It didn't look like a normal Quick Attack; it was more like..
Kai, who had been staring at the volleyball the entire time, only shifted his gaze down to Hinata at this moment.
—He didn't jump.
Kai suddenly felt his brain ring.
It was nothing else but a personal time difference executed on top of an ordinary spike from Position 4.
What should they do? At this rate, they'll definitely hit the ball out of bounds.
Their Libero hasn't arrived yet; at this distance, a straight Spike would be fatal.
The block had already come down, but Hinata was like a patient desert predator, only leaping lightly at that very moment.
Kai felt a sudden surge of joy in his heart.
Whether it was a mistake in the Setter's toss or Hinata's own fault, he seemed to have jumped too early, though he still had a way to reach the ball at this height.
Thinking this, Kai's body leaned back slightly, attempting to make a last-ditch effort to touch the ball.
Satomi, the Setter from the back row of Inubushi Higashi, had also rushed over, attempting to cut off the position of the Line shot.
But in the next second, Hinata, having precisely located Miya Atsumu's ball, raised his hands and spiked it directly into Kai Kiyoharu's fingers.
With a loud bang, the volleyball flew high into the air and landed outside the court.
Tooling the block.
Kai Kiyoharu, who had suddenly lost his balance, fell to the ground, looking at Hinata on the opposite side—who had not yet landed—with a look of shock.
What error? From beginning to end, there wasn't a single mistake. That ball was Miya Atsumu positioning himself perfectly for Hinata to use for a feint.
It made him think he had grasped hope, but in reality, he had never even stepped out of the trap laid by the predators.
The final result was that he, having been lured into leaning back, became the perfect tool for the block, while Inarizaki completely avoided the possibility of this ball being received.
What kind of bait..
With Miya Atsumu around, he is practically a monster-like, top-tier deceiver.
"Nice kill, Shoyo!" Miya Atsumu reached out to Hinata.
"Atsumu-senpai, what a great set!" Hinata shouted, clapping heavily.
Ginjima had almost been so nervous he couldn't breathe, but looking at the crowd cheering in the court, he also breathed a sigh of relief: "They really dare to play like that."
Inubushi Higashi's reaction speed as a freshman was simply ridiculous; even with three offensive options available, he could still chase down and block Hinata's net..
Coach Kurosu stroked his chin by the sidelines.
In that split second, he felt as if he saw Hoshiumi Hikari, also the very first match he had taken Hinata to see.
That kind of time difference, Hinata can use it now too.
With the added assistance of Miya Atsumu's setting, the deceptive quality will only become even stronger.
"That's incredible." Usui Mitsuru swallowed hard.
Not just Hinata, but also the Setter, Miya Atsumu, who was just able to dig that ball out.
Kiryu nodded: "Indeed. This level of trust in each other is hard to imagine coming from two people who have only been partners for a few months."
However, that ball probably had a bit of luck involved as well; if Kai hadn't been deceived as Miya Atsumu had intended, the opposing Setter would have likely saved the ball.
Miya Atsumu served again.
Whether it was because he had performed so well just now that he was feeling a bit overly heated, he decisively chose to attempt another jump float serve that hit the line.
But.. as everyone expected, he made a mistake.
Out!
Kurosu covered his face with his hands and shouted loudly at Miya Atsumu, "I told you to challenge them, not to hand points to the opposition!"
Ginjima and Kita both looked at Miya Atsumu at the same time, their eyes filled with the sentiment of "if you can play, play; if not, get off the court."
Watching the drama unfold, Miya Osamu let out a sneer: "Serves him right."
Miya Atsumu's expression soured even further.
He glared fiercely at Miya Osamu, silently vowing in his heart that he wouldn't give his opponent a single ball during this set.
—Even though he hadn't really given Miya Osamu many balls to begin with.
But the members of Inubushi Higashi didn't know exactly what Miya Atsumu was thinking; they still had to maintain their defense.
Not to mention that Miya Osamu himself is the absolute core of Inarizaki's wing spikers. Generally speaking, Suna and Hinata only coordinate with him.
Matsushiro, who had moved to the front row, was much more skilled at blocking than Kai; after all, he had much more experience and had his own unique insights for dealing with various technical balls.
Touch!
Nice hit!
Satomi called out his Ace's name: "Katori!"
As the Inarizaki members looked toward Katori, Satomi raised his hand and delivered a Second Attack.
Hinata and Akagi's lunging movements were both a bit slow, allowing Inubushi Higashi to score successfully.
Bōwàng nodded. "His diving technique has become much more proficient."
