Hoshino Katsuri, Ichinose Guren's teammate, stared wide-eyed, frozen as he turned toward him.
His blank gaze screamed a thousand words.
What the hell was that?
Good thing I covered my head earlier.
If that ball had hit the back of my skull, I'd be in the hospital right now!
Ichinose Guren… are you really a Junior High?
Guren seemed to understand Hoshino's silent panic and gave him a smug grin that said, "Relax, I've got this."
On the other side, Hinata Shoyo furrowed his brows, still replaying that powerful serve in his mind as he jogged over to pick up the ball.
He handed it to the referee, who passed it back to Hoshino, who then tossed it to Ichinose Guren standing in the service zone.
"Thanks. I might have to trouble you again in a moment."
With his hair slicked back, Guren entered full competition mode, his tone casually taunting.
This was the level of Tsukishima Kei.
Guren caught the ball, his gaze fixed on the "cannonball" he had just unleashed moments ago.
But his thoughts were focused on a glowing badge in his mind.
[Cannon Shooter] (Bronze)
[Power Jump Serve] – Slight boost to serve power
He had unlocked it last night during his jump serve training.
From today's practice match so far, that "slight boost" turned out to be more effective than expected.
He wasn't sure whether the "slight" meant a surprisingly high bonus or if it was because his base power was already strong.
Either way, both Yudai Hyakuzawa and Hinata Shoyo had failed to react properly to his first serve.
Although neither had been playing volleyball for long, putting aside the tall Hyakuzawa, even Hinata, who'd shot up to 165 cm after meeting Guren, couldn't keep up.
His naturally sharp reflexes and dynamic vision weren't enough to track the ball's trajectory the first time.
That meant Ichinose Guren's serve was already lethal enough to be a trump card in an official Junior High match, a weapon of intimidation and pure fear.
Guren shook his head, clearing away unnecessary thoughts.
He spun the ball a few times, then stopped.
Toss, run-up, jump, swing.
Once again, the serve tore through the air like lightning.
But this time, from across the court came a fierce shout.
"I got it!"
An orange blur, Hinata Shoyo, launched himself forward, holding his breath.
This time, his eyes tracked the fast-approaching ball, but his footwork still hadn't caught up.
He couldn't get into position fast enough for a proper receive.
So, with no better option, he dove forward awkwardly, swinging one arm out to dig the ball.
The moment the ball connected with his fist, Hinata realized something was off.
Too strong! The ball's gonna fly out!
Sure enough, the volleyball paused for only a split second before rocketing off, completely unhindered, and landing out of bounds.
BEEP!
The whistle blew much faster this time. Clearly, referee Kawashima had realized just how deadly Guren's serve was, it was likely another service ace.
2–0.
The two score-flipping newbies reacted immediately, turning the board without hesitation.
After another quick exchange, the ball was back in Ichinose Guren's hands.
He patted it a few times, his palms burning hot with excitement.
Looking at the ball, he felt an intoxicating confidence, like he could hit it anywhere he wanted.
Maybe I should try adding control while keeping both power and speed.
He glanced at the two glowing badges in his mind.
[Cannon Shooter]
[In the Groove] – Each serve point slightly enhances the next serve's quality until focus is lost.
So this "quality" probably means speed, spin strength, and precision of control…
Heh. Fine then, let's crush them completely.
Guren clenched his fist, a savage grin spreading across his face.
The third serve exploded from his hand, another violent jump serve.
With Cannon Shooter andIn the Zone both active, the ball blasted past Hinata once again, despite his near-perfect posture, and shot straight out of bounds.
The aces kept coming, one after another, until the sixth serve.
By then, Guren's concentration finally slipped.
His swing lost precision, the contact area was smaller, and both force and speed dropped dramatically.
That gave Hinata his chance.
With a desperate dive, he managed to save the ball.
The volleyball soared high into the air, giving Yudai Hyakuzawa plenty of time to move into position.
Hyakuzawa kept his eyes on the ball, feet constantly adjusting, and calmly set it without any mistakes.
A solid, textbook toss.
The second touch hung beautifully in the air, giving Hinata enough time to get back up and prepare his run-up.
"I'm coming!"
Fast steps.
A big stride.
The back foot followed, keeping the right distance, knees and ankles aligned.
Both arms swung in sync to build momentum, core tight, lift off!
Hinata took flight.
But just as he was about to strike, a massive wall rose in front of him.
A suffocating pressure surged straight toward him, predatory and overwhelming.
I'll stop you right here!
The words blazed through Hinata's mind.
Suspended midair, he activated his sharp dynamic vision, scanning for any weakness in the towering wall that was Ichinose Guren.
Countless thoughts raced through his head.
Hit it head-on? No, I can't break through that defense.
Sharp angle? Off the block? Over the hands? Outside cut shot?
!...Let's try this!
Just as his arm swung down with full force, he suddenly decelerated, his fingers flicked the ball gently instead.
It floated right over Guren's hands.
Guren's eyes followed the ball as it slipped past his fingertips, landing softly on the floor, just out of reach of the diving Hoshino Katsuri.
About twenty centimeters short.
A wide grin, "Interesting…", spread across Guren's face.
For someone to pull off a tip shot this early…
He couldn't help but wonder what kind of monster Hinata Shoyo would become in high school.
==========
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