At the moment, on the court...
As Yaku said just now, Bokuto is currently at his hottest!
Shōyō Hinata cleverly avoided Fukurōdani's block and spiked the ball into their back row!
However, the ball was picked up by Bokuto in the back row!
Then Bokuto, who had just received the ball, moved instantly!
" Bokuto san!"
Akaashi in the front row also seemed to anticipate Bokuto's movement, and his set went up right away!
On the opposite side of the net, all three players in Karasuno's front row jumped at the same time!
They were already very familiar with Bokuto's back-row attacks!
Their blocking rhythm and timing were spot on!
And in Karasuno's back row, Akira, Nishinoya, and the others were closely aligned!
Through the fingers of the front-row blockers, they could clearly see Bokuto's focused eyes, staring intently at the position of the volleyball!
But anyone familiar with Bokuto knows—it's all a feint!
In fact, Bokuto was calculating his strike point in his head!
Bang!!
As he swung his arms, the volleyball blurred into an afterimage, slicing right through the center of the three-man block and heading straight for Karasuno's back row!
In the back row, Nishinoya and Akira moved at the same time!
Nishinoya reached it first, as the ball was falling closer to his position!
Akira, who had initially been preparing to receive, quickly moved back!
One: to give Nishinoya enough room and avoid a collision.
Two: to prepare for the counterattack!
If Nishinoya could make the save, Akira would already be in motion, ready to launch into a back-row quick attack off a set from Kageyama!
Bang!
Just as the ball was about to hit the floor, Nishinoya lunged forward and made the save!
"Sorry!"
Though the ball stayed up, the pass was a little off!
It looked like the ball was about to fly over the net and land in Fukurōdani's court—when Kageyama suddenly jumped!!
But the players on the other side clearly anticipated that Kageyama wouldn't give up easily—three of them jumped at the same time!
The triple block formed right in front of Kageyama, sealing off all paths!
A second touch attack?
Impossible!!
But Kageyama's handling was different from what they expected.
He extended one hand and gently scooped the ball from beneath as it was about to cross the net!
Then—he sent the ball flying straight toward Karasuno's back row!!
And the three Fukurōdani blockers lunged in the wrong direction!
In Karasuno's back row, Akira had clearly anticipated this!
He was already airborne, and just as Kageyama's pass arrived, Akira reached the peak of his jump!
Bang!
An unimaginably fast spike shot through the gap in Fukurōdani's block, slamming into their court with a boom!!
Tweet!
Outside the court, the referee's whistle blew!
Karasuno scores!!
...
"What a play!"
"Karasuno! Karasuno!!"
The crowd in the stands erupted into cheers!
Karasuno's transition from defense to offense was brilliant!
Nishinoya's save, Kageyama's unpredictable decision-making, Akira's trust in his teammates and his perfect timing…
Everything was flawless!!
Across the net, Bokuto, who had just lost the point, wiped the sweat from his forehead and grinned widely.
"A match like this, an opponent this strong..."
"It sends chills down my spine!"
"Winning or losing doesn't even matter anymore!"
"To face an opponent this powerful—if I can't beat them, that's my only regret!!"
On the side, Konoha covered his mouth and whispered to Akaashi:
"Isn't defeating the opponent the way to win the match?"
"What is he even talking about??"
Akaashi glanced at Konoha helplessly.
"I don't know. If I could understand Bokuto-senpai's logic, I'd be the strange one."
"Erm..."
Konoha scratched his head.
"I guess that's true!"
...
Bokuto, breaking out again, displayed overwhelming strength, putting Karasuno on their heels.
Fukurōdani nearly overtook Karasuno on the scoreboard!
The back-and-forth between these two teams left other teams in the audience stunned.
Those familiar with Bokuto rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
After all, they'd never seen Kōtarō Bokuto this serious before!
But although Fukurōdani almost turned the game around, they still had a flaw.
When Bokuto poured everything into his performance, he became almost too strong!
His sense of timing, his attack power, his control over the court's tempo—
He was so dominant that even his normally well-synchronized teammates struggled to keep up!
Though it only lasted for a round or two, Karasuno seized the opening and snatched two points!
From there, they clung tightly to the match's momentum!
All the way to the end!
In the end, Fukurōdani lost the semifinal!
But they secured a spot among the top four of this Spring High!
And Karasuno advances to tomorrow's final, where they will face another powerhouse—
Fighting for the highest glory of Spring High!!