Score! Score! Score!
Aoba Johsai High School's first-year Ace, Akashi Asuka, with a cannonball-like Spike, instantly broke through Morisen High School's two-person Defense, successfully helping Aoba Johsai High School equalize the score.
What terrifying Spike power! As expected of Aoba Johsai High School's 'Ace'.
After three seconds of silence, the commentator's excited roar suddenly ignited the entire venue, and the whole court instantly erupted into a frenzy.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh~~~"
"What terrifying power! He actually managed to hit through a two-person block head-on. Who exactly is that guy?"
"Amazing! Did you hear that? He became the team's 'Ace' in his first year! Who is Aoba Johsai's number eight?"
...
The number of spectators at the National Tournament and the number of spectators at the preliminaries were completely different tiers. The sound wave generated by thousands, even tens of thousands, of people exclaiming simultaneously was incredibly enthusiastic.
The members of Aoba Johsai's Choir Club were red-faced, excitedly playing their cheering song. Under the influence of this grand atmosphere, even Akashi Kana, who wasn't particularly fond of sports, felt her blood boiling at this moment.
Aoba Johsai's other players excitedly rushed towards Akashi Asuka, cheering loudly. Nothing was more morale-boosting than a Spike that pierced through the opponent's block.
At the same time, nothing was more disheartening than having the opponent simultaneously break through both the block and the backcourt Defense.
"With this kind of power, is that guy really just a first-year?" The Morisen middle blocker who had just blocked felt his hands go numb. The moment he touched the ball, he even wondered if he was blocking a volleyball or an iron ball.
"And it's not just power; that guy's jump height is also quite astonishing, and I even suspect that wasn't his highest point just now…"
"Huh? Are you kidding me? This kind of power combined with that height… could that guy be another Ushijima Wakatoshi?" A Morisen High School player stared wide-eyed at Akashi Asukaacross the net, his face a picture of having seen a ghost.
Teams that could make it into the National Tournament naturally wouldn't give up so easily. But even they had to admit that Akashi Asuka's Spike just now had indeed startled them a bit.
While other players were wary of Akashi Asuka, Morisen High School's Setter noticed another person from Aoba Johsai.
It was Oikawa Tooru, who was also a Setter.
Compared to the visible power Akashi Asukadisplayed, the danger he sensed from Oikawa Tooru was in no way inferior, which gave him an ominous premonition.
"Ushijima Wakatoshi? If only it were just that." Morisen High School's Setter murmured softly.
...
1:1.
The match continued.
Next was Aoba Johsai's serve. The moment Morisen High School's Setter received the first Passing from the Libero, in the next second, all four of Morisen High School's other players, excluding the Libero, moved simultaneously.
"It's here, Morisen High School's signature move—Synchronized Multi-Directional Offense…"
Morisen High School, as an old powerhouse from Saitama Prefecture, had a style of "seamless synchronized offense." With four attackers attacking simultaneously, it was almost impossible for anyone to determine who the final Spiker would be.
Because there were no decoys among these four attackers, until the Setter passed the volleyball, anyone could be the final Spiker.
Bang!
The volleyball hit the ground. The Aoba Johsai players saw this attacking method for the first time and were completely dazzled, allowing the opponent to score a point.
1:2.
"Perfect synchronized offense! Morisen High School remains unshaken. Facing Aoba Johsai's 'Ace's' powerful attack, they decisively retaliated…"
"Oh, oh, oh~~~ What a well-coordinated offense."
"The movements of these four people are just like one person."
Iwaizumi Hajime glanced at the volleyball that flew behind him, pouting, "Tch! As expected of the National level, every High School has a trick up their sleeve!"
"Hey, pay attention, the next ball is coming."
After Morisen High School regained the serve, they quickly launched an attack. Although Morisen High School did not have powerful servers, all teams that could enter the National Tournament shared a common characteristic: they were sufficiently stable.
The volleyball flew steadily to Aoba Johsai's backcourt, to a spot that was very difficult for Watari Shinji to receive. Although Watari Shinjieventually received the volleyball, the first Passing was still disrupted.
"Good serve!"
The Morisen players looked excited and quickly set up their Defense, guessing who Aoba Johsai would rely on for the next attack.
Just as the Morisen team was pondering, suddenly, Akashi Asuka, without waiting for the volleyball to reach Oikawa Tooru's hands, had already jumped high, facing the block.
This scene caused the Morisen players to momentarily freeze. Before they could figure out what was happening, a volleyball had already accurately arrived directly above Akashi Asuka.
The sudden Passing startled Morisen High School's blockers, who frantically lunged towards Akashi Asuka's direction. But when they jumped, Morisen High School's front-court blockers were horrified to discover that they simply couldn't catch up to the opponent's Spikeheight.
