Chapter 6: Practice Match Continuation and Hinata's Dump Shot
Ichise Guren's teammate, Hoshino Masaru, widened his eyes and looked back at Ichise Guren in a daze.
His stunned gaze was frantically conveying information:
'What the heck was that? Good thing I protected my head just now.'
'If that had hit the back of my head, I'd be going straight to the hospital, right? Guren, are you really a junior high student?'
Ichise Guren seemed to understand Hoshino Masaru's expression and showed a look that said 'I'll carry you to victory.'
On the other side, Hinata had his brows furrowed, desperately trying to replay that powerful serve in his mind while jogging over to pick up the ball.
He handed it to the referee, the referee passed it to Hoshino Masaru, who then threw it to Ichise Guren who was still in the serving area outside the court.
"Sorry about that. I might have to trouble you guys again in a bit."
Slicking his hair back and entering match mode, Ichise Guren casually delivered a taunt.
It was on par with Tsukishima Kei's level.
Ichise Guren caught the ball, his eyes looking at this 'cannonball' he had just fired out.
But his mind was immersed in that glittering badge in his brain.
[Heavy Artillery] Bronze
[Jump serves gain a slight boost in power]
This was the badge Ichise Guren had unlocked last night while training his jump serves.
Judging from today's practice match, this slight increase was more useful than he had imagined. He wasn't sure if the 'slight' boost was actually quite substantial, or if his jump serves were already at a high level to begin with.
But from what he could see now, both Hyakuzawa Yudai and Hinata Shoyo, who were encountering this serve for the first time, hadn't been able to react.
Although both of them hadn't been playing volleyball for long, setting aside the tall Hyakuzawa Yudai, even Hinata Shoyo - who had grown dramatically in height after meeting Ichise Guren and now stood at 165cm - with his naturally fast reflexes and excellent dynamic vision, still wasn't able to track the ball's trajectory on first contact.
This meant Ichise Guren's serve was already strong enough to serve as a trump card in official junior high level matches. In terms of intimidation and psychological warfare, it was practically a strategic weapon.
Ichise Guren shook his head, clearing out those unnecessary thoughts.
He continued spinning the ball, then stopped.
Toss, approach, jump, swing.
Another lightning-fast serve just like the previous one.
But this time was different - from the opposing court came a spirited shout.
"I've got it!"
An orange figure dove out - Hinata Shoyo holding his breath.
This time, his eyes locked onto the rapidly approaching volleyball, but his footwork hadn't quite adapted yet.
He couldn't move quickly enough to get into proper receiving position, so he could only make an ungraceful diving motion, trying to dig the ball with one hand.
However, the moment he made contact with the volleyball, Hinata Shoyo realized something was wrong.
'This power is too strong! The ball's going to fly away!'
Sure enough, after the volleyball hit Hinata Shoyo's clenched fist, the brief contact was already the greatest mercy it could show.
Without losing any speed, it bounced away and landed out of bounds.
Tweet!
This time the whistle came much faster than before. Clearly, Kawashima, who was acting as referee, had realized that Ichise-senpai's serves were very difficult to receive and would likely result in service aces.
2:0
The two little newcomers responsible for the scoreboard were also very dutiful, quickly responding to the referee's score call.
After another series of passes, the volleyball returned to Ichise Guren's hands.
Bouncing the volleyball in his hands, Ichise Guren felt like his touch was burning hot.
Looking at the volleyball in his hands, he had the feeling that his serves could hit wherever he aimed.
'Maybe I can try controlling the direction of my serves while maintaining both power and speed.'
He looked at the two badges glowing in his mind.
[Heavy Artillery]
[In the Zone] Each service ace slightly improves the quality of the next serve until focus is lost.
'From what I can see, this serve quality probably includes serve speed, spin intensity, and the ball sense to control the serve's trajectory.'
'Perfect, let's keep this up and completely crush the opposition!'
Ichise Guren clenched his right fist, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
For the third serve, Ichise Guren continued with his violent jump serve from before.
The "In the Zone" and "Heavy Artillery" badges continued working together, once again breaking through Hinata Shoyo's arms despite his best efforts, flying straight out of bounds.
This pattern of service aces continued until the sixth ball, when Ichise Guren couldn't maintain his focused state well enough.
His serving hand showed deviation, the contact area wasn't sufficient, and both power and speed dropped dramatically.
Only then was Hinata Shoyo able to save the ball with a diving dig.
The saved volleyball flew high into the air, giving Hyakuzawa Yudai plenty of time to move.
Hyakuzawa Yudai looked up, keeping his eyes locked on the airborne volleyball while his feet never stopped moving as he ran to where the ball would land.
His hands didn't make any basic errors like consecutive contacts or letting the ball slip.
He properly and steadily sent the ball back into the air in a conventional but reliable manner.
The two high-flying volleyball movements gave Hinata Shoyo time to get back up and approach properly.
"Here I come!"
Quick running, large strides forward, back foot following up, maintaining distance, controlling knee and ankle direction.
Both arms swinging in sync, providing kinetic energy for the jump, core staying stable, takeoff!
Just as Hinata Shoyo was flying through the air, preparing to launch his aerial attack, a towering wall suddenly appeared in front of him.
Carrying a menacing aura, an astonishing presence rushed straight toward Hinata Shoyo.
'I will block you right here!'
Nine large characters inexplicably appeared in Hinata Shoyo's mind.
The airborne Hinata Shoyo began utilizing his excellent dynamic vision, searching for a weakness in this wall named Ichise Guren.
At the same time, countless thoughts flashed rapidly through his mind.
'Direct attack? No good, my strength is nowhere near enough to break through this iron wall.'
'Cross-court shot? Tool the block? Over the hands? Sharp angle shot?'
'! Let me try this!'
His arm, which was about to swing violently, suddenly decelerated just as it was about to strike the volleyball. His fingers gently flicked the volleyball, sending it over Ichise Guren's arm.
Ichise Guren watched the volleyball that went over the top of his fingers, then gently landed on the ground about twenty centimeters away from Hoshino Masaru's outstretched hand as he dove for the rescue.
A smile of 'how interesting' appeared exaggeratedly on Ichise Guren's face.
Hinata Shoyo, who had learned the dump shot half a year early, made him very curious about what kind of evolution he would undergo by his first year of high school.
***
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