"I don't know what you're planning, but…"
Futakuchi mumbled, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Tsuna.
He seemed to have regained his composure as a twisted grin spread across his face, "This is good. I can block you as often as I want now!"
"You can't."
Tsuna's expression didn't change.
Futakuchi's grin was getting wider hearing such a response as he quickly responded by letting out a mocking laugh, "Kekeke, we'll see about that—"
"You need to block harder," Tsuna interrupted before his face twisting into an intense, almost manic expression.
"...?"
Futakuchi's mouth snapped shut. He stared at Tsuna as if he were looking at some rare, endangered creature.
For a moment, he was completely speechless.
Then, he scratched his head, his lips pursed in annoyance. "Are you dumb? Can you at least pretend to be annoyed? Please, like, honsetly, I'm begging you—"
"Futakuchi, shut your mouth!"
Kamasaki's voice boomed from behind, cutting him off.
"Haa…"
Futakuchi rolled his eyes, clearly unbothered by his senior's warning. He pouted while muttering under his breath, "What a hard nut to crack…"
"Ahh, it's finally about to begin…"
"I'm done waiting!"
On the other hand, the crowd's murmurs grew louder as their earlier frustration seeing the game was about to begun.
Amidst this noise, the players from Aoba Johsai walked into the gymnasium, heading toward an empty court where their match was about to be held.
"...They're all so invested to the other side."
"Damn, I know I shouldn't feel this way but it's kinda weird nobody's cheering for us."
"...I won't disagree with you, but you better shut your mouth."
"Huh? Why?"
They looked around, surprised by how few people noticed them. Almost everyone's eyes were glued to the ongoing match between Karasuno and Date Tech.
Well, they were no different.
"Hmm?"
Iwaizumi blinked before his eyes narrowing as he studied Karasuno's starting lineup for the second set.
"What is that starting line?"
He was puzzled.
It was completely different from the first set.
Tsuna was in the middle, but Daichi stayed on the front left, and Tsukishima remained in his usual position.
At first glance, it seemed like Karasuno had simply pushed their rotation once. But there was a twist—two players had stayed in their original positions.
"Tsuna-chan is truly fearless, eh?"
Oikawa chuckled, his eyebrows raised in interest.
He crossed his arms, his gaze fixed on Tsuna. "He knows exactly what it's like to face Date Tech's Iron Wall head-on, and yet… he's standing right in front of them once again. What a psycho."
"Well, that is certainly unexpected," Irihata said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
He analyzed Karasuno's formation carefully before adding, "But they have one glaring problem. I don't know if it's a mistake from the coach or there was a plan for this. Hmm, very interesting..."
Meanwhile...
On Karasuno's side, Keishin scratched his head awkwardly, "I suppose he has a plan?"
He was unsure himself. Well, supposedly things went wrong, he'd call a timeout and find a way to fix it.
Originally, Keishin had wanted to push the rotation immediately so Hinata could avoid both Aone and Futakuchi more often.
But earlier…
"No."
Tsuna's voice suddenly through the discussion. Everyone, including Keishin, had turned to him, confused.
"Umm, why not?"
Daichi asked, genuinely puzzled, "I think it would be better this way, no?"
Kageyama nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we can't have them getting used to our quick attack like Nekoma did."
The rest of the team had looked at Tsuna, waiting for an explanation.
However, he had simply shaken his head, "Avoiding them for the quick attack is fine, but I want to still be in front of them. It'd be even better if you placed me right in front of them."
"Huh…?"
The team had stared at him, speechless.
Keishin's lips had twitched slightly as he tried to reason. "But if we only push it once, it'd be quite awkwa—"
"Why not?"
Tsuna had interrupted.
He then explained how Daichi and Tsukishima were already in solid positions considering Date Tech positioning.
Daichi offered strong defense at the front with arguably weaker attack, and Tsukishima provided assurance when the rotation kicked in with stronger attack from Date Tech.
They could even be on the same front side at times, which was another reason why they shouldn't be repositioned.
Then...
"I have a plan..."
Tsuna had proposed letting them stay where they were and pushing the rotation once, excluding them.
It would solve the issue.
"But it's going to breed another problem…"
Keishin mumbled under his breath as the whistle blew, signaling the start of the second set.
'I told them this, but Tsuna seems to have a plan.'
