"System." With a thought from Kaedehara Taichi, the system displayed Shirabu's stats.
"Kenjirō Shirabu: Overall Ability - 82. Height - 174 cm. Strength - 75. Jump - 82. Stamina - 88. Speed - 80. Specialties: Receiving - 85. Setting - 88."
To Kaedehara Taichi's surprise, these stats were very normal—just like his performance when setting. As expected, he was a reserved and steady setter.
He originally thought Ushijima Wakatoshi would be paired with a more exceptional setter. Come to think of it, didn't Shiratorizawa have another starting setter?
"Found him." He wasn't hard to locate—after all, the other setter was practicing with Tendō Satori and Ōhira Reon, while Goshiki Tsutomu was training on the other side of the net receiving balls.
"Eita Semi: Overall Ability - 87. Height - 179.5 cm. Strength - 89. Jump - 85. Stamina - 90. Speed - 88. Specialties: Receiving - 81. Setting - 85."
Whoa! Other than being slightly less skilled in receiving and setting, his strength, jump, and speed were all better than Shirabu's!
It was hard to imagine that with Coach Washijō's personality, he would choose Shirabu as the starting setter.
Kaedehara Taichi approached Oikawa Tōru and asked, "That setter training with the other third-years—doesn't he seem stronger than Shirabu-senpai? Why is Shirabu-senpai always the one practicing with the team's ace?"
Oikawa glanced at Semi Eita, thought for a moment, and said, "Maybe it's because he's stronger that he got replaced."
???
Kaedehara Taichi looked at Oikawa in confusion. That made no sense at all.
Oikawa recalled, "Last year when we played Shiratorizawa, their setter was still Semi Eita. He was better. But because he tried too hard to show off, he ended up costing the team points during the match."
At that, Kaedehara Taichi looked at Oikawa again—speaking of someone who likes to show off… isn't that you?
Oikawa instantly read the look in Taichi's eyes and pressed a hand down on his head. "I only make plays after careful calculation. I get more satisfaction when you guys score off my sets."
Well, he wasn't wrong. Kaedehara Taichi averted his gaze.
Oikawa continued, "I guess Shiratorizawa doesn't need a setter who can't fully support the ace. Compared to someone like Semi who's focused on his own technique, what Shiratorizawa—or rather, what Ushijima—needs more is a quiet, obedient type like Shirabu."
"After all, it seems like Ushijima only has eyes for one person—the ace."
So that's how it is. Kaedehara Taichi looked at Oikawa differently now. Lately, after spending so much time with him during training, he had almost forgotten that aside from being a childish guy, Oikawa was still the top setter in Miyagi Prefecture.
However, there was one thing Oikawa got wrong—Kenjirō Shirabu's only "obedient" quality was his hairstyle.
"What about you then, Oikawa-senpai? If you were on Shiratorizawa's team, would you give it your all to support Ushijima-senpai?" Kaedehara Taichi suddenly found himself curious.
"No way. Absolutely not. I don't want to be on the same team as him at all." Oikawa's face was full of distaste. "But… if that ever did happen, I would still give him the ball…"
Does that mean as long as he sets the ball for Ushijima, the point is guaranteed? Because he's such a formidable opponent, it makes sense to recognize his strength.
Kaedehara Taichi fell into thought, then smiled and said to Oikawa, "You only need to pass the ball to me, Oikawa-senpai. I can win us the match too."
Oikawa looked at the confident Kaedehara Taichi, pausing for a moment. He hadn't expected that even after seeing Shiratorizawa's training and that spike from Ushijima earlier, the boy showed no sign of being intimidated.
"You brat, you're getting bolder with your talk lately."
"Hahaha... thanks to your great guidance, senpai."
…
Of course, it couldn't just be talk. Kaedehara Taichi wiped the smile off his face and quickly shifted gears, fully focused on gathering intel on Shiratorizawa's players.
After observing Shiratorizawa, he became even more convinced of one thing—intel is crucial. Especially when facing a team like Shiratorizawa, precise analysis could be the key to victory.
In the original timeline, Shiratorizawa lost to Karasuno in the prefecture finals of Spring High.
Besides Karasuno having offensive power equal to Shiratorizawa's and solid defense with players like Nishinoya Yū and Tsukishima Kei, the key was that Karasuno had studied Ushijima in advance and marked him tightly—while Shiratorizawa knew nothing about this dark horse.
Shiratorizawa's defense wasn't weak, but they couldn't outperform Aoba Jōsai when it came to defending against Karasuno. The key issue was how they defended Hinata Shōyō.
Aoba Jōsai, Nekoma, and even Wakunan—all teams who had played Karasuno or researched them—would use solo-blocking strategies to limit Hinata. Doing so could at least reduce him from a deadly weapon to an average middle blocker.
But Shiratorizawa didn't know that. Hinata's explosive performance in the prefecture finals also awakened Asahi Azumane and Ryūnosuke Tanaka, allowing Karasuno to match Shiratorizawa blow for blow in offense.
And Ushijima, despite being strong on his own, had fixed attack patterns and habits that could be studied. The more he attacked, the better Karasuno's group block strategies became.
Aoba Jōsai never had this advantage against Shiratorizawa, because year after year, Shiratorizawa's assumed final opponent was always Aoba Jōsai.
That's why Kaedehara Taichi needed to actively learn everything about his opponents—who knows when that knowledge might turn the tide of a match?
"Ōhira Reon: Overall Ability - 82. Height - 182.7 cm. Strength - 94. Jump - 78. Stamina - 82. Speed - 70. Specialties: Receiving - 85. Spiking - 88."
Another wing spiker from Shiratorizawa—his strength was terrifying too. He seemed like an all-round type who could attack and defend.
"Yamagata Hayato: Overall Ability - 85. Height - 174.3 cm. Strength - 78. Jump - 85. Stamina - 94. Speed - 87. Specialties: Receiving - 82. Setting - 80."
Did this libero level up the wrong skill tree or what? His speed and jumping were excellent, but his technique was slightly lacking.
"Kawanishi Taichi: Overall Ability - 81. Height - 188.3 cm. Strength - 82. Jump - 72. Stamina - 88. Speed - 82. Specialties: Receiving - 78. Spiking - 82."
Oh, nice—your name is Taichi too, huh? Kaedehara Taichi decided to make this Kawanishi Taichi a priority target.
After going through Shiratorizawa's lineup, Kaedehara Taichi finally felt at ease. Every single one of them was strong—that was Shiratorizawa's selection philosophy.
"Taichi, what's wrong?" Oikawa Tōru asked, seeing that he had been silent for a while. Was he really that intimidated by Shiratorizawa?
Kaedehara Taichi patted his cheeks and let out a deep breath. "It's nothing. Watching them just makes me want to go back and train."
"True, it's about time anyway." Coach Irihata stood up and shook hands with Coach Washijō in farewell.
"There are only two weeks left. Make the most of your training time. There are no shortcuts to becoming stronger."
"Yes, sir!"
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