The players of Aoba Johsai were stunned when Nekoma nearly received Oikawa Tooru's opening serve right off the bat.
Little did they know, the players from Nekoma were just as shocked, if not more, by the sheer power behind Oikawa's serve.
"Damn, that was fast. We already saw from the footage that their No.1 has a powerful serve, but seeing it in person… it's way faster than anything we expected."
"It's not just fast,"
Yaku Morisuke, Nekoma's libero, added with a frown,
"The precision is terrifying. I've played against Fukurodani and Itachiyama in Tokyo, but I've never seen someone who can hit such accurate serves to specific zones like this guy."
"In terms of control, maybe only Karasuno's little monster comes close. But even Kageyama's serves don't carry this kind of raw power."
Footage can only show so much, and with video tech still not advanced, anyone who could glean insights from tapes alone had to be incredibly sharp.
Score: 1–0.
Aoba Johsai takes the lead at the opening.
Oikawa fired his second serve with just as much force, but this time, Nekoma successfully received it.
"As expected, there are no easy teams at Nationals."
The fact that Yaku adjusted to Oikawa's serve after just two tries surprised even the Aoba Johsai players. But after going through so many battles, they weren't going to be rattled by one reception.
"Defense up! Ready to block!"
Hanamaki Takahiro called out as he prepped for a block.
Nekoma's first attack was quick to follow.
Clearly, they'd done some homework. They deliberately avoided Akashi Asuka's zone and launched the offense from the opposite side.
"Raaaghhh! I'm gonna take the point with this one!"
Yamamoto Taketora, Nekoma's hot-blooded wing spiker, charged in with a roar that reminded Aoba Johsai players of Karasuno's Tanaka Ryunosuke.
Both of them relied more on fighting spirit than technical finesse.
But as he soared up for the spike, two towering shadows suddenly rose before him.
After a summer of intense beach training, though Hanamaki and Matsukawa's heights hadn't changed, their vertical leap had noticeably improved.
BANG!
SMACK!
Two near-simultaneous impacts echoed out.
The ball was sent flying back across the net with the same force it was hit, instantly bouncing back into Nekoma's side.
2–0.
"Eh?"
Hanamaki and Matsukawa blinked, briefly stunned that they had just shut Yamamoto down so cleanly.
It wasn't that Nekoma's attack was weak.
But for Aoba Johsai, that level of offense posed little threat.
"Wait… was that even their ace?" Hanamaki asked.
"Let's just keep observing for now," Matsukawa replied.
The two exchanged a glance and decided to play it safe for now and continue feeling out their opponents.
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Oikawa's third serve missed the mark, and the score dropped to 2–1.
Now it was Nekoma's turn to serve. But compared to their iron-clad defense, their serve game… left much to be desired.
How should one put it?
Let's just say when Watari Shinji received the first serve from Nekoma, he almost flubbed it.
Not because the serve was intense. On the contrary, it was so gentle that it threw him off. After months of enduring the monstrous serves from players like Oikawa, Akashi Asuka, Ushijima Wakatoshi, and the Miya twins, Watari was completely unprepared for this sudden shift in tone.
Oikawa picked up the imperfect pass and spun a textbook-perfect toss to Akashi Asuka.
Akashi soared into the air.
At the same time, Nekoma's middle blocker, Kuroo Tetsurō, set up for a block right across from him.
But Kuroo's block wasn't like most. It didn't come with brute force or intimidation, but with a subtle, needling pressure that felt like a sharp thorn prodding at Akashi's gut.
"Tch. Another one of those sneaky bastards."
Akashi cursed silently. It was the same feeling he used to get when playing practice matches against Oikawa.
BOOM!!
Annoyed, Akashi unleashed a full-power "meteor smash" straight through Kuroo's single block.
The sound of the impact startled Kuroo. He'd heard from footage that Akashi's spikes were powerful, but facing one head-on was an entirely different beast.
His arms, raised high to block, were instantly overwhelmed. Though he did manage to get his fingertips on the ball, Akashi's spike was too powerful to stop.
The ball slipped through.
It was clearly about to hit the floor, until two shadows suddenly darted in from behind, light and agile like cats. They dove low and miraculously dug the ball up, sending it skyward once more.
"What!?"
If Oikawa's serve being received had surprised Aoba Johsai, this left them absolutely stunned.
They had just blocked Akashi's spike, with only three defenders?
That kind of defense left even the seasoned players shaken.
The thought crept into their minds,
Is it even fair to call this defense "good"? This is absurd!
But none of them found it strange.
Since the Spring Inter-High qualifiers, "Pass the ball to Akashi and score" has become an instinctual mantra for the Aoba Johsai team.
Yes, some teams had given them trouble, but Akashi himself? Until now, no one had ever properly blocked one of his spikes head-on.
Well… except for that one time Karasuno's first-year used his face.
But that play directly cost Karasuno the finals.
Yet here was Nekoma, not only receiving Akashi's power spike from the front, but doing it cleanly, with just three defenders.
A defense like that, Aoba Johsai couldn't help but be deeply impressed.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria