The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Chapter 254 The Nightmare is Finally Over!

Unlike the cheerful atmosphere around them, the air around Giant Bear's bench was quite dark, with almost everyone wearing a downcast expression. It wasn't just their failure to stop Yuki that weighed heavily on them; they also endured merciless scolding from their own supporters. This was probably one of the downsides of playing for a big team. The supporters never minced their words when they critiqued players who performed poorly, regardless of whether they were veterans or rookies.

It wasn't the first time they had wished for a kinder fanbase.

"Okay, don't think too much about them," Kisuke Sadaharu, Giant Bear's coach, tried to lift the mood. Although he was infamous for his harsh teaching methods, he knew he couldn't scold the players all the time. Sometimes, he needed to take a softer approach, and this was one of those occasions. "You know how they act. Once you play well, they'll forget everything and praise you like a god."

That was an understatement. For those who had followed the team for a long time, they could all remember how crazy the fans had been when Giant Bear won the league a few years ago. Some even went so far as to associate with the yakuza by getting championship tattoos on their bodies. While volleyball wasn't as popular as football, the supporters were certainly crazier than anyone could imagine.

"Okay, for now, try your best to ignore their scolding. It will fade quickly once you manage to break out of this slump." Even though the players were unwilling, they nodded, knowing this was the best solution. "Next, let's deal with that boy's serve. Can someone explain why none of you could stop it, even though the ball always looks so easy to pick up?" He raised one of his eyebrows challengingly. Find your next read on empire

All the Giant Bear players stared at each other before turning to Haruo. It wasn't as if they were sacrificing the boy; rather, the middle blocker was the one who knew Yuki best on the team. Receiving those stares, Haruo sighed, knowing he had no choice but to begin explaining Yuki's abilities. Now that they were in a timeout, he could provide more detail than the vague warnings he had thrown during the game.

As Haruo gave a more detailed explanation, everyone could only shake their heads in wonder. For the main players who already had some idea, they still questioned whether Yuki was truly a rookie. But Sadaharu became somber as he realized how deeply in trouble his team was.

"So, Yuki Kobayashi basically has a floater, a spin serve, perfect accuracy, and a wicked mind that likes to take advantage of the openings given by his opponents. Is that right?" he asked for confirmation. When he saw Haruo nod, he sighed deeply, pondered for a moment, and then decided, "Okay, listen carefully! This is what we are going to do."

-0-

Seeing the easy ball approaching him, Goro leaned to the left, bending his knee to reach the ball effortlessly. He picked it up and sent it straight to Izuki, their setter.

"Oh! Nice receive, Captain!" one teammate exclaimed.

"Damn! Finally, they stopped the boy's serve!" another added.

"Zuki! Give it to me!" Ojiro Senta shouted, eager to end Yuki's term serving as quickly as possible. The sentiment seemed shared by the setter, as just a second later, the ball was flying toward the ace. Tondo also jumped to block the attack. However, with only one blocker in front of him, Giant Bear's ace easily avoided the block.

BAM!

"Shit!" Yuki cursed loudly when he couldn't receive the ball perfectly. Aiming the ball at him was a clever move, considering that normally, a pinch server would struggle in other aspects of the game. The spike itself wasn't complicated—just a normal powerful one. However, the power behind it was comparable to Kenzo, the main player from Tokyo Thunder, who had tested him in the past. No matter how strong he became after starting his gym regimen, Yuki still found himself getting thrown around by the opponent's spiker, and he hated it. "Someone, cover it!" he shouted to his teammates.

"I got it!" Shou on the left jumped, attempting to spike the wild ball directly to surprise the opponent.

Unfortunately, as he leaped for the ball, one of Giant Bear's players on the other side of the net also took off from the ground. Shou didn't know who was in front of him, but the two were locked in a head-on matchup for a few seconds before Thunder's captain swung his arms powerfully.

BAM!