Creak!
Outside the court, the referee's whistle blew!
Everyone on Aoba Johsai let out a collective breath!
Finally, the serve was stopped!
Otherwise, who knew how much longer they could keep up?
But just as they were preparing to serve again, another whistle sounded!
All eyes turned.
Aoba Johsai had requested a substitution!
Number 16, Kentarō Kyōtani, replaced Number 13, Akira Kunimi!
"Oh?"
"Who is that?"
"Never seen him before."
"They're bringing him on at such a critical moment? He must be something special!"
"Maybe it's a last-ditch effort to turn things around?"
...
The crowd buzzed with speculation.
"That's the mysterious substitute from Aoba Johsai?"
Shōyō Hinata watched Kyōtani walk onto the court, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
"Don't worry,"
Akira said calmly, shaking his head.
"We just need to play our own game."
Across the net, the rest of Aoba Johsai weren't surprised to see Kyōtani enter.
Their coach had already told them—
Kyōtani would definitely be sent in mid-match!
Creak!
At the referee's whistle, Aoba Johsai served again!
Though the rotation initially had Kunimi serving, Kyōtani took over after the substitution!
Bang!
Under everyone's gaze, he launched a fierce serve!
Just like his playing style—aggressive and wild!
Smack!
But in the back row for Karasuno, Yū Nishinoya was solid as ever!
He picked up the serve cleanly!
Immediately after, Tobio Kageyama and Hinata connected for a quick attack!
As Hinata soared to his peak height, Kageyama slowed the toss just slightly—letting it hang for the perfect moment!!
Smack!
Hinata adjusted his spike route at the last second, bypassing Aoba Johsai's blockers entirely!
Even their back-row defenders didn't have time to react!!
Creak!
The referee's whistle echoed again!
Karasuno scores!
...
"What!"
Across the net, Tōru Oikawa clicked his tongue in frustration.
"That's the direction I told Kageyama to aim for..."
"And he actually used it against me!"
Oikawa had just tried to block Akira's lane.
He thought for sure he'd shut them down.
But Hinata completely avoided the final block with perfect timing!
"Hmph!"
"Serves you right."
Behind him, Hajime Iwaizumi gave a mocking laugh without the slightest sympathy.
"Ugh!"
Oikawa sighed.
"What I didn't expect though…"
"Was that Little Flying Crow could even handle such a harsh toss!"
"Seriously..."
"I envy geniuses like that."
Outsiders might not understand, but as a fellow setter, Oikawa could see clearly how much technique was behind Kageyama's legendary quick sets.
It was already difficult to place a toss accurately into Hinata's hand mid-air.
That required both precise placement and incredible speed.
But Kageyama's current passes could not only match Hinata's timing mid-air...
They could stop mid-flight and hang just right at the top of the arc!
Oikawa knew—he could never pull that off himself!!
Seeing the look on his face, Iwaizumi frowned.
"Stop thinking about that crap."
"You're just as good as anyone."
Hearing that, Oikawa snapped out of it.
"Hehe! I know!"
"Is that your idea of comfort, Iwa-chan? So heartwarming!!"
He immediately put on a goofy grin and turned to Iwaizumi.
"Idiot!"
"It's still a match! Get your head in the game!!"
...
Regardless of their exchange, the match continued.
Though Aoba Johsai's coach brought Kyōtani in as a spark, even after his powerful serve, he barely had chances to attack!
Karasuno's offense simply gave Aoba Johsai no breathing room!
Even with Akira still in the back row, the quick attacks from Hinata and Kageyama were enough to carry the momentum!
Not to mention—Asahi Azumane and the others had stepped up tremendously during this stretch!
Against such relentless offense, Aoba Johsai's defense was buckling!
And with Akira launching occasional back-row attacks as well...
The already large score gap only widened further!
Creak!
When Karasuno reached 21 points, Kyōtani finally got an opportunity to attack from the front row!
But at the same time, Karasuno had to face Oikawa's serve.
Bang!
Following the whistle, he sent another blistering jump serve flying toward Karasuno's court!
But this time—Akira, who had rotated to the front row, took a half step back!!
Smack!
With a soft sound, the ball bounced cleanly off his hands!
Akira had just received Oikawa's powerful jump serve himself!
Seeing that, Kageyama instantly sprinted into position for the set!
Across the net, all eyes from Aoba Johsai honed in on Tsukishima and Kageyama!
Because with Akira receiving, it looked like he was out of the play.
Their attention shifted to Kageyama's second attack or Tsukishima's potential spike!
And yet, Tsukishima leapt confidently—
While Kageyama's set... flew past him, slightly behind!
Higher. Further!!
Across the net, Oikawa's pupils shrank in shock
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