During the coin toss, Ichinose Guren maintained his unbroken streak of victories. For this lineup, it was natural that he would serve first to seize the initiative.
Yukigaoka claimed the initial serve, while Sengoku Junior High got to choose the court side. Usually, even if Sengoku guessed the coin correctly, most Junior High teams would still choose court side rather than serve first, because spikes generally have a higher success rate than serves. To strike first, you need to receive first; thus, many teams prefer receiving over serving.
Guren began surveying the serving area, lightly touching the volleyball in his hands. His micro-adjusted touch kept his control slightly above average, meaning he rarely made serving errors. This puts Sengoku in a situation where they either receive perfectly, or Guren scores consecutive points.
He might also deliberately pause his strong jump serves occasionally, letting the opponent receive the ball to prevent them from getting used to repeated powerful serves.
The coin toss done, Guren tossed the ball, took his run-up, and jumped.
The Sengoku players, usually accustomed to a zoo-like routine with their coach, now felt like they were in an unfamiliar forest. A ferocious tiger had been lurking in the grass, waiting for the slightest opening to pounce.
Akashi Asuka shouted:
"Here it comes!!"
Everyone tensed, eyes fixed on Guren and the ball, ready to react.
But against a serve reinforced with the "heavy hitter" emblem, in Junior High preliminaries, first-time blocks are nearly impossible.
Sure enough,
Bang! Bang!
The Sengoku players were stunned.
Hinata Shoyo heard the familiar double-shot of Ichinose Guren's jump serve, knowing instantly that Guren had scored again. His hands were still crossed behind his head, but flared nostrils and a slight smile betrayed his excitement.
Hinata was completely awed by Guren's serve. Though he couldn't see the exact motion from the other side, his imagination conjured a vivid hunting scene:
Guren, wearing a green vest and outdoor gear, stood in thick rubber boots, one foot on a black bear, gloves gripping a double-barreled shotgun adorned with his personal emblem, gently blowing the smoke from the barrel.
"So cool!"
Hinata exhaled heavily, cheeks flushed with excitement.
Yudai Hyakuzawa noticed Hinata's reaction and worriedly asked:
"What's wrong, Hinata? Are you okay? Stomach hurts? Need to go to the bathroom?"
Hinata waved him off, still lost in his daydream of learning Guren's jump serve and scoring in a match, imagining himself as the hunter blowing away the smoke.
Meanwhile, the Sengoku players were tense, sweat forming on their foreheads even though mere seconds had passed in the match. Breathing grew shallow and rapid.
"D-damn!"
"What the hell is that tiger serve!? Did you see it?"
Akashi, his expression a mix of shock and awe, asked teammates if they had seen the "tiger" too. Most admitted they had vaguely perceived the fearsome beast, though details differed, some saw a zoo tiger, some in a forest, some on a street.
This showed that Guren's spikes were simply overwhelmingly intimidating; it wasn't some supernatural effect like in certain sports manga.
"Then there's nothing to fear. They're just junior high school students like us!"
"Come on! Get this one!"
Bang! Bang!
"Good! Next one, for sure!"
Bang! Bang!
"Don't get discouraged, the match has just started!"
===========
Note: This is a crossover universe where timelines collide. In this era, Akashi is still the original Akashi—the one whose soul hasn't transmigrated yet. That's why things go sideways and they end up losing.