"Of course I feel very—"
"Nope!"
Bokuto was interrupted mid-sentence by Akaashi.
"Not only will you feel uncomfortable, you'll scream how uncomfortable you are!"
"You might even start making a scene..."
"Erm..."
"Haha..."
Hearing that, Bokuto scratched his head and smiled.
"You really do know me!"
......
Just like they said!
Even though Akira's serve had finally been over, no one on Inarizaki felt any sense of relief!
They had finally received Akira's serve—but only because he stopped serving by choice!!
So what had all their hard work been for? All those desperate saves, the grit to keep the ball in play—was it all meaningless?
Off the court, seeing the drastic score difference, Coach Taro Omi could only sigh helplessly.
With this kind of score gap, winning was already out of reach.
"Kita! You'll replace Ginjima at the start of the next set!"
"Yes!"
Kita Shinsuke stood quietly on the sideline, watching the court with his usual calm.
Even in a situation like this, his voice remained steady.
There was something inherently reassuring in his presence.
......
Back on the court, the referee's whistle blew—the match continued!
With the recent rotation, Inarizaki's ace, Aran Ojiro, had rotated to the back row!
Earlier, he had responded to Akira's serve with a powerful jump.
But this time, Akira and Nishinoya were the ones in the back row, ready to receive.
Ojiro's serve, though aggressive, wasn't as overwhelming as Akira's. It landed closer to the front row.
So the two of them successfully received it again!
Seeing the ball coming up, Hinata charged forward!
No need for words—Kageyama understood him instantly!
As the ball floated toward him, Kageyama leapt!
At the same time, Hinata launched himself into the air at the net!!
Kageyama focused on the spot just in front of Hinata's arm—and in that moment...
Whoosh!!
A pinpoint toss flew forward!!
At the same time, Hinata swung his arm with explosive speed—
Bang!
The quick attack was so fast that no one on Inarizaki reacted in time—it slammed into the floor!!
Karasuno scores!!
One step closer to sealing the set!!
......
"Whoa!"
"That quick attack—anyone seeing it for the first time would be floored!"
Kuroo watched with interest as every player on Inarizaki stared in stunned silence.
"It's a kill shot on first sight!"
"The first time you go up against this combo, no one stands a chance!"
Kenma hesitated slightly before speaking up.
"Not quite."
"Huh??"
Everyone turned to him.
"Do you know something we don't, Kenma?" Yaku asked, surprised.
"Shōyō told me when they were resting," Kenma said quietly.
"That quick attack between him and Kageyama? It was a total accident at first."
"But the very first time they tried it—it got blocked."
"What??"
Everyone's jaws dropped in disbelief.
"The first time...?"
Even the normally composed Akaashi looked stunned.
"Who blocked it??"
"To react to a first-time quick like that—is that even human?!"
"Yeah! I had to try several times just to keep up with Hinata!"
"Who was it? Someone else from Miyagi?"
......
They all bombarded Kenma at once, overwhelmed by curiosity.
Finally, he answered with a helpless sigh:
"It was Akira."
"The quick was first used during one of Karasuno's internal practice matches."
"So naturally, it was a teammate who stopped it."
At that, everyone quietly drew back their eager expressions.
"So it was that guy!"
"Well, that actually makes sense."
"I mean, for someone who serves like that, being able to block a quick isn't all that surprising!"
"Sheesh!"
"He's so strong it's frustrating!"
......
On the court, Inarizaki's players were still reeling from the fast attack.
Before they could even begin setting up a block, Hinata had already scored!!
"Stay calm!"
"This kind of attack can be stopped!" Akagi called out, trying to rally the team.
They had seen this quick attack from Hinata and Kageyama while analyzing Karasuno's past matches.
But they hadn't expected to be this caught off guard in the real thing!
"Ugh..."
"This match is slipping out of Inarizaki's hands," Wakatsu Kiryū of Mujinazaka murmured from the sidelines.
"The question now is how badly they'll lose."
The way the first set ends will directly impact the mindset going into the second.
Although...
Right now, Inarizaki's morale was already shot.
As the sideline chatter continued, the game played on.
Yes—Hinata and Kageyama's quick attack could be countered with proper timing and formation.
But not right away!
After seeing it just once, Inarizaki's players were completely thrown off rhythm!
With their focus too centered on Hinata's movements, Kageyama would suddenly switch up his plays, catching them off guard all over again!
Karasuno's score climbed at an overwhelming pace!
Until finally—
Smack!!
A powerful spike from Asahi Azumane carved out Karasuno's final point from the right flank!!
Tweet!
The referee's whistle echoed!!
Karasuno had reached 25 points!!
Karasuno takes the first set against Inarizaki!
Victory!!