"Was that a mistimed attack? Or did he do it on purpose?!"

"What exactly happened? Let's look at the replay of that last point."

The screen above the court displayed the slow-motion playback of the previous rally.

"Alexander's serve reached an incredible 130 km/h! And even so, Taichi managed to receive it cleanly..."

"Then came Trentino's counterattack—ah, there it is, definitely a misread!"

"Ryan seemed to hesitate slightly when facing Taichi's block, and that brief pause cost him the perfect timing for the attack. You can even see the look of panic on his face right there—haha!"

"But Alexander's follow-up positioning was just insane!"

"368 cm! To have that kind of height for a back-row attack is simply perfect!"

"With that, the momentum on court completely reversed, and Trentino pulled ahead at this crucial endgame moment!"

Trentino continued to serve.

"You all better remember—I'm the one dictating this match."

Alexander served his third ball!

BOOOM!!!

This time, the ball was not aimed at Kaedehara Taichi, but flew toward Bruno.

"Move, damn legs, MOVE!"

Bruno stared wide-eyed at the ball closing in, screaming inside.

"Too late!"

Smack!!!

Conte dove in, saving the ball right from under Bruno's feet.

"We can't afford to lose another point!"

The ball soared high.

"Nice save!!!"

Oikawa quickly moved in. "This is the perfect opportunity—we're not letting it go!"

Whoosh—!

A long diagonal set across half the court, the ball flew steadily toward the left wing.

Thud!

Kaedehara Taichi jumped!

"Double block!" Yuri and Ryan leapt up together.

"You bastard—"

Ryan's eyes burned with rage. Taichi's entire forearm was already above the net!

—BOOM!!!

An extreme high-contact spike!

The ball smashed past Trentino's back row, flying out by Kageyama's feet.

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 23 - 23 Trentino]

"380 cm!!!"

"S—uper Spike! One shot to finish it all!" The commentator stood up again, shouting excitedly.

"San Juan easily resolved the serve crisis!"

Serve switch—San Juan to serve.

Kaedehara Taichi walked to the service line.

"Tweet!—" The whistle sounded.

"Still not enough," Taichi tossed the ball up, "make me even more excited!"

A powerful jump serve with his left hand!

BOOM!!!

Trentino's five-man back row moved to receive.

Pop!

The serve bounced off the net and dropped straight into the middle of Trentino's court.

"???"

"Damn it!"

Front-row Ryan and back-row Yuri and Fabio all dove toward the centre.

Smack!

Ryan used his long arms to barely save the net-touching ball!

Kageyama quickly got under it, lifting it with his hands!

Whoosh!—

Alexander jumped from the back row to spike!

"Double block!" Ramos and Conte went up together.

BOOM!!!

The ball avoided the block.

Taichi dug it up!

Oikawa slowed down the attack rhythm. San Juan's front three all moved to start their approaches!

"Don't rush!" Fabio shouted from the back row.

Ryan suppressed his urge to jump immediately, his palms sweating nervously.

Whoosh—!

The ball flew toward the left wing.

Its speed wasn't fast—clearly meant to give Taichi time to adjust.

Thud!

"Triple block!" Yuri, Ryan, and Boro all went up together.

BOOM!!!—

The ball slipped past the front of the block.

A tight cross shot near the net!

Smack!

The ball ricocheted off Boro's palm and flew out of bounds.

—"Oh! It looks like Kaedehara Taichi was trying for a tight cross from the back row, but it was a bit too forced!"

Alexander chased it toward the sideline—but someone moved even faster.

"Get back! Your job is to attack!"

Fabio, on his final step, dove with all his strength, both hands clasped together, punching the ball back into play.

SMACK!

"Ah, that hurts like hell." Fabio had swung so hard that he didn't have time to do a proper dive roll, crashing directly to the ground.

The ball returned to court. Alexander followed up immediately, jumping and turning mid-air!

"A second attack?!"

"This guy's insane too!"

Ramos and Conte both went up to block Alexander.

Smack!

At the last moment before contact, Alexander flipped his wrist, pushing the ball with one hand.

It was a set!!!

No one had expected Alexander to set in that moment.

Not even Ryan—but facing only Bruno's single block (coming in as emergency coverage), he could easily spike and score!

[San Juan 23 - 24 Trentino]

Trentino ended Kaedehara Taichi's service round in just one ball, grabbing set point first!

"Beep! San Juan requests a timeout."

"To think they'd let their opponent snatch set point…Taichi…"

On the sidelines, the Ryujin squad watched closely. Most of them had faced Kaedehara Taichi as opponents or teammates before. Now, seeing San Juan on the verge of losing the set, they were even more shocked than when they lost their own match that morning.

"This…is our volleyball—full of artistry and creativity!"

The cheers of Italian fans grew even louder. San Juan's most troublesome No. 10 (Kaedehara Taichi) had failed to capitalise on his service round. Now that he was back in the back row, there was nothing left to stop Trentino from winning!