Keishin wasn't the type to take such risks, but everyone on the team seemed to have blind trust in Tsuna. It left him with no choice but to go along with it.
He could only scratched his head awkwardly at this as he then he glanced at Asahi, who was holding the ball.
Following the whistle, Asahi threw it into the air, and with a loud pop, the ball flew across the net.
"Nice receive!" someone shouted as Date Tech cleanly received the serve.
Keishin crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. "Let's see what you're planning this time, Tsuna…"
On the other side of the court, Date Tech's players sprang into action.
Moniwa ran toward the ball to set up an attack. Futakuchi seemed to be quite eager this time as he had repositioned himself a bit faster than he normally would to cover enough distance to build momentum.
"Over here, Captain!"
Moniwa glanced at him and nodded, acknowledging his position.
"Tsuna!"
Daichi called out, watching Date Tech's movements closely. He tiptoed slightly, preparing to move toward where Futakuchi was heading.
But then…
"Hmm…"
Daichi froze, "Tsu...na...?
Tsuna hadn't moved!
He stayed firmly in his position with his eyes locked on the ball before turning to Moniwa.
Seeing him like this made Kageyama flustered as he shook his head and sharply reacted. He ran to support Daichi, but still voiced out his confusion, "Tsuna-san?"
"...!"
Even Keishin cringed at the sight, his hand instinctively reaching for his face. Yet, Tsuna remained rooted to the ground, completely unbothered by the others.
"Ah, hold on...?"
But then...
"They tossed it to the other side…?"
Daichi realized his mistake. Moniwa had been watching their movements carefully as the ball flew to the opposite side of the court, where Futakuchi was already moving.
Even Futakuchi himself was caught off guard by this as his eyes widened in surprise, "Ah? You're not tossing it to me…?"
'A wise man once said, to fool your enemies, you need to fool your allies first.'
Moniwa thought quietly, a small smile playing on his lips. He watched the ball float through the air, spinning perfectly. It was probably his best set of the game so far.
"Let's get a point first..."
His eyes shifted to one of his teammates, who was already running toward the ball.
It was Aone.
The towering blocker moved sharply as without hesitation, he leaped into the air. He was going to seize the opportunity his captain had given him.
But at that moment…
"…!"
Moniwa's eyes widened in shock.
Something unexpected was happening.
Thud!
A loud, thunderous step echoed through the gym.
"Wha...?"
Everyone froze, their eyes darting to the source of the noise.
Tsuna had covered the distance in an instant, his movements almost fast and decisive as he then jumped high without a pause before his hand stretched out wide, meeting Aone's spike head-on.
Aone's eyes widened in surprise. He swung his arm, but it was too late.
Crack!
The sound of the ball hitting Tsuna's block was sharp and clear. The ball rebounded with force, shooting back toward Date Tech's side of the court.
It hit the ground with a loud thud, leaving everyone in stunned silence.
"..."
Kageyama's voice broke the silence. He stared at Tsuna, his expression a mix of disbelief and awe, "Read… blocking?"
Even Aone, the usually stoic blocker, could only stare at Tsuna in shock. For the first time in the entire series—or perhaps in the whole universe of Haikyuu—he mumbled, "What…?"
"Ho Lee Fuk!"
"Karasuno got the first point! Damn, I was sure Date Tech would take it, but…"
"Karasuno blocked it!"
Before anyone could fully process what had happened, the crowd erupted into a frenzy. Amids this deafening cheers...
"Tsuna, you know how to do read blocking?"
Daichi had regained his composure as he approached Tsuna. The rest of the team followed, their eyes wide with surprise.
Tsuna nodded calmly. "Yeah…"
"But, uh…" Nishinoya scratched his head, clearly confused.
He didn't remember Tsuna ever pulling off a read block during practice. "Since when did you learn it?"
"..."
The team stared at Tsuna intently. They knew how hard he practiced with them, but they also suspected he might be training on his own.
Although, that seemed unlikely, though, since Tsuna had a side job as a writer.
But it's still a possibility if...
'Is he done writing or something?' All of them wondered. Or maybe he had taken a hiatus?
But then…
"When? Just now…"
Tsuna answered flatly as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
"HUH!?"
The team's jaws dropped. They stared at him, their faces a mix of awe and disbelief. They didn't know whether to be impressed… or depressed.