Tendo was now keeping a close eye on Atsumu Miya, the first person to act once Shinsuke Kita gave an order. As long as Tendo kept Atsumu Miya completely tied down, he wouldn't be able to coordinate smoothly with the others.
Ushijima, meanwhile, was facing a three-man block.
A three-man block wasn't anything to fear, but dealing with one over and over was definitely annoying.
Inarizaki had placed Suna in the middle of the block, effectively making him the commander, with Aran and Osamu Miya positioned on either side. The moment Suna called out a direction, the other two could immediately shift over and close the block.
It looked formidable.
Ushijima's expression, however, didn't change in the slightest.
So what if it was a three-man block?
It wasn't as though he couldn't break through it.
Under the watchful eyes of the three blockers, Ushijima raised his left hand.
In Suna's eyes, the movement seemed to slow automatically, unfolding frame by frame.
Ushijima swung his left hand and slammed it down at the volleyball.
His target was Aran, positioned to Suna's left.
From Ushijima's experience over the previous two sets, Aran's side of the block was slightly easier to break through.
A cross-court shot would be perfect.
"Bang!"
The volleyball flew straight toward Aran.
Suna's gaze sharpened instantly.
"Aran! Left hand up! Brace it and press down!"
Before Aran's mind had even fully processed Suna's command, his body was already responding.
The instant he raised his left hand, he felt the volleyball coming straight at it.
Aran's eyes widened, and he instinctively tensed his arm.
"Bang!"
The ball struck Aran's palm dead center.
Perfectly.
Aran felt as though his entire arm was about to be ripped backward.
He locked his arm in place and pressed down with his palm, gritting his teeth so hard that the veins along his arm stood out.
The volleyball kept spinning against his palm.
Aran finally couldn't hold it any longer.
He turned his palm backward, and in an instant, the ball broke past the block and flew toward the backcourt.
Akagi had been about to move for it, but another figure was faster.
Shinsuke Kita.
He had been watching Suna's side the entire time.
Shinsuke Kita knew perfectly well that no matter how good Suna was at blocking, stopping Ushijima cleanly would still be difficult.
So he had been prepared from the beginning to cover behind them.
Shinsuke Kita sprinted behind Aran and moved directly into the volleyball's flight path.
He lowered himself and reached out to receive.
Although Aran's touch had reduced some of the ball's power, the impact was still heavy.
"Bang!"
Shinsuke Kita dug the ball up.
The volleyball bounced high into the air.
It didn't fly far.
Instead, it rose into a high ball.
A ball like that gave his teammates exactly the breathing room they needed to recover and adjust.
Coach Kurosu, who had been watching Shinsuke Kita closely, nodded in satisfaction.
When it came to handling small details, Shinsuke Kita had always been impeccable.
Meticulous to an almost ridiculous degree.
Maybe it had something to do with his faith in the gods.
Whether it was training, matches, or everyday life, Shinsuke Kita approached everything with the same painstaking care.
Coach Kurosu had once thought he lacked any youthful energy at all, almost like an old man trapped in a high schooler's body.
But looking at him now, running and sweating across the court, Shinsuke Kita finally seemed a little more like a teenager.
Atsumu Miya and Osamu Miya both turned their heads.
The moment they saw the volleyball floating high into the air, they relaxed slightly.
Osamu Miya took a deep breath and backed up several steps.
Atsumu Miya, meanwhile, used the brief opening to sprint beneath the descending ball.
Suna pivoted and successfully planted himself in front of Tendo.
Aran also backed up a few steps, preparing for his approach.
Inarizaki had an unwritten rule.
If they weren't sure who would take the next attack, everyone had to prepare to jump.
After all, no one could say for certain who the next set would go to.
Tsutomu Goshiki and Reon were already staring hard at Osamu Miya, clearly determined to make up for what had happened earlier.
On Aran's side, only Shirabu was watching him.
Tendo had been held up by Suna.
At the moment, Aran's position looked like the easiest place to score from.
Shirabu was only a setter, after all.
His blocking obviously couldn't compare to that of a specialist middle blocker.
So Atsumu Miya was leaning toward setting the ball to Aran.
But Yamagata was positioned behind Shirabu.
If Aran failed to score, then the ball would become a chance ball for Shiratorizawa.
Comparing the two sides, Osamu Miya's position carried a greater risk of a counterattack.
Reon and Tsutomu Goshiki might not block as well as Tendo, but they were both dangerous attackers.
After thinking it over, Atsumu Miya still decided to send the ball to Aran.
Now it was up to Aran to keep his service run alive.
Atsumu Miya jumped and sent out a long set.
The volleyball flew toward Aran.
Hearing the sound behind him, Aran took a few small steps back and prepared for his approach.
Shirabu had been watching Aran the entire time.
The moment he saw Aran retreat and prepare to run in, his guard immediately went up.
Sure enough, the volleyball came flying toward Aran.
Shirabu knew his blocking wasn't strong enough to handle this alone.
So he shouted,
"Tendo!"
His voice was louder than anyone had ever heard it before.
Everyone's attention snapped toward him.
Aran was already preparing to spike.
When Atsumu Miya heard Shirabu call out, he smacked his forehead.
He had almost forgotten.
This guy could actually yell for help.
Because Shirabu was usually quiet and didn't have much presence, Atsumu Miya had been so focused on exploiting him that he forgot Shirabu wasn't mute.
Shirabu: I'm not mute...
Tendo whipped his head around.
Then he immediately abandoned Suna and took off running.
Now the rally came down to speed.
Would Aran get the spike off first?
Or would Tendo and Shirabu complete the block in time?
Both sides rushed toward the same point.
Aran jumped.
He could already see Shiratorizawa's backcourt beyond the net.
He raised his right arm and swung hard.
"Bang!"
The volleyball came down with tremendous force.
Tendo was still one step away.
Shirabu gritted his teeth and committed.
His blocking might not be particularly impressive, but he still had the fundamentals.
So Shirabu jumped to stop the ball.
But Aran was clearly just a little faster.
He didn't hesitate at all.
He slammed the volleyball down.
"Bang!"
At that moment, Tendo finally arrived.
He jumped diagonally from the side, reaching out to join the block.
But Aran's attack was still faster.
As Tendo stretched out his arms, Aran aimed right for the edge of them.
The volleyball crashed into the side of Tendo's arm with a heavy impact.
Tendo immediately knew he couldn't stuff this one.
The position and angle were wrong.
There was no way to press it straight down.
His only option was to soften the touch and send it backward.
So Tendo turned his arms slightly behind him.
The volleyball followed the angle of his forearms and flew into the backcourt.
Yamagata was already waiting there.
It was almost as if he had known from the beginning that Tendo wouldn't be able to block it cleanly.
Several Inarizaki players looked disappointed when they saw the ball deflect off the block.
Especially Aran and Atsumu Miya.
They had both thought that attack would score.
Atsumu Miya had noticed that Shirabu didn't seem particularly close to the rest of the team, and he had thought that was something he could exploit.
He had judged Shirabu to be competitive and extremely proud.
So Atsumu Miya had assumed Shirabu would insist on blocking by himself.
He had never expected Shirabu to call someone over.
To be fair, Atsumu Miya's assessment wasn't entirely wrong.
The old Shirabu would never have opened his mouth to ask anyone for help.
But after spending two years with the rest of Shiratorizawa, that awkward, stubborn side of his personality had changed considerably.
Which meant Atsumu Miya's little plan had failed.
Yamagata received the ball from the back.
He had originally planned to send the first pass to Shirabu.
But when he saw that Shirabu still hadn't recovered from his blocking motion and was in the middle of adjusting his stance, Yamagata changed his mind.
Sending the ball to Shirabu in that situation would be risky.
Besides, Shirabu was standing far too close to the net.
If the first pass went even slightly wrong, they could end up making a complete mess of the play.
Coach Washijō would never tolerate that kind of embarrassment in a match like this.
So in the span of less than a second, Yamagata ran through every possibility in his head.
Ushijima was currently being watched by Osamu Miya.
Tendo was tied up by Suna.
Reon and Shinsuke Kita were staring each other down at the net, neither willing to look away.
Tsutomu Goshiki, meanwhile, was being marked by Atsumu Miya.
At first glance, there wasn't a single obvious opening.
It looked as though the only option was to give the ball to Ushijima and let him force his way through.
Only Osamu Miya seemed to be blocking Ushijima at the moment.
But in reality, all he had to do was shout, and Suna and Aran, positioned on either side, could immediately rush over and join the block.
They were all standing close enough to do it.
That left Tsutomu Goshiki.
Atsumu Miya was positioned opposite him, and he was relatively far from everyone else.
Even if Tsutomu Goshiki failed to score, there was a good chance Akagi in the backcourt would dig the ball.
If Yamagata sent it to someone else, there was a chance they could score, but there was also a chance Inarizaki could return it immediately with an overpass attack and turn it into their own point.
Thinking it through, Yamagata decided Tsutomu Goshiki was the safer option.
He put strength into his arms, adjusted the angle of his wrists, and sent the ball toward Tsutomu Goshiki.
On the other side, Shirabu quickly recovered from his blocking posture.
He realized that trying to set from his current angle would almost certainly lead to an error.
So he turned toward Yamagata, hoping Yamagata would understand the situation and avoid passing to him.
Fortunately, Yamagata noticed.
Instead of sending the ball to Shirabu, he passed directly toward Tsutomu Goshiki.
Shirabu relaxed.
Good.
Yamagata understood.
Tsutomu Goshiki had already heard the movement behind him.
He didn't even need to turn his head to know the ball was coming his way.
He backed up several steps and started his approach.
Tsutomu Goshiki didn't care whether it was a first pass or a second touch.
If he could spike it, then it was a good ball.
The moment Atsumu Miya realized Yamagata was sending the first pass directly into an attack, his expression turned serious.
His eyes locked onto Tsutomu Goshiki.
Osamu Miya and Aran were both focused on Ushijima.
Apparently, neither of them had expected such an important ball to go to Tsutomu Goshiki.
And even if they had considered it, they certainly hadn't expected Yamagata's first pass to go directly to him.
Atsumu Miya looked left and right.
For the moment, no one was paying much attention to Tsutomu Goshiki's side.
Everyone's focus was on Ushijima.
Atsumu Miya also knew perfectly well that he couldn't block Tsutomu Goshiki alone.
So he shouted,
"Watch the block!"
Osamu Miya and Aran snapped back to attention.
They turned toward Tsutomu Goshiki, then immediately sprinted over.
Suna was still tied up with Tendo.
He heard Atsumu Miya's shout and wanted to move too.
But Tendo had no intention of letting him get away.
He kept Suna locked down completely.
Osamu Miya and Aran raced toward Tsutomu Goshiki.
Seeing that, Yamagata also ran in behind Tsutomu Goshiki, ready to cover in case the spike didn't score.
Reon moved diagonally behind him as well, clearly preparing to cover the attack.
Tsutomu Goshiki was definitely strong.
But letting him face a three-man block alone still made Reon uneasy.
Tsutomu Goshiki saw Atsumu Miya rushing toward him.
Then he glanced around and noticed the other Inarizaki blockers closing in too.
If he delayed even slightly, the block would be complete.
Tsutomu Goshiki didn't believe he could take on a three-man block by himself.
Osamu Miya and Aran were still sprinting toward him.
In the brief instant after Yamagata's pass left his arms, Tsutomu Goshiki had already completed his approach and jumped.
He raised his arm, ready to swing.
The volleyball arrived directly above him.
By then, Aran and Suna were already partway into position.
Tsutomu Goshiki didn't hesitate.
He aimed straight at Atsumu Miya's arms and slammed the ball down.
"Bang!"
The volleyball crashed into Atsumu Miya's arms with tremendous force.
It spun against them, driving downward.
Aran immediately dove toward the area at Atsumu Miya's feet.
He had a feeling that if Atsumu Miya couldn't stop the ball, that was exactly where it would fall.
Atsumu Miya kept his arms rigid, trying to press the spike down.
But Tsutomu Goshiki's angle was too awkward.
The ball had struck the side of Atsumu Miya's arms, where he couldn't generate enough leverage to stuff it.
Aran arrived beneath him just in time.
He stretched out his arm.
The volleyball dropped directly onto the back of his hand.
"Bang!"
It bounced back up.
Tsutomu Goshiki immediately went on alert.
If the ball had been kept alive, then Inarizaki could turn it into an overpass attack.
And honestly, Tsutomu Goshiki still wasn't very confident in his blocking.
Sure enough, the moment the ball popped up, Atsumu Miya and Osamu Miya both took several steps back and began their approaches.
Tendo saw what was happening and immediately decided to stop wasting time with Suna.
Tsutomu Goshiki probably wouldn't be able to handle the next attack alone.
So Tendo tried to shake Suna off and rush over to block.
But there was no way Suna was going to let him escape that easily.
With one quick step, Suna moved directly in front of Tendo.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he stared at him.
Reon glanced sideways while running.
When he saw that Tendo was still stuck dealing with Suna, he immediately picked up his pace and rushed toward Tsutomu Goshiki.
Looks like I can't count on Tendo this time, Reon thought.
...
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