"Is that kid not in good shape?" Jakub said casually. "Feels like he's playing really impatiently."

"Alexander Delloro, 19 years old, the youngest outside hitter in this Club World Championship," libero Paweł replied, flipping through Trentino's player profiles. "Three consecutive Italian Super Cup titles, undefeated in professional matches."

"The media calls him the strongest talent of this generation, the player closest to your level."

"Oh? They even mentioned me?" León turned to Paweł with interest.

"If you're talking about the strongest outside hitter, you can't leave 'Wilfredo León' out."

"Hmm, I like that." León nodded. "You can keep going."

"His physical attributes are phenomenal—at 211 cm, he's the tallest outside hitter here, yet he doesn't lack agility. His technique is top-tier in all aspects," Pavel closed the booklet. "Objectively speaking, he and Kaedehara Taichi are indeed the two most troublesome opponents in this tournament."

"Sounds pretty dangerous." Jakub leaned closer to Ushijima Wakatoshi and Akutsu Ao. "What about Taichi? Between him and Alexander, who's better?"

"You said Alexander's not in good form, but that's not it," Ushijima said in his steady voice. "Taichi is simply too strong—he makes his opponents look clumsy."

"Wow, hearing such high praise from Ushijima?!" Jakub was genuinely shocked.

"Hmph, you'll understand once you play against him," Akutsu sneered. "Jakub, as a middle blocker, do you think you can block him even once?"

"W-what?!"

-----

On the court, Oikawa served his second ball.

BANG!!!

A floating jump serve—Yuri stepped forward to receive it.

"Don't receive with your forearms!" Kageyama shouted loudly.

"Huh?"

Smack!

The ball struck Yuri's hands and dropped straight to the floor.

Oikawa scored an ace!

[San Juan 3 - 2 Trentino]

"Taichi, did you see that?!" Oikawa struck a pose, waiting to be praised.

"Ohhh, nice job, Oikawa-senpai," Kaedehara Taichi didn't even turn around. "One more and you'll catch up to Kageyama."

Oikawa: "...Damn it, Taichi!"

"Ahem, Oikawa, nice serve!" Conte quickly jumped in to defuse the potential internal drama.

"Tweet!—" The whistle sounded.

Oikawa served his third ball.

Fabio received it overhead, a perfect pass.

Kageyama jumped to set.

"Hm?"

The ball went to the left wing, Ryan jumped to spike!

"Double block!" Taichi and Ramos both jumped.

BOOM!!!

The ball hit Ramos's fingers and flew far out of bounds.

A block touch out.

Ryan scored!

[San Juan 3 - 3 Trentino]

"Nice spike!"

While everyone praised Ryan, Kageyama walked over to Alexander with a dark expression.

"Are you avoiding this?"

"What did you say?"

"You have no fighting spirit at all. Are you afraid of Taichi's block?" Kageyama, though only reaching Alexander's shoulder in height, completely dominated him with his aura.

"Huh? You bastard!" Alexander puffed up his chest and glared back. "Do you even know what you're saying?!"

"If you have no issues, then get serious and attack properly!"

"I don't need your lectures. This is my team!"

"Then act like it! Find a way to win this match!"

"Alex! Kageyama!" Zaytsev called out to them. "If you two want to argue, do it on the bench."

—"What's happening here? Trentino has tied the score, but now the players are fighting amongst themselves!"

"Tell Lavia to warm up, ready to sub in at any time," Coach Ferdinando said to his assistant. Nobody was irreplaceable; Trentino needed players who could win.

Just as the referee was about to issue a warning, Trentino's players returned to their positions.

"Tweet!—"

Ryan served a powerful jump serve!

Santiago received it steadily, a perfect pass.

"Middle!" Taichi signalled for the ball.

Though reluctant, Oikawa still set the ball perfectly to him.

"Ugh, damn it, I shouldn't have given it to him!"

Thud!

Taichi soared up for the spike!

"Double block!" Alexander and Zaytsev both jumped.

"So scary~"

Taichi switched midair to spike with his left hand.

BOOM!!!

The ball slipped past Alexander's left side, striking Ryan's arm at the deep corner before flying out of bounds.

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 4 - 3 Trentino]

"Hmm, about a body's width," León suddenly commented. "If Trentino doesn't notice his change, this set will be over soon."