"Alexander! Light of the Emperor!"

"Alexander! Trentino's Saviour!"

-----

"The match is far from over." Coach José tapped the tactics board, unfazed by the noise around them.

"Everyone did well in the first set. Alexander and Zaytsev's attacks aren't invincible. Their patterns in the first half are almost the same as when they played against Brazil."

"But…that setter, Kageyama Tobio, is truly beyond expectations. Oikawa, he's really two years younger than you?"

"Yes." Oikawa answered grudgingly.

"Alexander is also younger than Taichi. So if you guys lose, wouldn't that be quite embarrassing?" Loser exclaimed in surprise.

"It's not 'you guys,' it's 'us,'" Kaedehara Taichi corrected him, "and…we won't lose."

Coach José waved a hand, cutting off the idle chatter.

"The strategy against their libero is working well. He's running more than ever on court." Coach José showed a sly smile. "This match is destined to be long—let's see if he can last to the end."

"In the end, we are not afraid, but we also can't underestimate them. Trentino's individual skills are strong—that's why they quickly adapted and counterattacked."

"But…we are stronger."

"Don't give up the first set so easily—let them witness South American tenacity!"

"Yes!!!"

As the players prepared to go back on court, Coach José suddenly called out to Kaedehara Taichi. "Why have you suddenly become so obsessed with left-handed attacks? There's no need to do that in this kind of match."

There hadn't been any errors, but there hadn't been greater gains either. It only added unnecessary risk.

Taichi paused for a moment before slowly answering, "Maybe…because it's more fun?"

"Huh?" The veins on Coach José's forehead twitched.

"Ahem…I mean, it's necessary." Taichi smiled. "Don't worry, Coach. It's necessary!"

After watching Lublin's match that morning, Kaedehara Taichi understood—to beat this opponent, he would have to go all out. And coincidentally, that feeling…he loved it.

"You need to know…if your setter wasn't Oikawa, I wouldn't let you mess around like this." Coach José said sternly. "In return, you must give me the first set victory."

"Listen carefully—I said the first set."

He didn't mention the entire match—because winning the match was already a given, wasn't it? Coach José was a proud old man after all.

"Got it~" Taichi waved lazily, heading back onto the court with his teammates.

-----

Trentino's bench area.

Coach Ferdinando was carefully going over tactics. Unlike the fans, he wasn't so optimistic; not to mention just a one-point lead, even winning the first set wasn't something worth getting overly excited about.

"Kageyama, in a single set, can you adjust your set point to match an attacker's rhythm and freely switch between left and right-handed sets?" Zaytsev couldn't shake off a strange feeling and finally asked.

"I can." Kageyama Tobio answered firmly. "Just treat him as two different people."

"...You are talking about Taichi?" Kageyama only realised belatedly.

"Yeah." Zaytsev nodded. "Two people, huh? I see."

"What do you mean 'I see'? That's not normal at all, okay?!" Fabio, who was drinking water nearby, gave him an exasperated look.

"Kaedehara Taichi's frequency of left-handed attacks is way off compared to past matches. Something feels off." Zaytsev reminded his teammates to pay attention.

Kageyama fell into thought. Under normal circumstances, if your dominant hand is the right, it would make sense to hide the left hand and only use it as a surprise in crucial moments.

"Maybe…he's just trying to make us second-guess ourselves?" Fabio remarked casually. "Feeding us extra information to disrupt our judgments—for him, even a split-second hesitation on our part would mean we can't keep up with his attacks."

"That's also possible." Zaytsev pondered. "And right now, he's already achieved that."

Clap!

Alexander clapped his hands together loudly, instantly drawing all eyes.

"Don't worry. I have seen the will of God."

"We…will win this match."

-----

Timeout over, match resumed.

Serve switch—Trentino to serve.

Boro served a jump float.

Santiago received it cleanly, perfect pass. Taichi soared up for a back-row attack.

"Middle!"

Even without Kageyama calling it out, Yuri and Ryan both leapt in unison to block Taichi.

But that also meant—

Whoosh!—

BOOM!!!

Conte spiked from the right side and scored!

[San Juan 24 - 24 Trentino]

This unstoppable quick attack decoy—Trentino's fans were all too familiar with it.

Serve switch—San Juan to serve.

"Give us a good one!"

Bruno fired a powerful jump serve. Alexander received it easily, perfect pass.

Kageyama jumped in the front row to set, Yuri and Ryan both launched into their approaches.

Ramos and Conte both went up for man-to-man blocks.

Whoosh!—

The ball was set to the middle. Alexander leapt from the back row for the spike!

BOOM!!!

Self-received, self-spiked.

Alexander easily scored again.

[San Juan 24 - 25 Trentino]

Serve switch—Trentino to serve. Zaytsev returned to the front row.

Ryan fired a powerful jump serve!

Kaedehara Taichi received it steadily, perfect pass.

