As the score continued to climb on both sides, Akira rotated to the back row.
And Hinata moved to the front row!
Creak!
Nohebi's attack was picked up by Karasuno again!
Offense and defense swapped!
Whoosh!
Kageyama set the ball!
Although everyone on Nohebi had seen this type of quick attack between Kageyama and Hinata when watching previous matches...
This was their first time facing it directly, and they were completely caught off guard!
Smack!
Off the fingertips and out of bounds!
Hinata's first attack from the front row grazed the fingertips of Nohebi's blocker and flew straight out of bounds!
Creak!
Out of bounds after a touch!
Karasuno scores!
It was the middle blocker Hiroo who had almost managed to catch up to Hinata to block. After the referee made the call, he lowered his head and bowed deeply to the referee.
"I'm sorry!"
"It did touch my hand just now!"
"Oh?"
The players on the opposite side of the net were slightly surprised by his actions.
Because in their past matches, this was a common tactic used by Nohebi!
"On the surface, he seems polite and reasonable…"
"But there's a hidden agenda!"
Seeing this unfold, everyone on Karasuno felt a sinking sensation.
The referee is neither a machine nor an emotionless god.
Isn't it only natural for them to subconsciously favor teams that make a good impression?
Even though today's referee seemed like the cold, impartial type, who could say for sure?
Hiroo's seemingly unnecessary apology was met with a mildly surprised look from the referee.
To the audience, that ball had been a tough one to judge!
Hinata's quick attack was incredibly fast, and from the spectators' seats, far from the court, it was difficult to see clearly whether the ball had grazed the blocker's fingers.
At that moment, many spectators were beginning to doubt the fairness of the referee's decision.
But after Hiroo's words, those doubts disappeared immediately.
Even the player who attempted the block admitted it hit his hand—what more was there to question?
Seeing this, everyone on Nohebi's side exchanged subtle, satisfied smiles.
Whether it's provocation—
Or flattery—
As long as it helps them score—
They'll do anything!
That's always been their style.
...
Boom!
In the stands, Kuroo watched the action with disdain.
"They're obviously just a bunch of punks."
"Why go to such lengths to act so well-behaved?"
...
As the match continued, Nohebi faithfully stuck to their usual playbook.
Not only did they repeatedly provoke the players across the net, but they also continued their attempts to win favor with the referee through performative gestures.
The audience couldn't hear the provocative words being said by Nohebi.
In their eyes, Nohebi appeared to be an extremely courteous team.
Whenever they were called out by the referee, they immediately admitted their faults and apologized sincerely.
And if any mistake they made impacted Karasuno's players during a play, they would bow in apology with exaggerated guilt.
For example, during a spike attempt, one of them had scraped Tsukishima's finger trying to force the ball off his hands and out of bounds!
After that point, he bowed deeply to Tsukishima.
There are very few players who would go that far during a match!
Not only the on-court referees but even some uninformed spectators were completely taken in by this apparent sportsmanship.
But…
No matter how often Nohebi tried these tactics, the massive difference in skill was impossible to ignore.
Just like Karasuno had analyzed before the match—
Even if these antics won them one or two points—
It wouldn't matter unless they could truly rattle Karasuno's mentality!
And so far, they hadn't managed to shake them at all!
Creak!
Under Akira's overwhelming pressure, Nohebi lost the first set by a decisive margin of 11 points!
"Phew!"
"What a shame."
"Nohebi seems like such a nice team! So polite and modest!"
"Yeah!"
"Much more refined than Karasuno's loud bald guy!"
"Too bad! They just don't have the strength."
"Ah, I really wish such a polite team could go further…"
...
Some uninformed viewers kept expressing regret over Nohebi's situation.
Even if they secretly preferred Nohebi, it was obvious.
Nohebi's chances in this match were slim at best.
The strength gap was just too wide!
Nearby, players who had previously gone up against Nohebi happened to be in the stands.
Some had faced them during the Tokyo Metropolitan Qualifiers and lost.
Others were their opponents from the earlier rounds of Nationals.
And all of them had strong opinions about what they were hearing.
"Polite? They're just pretending!"
"Hmph! Exactly. Nohebi's a bunch of shameless fakes."
"If people saw their true colors, they'd be shocked!"
"Hmph! Watching these Nohebi scumbags suffer is so satisfying!"
"Hahaha! Right? Karasuno is crushing it! I wish I could join them on court just to watch Nohebi's faces when they lose!"
With such opposing views, there was no room for agreement between the two camps.
The conversation quickly fell silent.
...
"Listen up, everyone."
Back on the bench, Daishō, who had been all smiles even when trailing in score, suddenly became serious.
"Our main focus now is to get the match back to our rhythm."
In the past, Nohebi had always relied on verbal tactics to shake their opponents' mental state.
Once rattled, mistakes would pile up—
And the crushing guilt of those mistakes would finish them off.
But in the previous set, Karasuno not only resisted their psychological warfare…
They got stronger!
That was deeply frustrating for Nohebi.
Before the match, they had already ruled out Akira as a target for provocation.
Then, after a single attempt, they ruled out Tsukishima as well.
No explanation needed.
Nohebi's players suspected that if they kept provoking Tsukishima, they'd be the ones who couldn't take it!
And Kageyama, the setter—no matter how much they harassed him, it was like water off a duck's back.
Nohebi's players talked their mouths dry, and Kageyama didn't even glance toward them.
If that were all, fine.
They'd seen players like him before—cold on the outside, boiling inside.
Usually, those types would start making errors over time.
But after observing him for several rounds…
Not only did Kageyama not make mistakes—
He got better!
Pass after pass, his sets became more precise, more powerful—so good that even Nohebi had to secretly admire him.
Eventually, they gave up provoking him altogether.
If they kept pushing, he might just play even better…
And who could they blame then?
And the same went for Karasuno's libero and the other back row players—they were unfazed and steady.
Then there was that little guy, No. 10—Hinata.
He looked like a total airhead.
But when they taunted him, he just grinned like he didn't even understand what they were saying!
In this kind of environment, the players from Nohebi couldn't help but feel—
That Tanaka's reactions were the most normal ones!