Yamagata wasn't entirely sure how skilled Aran was, since all his attention had been focused on the twins and the libero.
Still, Yamagata knew better than to underestimate anyone. Players who seemed unremarkable and faded into the background were often incredibly strong. Otherwise, there was no way they could blend in so effortlessly on a team like this.
Aran bounced the volleyball a few times, caught it in his hands, then looked up and tossed it into the air to serve.
The toss, approach, jump, and swing flowed together in one smooth motion.
"Boom!"
The impact was thunderous, almost comparable to Reon's serve.
Yamagata's gaze sharpened. He knew there were no truly ordinary players in a match like this. Every last one of them was a hidden talent.
He judged the ball's landing point from its trajectory. It was flying toward the right side at high speed, carrying vicious spin. Getting hit by it would definitely hurt.
Even so, Yamagata wasn't worried. As long as a power serve wasn't on Ushijima or Bokuto's level, he was confident he could receive it.
He rushed toward the right side of the court.
After reaching the spot he had predicted, Yamagata shuffled his feet and adjusted his posture, ready to receive at any moment.
The volleyball came straight at his face.
Yamagata extended both arms and received it with a forearm pass.
"Thud!"
The ball slammed into his forearms.
The force made Yamagata's arms bend involuntarily. It really was powerful, but his expression didn't change in the slightest. Strong as it was, Yamagata's verdict was that it was still nowhere near Ushijima's.
Then again, comparing Inarizaki's middle blocker to Ushijima, one of the nation's top five wing spikers, was admittedly a little unfair.
With that thought, Yamagata snapped his arms upward.
The volleyball rebounded into the air.
"Shirabu!"
Yamagata shouted for Shirabu to come and adjust the ball.
He had let his attention wander for a moment and hadn't adjusted in time, so the first pass wasn't quite on target. Shirabu would have to make up for it.
The receive looked decent enough, but by Yamagata's demanding standards, it was still far from satisfactory.
Hearing Yamagata's call, Shirabu turned away from the net, ran into the backcourt, and jumped to adjust the ball.
Reon and Ryosuke moved toward the net. Osamu Miya stood opposite them, while Suna waited near position three, preparing to block Ushijima as he approached.
Aran cut off Tsutomu Goshiki's route, leaving both teams momentarily locked in a standoff around the net.
Shirabu took in the situation and felt a headache coming on. This was the setup he hated most. Every attacking lane had both a hitter and a blocker. Shirabu preferred setting around the block, but there was no way to avoid it this time. Under these circumstances, setting to Ushijima was the safest option.
His hands followed his thoughts. Ushijima gave them the best chance of scoring.
Ushijima had already completed his approach toward position three. All he needed was the ball.
From the back row, Shirabu sent a long set toward position three.
Ushijima arrived at the net and jumped immediately. The ball reached him at the same moment, hanging precisely at his highest point of contact.
Suna saw Ushijima rise and jumped with him, straightening both arms into a blocking position.
He knew stopping Ushijima would be extremely difficult, but he still had to try. He was determined to block one of Ushijima's spikes during this match. Otherwise, the trip would have been a waste.
Suspended in the air, Ushijima looked at Suna's thin arms and legs without lowering his guard in the slightest. Players who looked lean and frail could be terrifying blockers.
Ryosuke was a perfect example. Ushijima had suffered plenty at his hands.
Every day, Ryosuke and Tendo's blocks put him through the wringer.
Suna stared fixedly at Ushijima's left hand, waiting for his next move.
After a brief moment of thought, Ushijima didn't swing with his left. Instead, he quietly raised his right hand.
Suna was still completely focused on Ushijima's left.
"Suna! His right hand!"
Atsumu Miya's shout exploded from nearby.
Suna looked baffled. What about his right hand?
A split second later, he understood.
The volleyball skimmed past his left side and slammed into the court.
"Bang!"
Suna felt as though his ears were about to go deaf. The tremendous force and instinctive fear made him squeeze his eyes shut for a split second.
"Beep————!"
Suna and Ushijima landed at the same time, just as the referee's whistle signaled the point.
Everyone in the stands abruptly sat upright.
They could hardly believe what they had just seen. Ushijima, famous for his left-handed attacks, had actually started using his right hand.
