"Beep! Ryujin requests a substitution."
"Kiryū Wakatsu IN, Sakusa Kiyoomi OUT."
Sakusa reluctantly walked toward the sideline. The third set was only halfway through, but he no longer had the strength to continue.
"Recover properly. We might still need you at the end of the set," Kiryū said quietly, "That's what Coach Suzaku wanted to tell you."
"Thank you."
Sakusa glanced back at Taichi one last ti before slowly heading to the bench.
-----
Service rotation. San Juan to serve.
Oikawa stepped onto the service line. "Sorry, but we never planned to give up a single set!"
BOOM!!!
The ball flew precisely toward Ryujin's back left corner.
Atsumu received it, though only half-accurately.
Komori jumped for a back-row set—Ryujin's front row all launched for an attack!
"Right wing!"
Taichi shouted loudly, instantly reading the set direction.
Bokuto sprinted along the left sideline and soared for a spike!
"Double block!" Loser and Taichi jumped together.
BOOM!!!—
The ball sliced past Loser's left side and slamd onto San Juan's sideline.
A straight shot!
Smack!
Oikawa calmly received it, sending the ball high into the air.
Conte moved in to set, tossing it high to the front row. Taichi pulled away and charged in for a big approach!
"Triple block!" Bokuto, ian, and Hoshiumi all jumped together.
—BOOOM!!!
SMACK!
The ball soared over the block, crashing into Komori's arms and bouncing out past the baseline.
Kiryū couldn't save it. The ball hit the floor.
Taichi scored!
[San Juan 9 - 13 Ryujin]
"Komori's read was correct, but there was nothing he could do against Taichi's explosive spike!"
San Juan continued serving.
Oikawa's second serve!
BOOM!!!
Komori covered for Atsumu and received it, though the pass was not ideal.
But Atsumu calmly settled under it—Ryujin quickly ford a four-point attack formation.
"If I were on court now, my mind would be a complete ss," comntator Lim said. "Ryujin's attacks look chaotic yet have a precise internal order. Without exaggeration, there isn't a team in the world that executes multi-point attacks better than them."
Loser and Taichi were forced to split the block. Atsumu didn't hesitate and sent the ball to the left wing.
Bokuto leapt again for a spike!
Loser jumped solo for the block.
BOOM!!!
The ball slamd hard into San Juan's centre court.
Bokuto scored!
[San Juan 9 - 14 Ryujin]
"Beautiful spike!"
"Amazing! You can clearly see Bokuto's deceptive hand movents when he spikes."
"The sharp second-line drive passed through the gap between Loser and Taichi's backup defence—this risky attack really shows how calm Bokuto is under pressure!"
"Ryujin stabilises the situation, not allowing San Juan to close in further!"
Service rotation. Ryujin to serve.
Hoshiumi tossed the ball high and launched a powerful jump serve!
—BOOM!!!
The ball traced a high arc in the air, dropping straight toward San Juan's baseline.
Conte seed to anticipate it, retreating two steps and successfully receiving it. A half-decent pass.
"Give it to !" Taichi raised his hand for the ball.
Oikawa moved in quickly and decisively set it high to the middle.
"Triple block!" Atsumu, Bokuto, and ian all jumped together.
—BOOM!!!
The ball sailed over the block and smashed down behind them.
Taichi scored!
[San Juan 10 - 14 Ryujin]
"What a terrifying angle!"
"Taichi's spike height is so far above the block that he can attack however he wants."
"I seriously suspect his legs have springs or so kind of magic…As long as Oikawa sets properly, it's practically a guaranteed point!"
Service rotation. San Juan to serve.
Loser launched a powerful jump serve!
BOOM!!!
Smack!!
Kiryū received it, though only half-accurately.
"This is it, Lim," comntator David said. "Ryujin hasn't just gotten stronger at serving—even their serve receives are nothing like before."
"With San Juan's serve, they're no longer able to get any advantage against them."
Atsumu jumped and set.
Ryujin's attackers gritted their teeth and all sprinted forward.
"It's endless…"
Whoosh—!
The ball flew toward the right wing. ian jumped for a spike!
Ramos went up solo for the block.
BOOM!!!
The ball cut past Ramos's right side and slamd towards the baseline.
"Nice shot!"
