"Even Shiratorizawa, the uncrowned king of Miyagi Prefecture—do you have the confidence to defeat them?"
"That's right!"
Akira nodded.
For him, there was no need to hide his intent at this mont.
Against opponents he had already defeated, a certain level of respect could be given. But for those yet to be faced, it was necessary to underestimate them strategically while taking them seriously tactically.
And this seemingly arrogant statent? That, too, was a tactic!
"Good!"
"That's it for today's interview. Thank you very much, Akira, for taking the ti to speak with us!"
"Thank you!"
"At the sa ti, let's look forward to an even more exciting match tomorrow!"
Yumi waved her thanks to Akira, who responded with a polite smile.
With the conclusion of this short interview, Akira's task here was complete.
After bidding farewell to Yumi, who was clearly infatuated, Akira was about to leave with Takeda Ittetsu.
But just as they reached the gymnasium doors…
Creak!
The gym doors swung open from the inside.
Stepping out was a tall, broad-shouldered young man in a white and purple uniform, his expression cold and his presence overwhelming.
"Cow... Ushijima Wakatoshi!"
Beside Akira, Takeda Ittetsu stamred slightly.
As a well-known figure in Miyagi Prefecture, Ushijima had appeared in newspapers, magazines, and television nurous tis. His presence was impossible to ignore.
Takeda imdiately recognized him.
"Huh?"
Hearing his na, Ushijima's brow furrowed slightly as he turned toward them.
"... I'm sorry!"
Perhaps intimidated by Ushijima's sheer presence, Takeda Ittetsu instinctively flinched and bowed in apology.
However, when Ushijima caught sight of Takeda's uniform—specifically, the words "Karasuno" embroidered on the chest—his frown deepened.
For a mont, he seed to recall sothing, and an eerie silence settled over the scene.
"Haha! Takeda-sensei, it's nothing!"
At that mont, Akira stepped between them and spoke reassuringly.
Ushijima, his train of thought interrupted, returned to the present. His gaze shifted to Akira, taking note of the Karasuno jersey he wore.
He seed as if he wanted to say sothing, but just then…
"Ushijima!"
A voice called from behind him.
"The TV station has been waiting for you! You're late!"
A man dressed in a Shiratorizawa tracksuit—evidently a coach—hurried over, panting slightly.
"Yes, I understand."
With that, Ushijima indifferently stepped past Akira and Takeda, heading toward his waiting obligations.
"So, do you two know Ushijima as well?"
The Shiratorizawa coach turned toward them with mild curiosity.
"Yes. Everyone in the prefecture knows him."
Takeda Ittetsu glanced at Ushijima's retreating back, his tone carrying a hint of frustration.
Now that he had a mont to reflect, he realized how embarrassing his earlier reaction had been.
"Oh? Karasuno?"
"You're one of the teams competing this year?"
Noticing their uniforms, the coach seed intrigued.
"That's right! We advanced to the semifinals this afternoon!"
Takeda Ittetsu spoke with pride.
"Haha! That's impressive!"
The coach chuckled but then added with a smirk:
"But..."
"For tomorrow's semifinals, you'd best lose."
"Huh?"
Takeda Ittetsu blinked, baffled.
Before he could ask, the Shiratorizawa coach continued:
"Because..."
"If you keep winning, you'll face us in the finals."
"And after all that effort, you'll be crushed 3-0."
"That might just break your spirit."
With that, he turned and walked off, following Ushijima.
"What?! But we—"
Takeda Ittetsu started to protest, but the coach spoke without turning back:
"No need to say more. We don't care who the opponent is."
"Because, no matter who it is, they can't beat us."
Watching him leave, Takeda Ittetsu—normally mild-mannered—flushed red with anger.
He turned to Akira, just about to speak, but Akira's expression remained unreadable, his black eyes steady.
"There's no need to let an opponent's words shake you, Takeda-sensei."
Akira chuckled softly.
Getting provoked so easily? It seed Takeda still had room to grow in composure.
"Just like I said in the interview."
"It's just talk."
"What truly decides victory or defeat is what happens on the court."
At Akira's words, Takeda seed to snap out of his frustration.
The emotional turmoil left an impact, but now, he simply looked determined.
"Let's go, Akira."
"It's ti for the ga."
Watching him walk ahead, Akira sighed slightly, then followed.
—
By the ti they arrived at the stands, the current match had just hit a tiout.
"How's it going?"
Akira took a seat beside his teammates, eyes locked on the court.
"It's neck and neck!"
"They're definitely top-eight material!"
"They're tough!"
Asahi replied grimly.
The second set was reaching its climax.
Jozenji 25 – 24 Dewaichi!
Jozenji was on match point!
Dewaichi had taken the first set, establishing their status as the Group G seed.
But if Jozenji took this set, they would force a tiebreaker!
Jozenji had just called a tiout to regroup.
Tweet!
The whistle signaled the end of the tiout, and both teams returned to the court.
Jozenji was up to serve.
"Terushima! Make it count!"
"No problem!"
As always, Jozenji exuded a lively, playful atmosphere.
Boom!
A powerful straight serve rocketed across the court!
Dewaichi's back-row players rushed to receive it—but at the last second, the ball changed direction!
The unpredictable trajectory sent it slamming onto the boundary line!
Point, Jozenji!
With that, Jozenji had secured the second set!
The match was now tied 1-1.
This battle for the final four was about to head into an intense tiebreaker.
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2/8✅
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