Oikawa jumped in the front row to set, Ramos and Conte started their approaches on either side!

BOOM!!

Oikawa suddenly turned and spiked—a second attack!

Smack!

Kageyama popped the ball up!

—"Oikawa's gamble has pushed San Juan to the edge of the abyss!"

Boro received it steadily, perfect pass.

"Kageyama! You damned brat!"

Kageyama ignored Oikawa's roar completely, calmly jumping to set at the net.

Zaytsev and Yuri both charged in for their approaches.

Kageyama glanced across San Juan's court. Oikawa stared at him intently but didn't move.

Whoosh!—

The ball flew high.

For this decisive ball, Kageyama still chose to set to the back row—to Alexander!

Oikawa's face, full of anger a moment ago, suddenly broke into a smile.

"Tobio."

"In the end…we're very much alike. That's why I knew you wouldn't be able to resist sending it to him."

"Because to you…it's your hard-won, world-class ace."

Alexander soared from the back row for the spike!

"Triple block!" Ramos, Conte, and Oikawa all jumped!

After his failed second attack, Oikawa dared to risk leading the block again!

"What a player with nerves of steel!" Santiago felt his adrenaline surging.

"So what!" Alexander's expression turned crazed. "They all say I am the main character of this court!"

—BOOM!!!

Super spike!

The block didn't stop Alexander at all!

"—?!" Santiago's eyes widened. "Can't reach it?"

"No!"

Santiago dove out, slipping his palm between the ball and the floor.

Smack!!!

The ball bounced high and flew out of bounds!

No whistle from the referee! Saved!

Taichi chased it beyond the sideline, safely sending it back toward the net.

Conte jumped up right where he stood for a spike!

BOOM!!!—

"You didn't really think it would be that easy, did you?"

—SMACK!!!

The ball hit Zaytsev's block and dropped!

Smack!

Bruno picked it up, Oikawa quickly covered and set!

"You're the one who's naive." Conte flashed a smile.

Thump!

Kaedehara Taichi jumped from the back-row centre.

"Triple block!" Zaytsev, Kageyama, and Yuri all went up!

"It's the left hand."

Zaytsev instinctively noticed, though he wasn't sure it was meaningful.

—BOOOM!!!

Super spike!

The ball sailed over the block, smashing down towards the floor!

Alexander moved to receive!

SMACK!!!

"You really are a liar…"

The ball bounced off Alexander's arm, deflected toward the floor.

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 25 - 25 Trentino]

"The left-handed spin is just a feint—what's hard to handle is the vertical spin and the force on the ball." Alexander quickly shared his findings with his teammates.

For now, the situation was still under Trentino's control. Ideally, they wanted to end this before Kaedehara Taichi rotated back to the front row.

Serve switch—San Juan to serve.

Ramos fired a powerful jump serve!

Boro received it, though only half-accurately.

Kageyama jumped in the front row to set. Oikawa was standing in front of him.

Whoosh!—

The ball flew to the left wing. Zaytsev jumped for the spike!

"Double block!" Conte and Loser went up together!

BOOM!!!

The ball slipped past the two and dipped on San Juan's right three-meter line!

Smack!!!

Taichi picked it up, the ball flying out toward the sideline.

Bruno chased after it.

"..."

Just as Bruno was about to reach it, the ball hit a photographer in front of the advertising board and bounced away.

Ball down.

Zaytsev scored!

[San Juan 25 - 26 Trentino]

"Dammit!" Bruno punched the air in frustration.

"Sorry! He didn't mean to aim for you." Conte nodded slightly to him.

San Juan's players quickly moved to separate Bruno from the photographer. Ramos patted Bruno's back, trying to calm him down.

This dramatic development once again pushed San Juan into a disadvantage.

Serve switch—Trentino to serve. Alexander rotated to the front row.

Yuri fired a powerful jump serve!

Kaedehara Taichi easily received it, perfect pass.

Oikawa calmly set the ball to the left wing. Conte jumped for the spike!

"Double block!" Alexander and Zaytsev both went up!

BOOM!!!—

In this critical moment, Conte stepped up.

A precise tight cross shot landed right on Trentino's right sideline and went out.

Conte scored!

[San Juan 26 - 26 Trentino]

Serve switch—San Juan to serve. Kaedehara Taichi rotated to the front row.

"Even if you're back in the front row, it won't help." Alexander's expression turned mocking, speaking easily.

Kageyama frowned slightly. Though he didn't mind trash-talking Taichi, provoking him at this moment always made him a bit uneasy.

"Two points." Kaedehara Taichi glanced at the scoreboard and spoke calmly. "Two points, and then the set is over."

"Hahahaha…" Alexander burst into loud laughter. He'd seen plenty of players talk big—but never one who left himself no way out at all. "What, do you think you're some kind of prophet?"

"Mhm. I am." Taichi's expression suddenly relaxed, a faint laugh on his lips. "Kid…Don't blink. These two points will be over in an instant."

_________