[Aoba Johsai 25 – 16 Date Tech]

[Aoba Johsai 25 – 15 Date Tech]

Even though Date Tech was one of the top four teams in the prefecture, the spectators hadn't expected Aoba Johsai to sweep the match with such a significant point difference, securing an easy two-set victory to advance to the finals.

"It looks like this year's Spring High Representative Tournament champion is already in Aoba Johsai's pocket," a spectator remarked with a sigh.

"That's not necessarily true! Shiratorizawa still has a chance!" another argued.

"Well, regardless, the strongest player in the prefecture has to be Wakatoshi Ushijima!"

"No way, it's gotta be Oikawa Tōru from Seijoh now!"

"You're both wrong—it's Kaedehara Taichi! Just look at his recent scoring stats; he's already surpassing Ushijima!"

"But not yet, right? I'll admit he's the strongest first-year, but if we're talking about all players, it's still Ushijima!"

"Enough! As a childhood fan of Taichi, let me explain—"

"Boo!" jeered the crowd from all sides, with a few empty bottles even flying toward the overly zealous fan.

Regardless, Aoba Johsai, the team that had long been seen as perpetual runners-up, was now being discussed as a potential powerhouse surpassing Shiratorizawa.

-----

Aoba Johsai's players were busy packing up their equipment. After loading their bags onto the bus, they'd finally get a chance to grab some food and replenish their energy.

In the afternoon, they would watch the match between Karasuno and Shiratorizawa.

Aoba Johsai had faced both teams during the summer—Shiratorizawa even joined them for a joint training camp.

In terms of strength, Aoba Johsai believed Shiratorizawa held the upper hand.

After all, they prided themselves on never losing a single set to Karasuno, whereas their matches against Shiratorizawa always came down to the wire.

But the charm of sports lay in its unpredictability. Every game was a new beginning, and any team could achieve the impossible.

The practice match against Karasuno during the summer had left a strong impression on Seijoh.

Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shōyō, and Nishinoya Yū—all three possessed the potential to explode into action on the court.

How much had those scrappy crows grown since then? Could Shiratorizawa stumble against them?

Aoba Johsai's next opponent would be decided in the afternoon match.

"Hey, Iwa-chan, who do you think will win?" Oikawa Tōru, now wearing glasses that gave him the air of a mischief, asked while feigning the demeanour of a reporter.

"Shiratorizawa," Iwaizumi Hajime replied without hesitation, glaring at Oikawa briefly.

"What about Hanamaki and Matsukawa? Your thoughts?"

"Shiratorizawa," both answered in unison.

"Oho, I see. And what about Mad Dog-chan and Watari?"

"Doesn't matter." Kyōtani Kentarō shoved past Oikawa impatiently.

"Either is fine," Watari Shinji said politely.

"Hmm, a neutral stance here! So, what about our first-years?"

"I hope it's Karasuno," Kindaichi Yūtarō said. "I want to face Kageyama head-on."

"Same here," Kunimi Akira replied lazily.

Oh, what an unexpected answer, Oikawa thought gleefully. If Taichi also votes for Karasuno, then the most critical vote will be mine!

Oikawa eagerly turned to Kaedehara Taichi.

"Doesn't matter. We'll beat whoever it is," Taichi said nonchalantly.

Oikawa: "…"

Who asked if you'd beat them?

Boring! I'm done playing!

None of them knew why Oikawa suddenly stormed off, and none of them cared enough to find out.

-----

"Damn it. I thought we could make it further," Kenji Futakuchi muttered, frustration evident in his voice.

During the summer camp, Date Tech had failed to beat either Shiratorizawa or Aoba Johsai even once.

Yet, Coach Oiwake remained satisfied.

With the third-years retiring, the rapid integration and development of the first- and second-years had exceeded his expectations.

Their technical skills were improving at a phenomenal rate.

Although Futakuchi had boldly declared they were there to win the game, the truth was that this current Date Tech lineup had a full year to improve.

Coach Oiwake held high hopes for them.

"Alright, team—" Futakuchi began, but his voice faltered when he saw the banner hanging on the second-floor railing: "Date's Iron Wall."

Standing behind the banner, smiling, were the third-year seniors. Futakuchi's words got caught in his throat.

"Futakuchi, you're the captain now! Say something already, idiot!" Kaname Moniwa shouted, shaking his fist from above.

Taking a deep breath, Futakuchi pushed down his emotions.

