This time, Bokuto's 'Negative Mode' came so quickly, not only surprising the Fukurodaniplayers, but also Oikawa Tooru and Akashi Asuka.
"This is Bokuto Kotaro's 'Negative Mode' that you mentioned? Why did it appear so quickly?" Oikawa Tooru asked with a shocked expression.
Before this match, Akashi Asuka had already revealed all the information he knew. Of course, even without him saying it, Oikawa Tooru, who had watched match recordings for most of last night, had also discovered Bokuto's state fluctuations.
However, neither Akashi Asuka nor Oikawa Tooru had expected the opponent's 'Negative Mode' to arrive so quickly in this match, disrupting both of their initial plans.
"Uh~~ maybe, probably, possibly I have a little bit of responsibility in this!" Akashi Asuka was also a bit unsure due to this sudden situation.
Oikawa Tooru was speechless: "...So, should we move the plan forward now?"
Akashi Asuka nodded helplessly: "It seems that's the only way."
...
Bokuto's emotional fluctuation alone did not affect the overall situation of the match.
The referee at the edge of the net, like a heartless robot, coldly blew the whistle to resume the match.
Seijoh continued to serve.
Although they had lost Motoyasu Kotaro, their Ace, Fukurodani's entire team still operated smoothly, as if Motoyasu Kotaro, this Ace, had no effect on the team whether he was present or not.
Keiji Akaashi received the Libero's first pass and used a timing difference to shake off Kindaichi.
Perhaps because Akashi Asuka blocked Motoyasu Kotaro's first Spike, although he did it unintentionally, Keiji Akaashi still chose to avoid Akashi Asuka and passed the volleyball to Osamu Onaga, the number 12 Middle Blocker, to break through from Oikawa Tooru's direction.
Seeing Osamu Onaga jump in front of him, Oikawa Tooru's lips gradually curled into a confident smile.
"Sure enough, once the Ace enters 'Negative Mode,' the team will temporarily abandon him! What an efficient and ruthless choice, isn't it?"
Oikawa Tooru instinctively spoke, first unsettling his opponent, and at the same time, he jumped to block, sealing off Osamu Onaga's straight-line route for the Spike.
Bang!
Slap!
Left with no choice, Osamu Onaga had to change his attack route, turning to attack along the diagonal.
The result was that Watari Shinji, who had been waiting there early, received it perfectly, and the volleyball flew back into the sky. This was an almost perfect first pass.
Oikawa Tooru quickly moved into position, and at the same time, Akashi Asuka had already prepared for his run-up.
Whoosh!
The two collaborated on a quick attack.
The Speed of Seijoh's counterattack was incredibly fast; from the first pass to the volleyball landing above Akashi Asuka, the entire process took almost no more than three seconds. But even so, when Akashi Asukajumped to Spike, Fukurodani still had someone react.
The number 12 Middle Blocker Osamu Onagaand the number 7 Wing Spiker Akinori Konohasimultaneously returned to Defense, setting up a double block together.
"Tch! Their reaction is really quick!"
Oikawa Tooru pouted. Although he was mentally prepared and understood that such a simple quick attack would almost certainly not be able to shake off the block of a top national school like Fukurodani Academy.
But as a Setter, for his own attack route to be so easily seen through, Oikawa Tooru was clearly still a bit unwilling.
Four arms appeared simultaneously in front of Akashi Asuka, forming a large net.
One pair of arms was high, and one pair was low.
The two high arms completely blocked Akashi Asuka's possibility of an 'Over-the-block' attack. It should be noted that although this Spike did not reach Akashi Asuka's highest hitting point of 343cm, Akashi Asuka's jump was full, so the hitting point for this Spike was at least above 330cm.
And in High School, many players might not even reach 330cm with a run-up and jump, which shows the quality of this block Height.
But this was normal.
After all, the owner of these arms, Osamu Onaga, himself had already reached a height of 191cm. Although his Rebound was not strong, as a Blocker, Height is far more important than Rebound.
From the perspective of Height alone, attacking from above the arms that were significantly lower in block Height would clearly be a more correct choice.
But if Akashi Asuka really did that, then what awaited him behind the number 7 Wing Spiker Akinori Konoha was Fukurodani's Libero, who was already prepared to receive the ball, and another backcourt Defense player.
Even without an 'Ace,' their offense and Defensewere still watertight. This was the key to Fukurodani's continued prominence, even with an 'Ace' like Bokuto.
But...
Bang!
Accompanied by a surprising impact sound, Osamu Onaga's outstretched arms suddenly seemed to be hit by some force, uncontrollably bouncing backward. Then, with a dull 'thud,' the volleyball hit the floor heavily, bounced high back into the sky, and finally landed in the second-floor spectator stands.
Scored!
Seijoh's Ace, Akashi Asuka, once again pierced through the opponent's block with his cannonball-like Spike, scoring with an unstoppable momentum.
The pupils of the Fukurodani Academy players constricted.
Such great power.
Although they already knew from Seijoh's match against Shiratorizawa that the opponent's "Ace" was very strong, they never expected him to be this powerful. This was simply not the physical development a first-year student should have!
This was the fourth time Fukurodani had encountered such a situation. Even when Motoyasu Kotaro was not present, only three teams nationwide had previously been able to score so easily against Fukurodani.
They were Shiratorizawa Academy, MujinzakaHigh School, and Itachiyama Academy.
And the "Aces" of these three teams were precisely the three "National-level Aces" currently ranked in the top three nationally.
Besides that.
Even another "Ace" ranked in the top five nationally, like Motoyasu Kotaro, could not score so easily against Fukurodani's Defense.
"This guy..."
Looking at Akashi Asuka's retreating figure as he descended from the sky, a deeply unsettling premonition suddenly surged in Keiji Akaashi's heart, and a shadow gradually appeared on his face.
For some reason.
He always felt as if they had been tricked, but he couldn't find any evidence.
The faint, yet undeniably present, oppressive feeling emanating from Akashi Asuka enveloped everyone in Fukurodani, making them hold their breath.
And just then, Akashi Asuka slowly turned around, and with his height, which had recently grown another centimeter, he looked down at all the Fukurodani players behind the block and spoke faintly.
"Hey! Although I'm not an 'Ace' ranked in the top few nationally, it's a bit too naive to think you can block me with just one person, isn't it?"
...