Had the world gone mad?
Live long enough, and apparently you really would see everything.
"Konoha, Konoha! Did you see that? Did you see it? His right hand! His right hand! His right hand!"
Bokuto grabbed Konoha by the shoulders and shook him wildly. The shock of seeing Ushijima use his right hand had turned him into a broken record, and his mouth hung open in disbelief.
Konoha had been shocked too, but now Bokuto was shaking him so violently that he was about to throw up. He had only just eaten lunch, and Bokuto was seconds away from making it all come back up.
In the end, Keiji Akaashi rescued him from Bokuto's grip.
Konoha looked at Keiji Akaashi like a man who had narrowly escaped death, tears welling in his eyes. Keiji Akaashi had saved his life.
Bokuto was practically death incarnate.
"That really was a right-handed spike."
Only after recovering did Konoha finally speak.
Then he noticed that everyone's expressions had turned serious at the same time.
Oikawa's eyes were wide, and he remained silent for a long while. The shock had left him speechless.
A right-handed spike...
So Ushijima had already become that strong.
Oikawa's spirits sank in an instant.
He let out a heavy sigh and quietly asked Iwaizumi, "Iwa, will there ever be a day when I can beat Ushijima?"
His voice was as dejected as a dog drenched by the rain and unable to find its way home.
Even Iwaizumi fell into a rare silence. He didn't know what to say or how to comfort him. His childhood friend had always been fiercely competitive and as stubborn as an ox when it came to volleyball. There was nothing crueler than watching an opponent you had never managed to defeat improve even further.
At least, that was certainly true for Oikawa.
"Oikawa, that day will come."
Iwaizumi didn't know what the future held for either of them, but he was certain that Oikawa would continue down the path of volleyball.
"What an astonishing development! Ushijima, known as the Left-Handed Cannon, has used a right-handed spike in this match! As everyone knows, Ushijima is left-handed, and that has always given him a major advantage when attacking.
"Now that Ushijima has mastered a right-handed spike as well, his attacking options have increased dramatically. What an incredible achievement!"
The commentators were equally amazed by Ushijima's new skill.
"Atsumu Miya, what just happened?"
After landing, Suna ran over to Atsumu Miya to ask about the previous play. As reluctant as he was to believe it, there was no question that Ushijima had spiked with his right hand. Even so, Suna needed to hear it from Miya.
He had been so focused on Ushijima's left hand that he hadn't even noticed when the right one came up.
Miya's expression was grim.
"I was watching him the entire time. He looked like he was going to spike with his left, but somehow he switched to his right. You were staring at his left hand, so you didn't have time to react."
Ushijima's left-handed spikes were already difficult enough to handle. Atsumu Miya and the others had spent a long time discussing their strategy before the match and had finally settled on a way to counter Shiratorizawa. Their best chance of winning was to contain Ushijima.
Now Ushijima could spike with both his left and right hands.
That made him even harder to deal with.
Everyone on Inarizaki's side sighed.
"Ushijima-senpai is amazing!"
Tsutomu Goshiki gazed at Ushijima with open admiration, practically surrounded by little flowers. He looked exactly like an obsessed fan meeting his idol.
Shirabu glanced at Tsutomu Goshiki, quietly clicked his tongue, and muttered, "Such a suck-up."
Reon heard him and merely smiled without saying anything. Shirabu regarded anyone who approached Ushijima as an enemy.
Ryosuke was the only exception. After all, no one could resist a junior like Ryosuke.
"What made you think of spiking with your right hand?"
That was what interested Reon most.
Ushijima lowered his gaze to his palm and clenched it once before looking up.
"I don't know. I just felt that I could use my right hand for that ball."
Reon shrugged at the explanation. Ushijima had already revealed that he could spike with his right hand, so there was no point trying to hide it now. Besides, their opponents had no real way to stop his spikes. The revelation would only make them more cautious.
"Alright, whose turn is it to serve?"
Reon looked around as he asked.
Everyone silently turned toward him.
Reon froze.
"Oh. Right. I think it's mine."
The others didn't know whether to laugh or sigh. He had even forgotten his own rotation.
"Go for it, Reon-senpai!"
"Good serve, Reon-senpai!"
"Let's take this set!"