"Thank you for your support!"

"Thank you for your support!" the team echoed in unison.

"Now that's more like it!" Moniwa said warmly, looking at them with pride.

In one of the rest areas inside the gymnasium:

"Hmph. The new captain still isn't good enough at managing the team during matches. He can't handle supporting the others yet," Yasushi Kamasaki commented, arms crossed. "See now how great Moniwa really was?"

"I've known that for ages!" Futakuchi retorted irritably.

"Geez…" Kamasaki muttered, looking at the dejected first- and second-years. "You all just need to improve faster! Today's match showed that everyone gave their best effort…"

"I'm sorry!" Onagawa shouted loudly.

Takeshita clapped him on the head lightly. "No worries! You've still got tons of room to grow!"

"Keep working hard!" Moniwa added with a grin. "Become even better than you are now!"

"You guys can definitely become the strongest Iron Wall in Date Tech history!"

As Moniwa planned to step back quietly after delivering this encouraging speech, Futakuchi suddenly grinned slyly.

"Well then…" Futakuchi turned to the third-years. "Since you all came to watch the match, that means you're free now, right? How about coming back to practice with us?"

"Huh?!" Moniwa was caught off guard.

"Please, come help us train!" Futakuchi insisted with a playful smile.

"Well, I guess we can't refuse you guys!" Kamasaki exclaimed as he eagerly loosened his tie.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't start taking your clothes off here!" Sasaya Takehito quickly pulled him back.

Finally, a familiar mischievous grin crept onto Futakuchi Kenji's face.

It was only after taking over as the volleyball team captain that he truly realized the weight of the responsibility.

Yet, in front of these senior players, Futakuchi could temporarily shed his burdens and speak freely.

"Kamisaki-senpai, don't you think you've got too much muscle? Won't it make it hard for you to jump?"

"Huh? Why would you say that?"

"Because muscles are heavy, duh."

"Is it? Is that true, Moniwa?"

"Well...yes and no. Anyway, just don't listen to Futakuchi."

"Futakuchi, you little punk!!!"

While Futakuchi joked around with his seniors up ahead, Aone Takanobu and Koganegawa Kanji trailed behind.

"I'll keep practising so I can always set the ball to our ace, no matter the situation!" Koganegawa encouraged himself.

"And blocking too!"

"To live up to our Iron Wall name, I'll stop every spike, no matter how strong the opponent is!"

"Mm." Aone finally found his chance to speak. "Next time, I'll block Kaedehara Taichi's spike for sure!"

-----

"Is it just me, or is Taichi improving way too fast?" Sugawara Koushi seemed genuinely baffled.

"The scary part is, judging by this match, it felt like he was slowly chipping away at the Iron Wall bit by bit," Azumane Asahi said, a bead of sweat trickling down his forehead. "If it were the old me, I'd probably try three times at most before giving up."

"Two times at most," Sugawara chimed in.

"One time," Sawamura Daichi added with a chuckle.

"Hey, could you guys stop crushing my confidence?" Asahi exclaimed, his eyes welling up with mock tears.

In the past, his teammates wouldn't have dared tease Asahi like this—he was still recovering from the trauma of being blocked by Date Tech during the Prefectural Sports Tournament in March.

However, the addition of the Hinata-Kageyama combo reignited his confidence as a team ace through their friendly rivalry.

"Tsukki, do you think you can block Taichi?" Yamaguchi Tadashi whispered from the side.

"Huh? Of course not," Tsukishima Kei replied flatly. "Didn't we just watch the match? He tore apart Date Tech's Iron Wall. How am I supposed to block him?!"

Hinata Shōyō overheard the conversation and, with zero sense of boundaries, joined in.

"Why not? Taichi's a first-year too, and you're taller than him."

"Huh? Are you an idiot?" Tsukishima stared at him in disbelief.

Hinata tilted his head, a puzzled expression on his face. "???"

"Fine! If you can't do it, I will!" Hinata declared with enthusiasm. "I'll block Taichi, and you can handle Ushijima-senpai from Shiratorizawa!"

Tsukishima: "..."

Deciding it was pointless to argue with the idiot, Tsukishima turned away, ignoring him.

Sugawara watched the first-years bickering with a smile. His gaze then shifted to Kageyama Tobio, who was sulking nearby.

Initially thinking Kageyama was upset about something trivial, Sugawara was surprised to hear him mumbling softly to himself.

