"Actually... I think I figured out what they're trying to do..."
Kita Shinsuke touched his chin as he stared at the court, speaking with some hesitation.
Even he wasn't completely confident in his deduction.
So now, Kita Shinsuke was unsure whether or not to say it aloud.
"Come on! Spit it out already, Captain!!"
When Atsumu Miya heard him mutter, he immediately leaned over, impatient.
The rest of Inarizaki also turned to Kita, eager to hear his analysis.
Seeing his teammates like this, Kita let out a small sigh before speaking:
"If I'm not mistaken, the reason they're doing this… I think they're relying on luck."
"Luck??"
Everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
"Yeah."
Kita nodded and continued:
"Do you remember when Akira served yesterday?"
"Right after he jumped, in the blink of an eye, the ball had already landed on our side of the court!"
"That's why we couldn't receive it in time!"
"The reaction window is just too short! Before you can even track where the ball's headed, it already hit the ground!"
"Yeah!"
At the mention of that moment, the Inarizaki players grimaced.
Because it was true.
They still remembered how powerless they'd felt facing Akira's explosive serve.
Seeing their reactions, Kita continued:
"Mujinazaka must've studied Akira's serve very carefully."
"They must've realized that, when confronted with a serve like his, they simply don't have time to react. It's unreceivable by conventional means."
"Exactly."
Osamu Miya sighed from the side.
"That serve is way too fast."
Kita nodded and picked up the explanation again:
"So, Mujinazaka decided to gamble with a blind defense."
"What??"
"You can actually guess where the serve's going?!"
"Just hear me out."
Facing everyone's skeptical expressions, Kita raised a hand and went on:
"Akira's serve is extremely fast. So when he's aiming, he's naturally targeting open spots on the court—areas without a defender."
"And Mujinazaka's players caught onto that."
"They switched their defensive zones at the last second—right before Akira serve the ball."
"They moved so that a previously open space became a defended area."
"And once Akira's serve was in motion, even if he noticed their shift, he wouldn't be able to change the trajectory in time."
"So if his original aim was toward that spot..."
"Then Mujinazaka might just receive it by chance!"
"That..."
Hearing the explanation, the rest of Inarizaki finally understood.
But their expressions quickly mirrored Kita's earlier one—speechless.
This kind of tactic... was pure luck!
The court's huge—could they really blindly land on the right spot for Akira's serve?
"Exactly."
"There's only so much space on the court."
Kita's voice turned serious:
"As long as Akira avoids the six positions currently being occupied, his serve will go somewhere else."
"And just before the serve, Mujinazaka will randomly shift to cover new zones."
"In this way, most of the court ends up defended."
"Even if they didn't get lucky this time..."
"Next time, there's no guarantee they won't be in the right spot."
"At the very least, this is better than just standing there like sitting ducks."
——————
On the court, Akira had also noticed Mujinazaka's strange formation during his last serve.
At first, he was caught off guard—but after a brief moment, he understood.
He had to admit, Mujinazaka had found themselves a way forward.
Even if it meant failing to receive the ball, at least they weren't just standing there helpless.
Still, if this was their method of cracking his serve, he could also adjust and reduce the chance of being caught off guard.
Looking across the net at their formation, Akira smiled faintly.
Then he turned and walked toward the sideline.
"Keep serving."
"Why do I feel..."
"We've been analyzed again..."
Subaru Hondo, the second-year ace, shifted uncomfortably under Akira's gaze.
"Relax!"
Michiru Usuri turned and reassured him:
"Even if he figures out what we're doing, it doesn't matter."
"He doesn't have a direct counter yet."
"If we can just manage to receive one of his serves—"
"We can break his rhythm."
"...Let's hope so."
——————
Tweet!
As Akira approached the sideline, the referee's whistle blew.
Serve start.
Toss. Jump.
Fluid motion.
Across the net, Mujinazaka's players quickly moved into their chosen defensive zones.
They waited, timing their reaction to the exact moment.
As soon as Akira made contact with the ball, they moved!
Just like before.
Every player dove toward the direction they had committed to in advance.
But—
Boom!!
Another thunderous impact echoed as the ball slammed within Mujinazaka's court boundary!
Tweet!!
The referee's whistle blew again—point for Karasuno!
"YEAH!!"
But this time, things were different.
Off the court, Michiko Kusumi, Mujinazaka's head coach, suddenly stood from her seat in shock after seeing Akira's serve placement.
"How... how could it land there...?!"