Chapter 29 Quarterfinals 3: Fast Attack
The "take it one step at a time" approach applies everywhere. In any case, Sawada Tsunayoshi felt that if he were with the others, including Fukutani, they could also adapt to any situation.
Yinju maintained a one-point lead over them, which inevitably made him a little impatient. As soon as this thought came to mind, it was as if some claws were scratching at his brain, and he felt like he was stuck in mud, feeling uncomfortable.
This shouldn't be happening. Tsuna knows this mindset is wrong, but he can't control his frustration.
He was already feeling a bit frustrated even though he hadn't spiked the ball much today. If it were an attacker who couldn't score with spikes, Xiao Xiang and the others would probably be even more upset.
The atmosphere within the group gradually became stagnant. Kyoji Akaashi realized this wouldn't do; he had to find a way to break the current situation.
Nothing is more inspiring than scoring a goal, but the key question is, who can do that now?
Kujo Ike doesn't have any tricks up his sleeve; his spiking style is all about recklessness. But that's also an advantage. Even if he doesn't score with his spike, he'll just spike the same thing again for the next ball. If he keeps doing it, he'll succeed after a few tries.
The libero, Otoko, probably encountered many attackers with such rough skills, and Kyoji Akaashi noticed that they seemed to be having more difficulty scoring than before.
If brute force can't break through, then let's rely on speed.
Sawada Tsunayoshi had the same thought. He focused intently on the movements of everyone on the other side. Kuro, who was waiting at the net with his arms outstretched, noticed his gaze and his lips moved, revealing a smile that was hard to decipher.
He said, "Don't cry."
Despite being provoked, Tsuna remained unusually calm. He would be happy if he won the match, and he would probably be very sad if he lost, but he knew that he was not a competitive person. His first reaction to the provocation was just how scary it was, and then he felt confused.
Why choose me? I'm not a very strong opponent, you know.
What you should be afraid of now is,
He released the ball almost the instant he caught it, and with three crisp slaps, Hyuga Shoyo landed with a thud.
They should be afraid of Xiao Xiang, whose speed is so fast that no one can react in time.
Without any communication, neither Sawada Tsunayoshi, Akaashi Kyoji, nor even Hyuga who jumped up to spike the ball had ever conceived of this before. It could be said that this was a gamble initiated by Sawada Tsunayoshi, and Akaashi Kyoji responded to his idea. As the implementer of the plan, Hyuga also executed the performance perfectly.
The commentator shouted excitedly in the control room, "What was that just now! Hyuga, the main attacker of Fukudani, broke through Nekoma's defense with an unpredictable speed!"
Kuroo Tetsuro watched the volleyball land, straightened up, and frowned in confusion, "The little one can be even faster!?"
Kujou and Suzuki, standing on the sidelines, were stunned and immediately called the first timeout of the day.
Matsukawasaki jumped over and slammed down on Hinata and Tsuna, who were standing together, causing them to stumble.
"What was that just now? A new move you guys were practicing? I've never seen it before."
One question after another came pouring in, and Sawada Tsunayoshi, burdened by a sweet weight, answered in a muffled voice.
"I've never worked with this kind of thing before."
The effect he achieved surprised even himself.
"Never worked together before!?" This time it was Suzuki.
"You used it without even coordinating beforehand?" The coach couldn't help but be suspicious. "Then why did Hinata jump up immediately? Did you have telepathy and communicate in your brains?"
Hinata was still savoring the ball from earlier, and even though he was pinned under Matsukawa Saki, he didn't react much.
Sawada Tsunayoshi was somewhat troubled; he didn't know how to express it.
"Perhaps it's a feeling?"
The others who gathered around repeated, "Feeling?"
"Because that's what Kyoji was thinking, right? If you can't break through the opponent's block with power, then you have to rely on speed, so I thought about speeding up the pace?"
They then turned their attention to Kyoji Akaashi, hoping for a negative answer, but Akaashi remained silent for a few seconds before nodding.
"I really want to play some fastball with Shoyo."
But that was just a hypothetical scenario. He had planned to discuss it with Hinata during the second technical pause, since they hadn't worked together before.
Looking back now, he realized how lucky he was to have made that play. He looked at the two innocent-looking little guys and felt a chill of fear creeping into his heart.
However, he was also puzzled, "What about Xiangyang? Why did Xiangyang jump earlier?"
And it was such a perfect time that they were able to coordinate perfectly.
"Oh, oh, this..."
Hinata, jolted back to his senses by Sawada Tsunayoshi's poke, tugged at his headband, revealing faint red marks pressed against his orange hair.
"I just saw how Tsuna caught the ball, and I had an impulse to jump right now, and they would have sent the ball over here!"
Hinata Shoyo broke free from Matsukawa Saki's embrace, grabbed Sawada Tsunayoshi and Akaashi Kyoji, his eyes sparkling.
"And the ball actually came! I jumped up and swung my arm, and whack! The ball was right there! That was amazing!"
"I want to fight more!" He jumped up and down, pulling Tsuna and Akaashi's arms up and down with him.
At first, Akaashi Kyoji was smiling, but then he bent down and whispered in Sawada Tsunayoshi's ear, "Is Shoyo getting too excited?"
Matsukawa Saki, who had been freed from their grasp, chimed in with a helpless expression, "Yeah, even his language system is starting to malfunction."