Even if they tried hard to lift their heads, the first thing that appeared in their vision was not the volleyball, but Akashi Asuka's chin on the other side of the net.
"Damn it! Was that ball just now really not this guy's highest point?"
Bang!
Facing Morisen High School's front-court block, Akashi Asuka, with a height that exceeded his opponents by half an arm's length, slammed the volleyball down from mid-air.
"Oh, oh… Aoba Johsai scores! An astonishing hitting height! Akashi Asuka and Oikawa Toorucooperated perfectly, executing a first-tempo quick attack! Akashi Asuka, with absolute height, once again pierced through Morisen High School's block, successfully scoring a point."
"In two consecutive rallies, Aoba Johsai High School's first-year 'Ace' Akashi Asuka has shown us his formidable power and astonishing height. This style of completely overwhelming the enemy with 'absolute power' reminds me of Ushijima Wakatoshi, one of the top three Aces in the nation."
"And coincidentally, Aoba Johsai High Schooljust recently defeated Shiratorizawa, led by Ushijima Wakatoshi. Could it be that another National-level 'Ace' is about to be born?"
"Oh, oh, oh~~~"
The commentator's impassioned words caused the entire audience, who had just quieted down, to once again erupt in a wave of enthusiasm.
However, in this passionate atmosphere, Morisen High School's Setter felt a chill run down his spine.
His ominous premonition had come true.
In that last rally, others might have only seen the hitting height displayed by Aoba Johsai's "Ace," but he clearly saw that in that attack, the opposing Setter made a nearly perfect Passing.
Morisen High School's Setter stared intently at Oikawa Tooru behind the crowd, his vigilance soaring: "That guy is indeed very dangerous!"
...
"Hey! I suddenly have a bad feeling." Morisen High School's Libero suddenly spoke.
The Setter, hearing this, was startled, thinking the Libero had also noticed the abnormality of the opposing Setter. However, when he followed the Libero's gaze, he found that the Libero was not looking at Aoba Johsai's Setter, but at Akashi Asuka, who was holding the ball and walking to the baseline outside position one.
"You feel it too?" Just then, Morisen High School's Opposite Hitter immediately echoed.
"Yes! I don't know why, but as soon as I see that guy standing in the serving area, a chill runs down my spine. …By the way, his serve isn't also super strong, is it?!"
"I don't know, damn it. These guys haven't participated in the National Tournament before, so there's no relevant information to be found."
It sounds incredible, but in reality, some powerful athletes do possess different auras. Ordinary people cannot perceive this aura; only those of the same kind can sense it.
Morisen High School's Setter didn't feel much about this, because he was a Setter, so he would have a sense of Oikawa Tooru, who was also a Setter, but he couldn't sense the aura around Akashi Asuka.
Until he saw several of Aoba Johsai's front-court players, when Akashi Asuka took the ball and walked to position one, tacitly covering the back of their heads and moving aside, leaving a huge empty space in the middle of the court.
Morisen High School's Setter immediately realized something was wrong…
"The next server is Aoba Johsai's 'Ace' Akashi. According to our intelligence, Akashi Asuka's serving technique is also very exquisite. Let's look forward to his performance…"
In reality, just like Morisen High School, the commentator was also frustrated internally because the intelligence on Aoba Johsai's players provided by logistics was too brief, making it difficult for him to elaborate on many things even when he wanted to comment.
Akashi Asuka stood outside the baseline. Compared to the tension of the other Aoba Johsai players, his mood at this moment was unusually calm.
The clamor from the stands continuously reached his ears, but these sounds could not enter his mind.
"Feels good!"
"My body feels no stiffness, and my muscles feel comfortable when moving. Although I haven't fully entered the zone yet, it's enough."
Akashi Asuka exhaled slightly and slowly tossed the volleyball into the air. The moment the volleyball flew up, the entire court seemed to instantly turn into a blank space in his vision.
Until Akashi Asuka ran up, jumped, swung his arm, and hit the ball…
Thump!
Accompanied by a hitting sound beyond anyone's imagination, the stands around the court suddenly fell silent.
The volleyball in mid-air emitted a grating, squeezing sound. Under the impact of immense force, the volleyball's shape continuously dented and deformed, until at a certain point, the deformation of the volleyball reached its limit.
Whoosh!
The air whistled with a strong wind. The volleyball flew out rapidly, roaring towards Morisen High School's court.
In just a blink of an eye.
Morisen's Libero watched wide-eyed as the volleyball, which had been dozens of meters away just moments ago, instantly arrived before him. Facing this sudden volleyball, he hadn't even reacted before the volleyball had already fallen to the ground…