"Damn it, you bastard!"
The moment Unnan lightly tapped the volleyball over the block, Mujinazaka High's setter's expression suddenly darkened.
The backcourt defenders lunged desperately toward Keisuke's shot, but in the end, they were just too late.
Thud, thud, thud...
The volleyball floated down gently, bouncing repeatedly on the floor less than a meter from the net.
At that moment, Mujinazaka's setter realized he'd been played.
The trap he had carefully set was not only seen through but turned against them in a counterattack.
Watching Oikawa Tooru's radiant smile from the opposite court, Mujinazaka's setter's face grew increasingly gloomy.
2–1.
Aoba Johsai regained the lead.
Next up was Oikawa's serve. Against Mujinazaka, his powerful serves had become Aoba's only reliable offensive weapon for gaining advantage.
Because Akashi Asuka and Wakatsu Kiryu's serves tended to cancel each other out, neither had scored well during the first set's consecutive serve rounds.
Bang!
Oikawa sent a jump serve that wasn't particularly fast but aimed precisely where Mujinazaka's setter stood.
There was no doubt about it.
This was Oikawa's direct provocation toward Mujinazaka's setter.
Faced with this serve, the Mujinazaka setter had no choice but to receive it himself, leaving the setting duties to a substitute temporarily. But thanks to Wakatsu Kiryu's "bad ball specialist" trait, even if others set the ball, Wakatsu could still unleash powerful spikes.
2–2.
The score was even again.
Though it seemed Oikawa's serve had little immediate impact, in reality, his plan was already unfolding.
The fifth ball.
Wakatsu Kiryu served, but once again failed to score directly.
No matter how powerful the serve, once the opponents adjusted to the rhythm, receiving became much easier.
For Wakatsu Kiryu and Akashi Asuka, both teams' players had clearly adapted completely.
Watari Shinji received the ball.
Mujinazaka's setter, realizing his trap was seen through, abandoned his earlier defensive setup and switched to standard defense.
But Oikawa and Akashi's cooperation, just with a single decoy, tore through that defense, helping Aoba score.
3–2.
Next was Akashi's serve, but the result was the same as Wakatsu's.
Both teams maintained a rhythm of attack and defense, one point each, creating a surprisingly harmonious flow.
When the score reached 7–6, it was Aoba's serve, and Mujinazaka held the attack.
This time, Mujinazaka's setter was ready to pass to Wakatsu Kiryu again.
But just as he was about to set, Mujinazaka's setter noticed something strange in the opponent's defensive formation.
A block at the center.
A block on the left wing.
But a huge gap on the right wing.
Yes.
This was the very trap Mujinazaka's setter, Michiru Usuri, had used against Aoba before, now directly copied by Oikawa without even a tweak.
"That bastard~~"
Usuri's veins bulge in anger, feeling utterly insulted intellectually.
Using my trap against me? Does he think I'm an idiot?
Without hesitation, Usuri passed to Wakatsu Kiryu on the left wing.
Akashi and Keisuke rushed to set up a double block.
But Wakatsu seemed to completely ignore the defense and smashed the ball straight through.
Just as the ball was about to hit the ground, Watari dashed out from the backcourt with perfect timing, right where the ball was going to land.
Smack!
Wakatsu's spike was received.
"Nice save!"
"Aoba successfully received Wakatsu's spike. Clearly, Aoba has read Wakatsu's hitting routes, and the libero's positioning was nearly perfect."
After the receive, Aoba launched a counterattack. Oikawa and Akashi combined for a quick play, scoring before Mujinazaka's frontcourt could react.
8–6.
"Wow, that was absolutely beautiful!"
From the back of the stands, watching Watari's near-perfect reception of Wakatsu's spike, Bokuto Kotaro couldn't help but praise.
Next to him, Keiji Akaashi nodded, "Indeed, Wakatsu's spikes are powerful. Without solid basics, it's hard to control the force properly. But…"
Akaashi paused briefly, squinting toward Oikawa's position on the court.
"That last point wasn't entirely the libero's doing. Aoba's setter outsmarted Mujinazaka's setter."
"Outsmarted?"
"Yeah! Using the same defensive trap, first provoking the opponent, then guiding their attack direction into a set area, where they'd laid a trap. Something like that!"
Bokuto blinked, confused. "I don't get it. Akaashi, do all setters have this many tricks?"
────────── ✦ ──────────
At Mujinazaka's court, Michiru Usuri's face was as dark as a bottomless pit.
Just as Akaashi guessed, that last point was a trap deliberately set by Oikawa.
Because Oikawa was sure that once he used the same trap, Usuri wouldn't attack the right wing.
So, Mujinazaka concentrated all their defense at the center and left wing.
That seemingly trap-filled right wing was actually Aoba's true defensive gap.
This simple truth was clear to Akaashi, and naturally, also to Usuri.
But that just made him even angrier, this was the second time he'd been outsmarted.
The score gap widened to two points.
For Mujinazaka's players, it didn't seem too worrying, they were confident they could catch up soon.
The match continued.
Aoba served again, Mujinazaka held the attack.
After Mujinazaka's libero received the serve and passed to Usuri, Usuri suddenly saw Aoba setting the exact same trap again.
This time, however, Usuri hesitated.
Because he couldn't be sure whether the intentionally left-open right wing was truly a trap.
If it was, attacking from there was dangerous.
If not, attacking the center or left wing was just as risky.
Usuri was in deep conflict.
Remember, this trap was originally his idea, but now the opponents were using it even better than he did. How was that any different from being insulted?
At that thought, Usuri's mindset began to crack.
Unsteady mind leads to unsteady hands.
Unsteady hands lead to unstable sets.
As the team's brain and soul, a setter thinks about many things, but the actual set happens in just a split second.
And in that moment, even the slightest hesitation can cause a serious error.
The next second, Usuri set a perfect ball right to the jumping Wakatsu Kiryu.
Bang!
The moment the ball hit Wakatsu's forehead, the whole world seemed to fall silent.
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(End of chapter)
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