"I want to beat Oikawa-senpai...I want to set for Taichi...I want to play...I just want to get on the court already..."

Meanwhile, Nishinoya Yū and Tanaka Ryūnosuke were goofing around with Shimizu Kiyoko, while Daichi silently observed his teammates with a hint of reluctance. This was their final tournament as third-years. If only...

SMACK!

Sugawara landed a solid slap on Daichi's back.

"You're not Asahi, okay? How can a captain start doubting himself like this?"

Asahi didn't argue, instead muttering, "As long as we win, it doesn't have to end today."

The fact that Asahi was comforting him was a wake-up call for Daichi. Straightening up, he looked around at his teammates with newfound determination.

"Let's go. It's time to prepare for our match."

"Yeah!"

-----

"Wakatoshi, are you excited?" Tendō Satori asked curiously, looking at Ushijima Wakatoshi.

It wasn't a strange question. Those familiar with Ushijima could tell something was different about him—he was smiling.

The usually stoic and serious Ushijima had a visible smile on his face.

—Join a strong team. The kind of environment where strength thrives will attract both strong and interesting people. If you become strong, you'll get to battle many different opponents. Strong ones, odd ones, new ones—they'll all help you grow stronger.

Ushijima remembered his father's words clearly.

However, he suddenly realized he'd been overly fixated on joining a strong team. That was merely a starting point, not the end goal.

What his father truly wanted to tell him was that facing diverse opponents would help him grow stronger.

Letting go of his obsession with Oikawa Tōru, Ushijima found himself focusing on Kaedehara Taichi during this match—the opponent he now most wanted to defeat.

"Wakatoshi?" Tendō waved a hand in front of his face.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Ushijima's expression startled his teammates.

"Tendō, I'm fired up now. I can't wait to face Aoba Johsai."

"Is that so?" Tendō chuckled. "But first, we've got to beat Karasuno. Taichi called them a surprising little crow, and I'm curious about them too!"

"Mm. Then we'll defeat Karasuno first."

Ushijima's voice was calm as if simply stating an inevitable fact.

-----

That afternoon, Aoba Johsai's players sat relaxed in the stands, watching the match between Shiratorizawa and Karasuno.

Karasuno's players were visibly tense as their match approached; after all, they were up against the former kings of Miyagi.

In contrast, Shiratorizawa's players seemed unfazed—some even underestimated Karasuno.

However, both teams couldn't ignore the presence of Aoba Johsai in the stands. Their composed demeanour loomed over the players like an immovable mountain.

With a sharp whistle, the match began.

Karasuno opened with Azumane Asahi's serve. After carefully feeling the ball, he tossed it into the air, took a precise approach, and leapt high, delivering a powerful swing.

The first serve was at 80% power!

Bang!

The ball cut through the air, heading straight for Shiratorizawa's backcourt.

Yamagata Hayato anticipated its trajectory and quickly adjusted his position to receive it.

Smack!

The serve was heavy, but Yamagata managed to pop it up high. Shirabu Kenjirō moved into position and set the ball high on the left.

With three quick steps, Ushijima Wakatoshi leapt into the air, his body fully extending. His left arm tightened with power as he swung from behind, sending the ball hurtling forward.

BOOM!

"Triple block!" Tanaka Ryūnosuke, Hinata Shōyō, and Sawamura Daichi jumped in unison.

Despite Hinata's modest 163 cm height, his jump matched the height of his taller teammates, effectively sealing off most of Ushijima's attack options.@@novelbin@@

THWACK!

Ushijima's diagonal spike was intercepted!

Nishinoya performed a backward roll as he received the powerful hit, his arms briefly tingling from the force. "Got it!"

The ball sailed to the backline, where Kageyama swiftly set it perfectly to the net. A figure was already airborne, waiting.

Right on time!

Hinata Shōyō hammered the ball, but it was met with a pair of hands in front of him!

Bang!

Thud!

Caught off guard, Hinata couldn't retract in time. Tendō Satori's block sent the ball crashing back into Karasuno's court.

[Karasuno 0 – 1 Shiratorizawa]

Asahi's improved serve, Ushijima's power spike, Kageyama's precise set, and Karasuno's quick attack—every sequence was filled with surprises, and Aoba Johsai's players watched with interest from the stands.

"Hey, Little Guy, I've seen that move way more than I'd like." Tendō flashed an enigmatic smile at Hinata.

_________

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