"Yeah!" Hinata responded.
—The frequency of tips shouldn't be too high; could a short diagonal achieve the same effect?
A whistle blew at the sidelines as number 3 Kumagai replaced number 10 Suna.
Seeing Kumagai come up, Hinata, who thought he had already finished talking to Miya Atsumu, bounced over excitedly. "Akuma! I was telling you.."
Miya Atsumu, who had just intended to put his arm around his shoulder to discuss the upcoming matters, froze, his hand suspended in mid-air, unsure of where to place it.
Suna Rintaro looked at him, raising a hand to pat his shoulder. "Keep at it."
At this moment, Kumagai felt as if a mountain were pressing down on his back.
Even though he felt that he shouldn't fail even if he just performed a normal jump float serve, the key problem was that Coach Kurosu had given him a very serious task.
Although Kumagai knew it was likely just a joke from the coach's momentary burst of enthusiasm, he couldn't help but watch as everyone his age took turns showcasing their brilliance on the court..
As expected, there was still a shameful sense of unwillingness.
Hinata said something to him excitedly.
But Kumagai didn't actually hear him clearly; at this moment, he was only focused on Miya Atsumu's eyes behind him, which were flashing warning signals.
Help, what is Atsumu-senpai trying to do now?
Is he really going to let him score ten points?!
Avoiding Miya Atsumu's gaze, Hinata caught the volleyball that Kumagai had jogged back to him.
Hinata said expectantly, "Give me a good serve!"
Kumagai laughed quite painfully: "I'll try.."
His gaze swept across everyone on the court, then he looked at the positioning of Karasuno.
The Fukurodani side must have known about his jump float serve, so their receiving formation was positioned very far forward to guard him strictly, making him feel momentarily as if he had nowhere to strike.
Right at that moment, Coach Kurosu's words from before the match rang in his head.
Even if a jump float serve can't score, you have other ways.
Other ways, other ways..
Kumagai's brain worked at high speed, until he saw the back of Miya Atsumu's head in his field of vision.
Something connected itself in his mind, forming a line that pointed toward the final answer.
The whistle blew.
Taking a deep breath, Kumagai tossed the ball up almost immediately.
The moment he jumped, not only was Coach Kurosu stunned for a moment, but the members of Karasuno on the other side of the net all experienced a simultaneous sense of confusion.
BANG!!
Accompanied by a heavy sound ringing in his ears, Kamibayashi began to retreat in a disheveled manner.
Wait, wait, wait, this can't be right.
Kumagai's serve was a jump float, but this ball—
It was a truly powerful serve!
Kamibayashi's reaction was still a bit slow; Kumagai's serve had already landed near the baseline before bouncing high into the air, as if it were about to fly into the clouds.
Kumagai's face was filled with uncontrollable excitement.
Amidst the cheers of the Inarizaki supporters, he clenched his fists. "Yes!!"
As expected of the Coach! It really is like that!
He said the coach wouldn't say a single word of nonsense; those instructions were actually hints for him to use Dual Wield!
Kurosu Masamune, who had actually intended to have Kumagai coordinate the subsequent attack, was stunned for a few seconds, before crossing his arms over his chest as Coach Omimi looked over.
The mysterious Coach Kurosu explained, "It's normal. Kuniharu started out practicing regular jump serves; he changed to a jump float later after taking advice from his junior high coach."
Moreover, in terms of power testing, he is the best among this batch of freshmen, the quality of his power serves will not be too low.
Hoshiumi was bewildered.
Kamibayashi was puzzled.
What, has Dual Wield become a Setter's essential skill for Inarizaki?
After the ball was returned by the person from Fukurodani, Kumagai, who had completely regained his confidence, returned to the serving position.
Great, he's going to get an ace right now!
Ahead, Miya Atsumu rubbed his chin.
If Kumagai could use Dual Wield right now, he could actually have Kumagai practice topspin serves before he graduates..
If he could master the Triple Wield, then even if there were flaws in his own skills as a Setter, he could make up for part of them through his serves..
No, no, no, even the setter needs to be strictly supervised by the coach.
Anyway, if he's not in the starting lineup at this stage, then he'll just have to train like hell.
—After all, he couldn't let Hinata keep spiking those terrible balls once he graduated.
At this moment, Kumagai, who was preparing to serve, had no idea that his fate for the coming year had already been decided by Miya Atsumu; he was merely laughing foolishly at the sight of Karasuno over there cautiously adjusting their receiving lineup.
Let his jump float serve say hello on the second ball.
Author's Note:
Kumagai, a Setter whose presence is as powerful as his name.
Karasuno, a testing ground that inexplicably tasted every one of Inarizaki's new products.
Meanwhile, Itachiyama was still signing in.
Chapter 96: The Ninety-Sixth Fox
Kamibayashi Keiichiro felt like he had a massive headache right now.
A large part of the reason he hated Miya Atsumu's serves was his Dual Wield, which to a great extent interfered with their initial positioning.
But after playing against Inarizaki so many times, Miya Atsumu's serves actually follow a predictable pattern.
That jump float or power jump serve from Number 3 wasn't actually that high in quality, but.. it leaves you completely baffled!
On that last play, Kamibayashi had the feeling that the opponent's move seemed like a sudden, improvised decision.
The whistle blew, Kumagai raised his hand to toss the ball, maintaining a rhythm that gave his opponents no time to react.
If he wanted to score against Karasuno's defense, he would have to maximize the deceptive nature of his serve.
The moment Kumagai jumped, Kamibayashi and Hoshiumi decisively stepped forward from the other side of the net.
—There was no doubt that the angle of this spike was a jump float serve.
"I've got it!" Kamibayashi raised his hand to touch the ball, but because there was still a positional difference, he failed to handle the ball properly.
On the other side, Hoshiumi chased after it, using his hands to bump the ball toward the net: "Yukihito!"
Hirugami Yukio followed up, jumping to spike under the watchful eyes of Oori Ren and Kita Shinsuke.
In a matchup like this, even the smallest mistake can become a vulnerability, let alone this serve, which was poorly executed.
Oori Ren did not miss this opportunity; he lunged forward and intercepted the ball mid-air.
The volleyball was blocked back into the court, but Hoshiumi reacted incredibly fast, stepping forward and using his foot to cushion the ball.
"Nice save!" Suwa breathed a sigh of relief, then chased after the ball.
The height of the ball was sufficient, the distance was something Suwa could cover, so he sent the ball directly to Hakuma Mebuki, signaling him to perform an overhand spike.
Knowing that Hakuma Mebuki was extremely unfamiliar with various technical balls, Oori Ren decisively stepped away from the net and used his palm to touch the ball's path the moment Hakuma Mebuki spiked it.
Touch!
"Nice!" Miya Atsumu shouted, then quickly made a hand signal behind him.
Kumagai froze for a moment when he saw the hand signal, but he still moved forward with Hinata from the other side to follow up.
Aran lowered his center of gravity and received the ball, sending it forward.
At the same time, Miya Atsumu and Kumagai arrived near the attack line almost simultaneously, with Kumagai and Hinata also jumping from behind the three-meter line.
Hirugami narrowed his eyes.
Who was Miya Atsumu going to set the ball to? Or was he planning to go for a Second Attack?
The next second, his gaze, which had been following the ball, suddenly noticed—Miya Atsumu did not jump at this moment.
The volleyball flew over his head and landed in the hands of Kumagai, who had jumped after the ball crossed the three-meter line in the center.
Is he going to spike it directly?!
Hakuma Mebuki was startled. Lacking sufficient experience, he rushed toward the center, moving to the opposite side of the marker at Inarizaki's Position 2, jumped, preparing to block.
“Mebuki!” Hoshiumi and Hirugami shouted Hakuma's name almost simultaneously, but it was already too late.
With a loud bang, Kumagai, who had forced himself to turn mid-air, sent the ball toward Miya Atsumu, who was jumping at Position 4.
Facing only Hirugami's lone block, Miya Atsumu decisively hit a sharp cross-court spike.
Kamibayashi lunged forward, barely managing to save the ball.
Realizing his recklessness, Hakuma also hurriedly composed himself and retreated, preparing for the follow-up attack.
Hoshiumi, attacking from the back row, controlled the spin to produce a beautiful topspin, forcing the ball to land in Inarizaki's front court.
Kita Shinsuke, who had not participated in the block, dove straight forward, using a diving save to keep the ball alive: "Kuniharu!"
Kumagai, the setter from the back row, stepped forward, aiming for the ball's trajectory to prepare to set it with his hands.
As Kita Shinsuke retreated to the very back of the center to prepare for follow-up defense, Hinata and Aran had already started sprinting from both sides of the back row, while Oori Ren and Miya Atsumu positioned themselves on the left and right of the center, ready to attack.
—Are all four offensive points moving forward at the same time?
Hirugami stared intently at Kumagai's movements, preparing to wait for his set.