Sothing felt off.
This wasn't the kind of image Green Rockets had in mind…
A 17-year-old superstar. The team's undisputed offensive core. A guy who had averaged 15 points per ga in the National Tournant during his second year of high school—how could soone like that play volleyball this rationally?
By all logic, he should've gone for a direct spike on that second-touch ball just now!
If he had scored, it would've easily been a Top 10 play of the night. And even if he hadn't, no one would've blad him for the attempt.
Yet in that very mont, Kaedehara Taichi had chosen the harder option—switching up his movent midair to deliver a one-handed set, allowing Nitta Tomohiro to spike and score.
Such a move just didn't match the arrogant, domineering image Kazama Hayato had in his head of what a "genius" looked like. But curiously enough, none of the DH players seed surprised.
"They are arrogant," Tsukishima Ren said in a low voice. "Just not in the way we imagined."
"Are they deliberately cutting back on Kaedehara Taichi's touches?" Kazama Hayato asked, glancing helplessly at the scoreboard.
"Seems like it," Ren replied evenly. "But we have to admit—their attack efficiency is even higher this way."
Well, wasn't that the truth? Hayato thought.
With an ace like that who drew so much defensive attention, it was easy for the other attackers to find openings. In fact, this dynamic was pretty similar to how things had felt for Green Rockets after they picked up Kiryū Wakatsu.
And just like that, Green Rockets' tiout had not only failed to halt their downward slide—it had actually widened the gap.
Down by 7 points, with Kaedehara Taichi still in the front row, closing the deficit now seed like a pipe dream.
DH had all but secured the first set.
-----
BOOM!!!—
THUD!!
Kaedehara Taichi soared down the left sideline, spiking a straight shot along the line through a double block for the score.
[DH 25 – 18 Green Rockets]
DH took the first set with ease.
Kaedehara Taichi had scored directly off his serve 5 tis, and went 7-for-10 in spikes. Twelve points in just one set.
Nitta Tomohiro had 1 service ace, 1 block point, 1 back-row kill, and went 4-for-8 on front-row spikes. Seven points total.
Just the combined scores from these two players alone had already exceeded Green Rockets' entire team score.
-----
The second set began with Green Rockets serving.
In terms of blocking, both Green Rockets and DH were roughly equal—each had solid solo blockers but lacked a well-ford system.
Only three DH players had legitimate blocking ability: Kaedehara Taichi, Nitta Tomohiro, and Tom Wilde. Among them, Tom Wilde wasn't even that much of a threat when blocking solo. Only when Taichi was in the front row, paired with either of the other two, did DH pose a credible blocking threat.
The Green Rockets were in a similar situation. Luka Moreno and André Kovach were both decent solo blockers, but that alone wasn't enough to neutralise DH's attack.
However—
After a few probing rallies at the start of the second set, Tom Wilde's straight shots were blocked twice in a row by Luka Moreno.
Smack!
Kubo Wataru picked up the ball again.
"This dummy—just because we told him to focus on offence doesn't an he should go berserk!" Yoshii Hiyuu scrambled into position and frowned, seeing Tom Wilde already revving up for another jump.
Whoosh—!
The ball flew toward the right side, and Tom Wilde took his third run-up.
At the net, Luka Moreno looked like a mobile fortress, positioning himself perfectly.
BOOM!!!—
—SMACK!!!
Wilde switched to a cross-court spike this ti—but from the left ca a pair of hands appearing out of nowhere to stuff it.
THUD!
The ball slamd down behind Wilde's right foot.
Kiryū Wakatsu had blocked the shot cleanly.
[DH 2 – 3 Green Rockets]
"Yeah!!!"
"Beautiful block!"
As the ball landed back in DH's half, Luka Moreno clenched his fist with a low roar, a cold sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
"Wasn't even your block—what are you so excited about?" muttered André Kovach from the bench.
Serve change. Green Rockets now had the serve.
"Sorry, I really thought I had it…" Tom Wilde murmured, still feeling like his shot trajectory had been decent.
What he hadn't expected was that bronze-skinned guy on the other side to ti his jump so perfectly. Even though Kiryū Wakatsu was slightly shorter than him, he had still managed to get up at just the right mont to shut him down. When the ball hit Kiryū's arms, Tom had briefly thought he'd slamd into a steel wall.
"So brains…but not much," Yoshii Hiyuu said sharply.
He had expected Wilde to follow through on his confidence with sothing better. But this?
"Yoshii, you must've noticed Kiryū might rotate over for help defence, right?" Kitajima Kippei said. "You should've set it to Taichi back then."
Yoshii cast a flat glance at him. "I'm not Superman—I can't do the impossible."
"You—"
"Alright, alright! The match is still just getting started," Iizuna Tsukasa quickly jumped in to smooth things over. "Let's crush them with the next play!"
Kaedehara Taichi glanced at his teammates thoughtfully.
DH's team atmosphere had always been pretty harmonious. They joked around, roughhoused a bit—but no one ever got angry.
But starting after the preseason ended, internal friction had noticeably increased.
And the epicentre of those frictions? Always the sa three: Kitajima Kippei, Tom Wilde, and Yoshii Hiyuu.
One had the experience but his body was starting to lag behind his mind.
One had the physique but lacked the volleyball IQ.
One had both intelligence and technique but lacked the drive.
They were certainly…a distinctive trio.
"Don't worry," Kubo Wataru said, following Taichi's gaze. "None of them are new to the pro scene. Deep down, they all know what they're doing."
"That's exactly why I find it strange," Taichi replied. "You've all been teammates for multiple seasons now, right?"
Shouldn't they already understand each other's tendencies by now? You wouldn't expect growing pains at this point.
"…Wait, you haven't realised it yet?" Kubo looked at him with an odd expression. "You're the one who changed them…"
"?"
Taichi really didn't seem to get it. And in that mont, Kubo realised—this was one area where Taichi still very much acted his age.
So he didn't bother sugarcoating it.
"You're the one who said you were going to lead us to the championship, rember?"
"And if that's the case, then acting the sa way we did in past seasons just isn't going to cut it."
"They're trying to change. Trying to step out of their comfort zones. And with that cos friction—but in my eyes, that ans we're moving in the right direction."
"You an you never thought about winning the championship before?" Taichi asked, confused. "Only now that I've joined?"
"That's where you're being naive, Taichi," Kubo said, cutting him off bluntly.
"It's not like we were just coasting through every day. Even before the preseason, we trained hard every single day. The pro league isn't sowhere you can just ss around and still survive. This isn't just a dream for us—it's our job."
"But to change, you need direction. Before you ca, we didn't have a clear path to a title."
Kubo didn't mince words. Truth be told, DH hadn't even made it to the semifinals in any of the previous playoffs.
"You might've been called a volleyball genius back in high school," Kubo said. "But in the pros, there's a better title for soone like you—"
"Super Superstar."
"Taichi, you're special. Your presence alone is enough to change the strength of a team. The adjustnts we made were all centred around you."
Kaedehara Taichi fell silent.
To be honest, after seeing his teammates' capabilities, he had quickly co to terms with the outco. From his perspective, with the team's current strength, winning the championship would be extrely difficult.
But—they still had half a year. Taichi wasn't particularly concerned about the strength or weakness of his DH teammates; otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen this team in the first place. As long as he was strong enough, as long as he beca strong enough to lead them to the championship, there would be no problem.
Since his second year of high school, he had started to feel it—neither opponents nor teammates could keep up with his growth. Gradually, it felt like he was once again walking this path to strength alone.
"I understand now," Kaedehara Taichi said softly.
"Huh?" This ti it was Kubo Wataru who froze. "Understand what?"
"Uncle Kippei, Uncle Yoshii, and Tom—after the match, I'll be giving you all so special training," Taichi declared seriously.
Yoshii Hiyu: "…"
Tom Wilde: "Huh?"
Kitajima Kippei: "Why am I involved? And hey, brat, can't you put it a little more nicely? Try not to kill us senpais."
"I'm going to make full use of you all to beco Japan's number one. And in return, I'll bring you to the V1 League's championship podium!" Kaedehara Taichi flashed a radiant smile, as dazzling as the sun.
For a mont, his teammates were stunned—then, one by one, they all smiled.
—"We decided that a long ti ago."
-----
DH struggled in the second set, primarily because Kaedehara Taichi's number of attacks had noticeably decreased.
Lacking offensive firepower, Coach Nick decided not to sub libero for Nitta Asahiro when he rotated to the back row—though only for positions 1 and 5—allowing Nitta to operate from the wings and maintain so attacking presence.
Green Rockets' offence remained aggressive. While their individual firepower might not have matched Black Jackals, their overall offensive execution was just as intense. With a similarly wide array of attackers, Nitta Asahiro found himself overwheld in the back row.
The score remained neck-and-neck. DH wasn't performing well overall and was barely managing to keep up thanks to Kaedehara Taichi's serves.
[DH 16 - 16 Green Rockets]
As Green Rockets' blocking and defence gradually adapted to DH's offence, DH subtly shifted tactics.
Instead of building strong front-row attacks, Iizuna Tsukasa began relying more on back-row inserts from Kaedehara Taichi and Nitta Asahiro to launch their offence.
Green Rockets hadn't expected DH to take this approach—Kaedehara Taichi, a super ace, wasn't making plays in the front row but instead "blending into the crowd" to attack from the back…
"That old bastard…" Coach Hirakuchi stared at the chubby, pale Nick. "Never knew he was this tricky…"
Yoshii Hiyu expanded his coverage range, staying ready to receive any second-touch attacks. Suddenly, DH's offence beca a blur to Green Rockets.
-----
[DH 24 - 22 Green Rockets]
DH once again reached set point first in the second set.
DH to serve—Iizuna Tsukasa with a powerful jump serve.
BOOM!!
Smack!
Kuga Sōichirō received the ball cleanly—a perfect pass.
"Nice receive!"
Tsukishima Ren jumped in the front row to set. Yoshii Hiyu kept a sharp eye, guarding against a possible second attack.
"We'd never waste a super ace!"
Whoosh—!
The ball soared toward the left wing. Kiryū Wakatsu charged along the sideline for his approach.
One step, two steps, three—
Thud!
Kiryū Wakatsu took off. From his run-up to his form in the air, everything radiated raw power.
"I got it!" Tom Wilde gritted his teeth and leapt to block.
BOOM!!!—
The ball blasted past his right side and slamd down on DH's three-ter line.
SMACK!!!
Kaedehara Taichi barely received it, the force of the hit throwing his balance off.
"That's ridiculous!"
The ball rebounded toward Green Rockets' side—Iizuna Tsukasa rushed up and leapt at the net.
Whoosh—!
Iizuna faked a set to Kitajima Kippei at position 2. But just as he touched the ball, his wrist flicked—he sent it sailing over the left wing. Nitta Asahiro ca flying from the back row to spike.
"André! Left side!"
Iizuna's choice caught everyone off guard. Though usually a conservative setter, he seed to pull off flashier plays the harder the pass!
BOOM!!!—
Smack!
"First touch!" Kiryū Wakatsu shouted.
The ball bounced back over DH's side—Iizuna imdiately repositioned and jumped for another set. Kaedehara Taichi cut across to the right front and leapt up again.
BOOM!
Green Rockets' blockers didn't react in ti—
It was Iizuna Tsukasa's second touch attack!
"You bastard!"
Smack!
Kazama Hayato dove forward to dig, barely getting under it. Kuga Sōichirō followed up, bumping it high toward the left wing.
"I got it!" Kiryū Wakatsu's tone was firm.
The first pass had co in awkwardly from behind—but he went for the kill anyway!
BOOM!!!
Smack!!
"Don't underestimate a pro, you bastard!"
With his two-ter height and excellent wingspan, Tom Wilde finally blocked Kiryū Wakatsu's spike.
"First touch!"
"Chance ball!" Kitajima Kippei received it steadily—a perfect pass.
"—?!"
"What the hell is this—?!"
A wave of commotion rippled through the stands—DH's formation had suddenly gone bizarre.
Yoshii Hiyu and Iizuna Tsukasa crossed paths as they ran toward the ball's landing zone, while Kaedehara Taichi and Nitta Asahiro simultaneously crossed from the back row to the wings.
"Such unnecessary flair!"
André Kovács grumbled, but the truth was—he couldn't tell how DH would attack next.
Whoosh—!
Yoshii Hiyu sent the ball soaring over the right wing—Kaedehara Taichi leapt from the back row.
"Damn it!"
André Kovács and Nishiura Keigo ford a double block—but they were a step too slow. Kaedehara Taichi's spike rocketed right over their hands.
—BOOM!!!
BANG!
The two thunderous smacks confird it—Kaedehara Taichi had scored again.
[DH 25 - 22 Green Rockets]
—"Set over! DESEO Hornets take the second set!"
_________
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