Yamagata joined in from the back, happy to stir things up. His last shout was particularly cocky.
"Alright, get back into position. Watch me score five points in a row."
Even Reon sounded unusually childish.
"That's way too cocky!"
Atsumu Miya glared at Yamagata across the net.
"Samu, crush them!"
Behind him, Osamu Miya rolled his eyes.
"Why don't you do it yourself?"
"I'm the setter!"
Osamu Miya fell silent.
Fair enough. Atsumu Miya attacked so aggressively that it was easy to forget the unreliable-looking idiot was actually a setter.
"Enough talking. Get back into position."
Omimi's voice carried over from behind them.
"Coming!"
The twins turned and shouted in perfect unison, then immediately looked at each other.
"Why are you copying me?"
"You're the one copying me."
"You copied me!"
"No, you did!"
"You!"
"Hurry up!"
"Coming!"
Their childish, elementary-school-level argument finally ended with Omimi's furious roar.
Omimi genuinely couldn't understand them. When they were apart, both of them acted perfectly mature. So why did they become so childish the moment they were together?
Was this some kind of twin effect?
Omimi didn't understand it, but he accepted it, as long as they didn't fool around during the match.
Once both teams were ready, the referee raised the whistle to his lips.
"Beep-------------------!"
Reon stood at the service line, bouncing the volleyball against the floor. After three or four bounces, he tossed it into the air.
The instant the ball rose, Reon began his approach and jumped.
As it reached its highest point, Reon swung his right hand and drove the serve toward the gap between Omimi and Akagi in the backcourt.
"Boom!"
The impact was deafening, almost on par with one of Ushijima's serves. Reon had learned plenty during the Golden Training Camp. At the very least, his serving had improved considerably.
Akagi's scalp tingled at the sound.
That would definitely hurt if it hit him.
Shiratorizawa was full of monsters. One player after another had a terrifying serve.
Akagi quickly began adjusting his position, only to realize there was no need. The ball was already coming straight toward him, aimed directly between him and Omimi.
Akagi gave a quiet, confident huff. A serve like this wasn't going to trouble him.
Omimi obligingly moved aside and left the receive to Akagi.
Reon's serve arrived a moment later. Akagi crouched and extended both arms in front of him.
There was no need to dive for a ball like this. A regular forearm pass would be enough.
Brimming with confidence, Akagi waited for the ball to strike his arms.
"Thud!"
Only when he made contact did Akagi realize he had underestimated it. The force nearly knocked him off his feet.
He gritted his teeth and lifted both arms, but his momentary carelessness had left him unprepared. His motion to absorb the force was only half-complete when the volleyball shot upward.
It barely stayed playable.
Atsumu Miya was furious at Akagi's lack of focus. That idiot had definitely been thinking about something else during the receive again. He had seen him zone out.
"Akagi! Stop spacing out!"
Before Omimi could scold Akagi himself, Atsumu Miya's voice rang out first.
Omimi promptly closed his mouth. Since they were already keeping each other in line, there was no need for him to interfere.
Grumbling under his breath, Atsumu Miya ran over to adjust the first pass.
"Sorry, sorry!"
Akagi scrambled to his feet and called out apologetically as he ran toward the backcourt. Regret filled him. If he hadn't let his attention wander, he wouldn't have gotten scolded for nothing.
Then again, perhaps it wasn't entirely for nothing. At least he would remember the lesson.
Osamu Miya and Aran rushed forward one after the other, preparing to jump. Omimi saw what they were planning and joined them, forming a staggered attack.
Just like that, all three moved into position.
Suna wasn't participating. He was preparing for the next exchange at the net.
Though calling it blocking wasn't entirely accurate. What he was really doing was obstructing Ryosuke's line of sight.
Ryosuke frowned when he saw Suna running toward him. Nothing annoyed him more than someone blocking his view of the opposing attack. Cutting off his own attacking route was one thing, but interfering with his blocking vision was something he couldn't tolerate.
The moment Ryosuke spotted Suna at the net, his forward stride stopped.
In the very next instant, he switched to a lateral run.
Suna's eyes widened.
To him, it looked like a car had slammed on the brakes halfway through a turn, whipped around, and drifted in the opposite direction.
His reaction speed was incredible.
...
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