The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

"So, this is the infamous Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, huh?" Yuki said, staring at the building in front of him in awe. "This is far more impressive than I thought."

It was the day when the game was played, and early in the morning, all the Tsunemori players had already arrived at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. It would be a lie if they said they weren't nervous. Somehow, they felt intimidated just by looking at the massive building in front of them, knowing how historic it was for the country.

"How old is this building?" Riku asked to no one.

"I don't know, about sixty years, I guess?" Koji said with an uncertain tone. "I know for sure that the building was used to host a lot of historical events like the world wrestling championship or the summer Olympics in the past."

Everyone gulped unconsciously, feeling more intimidated by the building. The scorching sun above them couldn't prevent the shiver that ran down their spine as this was the first time they played in such a massive and historical arena. Somehow, their dumbfounded state attracted people's attention, as those who wanted to enter the building and watch the game today stared at them strangely.

Fortunately, Akira noticed his players' weird state and snapped them from their thoughts.

"What are you all daydreaming about?!" He raised his voice. "It doesn't matter whether we play in this building or in our own school, right? In the end, what matters the most is your mentality! As long as your focus is on the game, you will not get distracted by this trivial matter."

All the players could only smile at each other wryly, knowing that what he said didn't change anything. They still felt their legs shaking below. However, Akira was satisfied with their reaction. At least, their mind was back at their body already.

"Well, what are you waiting for?! Let's go!"

Fortunately, the entrance for the players wasn't the same as for the spectators. Akira brought them through the main tunnel of the building, showing all the people around that they were one of the protagonists today. It was good to see the crowds looking at them in awe while they – the crowds – were stuck in the queue.

At first, they thought that they would be the first ones to come. However, when they entered the building, all the Tsunemori players were surprised to see the opponent's players were already there. This was the first time they saw the black-stripe-white jerseys that could make all the teams in Japan tremble in fear, and they couldn't help but feel intimidated once again.

"Agostini-san? Kobayashi-san?!" Suddenly, a voice coming from the opponent's side attracted everyone's attention. All the eyes turned into a thin, ordinary boy who stared at the two freshmen with his eyes wide open. "Why are you both here?!"

Riku arched one of his eyebrows slightly. "What do you mean why are we here? Is there any reason why we couldn't be here?"

"No! I… You… I mean… It should be… I don't know…" The boy slumped dejectedly as suddenly, his mind went blank when he saw two acquaintances here.

The boy in front of them was Nobuhiro Sawada, the setter of Konan High who both Yuki and Riku met in Riku's house. Although Sawada forgot to ask from which school they were, he was confident that both Yuki and Riku were the secret weapons that Matsukita High hid for the future matchup against Konan.

It was quite a blow when his expectations didn't meet the reality, as instead of coming from a strong school like Matsukita, they both were players from a no-name school like Tsunemori High.

"Are they your friends, Sawada-kun?"Suddenly, someone used the English language with a pretty thick accent, attracting everyone's attention. There, all the Tsunamori players saw a tanned-skinned boy with ponytail hair and a bright smile that showed off his white teeth greeting them.

Just by this appearance, they all could guess already who he was.

'Lucas Silva Morais!'

"We are not friends, Lucas-san. I met them a few weeks ago at a social gathering." Sawada answered in the same language. However, not a single person in Tsunemori cared about the setter anymore. By now, all of them turned solemn as they saw Lucas's appearance, the biggest threat to them in the game.

-A little flashback-

"What do you mean I am in for a treat, Maria-san?" Yuki couldn't help but frown. Somehow, he remembered Akira's begrudge expression when the coach talked about Brazilian players and he couldn't help but think it was related to this. "Is there anything special about a Brazilian player?"

"Hmm… How should I put this…" The voice on the other side of the phone pondered. "Any players born in Brazil are usually natural-gifted players. They are fast, can jump high, can spike hard, have insane reaction speed, and the best – or worst part depending on whether the Brazilian players are your teammates or your opponents – is their instinct. It is as if they are born to do the sport.

To put it simply, they are the biggest cheat code in this sport."

Yuki was stunned in disbelief at what he just heard. "Is it a bit too much?" He asked hesitantly. He still had hopes Maria would agree with him and said that she was exaggerating. Unfortunately, his hope was shattered by the woman's next explanation.

"Unfortunately, Yuki-kun, if anything, I tend to downplay it to make them less scary than the reality." Her voice showed a helpless tone. "You have to know, that in Brazil, volleyball is the second most popular sport other than football. Almost all the kids who lived near the beach spent most of their time either kicking the ball or spiking the ball.

And unlike us who are used to a systematic game with 6 vs 6, they don't care about the strict rules of the game. As long as there is a ball and a net, even if it is just one-on-one, the game will begin. That is why they always come as a versatile player. They are used to cover anything by themselves, from receiving, setting, and even spiking.

The fact that they often played in the sand is just the cherry on top."

Hearing that evaluation, the image of Lucas Silva Morais suddenly became scarier inside Yuki's mind. He started to feel helpless, didn't know how to deal with such a perfect player. However, what Maria said next brought him back to life.

"However, they usually have one glaring weakness that would only be fixed later in their career. Would you like to hear about that?"

-End of the flashback-

"Lucas Silva Morais…" Yuki's eyes turned somber as he remembered the conversation he had with Maria a few days ago. "Even though the weakness is a bit silly, that is probably the only thing we could expose from him. However, whether it has any effect or not depends on whether he is familiar with it or not.

But in the end, we still have to think of a way to beat him, or it would be impossible for us to win this game."

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