The second set officially began.
Fukurodani started.
After Seijoh received the first serve of the set, Oikawa Tooru and Akashi Asuka executed a quick attack with a time difference, helping Seijoh score the first point.
Then, the serve rotated, and Iwaizumi Hajimeserved the second ball of this set.
The volleyball was steadily received by Fukurodani's Libero. After Keiji Akaashi received the first pass, he still consistently set the ball to Motoyasu Kotaro. The Speed of this Passingwas not fast, and Akashi Asuka, Oikawa Tooru, and Kindaichi all reacted, quickly pursuing the Defense, and jointly set up a Three-person block.
The block set up jointly by Akashi Asuka, Oikawa Tooru, and Kindaichi, had an imaginable Defense intensity.
Just looking at the overwhelming six arms was enough to make any outside hitter feel fear.
But Motoyasu Kotaro decisively leaped into the air against the Three-person block, his arm muscles bulging, seemingly intending to force his way through.
Originally, with the strength of Akashi Asukaand his two teammates, they were not afraid of an opponent's Spike.
However, at that instant.
The astonishing aura that erupted from Bokutoalmost instinctively put Akashi Asuka and his two teammates' bodies into a state of alert.
"Steady your stance, block him!"
Oikawa Tooru's expression changed slightly, and he immediately extended his hands forward, performing a suppressive block.
Although this blocking method would slightly reduce the height, it could enhance the oppressive feeling of the block and also prevent the opponent from forcefully breaking through the block Defense with power. It was considered the best way to deal with a power-type Ace.
Kindaichi and Akashi Asuka subconsciously followed suit with the same reaction.
But in the next moment, Motoyasu Kotaro on the opposite side suddenly relaxed his aura, instantly loosening his tensed muscles, changing his powerful attack to a soft touch. He gently tapped the volleyball with an extremely soft touch. The flying volleyball was neither too high nor too low, just barely clearing the Three-person block, and then immediately fell towards the ground.
"Oh no, damn it..."
Seijoh's back-court Defense players, Watari Shinji and Iwaizumi Hajime, their expressions suddenly changed, and they chased after the falling volleyball with all their might, but their movements were still a step too late.
Thump!
Plop~
The sound of the volleyball hitting the ground and the sound of Watari Shinji and Iwaizumi Hajime diving to save the ball occurred almost simultaneously. And when they got up from the ground, they just saw Motoyasu Kotaro's face looking down at them.
[An unexpected dump shot!]
[Fukurodani's 'Ace', Motoyasu Kotaro, facing Seijoh's powerful Three-person block, suddenly hit a soft dump shot, tricking all of Seijoh's Defense players. It was a smart point.]
"This guy, he can even hit a ball like that?"
Oikawa Tooru's expression was not good. He also didn't expect that he, a person full of cunning, would one day be tricked by someone else.
If it were someone else, it would be fine.
The key was that this owl on the opposite side didn't look like an Ace who could hit such 'smart' balls?
"Tch! We were played!" Kindaichi pouted, obviously a bit unconvinced.
This was also normal. In fact, for many blockers, scoring methods like Ushijima Wakatoshi's often impressed them more.
Conversely.
Points scored by 'cleverness' like Motoyasu Kotaro's just now would give blockers the illusion that 'they only failed to block it because they were too careless.'
However, Akashi Asuka knew very well that the ball just now was not just a little cleverness.
Because Akashi Asuka himself was a typical 'back-blocker', and this blocking method was to follow up only after seeing the Passing direction. Under normal circumstances, he might not be able to block it, but he was basically rarely deceived.
But just now, he was also fooled by Motoyasu Kotaro.
This was not because Akashi Asuka was careless.
Rather, it was the aura emanating from Bokutoat that instant that forced him to react this way. Akashi Asuka even suspected that if he hadn't performed a 'suppressive block' like Oikawa Tooru, Motoyasu Kotaro might not have changed to a dump shot, but would have chosen to force his way through.
Don't think this is impossible.
In fact, after reaching Motoyasu Kotaro's level, as long as he prepares beforehand, changing the attack method temporarily in the air is not too difficult.
The third ball was served by Fukurodani, and Seijoh initiated an attack.
This ball was still a cooperation between Akashi Asuka and Oikawa Tooru. Oikawa Tooru first used his technique to shake off at least one blocker from Fukurodani's front court, then Akashi Asuka acted as a decoy to attract the attention of Fukurodani's other Defense players.
And the final attack was handed to Kindaichi.
Facing a virtually open court from Fukurodani, Kindaichi easily Spiked the volleyball, reclaiming the point.
"These two guys are really too troublesome."
The Fukurodani players were truly on the verge of breaking down from the cooperation between Akashi Asuka and Oikawa Tooru.
Oikawa Tooru himself possessed extremely excellent setting skills. His skills not only allowed all of Seijoh's players, except Akashi Asuka, to exert 100% of their power. He could also direct players to launch attacks from any corner of the court at any time.
Under normal circumstances, just facing Oikawa Tooru alone was enough to give Fukurodani a headache.
And now, in addition to Oikawa Tooru, Seijoh also had a national-level 'Ace' — Akashi Asuka— whose offensive ability was not much inferior to Motoyasu Kotaro's.
You should know.
Super 'Aces' like Akashi Asuka and Motoyasu Kotaro, in addition to their super attack power, their very existence was the best decoy.
And using such a super 'Ace' as a decoy had another advantage.
That is, even if the opponent knew this 'Ace' was a decoy, they still had to send a large number of people and energy to mark him. After all, if the Defense of such a super 'Ace' relaxed even slightly, even if there was just one less person defending, the opponent might score with a powerful attack.
Regarding this point.
Keiji Akaashi was very qualified to speak.
