"No way… Don't tell me Aoba Johsai's blocking is stronger than ours?"
As he stared at Kindaichi Yutaro and Akashi Asuka, who had just cleanly blocked his spike, Futakuchi Kenji felt a strange and unbelievable thought rising in his mind.
But he quickly shook his head, dismissing it.
"No, impossible. Aoba Johsai has always been decent at blocking, sure, but they've never been on the same level as us. There's no way they could've closed that gap in such a short time."
Kenji's confidence wasn't unfounded. It wasn't just about raw skill. Compared to Aoba Johsai, Date Tech has always been synonymous with the name Iron Wall.
It wasn't just a playstyle, it was a legacy, passed down within Date Tech's volleyball team.
To be honest, they'd already expected to lose this match. From the start, they hadn't aimed to make it to Nationals this year. With a newly recruited 191 cm tall first-year setter, Koganegawa, and the already exceptionally gifted 191 cm middle blocker Aone Takashi, Date Tech's real focus was on rebuilding the team to unleash a brand-new Iron Wall next year.
So losing this match? Acceptable. As long as their players grew from the experience, they'd have no regrets.
But if they lost in blocking to Aoba Johsai… that was a whole different story.
Hajime Iwaizumi's third serve didn't score, and failed to even cross the net.
The score turned 2–1.
It was now Date Tech's turn to serve. A few of their players knew jump serves, but none had enough power to pose a serious threat.
Smack!
The ball sailed over the net, but was easily received by Watari Shinji, who moved with graceful ease.
Watari had trained his reaction speed and movement all summer long by practicing on sand. Now, his short-range explosiveness was like a bolt of lightning. Even before the ball crossed fully into their half, Watari had already locked onto its landing point and gotten into perfect position.
Watching Watari receive the ball with such calm precision, Kenji furrowed his brows.
"Something's wrong. Very wrong."
Even if their jump serves lacked punch, they were still jump serves. In the past, Aoba Johsai had been able to handle them, yes, but not this easily. This wasn't a reception, it was a stroll in the park.
"What the hell happened after Nationals? Why has Aoba Johsai changed so much?"
A creeping unease settled into Futakuchi Kenji's chest.
Meanwhile, Oikawa had already set the ball off Watari's first touch and sent it to Akashi Asuka.
Date Tech's Aone and Koganegawa immediately leapt to form a double block. Not only were they tall, but their reflexes and explosive power were first-rate.
After all, to bear the title of Iron Wall, Date Tech had never been a team of pushovers.
Two blockers over 190 cm tall loomed in front of Asuka like a fortress. With that kind of height, unless Akashi hit at his absolute peak, he'd have no chance of scoring just through vertical advantage.
But Akashi didn't need to win on height.
BOOM!
A sound like a missile exploding echoed across the court. For a moment, even Aone and Koganegawa, so confident in their block, stood frozen.
By the time they snapped out of it, they realized, to their horror, that their supposedly solid Iron Wall now had a gaping hole in it.
Behind them, the back-row defenders were still frozen in their receive positions, staring wide-eyed at the ball now rolling across the floor.
"What the hell just happened...?"
Aone and Koganegawa looked at each other, stunned.
A whistle suddenly blew, time-out.
They turned toward the bench. Their coach had called a time-out in a panic.
Back on the sidelines, the Date Tech bench was eerily quiet.
Aone and Koganegawa wanted to break the silence, but for a while, neither knew what to say.
Finally, Futakuchi Kenji took a long breath and muttered, "That guy... there's no difference between him and Ushijima Wakatoshi anymore."
Everyone's expression changed.
They knew exactly who he was talking about, but they didn't expect Kenji to rate Akashi that highly.
Last year, Date Tech had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Shiratorizawa, and it was Ushijima Wakatoshi alone who broke through their prideful Iron Wall.
No one understood how terrifying that monster was more than they did.
The bench players looked shocked, but none of the starters who had faced Akashi's spike tried to argue.
"Aoba Johsai has changed… a lot."
At that moment, even the coach sighed and spoke.
"I don't know exactly what happened to them, but I can say with certainty, this isn't the same Aoba Johsai we faced last semester. They've grown a lot stronger. It's likely they went through some kind of special training over the summer."
"We overlooked that… and now we're paying for it."
The coach was a seasoned veteran. While he didn't know the exact details of what happened over the summer, he could make an educated guess.
What he couldn't have guessed, however, was that it wasn't just Aoba Johsai.
In truth, aside from Date Tech, all three of the other top-four teams in Miyagi had undergone a brutal, month-long bootcamp during the summer break.
One misstep, and you're forever behind.
Compared to the other three powerhouses, Date Tech had already fallen behind in a fundamental way.
────────── ✦ ──────────
The match resumed.
Akashi's spike, like a meteor crashing down, returned the serve to Aoba Johsai. This time, it was Oikawa's turn to serve.
He stepped into the service zone with his usual smile, but Date Tech was on high alert, they knew better than to underestimate Oikawa.
Smack!
In the blink of an eye, the ball slammed into Date Tech's court, its speed seemingly faster than sound.
By the time the ball hit the floor and bounced out of bounds, the Date Tech players could only turn around in disbelief, staring at the ball now rolling ten meters away.
"What kind of serve was that? Has his serve gotten even faster?"
Kenji felt cold sweat drip down his forehead.
They'd faced Oikawa before. They knew his serves. But this wasn't the same Oikawa. His serve speed now was on a whole different level.
You could even say…
Oikawa's serve was now stronger than in the original timeline.
A serve is the ultimate offensive weapon.
And Aoba Johsai had fully embraced that philosophy.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria