Under Hinata's wary and confused gaze, Shiratori looked down at him, the excitement and agitation in his eyes completely impossible to hide.
Shoyo, let me see more.
Hinata pondered deeply, trying to dig up something new in his mind that could be used immediately.
Unfortunately, it seemed they didn't have much practical value.
After Shiratorizawa scored on a Second Attack, the serve passed to Hinata.
Miya Atsumu moved to the front row.
Hinata's retreat means that the pressure from Inarizaki's Quick Attack will decrease; of course, for Fukuda General's blockers, the Quick Attack will indeed become even more troublesome.
Hinata's serve has very little overall threat.
As a school famous for its solid foundation, Fukuda General was certainly well aware that some of Hinata's spectacular serves were merely the result of pure luck.
If you set aside the element of luck, the rest is nothing to be afraid of.
I'll take it!
Shiratori-senpai!
Give me the ball!!
After catching the ball, Shiratori used a backhand to set it to Fukuro, completely ignoring his own Ace's request for the ball.
The Inarizaki side quickly closed in from both sides to block, eventually managing to touch the ball.
One touch!
Atsumu!
The moment he prepared to set the ball, Miya Atsumu turned slightly toward the net while mid-air.
The ball, which had already nearly slipped from his hands and was being sent straight forward, was forcefully redirected, flying toward his back instead.
Hinata, who had already rushed over there, leaped after the volleyball; after performing a fake shot toward the short diagonal, Hinata spiked the ball toward the other side of Matsuda.
Matsuda, momentarily thrown off by the feint, quickly turned around and dove toward the ball's landing point: "Kuroo-senpai!"
"Great save!" Shiratori quickly followed up.
Iizuna felt his scalp go numb: "The setters on both sides are incredibly aggressive."
From beginning to end, they hadn't even set a single regular ball; all those various feints piled up together made him feel a headache just watching.
"So this is that thing.." Amatori organized her thoughts.
A dual-threat Setter.
With a loud bang, the volleyball was spiked by Miya Atsumu, hitting Fukuda General's block before bouncing out of bounds.
Kuroo shouted, "Save it!"
Matsuda didn't know how many times he had sprinted out, but perhaps the movement in these two sets had been too intense; when he tried to jump over the railing, a sudden loss of strength caused him to crash straight into it.
Fortunately, the guardrail was made of sponge, so he didn't end up with a bruised and swollen face.
"Nice!" Miya Atsumu pumped his fist.
Hinata's gaze, seeking credit, was already directed towards him: "Atsumu-senpai, how was my set?"
It might not have had much technical skill involved, but.. it should be worth a compliment, right?
Before Miya Atsumu could even answer, a voice cut in from the other side of the net: "That was excellent."
It was Shiratori.
Hinata chuckled, "I think so too."
Miya Atsumu reached out and hauled him back: "So you've forgotten the pain once the wound has healed, huh?"
Hinata tried to struggle for his beloved Shiratori-senpai: "Even so.. Natsume-senpai is still gentle after all, he's completely different from that delinquent senpai."
Miya Atsumu put his hands on his hips and said with a hint of helplessness, "That number 12 is just a bit silly. Shiratori-senpai.. he used to be a real delinquent."
—The kind with a really bad reputation.
Hinata jumped in surprise: "Really?!"
But Shiratori-senpai seemed very cultured, spoke very gently, appeared to have a very good personality.
And.. he could feel that Shiratori Natsume's passion for volleyball was just like theirs.
How could someone who loves volleyball that much possibly be a bad person?
As if sensing what Hinata was thinking, Miya Atsumu raised his hand to press down the hair on both sides of his head: "Think about it, that King, he is the bad guy."
Hinata nodded in agreement. "Atsumu-senpai is right."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shiratori speaking cordially with Kazama Junichi, Hinata quickly shook Kageyama's face from his mind.
—Isn't this completely different!
After Shiratori rotated to the back row, Fukuda General also entered a period of strength with three attacking points in the front row.
Regarding the movement of the wing spikers, Shiratori's movements were quite skilled, all his feints were perfectly executed, making even Suna feel a bit irritated.
Hirugami said softly from the stands, "Shiratori-senpai is still very impressive."
Hoshiumi raised an eyebrow. "That's high praise."
"Of course." Hirugami smiled.
Inarizaki's five-point lead was maintained once again, Coach Kurosu immediately had Kita Shinsuke sub in for Hinata.
