He thought that the serve, which could only be considered mediocre at first, was a mistake made by Hinata, but as it turned out.. was that already playing above his level!
Kamiya just wanted to travel back in time and slap himself twice.
What was he being so wary of!
What on earth was he being so wary of just now!
Chapter 81: The Eighty-First Fox
Taking a deep breath, Kamiya stared at Hinata with burning eyes.
Unfortunately, Hinata's service rotation had already ended, if he wanted to face him head-on, he would have to wait until the next time the rotation reached Hinata's position. However, judging by Inarizaki's scoring ability.. it was very likely they wouldn't get that chance.
No, no, no, Hinata's serve actually has problems. Looking at it from another perspective, perhaps his captain's intuition was actually correct.
This guy's receiving might not be very good either; it's just that they hadn't dared to test him, Hinata performs reasonably well during normal defensive plays.
After quickly exchanging a glance with Tachikawa, Suzuki decided to focus the subsequent strategic points on Hinata.
They didn't need to gamble on anything else; they only had to bet on Hinata being unable to successfully complete his own receive-and-spike sequence.
Hinata, who had been completely startled awake by Miya Atsumu, obediently followed the movements of the Libero on the other side, making his positioning runs.
With a score gap like this, they basically wouldn't lose, Suna had even started conserving energy and slacking off. Although the possibility of a meteorite impact couldn't be ruled out, Hinata still wanted to maintain his own passion.
After all.. this was the first match of his life after high school where he played as a starter!
Of course, there will be a second, a third, even countless more in the future.
All he had to do was gradually transform the knowledge from his daily training into real combat experience and simply stand until the very end on this court.
Hinata stared at Suzuki's spike, stepping precisely to his left: "I'll take it!"
The speed of this spike was very fast, so Hinata kept his center of gravity very low.
Just as he had received spikes from other seniors before, he steadily sent the ball to the attacking line, providing good height.
Miya Atsumu had only one requirement for the Inarizaki members when it came to receiving: "high." As long as the ball was high enough, he could react to any situation.
Of course.. it's not that he can't set it if it's not high enough.
Miya Atsumu, who had originally been in the back row, quickly took a running start and jumped with a heavy thud behind the line.
Hinata himself was stunned for a moment.
Eh? Is Atsumu-senpai going to spike it directly?
No.. this should be that "fake spike, real set" from before; he should be starting his run.
As Hinata moved forward from the back row, Miya Osamu in the front row had already pulled away to Position 2 and jumped.
Rishia Heisuke, who had stepped in for Suna Rintaro to serve, was filled with confusion.
What's going on? Did Atsumu-senpai just give a signal? Why did everyone start running? Is it some kind of telepathy between the twins?
The next second, Miya Atsumu turned in mid-air, raising his other hand to set the ball to Hinata, who was also jumping from the back row.
With a loud bang, Hinata spiked the ball, sending it flying over the net to crash into the corner of the Shonan Court.
The Shonan members, who had been completely fooled by Miya Atsumu's initial feint, failed to react in time, not to mention the attack was so fast that it was impossible to keep up with.
Watching Hinata and Miya Atsumu high-five, Rishia remained in shock.
Huh? Is there some kind of private way these people communicate that he doesn't know about?
But it didn't matter; he was supposed to stay back to provide coverage anyway, so it was fine if he didn't react in time..
On the other side of the net, Kamiya, Suzuki, Tachikawa looked at each other.
Suzuki: He was very steady when receiving my serves before.
Kamiya Yuichi: So his receiving should be very impressive; he hasn't made any major mistakes.
Tachikawa: That shouldn't be right, did I guess wrong again, again, again?
Coach Hoshi, standing by the sidelines, tried to analyze the situation, but felt as if his brain was overloading.
Coach Kurosu from Inarizaki laughed, "Still too green."
Watching Shonan adjust to a defensive playstyle once again, Hoshiumi, standing by the sidelines, had a look of pure shock on his face: "What is Shonan doing?"
Hit it! Why aren't you hitting it? Keep the pressure on!
Hoshiumi expressed his amazement to the Shonan coach: "Hinata was able to receive those balls mainly because he happened to have practiced specifically with Owari-senpai, but if we keep up the pressure, we can break them.. This coach has absolutely no experience."
It's obvious he is a new coach; his coordination with the team is extremely weak, there are even issues with his own abilities.
Hirugami Yukio said, "We know his situation, but with other players of his caliber serving as benchmarks, the opponents will instinctively prepare for the most difficult scenarios."
Hoshiumi clicked his tongue lightly. "Shoyo's luck plays a huge part here; he guessed the exam topics quite accurately before the test."
So, should he really go and pray to the Inari God..
Hirugami Fuku, stroking his chin, spoke softly like a true elder in the world of high school volleyball: "But.. isn't it also quite good this way?"
Hoshiumi looked up at him, the smile on his face slowly turning into confusion: "What?"
What's so good about it? Are you referring to Shoyo's state of relying entirely on luck?
The captain of the V1 League's "King" raised a finger: "If the current number 17 feels like a rookie who just happens to say, 'Oh, I've studied this part,' then the entire process from rookie to master is turning every difficult problem encountered into something he has already studied."
