Here it comes!
Ushijima Wakatoshi's eyes sharpened.
Every time the ball was set for him, his focus reached its peak.
"Cross shot!"
This time, Karasuno had adjusted their blocking strategy, covering Ushijima's favored cross shot!
But after what had just happened...
Everyone felt uneasy.
The block that Akira pulled off earlier had been too sudden, too terrifying!
But this time, Ushijima remained calm, his heart steady.
He watched every move of the blockers carefully.
However, unlike last time, Akira made no unusual moves.
He allowed Ushijima to go for the straight shot.
Spike. Score.
Seeing this, Washijo Tanji exhaled deeply on the sidelines.
"That block earlier... was it just a fluke?"
But what no one in Shiratorizawa, not even Washijo, realized...
Akira turned around with a slight smirk.
Sometimes, you don't tighten the net all at once—otherwise, you might scare the prey away too soon.
It's like fishing.
An experienced angler knows how to adjust the tension, reeling in at the right moment.
And this wasn't just any fish.
This was a fierce predator—a Shiratorizawa ace with talons and a razor-sharp beak.
One wrong move, and Akira could be the one getting devoured.
With this point, Ushijima rotated to the back row.
Similarly, if Karasuno scored again, Akira would also be sent to the back.
Tweet!
Following the referee's whistle, Ushijima stepped up to serve.
His serve was another major weapon in Shiratorizawa's arsenal.
Boom!
Fast. Violent. Unstoppable.
This serve avoided Nishinoya, Karasuno's strongest receiver.
Instead, it targeted Hinata's position.
But Daichi had anticipated this.
The moment the ball left Ushijima's hand, he adjusted and positioned himself toward Hinata's zone.
Slap!
As the match went on, Karasuno's captain was gradually adapting to Ushijima's devastating serves.
Though the receive wasn't perfect, at least the ball didn't fly out uncontrollably!
"Sorry!"
Daichi gritted his teeth as the ball veered diagonally.
"I got it!"
Seeing that Kageyama wouldn't be able to set it properly, Azumane quickly sprinted into position.
Whoosh!
A quick toss!
Seeing the trajectory, Akira's eyes narrowed, and he instantly ran toward the left side of the court.
Noticing this, the three front-row blockers from Shiratorizawa immediately moved to shut him down.
Even if they couldn't stop him, they needed to at least create an opportunity for their back-row defenders to react.
That was the only way to counter and score!
Boom!
Akira jumped and powered up for the spike!
But... the ball never reached him!
Just as Shiratorizawa's blockers hesitated in confusion—
Bang!
A loud impact rang through the court!
Daichi had spiked it instead!
What just happened?
As the three front-row blockers from Shiratorizawa turned around, the Karasuno side had already erupted into cheers, high-fiving each other.
The players on the court might not have fully realized what had happened, but the audience in the stands saw everything clearly.
"Oh no!"
"Shiratorizawa's front-row blockers were completely fooled by Akira!"
Kunimura Naoto shouted in frustration.
"They actually fell for that!"
Just moments ago, the moment Azumane set the ball—
Akira had known something was off.
Not only was the set too short, but it was also too low!
If he had attempted to spike it forcefully—
It would have been blocked immediately.
So without hesitation, he sprinted toward the opposite side of the court, drawing Shiratorizawa's blockers with him.
And Daichi understood his signal perfectly.
Coincidentally, the entire Shiratorizawa front row had been completely deceived by Akira!
Even Akira himself hadn't expected such a perfect result.
His original plan had only been to delay their reactions, slow down their approach to the net.
But instead, all three blockers had completely followed him!
Leaving the entire Shiratorizawa net... wide open.
"You idiots!"
"Do you have air in your heads?!"
On the sidelines, Washijo yelled furiously.
This was nothing new in Shiratorizawa matches.
The fiery coach never hesitated to call out his players' mistakes.
And these scoldings were necessary—they were what allowed Shiratorizawa to correct their errors immediately.
Hearing Washijo's voice, the three blockers wiped cold sweat from their brows.
Looking back, they realized just how badly they had messed up.
Akira never should have been their target for that block.
But in the heat of the moment, they had panicked!
They were so focused on stopping him that they ignored everything else.
"Hahaha! Those three from Shiratorizawa! I'm dying!"
In the stands, Oikawa Tooru clutched his stomach, barely able to breathe from laughter.
Some Shiratorizawa fans turned to glare at him.
Frightened, Iwaizumi Hajime quickly stepped forward and clamped a hand over Oikawa's mouth.
"Mmmph— Iwa-chan—!"
"Shut up."
...
With Karasuno's latest point, Akira rotated to the back row.
Now, both teams had their aces in the back.
It was no longer a battle of trump cards.
Now, it was time for the other players to step up.
The intensity of the Karasuno vs. Shiratorizawa match only continued to rise.