Smack!
Conte picked it up, Oikawa set a high ball to the left wing. Taichi charged in to spike!
"Triple block!"
—BOOOM!!!
Smack!!!
The ball cleared the block and slamd down. Komori received it!
The ball popped back above San Juan's court. Oikawa leapt to make a first-touch set to the left wing again.
Taichi leapt to spike again!
Ryujin's triple block followed.
—BOOOM!!!
Smack!!!
The ball hit Komori's arm again and deflected back to San Juan's side.
"Again." Taichi pulled back for another approach.
Oikawa chuckled softly and set once more to the left wing.
Thump!
Taichi soared high, arm pulled back to the extre.
—BOOOOM!!!
Ryujin's triple block was dropping in height, but Taichi's spike height just kept rising!
SMACK!!!
The ball smashed off Komori's arm and flew out past the baseline.
Taichi scored!
[San Juan 11 - 14 Ryujin]
"Damn it!"
Komori's arm was completely red, trembling uncontrollably.
"Well, Komori is still human after all…" David sighed.
"You make it sound like soone isn't," Lim snorted with a laugh.
In these repeated exchanges, each of Taichi's spikes was higher, faster, and more powerful than the last.
"He's targeting Komori," Yaku Morisuke said. "On that last one, Komori could only react on instinct."
"Taichi clearly has the power to pound the ball directly to the floor, but chooses to hit at Komori's arms instead."
"Taichi isn't worried about whether Komori can dig his spike—he doesn't want Komori to be able to dig anyone else's."
"In the blink of an eye, the gap is down to just three points."
-----
San Juan continued serving.
Loser's powerful jump serve targeted the space between Komori and Kiryū.
Smack!!!
Komori shuffled over to receive, but the pass flew off.
"Sorry, cover !"
Komori called out in frustration. His arm was still numb, and he couldn't control the ball properly.
Atsumu chased it down and still managed to set it back into play.
Bokuto jumped for a middle attack!
"Double block!" Taichi and Ramos jumped together.
Whoosh!—
Bokuto swung but faked—a feint!
Kiryū flew in from the back row to spike!
Taichi and Ramos reacted quickly, jumping again to block.
"Take this back!"
BOOOM!!!—
The ball crashed into Taichi's hand and deflected far past the baseline.
Oikawa chased it down and popped it back into the centre of the court, Conte moved in to set.
By now, everyone understood—San Juan had only one real scoring option left: Taichi!
Whoosh—!
The ball flew high to the left wing.
Taichi approached, opening and closing his hands repeatedly.
Thump!
"Triple block!"
But Taichi looked at the block as if it didn't exist, focusing only on completing his swing.
—BOOOM!!!
Komori knew—those eyes were locked on him.
THUD!!!
The ball slamd into the ground right beside Komori's foot and bounced away.
Taichi scored!
[San Juan 12 - 14 Ryujin]
"What's wrong?" Taichi asked coldly. "You should've been able to dig that ball, right?"
Komori Motoya stood with his mouth slightly open. The mont he tried to react to the ball, his entire body had inexplicably frozen, and he couldn't move at all.
"Is it…my subconscious that's afraid?"
A bead of cold sweat trickled down Komori's forehead. He had never imagined that he would harbour such a thought.
"…Sorry."
"Don't mind it! Next ball!" Kiryū Wakatsu encouraged him. He hadn't expected that even his own full-powered spike would have seemingly no effect on Taichi.
"The match is unfolding at a bizarre pace. It feels like the entire Ryujin team has beco… off sohow."
"Hold on! Keep up your offence!" Coach Suzaku shouted loudly from the sidelines.
No matter how you looked at it, San Juan's coback was too fast—almost as if Ryujin's big lead just monts ago had been a dream.
San Juan continued serving.
Loser launched his third serve!
BOOM!!!
This ti, the serve was right down the middle. Komori received it steadily—perfect pass.
Atsumu leapt at the net to feint a quick set and drew Bruno's defence. anwhile, Ryujin's other four hitters launched a simultaneous attack!
Taichi and Ramos waited at the net, blocking against four attackers!
BOOM!!
The ball struck Ramos's arm and flew far out of bounds.
Off-the-block point!
Hoshiumi's back-row attack scored!
[San Juan 12 - 15 Ryujin]
"Look at him! Japan's Little Giant storms back from the back row to stabilise Ryujin's montum!"
"This is the very style that gave them the lead—Ryujin's players can't forget that."
Service rotation. Ryujin to serve.
ian tossed the ball up and unleashed a powerful jump serve!
BOOM!!!
"After all the serve receive training against Ryujin, San Juan's first touch has really beco solid," comntator David remarked.
The ball struck Conte's arm and popped high—a half-decent pass.
Oikawa settled in quickly, wasting no ti, and sent a high set to the left wing.
Taichi soared to spike!
"Triple block!" Nitta, Atsumu, and Bokuto all jumped together.
Tap!
"——?!"
The ball was tapped softly over the block and dropped behind the three blockers.
Kiryū and Hoshiumi's pupils contracted as they desperately lunged forward.
Thud!
The ball landed inside Ryujin's three-ter line.
Tap…tap…tap…
The ball bouncing gently on the floor sounded like mocking laughter.
Taichi scored with a cheeky tip!
[San Juan 13 - 15 Ryujin]
"Ryujin has no way to stop Taichi!"
"The Demon King, who terrified Nizhnev, São Paulo, and Trentino, has revealed his true face again!"
"Oikawa doesn't even have to think when he sets —"
"Of course not! If your team had an ace like Taichi, you wouldn't need to think either."
Service rotation. San Juan to serve. Taichi stepped onto the service line.
"One point! If they can get just one more point, they'll survive this rotation!" Iizuna prayed on the sideline.
That one point would an Ryujin had weathered Taichi's service turn and would reach the technical tiout for a breather.
"Tweet!—"
Taichi tossed the ball high, sprinted, leapt, and smashed!
BOOOM!!!
The ball flew straight at Komori!
SMACK!!!
Komori's arms were blown apart on contact, and the ball flew out of bounds.
"I've got it!"
Hoshiumi imdiately chased it down, digging it back into the backcourt.
Kiryū ran in on a sharp cross approach, jumped off one foot, twisted midair, and swung!
BOOM!!!
The ball hit Ramos and Conte's double block and fell on Ryujin's side.
"San Juan's block is too high!"
"If Kiryū had hit any higher, it might've cleared the block but also gone out of bounds!"
Bokuto had no ti to react and could only bump it off his chest.
A half-decent pass?!
"Hahaha! Has Bokuto turned chest reception into a normal technique?!"
Atsumu jumped to set.
Ryujin's only available attacker was Nitta on the left wing!
BAM!!!—
—SMACK!
Atsumu attempted a risky setter dump but was blocked by Ramos and Conte's double block!
Thud!
The ball crashed down on Ryujin's side.
San Juan scored with a block!
[San Juan 14 - 15 Ryujin]
"Of course Atsumu would try sothing like that."
"He's getting too impatient."
"San Juan's block isn't sothing you can just challenge at will—Ryujin's bold attacks have now been rejected twice!"
"The gap is down to just one point!"
-----
"Tweet!—"
Taichi served again!
BOOOOM!!!—
CRASHH!!!
"So it finally cos…" Leon murmured in the stands with a faint smile.
This serve was so fast that the trajectory was almost invisible.
The ball dropped right on Ryujin's baseline and flew out of bounds.
Taichi's service ace!
[San Juan 15 - 15 Ryujin]
"136 km/h!!!"
"Even though Hoshiumi once dug a serve over 130 km/h from Taichi, this ti, no one even touched the ball!"
The score was tied! San Juan continued serving!
The air in the entire arena seed frozen.
All eyes were locked on Taichi—every movent of his held everyone's breath.
"Tweet!—"
Taichi gently tossed the ball, which drew a beautiful arc through the air. In the next instant, he sprinted forward like an arrow released from a bow, his left arm swung high, muscle lines tensed, and at the mont the ball descended, he struck with explosive power!
BOOOM!!!
The ball carried a fierce spin and shot toward Ryujin's back row like a phantom.
—"Mine!"
Hoshiumi and Komori both moved in to receive.
The ball shifted midair!
SMACK!!!
It struck Hoshiumi's arm and flew far out of bounds.
Taichi scored with a second consecutive service ace!
[San Juan 16 - 15 Ryujin]
_________
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