The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"OH, YEAH! Finally!" Amagi roared, bumping his chest to Gondo enthusiastically. "Our first point!"

"Good job, Amagi! You did well in the last play!"

"Hey, Senpai, of course, I did a good job! If only you did the same, we would be able to break the stalemate for too long!"

"You brat!"

Laughter could be heard all around the Matsuyama Kita High's side as everyone was celebrating their first point of the game. Even though it was just one point, they still took it seriously. Not only was it the respect that they showed toward their opponent, but this point itself was so difficult for them to obtain. They could feel that this was probably the most difficult first point that they had ever experienced in their lives. Hell, even Konan High's defense wasn't this tough, showing just how good Tsunemori's defense was.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the court, Riku didn't hesitate to take the blame. "Sorry, everyone. I should've noticed that he was going for a dump even before the play unfolded. This is inexcusable for me." The setter said gloomily. Indeed, as the closest player to Amagi, and also, as the second-best player on the team in terms of game-reading, Riku felt guilty that he failed to stop the dump earlier. What made it worse was the fact that the momentum was on their side before Amagi scored. It would be hard for them to snatch it back from the Matsuyama Kita High in the future.

"Eh, don't worry about it!" Yuki slapped his friend's back playfully. "You said it before, that Matsuyama Kita High is the second-best team in the country. No matter how good our defense is, they would be able to see a hole in us and score, so don't be too harsh on yourself! Just stay relaxed and get back into the game quickly!"

"Yes, Riku! Come on, it is just one point!" Asahi also encouraged his kouhai. "It is impossible to hold them scoreless for this long, so we have already been satisfied with the beginning of the game! Don't add unnecessary burden to yourself, okay?"

Seeing the affirmation from his teammates, it would be a lie for Riku not to get touched. He also took a deep breath, trying to get back into his usual competitive state so that he could help his teammates get through the opponent's wall later.

Meanwhile, on the commentary board on the outside of the court, two people were chatting with each other casually about this game. One of them, the young one, couldn't help but ask, probably the oldest person in the building, which coincidentally enough was sitting next to him. "What a rally, what a sequence, and what a game! Tell me, Sato-sensei, what are your thoughts about it? Do you think that Tsunemori High would be able to surprise us and maintain this intensity?"

"Oh, yeah, this old man thinks so." The old man next to the presenter nodded firmly. "This old man knows the two boys who are the core of the Tsunemori High team, and he naturally knows how capable they are. So, yeah, Tsunemori High is capable of defending them with the same intensity. But the question is, can they handle if Matsuyama Kita High increased the intensity?"

Yeah, this was another question that Tsunemori needed to prove that they are capable of. After all, everyone could see that Matsuyama Kita High hadn't unleashed their best potential yet. No, what they were doing up to this point was just to test the water, trying to figure out Tsunemori High's defense. The real test for Tsunemori players would be right after this, whether they could handle Matsuyama Kita's all-out offense or not.

As for the old man's identity, he was Daiki Sato, the one who held the summer training camp for Yuki, Riku, and some of the talented freshmen players in Tokyo during the last summer. He was indeed impressed by those two and their unique playing style, so he still caught up with Tsunemori's game from time to time. Indeed, after following the team's games from the second round, he could see that the current Yuki and Riku were far better compared to their past, and this was also the source of Tsunemori's confidence. Now, the question was, will that improvement be enough today?

Also, this one point from Matsuyama Kita High was a little bit painful for Tsunemori, considering it was still Yuki's second turn to serve. It was probably the first time in a long time that they couldn't gain a big lead after Yuki's turn to serve was over, so somehow, this was enough to make everyone nervous here. After all, with how weak their offense is right now, Yuki's service trick was probably the best chance they had to score points, and if that didn't work, it would be hard for them to do that later.

True enough, right after this, Matsuyama Kita High started to raise the tempo, starting to put more pressure on Tsunemori's defense. Even though at first, Tsunemori was still able to handle them, slowly but surely, they couldn't catch up with their opponent's speed, and Amagi really made sure that they couldn't do that either.

The opponent's setter was really like a wild conductor, throwing the ball in strange, unpredictable ways. Sometimes, Amagi would go fast, sometimes slow. Sometimes he would fake a spike and then set the ball high. Hell, even Yuki had a difficult time reading the setter's rhythm, as his command was always one step too late. All the Tsunemori players couldn't tell when the ball would come fast or slow, high or low. This chaos made it hard to block or dig effectively.

Somehow, the game that at first began really slowly suddenly changed so quickly, and the current score also shifted toward Matsuyama Kita's favor, 5 – 2.

"Oh, come on! As expected from Amagi!"

"Oi, Nakamura-kun! Don't be lazy and help your kouhai, okay?!"

"Tondo, the opponent is not going to attack today! Just join the fun, or you will not have anything to do at all!"

"Damn, that is harsh but true! Hahaha!"

While all the people in the building were laughing at Tsunemori's embarrassing performance, the team that was in the talk still stayed calm, communicating with each other silently. They knew that this was way too early to give up yet. Still…

"Jimmy-senpai, we need to score in the next play before the morale plummets too far," Riku whispered to his senpai. "An ordinary attack wouldn't work against them. So, we need to do something different right here. Are you ready to be a setter for me and Yuki?"

Ogawa was taken aback by this question, glancing sideways toward Yuki, who was still wiping the sweat on his face. Seeing the determination in the glasses boy's eyes, and seeing the mischievousness on the blonde boy's face, he couldn't help but return the expression, nodding his head excitedly.

"Oh, I have been waiting for this chance forever! Come on, let's start the real fun!"