"What?" Jacob looked bewildered. Wasn't this only the start of the second set?

"Already…ending soon?"

León chuckled. "Christensen, you're ambidextrous too, right? You should see it even more clearly than me."

"Not necessarily more clearly," Christensen said slowly. "But Taichi did spend the first set adjusting to left-handed spikes and modifying his approach form."

"That last spike wasn't anything special, was it?" Jacob asked. "He could have scored the same way with his right hand. In the first set, some left-handed spikes were even blocked—doesn't seem like a big deal?"

"Left-handed spikes are harder to defend because they're uncommon. Most players are used to right-handed spins, so they struggle to adapt quickly. But for professionals, it's not too big of an issue. Ushijima is a strong lefty, but even then, opponents can handle it."

"Normally, the decision of which hand to spike with is made at the moment of takeoff—which foot is forward, and whether the body faces left or right."

"Setters adjust their sets based on this, and blockers judge accordingly."

"So when you say normally, that means…?" Jacob turned toward the court.

"Exactly." Christensen nodded. "Taichi changes which hand he spikes with after he jumps."

"Using core strength to shift body orientation and switching hands midair…he's quite the interesting guy," León said with relish.

"Although this reduces power, it lets him shift past the blockers by almost a full body width." León grinned at Jacob. "Jacob, you won't be able to block him at all. Probably not even once."

"Yeah, yeah." Jacob didn't mind. After all, even a 10% success rate for solo blocks was considered elite for middle blockers—he just needed to work with his teammates to stop opponents.

"But even if you don't use these flashy tricks, you can still beat him, right?" Jacob asked. "Taichi's style seems troublesome and limiting, doesn't feel meaningful."

"It's meaningful," León replied happily. "It's fun! And I bet he thinks the same way."

-----

BOOM!!!—

Kaedehara Taichi hammered the ball past a triple block.

The ball shot down the sideline and bounced out.

A sharp line shot on the edge.

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 7 - 6 Trentino]

Serve switched—San Juan to serve.

Although Taichi had kept teasing Oikawa's serving, his own serve hadn't been particularly effective today either.

Trentino's five back-row receivers stared at him intently, not relaxing for even a moment.

"Tweet!—"

Taichi tossed the ball, approached, jumped, and struck!

BOOOM!!!

The ball shot like a blurred shadow toward Trentino's back row.

Smack!!!

Yuri received it, but the ball flew straight back to San Juan's side.

"Tch!"

Taichi clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, quickly leaping from the back row. Oikawa jumped to set after the first touch.

Because Yuri couldn't return to the front row in time, Zaytsev jumped for a solo block.

Whoosh!—

The ball flew to the left wing—Conte jumped and smashed it down!

Conte scored!

[San Juan 8 - 6 Trentino]

Kaedehara Taichi: "…" He hadn't expected the ball to go to the left wing.

"Hmph hmph~" Oikawa cheerfully whistled.

"Beep!—"The match entered a technical timeout.

-----

One minute later, the timeout ended, and San Juan continued to serve.

Taichi served his second ball!

Smack!

Fabio received the ball stably—a slightly off-target first pass.

Kageyama ran to cover and set the ball steadily to the high middle. Zaytsev jumped for the spike!

"Double block!" Conte and Loser jumped together.

—BOOM!!!

The ball flew over the block and shot toward San Juan's left deep corner.

Smack!!

Santiago barely managed to save it.

The ball flew out of bounds; Oikawa chased it down.

Whoosh!—

The ball arced across the court to the right wing. Taichi leapt up from the back row.

"Triple block!" Boro, Zaytsev, and Yuri all jumped together.

"The line is completely sealed, but…is that really okay?"

BOOM!!!—

Kaedehara Taichi, spiking with his left hand, unleashed a powerful diagonal shot that cut right through the three-man block with ease.

Smack!!!

The ball struck Alexander's arm and flew out of bounds.

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 9 - 6 Trentino]

"Next one…I'll catch it." Alexander's voice was low and deep. He had never lost to anyone before, and he wouldn't start now.

Kaedehara Taichi stopped and turned to look at Alexander. The arena lights shattered into two clusters of icy glints reflected in his pupils.

"Didn't Kageyama tell you not to talk to me during a match?"

"What the hell are you saying?" Alexander sneered. "I admit you're strong—strong enough to be my stepping stone on my way to becoming the best in the world."

