Hinata was a bit surprised: "Does Komori-senpai know Kenma and Yaku-senpai?"
One is his good friend, the other is the senior he respects most of all in terms of defense.
"We played a match against Nekoma during the Tokyo Interhigh preliminaries a while ago," Komori explained. The final result of the match was, of course, their victory for Itachiyama.
Goshiki didn't know who Nekoma was, but he heard that Hinata was leaving in a few days. Thus, he became serious: "Then after Shoyo leaves, the next time we meet will be at the Interhigh."
Let's have a good match then, on the official court.
Hinata's response was completely different from what Goshiki had imagined; he didn't get excited, but instead wilted instantly.
He scratched his head somewhat sheepishly. "Ah, this.. I'm the manager for Interhigh, I don't play."
Even Komori was stunned this time.
What did he hear? What manager? Shouldn't it be a substitute?
Hinata Shoyo said defensively, "It can't be helped, my playing is still super terrible, I can't even make the bench!"
If he were to play the whole match just to receive balls, he would probably drive Atsumu-senpai to an early grave.
Although he also really wanted to get on the court to play, but.. he didn't want to be grabbed by the collar by Miya Atsumu and thrown from the court into the second-floor spectator seats.
Goshiki was still shocked: "Manager? Not playing?"
His brain went blank for a moment as he tried to stop thinking.
At this moment, he suddenly realized with absolute clarity what it meant to be the "strongest challenger."
Wasn't Hinata's spike actually quite good? He couldn't even make the substitutes at Inarizaki?
But when you think about it, it makes sense; to put it another way, it just means his offense is decent.
Moreover, Inarizaki truly pursues the ultimate balance compared to Shiratorizawa; their players have no specific weaknesses, they have no problems even when switching positions on the fly.
Standing on the court.. they could be described as six genuine all-rounders.
Just as Hinata told Coach Washijo the day before yesterday, the deficiency in height can only be resolved by "arming oneself to the teeth."
Hinata raised his hand and patted Goshiki Tsutomu on the shoulder: "Anyway, I'll be on the sidelines cheering for everyone.. as long as you're not playing against us."
I'll be qualified to go on as a substitute during the National Sports Festival! Akari, wait for me!
Goshiki Tsutomu froze for a moment upon hearing that, then his powerful voice rang out: "No, I won't wait for you."
Hinata only hesitated for a second before reaching out his hand to Goshiki Tsutomu: "Of course, I'll do my absolute best to catch up to you."
The two of them high-fived, then gripped each other's hands tightly, making a promise like children making a pinky swear.
The completely optimistic Hinata was full of fighting spirit: "For now, let's work together and try to lose fewer points under the seniors."
Goshiki remained silent: "I'll do my best, but mainly you.."
Tendo Makoto leaned against the scoreboard, squinting as he watched the two juniors who had already taken their respective positions on the court.
Confidence, courage, fearlessness, always moving forward, forming "bonds" with all kinds of people.
This way.. I won't be lonely anymore.
That's so wonderful, life should be like this~
Author's Note:
No 30 coins, so just make do with 20 coins [confetti] (I'm acting shamelessly)
Chapter 53: The Fifty-Third Fox
Seeing that Tendo had already volunteered to take the position by the scoreboard, Iizuna did not call anyone else over.
In this kind of small-scale three-on-three, whether or not there are referees doesn't make a big difference; the players can just judge for themselves, at most having Komori keep an eye on things.
Goshiki Tsutomu served first after the draw.
Compared to the three opponents, Goshiki Tsutomu's serve was truly somewhat underwhelming, but after all, it was three-on-three, the defensive gaps were actually much larger than in a normal six-on-six.
As far as he knew, Sakusa's receiving skills were indeed high, but he was a bit lacking when it came to diving saves.
Thinking this, Goshiki Tsutomu spiked the ball to a distance of three steps from Sakusa's side in the opponent's backcourt.
Given the speed of his own serve, he definitely wouldn't be able to move normally to reach that position.
But Sakusa's reaction was extremely fast; he even realized in an instant where Goshiki was aiming.
Before Goshiki could even react, Sakusa had already anticipated the location, timing his movement perfectly.
Then, with practiced ease, he reached out and got under the ball.
Bang!
“Nice receive!” Amatori naturally took over the duties of the Setter.
He raised his hand to make a fake back set, eventually passing the ball toward the area marked Position 2 in a motion resembling a shot.
Sakusa, who had just received the ball, quickly stepped forward, preparing to spike.
