Chapter 76: Breaking Both

Wouldn't it be fun to react to funny memes on Instagram Reels together? The memes might be crazy, but the comments are even crazier, too... 

You can send me the memes you want me to react to, or we can all react to the memes we share together at the same fkin time?

So yeah, hop in.

https://discord.gg/DnqSjdTgyQ

I'm scheduling a watch party on Discord!

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"Let's go, Let's go, Date Tech!"

"Let's go, Let's go, Date Tech!"

A section of the audience seating erupted into loud cheers for Date Tech.

The group, dressed in matching colors and uniforms, was easy to spot. They were clearly Date Tech supporters, here to cheer their team on as the game was about to begin.

"Everyone's cheering for them..."

"Date Tech is pretty strong, so it's not surprising." 

"Yeah, but either way, this match is going to be interesting to watch."

The other audience murmured among themselves, their eyes darting toward the overwhelming support for Date Tech. The atmosphere in the gym was heavily tilted in Date Tech's favor, leaving Karasuno with little backing.

Among the crowd, some people were still searching for empty seats.

Aoba Johsai's Assistant Coach Mizoguchi was among them as he paused on his way to find a spot.

"The atmosphere is certainly not in Karasuno's favor," Mizoguchi said, his voice low.

He noticed the nervous looks on some of Karasuno's players and chuckled, "They're still inexperienced when it comes to handling this kind of pressure."

"Oh?"

But then his gaze landed on Tsuna, who stood directly across from Aone, Date Tech's blocker.

Mizoguchi's eyes narrowed as a small smile crept onto his face, "This matchup is going to be something worth watching..."

"Hmm..."

Beside him, Irihata, Aoba Johsai's head coach, also stopped.

He followed Mizoguchi's gaze and nodded thoughtfully. "This is certainly an interesting matchup. That Date Tech #7 is quite the blocker. And considering Karasuno #9's left hand isn't as strong as his right..."

It would be a tough game for Tsuna. But Irihata's frown deepened as another thought crossed his mind.

'Or maybe... this will just be another stepping stone for him.'

But then...

"Oh?"

As he shook away that thought, Irihata noticed something.

Both Karasuno and Date Tech were sticking with the same starting lineup they had used earlier. He tilted his head as he mumbled under his breath, "Now that's quite interesting..."

A small chuckle escaped him as his eyes shifted to Keishin, who stood at the sidelines.

'We're going to see if their new coach is capable or not this game...'

Irihata wondered if Keishin had something up his sleeve or if he was simply confident in his team's ability to break through Date Tech's Iron Wall.

TWEET!

The referee's whistle blew, and the crowd erupted into cheers.

"Let's go, Let's go, Date Tech!"

"Let's go, Let's go, Date Tech!"

Date Tech's name echoed loudly throughout the gym, their supporters roaring with excitement.

Meanwhile, back in the court, Kamasaki stood at the service line, and hearing the whistle made him take a deep breath to steady himself.

"Phew..."

He then tossed the ball high into the air, his movements smooth and deliberate.

"Kamasaki, nice serve!"

Kamasaki's footsteps echoed softly against the polished floor as he leaped into the air, his arm swinging in a powerful arc.

BAM!

The ball shot across the net like a bullet, heading straight toward Karasuno's side.

"Nice serve!"

The crowd cheered as the game officially began.

As the ball made it through to Karasuno...

'That was a strong serve...'

Hinata thought, his eyes wide as he watched the ball fly toward Asahi at the back. Seeing how fast the ball going made his heart raced, 'I wouldn't be able to receive that.'

But despite his doubts, Hinata's feet moved instinctively. He knew he had to be ready, no matter what.

And as expected...

"...!"

A loud plop echoed through the gym as Asahi received the ball perfectly. His posture was relaxed, his hands cupped together as the ball bounced off his forearms and soared high into the air.

Sweat rolled down his forehead, but his expression was calm.

"Nice receive, Asahi!"

Daichi shouted, his voice filled with pride.

The ball floated toward the center of the court, where Kageyama was already in position. His sharp eyes scanned the court, analyzing the situation.

'Asahi-san is getting better at receiving as well...'

Hinata thought, his gaze shifting to Date Tech's blockers.

Almost every one of them was tall—taller than anyone on Karasuno, except maybe Tsuna, Tsukishima, or Asahi.

But Hinata's eyes gleamed with determination, 'But I can jump...!'

Their blockers seemed to have locked their attention on Tsuna, their eyes following his every move.

Hinata noticed an opening—a spot where no blockers stood as he then darted across the court.

'They're expecting me to pass it to Tsuna-san...'

Kageyama thought, his mind racing as the ball floated above him. Date Tech's #7, Aone, was especially focused on Tsuna.

His intense stare was a challenge as if urging Tsuna to take the ball.

'But that's exactly why I shouldn't toss it to him...' Kageyama's lips curled into a slight smirk.

He felt a familiar presence behind him, leaping into the air. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Hinata, already soaring high, his eyes locked on the ball.

