Ushijima Wakatoshi finally took a serious look at the player in front of him. Neatly cropped black hair, a tall and slender frame, and powerful, well-defined muscles in his arms—this was Kaedehara Taichi?
He could keep up with Ushijima's pace, still had the energy to sprint at the end, and even reached the finish line faster than him. Maybe it wasn't a complete exaggeration to call this first-year Aoba Johsai's ace.
"Why did you choose Aoba Johsai?" Ushijima asked seriously and abruptly.
Before Kaedehara Taichi could respond, Ushijima continued, "Was it because of Oikawa? It's true, unlike the other players on Aoba Johsai's team, he is an exceptional one."
After a pause, Ushijima added, "He should have come to Shiratorizawa."
Mm-hmm, just as expected—Ushijima wouldn't miss a chance to recruit Oikawa. Kaedehara Taichi thought to himself that Ushijima's thinking was now a perfect extension of Coach Washijou's philosophy.
Shiratorizawa's volleyball team pursued a simple ideal: strength. When recruiting players, they would collect information from everywhere, gathering strong offensive players.
Ultimately, they revolved everything around the ace—everything served the ace. As long as it didn't hinder the ace's attack, anything went.
Coach Washijou, because of his height, was rejected by his own coach back in his youth and couldn't compete. That's why he later pursued the philosophy of "power above all else" in volleyball, building his team around absolute power-type spikers.
But doesn't that way of thinking deny the person he used to be?
Kaedehara Taichi understood the 40 years of pent-up resentment in Coach Washijou's heart. That's why he was even stricter—and more hopeful—towards someone like Hinata, who shared a similar experience.
"Why go to Shiratorizawa? Are you saying Shiratorizawa's team guarantees a 100% win rate?" Oikawa Toru suddenly stepped out, having been eavesdropping on the conversation between Kaedehara Taichi and Ushijima Wakatoshi.
"At least for now, that's the case," Ushijima replied without a change in expression. "In Miyagi Prefecture, the team I'm on is the strongest. That's not wrong, is it?"
"Hah? Still as annoyingly confident as ever." Oikawa stepped up to Ushijima. "You've only won for two years. Soon enough, you'll get a taste of defeat!"
Ushijima remained unbothered. "It's been five years. You didn't beat me in junior high either."
"Pfft…" Almost forgot about junior high. Oikawa's really had it rough. Kaedehara Taichi couldn't help but chuckle. "Sorry, carry on."
"Taichi! Whose side are you even on?!" Oikawa shouted angrily in his direction.
Kaedehara didn't answer. Instead, he walked to stand beside Oikawa, shoulder to shoulder, facing Ushijima.
"That's all in the past. From here on, we'll be the ones winning."
Ushijima was silent for a moment, then turned and headed toward the gym. "Unless you've truly beaten me, I won't take anything you say seriously."
...
As soon as Ushijima stepped into the gym, he saw Goshiki Tsutomu rushing over like a bullet.
"I don't want to be someone who only excels at raw power like Ushijima-senpai! I want to become a spiker who combines control and technique!"
Ushijima, as calm as ever, replied, "I see. Work hard then."
"Yes, sir!" Goshiki responded loudly, like a kid receiving praise.
It felt like he was being talked to more than usual today. Ushijima felt a bit emotionally drained and just wanted to get on with spiking practice.
Oikawa and Kaedehara followed Ushijima into the gym, with Oikawa still annoyed at how poorly his earlier comeback went.
Coach Washijou and Coach Irihata came in from the other side—it looked like the practice match schedule had already been finalized.
"Goshiki, I heard you collapsed from eating too much…" Coach Washijou stood in the center of the gym. The other players quickly lined up in formation before him.
Goshiki stepped forward and answered boldly, "Thank you for your concern, Coach! I'm fine now—I threw everything up!"
"…You idiot!!" Coach Washijou's roar echoed through the entire gym. The nearby players instinctively flinched.
But Goshiki remained completely unfazed.
"System, show me Goshiki's stats," Kaedehara looked at him with interest.
"Goshiki Tsutomu. Overall Ability: 83. Height: 181.5 cm. Power: 80. Jump: 88. Stamina: 86. Speed: 78. Skills: Receiving: 82, Spiking: 85."
Overall Ability 83? As just a first-year? Kaedehara had heard Goshiki was the only first-year selected as a starter over all the second and third-year candidates.
But with these stats, he'd already surpassed most of Aoba Johsai's starters. No wonder he was considered the future ace of Shiratorizawa. He probably didn't even realize how differently Coach Washijou and the others treated him.
"Everyone else, begin practice. Shirabu, you'll do spiking drills with Ushijima. Goshiki, no spike practice today," Coach Washijou gave his initial instructions before sitting down on the sidelines.
"Why, Coach?! How am I supposed to surpass Ushijima-senpai without spike practice?!" Goshiki finally panicked after hearing that.
Tendou Satori walked over and laughed, "Goshiki, just focus on your receiving drills."
"Tendou-senpai!"
Ushijima passed by Goshiki and calmly said, "Do your best."
Goshiki frowned. Even Ushijima-senpai said so. Left with no choice, he ran off to join the first-years in receiving practice.
Soon, the gym was filled with the sounds of various drills.
Kaedehara Taichi and Oikawa Toru stood beside Coach Irihata, observing the Shiratorizawa players.
Whoosh!
Catching the tossed ball, Shirabu Kenjirou set it to a high and distant spot from the net.
Ushijima ran with momentum, jumped, and stretched his body midair—his left hand swung fiercely.
Boom!
It felt like the entire gym shook. The volleyball seemed to dent the floor on impact before bouncing high into the air again.
"Whoa, Ushijima-senpai seems to be in really good form today," someone nearby commented. After a brief silence, the players resumed chatting as usual.
"Is it because of the practice match with Aoba Johsai? He seems excited."
"No way. Ushijima-senpai wouldn't let something like that affect his mood."
Ushijima glanced briefly in Kaedehara's direction, his face expressionless.
"Another one," he said to Shirabu.
"Yes, Ushijima-senpai!"
Shirabu looked at Ushijima in the light, full of admiration. This was the kind of volleyball he wanted to play—among elites, in a game no one else could match.
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