The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"Okay, everyone! Don\'t panic!" Ito clapped loudly, trying to lift the mood. "This is not over yet! If they can snatch our lead, we can do that too! Come on! Aki, get ready!

Nitta, wake up! Come on, everyone!"

However, his voice didn\'t quite reach his teammates. Besides the fact that the last two plays hit them hard, even though his tone was encouraging, Ito himself started to feel the pressure. There was a hint of hesitation there as if he wasn\'t so sure about what he just said. Saito who saw that frowned, then decided to take a timeout immediately.

This was a well-timed decision, not only because Saito could encourage his depressed players, but also because this timeout also cut off Yuki\'s momentum on the service line.

"Listen, everyone, I know this situation looks bad. However, this is still manageable. Don\'t we all aim for Konan and Matsukita? The situation would be worse there, and they are definitely better than Tsunemori. So, let\'s use this chance to simulate the future!" He tried to say something positive in this situation. Unfortunately, it was clear that it didn\'t work.

Everyone was so down that no one even looked at him, their head bowing deeply.

Saito couldn\'t help but sigh helplessly, racking his brain quickly as he raced with time right now. If he couldn\'t find a solution to this situation before the timeout was over, they might as well say goodbye to the tournament.

He sighed once again, somehow in a heated moment like this, his mind suddenly brought him back to the past when he was coaching this team for the first time.

Even though he managed the team just three years ago, he was proud of himself for being able to achieve a lot of things during that time. In the first year, he brought the team to the top 8 before losing against Matsukita, then had a setback in his second year as they lost to Shimoyawata in the top 16.

Not so good for a team aiming for the top, yet still decent for a no-name team who had never achieved something in the national tournament before.

Of course, half of his achievement could be said due to the generous money the school gave to him. However, Saito was still proud of himself for digging all the talents on the team by himself, with Haruo this year as the exception.

And as if God wanted to make fun of his prideful attitude of only wanting to recruit rough talents, all the players he had were never good mentally, always crumbled whenever the team needed them to step up.

That was why this year, he wanted to recruit one top rookie to help the team mentally, and the option lay in Haruo.

Unfortunately, Haruo was still a freshman, and no matter how good his mind was, he alone couldn\'t do so much. Compared to the other players who had been together for a while, the middle blocker still couldn\'t influence anyone with his actions.

\'Then, are we going to lose today?\' Saito thought of the worst scenario. Then, when he saw the resignation expression on his players\' faces, he was stunned, then suddenly, his face hardened. \'No, I cannot give up yet! If the coach of the team resigns to fate without fighting, the team will crumble soon. I have to keep fighting, even if there is no chance to win the game! For the future of the team!\'

With that thought in mind, a new determination blazed in his eyes, startling the players around him. "Okay, everyone, we need to change our mentality here. I need you to forget everything and treat this game as if it is still 0 – 0. Now, listen carefully to what I say…"

-0-

"Hey, look! The bastard is not there!"

"Damn, you are right! He is on the bench!"

"Really?! Where?!"

"Holly shit, you are right!"

"Have they finally given up the game?"

Even though it was hard to listen to the whispers from the crowds, all the Tsunemori players knew what they were talking about. They were also taken aback when they saw Nitta wasn\'t on the court, getting replaced by one player who hadn\'t played even for a minute.

When they turned their head to the bench, they all saw Kyoei\'s ace had his head bowed and covered with a towel, not allowing people to see his expression.

"Are they really going to give up the game?" Kaede whispered to the others.

"I don\'t know." Riku also looked uncertain. "The game is still close, so there is definitely no way they would give it up this soon. However, taking off their ace is also a strange decision, especially at this moment."

"You are right, Riku. It is too soon for them to give up the game." Akira answered the other\'s confusion. "In fact, this is probably their last desperate attempt to save the game."

"Eh?! Really?!" All of them turned their head in surprise.

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"Yeah." Akira nodded once again, confirming his words. "While that boy is amazing in offense, he has two big problems here. One, he is not stable enough mentally, disturbing the other\'s rhythm and even intimidating his own setter to always give the ball to him, and two, he is a liability in defense.

If you noticed it, you will remember that he has never received any of our attacks perfectly in this game."

They were surprised at the sudden information and then realized everything was true.

"By replacing him, their coach wants to stabilize the situation." Akira continued. "This new player should be a defensive player who is solid enough in the back. Their coach wants to make sure they can cut off Yuki\'s momentum first before reintroducing their ace back to the court."

Everyone stared at each other, some of them had uncertain expressions on their face. "So, what should we do, Sensei?" Riku finally asked.

"Well, it is easy. We don\'t let them stabilize the game." A small smile suddenly formed on Akira\'s face. "Yuki, you remember the new weapon in your arsenal?"

Yuki was startled when he heard his name was mentioned out of nowhere. Then, when he heard the coach\'s question, he couldn\'t hide his shock before asking, "Do you want me to use that?"

"Yeah." Akira nodded. "I know you have been training your ass secretly to make it perfect. While I don\'t know how is your progress, I believe in you. So, what do you think? Is it ready to appear in a crucial moment like this time?"

All of them turned their head to Yuki, with only some having an idea what they were talking about. After hesitating for a second, a grin suddenly spread from ear to ear on the glasses boy\'s face, showing confidence and a hint of mischievousness it.

"Well, you cannot blame me if I mess this up, okay?"