A delayed timing attack.

A specialty of Aoba Johsai's offense.

This kind of tactical move placed high demands on the setter's skills, which was why Akashi Asuka had rarely used it in the past.

But now...

Bang!

The volleyball slammed into the court floor without obstruction, another clean point.

Score: 2–1.

"Huh?"

Tendo Satori glanced at Akashi Asuka with his usual unsettling, manic gaze, a puzzled look on his face, as if he was still wondering how this guy even showed up in front of him.

Next serve, Aoba Johsai.

The ball flew over the net and was cleanly received. As expected, Shiratorizawa passed to their ace, Ushijima Wakatoshi.

Akashi Asuka and Kindaichi moved into position to block. This time, they all jumped together, but while Akashi and Kindaichi were already descending, Ushijima was still airborne, as if time itself had frozen around him.

Boom!

The ball soared past Akashi's fingertips, a clean point by spiking over the block.

Score: 2–2.

As Ushijima turned and walked back, both Kindaichi and Akashi wore grim expressions.

It wasn't like Akashi had poor airtime, his hang time stats were solid, but compared to Ushijima, there was still a noticeable gap. At best, Akashi's hang time gave him a moment to read and react mid-air. But Ushijima? His airtime was a weapon in itself.

"Damn... what's with that guy? Is that kind of hang time even humanly possible?"

Kindaichi couldn't hide his anxiety. Facing Ushijima's attacks was like staring down a force of nature, overwhelming height and raw power.

And while a single point lost might be the same on the scoreboard, the pressure behind it felt completely different.

"Don't sweat it." Akashi said, clapping Kindaichi on the shoulder. "The worst part's still coming."

At first, Kindaichi thought it was meant to be comforting. Then came the second half, and it felt like another blow to the gut.

Was this guy the king of backwards encouragement or what?

But as Ushijima stepped up to the service line, even Kindaichi had to admit it, Akashi was right. The worst was still coming.

Just like Akashi, Ushijima specialized in power jump serves. However, being left-handed gave Ushijima a unique edge, his serves spun in the opposite direction of a right-hander's, making them even harder to predict.

Fast. Heavy. Unnatural spin.

Even imagining it sent chills down your spine.

Bang!

At the moment of impact, the volleyball surface rippled like a wave struck by a shockwave.

In the blink of an eye, the ball screamed over the net, dropping sharply toward Aoba Johsai's court.

Just like Shiratorizawa's libero had adapted to Oikawa's Super-Speed Serves, Aoba Johsai's libero, Watari Shinji, had trained to handle Ushijima's missiles.

Well... sort of.

In truth, Ushijima's serve wasn't even as fast as Oikawa's, nor as fast as Akashi's either. But that was never the point.

Ushijima's true strength wasn't speed, it was the weight and the unnatural spin.

Thud!

As Watari made contact with the ball, the first thing he felt was its sheer weight, unlike anything even Akashi or Oikawa had thrown at him.

Then came the spin, it was so strange and erratic that no matter how he tried, he couldn't get a clean rebound angle.

In the next instant, the ball rocketed upward, soaring over the third floor, only beginning to fall after peaking past ten meters, ricocheting off the second-floor railing, and finally bouncing back to court level.

Everyone on Aoba Johsai momentarily forgot to breathe.

Technically, the best server in the prefecture was Oikawa, no question.

But this kind of brute-force point, with sheer intimidation behind it, was suffocating.

Score: 2–3.

"Don't panic. Relax. We've dealt with these serves before." said Iwaizumi, clapping his hands and shaking his teammates out of their daze. "Next ball, we'll get it."

Really, Aoba Johsai had no reason to be this tense. It was just a practice match.

Sure, the coach had told them to treat it like the real thing, but no matter how seriously you took it, there was always a difference in mindset between a scrimmage and a tournament game.

Yet Ushijima's power was enough to push them into a fight-or-flight state on instinct alone.

This wasn't about sports anymore.

It was primal, like standing in front of a predator. Even if it was behind a cage, your body couldn't relax.

Next serve, Ushijima.

Another thunderous serve.

This one, Watari managed to receive cleanly.

Oikawa quickly adjusted and used Akashi as a decoy to draw the defense, before reverse-setting to Kindaichi.

Open net. Spike. Point.

Score: 3–3.

Serve rotation, now Aoba Johsai's turn again.

And the ball was in Akashi Asuka's hands.

"Let's go, Akashi!"

"Show them what you've got!"

"Akashi-chan, don't be nervous, okay?"

The team cheered enthusiastically.

Meanwhile, Kindaichi, clearly the "smarter" teammate, quietly covered the back of his head and crept toward the court edge for safety.

On the other hand, upperclassmen like Matsukawa and Hanamaki, who had just subbed in, scoffed at the caution.

"Please. We didn't even flinch at Ushijima's serves. You think Akashi's can be worse?"

"First-years, always exaggerating…"

Boom!

A crack like thunder exploded behind them. At that moment, it felt like a cannon had gone off just over their shoulders.

The ball streaked past like a missile and landed cleanly on Shiratorizawa's court.

Thud.

It smashed into the floor and rebounded past the entire Shiratorizawa backline.

No one moved.

Not a single player had reacted.

Time froze. Shiratorizawa's players stared in stunned silence for several seconds before they slowly turned their heads like malfunctioning robots.

"What… what was that?" someone muttered.

In the back row, Ushijima looked over his shoulder at the ball that had just whizzed past him and narrowed his eyes.

Then, for the first time since the match began, his gaze locked on Akashi Asuka.

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