Sendai City Gymnasium, Court A.
The arena was roaring with spectators. Though Court A housed four courts, nearly everyone's eyes were glued to the match between Aoba Johsai and Karasuno High.
Excluding the cheer squads and family supporters.
Aoba Johsai 12:15 Karasuno
For most fans who followed only Miyagi prefecture high school volleyball, this was shocking.
Aoba Johsai, the perennial runner-up in the prefecture, was struggling in the opening stage against an unknown team, with only one step remaining to reach the top eight. Karasuno had taken an early three-point lead.
Even the event organizers didn't anticipate that their seeded team would be pressed back by a relatively obscure team, and that this lead would feel insurmountable.
For fans who followed both junior high and high school volleyball, though, this result wasn't so surprising.
Especially for the older, retired men who loved volleyball but had little else to do.
"Pfft, a bunch of clueless fans. Dark horse, huh? Have you seen Karasuno #15 play? Stop calling him a black horse."
"I'll be watching him reach the top four, and you won't even know where you were!"
An older man in a floral shirt, with a pompadour, sat cross-legged in the stands. He radiated the unmistakable aura of an elderly Yakuza.
Beside him sat a more refined gentleman in a suit with a ponytail. He sat straight, holding a golden staff shaped like a beast's head.
"Cut the chatter. Weren't you always too scared to watch before? Saying, 'Even if the junior high kids are strong, if they fall before the group stage, it's meaningless'?"
The suited man teased his friend, recalling how he'd only come to watch after hearing Karasuno had swept two top-four level teams.
But when he saw they were facing Aoba Johsai, second only to Shiratorizawa, he went silent, until Ichinose Guren scored multiple spikes and consecutive service points, at which point he proudly declared himself an old fan again.
"You bastard! Keep your mouth shut!"
The floral shirt man snapped, irritated that his friend was revealing their thoughts to everyone.
The suited man, with mock elegance, simply turned his head, humphing softly, signaling he wouldn't argue.
'That reserved old man is at it again,' the floral shirt man thought, rubbing his nose, then returned his attention to the match.
At this moment, Aoba Johsai resembled Karasuno in the original story, caught in chaotic rallies, relying on the setter's control and precise setup to convert offense into defense, managing to steal a few points back and not fall further behind.
Their main disadvantage: every time Oikawa served, a moment Aoba Johsai typically used to score consecutively, they always met Karasuno's three strongest receivers in the back row.
This eliminated any chance of consecutive serve points.
But Oikawa wasn't without hope.
Even though Karasuno maintained the lead, Kageyama had one foot in Oikawa's trap.
The constant pressure, sometimes subtle, sometimes overwhelming, was making Kageyama's rational control over his instincts falter.
Oikawa, already prepared to lose the first set and win back the second, focused more on pressuring Kageyama.
The thought "faster, faster!" returned to Kageyama's mind.
Under Oikawa's immense pressure, Kageyama's sets became unintentionally faster than intended.
This wasn't alleviated by Karasuno leading, but worsened by Kageyama's drive, even stronger than his desire to win.
If the "Quick Attack" failed, everyone had to move faster to evade the block and scor
As someone who once faced Guren, Kageyama knew: Guren didn't need precise sets to spike effectively.
If he lost Guren's attacking power, the current effect couldn't be achieved.
"We can't let this continue," thought Ukai Keishin.
He had no concerns about the overall match, Karasuno was ahead, but he doubted Kageyama's performance as a genius player.
For players like Kageyama, Oikawa, and Tsukishima, suppression by a coach alone wouldn't work.
They had to reach understanding on their own.
The coach's job was to give them a chance to calm down and observe the match from a broader perspective.
So, to Kageyama's surprise, Sugawara Koushi had finished warming up and was substituted in.
This was exactly one of Oikawa's objectives.
If Kageyama stayed, his errors would increase in the second set.
With Sugawara on, Karasuno likely wouldn't use another player with such comprehensive skills and precise setting.
This gave Aoba Johsai a chance to fight back.
But Oikawa hadn't anticipated Sugawara's devious playing style.
With Sugawara on, Karasuno scored two more points, extending their lead to five.
Aoba Johsai was suppressed even further.
'Huh, once Kageyama's out, Karasuno seems to play smarter.'
Oikawa wiped sweat from his chin, smiling.
'Got it. Karasuno… you're really tenacious.'
When Oikawa served, knowing his own team couldn't match Karasuno's current lineup, he risked errors to increase serve power.
The first serve went out, but the sheer strength was nearly unstoppable, even Daichi Sawamura and Nishinoya Yuu struggled to react.
What shocked everyone more was Aoba Johsai's #16, Kyotani Kentarou, nicknamed "Mad Dog" by Oikawa, finally taking the court.
After breaking his "cold bench" seal, Kyotani devoured every set aggressively.
First ball, he stole a pass that wasn't even meant for him, forming a C-shape in midair to deliver an earth-shattering spike.
Guren, having interacted with Kyotani before, immediately tagged him as prey.
Like a wild prairie dog, Kyotani displayed his core muscle control for the first time in an IH match, only to be violently blocked by Guren's cross-arm defense.
Unlike Aoba Johsai's refined style, Kyotani was chaotic and wild, moving explosively, with an abstract aura of violence.
Like a fully drawn bow, he unleashed an explosive spike.
But Guren, with his superior intelligence and ferocity, read Kyotani's trajectory completely.
He had no intention of relying on a soft block or team coordination.
"Savage beast, you die here."
Using explosive jumps and superior reach, Guren slammed the ball down on Kyotani like a forceful dunk.
The poor volleyball, bombarded by Aoba Johsai's #16 and then Karasuno #15, seemed enraged.
It shot directly at Kyotani's face, the one who had just swung for satisfaction and revenge, BAM!
Kyotani, unprepared, got hit.
All feelings of triumph vanished, replaced by dizziness, pain, and blood.
The referee immediately called a timeout.
Kyotani's nose bled violently, triggering his wild instincts, but his eyes remained ferocious, glaring at Guren even as medics attended him.
Guren merely said lightly, "Sorry," and turned to discuss tactics with his teammates.
Thus, the first set ended in Karasuno's favor.
But in the second set awaited: a fully warmed-up, battle-hardened Kyotani, and Oikawa, whose serving power had dramatically increased after experimentation.
Strong, skilled, and ready, the "Alexander the Great" of volleyball now led a sharpened "mad dog," poised for Karasuno's second encounter.