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Yuma Kikuzawa: "Don't let them touch the ball!" Oikawa: "Little Yuuki, serve a good one!" Aoba Johsai rotated positions, with Yuuki moving t
Yuma Kikuzawa: "Don't let them touch the ball!" Oikawa: "Little Yuuki, serve a good one!" Aoba Johsai rotated positions, with Yuuki moving t
Yuma Kikuzawa: "Don't let them touch the ball!" Oikawa: "Little Yuuki, serve a good one!" Aoba Johsai rotated positions, with Yuuki moving t
Yuma Kikuzawa: "Don't let them touch the ball!"
Oikawa: "Little Yuuki, serve a good one!"
Aoba Johsai rotated positions, with Yuuki moving to position 1.
Shiratorizawa was fiery and passionate. The bond between the ace and the team was so moving that even Yuma Kikuzawa was touched.
So—
A blazing fire ignited in Yuma Kikuzawa's eyes: "Yuuki, serve well! Give it your all! Take the full ten points! We absolutely have to win this match! Absolutely! Absolutely must win!"
Throwing the game? That was impossible. Off the court, they could afford to be casual, but once on the court, it was life or death.
Seeing the encouraging gazes from everyone at Aoba Johsai, Yuuki felt a rare flicker of nervousness. He didn't respond but grabbed the volleyball and walked directly to the serving area, closed his eyes, and quickly entered his state.
"Beep—"
The whistle sounded. Yuuki opened his eyes, tossed the volleyball up, and began his approach run.
Yuuki's serving motion was exactly the same as Yuma's: the number of steps taken, the height of the jump, the swing of the arm... every detail was identical to perfection. If one didn't look at their faces, it would seem like the same person performing the action.
The only difference between the two was their gaze during the serve.
When Yuma Kikuzawa served, his eyes were filled with aggression. His only goal was to score, each serve seemingly wanting to crush the receiver.
Yuuki's gaze, however, was calm and indifferent during his serve. He sought precision, ensuring power and speed while delivering a tricky angle.
Yuuki: Hit that dead spot.
Yuma: Crush that corner to death!
Boom!
The volleyball contacted the base of Yuuki's palm, instantly infused with tremendous force and intense spin. The next second, to the astonishment of the Shiratorizawa players, the ball flew forward while drastically shifting laterally.
The ball came from the left side of the net, flying over the heads of Taichi Kawanishi, Kenjirō Shirabu, and Wakatoshi Ushijima in succession, tracing an incredible parabolic curve before finally smashing with a "duang" sound into the far right corner of the court.
Crossing half the court diagonally, this serve was unbelievable not only to Shiratorizawa but also to Aoba Johsai, whose players stared wide-eyed as if witnessing a ghost.
The banana shot, a miraculous move in volleyball, causes greater trajectory changes than a jump float serve, making reception nightmarishly difficult.
The banana shot is unstable, and only in rare cases do players serve it unconsciously. Attempts to replicate it after are always failures.
"Great serve!"
"Nice shot! Well done, Yuuki!"
The Aoba Johsai players showered their miraculous junior teammate with full emotional support.
"What a strange arc of change, this is the first time I've seen a banana shot in real life. There's no way anyone can receive this ball," Iwaizumi Hajime felt the dawn of victory approaching.
Oikawa smirked proudly: "Heh heh heh~ Looks like even Lady Luck is on Aoba Johsai's side."
Everyone thought that serve was a fluke since no one had ever used the banana shot as an active skill before.
They still didn't fully understand Yuuki.
Only Yuma Kikuzawa silently clenched a bitter tear.
Mechanical, precise... As long as there's one successful case, Yuuki's brain can record the entire process clearly and, with absolute body control, perfectly replicate it.
Since accidentally hitting a banana shot at age 13, his mind and body had completely memorized the feeling of that serve.
But Yuuki disliked showing off. He hated being watched, so he rarely used these powerful moves unless absolutely necessary.
"Maybe I overdid the encouragement just now. Yuuki seems even more serious than during middle school matches."
Yuma Kikuzawa muttered quietly but didn't try to dampen Yuuki's high spirits.
He was curious too—how far could Yuuki go now?
As if completely isolated from the noisy court, Yuuki wasn't affected by others' emotions. Standing in the serving area, he seemed in his own world, lightly picking up the volleyball.
Yuuki: Feeling good. One more serve.
Boom!
The ball's trajectory was completely opposite to the first, flying from the center of the net toward Shiratorizawa's court but drifting left, landing on the court's left side.
The whistle blew, and Aoba Johsai scored another point.
This time, the entire venue fell into a longer silence.
If the first banana shot could be comforted as a coincidence by Shiratorizawa's players, the second completely shattered their illusions.
Now everyone had to admit—this Aoba Johsai player had the ability to serve banana shots consistently.
"Everyone." Wakatoshi Ushijima's voice brought the stiffened teammates back to reality. "I'll also participate in the next reception."
During matches, Ushijima generally didn't take part in reception because he had to focus all his attention on offense. But that didn't mean he was bad at receiving; in fact, Ushijima's reception skills were decent, and he never slacked off in daily training.
This simple statement from the ace reignited the dispirited atmosphere in Shiratorizawa.
It wasn't relief or relaxation from gaining a powerful ally but anger at their own incompetence.
Ushijima didn't need to receive because Shiratorizawa could win without him doing so. The ace's battlefield should be in the air; his sole mission was offense. This was Shiratorizawa's style, a privilege granted by the other players to their ace.
But now? The white eagle that was supposed to soar the skies had to return to the ground because his teammates couldn't catch the ball?
"I'm terribly sorry, Senior Ushijima! We're just too useless!"
Tsutomu Goshiki bit his lips tightly, nails almost digging into his palms, filled with shame and unwillingness.
"Goshiki, lift your head." Ushijima's tone was calm, no comfort, no encouragement, just stating facts. "The match isn't over yet."
Goshiki hurriedly wiped the corner of his eyes and responded loudly: "Yes!"
...
People often unleash their potential when emotions run high, a common occurrence in sports. The Aoba Johsai players were surprised to see Goshiki catch Yuuki's third serve.
The third serve was no longer a banana shot. To disrupt opponents' prediction, Yuuki executed a calculated left-handed powerful jump serve, left hand, powerful jump serve, and barely on the line. After serving, Aoba Johsai felt confident.
But reality was unpredictable.
Goshiki caught the ball.
No one expected someone with barely passing reception skills like him to catch it. This just proved that humans were creatures with limitless potential, and today Lady Luck was indeed fickle.
"Senior Shirabu!" Goshiki fell to the ground and called out with all his strength.
"Got it!" Kenjirō Shirabu ran over, jumped, and set, placing all hope on that person. "Senior Ushijima, please!"
The overwhelming aura was chilling just from a glance. The three players in the front row of Aoba Johsai seemed momentarily afraid of even trying to block Wakatoshi Ushijima. Their minds hesitated, but their years of training instantly propelled their bodies toward the net.
Block it!
Their hearts shouted desperately, but their raised arms were violently knocked aside by an unstoppable force.
"Damn it!"
Frustration—losing not only in skill but also in the momentum to win—Aoba Johsai at this moment lost to Shiratorizawa.
"Beep—"
Ushijima's spike scored, ending Yuuki's serving round.