"That's all."

"Pfft."

Taichi couldn't help but laugh. He looked at Alexander gently, almost benevolently.

"You're still young. I'll forgive you."

Before Alexander could react, Kaedehara Taichi stepped into the service zone.

"Tweet!—"The whistle sounded.

Taichi tossed the ball, took his approach, and jumped high, his body stretching out to the limit as his arm snapped back—then swung forward with explosive power!

BOOOM!!!

A powerful left-handed jump serve!

The ball screeched through the air, diving for the far corner of Trentino's backcourt.

"I got it!"

Alexander lunged left and attempted a one-handed save.

SMACK!!!

The ball hit his arm and flew out of bounds.

Boro chased it, but couldn't bring it back.

Kaedehara Taichi scored an ace!

[San Juan 10 - 6 Trentino]

"So close!" Alexander gritted his teeth, unwilling to accept it.

"Tweet!—"

Fourth serve—Taichi tossed the ball low, quickened his approach rhythm, and whipped his arm forward like a whip.

BOOM!!!—

The ball spun with an awkward, deadly curve and again targeted Alexander.

THUD!!!

As Alexander tried to receive it, the ball slid right under his palm and landed at his feet.

No contact at all.

Kaedehara Taichi scored another ace!

[San Juan 11 - 6 Trentino]

"Again! Damn it!" Alexander clenched his teeth, furious.

Taichi looked at him with an amused expression and launched his fifth serve!

BOOOOM!!!

A powerful right-handed jump serve!

BANG!!!

The ball shot between Alexander and Boro, smashing down on Trentino's back line and bouncing out.

"130 km/h!"

Kaedehara Taichi scored an ace!

[San Juan 12 - 6 Trentino]

"Beep! Trentino requests a timeout!"

"This is strange, very strange!" Coach Ferdinando fell into deep thought.

Only two minutes had passed since the technical timeout, yet the point difference had suddenly grown to six. It happened so fast that the Trentino staff didn't even have time to react.

Although the team's atmosphere felt off, the players' movements hadn't completely fallen apart. Lavia's reception wasn't better than Alexander's, so subbing him in wouldn't solve the problem.

Ferdinando used the short break to reinforce the players' positions and counterattack plans after receiving serves.

-----

The timeout quickly ended, and the match resumed.

The players returned to the court.

"Come again." Taichi hooked his finger at Alexander.

His right-handed serve just now had felt a bit risky, but surprisingly, it had gone even smoother than usual.

"Tweet!—"The whistle blew.

Kaedehara Taichi completely unleashed himself. The sound of his shoes pushing off echoed through the arena as he soared high, channelling every ounce of power into his right hand, which then crushed down on the ball.

BOOOOM!!!—

Alexander tensed up and moved quickly to meet the ball.

BANG!!!

A gust of wind blew by—his fingertips only caught the slipstream left by the ball.

The ball dropped diagonally behind him.

A line shot, on the edge.

Kaedehara Taichi scored an ace!

[San Juan 13 - 6 Trentino]

Anyone could see that Taichi was directly targeting Alexander. But the real question was—why did Alexander look utterly helpless?

"135 km/h!!!"

"???"

"R-really that fast?!"

The audience had gradually gotten used to the speed from Taichi's consecutive serves, but for the receivers on the court—the ball speed kept climbing, making it completely impossible to react normally.

Even if it wasn't Alexander, no one else could guarantee a successful reception either.

"León…is this why you said the match would end soon?" Jacob asked in disbelief.

"No…it's not that," León leaned forward, his expression dead serious. "I just thought Trentino wouldn't be able to stop his attacks—I didn't expect his serves to suddenly explode like this."

Seeing the speed replay on the stadium screen, Alexander actually calmed down. At least there was no problem with his technique.

"Again! Just a bit more!" Alexander roared, feeling as if he was on the verge of a breakthrough. "This is a divine trial—I won't be defeated!"

"Tweet!—"

Taichi tossed the ball high. The screech of his soles against the floor pierced the arena as his palm struck the ball, generating a wild vortex of air.

BOOOOOM!!!

A silver-grey afterimage tore through the air, the ball landing in a burst of star-like sparks.

No one even tried to touch it.

CRASH!!!

The ball hit the floor.

[San Juan 14 - 6 Trentino]

"Sorry—I don't believe in gods."

_________