On the weekend, the Wakunan High School volleyball team traveled by bus to Aoba Johsai High School. Although the practice match invitation was initiated by Wakunan, their school's gymnasium was always reserved for the basketball team on weekends, so the match had to be held at Aoba Johsai instead.
Upon arriving at Aoba Johsai, the players of Wakunan, under the guidance of their coach, disembarked from the bus in an orderly fashion. They were dressed in uniform jerseys with "Wakunan" emblazoned across the chest, looking full of spirit. While chatting amongst themselves, they curiously examined the Aoba Johsai gym and its facilities, clearly intrigued by the home ground of this well-known powerhouse team.
"Amou, what made you think of arranging a practice match with Aoba Johsai?" asked the team's ace spiker, Kawawatari Shunki.
The one being asked was Wakunan's ace—Nakajima Takeshi. He was currently snapping photos of the Aoba Johsai campus with his phone; he planned to share his "journey" with his younger siblings later.
He laughed and replied, "Because Aoba Johsai is strong, of course."
Nakajima's answer left his teammates speechless, though it suited his personality.
Their setter, Hanayama Kazuya, suddenly asked, "By the way, how come you're free to come out for a match today? Aren't your little siblings relying on you?"
"My big brother's home today, so he's taking care of them. I just need to be back tonight," Nakajima replied.
At that moment, two players in Aoba Johsai uniforms approached them.
"Hello, welcome to Aoba Johsai High. We're members of the volleyball team. I'm Yahaba Shuu, a second-year, and this is Kazuhara Taichi, a first-year."
Naturally, Kazuhara had volunteered to come greet the visitors. After the last time, he figured it was better to scout out the opponents from the start.
Besides, he remembered Wakunan fairly well—especially their ace, Nakajima Takeshi, who had a playing style most similar to Tenma Uchinai, the former Little Giant. Within Miyagi Prefecture, Nakajima was considered second only to Ushijima Wakatoshi—someone definitely worth knowing.
"System, I'm counting on you," Kazuhara murmured inwardly, and at that moment, stats began appearing beside each Wakunan player.
Nakajima Takeshi
Overall Ability: 90
Height: 173 cm
Strength: 88
Jump: 90
Stamina: 95
Speed: 88
Specialties: Receive 88, Spike 92
Wow—he might be the first spiker I've seen with an overall score of 90. A spike score of 92, and even receiving is 88!Kazuhara vaguely remembered Nakajima later played as a libero in the V3 League.
Shiraishi Yuuki
Overall Ability: 81
Height: 177 cm
Strength: 85
Jump: 82
Stamina: 94
Speed: 75
Specialties: Receive 80, Spike 80
Decent stamina, but otherwise average.
Akiho Kazumitsu
Overall Ability: 80
Height: 173 cm
Strength: 70
Jump: 82
Stamina: 85
Speed: 84
Specialty: Receive 80
…Absolutely no impression of him.
Kawawatari Shunki
Overall Ability: 80
Height: 174 cm
Strength: 72
Jump: 84
Stamina: 78
Speed: 85
Specialties: Receive 75, Spike 85
Ah, pineapple head. Just goes to show—you need a unique trait to be memorable.
Naruko Teppei
Overall Ability: 79
Height: 185 cm
Strength: 80
Jump: 82
Stamina: 78
Speed: 78
Specialties: Receive 78, Spike 82
Hanayama Kazuya
Overall Ability: 79
Height: 177 cm
Strength: 85
Jump: 75
Stamina: 78
Speed: 80
Specialties: Receive 80, Set 82
Whoa, the old-man setter. Put him next to Asahi Azumane and nobody would believe they were students.
Matsushima Gou
Overall Ability: 77
Height: 186 cm
Strength: 72
Jump: 78
Stamina: 75
Speed: 88
Specialties: Receive 80, Spike 82
After reviewing all the data, Kazuhara had one big question in mind: How on earth did Wakunan become a top-four team?!Aside from Nakajima, the rest of the players were about the same level as Jouzenji.
It's not that Kazuhara was underestimating Wakunan—he simply understood that in Miyagi Prefecture, with so many strong teams, you couldn't achieve good results relying on just one person.
As they stepped into the bright and spacious gym, facing the wide-open court, all of the Wakunan players instinctively took a deep breath.
"This gym's huge—definitely worthy of a powerhouse school!"
Their grim-faced coach stepped forward and clapped his hands to get everyone's attention."All right, warm up now. No matter how strong the opponent is, remember: our only goal is to give it our all and leave no regrets!"
The players responded in unison, their voices echoing through the gym. They immediately began a detailed warm-up, and each spike and every nimble step showcased the fruits of their hard training and their strong team chemistry.
Watching their warm-up, Kazuhara put away the last bit of contempt in his heart.
A moment later, the sharp sound of the referee's whistle signaled the start of the match.
Ding! Temporary Mission: Successor of the Little Giant.The system's voice echoed in Kazuhara's mind.
"Host has learned part of the Little Giant's true skills. Nakajima Takeshi is currently recognized as the player most resembling the Little Giant. If the host scores more points using tool-assisted out-of-bounds shots than Nakajima Takeshi in this match, the mission is a success. Otherwise, it's a failure."
"Reward: Jump +5; Penalty for failure: 1 stamina potion consumed."
This came out of nowhere—and there's a punishment too?!
Kazuhara's brain kicked into overdrive. His own skills weren't sharp enough to score too many points, so the key was how to limit Nakajima's tool-out shots!
Nakajima seemed to sense someone's gaze and looked across the court—it was the first-year who greeted him at the gate. Nakajima smiled at Kazuhara.
Kazuhara felt provoked.
"Let's have a good match!"
There was no time to keep thinking. After the captains shook hands and returned to their positions, both teams got ready to play.
Aoba Johsai lineup:
Front: Middle Blocker Kazuhara Taichi, Setter Oikawa Tooru, Ace Spiker Iwaizumi Hajime
Back: Spiker Hanamaki Takahiro, Spiker Kunimi Akira, Middle Blocker Matsukawa Issei
Libero: Watari Shinji
Wakunan lineup:
Front: Middle Blockers Shiraishi Yuuki, Matsushima Gou, Spiker Kawawatari Shunki
Back: Setter Hanayama Kazuya, Middle Blocker Naruko Teppei
Spiker Nakajima Takeshi
Libero: Akiho Kazumitsu
Wakunan served first.
Hanayama aimed for Iwaizumi to disrupt Aoba Johsai's offensive rhythm.
"Nice serve, Hanayama!"
Iwaizumi received it and sent the ball to Oikawa. Oikawa looked over and signaled Kazuhara:
"Let's try out our new weapon for the first point."
At the same time, Kazuhara had already begun his run-up. As he jumped, the toss arrived perfectly in front of him.
It was an extremely comfortable toss—not too fast, but placed perfectly!Shiraishi and Matsushima jumped together to block, but in the air, Kazuhara's vision grew sharper. He aimed for Shiraishi's fingertips and spiked the ball.
Smack!
The ball hit the top of Shiraishi's hand and bounced back into Aoba Johsai's court. Oikawa quickly passed it to Iwaizumi, who smashed it from the back row for the point.
[Aoba Johsai 1 – 0 Wakunan]
Damn it! I was trying to hit the blocker's fingers for a tool-out point.Kazuhara was annoyed. His aerial vision was clear now, but his spiking form still needed improvement.