The Silence of the Fallen
A chilling silence swallowed the Karasuno court.
The players stared at the volleyball rolling across the floor, their eyes wide with disbelief. Hinata Shōyō's pupils dilated; for the first time in his life, he felt the true, suffocating weight of "the pressure of the strong."
BEEP!!!
Coach Ukai Keishin hurriedly called his second and final timeout.
"For the next stretch of the game, as long as Seijoh's Number 8 is in the front row, do not use the [Freak Quick]," Ukai commanded.
"Eh?"
The Karasuno players were stunned. This was the first time Ukai had ever issued an outright ban on their primary weapon.
Among them, the one most affected was undoubtedly Hinata. While he might be a bit slow on the uptake in daily life, he wasn't oblivious. On this court, his greatest value lay in the [Freak Quick] he executed with Kageyama. Without that weapon, his utility in other areas of the game paled in comparison to his teammates.
Sure enough, Ukai's next words hit like a physical blow: "As for Hinata, you're subbing out for now. Oda will take your place."
Hinata's pupils shrunk to pinpricks. The rest of the team hesitated, wanting to speak up, but ultimately remained silent.
> "I'm sure you all noticed," Ukai continued grimly. "When that Number 8 blocked the [Freak Quick] just now, he did it with one hand. To stuff an attack of that speed with a single hand means only one thing: he has completely seen through Kageyama and Hinata's timing."
>
"It would be one thing if he just figured out your signals, but from what I can see on the sidelines, it's deeper than that. So, as long as Akashi Asuka is in the front row, the [Freak Quick] is off-limits. Once he rotates to the back, Kageyama, you can decide whether to use it or not."
Karasuno was now out of timeouts. For the remainder of the set, Ukai would have no way to intervene tactically. The game was now entirely in the hands of Kageyama Tobio's judgment.
Kageyama nodded firmly. "Understood!"
The Wall of 80
The match resumed. When Akashi Asuka stepped back onto the court and saw Hinata subbed out for Oda Miki, he gave the new arrival a cursory glance before looking away, disinterested.
Oda Miki could only manage a bitter smile. This is bad. That guy Akashi...
Seijoh continued to serve. Once the ball cleared the net, Kageyama set it to Azumane Asahi. The Ace leaped for a powerful spike, but Akashi met him at the apex, stuffing the ball straight down.
14:11.
The gap Karasuno had fought so hard to close was widening once again.
Dammit, is his blocking really this strong too? Ukai thought from the sidelines, his face darkening. He hadn't expected Seijoh's shift in focus to yield such drastic results.
It was a matter of timing. Just yesterday, after the match against Omisaki High, Akashi's Blocking stat had officially reached the 80-point threshold. Karasuno was the first team to experience exactly what a defender of that caliber looked like.
On the next play, Karasuno went to Asahi again. This time, Akashi got a piece of the ball, but it deflected off his hands and landed out of bounds. Seijoh lost the point.
14:12.
Next, Karasuno served, and Seijoh took the offensive. Karasuno had begun to realize that Akashi was now the focal point of the attack. When Oikawa Tōru set the ball, three Karasuno blockers swarmed Akashi.
Facing the triple block, Akashi didn't flinch. He uncorked an unreasonable, razor-sharp cross-court spike that landed well within the three-meter line.
15:12.
"He can hit a cross at that angle?"
The Karasuno players felt a wave of helplessness. They had effectively sealed off every conventional lane, yet Akashi had still scored with effortless grace. It was the kind of strength that bred despair.
The Pinch Server's Gamble
As the match progressed, Kageyama used every ounce of his individual talent to keep Karasuno in the fight.
However, the lead inevitably grew. Oikawa and Akashi took turns raining down heavy serves. Despite Nishinoya Yū performing at a level beyond his usual limits, the deficit stretched to five points.
20:15.
Seijoh was the first to reach the 20-point mark.
The combination of the score gap and Akashi's dominance weighed heavily on Karasuno. Physical fatigue and mental strain made their movements stiff. Eventually, even simple plays began to falter.
Hinata (who had rotated back in briefly during a different sequence) swung his arm for a spike but misjudged the contact. The ball slipped off his hand, luckily wobbling over the net for a fluke point.
20:16.
The gap narrowed, but there was no joy on the Karasuno bench. Ukai's leg shook nervously. This isn't working. Their psychological pressure is at the breaking point. If I don't change the atmosphere now, they'll collapse.
Then, Ukai remembered something. He turned to a figure on the bench.
BEEP!!!
The substitution whistle rang out. The Karasuno players turned, eyes widening in surprise. Standing in the substitution zone was a player who had never once stepped onto the court in an official match, trembling as he held up his numbered plaque.
"Oh no, you've got to be kidding! I told him Tadashi's serve isn't consistent yet..." a young man in the stands muttered, slapping his forehead.
The substitute was Yamaguchi Tadashi, who had joined the club alongside Tsukishima. His role: Pinch Server.
After exchanging plaques with the player rotating out, Yamaguchi walked to the service line, his hands shaking so violently that even his opponents on the Seijoh side felt a pang of concern.
"Is that guy actually going to be okay?" Matsukawa Issei asked.
"Don't get distracted. Focus on the defense," Iwaizumi Hajime reminded him.
Yamaguchi took several deep breaths, finally steadying himself. He tossed the ball and struck it with a light, floaty touch.
"A jump floater?" Iwaizumi's eyes sharpened.
The ball reached the net and—THWACK—clipped the top of the white tape. The "net-in" serve sent a jolt through everyone in the gym. Yamaguchi watched, paralyzed, as the ball trickled over the edge and began to drop straight down toward the floor.
I'm so lucky! Yamaguchi thought, a brief surge of relief washing over him.
"Crap! Dammit!" Iwaizumi yelled, lunging forward to save the ball, but he was too far. He could only watch as it descended toward the hardwood.
At the very last millisecond, a leg shot out.
Planting itself directly beneath the falling ball, a foot met the leather with a sharp SNAP, kicking the ball back up into the air just before it touched the ground.