If Atsumu, Aran, and Suna had been trying to drive Aoba Johsai into despair from the very beginning, then Shinsuke Kita's role was to make that despair continue.
In a sense, his entrance was about to change the current situation between Aoba Johsai High and Inarizaki High.
Strictly speaking, they should never have been placed on the same level for comparison in the first place.
Inarizaki was one of Japan's powerhouse teams, a seeded contender in this Spring High.
As for Aoba Johsai, this Spring High was only the beginning of their entry onto the national stage. Running into Inarizaki was the worst possible luck. If any other team that had just entered the Spring High had run into Inarizaki, they might have been instantly beaten back to reality.
Even if Aoba Johsai's performance right now was good, it was only good on the surface.
Whether they could truly keep winning from here on was still completely unknown.
After all, judging from the current situation, Aoba Johsai being able to take one set from Inarizaki was already extremely impressive. If they wanted to keep fighting, they would need to maintain their rhythm.
But even if Aoba Johsai kept their rhythm, Inarizaki would never let them have their way.
Shinsuke Kita, who was about to step onto the court, would be the final blow that crushed them.
"Atsumu, why did you keep trying to imitate their spike just now? If you had kept working with Suna and Aran, we wouldn't have lost that set, right?"
Shinsuke Kita looked at Atsumu and spoke without the slightest expression on his face.
From his perspective, they had clearly been about to take set point, but because Atsumu insisted on imitating the spike combination between Hank and Oikawa, Inarizaki's team had run into problems.
That situation could have been completely avoided.
But because Atsumu insisted on showing off his ball skills, they had ended up losing the set.
"Ahahaha… Just a tiny little mistake."
After hearing Kita's words, Atsumu immediately laughed awkwardly.
In truth, he had already hidden his intentions well enough at the start.
He had wanted to defeat Hank at the root, to make them understand that even if they had polished a technique with great difficulty, he could still learn it instantly.
But he had failed to consider whether his own teammates could fully keep up with it.
In a sense, he had interrupted his own rhythm and given Hank the chance to take this set.
Even if he did not want to admit it openly, that was the truth.
That was what had led to their loss in the end.
However, Atsumu had also truly forced out one of Hank's trump cards.
After all, no one had expected that Hank would still be able to use a move like the Course-Changing Spike next.
From here on, dealing with Aoba Johsai properly was the key.
"...There can't be even a single mistake. If possible, it would be best not to act so selfishly from now on."
Kita's face showed no expression at all.
The words he spoke made everyone around him feel immense pressure.
In a sense, that pressure was very real.
After all, right now, every single one of them was taking Aoba Johsai's Hank seriously.
Now that Shinsuke Kita had appeared, the next part of the match would likely place even greater pressure on them.
(End of Chapter)
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