"No way! No way!!"
As soon as he said this, Atsumu Miya made his decision instantly.
"It's harder for me to accept losing a game than being the setter alongside this guy!"
"Very good!"
Seeing this, Kurosu—the Black Beard guy—nodded in satisfaction.
Osamu Miya standing nearby didn't say anything further; he thought the same as Atsumu.
"You two are perfectly in sync!"
"When one is in the front row, the other is in the back row."
"Whoever's closer to the ball will pick it up—covering all the spots on the court!"
"It's perfect for this style of play!!"
"Yes!!"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Taro Omi also smiled from the sidelines.
"Alright! Alright!"
"You two, no more of that 'no one obeys anyone' chaos!"
"As long as we win this game!"
"And in the next match, there will be even more situations that need your cooperation!"
"Alright!!"
"We got it!"
Atsumu and Osamu clearly considered this possibility.
Even if they barely survived the last part of this game by sheer will alone...
If they win...
Then in the next game, Atsumu definitely won't be able to insist on going it alone.
When the time comes, they will have to run this cooperative dual-setter system again.
"You guys!"
On the way back to the court, Atsumu turned to Osamu with a scowl.
"A setter is a position only the strongest can hold!"
"I can't believe I actually let you take advantage today!!"
"Hmph!"
Osamu turned his head disdainfully.
"I'm not just any setter!"
"Quit being sentimental!"
"Hmph!"
"If I got added as a setter, I bet you were happy about it deep down in your heart!"
"It must be really hard to keep that expression all the time!"
"You guys, why are you so naive??"
...
Creak!
The timeout ended and the game resumed!!
On the first ball after the break, Akira blasted a powerful Spike from Karasuno's front row.
Boom!
But Michinari Akagi was ready.
He stared at the gap over the net and made a clean save, pushing the ball high.
"I'm coming!"
Osamu saw the ball heading his way and sprinted directly toward the landing spot.
Not hesitating at all, he sent it flying toward Inarizaki's front row at a perfect angle.
Smash!
Osamu Miya scored with a front-row spike!!
"Worthy of being a Miya brothers!"
"When the setter Atsumu in the front row can't pass, Osamu in the back row steps up to take on the heavy passing task!"
"And then scored with Atsumu's Spike!"
"What an incredible synergy!!"
Since then...
Karasuno and Inarizaki's scores had both reached 22 points!
"So, who will take the next point and seize the advantage going forward?"
The commentators' voices echoed outside the gym.
Across the net, Akira looked meaningfully at Osamu, who had been handling the ball.
His gaze naturally raised questions.
Obviously, Inarizaki was responding to Akira's spike just like Shiratorizawa had!
Only, Shiratorizawa's setter couldn't keep up physically, so they adopted an all-staff setter strategy later in the game.
That approach helped diffuse their crisis but had flaws.
For example, other players' setting skills couldn't match a true setter's precision.
Coupled with Akira's targeting of Ushijima, Shiratorizawa's attacks became limited.
So Shiratorizawa was in a tough spot.
But seeing Inarizaki's approach, Akira realized...
Inarizaki's system was perfect for this method!
The dual-setter lineup of the Miya brothers was obviously stronger than Shiratorizawa's all-staff system!
Osamu's passing was just as good as Atsumu's!
And Atsumu brought attacking strength beyond the ordinary!
When one focused on passing, the other could attack!
That way, Inarizaki never lacked offensive power!
...
Truly!
In the following rallies, Inarizaki executed this tactic perfectly!
Under Atsumu and Osamu's flawless cooperation, their defense against Akira's spikes improved dramatically!
"Looks like after that timeout, Inarizaki switched to a completely new tactic!"
Not just the commentators but most of the crowd had noticed.
The Miya brothers' double-setter system had finally solved the problem of Akira's tough-to-catch spikes!
In the previous games, whenever Akira attacked their back row...
Akagi and the others almost always saved the spike!
Only occasionally missing once or twice.
Now, although Akira still landed some powerful smashes by adjusting spin and force...
Inarizaki could handle nearly half of them!
Karasuno and Inarizaki's scores climbed in tandem.
22:22, 25:24, 26:27...
Off-court, Kurosu said the score could go beyond 30 points — no joke!
...
In Miyagi Prefecture, Tanji Washijō watched the game with some surprise.
He could clearly see that Inarizaki's approach mirrored the tactic they used against Karasuno.
Back then, due to team issues, even with that method they struggled against Akira's tricky spins.
But now, seeing Inarizaki pull it off...
Washijō felt a spark of hope.
Could the double-setter system really be the answer?
Maybe...
They could prepare for the Spring High qualifiers with this strategy!!