"Got what?"
Kunimura Naoto placed his hands on his waist and smiled proudly.
"Of course, I know how Akira's spike works!"
Hearing his words, the two looked at each other in disbelief.
"You mean..."
"You're saying you can spike like that too?"
Since the very beginning, Kunimura had been deep in thought. The game on the court and the conversation between the two had become background noise to him.
Neither Heiji Yoshino nor Mitsuda had expected that he had been analyzing the issue all along.
"Ahem!"
Hearing their words, Kunimura suddenly held back what he had wanted to blurt out.
"Of course not! Just because I know how he does it doesn't mean I can pull it off myself."
"Huh?"
"It's enough to know how it's done!"
"Tell us already!"
The two were now fully hooked, their curiosity piqued. They couldn't be blamed for their skepticism—Akira's spike was just too strange.
Not only had they never seen anything like it, but they had also never even heard of such a technique before.
They had tried to break it down logically but failed. And now Kunimura was saying he had figured it out?
Seeing their eager expressions, Kunimura couldn't help but feel proud.
"Hah! You two laughed at me earlier for not having common sense! And now, look who's short-sighted!"
"What does this have to do with his spike? Stop stalling, Kunimura!" Yoshino demanded.
"I'm not stalling!" Kunimura Naoto shook his head. "It's exactly what I mentioned earlier—he's imitating a left-handed spike! It's true!"
Mitsuda immediately reached out to touch his forehead. "Kunimura, are you running a fever? There's no way a right-handed player can imitate a left-handed spike that precisely!"
"Tsk! Just listen to me!"
"The only one who can imitate a left-handed spike this perfectly is Akira!"
"Before the match, he must have specifically trained his Karasuno teammates to receive left-handed spikes so they could adapt quickly to Ushijima's attacks!"
"Wait… do you have any proof?" Mitsuda still seemed skeptical despite Kunimura's confidence.
"The proof is Akira's bizarre spike!"
Kunimura pointed toward the court. There, Akira had just scored another point using that unorthodox spike, all while forcing Shiratorizawa's second setter, Shirabu Kenjirō, to exhaust himself running across the court.
"Look at that! It's just like the first time someone faces a left-handed spiker!"
"What?!"
Both Yoshino and Mitsuda were stunned. They immediately turned their attention to the match.
Every time Shiratorizawa's back-row defenders tried to receive Akira's spike, the ball bounced unpredictably off their arms.
"This..."
Heiji Yoshino murmured, his voice tinged with shock.
"The first time someone faces a left-handed spiker, their receive looks like this!"
"Their reception is unstable, even if they manage to get in the right position. The ball spins away from them..."
"It's because they aren't used to the spin!"
Seeing their reactions, Kunimura Naoto grinned triumphantly.
"Haha! Looks like you two were wrong this time!"
Mitsuda took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. "But Shiratorizawa's players must have practiced receiving left-handed spikes before. How could they still be struggling? And even if they weren't used to it at first, wouldn't they have adjusted by now?"
Kunimura clicked his tongue. "Musashi..."
He continued, "I knew you'd ask that! But who said Akira's spike is just an ordinary right-handed spike?"
"What do you mean?" Yoshino asked, now completely invested.
"If a natural right-handed player like Akira can imitate the spin of a left-handed spike... then what's stopping him from manipulating different spin variations altogether?"
Kunimura's words hit them like a revelation.
"Wait…"
Heiji Yoshino's eyes widened as he slapped his thigh. "Why didn't I think of that?!"
"Receiving... spiking... it's all connected!"
"So that's it..." Mitsuda muttered, struggling to process it all.
Even though he had been reluctant to accept Kunimura's theory, he now had to admit it was the only plausible explanation.
Kunimura, now fully in his element, continued enthusiastically. "Akira is constantly altering the spin on his spikes! That's why Shiratorizawa's back row can't adjust to his attacks!"
"They may get used to one type of spin, but the next spike has a completely different spin!"
"And by the time they think they've adapted, he changes it again!"
"No matter how much experience they have, they just can't catch up!"
"That's... that's insane..." Mitsuda muttered, still watching the game unfold in disbelief.
"But how is he even doing it? Changing the spin force like that…"
Kunimura shrugged. "That's something you'd have to ask him. I have no idea."
Chirp!
The match continued at full intensity.
Kenjirō Shirabu had already been subbed out for Eita Semi due to exhaustion.
On Karasuno's side, Kageyama was also replaced by Sugawara to give him a break.
At the same time, Tanaka re-entered the game in place of Hinata.
Compared to Kageyama, Sugawara lacked the sheer technical brilliance to execute monster quicks. However, his deep understanding of his teammates allowed him to deliver well-placed, comfortable sets.
Akira had experienced this difference firsthand during Karasuno's training matches.
If one were to compare setters, Sugawara's style was most similar to Shirabu's—both focused on tailoring their sets to their ace's strengths.
Kageyama, on the other hand, had a playstyle reminiscent of Semi's. Both setters had a more forceful, individualistic approach to their sets.
As Karasuno adjusted to the substitutions, there was a brief moment where their rhythm stiffened slightly. Shiratorizawa capitalized on this, scoring two consecutive points.
However, that was all they could manage.
Even though Shiratorizawa held a slight lead on the scoreboard, they had yet to pull away decisively.
Faced with such a close and unpredictable match, even the composed players of Shiratorizawa were beginning to feel a rare sense of unease.