"Pfft! Oda's expression is hilarious!" Roaring with laughter, Sanza Ryuhei, standing in the spectator seats, suddenly glanced over at Oda Miki in the substitutes' area and couldn't hold back a chuckle.
Akashi Asuka blinked in surprise, then looked in Oda's direction. Just one glance, and even he couldn't help but laugh.
"This guy really hasn't been enjoying his high school life at all, has he?"
At that moment, Oda Miki's face perfectly summed up the phrase 'worn down and battle-weary'.
Akashi knew a little about Oda's original high school goals. He hadn't had much to say about it, since choosing one's own path was entirely personal.
But Akashi never expected that this guy would end up joining the volleyball team at Karasuno.
Wanting to enjoy a peaceful, artsy high school life, yet somehow joining Karasuno volleyball, it sounded like a bad joke.
The match on the court had officially begun.
Karasuno's first opponent was Jōha High, a school that could be summed up in two words: weaklings.
Their volleyball club was basically a casual, fun club where everyone just hung out to enjoy themselves. But put them in a serious tournament, and they simply didn't measure up.
The first set lasted less than fifteen minutes, with Karasuno crushing them 25–12.
The second set was almost the same, under fifteen minutes again, Karasuno took it 25–14.
With a 2–0 lead, Karasuno advanced to the next round.
"All right, now it's our turn."
After Karasuno's match ended, Nobuteru Irihata clapped his hands and led the Seijoh players off the spectator seats, preparing for their own upcoming match.
Their opponent was confirmed as Ōmisaki High.
During the break, Irihata finalized the starting lineup:
Setter: Toru Oikawa
Outside hitter: Akashi Asuka
Outside hitter: Hajime Iwaizumi
Middle blocker: Yutaro Kindaichiichi
Middle blocker: Kazushizu Matsukawa
Libero: Shinji Wataribe
Though Akashi had taken Iwaizumi's usual "ace" position, that didn't mean Iwaizumi was demoted to a substitute. They had simply swapped roles.
Overall, there weren't many players on Seijoh who could outmatch Iwaizumi's skill.
This lineup was absolutely formidable. Even just their height alone gave off an intimidating presence, something clearly visible on the faces of the Ōmisaki players standing opposite them.
The two middle blockers stood at 189 cm and 187 cm.
As for outside hitter Akashi and setter Oikawa, both were just over 184 cm tall.
Just having these four line up at the net cast a huge shadow, blocking the opposing players' view and making it almost impossible to see their heads from the other side.
"Wow! The average height of Seijoh's players this year is insane!"
"Is that Toru Oikawa? Such an imposing aura."
"Whoa! Why is that guy playing for Seijoh?"
Someone in the crowd suddenly spotted Akashi Asuka and was shocked.
"That guy? Who's that?"
"Number 8."
"Number 8...? Huh? His face looks so unfamiliar. Haven't seen him before. Is he a rookie this year? Amazing, a first-year getting a single-digit jersey number?"
"Of course! That guy was last year's 'MVP Outside Hitter' in Junior High. He practically carried Sengoku Junior High to the nationals on his own… Why would he join Seijoh? I thought Kitagawa would definitely recruit him!"
Akashi's first appearance in a major high school tournament sparked a lot of buzz.
Hearing this, the already burdened Ōmisaki players felt an even heavier weight press down on their hearts.
Moments later, the referee's whistle blew, the first set of Seijoh's match officially began.
Seijoh's starting lineup featured Oikawa Toru on serve.
Ōmisaki had clearly done their homework and knew about Oikawa's powerful serve, so as soon as he stepped to the baseline behind the number 1 line, their front and backcourt players tensed up, preparing for the attack.
"Heh, heh, such vigilance, but I'm no demon." Oikawa smiled lightly, bouncing the volleyball on the floor a few times.
Then his expression hardened, and his gaze sharpened.
The next second,
With the rush of an unseen background music in the air, Oikawa tossed the ball high into the sky.
Bam!
Like a sudden gust of wind, the volleyball sliced through the air and dove sharply into Ōmisaki's court.
Thud!
The ball hit the floor before the Ōmisaki players could react. Seijoh scored the first point.
1–0.
"That was fast! I knew from watching tape that their serve was strong, but I never expected it to be this fast. No time to react at all." one Ōmisaki player wiped cold sweat from his forehead and muttered.
"Unlucky... to face Seijoh this early in the second round..."
"Don't give up yet. The match just started, anything can happen before the end."
They encouraged each other and regained their composure.
Oikawa stood just behind the baseline, glancing at the expressions on Ōmisaki's players' faces.
He said with a tinge of mock disappointment, "Hey, you might as well just admit defeat now. If you don't lose to me, when the next guy steps in, you'll be utterly hopeless!"
Bam!
With those words, Oikawa jumped and launched his second serve.
This serve wasn't as fast as the first, but its placement was much trickier, landing precisely at the cross point between the libero and the opposite hitter.
Ōmisaki's libero and opposite hitter both froze.
"Should I take it?" "No, you take it!"
Both thought the same, resulting in neither moving, they watched helplessly as the ball dropped.
2–0.
Oikawa served three more times in a row.
As expected, a regular high school team faced with Oikawa's powerful serve was utterly helpless, easily losing three points in a row.
The score climbed to 5–0.
Only on the sixth serve did Oikawa make a mistake, he served too hard, and the ball went out of bounds, losing one point.
5–1.
This blunder gave Ōmisaki a moment to breathe, and they regrouped to continue the match.
However, the very next point went back to Seijoh, making the score 6–1.
Now with the serve back on Seijoh's side and the positions rotated, it was Akashi Asuka's turn to serve.
(End of Chapter)
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