On the Date Tech bench, Oiwake sat with his arms crossed, his eyes were fixed on Kageyama's form.

The setter's movements were flawless, his posture perfect as he prepared to send the ball flying.

"He has a clean form..."

Oiwake muttered under his breath. With such form, it was nearly impossible to predict where the ball would go.

"A setter like that was a valuable asset to any team. But..."

Oiwake's lips curled into a small smile. He wasn't worried at all.

As the ball flew toward Hinata, the gym seemed to hold its breath.

"...!"

Hinata felt his hair stand on end as a loud thud echoed across the court.

Aone took a long stride to the side as Futakuchi adjusted his position beside him, and together, they leaped into the air in perfect sync.

Their hands stretched high above the net, forming an impenetrable wall that completely blocked Hinata's sight.

On the side...

"Hmm...?"

Tsuna's eyes widened in surprise.

He watched as Aone reacted with lightning speed and was able to block perfectly despite the distance as he mumbled, "He can do that?"

"...!"

Hinata swung his arm weakly, trying to redirect the ball, but it barely grazed the blockers' hands before falling onto Date Tech's side of the court.

The whistle blew, signaling the end of the play, but everyone in Karasuno still looked at Date Tech in surprise.

"Read blocker, huh?"

Tsuna stared at Aone, who looked down at the ball with a serious expression.

"...?"

For a moment, Aone blinked, then turned to meet Tsuna's gaze as Date Tech #7 was momentarily startled by Tsuna's expression.

Tsuna didn't care what Aone thought as he understood that he seemed to have underestimated them. He couldn't help but lick his lips as a glint of excitement filled his eyes.

"Now that's interesting," Tsuna mumbled to himself, his face lighting up with anticipation.

He then quickly approached Kageyama, to which Kageyama seemed to realize as he called, "Tsuna-san...?"

"Toss it over to me next, Kageyama."

"Ah, sure," Kageyama replied, blinking in surprise.

It was the first time Tsuna had directly requested a toss like this. Without another word, Tsuna returned to his position as Kageyama still staring at his back in surprise.

"Uwahh, I thought they were reacting late, but to think they could still put up such a block in just a second... That's terrifying," Takeda said with awe.

He watched as Kageyama moved to the back of the court to serve the ball. On the side, Keishin calmly sat down with his arms crossed.

His eyes followed Kageyama as the setter tossed the ball into the air after the whistle blew, and their setter sent the ball flying with a powerful serve.

Keishin thought, 'That was a good serve...'

Unfortunately, a loud plop echoed through the gym as Date Tech's libero received the ball perfectly. Seeing this made him shake his head slightly, 'He still needs to learn how to aim his serves better...'

"...!"

On the court, Tsuna quietly observed the ball as it went to Date Tech's setter. Then, to everyone's surprise, he moved back to the rear court, stepping into Kageyama's usual position.

The sudden shift caught Karasuno off guard.

But...

"Get ready to toss it..."

Tsuna's voice was heard, which made Kageyama widen his eyes in surprise.

"Yes...?"

Although he was still baffled by the sudden movement by Tsuna, Kageyama still moved up to the front court.

His body reacting instinctively to Tsuna's words.

Still...

"...?"

Even Date Tech was caught off guard by Tsuna's movement as Sasaya had already leaped into the air while his eyes scanned Karasuno's blockers.

He didn't care what Tsuna was doing. All he saw was an opening as he swung his arm hard.

"You just gave me an opening, you idiot!"

A loud bam echoed as the ball whistled through the air, heading straight for the right back side of the court—where Kageyama had left his post.

However...

"...!"

Aone suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

He heard a loud step and turned just in time to see Tsuna sprint across the court, covering the distance in seconds.

Tsuna's form was flawless; his body relaxed as he cupped his hands together.

With a perfect plop, he received the ball, sending it bouncing back toward Kageyama.

But the surprises didn't end there.

"Whoa...!"

Gasps rippled through the crowd as Tsuna moved again as Kageyama sucked in a breath.

'Damn it... I almost missed the timing...'

Sweat rolled down his forehead as he adjusted, quickly setting the ball high into the air.

Tsuna quickly reacted as his figure suddenly leaped up. His body twisted mid-flight, muscles coiling like a spring.

Then—

CRACK!

"Hn!"

"Ah, shit..."

Aone's grunt woke Futakuchi as they both reacted too late. By the time they jumped, the ball had already flown past their hands.

Their block lagged just a fraction of a second behind, and they could only watch wide-eyed as they stared at Tsuna's figure, slowly landing on the ground. 

The ball slammed onto Date Tech's court with a thunderous thud, and immediately...

"…!"

…the entire gymnasium fell into silence.

Even Date Tech's supporters were stunned.

"This guy...:

As Aone and Futakuchi landed on the court, their gazes were still locked on Tsuna as Futakuchi twitched his lips, "He just broke his own team's pace just to break ours. Is he actually crazy?"

It was the kind of play only someone with a screw loose would attempt!

But then—

"Whoaa!"

"What the fuck was that?!"

The crowd exploded.