The Grand King's Serve
"Gulp~"
"The Grand King's serve!"
Hinata Shōyō watched Oikawa Tōru walk to the position 1 baseline with the ball and couldn't help but swallow.
The expressions of the other Karasuno players also became grave.
After all, in the previous practice match against Seijoh, although Oikawa Tōru only appeared for a very short time in the final set, his serve left a profound impression on everyone.
Oikawa Tōru lightly bounced the ball outside the baseline, his face still bearing that seemingly perpetual warm smile.
"Little Tobio, let your Senpai show you how it's done!"
The volleyball was lightly tossed up. Oikawa Tōru's serving motion was almost identical to Kageyama Tobio's, or rather, Kageyama Tobio's motion was identical to Oikawa Tōru's.
A subtle background music played...
BAM!
In the next second, the volleyball shot out violently mid-air, rapidly flying over the net like a meteor, then dropping directly toward the Libero, Nishinoya Yū.
"The serve flew toward Nishinoya, was it an error?"
The eyes of the few Karasuno substitutes changed slightly at this sight.
Nishinoya Yū's gaze was locked on the incoming volleyball. The rotating trajectory of the ball seemed to be reflected in his pupils: "A straight shot... no, it curves."
THUD!
Nishinoya Yū abruptly shifted his direction laterally. With a muffled sound, Oikawa Tōru's serve was steadily received.
"Nice receive, Nishinoya-senpai!"
Kageyama Tobio shouted, then quickly moved behind the volleyball. At the same time, Hinata Shōyō in the front court had already jumped high into the air.
Whoosh~~ BAM!
The volleyball flew out of Kageyama Tobio's hands, instantly traversing half the court, and was slammed down by Hinata Shōyō with his eyes closed.
6:3.
...
"Oh dear! It was actually received?"
Oikawa Tōru rubbed his hair as he walked back onto the court from the baseline, his expression seemingly very surprised.
"What kind of demonstration was that? It was received cleanly, wasn't it?" Iwaizumi Hajime walked over and kicked Oikawa Tōru's backside.
"Also, there were so many places to serve, why did you aim right at their Libero?"
"Aww? I was thinking, if we defeat the enemy's king first, that is, if we could crush their Libero now, wouldn't the rest of the match be much easier for us? But I really didn't expect their new Libero to be this amazing!"
Oikawa Tōru still maintained his usual playful smile, but his surprise was genuine.
Although he had deliberately aimed the serve at the opposing Libero, given his serving speed and trajectory changes, it would be difficult for most opponents to receive, even if they knew the ball was coming.
Yet, Karasuno's Libero, seeing his serve for the first time, managed to receive such a beautiful ball. This is not something an ordinary Libero can do.
...
"A beautiful receive, Nishinoya!"
Seeing Nishinoya Yū successfully receive the ball and initiate a counter-attack, Coach Ukai Keishin on the sidelines also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Coach Ukai, did Seijoh's Oikawa-kun make a serving error just now?" Asked Karasuno Volleyball Club advisor Takeda Ittetsu, confused.
"No."
Ukai Keishin shook his head: "He deliberately aimed the ball at Nishinoya. In the current trailing situation, if that ball had resulted in a point for the opponent, it could easily have created the illusion that Nishinoya was being defeated."
"In that case, the heavy pressure already on the team due to the deficit would immediately become even heavier. If that kind of pressure is not handled well, it can easily lead to a total mental collapse."
"That Setter on the opposite side is very cunning!"
"Thankfully Nishinoya caught that ball, otherwise the team's subsequent performance really would have been..."
...
"The situation is not good!"
In the Karasuno substitute area, Oda Miki suddenly sighed, looking at the court formation.
"Huh? What situation is not good? Didn't we just score a point?" Yamaguchi Tadashi, also a first-year, asked upon hearing Oda Miki's low murmur.
Oda Miki glanced at him, then said: "I'm talking about our formation. After the rotation, the players currently in the back court—Hinata, Kageyama, and Tanaka-senpai—are not good at receiving serves. Yet, the player serving in the next rotation for Seijoh is..."
...
...
On the court.
After Karasuno scored that point, Hinata Shōyō officially rotated to the back row, and Libero Nishinoya Yū rotated to the front and was substituted out for Tsukishima Kei.
Hinata Shōyō launched a very poor serve, which was easily received by a Seijoh backcourt player.
Then Oikawa Tōru organized the offense. After a simple feint with other players, the ball was set to Akashi Asuka, who then executed a "solo tempo-change" attack, easily shaking off the single block in front of him and scoring a point.
Score 7:3.
After scoring this point, Seijoh rotated positions, and Akashi Asuka moved to position 1.
"Akashi, send a good ball!"
"Whatever you do, don't serve like that trashy Oikawa! I'll look down on you if you do..."
"({ヽ\#`Д}) Hey~~"
...
"Ooh, ooh, ooh~~ Is it finally coming? The super-powerful serve Oda mentioned."
Seeing Akashi Asuka move to position 1 across the net, Hinata Shōyō instantly got excited, his eyes shining and his whole body trembling.
He had been looking forward to this moment for a long time.
Ever since he heard from Oda Miki that Akashi's serve was extremely powerful, Hinata Shōyō had been eager to witness it in the match, and ideally, experience receiving one himself.
And now, that opportunity had finally arrived.
Akashi held the ball outside the baseline, gently spinning the volleyball a few times in his palm. Then, he closed his eyes, gently exhaled, and when he opened his eyes again, his gaze was calm as still water.
In that instant, the expressions of all the Karasuno players across the net suddenly changed drastically.
Akashi hadn't displayed any powerful aura, yet in that single moment, they all simultaneously felt a chill rush from their feet to the top of their heads, making them violently shiver.
"Be careful, it's coming!"
Kageyama Tobio warned.
Across the net, Akashi gently tossed the volleyball into the air, then began accelerating his approach, jumping, swinging his arm...
In the next second, BAM!
An astonishing contact sound rang out in the air, a sound so loud it seemed to silence the entire arena.
The volleyball, which had contacted Akashi's palm mid-air, paused for a moment, half the sphere compressed inward by the immense force. Then, as if a circle of white air erupted around the ball, the yellow and blue volleyball suddenly shot out like a bullet.
In an instant, the volleyball vanished directly from everyone's sight. Before the Karasuno players could even track the ball's trajectory, a muffled sound came from behind them.
THUD!
The volleyball violently slammed onto the floor, its powerful force crushing it into a semi-spherical shape before it bounced high into the sky.
...