Sawada Tsunayoshi offered a new perspective: "This should be Sho's language system; there's no disorder involved."
Doesn't that sound even scarier?
The members of the Owl Valley Club looked at the two guys—one who smiled gently as if he hadn't just done something big, and the other who seemed to have his own language system but easily cooperated with his friend—and had mixed feelings.
"Is this what good friends are like?" Kujo Ike also felt that he hadn't paid enough attention to their friendship.
So you good friends can actually share a brain, huh? Hahaha.
Seeing that he couldn't get anything out of these two, Suzuki simply pulled Akaashi Kyoji over and asked,
"Do you think you can still pull off that shot against Hyuga?"
Kyoji Akaashi shook his head. He himself didn't quite understand how that play had gone in. "For me, it must have been a coincidence."
Whether it was Sawada Tsunayoshi's sudden acceleration of the pass or catching a glimpse of Hyuga jumping out of the corner of his eye, Akaashi Kyoji seemed to be sandwiched between his two partners, playing a connecting role. But if he were to directly cooperate with Shohoku, it would probably be difficult.
"I probably won't be able to seize that perfect opportunity to cooperate with Xiangyang, at least not now."
If he goes back and practices this fast attack properly, maybe he and Hinata will be able to coordinate. Tsuyoshi's success was largely due to the tacit understanding between the two partners.
“I see,” Suzuki said thoughtfully, resting his chin on his hand. “They do play volleyball together all the time. Although I still find it strange that they were able to coordinate just now, now is not the time to think about that.”
"Once we get on the court, we can discuss it with the two of them. If they can still perform well, we'll use them. If they can't coordinate, we'll wait until after the match and then try again."
Sawada Tsunayoshi, who overheard the conversation, really wanted to shout out, "Is it really okay to try this out directly on the field?" But then he thought that he and Sho could probably coordinate their ideas.
Hinata was very happy and skipped back onto the court, shouting, "Yay! I want to play that kind of ball again!"
Kyoji Akaashi paused for a moment, then finally called out to Tsunayoshi Sawada, "If you want to play that kind of ball, you should tell me in advance."
At least let him be mentally prepared; if it happens a few more times, his heart probably won't be able to take it.
Sawada Tsunayoshi nodded. "Okay."
Tsuna felt that there was a basis for his ability to cooperate with Hinata. They had been playing volleyball together since they knew nothing about it. Others, such as Kyoji, might have just had more time to practice together during the summer vacation. However, he and Sho did make the most progress during the summer vacation.
Most importantly, the two of them often played volleyball together not only at the club, during summer vacation, but also in school physical education classes and after school. He may not be able to see the specific achievements from his own perspective, but one thing is undeniable: the number of times they hurt each other is definitely the most.
It has even reached the level of muscle reaction.
The coach understood perfectly well that it's normal for kids to act crazy during matches. Calm kids like Kyoji Akaashi are a minority, but you'd think that Tsuna and Hyuga didn't act crazy that often.
If these two were truly mature, they wouldn't have had that sudden, unexpected idea that scared everyone half to death.
Ultimately, it's because they can support each other, which greatly increases their margin for error in passing and spiking.
Coach Suzuki thought that it was really lucky to have such a complementary partner during the early stages of learning. Being able to hone skills together and support each other on the field is perhaps the charm of team sports.
It's great. Watching the kids playing and fooling around on the court, he occasionally had the thought that kids these days are really scary, but sure enough, seeing that they like volleyball makes him feel happy too.
The libero, Nekoma, hadn't even touched the ball, and he's clearly a bit angry now.
"Was that shot a coincidence?" he gritted his teeth in annoyance.
Kuroo Tetsuro opened his arms wide and replied without turning his head.
"Although I'd love to say that shot was a coincidence, well, we'll find out soon enough by playing more."
The opposing libero, who was in a bad mood, received the serve. Although they said they would see if the opposing team could hit the same ball again, who would be foolish enough to spike the ball at Sawada Tsunayoshi just to see if they could coordinate with him!
The attacker was determined not to spike the ball towards the point where the opponent would receive the ball. Despite his deliberate attempt to avoid it, the moment he spiked the ball, Nekoma's attacker definitely saw Sawada Tsunayoshi rush to the spot where the ball would land.
What? You can predict things?!
The attacker screamed inwardly, watching his ball being caught with grief.
Kojima could have received the ball, but since they wanted to try something new, Sawada Tsunayoshi simply ran faster and caught it.
Then, pass it on.
Hyuga was more skilled this time, and Akaashi Kyoji was also well prepared.
Kozume Kenma watched the ball land. Despite being prepared, he still couldn't catch it, or even touch it.
Tsk, is this the second phase of the boss?
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Author's Note: This is a bit different from the "weird fast attack," which is practically a negative tempo. This is just slightly faster than a fast attack, based on the foundation of 27 and Little Sun's usual training together.
The most hurt person in this episode wasn't the coach, nor the Cat Team, but 59 who hasn't even appeared yet!
Although I've already mentioned it in the synopsis, I'll repeat it here: the Katekyo Hitman Reborn! story is all about the 27 pairing. If you can't accept this pairing, it's best not to read it, because the author has already started fantasizing about them being all lovey-dovey in middle and high school! Ugh!
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