Watching Inarizaki shift their tactics to a full-on defensive stance, Kiryu, who had already been subbed in, felt cold sweat bead on his forehead: "Inarizaki isn't giving them any openings at all."
To score five consecutive points against an Inarizaki defended by Akagi and Kita Shinsuke.. it would be no different from ascending to heaven.
It was exactly as Kiryu thought; Inarizaki, with all their energy focused on defense and only ensuring coverage for Aran, was exceptionally difficult to break through.
The score ended at 22:25, Fukuda General to Inarizaki, with a total score of 0:2.
"Atsumu-senpai, you played great!" Hinata raised his hand, high-fiving Miya Atsumu and the others as they walked back.
Coach Kurosu nodded silently.
Given Hinata's current rhythm of playing half a set and resting for half a set, there are no major issues overall. However, building a lead in the first half is a necessity, so we must remain vigilant against any sudden pressure from Fukuda General.
But given the rhythm and state of Fukuda General in these two sets, it is estimated that there won't be any significant changes; a team trained purely through systematic training is very difficult to break through by changing their playstyle in a short amount of time.
They, Inarizaki.. you could say they had their opponents completely in the palm of their hands.
Hinata took the initiative to suggest, "Atsumu-senpai, the second form of the Decoy Plan is incredibly useful. Let's try it again in the next set."
Unfortunately, his receiving isn't quite good enough yet, so the third form cannot be researched.
Miya Atsumu nodded. "Yeah, that Libero isn't very smart; he was being played like a fool."
—It was quite fun.
Moreover, just before Hinata was substituted out, number 5 was clearly struggling to keep up.
It wasn't just a decline in stamina; even his reaction speed had slowed down.
Moreover, for Hinata, this style of play was indeed less taxing than running for a flat quick attack or a high ball, which could significantly extend Hinata's endurance.
Near the opposing coach's bench, Coach Tsurumaru, Matsuda, Kazama were confirming the feints Hinata had used in this set.
By the noisy sidelines, Shiratori sat alone on the edge of his chair.
His slightly long hair covered his eyebrows as he lowered his head, the water bottle in his hands reflected the number 1 on his uniform.
What do you mean, an ordinary person..
In fact, he used to consider himself extraordinary as well.
His excellent height, broad frame, a mindset more mature than his peers—all of this supported him in earning that number 4 jersey when he was in his second year of junior high.
Serving as a Wing Spiker, carrying the hopes of the entire team to seize the trophy—he had experienced such things time and time again.
Cheers, shouts, hugs, encouragement.
He enjoyed that court, was once even considered a contender against those top Aces.
Because of his pride, he had a sharp personality and a poor relationship with his teachers, gradually becoming a typical delinquent at school.
Aside from his childhood friend Kuroo, who looked down on him but had to spend all day with him, the only person in the team he could actually talk to was the team's Setter.
The spring of Junior High.
Just as the cherry blossoms were beginning to bloom, they secured their final ticket to the Junior High Nationals, launching another sprint for the national championship trophy, only to be.. utterly crushed.
That block was truly high, so high it made it hard to breathe.
Whether it was the foundation of a prestigious family background or simply the blessing of pure talent, that person was clearly one grade below him, yet in terms of maturity, he was more mature than him in every respect.
Spikes were blocked, technical balls were received; from being full of confidence at the start to being utterly defeated by the end.
The moment the long whistle blew, he suddenly realized that the strong one was not him, but his Setter.
—But that person was no longer there.
He lost.
He left that stage in disgrace amidst the cries and curses of those people.
Until the day he graduated from junior high, he seemed to have hit a bottleneck, suffering defeat after defeat.
It was as if old grievances had been unearthed; his former teammates drifted away from him bit by bit, until eventually, only he and Kuroo remained.
He felt as if he had fallen into a vicious cycle; no matter how much he practiced, he couldn't find that original touch.
Perhaps.. he is just an ordinary idiot, without a strong Setter, he is nothing at all.
“And then?”
Hoshiumi looked at the person involved beside him, his eyes filled with intense curiosity.
Back in junior high, he was a ghost in the second string; he didn't understand things like this at all, let alone the grievances and entanglements between nationally renowned players.
In the stands, Hirugami rested his chin on his hand. "So.. I was a bit shocked when I heard later that Shiratori-senpai stopped playing volleyball."
But it was only a little bit; at that time, his thought was, "If you can't handle this much of a blow, you shouldn't play volleyball at all."
Hoshiumi froze for a moment. "Not playing volleyball anymore?"