Hinata was a bit surprised; he hadn't expected that this Wing Spiker from Itachiyama was also a high-level Setter; he could execute that kind of feint with such ease.
In the heat of the moment, Iizuna was unable to chase up and block.
With excellent dynamic vision, Hinata read the trajectory of the volleyball and stepped to his right without hesitation.
And then.. he missed the ball completely.
Listening to the sound of the volleyball hitting the floor, Hinata was a bit dazed.
What happened? The volleyball curved? Is this even a volleyball anymore! It's motorized!
Seeing Hinata's embarrassment, Iizuna smiled. "This is a type of side-spin."
“Understood! I'll definitely catch up on the next one!” Hinata nodded. He made a mental note of how Sakusa-senpai's wrist had rotated just now.
Because of his height, the blocking duties on Hinata's side were assigned to Iizuna and Goshiki, while Hinata was responsible for back-row receiving.
But facing two of the three major spikers from the national level, plus an experienced spiker from Itachiyama, it would be quite difficult for Hinata to receive them at his current level.
Although he could get it up, the accuracy could not be guaranteed at all.
And the bigger problem was that after receiving the ball, there was no way to get back up for a run-up.
"Touch!" Goshiki shouted loudly.
Ushijima-senpai's spikes were something he was generally familiar with; even if he couldn't block them, he could at least ensure he made contact.
Hinata took a deep breath and lowered his center of gravity to receive the ball: "Iizuna-senpai!"
Rising up somewhat clumsily, Hinata took a running start forward.
If he couldn't receive a ball that had already touched the blocker, he would be losing face.
Sakusa glanced at Ushijima Wakatoshi, who was staring at Hinata Shoyo with an extremely serious expression on the other side, couldn't help but feel a bit curious.
This little brat, besides jumping high, is basically a rookie; under normal circumstances, he wouldn't even enter his field of vision.
But unexpectedly.. everyone from Shiratorizawa had a very high opinion of him?
Iizuna actually wasn't quite sure about Hinata and Goshiki Tsutomu's specific skill levels, so the rhythm of his sets remained slow from beginning to end.
In the moment he turned his head, he saw Hinata quickly make a gesture toward him.
It was a common tactical signal used by a Setter, representing a quick attack to Position 4.
Hinata's speed was very fast, with the cover provided by Iizuna and Goshiki at the net, his small frame was completely obscured, preventing the opponents from seeing his hand signals.
Although he had doubts, Iizuna still decided to cooperate with Hinata.
The volleyball fell over his head, at the same time, Hinata rushed toward the antenna at Position 2, behind Goshiki Tsutomu in the center.
Wait, Position 2?
On the other side of the net, Sakusa and Amatori both rushed toward Hinata simultaneously, remaining vigilant so that he wouldn't assist Iizuna with a spike on a high ball.
Just as Iizuna was about to change the direction of the ball toward Position 4, Hinata, who had already rushed under the marker, slammed on the brakes and then, under Amatori's shocked gaze, suddenly turned and charged in the completely opposite direction.
Iizuna, who was almost startled by Hinata's feint, ultimately controlled his movements and tossed the ball above Position 4, just as he had originally intended.
Sakusa, who was closer, took a large stride to catch up. With his height advantage, even if his reaction was a little slow, he should be able to..
In the next second, his eyes widened.
This speed.. what is going on?!
While Sakusa was still a full step away from the edge of the net, Hinata had already taken off with one foot.
Sakusa quickly retreated half a step to create distance from the net, while simultaneously extending one hand to stretch his body to its full length, putting all his effort into trying to touch the ball.
Hinata's gaze moved downward, he raised his hand to strike the top of the volleyball.
Using the distance between Sakusa and the net, he spiked the ball into that gap.
Sakusa's pupils contracted.
—Holy crap.
He stretched out his leg to try and save the ball, but ultimately failed to touch it.
After being suppressed on his half of the court by the opponent's spike, Hinata took his first point of the set with incredible strength.
“Nice one, Shoyo!” Goshiki Tsutomu and Hinata high-fived.
"Nice play, but that was a bit scary." Iizuna also reached out his hand.
This was a bit hard on his heart.
But it was also because he didn't know Hinata well enough; that speed Hinata just showed in his open attack..
For the first time, Sakusa-senpai took Hinata seriously.
It wasn't just the speed and height itself; Hinata's recent diving save was incredibly decisive, as if he had anticipated that he would have to retreat to reach the ball.
Moreover, in terms of proficiency.. it truly is very high.
To be honest, he was getting a little interested.
Amatori's serve was also very fast; aside from lacking that specific spin, it was probably not much different from Ushijima's.