After all, he often used his own owl to attract the enemy's attention, and then create good offensive opportunities for other teammates.
Therefore, Keiji Akaashi understood even more clearly what a great advantage having such an Ace brought to a setter.
"However..."
Thinking of this, Keiji Akaashi paused, then looked at Motoyasu Kotaro, whose fighting spirit was rising not far away, and felt a sense of relief: "None of this matters anymore, because the current Kōtarō Bokuto... is invincible!"
...
Smack!
Five minutes into the match, the score was tied at 6:6. Oikawa Tooru had just made a serving error, failing to score directly, but the fast-flying volleyball still disrupted Fukurodani's Defenseformation.
With Keiji Akaashi's less-than-perfect set, Akashi Asuka once again successfully caught Motoyasu Kotaro's Spike trajectory. Now, with his blocking level already at 81, Akashi Asuka, once he completely grasped the opponent's Spike line, even with just a single block, would bring immense Defense pressure to the enemy.
In an instant.
Motoyasu Kotaro, who had originally planned to hit a sharp cross-court shot, suddenly felt the hairs on his back stand on end, a chilling sensation rushing straight to his brain. His beast-like instincts prompted him to forcefully change his Spike rhythm at the last moment, turning the sharp cross-court shot into a soft straight hit.
With a smack.
The volleyball lightly struck Akashi Asuka's palm, then bounced high back into Fukurodani's court.
"Hmm?"
Akashi Asuka looked at this 'rebound ball', a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
"Did he instinctively sense danger and then forcefully change his hitting method?"
The volleyball flew back into the court. The Fukurodani players regrouped, and then Keiji Akaashi avoided Akashi Asuka and once again set the ball to Motoyasu Kotaro. This time, Fukurodani successfully broke through Seijoh's Defense and scored a point.
...
Nine minutes into the match.
The score was 11:12, Fukurodani leading by a narrow margin thanks to a serving error by Akashi Asuka a short while ago.
After the rotation, Akashi Asuka returned to the front court.
Seijoh served.
After the Fukurodani Libero received the volleyball, Keiji Akaashi shook off Iwaizumi Hajime, and then set the volleyball to Motoyasu Kotaro again. But even so, Motoyasu Kotaro's attack still had to face the Double block of Akashi Asuka and Oikawa Tooru.
Although Akashi Asuka and Oikawa Tooru were not the tallest in Seijoh, in terms of blocking technique, they were definitely among the best.
So, even though there were only two of them, they still blocked two-thirds of Bokuto's attack line. And in the deliberately left gap, Watari Shinji was already waiting in full readiness.
A seemingly simple interception, yet it instantly forced Bokuto into a desperate situation.
But the next second.
Bokuto suddenly swung his arm, aiming for Oikawa Tooru's fingertips and hitting the volleyball. The rapidly flying volleyball lightly grazed Oikawa Tooru's finger, then flew out of bounds.
Beep!
The referee blew his whistle, awarding the point to Fukurodani.
11:13.
When this ruling was just announced, the Seijoh players were even still bewildered, not understanding what had happened.
Because the 'touch out' just now was too concealed and too precise. If Oikawa Tooruhadn't voluntarily admitted it, even the referee might not have been 100% sure.
And as this point was confirmed, drops of cold sweat finally began to appear on the foreheads of the Seijoh players.
Left with no choice, Seijoh had to call an emergency timeout.
...
"Too strong!"
"He's practically another Ushijima Wakatoshi, I have no idea what kind of Spike he'll hit next?"
"What's wrong with that guy? His performance in the first set was mediocre, why did he suddenly get so much stronger in the second set?"
After returning to the resting area, everyone immediately vented their frustrations.
The Seijoh players completely couldn't understand Motoyasu Kotaro's performance. Motoyasu Kotaro in the second set was like a superman. No matter what Defense Seijoh made, he could always find a corresponding countermeasure.
In just half a set, Motoyasu Kotaro's score had already reached 9 points, accounting for more than two-thirds of the team's total score.
It was simply unbelievable.
Although his offensive style was different from Ushijima Wakatoshi's, the pressure Motoyasu Kotaro brought to Seijoh in this set was almost exactly the same as the feeling they had when dealing with Shiratorizawa.
No matter what they did, they always seemed unable to stop the opponent's scoring pace.
"Indeed!"
Irihata Nobuteru, who was beside them, stroked his chin and agreed, "Although it's different from Ushijima Wakatoshi's way of scoring with 'absolute power', Motoyasu Kotaro's offensive techniques are too comprehensive."
"And Bokuto's intuition seems very sharp. It might not be apparent normally, but at critical moments, his intuition will help him choose the most suitable offensive technique."
"He's indeed a very difficult player to deal with. One can only say, as expected of an 'Ace' ranked among the top five nationally!"
"It seems that to defeat him, we first need to find a way to break his high spirits."
As Seijoh's head coach, Irihata Nobuterunaturally had carefully studied the characteristics of every Fukurodani player before this match.
Among them, Motoyasu Kotaro, as the 'Ace', was his main focus.
Under normal circumstances.
Bokuto's performance was closely linked to his emotional state. When Motoyasu Kotaro was in a low mood, he was almost indistinguishable from a useless person. But once his emotions ran high and he got into the zone, Motoyasu Kotaro's strength could even rival the top three 'Aces' in the nation.
Just like now.
So, to defeat Motoyasu Kotaro, they first had to get him out of this high-spirited state. Not to make him re-enter 'negative mode', but at least to temporarily cool down his fiery touch.
"It seems I have to take a bit of a risk!"
Irihata Nobuteru pondered for a moment, then finally made up his mind, turned his head to look at a player in the substitute area, and slowly said, "Kyoutani, start warming up now!"
...