The Crushing Weight of the 'Miracle Ball'
"Huff, huff, huff~~"
Heavy, ragged breaths constantly permeated the White Team's court. A strange, oppressive atmosphere made every breath feel labored.
Beads of sweat, as large as beans, dripped down the chins of Iwaizumi Hajime and the others. They had to tilt their heads up at a forty-five-degree angle just to keep the sweat from running into their eyes.
"It looks like Oikawa and their situation is getting precarious."
"Mhm."
Coach Irihata Nobuteru, resting his chin on his hand on the sidelines, said: "That last spike had a huge impact on the White Team, because it was a point scored when the White Team was defending with all their might. Even if everyone knows that spike can't be replicated easily, in a match, this kind of 'Miracle Ball' delivers the most severe blow to morale."
On the court, a 'Miracle Ball' that scores even after the opponent has sealed off all possible attack routes often creates an impression in the enemy's mind: "If our strongest defense can't stop him, then ordinary defense is even more useless."
Once this impression takes hold, it deals a massive blow to morale.
To be honest, Irihata Nobuteru hadn't expected the match to reach this point.
Although he predicted Akashi Asuka would perform brilliantly before the game, he didn't expect the rookie to display such power.
Crucially, the other freshmen enrolling this year also possessed quite remarkable talents.
While Kindaichi Yutaro and Kunimi Akira's techniques were still somewhat green, they had heights that were comparable to, if not better than, high school players. This height gave the Rookie Team a powerful block that was in no way inferior to the Upperclassmen Team's.
Mishita Ryuhei, as a setter, had mediocre coordination with the others but shared an incredibly astonishing synchronicity with Akashi Asuka.
Coupled with the fact that Akashi himself was the super Ace Spiker of the middle school phase.
These factors combined gave the Rookie Team an offensive power that was not inferior to... and possibly even surpassed the Upperclassmen Team's.
After all, despite being a Top 4 team in the prefecture, Seijoh was not inherently an attack-focused team. Although Oikawa Toru was an hyper-aggressive setter, Seijoh's true strength lay in its coordinated tactical teamwork and balanced individual skills.
If this were the fully-integrated Seijoh team, the rookies, with their current strength, would likely be no match, because while the fully-integrated Seijoh's offense might not be stronger than it is now, their overall defense and coordination would be flawless.
But the problem was, before the match, Irihata Nobuteru had specifically assigned Seijoh's best Libero to the Rookie Team.
The initial goal of this was just to add a little firepower to the rookies so they wouldn't lose too badly. He never expected it to become the final straw that was crushing the White Team.
The current comparison of the two teams' strength:
* Offense: Red Team has a slight edge.
* Blocking/Defense: Red and White are evenly matched.
* Tactical Coordination: White Team completely dominates Red Team.
* Backcourt Defense: Because the main Libero moved from White to Red (a gain and a loss), Red Team is stronger than White Team.
Thinking this, Irihata Nobuteru couldn't help but feel a little wry amusement, unsure whether to be happy or annoyed.
Normally, he should be happy. After all, this was just an Initiation Match. Once it was over, Akashi Asuka and the others would become Seijoh players. The more outstanding the rookies performed, the better it was for the Seijoh Volleyball Club.
But the problem also lay here: precisely because Akashi Asuka and the others were rookies, if they defeated the upperclassmen on their very first day, it was hard to imagine what kind of negative attitudes might develop in the rookies in the future...
Irihata Nobuteru: "({oo}) Sigh! What a petty concern! The coach's seat isn't so easy to occupy after all!"
...
Iwaizumi's Resolve
As Irihata Nobuteru predicted, the White Team's morale had nearly hit rock bottom.
Hanamaki Takahiro, Matsukawa Issei, Yahaba Shigeru, and the others couldn't help but replay that almost unbelievable spike in their minds.
A curved shot spiked from outside the court boundary, landing tightly on the sideline to score.
A ball like that is difficult to execute even during normal spiking practice, let alone in a formal match. Yet, someone had just scored past their block with that incredible shot.
To say they weren't affected would clearly be a lie.
Oikawa Toru stood in the backcourt with his hands on his hips, recalling the trajectory of that last ball. But soon, the figure spiking the ball in his mind changed from Akashi Asuka to another, taller figure with an even stronger presence.
And gradually, the two figures in his mind began to overlap slightly...
Oikawa Toru clenched his fist, his eyes growing somewhat gloomy. But at that moment, a voice suddenly sounded next to him: "Hey! You bastard Oikawa, if you dare think of Ushiwaka during the match, watch out, I'll beat you up!"
Oikawa Toru: "!!!"
Oikawa Toru flinched violently, instantly snapping back to reality, then turned around somewhat stiffly to find Iwaizumi Hajime's fist already rock-hard.
"Uh~~ Iwaizumi-chan, are you a mind-reading parasite in my stomach?"
Iwaizumi Hajime sneered: "Heh! Your thoughts are completely written on your face... I'm warning you, Idiot Oikawa, our opponent right now isn't Ushiwaka. And if we can't even defeat the rookies in front of us, we won't be worthy of defeating Ushiwaka."
Oikawa Toru was slightly startled.
Then the gloom on his face gradually disappeared, replaced once more by his usual warm smile.
"You're absolutely right, Iwaizumi-chan. If we can't deal with these cocky rookies, forget about Ushiwaka—we might not even be able to save our pride as senpai!"
"So, Iwaizumi-chan, are you ready?"
"Is that even a question, you crap-head Oikawa? Let's teach these rookies how to respect their senpai properly!" Iwaizumi Hajime fiercely cracked his knuckles, instantly sweeping away the air of dejection and speaking with high spirits.
Seeing this, Coach Irihata Nobuteru and the assistant coach on the sidelines exchanged subtle glances, chuckling: "It seems our 'Ace' is also quite unwilling to give up!"
The referee's whistle blew, and the Red Team served again.
A simple overhand serve passed the net and was stably received by Yahaba Shigeru, then passed to Oikawa Toru. The ball only paused in Oikawa Toru's hands for an instant. The volleyball left a nearly parallel straight line in the air, flying instantaneously to the already jumping Iwaizumi Hajime.
"Don't underestimate your upperclassmen, first-year punks! We haven't wasted these two years for nothing..."
Oikawa Toru and Iwaizumi Hajime executed a sudden "Parallel Quick", completely bypassing Kindaichi's defensive range. Facing the open court in front of him, Iwaizumi Hajime roared inwardly and swung his arm fiercely.
The next second.
BAM!
DONG!
Two impact sounds occurred simultaneously. Time seemed to stop in that moment.
In mid-air, Iwaizumi Hajime's pupils suddenly constricted. At the same time, behind him on the floor, a volleyball bounced high.
Upon landing, Iwaizumi Hajime opened his eyes, which were shaking violently. He looked across the net to see Akashi Asuka's tall figure, like a mountain, casting a shadow over him.
Akashi's calm gaze looked down, and he spoke faintly: "Senpai Iwaizumi, you were right just now. I am not Senpai Ushijima. Because Senpai Ushijima never participates in defense during a match. But... I will."