasuno steadily grew.
And in the next moment, that pressure spiked even more, because it was Oikawa's turn to serve again.
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