The reason number 17 gives the impression of being a pro in this match is precisely because the challenges thrown at him happen to be things he already knows how to do, right?
Being able to do that is already quite an achievement.
“If you keep practicing bit by bit, enriching your experience through matches and verifying the accuracy of the knowledge you've accumulated, only then will you eventually grow into a true master.”
He looked down at Hoshiumi, whose expression had shifted from confusion to understanding: "Hikari-kun also reached where he is today one step at a time, didn't he?"
Under the gaze of the Hirugami brothers, Hoshiumi suddenly pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Fuku-san, could you repeat that? I want to record it."
Fuku-san blinked: "Which part?"
Hoshiumi didn't hesitate: "All of them."
By the time the Inarizaki match ended, Hirugami Fuku had already left the venue.
The final score was an unsurprising 2-0 victory for Inarizaki over Shonan. The point gap in both sets won by Inarizaki was quite large, with the second set's margin nearly doubling.
After the players exchanged greetings and bowed to the stands, just as Miya Atsumu was about to say something to Hinata, a certain fellow who had just made his debut today had already bolted away in a flash.
Miya Atsumu looked closely and saw Hoshiumi Hikari standing by the sidelines, seemingly waiting for Hinata.
Hinata stared at Hoshiumi in front of him with eyes full of anticipation: "Hoshiumi-senpai! How did I play in this match!"
Hoshiumi slightly lifted his chin, tilting his head to observe Hinata without saying anything directly.
Hirugami Yukio stood on the other side, his eyes full of the look of someone watching a spectacle.
The gaze made Hinata feel nervous involuntarily.
Did he play terribly? That shouldn't be it; aside from the service errors, he didn't cause any trouble.
"I was going to say it was passable.." Hoshiumi spoke slowly, pausing for a moment when he reached this part.
Hinata cut in immediately, "In other words, it's okay, right! I'll work even harder!"
That's right, that's enough for now. He had a feeling that Hoshiumi-senpai might scold him.
.." Hoshiumi remained silent for a moment, then reached out and pulled out his phone. "But someone said you play quite well.
This time it was Hinata's turn to be stunned: "Huh? Coach Aran?"
The only person he could think of was that kind-looking coach from Karasuno; although he didn't have much interaction with him, he still left a very deep impression.
"No, listen for yourself." Hoshiumi raised his hand and held the phone in front of Hinata, gesturing for him to listen to the recording himself.
On the other side, Akagi Michinari looked at Miya Atsumu, who was standing there looking completely dejected like a frost-bitten eggplant, asked in confusion, "What are you doing here? Go to the empty basketball gym next door to stretch."
Aran also passed by from behind and said to Miya Atsumu without any sympathy, "He's contemplating his life."
Suna glanced sideways at Hinata, who was holding Hoshiumi's phone and listening to something, then raised his hand to take a photo of Miya Atsumu's desolate back from his own bag.
Before leaving, he patted Miya Atsumu's shoulder. "Good luck."
After listening to that recording, Hinata Shoyo was somewhat stunned. "Hoshiumi-senpai, what is this?"
Was he talking about him? Saying that he could slowly become a true master?
Hoshiumi gave a simple explanation: "Yukio's older brother.. he's the captain of Shwaiden Adler now, he just gave you this evaluation after watching your match."
Hinata gripped his clothes, his eyes welling up with tears.
Hoshiumi-senpai, I think I just heard someone calling me the Little Giant.
Isn't that a good thing?" Hoshiumi looked quietly at Hinata in front of him. "Isn't it these three words that have pushed you.. no, pushed us, to where we are now?
It wasn't just them; from the very beginning, these three words were given to all the short Asians who have reached the international stage in sports like basketball, volleyball, badminton.
Height is not a reason for someone to stop getting stronger; it is precisely because they possess the courage and determination to break through those shackles that they have come this far, they will continue toward even higher peaks in the future.
So, I was going to say that your performance was just okay, but on second thought, being able to reach this level in such a short amount of time is truly impressive.
Hoshiumi stood there with his hands on his hips, his eyes filled with unquestionable confidence: "Hold your head high, make those who looked down on you realize their mistake deeply."
That's right, there's nothing more exhilarating than using your strength to slap those people in the face!
Unfortunately, he rarely gets to experience this feeling anymore..
Looking at the tears in Hinata's eyes, which had turned his eyes into a blurry mess, Hoshiumi let out a small chuckle: "But.. I'm definitely still a bit better than you."
Even now, even in the future.
Hirugami Yukio looked down at the two of them, a smile playing on his lips.
He didn't like volleyball, but he loved these souls on the court.
—Gentle yet powerful.
Watching Hinata rush forward after hearing a few more words from Hoshiumi, looking so excited he seemed on the verge of tears, Miya Osamu silently patted Miya Atsumu on the shoulder. "Good luck, even though you've already suffered a crushing defeat."
Miya Atsumu maintained his stubborn attitude: "Shut up, Hoshiumi and I are not in the same lane."
Miya Osamu was a bit surprised: "Then which track are you on?"