In midair, he skillfully avoided Yudai Hyakuzawa's attempt to cut him off. With a powerful swing, the spike shot past Shoyo Hinata's block, slipping right through the gap between his hands.
BOOM! PAH.
The impact of the ball echoed loudly.
But unfortunately, that wasn't the sound of the ball hitting the floor.
Instead, it was the sound of the ball being completely stuffed at the net, smacking back into Nekoma's court.
Still suspended in his landing from the spike, Yamamoto Taketora furrowed his brows. That delinquent-like smirk crept right back onto his face as he landed, striking a pose that screamed provocation, 100% intentional.
"You little—"
Standing before him was Shoyo Hinata, arms still raised, with Ichinose Guren right behind him.
When facing Yamamoto's spike, Ichinose had already predicted that this guy, who looked brainless, but could actually be surprisingly sharp, would most likely target Hinata.
Normally, a spiker wouldn't choose to attack someone nearly two meters tall.¹
But Ichinose had already prepared for it.
From the farthest possible distance, he burst forward with absurd speed and leapt behind Hinata, using his exceptional jump height and reach to seal the ball.
That spike, under normal circumstances, would have broken through the block. But whether it would've scored depended entirely on Karasuno's libero.
If this provocation had been aimed at Hinata, someone timid in daily life but courageous in clutch moments, he might have shrunk away against someone with Yamamoto's "delinquent aura."
But Yamamoto wasn't provoking Hinata.
He was provoking someone who had been holding in a fierce desire to fight for almost two months.
Ichinose's lips curled upward. The more provocative Yamamoto acted, the more delighted Ichinose looked, yet behind that smile, his eyes burned with sharper, colder intent.
"That guy must be crazy. He's actually provoking Ichinose…"
Even Ryunosuke Tanaka, usually brimming with bravado, felt a chill.
He had faced Ichinose across the net before.
At first, Tanaka would puff his chest and taunt confidently.
After two matches? His provocations… diminished.
After the third match? He understood.
Ichinose Guren… is not human.
He didn't even need trash talk. Just sheer overwhelming skill and those expressive, borderline theatrical facial expressions were enough to light a fire in your competitive spirit and then crush you with it for hours on end.
Tanaka, a man of iron, eventually learned: If he wasn't in peak fighting condition that day, he would rather not be the one blocking Ichinose's spikes.
He wasn't a middle blocker, blocking was already not his specialty.
Yet Ichinose would still shut down his attacks, then look at him with a face that clearly said: Is that all?
In Karasuno, only Nishinoya Yuu and Shoyo Hinata could withstand Ichinose's relentless offensive "storm mode."
And those two, after getting caught up in Tanaka's early provocations, actually liked it.
Even being called "the most convenient punching bags on the team" didn't faze them.
They would actively ask for extra training.
Ichinose gladly agreed but once they reached their physical limits, he would reject them immediately, forcing them to stop before they hurt themselves.
So when Tanaka saw Yamamoto provoking Ichinose now, he could only sigh with the expression of someone who had already suffered and learned:
"Rest in peace, brother."
Ichinose, however, did not hold back his words.
"You spike pretty well."
Yamamoto froze, his provoking expression slipped. He almost responded politely.
But the next sentence lit his nerves on fire.
"Just a little more and you might have broken through my block. Try harder next time, okay?"
"…WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
Yamamoto glared so hard it looked like he was trying to kill Ichinose with just his eyes.
Ichinose only let out a small laugh.
"Heh."
And then he simply turned away and walked back from the net.
This drove Yamamoto into a frenzy.
"Kenma! Next ball's mine! I'm gonna spike it right in his face and score!!"
Tetsuro Kuroo immediately grabbed Yamamoto's arm to stop him.
"Calm down. If you get angry, you're falling right into his trap."
"If everyone knows who you're aiming at, do you really think you'll score?"
"If you miss, the momentum swings entirely to them."
With Kuroo's words, Yamamoto forced himself to breathe and settle down.
Only then did Kuroo relax and return to his usual grin.
He looked at Karasuno across the net.
"Sorry about that, thanks for waiting."
Daichi sighed and shot Ichinose a look, then nodded apologetically back at Kuroo.
On the sidelines, Coach Nekomata chuckled.
"What an interesting kid. His trash talk is quite something."
Ukai scratched his cheek awkwardly and muttered to the teacher beside him.
"You never told me Ichinose had a habit of provoking people."
The teacher grimaced.
"Uh… I've actually never really watched their practice matches seriously. I'm usually out arranging scrims with other schools…"
Ukai couldn't argue, it was believable.
But deep down he thought:
'This level of trash talk… used strategically, it's a weapon.'
'It may not be technical volleyball play, but it's definitely psychological warfare. Should we use this?'
Meanwhile, the few who truly knew Ichinose thought the same thing:
He has no strategy.
He just gets provoked and fires back.
That's all.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria