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"Kita, what do you think?"
The group watching the match, all clad in pitch-black jerseys, was none other than Inarizaki High, who had just finished their game.
Ahem.
Ren Ōmimi, the player on Inarizaki with the most expertise in net blocking, was the one who had just spoken.
As everyone's eyes turned to him, Ōmimi rubbed his chin and said in a low, thoughtful voice:
"If I'm not mistaken, that player named Akira tricked Inubushi Higashi's setter into making that second attack."
"That last play was entirely manipulated by the setter under his inducement."
"Inducing a setter to go for a second touch?"
Hearing this, Atsumu Miya was momentarily stunned before speaking up.
"That's not something you see every day..."
"A setter's second attack isn't something you use as a regular option."
"Because if the blocker on the other side reads it, it's almost guaranteed to get stuffed!"
"That kind of attack is only effective when you're sure there's a clear gap across the net."
He glanced back at the court, his voice trailing off in reflection.
"Is that it...?"
As one of the top setters in the country, a faint theory began forming in his mind.
"Exactly."
Ōmimi nodded.
"Just now, Akira created the illusion for Inubushi Higashi's setter that made him commit to the second attack."
"An illusion..."
The entire team furrowed their brows, eyes locked on the match.
"What kind of illusion would make the opposing setter believe there was an opening?"
"I don't know the specifics," Ōmimi admitted, shaking his head.
"But it must have been something like that."
"Otherwise, he wouldn't have jumped so decisively toward the setter's position."
"You saw that, right? That jump left almost the entire right wing of Karasuno's court wide open."
"If he wasn't absolutely certain, there's no way he would've taken that risk."
…
On the other side of the court, as he faced Karasuno's serve once again, Yōsuke Fumizuki could only feel a cloud of confusion lingering in his mind.
He still hadn't figured out what had happened in that last play.
Why did Karasuno's No. 7, who had been focused on the right wing, suddenly appear right in front of him?
Could he have known from the beginning that Fumizuki was going for the second attack?
Impossible.
His decision to go for the setter dump was made on the fly.
There was no way Akira could've read that in advance!
"Don't dwell on that last point!"
Just as his thoughts began spiraling, Keiichi Daigo's voice cut in from beside him.
Phew.
"I know."
Fumizuki looked across the net—Shōyō Hinata was already preparing to serve.
He quickly forced himself to refocus.
His experience told him: now wasn't the time for self-reflection!
Thwack!
Hinata served.
Tetsuya Harada, stationed in the back row, quickly slid over to the landing spot.
But this time, Hinata's serve was different from before.
Though it wasn't a power jump serve, it was a floating ball with an unpredictable trajectory!
Normally, Harada would have no trouble receiving this kind of serve.
But Fumizuki's failed second touch had thrown off his concentration just enough that—
Thud!
"Sorry!"
The receive went a little too high!
Fumizuki's pupils narrowed.
The ball was barely playable.
And if he tried another second touch...
Karasuno's No. 7 was already watching his every move from across the net!
It would be nearly impossible to pull it off again!
They were cornered.
Gritting his teeth, Fumizuki jumped.
Tap.
He gently pushed the ball over, sending it past Karasuno's front-row block into the deep rear corner!
An ultra-long-distance tip!
The ball's landing point was unclear—no one could tell if it would land in or out.
But Chikara Nishinoya in the back row didn't hesitate.
Just before the ball hit the floor, he dove and picked it up.
In this kind of situation, it wasn't worth gambling on whether it was in or out.
Because Nishinoya knew: if he got that ball up, the front row would score!
That was the trust they'd built up over time.
Woosh!
Nishinoya's pass flew up.
Kageyama sprinted to the ball's drop point.
Jump set!
The ball soared toward Akira!
"Right wing!"
Fumizuki's shout echoed across the court.
The three blockers from Inubushi Higashi rushed to the net.
Jump—block!
But Akira soared higher than all of them and smashed the ball directly above their outstretched hands!
BOOM!
The ball slammed down on the sideline behind Inubushi Higashi!
A perfect cross-court kill!
Screech!
Karasuno scores!
Hiss—
Fumizuki sucked in a breath.
Watching Karasuno from the stands hadn't seemed like much.
But now that they were facing Akira's spike firsthand, the pressure was overwhelming.
Screech!
The referee's whistle sounded again—Hinata continued his serve!
…
"Hahaha!"
"Inubushi Higashi was mocking Matsukawa Tech for not being able to block before!"
"But now, they can't stop Akira's spike either!"
Taketora Yamamoto burst into laughter on the sidelines.
"I thought they were supposed to be tough!"
"Yeah..." Tetsurō Kuroo sighed, arms crossed.
"If your jump height doesn't clear a certain threshold, trying to block that kind of spike is pointless."
…
"Well?"
Watching the play unfold, Inarizaki's captain, Shinsuke Kita, spoke calmly.
"Do you think we could block it?"
"Hmm…"
Ōmimi hesitated.
"If I don't get a running start, I definitely can't jump that high."
Atsumu Miya and the others exchanged looks before shaking their heads.
"Same here."
"I could barely reach that height…"
Aran Ojiro scratched the back of his head, a bit sheepish.
"But if I have to jump that high every time, I'm not gonna make it through the whole match!"
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