12 minutes into the third set.
The score was 14:10.
Both Akashi Asuka and Oikawa Tooru had each gone through a serving round, securing one point apiece for Aoba Johsai. But aside from that, the team hadn't managed to widen the gap further.
Karasuno was holding on tightly.
During this phase of the match, Tobio Kageyama had noticeably reduced the use of the Monster Quick, instead opting to increase the involvement of Karasuno's other players in the offense.
Though Karasuno still had a clear gap in basic abilities compared to Aoba Johsai, the team's mixed bag of players each had their own arsenal of unorthodox skills. Under Kageyama's orchestration, they managed to go toe-to-toe with Aoba Johsai for a while.
But as time went on, Karasuno's inherent disadvantages began to surface…
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"Left side, watch your defense!"
"Careful of a surprise play, don't press the block too tightly!"
"It's the middle! They're going for a center attack, "
Oikawa Tooru suddenly shouted from the back, warning his teammates about an incoming middle attack from Karasuno.
His timing was sharp, but still a second too late. Kageyama's set had already reached Asahi Azumane before Oikawa could even finish speaking.
Asahi raised his arm, poised to spike, but just at that critical moment, Kentarou Kyotani suddenly rushed into the center for a block.
Kyotani didn't have the height advantage, but neither did Asahi. Both were more power-type than tall-type players.
Kyotani's surprise appearance caught Asahi off guard, forcing him to pull back from the spike. He steadied himself mid-air, held his form, and paused instead of swinging right away.
"Damn it…"
Kyotani's expression twisted. Because his reaction had been impromptu, his movement was sloppy, and even though he'd jumped later, he began to descend before Asahi.
Noticing the flaw in the opposing block, Asahi made his move, this time, a powerful cannon of a spike.
Thud!
Smack!
Two crisp impacts echoed nearly simultaneously.
Asahi blinked in confusion, his spike had come right back down… but it landed on their side of the court.
"What?!"
Karasuno's players' expressions changed.
Right then, Hajime Iwaizumi's calm figure appeared in front of Asahi, a sly smirk on his face.
"Trying the same move again? That offset-timing attack is one of Aoba Johsai's specialties."
"Thinking you can keep scoring off us with that? You're a hundred years too early!"
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15:10.
After securing that point, Aoba Johsai returned to their serve.
This time it was Hajime Iwaizumi's turn.
Though his serve wasn't weak, going up against Karasuno's defensive anchors, Nishinoya Yuu and Daichi Sawamura, meant scoring directly was going to be tough.
So instead of going for a power serve, Iwaizumi aimed the ball directly at Kageyama.
The serve choice startled Kageyama for a split second, but he quickly composed himself and received it cleanly. However, by doing so, he took himself out of position to set the next play.
That's when Nishinoya stepped up, sprinting up the sideline near the three-meter line and executing a surprising set from the libero position.
At the same time, multiple Karasuno players surged forward to launch a synchronized, multi-directional attack.
A libero setting into a coordinated offensive strike.
"Everyone spread out, now!"
Iwaizumi shouted as soon as he recognized the setup.
In the blink of an eye, all of Aoba Johsai's players, except Akashi Asuka, retreated from the net and repositioned toward the backcourt.
The abrupt move caught Karasuno off guard. But the play was already in motion, they had no choice but to follow through.
Tsukishima Kei took the shot, forcing himself into a spike.
Boom!
The ball flew toward the floor, but then Issei Matsukawa dove forward and easily picked it up.
"Told you, we're tired of that trick. Trying to beat Aoba Johsai with our own playstyle? You're not even close!"
Oikawa received the first pass and immediately launched the ball into the air, toward the one player who hadn't moved during that entire sequence: Akashi Asuka.
Akashi soared to meet the ball.
"Block him!"
Karasuno's defense scrambled. Tsukishima jumped to intercept, hands wide in a textbook block, while the rest of the team subtly adjusted their positions to patch any potential gaps.
In mid-air, Akashi calmly took in everything, the block, the defense, the tension.
Then he grinned.
"Just so you know… I'm not Ushijima Wakatoshi."
Smack!
With those final words, Akashi redirected his shot at Tsukishima's upper arm, not a power spike, but a calculated strike. The ball bounced sharply downward off the arm, then off the net, and landed squarely on Karasuno's court.
A tactical spike, off-the-block and into the net.
Karasuno's defense, already braced for a heavy blow, froze in place, completely outplayed.
16:10.
The referee's whistle signaled the second technical timeout.
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Back on the bench, the atmosphere around Karasuno grew heavier.
"It looks like Aoba Johsai has completely adapted to our offensive rhythm," Daichi said grimly, wiping sweat from his brow.
In just this one set, Aoba Johsai had already dismantled three of Karasuno's newly developed techniques. The tide was shifting fast.
After all, what made "new techniques" powerful… was the newness.
Once the opponent caught up and adjusted to that tempo, those "special techniques" became no different from standard plays.
And if you couldn't keep things fresh, how were you going to score?
"They're seriously tough opponents," muttered Coach Keishin Ukai.
Compared to Shiratorizawa, which had one of the top three aces in the nation, Aoba Johsai, led by the strategist Oikawa Tooru, was a much more natural counter to Karasuno.
No matter what tricks Karasuno pulled out, Aoba Johsai calmly analyzed, adapted, and dismantled them one by one.
And now, they also had a national-level ace who was every bit Ushijima's equal, Akashi Asuka.
After a brief silence, Ukai looked at Kageyama and made a decisive call:
"Kageyama, take a break and recover your stamina."
"Huh?"
"But Coach, I still feel full of energy!"
Kageyama was stunned. He was a little fatigued, sure, but nowhere near the point where he needed to be subbed out!
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria