After the rotation, Ichinose Guren moved from position six to position one, preparing for his serve.
Standing at the right side of his team's baseline, he spun the ball lightly in his hand, feeling its texture and weight, letting every nerve in his body awaken to the rhythm of the game.
In front of him, the front-row players of Yukigaoka quickly completed their pre-serve routine, crossing their arms and covering the backs of their heads.
That odd action made the opposing team a little confused. Kageyama Tobio, in particular, had a few guesses running through his mind.
Once the referee confirmed the ball in Guren's hands, he blew the whistle, starting the eight-second countdown.
At the exact moment the whistle sounded, Guren's hand moved.
A flash of motion, a serve so sudden and forceful it hit before anyone could react.
The ball struck the court with a thud, rolled to a stop... and not a single player had moved.
The referee's whistle cut through the silence again, signaling the point. Only then did the players from Kitagawa Daiichi realize they'd just lost another one.
"Damn it! Libero! What are you doing out there? Your job is to defend!"
Two rallies in, and Kageyama still hadn't touched the ball, two straight points lost.
The lack of response from his own back row only fueled his irritation.
On the sideline, Kitagawa's coach gripped his thermos tightly, brow furrowed as he studied Yukigaoka's lineup.
What is with this team? I've never even heard of them before.
Not only do they have a player over one-ninety-five, but that guy serving, he's no pushover either.
Don't tell me we're about to get taken out this early in the Nationals...
Across the court, Hinata Shoyo didn't pay much attention to Kageyama's yelling.
He covered the back of his head again and shouted, "Another one, Guren!"
"Yeah!"
Kitagawa Daiichi quickly regrouped, forming up to receive Guren's second serve.
This time, as the referee blew the whistle, Guren didn't rush.
He calmly tossed the ball upward, giving himself enough time for a full run-up.
One step. Two steps. Three steps!
As he leapt into the air, the [Cannon Shooter] badge in his mind glowed brightly. Having just scored with his previous serve, another badge, [In the Zone], lit up as well.
Suddenly, all sound faded from his ears. The entire world went silent. Only his heartbeat and breathing filled his senses.
His eyes locked onto the ball, his hand-eye coordination reaching the peak of neural precision.
A perfect jump. Perfect elevation. Perfect timing. Perfect swing.
If this were 2K, he thought, this one's a green release.
BOOM!
A deep, heavy sound echoed across Yukigaoka's half of the court.
The ball screamed through the air toward Kitagawa Daiichi's side,
THUD!
It slammed into the floor, just inside the line.
Every Kitagawa player turned their head in unison to stare at the ball still rolling behind them.
A thin layer of fear crept across their faces.
"What kind of serve was that?!"
Sugawara Koushi was practically trembling.
"Are junior high players this insane nowadays?"
Ryunosuke Tanaka's expression grew serious.
"If Nishinoya were there, I wonder if even he could've handled that…"
Daichi Sawamura, watching his teammates getting fired up again, smiled faintly.
Even after being blocked by an iron wall, losing their ace, and having their libero quit, his teammates still had the fire to compete. I still love volleyball.
That made him happy.
Meanwhile, Kitagawa's coach couldn't stay seated any longer.
It was only Guren's second serve, but that already made it three consecutive points.
And in those three rallies, aside from their own first serve, not a single Kitagawa player had touched the ball since.
If that number one from Yukigaoka kept serving like this, their morale would collapse completely.
The coach quickly called for a timeout.
He needed to reset his players' mental state, and hopefully cool Guren's momentum.
After all, even pros don't serve perfectly every time.
With only fractions of a second to hit the ball, even the best can make mistakes.
"Alright," the coach said firmly, "don't panic. That number one can't possibly maintain that kind of serve forever."
"After this timeout, maybe his hand will cool off."
"Besides, those first two points weren't from his jump serve anyway!"
"This is just the start of the match. Once we adjust, we'll be able to receive it!"
Hearing that, several Kitagawa players nodded in realization.
Yeah, that jump serve only scored once so far.
Why are we scaring ourselves? The first point was that tall guy's quick attack. The second was a sneak play from number one.
Their captain stepped forward, voice full of fire.
"Exactly! What are you afraid of? The game's just getting started!"
"Do you really have so little faith in the three years you've spent training for this?"
"Think of all the sweat and hours you've put in!"
"Hard work doesn't lie!"
"Yeah! What's there to be scared of?"
"We're Kitagawa Daiichi!"
"Let's go! I'll be the one to receive that serve!"
But the king of Kitagawa, Kageyama Tobio, still looked annoyed.
He turned to the libero and said coldly, "Hey. I'll take the next one."
"No matter how strong his serve is, if you can't handle it, just don't move."
"I'll get it within three tries."
The libero frowned. "Oh, so now you're amazing? Why didn't you take it earlier, then?"
"What gives you the right to tell me not to go for it?"
Kageyama glared back. "Because I moved. You didn't."
The libero opened his mouth to fire back, but then… froze.
Wait. Back then…
As much as he hated to admit it, he realized Kageyama was right. He hadn't moved an inch that time. And Kageyama's feet had moved.
He didn't reply. Just grabbed his towel and wiped the sweat from his face.
"My business doesn't concern you."
Kageyama clicked his tongue and turned back toward the court.
Tch.
After the timeout, it was still Guren's serve.
Normally, a timeout like that could kill a player's rhythm.
But not for Ichinose Guren.
Because at that very moment, his third badge lit up, [Microwave].
No matter the situation, his touch would never go cold.
With the combined effects of [Cannon Shooter] and [In the Zone], Guren unleashed two more flawless serves in a row.
The score climbed to 5–0.
The crowd gasped.
"No way! Is Yukigaoka actually going to beat Kitagawa Daiichi?!"
"This is insane, total dark horse energy!"
"What an upset! This could be the biggest shock of the tournament!"
"You'd never guess Kitagawa were last year's champions from the way this looks!"
"Yeah, they're completely being crushed right now!"
"They even used a timeout, but that so-called King hasn't touched the ball once!"
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