Plastic Teammate Friendship and the Boss's Second Phase

At the referee's whistle, the rotations switched.

Karasuno's front-row lineup changed. Kageyama Tobio, Tsukishima Kei, and Lu Ren, who never passed up a chance to watch the fun, all gathered at the net.

The smell of gunpowder in the air instantly thickened—not toward their opponents, but toward their teammates.

Tsukishima Kei pushed up his glasses, his gaze sweeping over Kageyama's sweat-dripping chin. His voice carried its usual mockery, along with an indescribable disgust. "Those sets that arrive at your hand with pinpoint accuracy are so precise they're nauseating."

Kageyama Tobio was adjusting his knee pads. At that, he abruptly looked up, his dead-fish eyes widening at once. "Hah? What did you say?"

Sawamura Daichi, in the back row, silently sighed. Although Tsukishima's words sounded like he was picking a fight, Daichi could understand that feeling as an attacker. Kageyama's sets were like precision-guided missiles. The instant you jumped, you would think, It'd be great if the ball came here, and the next second, the spinning ball would really stop right there.

That feeling of being completely seen through—of practically having food forced into your mouth—was indeed pretty irritating for someone as proud as Tsukishima.

"Don't misunderstand." Tsukishima curled his lips into a fake smile. "I'm just saying that you're too controlling, Your Majesty the King."

"You..." Veins bulged on Kageyama's forehead, and his fists clenched.

Lu Ren, standing between them, brightened. Here it comes. Is this the legendary in-team PvP segment?

He immediately shifted a step to the side and crossed his arms, looking eager to stir things up. "Fight, fight! Tsukishima said you're disgusting. Can you really take that? Kageyama, if I were you, I'd smash him with a serving machine right now. And Tsukishima, how can you just talk? That look in Kageyama's eyes clearly says he wants to hang you from the net as a weather doll. Can you accept that?"

Tsukishima shot Lu Ren a glance and sneered. "For someone who still receives with his face, you sure have plenty of free time."

"That's called being a tactical meat shield." Lu Ren puffed out his chest. "Besides, even if I receive with my face, I'm not like someone who only knows how to stand at the net like a utility pole."

"Hah?" Tsukishima's fake smile finally cracked.

Just as the three of them leaned closer and closer, as if they were about to launch a Three Kingdoms showdown at the net, a chill suddenly rose behind them.

Sawamura Daichi had somehow appeared near the baseline. He wore the kind of "kind" smile that gave even Tanaka Ryūnosuke nightmares, his voice low as if it were crawling up from underground. "You three seem to be having a good chat?"

The three froze instantly, as though petrified.

"The ball is coming," Daichi reminded them softly.

"Yes!"

The three answered in unison, swiftly turning around and assuming defensive stances with perfectly synchronized movements. They changed faces so quickly that their internal squabble seemed like nothing more than a holographic projection.

The match continued.

Aoba Johsai did not lose their composure over the point they had just conceded. Setter Yahaba Shigeru glanced at Karasuno's front-row formation, his eyes shifting slightly.

Though that orange-haired guy had moved to the back row, these three in front... no matter how he looked at them, they seemed utterly uncoordinated. The tall one in the middle, Tsukishima, looked displeased; the setter, Kageyama, was practically radiating killing intent; and Number 11, Lu Ren, was still looking around everywhere.

"Iwaizumi Senior!"

Without hesitation, Yahaba Shigeru set the ball directly to his team's ace.

It was a powerful, wide-open attack.

Iwaizumi Hajime approached and jumped. His form was impeccable, brimming with power—the confidence forged through countless repetitions.

But the instant he swung his arm, a wall suddenly rose before him.

It was not a loose solo block, but three pairs of arms joined together.

Kageyama Tobio reacted the fastest, Tsukishima Kei judged the most accurately, while Lu Ren... he simply saw the other two jump and jumped along with them, his whole approach being, I don't know what's happening, but I'm joining in anyway.

Thud!

The volleyball slammed heavily into the palms between Tsukishima and Kageyama with a dull smack, then bounced weakly back into Aoba Johsai's court and hit the floor for a point.

Block point!

The instant he landed, Kageyama Tobio clenched his fist and let out a low shout. "Good!"

Tsukishima Kei brushed the dust from his palms and glanced sideways at Kageyama. "Hey, I was the one who mainly blocked that ball, wasn't I? It hit my hands."

"Hah?" Kageyama immediately retorted. "My pinky touched it too! And I sealed off the straight line, which forced him to hit toward your side!"

"That was because you jumped too early. You almost got faked out."

"What did you say? Your slow movement was what nearly let the ball through!"

Just as the two were about to start fighting again, Lu Ren forcibly squeezed between them and pointed at himself. "Hold on. Can you listen to one fair word from me? I was clearly standing on the edge, using my overwhelming presence to seal off his cross-court spike and force him to hit down the middle. This time, I was the MVP. I was the tank who gathered the monsters together. Do you understand the value of that?"

Tsukishima and Kageyama turned toward him at the same time, both wearing expressions that said, "Are you sick?"

"You three..."