In his memory, Hinata was still the person who would dive headfirst into the ground, but throughout this set, Hinata made almost no mistakes.
However, like Akagi, Hinata's problem was his lack of stability.
Speaking of which..
Bōwàng suddenly thought of Komori Motoya; that person also couldn't manage to stabilize the ball's trajectory smoothly when making a save.
But then again, in his impression, none of the high school liberos could achieve a perfect reception while also being able to send every single ball right to the setter's head.
If there really were, the Setter would probably be held up like a god.
On the court, Akagi received the Quick Attack spiked by Kai.
But the situation was urgent, the pass was a bit off.
Miya Atsumu rushed forward, sprinting straight out of the court.
Caught in the moment after the volleyball hung in the air before falling, Miya Atsumu jumped and raised his hands for a back set.
Aran, who had just dived to save the ball along with Akagi, clearly couldn't spike it; Suna's position was too close to the net, a pass there would inevitably result in a net touch.
If we don't consider Miya Osamu, the only choice is Hinata.
After quickly running through it in his mind, Miya Atsumu made his decision.
Generally speaking, every ball Atsumu sets is the optimal position determined through comprehensive consideration. He almost simultaneously considers the spiker's hitting point, their field of vision, their distance from the net.
But the initial position of this ball was ridiculously off; even Miya Atsumu had no way to guarantee the quality of the set.
This ball.. the only thing Miya Atsumu could guarantee was to try his best to keep Hinata from touching the net.
Whether it was Hoshiumi or Hinata, neither of them had ever truly given up on what is called air superiority.
Since they lack height, they will equip themselves with artificial wings and jump higher than anyone else.
But.. that was the problem.
Continuously hitting high balls will only accelerate the end of one's professional career, so they must carve out another path.
One of them is technical balls, the most effective among them are tooling the block, time difference, changes in ball paths between line and diagonal shots.
Currently, Hinata is not yet proficient, so far they have chosen another path—using speed to shake off the blockers.
Lifting his hand to back set the ball, Miya Atsumu quietly watched Hinata's figure, who appeared upside down in his field of vision.
Because the setter provided no cover, the opposing blockers jumped at the perfect moment, making it quite difficult to use tooling the block.
If playing conservatively, the best option would be a feint into a tip, but with the opponent's Libero already playing up, scoring.. is a bit difficult.
In Miya Atsumu's memory, this was perhaps the first time since he and Hinata had partnered up that Hinata had faced a strong school's block in such a passive state.
Yet from a certain perspective, this was the time Hinata had held the initiative more than ever before.
Regardless of the final outcome, Miya Atsumu could actually accept it.
It doesn't matter if he doesn't score, as long as he isn't blocked straight down, he can just try again.
Hinata quietly watched Kai Kiyoharu's hands in his field of vision, the same judgment he had for Miya Atsumu appeared in his mind.
There's no way to use tooling the block, even if he tries a tip, the opponent's Libero will defend it precisely.
Then.. what must I do to score?
In that instant, Hinata's gaze instinctively flickered to his right.
Passing through the gap between the block and the net, what appeared in his field of vision was an almost empty half-court.
The image of Sakusa appeared in his mind, Hinata snapped his wrist in the opposite direction, hitting the ball back with a backhand under Kai Kiyoharu's truly shocking gaze.
The volleyball flew past the entire Inubushi Higashi block, smashing toward the Inubushi Higashi three-meter line at an extremely sharp angle relative to the block.
Bang!
The sound of the volleyball slamming against the floor rang clearly in everyone's ears, by the time the crowd reacted, the ball had already bounced high and was falling out of bounds.
Miya Atsumu, who had been about to prepare for the next attack, paused, his gaze unable to move from the path of the volleyball for a long time.
Only after the volleyball had completely rolled to the side of the wall did he look toward Hinata, his movements somewhat stiff.
Coach Kurosu couldn't even control himself as he stood up by the sidelines.
Not for any other reason, but simply because that last play was too brilliant, too unexpected.
Hinata landed on the ground, staring blankly at his hand, which had turned slightly red from the recent hit.
He.. succeeded.
Through his own judgment and adjustments, he spiked a short diagonal, the same one Sakusa had formally demonstrated to him twice.
Although he had expected that he would succeed, when this moment actually arrived.. he was instead a bit dazed.
“Sho, Shoyo?” Miya Atsumu took a step toward Hinata, his voice trembling slightly.
He had already prepared himself to start over after Hinata's spike failed to score, but Hinata suddenly handed him an answer that could only be described as a perfect score.