4:1.
With a three-point lead in hand, Aoba Johsai returned confidently to the court.
Maintaining their serve, Hanamaki Takahiro launched a jump serve across the net. It was received cleanly by Yaku Morisuke, and Nekoma immediately transitioned into offense.
Once again, they targeted the same position, Hajime Iwaizumi's zone.
There wasn't much choice.
After all, the other two blockers at Aoba Johsai's front row were Matsukawa Issei and Akashi Asuka.
Matsukawa had long been a staple on the court, often listed alongside Kindaichi as one of Aoba Johsai's core blockers. While he wasn't quite on par with Japan's top-tier national-level blockers, his 188 cm frame was no joke.
As for Akashi Asuka, there was even less reason to challenge him. According to Nekoma's pre-match analysis, they strongly suspected that Akashi's blocking ability, like his offense, might already be at a national level.
Even if it wasn't, with his 190 cm height and frightening jumping power, trying to break through Akashi was basically a fantasy.
"Aoba Johsai's players really like using delay timing to attack and defend. So, the safest way to break through is to avoid clashing with their blocks head-on."
Kuroo Tetsurou recalled Kenma's voice in his mind. As the ball came from the side, Kuroo jumped early.
"Hm?"
In the back row, Oikawa's eyes gleamed, he noticed something.
Iwaizumi jumped to block as well, but he was just a fraction too late. Before he could reach the peak of his jump, Kuroo had already swung through and smashed the ball.
Thud!
The ball landed cleanly on Aoba Johsai's court, point for Nekoma.
4:2.
"OOOOHHHH!!!"
"Nice spike, Kuroo!"
"That's the way! Keep it up!"
The players of Nekoma huddled together to celebrate their hard-earned point.
Meanwhile, Iwaizumi stared at the rolling ball behind him, lost in thought.
"That... was a delay timing attack?"
He could clearly feel the mismatch in rhythm. His timing had been off. While his jump was powerful, the height difference was still there, and against tall players, timing was everything.
Nekoma reclaimed serve.
But on the very next play, Aoba Johsai immediately struck back. Oikawa set the ball high above Akashi Asuka's head.
Akashi leapt powerfully toward the ball, but just as he was about to spike, a pair of hands suddenly appeared in front of him.
They weren't high enough to block him outright, but the timing threw him off just slightly.
"Huh?"
BOOM!
Thud!
The ball fired off like a cannon and landed before Nekoma's libero could quite reach it.
5:2.
"As expected... Even if you read the timing right, it's still almost impossible to stop that monster..."
The result wasn't surprising, but seeing it happen up close still left the Nekoma players in awe.
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Rotation.
Aoba Johsai shifted their formation. Matsukawa rotated to the back and took over serving from Position 1, while Kindaichi moved into the front row.
Matsukawa had recently learned to jump serve as well. While his serve didn't pack quite the same punch as Hanamaki's, it was still powerful enough to pose a threat.
But for a defense-heavy team like Nekoma, it made little difference.
They received the serve cleanly. Kenma Kozume set up the play, and this time, Nekoma's offense was aimed at the zone covered by Kindaichi. Now that Iwaizumi had rotated to middle front, there was a good chance Akashi would shift over to provide backup.
And that was precisely what Nekoma wanted to avoid, any direct confrontation with Akashi Asuka.
This attack was handed off to another wing spiker, Nobuyuki Kai.
At 176 cm, Nobuyuki was giving up a significant height advantage against Kindaichi, who stood at 190 cm. But when Kindaichi jumped to block, he was suddenly hit with a surprise:
Nobuyuki didn't jump.
Not at first.
It wasn't until after Kindaichi had already begun descending from his jump that Nobuyuki soared up, at full power.
"A delayed timing attack?!"
Kindaichi was stunned.
That was their signature technique at Aoba Johsai.
So why…
Why was Nekoma's delay timing so exaggerated?
The essence of a delay timing attack was simply to throw off the opponent's rhythm for a split second, to create a momentary gap in defense.
But this wasn't a split second.
It was like the two players were operating in completely different timelines.
Smack!
Nobuyuki fired a diagonal shot, point for Nekoma.
There was no choice.
Even though their timings were out of sync, Kindaichi's height was still a threat. If he had jumped again and adjusted even slightly, he might still have blocked Nobuyuki.
So to be safe, Nobuyuki had aimed for the diagonal shot.
5:3.
That one point left Kindaichi momentarily dazed.
But in the back row, where he could see the whole court clearly, Oikawa's eyes lit up. A small smirk tugged at the corners of his lips.
"So that's it... That's what they're doing!"
Tweet!
Oikawa signaled Coach Nobuteru Irihata for a timeout.
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Back on the bench.
Oikawa didn't waste time.
"We're not being broken down by Nekoma's offense," he said bluntly.
"We're breaking our own block."
"Huh? Oikawa, what are you even talking about?"
The team was confused.
How could they be breaking their own block?
"It's because we use delay timing in our plays too. Not deliberately, but probably on instinct."
Oikawa rubbed his chin in thought.
"Delay timing has always been Aoba Johsai's trademark, right? We've used it so often, offensively and defensively, that it's become second nature to us. Including me."
"And the setter on the other side clearly picked up on that. He's intentionally using a different kind of delay timing against us."
"By doing the exact opposite of what we're used to, he's turning our habits, our tiny instincts, into weaknesses. Into cracks in our defense."
Oikawa clicked his tongue and gave an admiring sigh.
"Sharp observation skills... Looks like Akashi-chan was right. That setter really is some kind of gaming genius."
Right on cue, Iwaizumi's fist slammed into his shoulder.
Thud!
"Quit acting all philosophical, damn it! Just spit it out. You asked for a timeout, so that means you've got a plan, right?!"
"Eh? Nope!"
"HUH?!"
"Cough, cough, okay, okay, I was joking! But I wasn't really lying either."
"Listen, Iwaizumi-chan... What they're doing, it's just a way to buy time. It won't decide the outcome of the match."
"Because in the end... our raw strength is still what matters most."
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria