"Come on! Next ball!"
Everyone on Karasuno gathered together, patting each other's shoulders.
On the other side of the net, the atmosphere on Nohebi's side was heavy with tension.
Because the loss of that last point was too unclear!
"Captain! We…"
Just as Sakishima was about to say something, Suguru Daishō cut him off.
"The opponents aren't panicking yet, so we can't fall apart first!"
"Karasuno is a tough team!"
"What we need to do now is stabilize ourselves and stick to the plan we made!"
"Yes!"
...
"Looks like that guy's about to get put in his place!"
In the audience, Tetsurō Kuroo grinned, clearly in a good mood.
At this moment, Fukurōdani had already gone off to warm up, leaving only Nekoma in the stands.
"When the match ends, I'm definitely going to mock him."
"Is that really necessary?"
Morisuke Yaku wiped away a cold sweat nearby.
"I heard you two met back in junior high?"
"Why do you always end up bickering when you run into each other?"
"Nope! Elementary school!"
Kenma Kozume corrected him from the side:
"Kuroo and Daishō have known each other since elementary school!"
"They've been at each other's throats ever since."
"That's…"
Kenma's revelation left the rest of Nekoma speechless.
From elementary school to now—these two really have nothing better to do!
"Hmph!"
Kuroo pouted and said:
"That's because none of you know just how infuriating that guy can be!"
"Whenever I see him, I just have to mess with him!"
...
Meanwhile, back in Miyagi Prefecture, a group of players watching the live broadcast couldn't help but feel a bit of joy for Karasuno.
"Sigh…"
"If they win this one, they'll be in the top eight in the nation!"
In the lounge at Date Tech High, everyone was staring intently at the match on TV.
"Whoa! Is this the same Karasuno that beat our seniors?"
"They look so strong!"
The one who spoke had blond hair with three tufts of black standing on his forehead—clearly a first-year, and a new player after the third-years graduated.
"That's right…"
Kōji Futamata added weakly from the side:
"Looking back at that match now, it really felt hopeless."
Takanobu Aone stared at the TV and suddenly said:
"They've gotten stronger."
"Yeah… if that's the case, our chances of making it to Spring High might be even slimmer."
"But, what I'm thinking now is…"
The first-year continued:
"If Karasuno ends up winning the national championship, doesn't that mean our loss wasn't that bad?"
"Wait…"
Everyone around him froze at his words.
"Koganegawa!"
One of the second-years clapped a hand on his shoulder with an odd look:
"Your logic is… kinda out there!"
"It's strange, but not completely wrong!"
Yasushi Kamasaki, one of their ace attackers, spoke up from the side:
"If that's the case, then losing to the national champs isn't so shameful."
"After all, pretty much every strong team in the country would've lost to them too."
"What…"
Futamata looked stunned.
"Kamasaki! You too??"
"You don't seriously think Karasuno is going to go all the way, do you?"
"There are so many powerhouse teams in this tournament! I'd say making it to quarterfinals or semifinals is already more than enough!"
"Why not?"
Kamasaki smiled:
"If you ask me, they haven't even shown their full strength yet."
"Even when they played in the final against Shiratorizawa, they looked stronger than they do now."
"That's true."
Aone nodded in agreement.
"No way…"
Futamata and the others looked defeated. They suddenly realized everyone around them had gone a little off track.
"This is the national tournament we're talking about!"
"A national tournament where powerhouses are everywhere!"
"Please! Someone be rational!"
...
As the match continued, the score on the court reached 4:1!
After several rounds of intense rallies, Nohebi finally managed to steal a point from Karasuno!
"Finally, we got a point!"
Everyone on Nohebi was overjoyed.
In the previous exchanges, they had been completely thrown off balance.
Their best offensive tactics were usually deceptive plays.
Like tips, hitting out-of-bounds shots, and second touches…
But against Karasuno, none of those usual tricks seemed to work.
Not only were Karasuno reading their plays easily, but their defensive setups were also nearly flawless.
Any feint Nohebi tried—Karasuno was already in position to stop it.
But if Nohebi tried to go for a standard spike, Akira's blocks would immediately become their biggest threat!
"Phew…"
"Karasuno's second-year bald guy is rotating to the front row now!"
"From the match videos, he's hot-headed and super emotional!"
"Originally, I thought their coach would sub him out for their captain."
"But it looks like that's not happening!"
Daishō paused for a moment, then continued:
"So…"
"He's our primary target!"
"Yes!"
Everyone understood Daishō's intent.
Because even before the match, he had talked about this bald second-year from Karasuno.
Back then, he'd even expressed regret.
Because based on the footage, this guy was a perfect target!
Nohebi had dealt with many players like him in the past—just a little verbal baiting would throw them into frustration, make them impulsive, and easy to force into making mistakes!