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"Oh? That's right!"
Hearing that, Akira perked up as well.
He turned and looked back at Kageyama.
"If you hadn't said anything, I would've totally forgotten!"
By now, training was wrapping up for the day, and the players on the court had started to gradually leave.
"Head back early!"
Sensing that the two still intended to keep practicing, Daichi and the others called out to them on their way out:
"Otherwise, there won't be anything left to eat!"
"Okay, Daichi-senpai!"
…
After nearly everyone had left the gym.
"Ahem!"
"Actually, it's not a new match."
"I just need your help with something."
Akira scratched his head as he spoke.
"Help?"
Kageyama looked a bit confused.
"Just the two of us?"
"That's right."
"I want you to help me practice a certain kind of set."
As soon as Akira mentioned setting, Kageyama's interest immediately sparked.
"What kind of set?"
"Is it different from how I usually set?"
Akira shook his head, picked up a volleyball from the floor, and gave it a bounce.
"Not exactly different."
"Have you heard of a ball with absolutely no spin?"
Kageyama paused at that.
A ball with no spin at all…
Was Akira talking about a jump float serve?
But what did that have to do with setting?
"Do you mean… a jump float?"
Kageyama asked hesitantly.
"Nope!"
"I said it's a set, not a serve!"
Seeing Kageyama's puzzled face, Akira let out a small sigh.
His expression practically said, How could anyone be this dense?
The look on Akira's face made Kageyama's blood pressure spike, but there was nothing he could do about it.
He could only take a deep breath and force himself to stay calm.
…Not like this was the first time something like this had happened.
"Zero-spin set?"
"Exactly."
Akira nodded.
When receiving a serve or a spike with a forearm pass, the goal is usually to minimize the ball's spin as much as possible. That way, the setter has an easier time controlling it for the second touch.
A spinning ball is faster than a non-spinning one when hit with the same amount of force—and more unpredictable in its path.
Spikes and sets are different.
In setting, because the ball moves slower than a spike, even if it doesn't spin, it won't wobble mid-air like a jump float serve would.
But in a slow-moving ball, if the ball is spinning…
Then the path becomes a lot more unstable.
Kageyama was well aware of this.
He'd experienced it himself.
When a setter raises their head to receive a spinning ball, the rotation makes the ball appear to sway left and right in the air.
It greatly affects how hard the ball is to catch—and how accurately it can be set.
In worse cases, it can throw off the entire set.
That's why passers are trained to reduce rotation as much as possible.
Likewise, setters also aim to keep the ball's spin minimal when they set, so the hitter can read and strike it more easily.
However…
In actual matches, that's easier said than done.
Short-distance quick sets can usually be made with little to no spin.
A setter with decent skill can pull it off with some practice.
For a genius like Kageyama, that kind of thing is second nature.
But long-distance sets?
Keeping those spinless is extremely difficult.
Especially because Kageyama often pairs with Hinata for their super-fast quick attack—those passes need to be fired off at lightning speed.
And fast sets tend to have spin.
"You mean… you want me to make a long-distance set with no spin?"
"Exactly."
Akira nodded.
"Because the spike I'm working on lately needs a high degree of accuracy."
"If there's too much spin on the ball, it's hard for me to execute it properly."
This was one of Akira's new ideas.
He wanted to hit a spike where the rotation on the ball itself would make it curve mid-air.
Up to now, Akira's spinning spikes had only followed straight paths—with downspin only. Defenders couldn't tell what spin was on the ball until after they received it.
But now, Akira had a new approach in mind.
He wanted to use intentional spin to manipulate the flight path.
Technically, he already knew how to make the ball curve.
The real difficulty was being able to control exactly where the ball would go and how it would land.
And that required Kageyama's precise sets to match his attacks.
If the set was spinning too fast, even Akira couldn't control the ball well enough to steer it during the spike.
After listening to Akira's explanation, Kageyama's eyes lit up with excitement.
Passing a long ball with zero spin—while also keeping it fast and accurate…
It was definitely a tough challenge.
But if he could master it, it would also push his setting skills to the next level.
Then again, hesitation crept in.
It wasn't that Kageyama didn't believe he could learn to do it.
He absolutely could.
With his talent, it was just a matter of time.
But…
Nationals were only a week away.
Was that really enough time to master this kind of technique?
That was what worried him.
Kageyama looked at Akira, who seemed to sense the doubt in his mind. Before Kageyama could say anything, Akira spoke up:
"You don't have to doubt yourself. You'll get it down before the tournament."
"I know you won't be able to do it right away."
"But that's fine, because…"
"I'll teach you."
"…What??"
Kageyama's eyes widened.
He rubbed his ears, wondering if he'd misheard.
"You? Teach me how to set?"
"Did I hear that right?!"
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2nd Bonus Chapter -900 Power Stones
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