"Wait a second, wasn't I here to practice volleyball?"
Even Uchi Tenma felt a little embarrassed. He wasn't exactly great at teaching, and it had been a long time since he last played. He wasn't sure how well he could perform anymore. Still, after spending the whole day talking about manga with this boy, it would be too awkward not to teach him anything at all.
"Back in high school, I was the team's ace attacker. Because of my build, I had trouble hitting past blockers, so my specialty became tooling the block."
"Hm? Tooling the block?"Kazenohara Taichi looked at Uchi Tenma in confusion. He understood the words, but not the meaning.
Uchi Tenma smiled. "Instead of explaining, how about you try blocking me first?"
"Just what I wanted!"Taichi took off his jacket, grabbed the volleyball, and walked back to the court with Uchi Tenma.
"Ding! Teaching mode activated. When the host trains one-on-one with a senior who is sincerely teaching techniques, teaching mode automatically starts. The teacher will temporarily return to their peak form during training.""Ding! Uchi Tenma has temporarily returned to peak form: Height: 170cm, Speed: 88, Strength: 80, Stamina: 95, Jump: 90, Specialty: Spike 98."
170cm tall, but a spike rating of 98?!Taichi was amazed. As expected from the Little Giant! It was the highest spiking stat he had ever seen. Still, after seeing players like Shoyo Hinata and Tobio Kageyama, the rest of the stats seemed a bit "normal" in comparison.
Uchi Tenma took the ball, and a familiar sensation returned. His whole body felt lighter, more relaxed. So, I never really forgot my love for volleyball after all.
He walked to one side of the net, holding the ball in one hand and pointing at Taichi with the other."As an ace, your first mission is to dominate the air."
Taichi wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but Uchi Tenma's gaze had suddenly turned sharp and intense.
Tenma tossed the ball high into the air, began his approach, and jumped right in front of the net. Taichi, standing on the opposite side, got ready to jump and block.
Normally, in a match with a setter, blocking one-on-one is a disadvantage, since the blocker doesn't know where the ball will be set. But here, since the hitter is tossing the ball to himself, the landing point is easier to read. It's like Taichi already knew where the Little Giant would spike from.
Taichi jumped and extended his arms diagonally upward. With his height advantage and Tenma's slightly imperfect toss, the ball was well within his blocking range.
"Bang!"
A cross-court spike? I thought he was going to tool the block.The ball landed inside the court on Taichi's left side.
"I said I'm good at tooling the block, not that it's the only thing I can do," Uchi Tenma said with a grin."Method One: When the defense is light, avoid it and find a clear path to score directly."
"That's sneaky!"
Tenma walked back to the sideline with the ball and tossed it again. This time, Taichi didn't rigidly follow his previous block form—he kept his eyes locked on Tenma's gaze.
At the last moment, just as he was descending, Tenma tapped the ball lightly—a tip!With no teammates behind Taichi, the ball gently fell to the ground.
"Method Two: Use the gaps in the opponent's back-row defense and tip the ball to vulnerable spots."
"Again!"Taichi tossed the ball back to Tenma.
Once again, Tenma tossed, approached, and jumped to spike.
Taichi knew he couldn't block everything alone, but he still leapt up with all his might. He couldn't let Tenma hit too comfortably.
This time, Tenma's jump was flawless, his body extended gracefully in midair. Taichi's block was also tight and precise. Good—Tenma's eyes flashed with approval. He aimed at the edge of Taichi's hand and spiked.
The ball struck the side of Taichi's hand and flew out of bounds.
In that brief moment in the air, Taichi could almost see black wings behind Uchi Tenma. His midair posture and piercing gaze—no wonder he was called the "Little Giant."
"Method Three: When you can't spike directly, use the block—this was tooling the block."
"Use the block?"
"Yes. You can either tool the block or use it to rebound the ball for a reset." Tenma explained.
Taichi retrieved the ball, pondering Tenma's words. He had seen these techniques before, but standing on the court and facing them was a completely different experience. He had no idea how to predict his opponent's next move. The Little Giant was so stable in the air—it was impossible to read him until the very last moment.
It was more than just experience. It was the difference in raw ability. That spike rating of 98? It lived up to the hype.
"Again!"
"Sure, I'm just getting warmed up myself," Tenma said with a smile.
An hour later, Taichi lay sprawled on the ground. Exhausted. It wasn't just physical fatigue—it was mentally draining! In a full hour of attack vs. defense, Taichi had only successfully blocked one spike—and that was because Tenma's own cross-court spike hit the net. Meanwhile, over half of Taichi's spikes had been blocked.
This won't do—I have to go again!
Taichi had been famous in his past life as a hardcore gamer. He pushed himself up."Sensei Uchi, I'm rested. Let's go again!"
"Nope. I have to catch the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. I'll miss it if I don't go now," Tenma said as he packed up.
Taichi looked a little disappointed. Losing all night—it stung.
"Didn't we exchange emails? I'll look for you next time I'm in town."
Looking at this junior before him, Uchi saw something different. A well-built athlete, quick, smart, and hardworking—but most of all, someone visibly improving right before his eyes.
Over the past hour, Tenma could feel Taichi's concentration steadily increasing. Each spike became harder to score.
Only blocking one spike? Tenma wasn't surprised. After all, no matter how humble he was, he was still the ace who made it to nationals, someone who dominated the air. On the court, he often faced double or triple blocks. If a single first-year could block him solo, that'd be embarrassing.
And on offense, he could see Taichi's spiking form becoming more fluid, even trying out techniques Tenma had just demonstrated. He was still making a lot of mistakes—but with more time to grow...
Tenma shook his head. No point thinking about that now—he wouldn't be the one facing him anyway.
Noticing the still-disheartened Taichi, Tenma quietly said,"Let me tell you a secret."
Taichi looked up, instantly intrigued.
"The key to tooling the block is all about the angle—not the angle of your spike, but the angle the ball hits the blocker's hands. Whether it flies out of bounds or rebounds back depends on how you control that one second in the air."
"Aim for the hands of the blocker..."Taichi muttered, deep in thought.
Seeing that Taichi was absorbed in thinking, Tenma didn't interrupt and quietly left in a cab.
Though brief, this encounter had left a deep impression on Tenma. A player who admired him, and a fellow manga lover—he'd met a pretty good friend. He had a feeling they'd meet again soon.
But for now, the most important thing was the manga's serialization. Tenma silently prayed in his heart.After that deep discussion, the reborn "Zombie Swordsman Zobixu" had to succeed!