The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Okay, I want a clean game here. No need to shout at each other if something goes out of your control. If you think my decision is questionable, you can ask me, but you have to respect the final decision. Lastly, respect your opponent and do your best! Do you understand?!"

"YES, SIR!"

After the quick pep talk from the referee to the players from both teams, the twelve players who were going to play were already on the court, ready to start the game. Just like usual, Tsunemori put his best players from the start, with Yuki and Kaede as the opposite hitters, Koji and Ogawa as the outside hitters, Riku as the setter, and Hirano as the blocker on the front line.

Okamura waited on the sideline for the rotation to play, while Asahi was ready whenever the coach needed him to perform.

Even though the situation wasn't as electric as when they played against Kyoei, but the crowds there were still noisy. And added to the fact that everyone supported Teiryo, all the Tsunemori players couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Senpai, if it is me or Riku, it is understandable, since this is our first tournament. But you are a sophomore here, so why are you so nervous? Don't you have the experience already?" Yuki asked Koji casually.

The one he asked for had his lips twitched in annoyance as he reminded his kouhai. "Oi, Yuki, are you trying to mock us by saying that our team last year sucked to the point we don't have any experience playing in front of opponent's crowds like this?"

Yuki suddenly remembered that last year, the team could only reach the second round. Let alone playing under a big crowd, they would be happy to get scouted as a worthy opponent by their opponent. That showed how bad the team was before this year.

"Sorry, Senpai. I forgot." Yuki apologized quickly.

Koji grumbled a little before waving it off. "Don't worry about it. But to answer your question, you can say almost all of us here are just like you, a complete rookie. The one who has the most experience playing at a high-level competition is Hirano, and that is because he played in a good team when he was in middle school."

The tidbit information about Hirano caught Yuki off guard. However, this made his curiosity grow. He knew that Hirano was an amazing blocker, and this wasn't the first time he questioned how could his awesome senpai go to a no-name team like Tsunemori.

"If he is so good, is there a reason why he didn't go to the better team?" He finally asked.

Koji turned his head at Hirano for a second, then stared back at Yuki with a complicated expression. After pondering for a while, he finally sighed and said, "He has his own reason. Even if I knew about it, I wouldn't tell you the answer. It is his right to tell you the story."

If the answer was simply 'I don't know' or 'You can just ask him', Yuki wouldn't think about it too much. However, by saying it was Hirano's right to tell the story, that gave Yuki a hint that something big must have happened in the past, that affected the big school's judgment to recruit his senpai. Of course, Yuki was curious. But he knew that this wasn't the best time to ask this question.

'Well, another mystery from my assassin senpai.'

After another session of warming up, the referee finally signaled everyone to start the game. Koji stepped forward to be the representative for the coin toss. Unfortunately, he lost, and the right to serve the ball first was in Teiryo's hand.

"It's okay, Koji!"

"Come on, everyone, concentrate!"

"Don't let the opponent get the first point!"

All of them had their eyes on Teiryo's number 2. Based on Akira's intelligence, he was just an ordinary player who was a solid, yet not so-excellent player in the back. He has no strong or unique serve that could pose a threat to the opponent in his arsenal, so all the Tsunemori players lowered their guard subconsciously.

*Thud!*

The ball was thrown, which also be the sign that the game started. From his starting position, Riku rushed forward immediately, trying to get to the spot he was comfortable the most as soon as possible. Even though the ball was still in the air, he had no doubt that his teammates would be able to save it easily.

"Nice receive, Jimmy!"

"Riku!"

"I got this!"

*BAM!*

The opponent didn't know what hit them. One moment they still moving to get into their best position, and in the next second, the ball already crossed the net, bouncing on their side with a loud bang. It only took less than five seconds for Tsunemori to receive the ball, set it up, and kill it to get the first point.

"Oh! Damn, Koji! That is a nice kill!"

"Good pass, Riku!"

"Come on! It is still early! Focus!"

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All the Tsunemori players celebrated on their own side, ignoring their opponent who was still in dazed. Megumi who was on the bench suddenly let out a deep sigh, and the tension that she felt in the team started to ebb away. At first, she was afraid that they wouldn't be able to focus on their opponent or even underestimate them after watching their game against Konan.

However, it seemed she was overthinking about it.

Akira himself put a stoic face on his face. However, hidden from all the eyes in the building, he had his fist clenched, trying his best to hide his relief. He knew the team felt down and entered an unconfident state after they witnessed Konan's terrifying ability as the best team in Japan.

Even though no one spoke loudly about it, the thought of 'Can we do it?', 'They are too strong', 'It is impossible', or something similar started to slip into their mind. Akira knew very well about it, as he was also a player from an ordinary team in the past. That was why he decided to do the gathering intelligence meeting before playing against Teiryo.

He wanted to use Teiryo as a stepping stone for his team to regain their confidence.

'Fortunately, Teiryo is weaker than us. Let's use this opportunity to win with a convincing score and lift the team's morale.'