[It's in! It's a point!]
[Aoba Johsai's first-year ace, Akashi Asuka, blasted a powerful spike right through Shinzen High's double block to even the score!]
[What a terrifying spike, it's no wonder he's Aoba Johsai's ace!]
After a brief moment of silence, the commentator's excited shout exploded through the stadium, setting off a wave of thunderous cheers.
"Woooaaahhhhhh!!!"
"That power! He actually broke through a double block head-on! Who the hell is that guy!?"
"Amazing! Did you hear that? He's just a first-year and already the team's ace! Who is number 8 from Aoba Johsai!?"
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The energy of the national tournament was on an entirely different level from the preliminaries. The roar of thousands, maybe tens of thousands, of fans rising in unison was overwhelming.
The members of Aoba Johsai's brass band were red-faced, playing the fight song with all their might. Even Akashi Kana, who usually had no interest in sports, felt her blood boil under the heat of the crowd.
Aoba Johsai's players rushed toward Akashi Asuka, shouting in celebration. Nothing lifted morale quite like a spike that blew through the opposing block.
Likewise, nothing was more demoralizing than having both your block and backcourt broken through in one strike.
"Is that guy really a first-year...?" said Shinzen's middle blocker, whose hands were still numb from the block attempt. In that instant when he tried to block the ball, it didn't feel like a volleyball, it felt like a cannonball.
"And it's not just his strength. Did you see how high he jumped? I'm not even sure that was his highest point..."
"Are you kidding me? With that power and that kind of vertical... is he another Ushiwaka or something?" one of the Shinzen players muttered, eyes wide as he stared at Asuka like he'd seen a ghost.
Any team that made it to nationals wasn't going down without a fight. But even Shinzen's players had to admit that Akashi's spike had genuinely shaken them.
And while most of the team was now watching Asuka with growing wariness, Shinzen's setter was focused on someone else entirely,
Aoba Johsai's own setter, Oikawa Tooru.
Unlike Akashi's overwhelming, visible power, there was a subtle, chilling danger that radiated from Oikawa, a presence that felt equally threatening, though much harder to define.
"Ushiwaka, huh? If only it were just that–" the Shinzen setter murmured under his breath.
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1–1.
The match continued.
Aoba Johsai was up to serve. After Shinzen's libero received the ball and passed to their setter, the other four non-libero players suddenly moved into motion, at the same time.
[Here it is, Shinzen High's signature formation: the synchronized multi-angle attack!]
As one of Saitama's top-tier teams, Shinzen was known for its perfectly timed cooperative offense. All four attackers surged forward simultaneously, making it nearly impossible to tell who the actual spiker would be.
There were no decoys in this play. Until the ball left the setter's hands, any of the four could be the final hitter.
Bang!
The ball hit the court. It was the first time Aoba Johsai had encountered such a complex attack, and their defense was completely overwhelmed, Shinzen took the point.
1–2.
[An impeccable synchronized attack! Shinzen High doesn't flinch in the face of Aoba Johsai's powerful ace. They strike back without hesitation!]
"Whoaaa, that was tight coordination!"
"They moved like they were all part of the same person!"
Hajime Iwaizumi glanced back at the ball that had flown past him and clicked his tongue. "Tch. This is nationals, after all, every school's got a few tricks up their sleeves."
"Hey, focus up! Next ball's coming!" someone shouted.
Shinzen regained serve and launched another quick offensive. While they lacked a true powerhouse server, what they had was stability, something every national-level team shared.
The serve sailed toward Aoba Johsai's backcourt, landing in an awkward spot for Watari Shinji to receive. He managed to get the ball up, but the formation was slightly disrupted.
"Nice serve!" Shinzen's players shouted, eagerly preparing their defense and trying to predict who Aoba Johsai would set up next.
But while they were still analyzing, Akashi Asuka was already moving. Before the ball even reached Oikawa's hands, he was leaping toward the net.
Shinzen's players were momentarily stunned. Then, without warning, the ball was there, soaring perfectly into Akashi's spike zone.
Caught off guard, the blockers scrambled to catch up, but as they jumped, their eyes widened in horror, no matter how high they rose, they couldn't match Akashi's reach.
Even craning their necks as far as possible, the only thing they could see was his chin, that's how high above them he was.
"Dammit! That last one really wasn't his highest point!?"
Boom!
Akashi spiked the ball down with half a forearm's length of height advantage, crashing it through Shinzen's front line.
[Aoba Johsai scores! What an incredible spike height! Akashi Asuka and Oikawa Tooru just pulled off a flawless first-tempo quick attack, breaking through the block yet again!]
[In just two rounds, Aoba Johsai's first-year ace, Akashi Asuka, has shown us both his raw power and his explosive vertical jump. His "overwhelming strength" style reminds me of none other than one of Japan's top three aces, Wakatoshi Ushijima.]
[And coincidentally, Aoba Johsai recently defeated Ushiwaka's Shiratorizawa. Could we be witnessing the rise of a new national-level ace?]
"Woooooooahhh!!"
The commentator's rising voice set the crowd ablaze again.
But in the middle of this surging enthusiasm, Shinzen's setter felt a chill run down his spine.
His premonition had come true.
While most people were focused on Akashi's unbelievable height, the setter had seen it, the almost perfect set that Oikawa had delivered during that play.
His eyes locked onto Oikawa through the crowd, and a dangerous awareness rose in his chest.
"That guy... is seriously dangerous!"
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"Hey, I've got a really bad feeling about this–" Shinzen's libero muttered.
The setter flinched, had the libero noticed Oikawa too?
But when he followed his teammate's gaze, he realized the libero wasn't looking at the setter.
He was staring at Akashi, now walking toward the back line for the serve.
"You feel it too?" Shinzen's opposite added with a grim nod.
"Yeah... I don't know why, but the moment he stepped into the service zone, I felt this chill. Wait, don't tell me... his serve's terrifying too!?"
"No idea. Damn it, none of these guys have played nationals before, so there's no data on them!"
It sounded almost superstitious, but elite athletes sometimes carried a pressure that only other top-level players could sense. Ordinary people wouldn't notice, but rivals could feel it.
The Shinzen setter hadn't felt it before, he was tuned to other setters like Oikawa, not spikers like Akashi.
Until now.
He suddenly noticed the front-row players on Aoba Johsai, they were covering the backs of their heads and side stepping away from center court, clearing out a massive gap.
And in that moment, he knew something was seriously wrong.
[Next server: Aoba Johsai's ace, Akashi Asuka. According to our limited intel, Akashi's serving skills are just as refined as his spikes. Let's see what he's got...]
To be honest, the commentator was frustrated. The scouting report the staff had handed him was way too brief, he couldn't say much even if he wanted to.
Meanwhile, Akashi Asuka stood at the end line, unusually calm compared to his teammates.
The roar of the crowd faded to a distant hum in his ears, none of it could reach him now.
"Not bad."
"No stiffness in my body. Muscle control feels great. Not fully in the zone yet, but this'll do."
He exhaled slowly and tossed the ball into the air.
In that instant, the whole stadium seemed to vanish from his vision.
Then came the approach, the leap, the swing, the strike,
BOOM!
A sound unlike any spike echoed through the arena. The crowd fell instantly silent.
The ball whined in the air, deforming under the raw force of impact. The surface bent, then buckled, reaching its limit,
Whoosh!
A tearing gust cut through the air as the ball rocketed toward Shinzen's court like a missile.
In the blink of an eye, it was there.
The libero could only stare, frozen, as the ball appeared right in front of him, and before he could even react,
It was already on the floor.
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