With Tendō's blocking working, Shiratorizawa scored another point!
This point also meant a rotation of positions.
Ace! Wakatoshi Ushijima!
Back to the front row again!
Seeing this, Coach Washijō on the bench relaxed slightly and smirked.
"Uh-oh! Now Karasuno is in trouble!"
In the audience, Mitsuda couldn't help but sigh.
"One more rotation, and Akira will be in the front row!"
"But before that happens, how many points will Ushiwaka rack up?"
"And Karasuno's front-row attack has been completely shut down by Shiratorizawa's peculiar blocking!"
Kunimura Naoto sighed as well.
"That blocker is on another level. Right at the last moment, he shifts his arm and catches Karasuno's number 10 off guard!"
"Exactly!"
Heiji Yoshino nodded.
"His blocking is unpredictable. If that little spiker keeps attacking the same way..."
"Then he's just handing over free points to Shiratorizawa."
"Risk and reward go hand in hand!"
...
While the crowd discussed, the game raged on.
With Ushijima in the front row, it was like unleashing a tiger.
Right away, he scored two consecutive points!
Karasuno's blockers barely posed a threat to him.
Against a power hitter like Ushiwaka, timing was everything.
Without the sheer physical ability to match him, the only chance of stopping him was striking at the perfect moment.
But Karasuno wasn't quite at that level yet.
And Ushiwaka's angles were lethal. He deliberately avoided Karasuno's strongest receivers, targeting weaker areas of the court.
Chirping!
The whistle blew again.
Shiratorizawa served!
Kageyama analyzed the opposing formation, pressure mounting.
How should he attack to avoid their block?
An option was to set to Akira in the back row.
But Akira was heavily guarded—even in the back row, two defenders shadowed him.
If his spike got picked up by Shiratorizawa's libero, Karasuno's momentum would take a hit.
But passing to anyone else...
So far, their attacks had been getting shut down.
That bizarre middle blocker had single-handedly stopped most of their offense!
Yet, Kageyama had no more time to think.
A perfect receive had already set the play in motion.
Whoosh!
As Kageyama jumped, his peripheral vision locked onto the opposing blockers.
"Huh?"
A realization hit him.
The strange middle blocker was hyper-focused on Hinata, who was running as a decoy. He was glancing between the two other attackers as well.
Meanwhile, the two remaining blockers were solely tracking Akira, who was approaching from the back row!
A golden opportunity!
In that instant, the attackers had drawn most of the defense's attention.
As Kageyama leaped to set, his hands suddenly shifted!
Bam!
Tendō reacted, realizing Kageyama's trick!
"No way—"
He lunged, trying to block—
But it was too late!
The ball sailed past, out of reach.
Bang!
The ball struck the ground!
Chirping!
"Phew!"
"Not bad!"
"That's the genius setter from Kitagawa Daiichi for you!"
In the stands, Mitsuda watched in amusement.
"Ushiwaka got two points, and Kageyama countered immediately. Karasuno isn't backing down!"
Kunimura Naoto nodded, excited.
"Next rotation, Akira moves to the front row. Now it's Shiratorizawa's turn to be worried!"
Sure enough, as Akira rotated into the front row, the energy in Shiratorizawa's formation changed.
His sharp gaze swept over them, and a subtle smile formed on his lips.
But to the opposing players, it felt like a mountain of pressure.
It was as if his eyes could see right through their defense.
There was an undeniable intensity lurking beneath his composed exterior.
For Shiratorizawa...
The real battle was about to begin.
Chirping!
The whistle blew. Karasuno's serve!
Shiratorizawa received it cleanly.
As the ball floated toward the setter, Kenjirō Shirabu hesitated for just a split second.
Coach Washijō's words echoed in his mind from the previous timeout.
"Rely on your ace."
And so, his decision was made.
He set the ball to Ushijima.
After all, only their ace could overpower Karasuno!