A direct spike from the first receive?
After a brief moment of daze, Fukai quickly followed up with Midorikawa, positioning himself firmly in front of Miya Atsumu to block him.
But in the very next second, Miya Atsumu spiked the ball directly sideways.
The ball reached Hinata in an instant, in that same instant, he spiked it down.
In fact, a short nap provides limited physical recovery; it only slightly raises the stamina bar that was already running low.
However, sleep itself is a process by which the human brain filters temporary memories and consolidates them into permanent ones, which is also a necessary stage of so-called "learning."
For Hinata.. the important knowledge gained during the previous sets was exceptionally clear at this moment.
Miya Atsumu would have no problem with this kind of coordination; the key, then, was whether Hinata, who was responsible for the spike, could time it perfectly.
Fortunately, he caught it.
The volleyball slammed down at Matsuda's feet; the extreme speed of the attack throughout the play left Matsuda with no chance to react at all.
Inarizaki tied it up once again.
With everyone's judgment beginning to decline, Kumagai decisively chose a Jump Float Serve.
And just as he expected, Matsuda made a prediction, resulting in a very serious reception error.
"Opportunity Ball! I've got it!" Akagi raised his hand to signal him to receive the ball.
Kumagai stepped forward to feign a block, while Miya Atsumu had already jumped immediately after, raising his hands to flick the ball out in a set the moment he touched it.
The volleyball flew through the air on a trajectory almost parallel to the ground, soaring past Oori Ren and past Aran, who was preparing for a back-row attack, finally landing at a high point near the boundary marker.
The shortest trajectory, the fastest speed; it was a ball that Fukai could not catch.
But someone had already jumped over there, leaping above everything to catch the volleyball.
Hinata extended his arms in mid-air, his eyes fixed forward, without a shred of doubt that the ball would come to him.
The crisp sound of a hit suddenly rang in his ears, in an instant, the volleyball was struck, smashing toward the sideline of the Fukuda General court.
Bang!
Almost the very next second after the volleyball hit the floor, Hinata also landed softly on the ground.
The score on the sidelines jumped to 19:20, Inarizaki scored consecutive points to take the lead.
Nice hit, Shoyo!
Nice hit, Shoyo!!
Hinata raised his hand and gave Miya Atsumu a heavy high-five.
The one who steps forward and shoulders the responsibility of the Ace when the Ace is unable to break free..
He is the Ace's Ace!
Amatori swallowed hard in the stands: "So fast.."
It wasn't just referring to the speed of the recent attack, but the overall tempo from the moment Hinata returned to the court until now.
—They took the lead in the blink of an eye.
Iizuna said softly, "In this situation, the side that dares to attack actually gains the initiative."
Even if there were a chance to rest, Hinata's stamina likely wouldn't last long enough to give him another chance to take the court.
And Miya Atsumu knew this too; right now, he was using Hinata almost without regard for the consequences, as if he were trying to squeeze out every last bit of his value..
It's too crazy.
If they couldn't win this set, he didn't know what Inarizaki would have to use to compete against the consistently stable Fukuda General in the next set.
22:24, match point for Inarizaki.
Oori Ren's serve drifted slightly off course, failing to hit Shiratori Natsume as originally intended.
However, the overall impact wasn't significant; after all, even if Shiratori's state was disturbed, there were others who could perform the set.
Midorikawa passed the ball to Shimizu, while Kumagai, who had rushed over, raised his hands to touch the ball: "Touch!"
Beautiful! Atsumu!
As Atsumu moved forward, Kumagai pulled back from the net, the two of them arrived under the ball almost simultaneously.
Then, they swapped roles at the moment of the dig, with Kumagai performing the set.
Meanwhile, Hinata had already jumped from the back row, leaping toward the net.
He jumped so high, so high it was breathtaking.
Kazama's shock was almost enough to pierce the heavens.
This guy.. can he even still jump?!
In addition to being executed through Miya Atsumu's individual skill, Inarizaki's off-beat Quick Attack also includes the set-piece style that Suna had previously cooperated with.
With Hinata's jumping height, it was undoubtedly that kind of fixed-point play.
Having finished weighing the options, Kazama and Shimizu both rushed after him.
“Shoyo!”
Kumagai called out Hinata's name, but at the moment he tossed the ball, he changed its direction, sending it to Owari Aran.
The two, having been drawn away by Hinata's intense presence, had no chance to dive back; in the end, only Shiratori was able to chase after Aran.
BANG!!
A bone-chilling, heavy sound suddenly rang out.
Shiratori faced the ball head-on, his solo block was no match for the super Ace's full-power spike.
He was knocked backward and fell toward the ground.
In his inverted field of vision, the volleyball landed not far from him.
Without even thinking, Shiratori completely abandoned any defense for his fall and reached out his hand to save the ball.
Thud!
“Nice save!” Midorikawa quickly moved in, preparing to set.
Shiratori, who had fallen quite hard, was slow to get up, but Kuroo, who was positioned against him, had already bypassed him and rushed toward the net.
"Give me the ball!!" Kuroo, once again taking on the responsibility of the Ace, shouted for the set.
"Touch!" The blockers from Inarizaki also gave it their all to touch the ball.
With the Libero not on the court, the nearest Kumagai lunged forward to dig the ball: "Nice touch!"
Miya Atsumu shifted his position, raising his hands and preparing to jump to set the ball.
If we can't take this set smoothly, what will we do in the next one?
This question had never actually crossed Miya Atsumu's mind.
The orange figure once again filled his entire world, leaping up half a step beside him from the closest distance.
Miya Atsumu curled the corner of his mouth, his fingers pushing the volleyball toward its designated position.
——There are no "ifs."
—Inarizaki will win.
The moment before stepping into the gymnasium, Miya Osamu turned his head to look at the setting sun, which had already dyed the entire sky in shades of gold and red, but in a daze, he mistook it for the morning sun.
The long whistle brought the match to a final close.
Nice!!
Shoyo! Nice spike!!
We won! We won!
The moment he landed, his legs suddenly gave out, before Hinata could even react, he had already crashed into Miya Atsumu's side.
Supporting Hinata's body, Miya Atsumu said softly, "Shoyo, we won."
Using almost the last of his strength, Hinata raised his hands high toward Miya Atsumu: "Yeah! We're the champions!"
Miya Atsumu lowered his head, allowing Hinata to wrap his arms around his neck.
But in the next second, he suddenly felt someone patting his head.
Atsumu looked up and met Hinata's smiling face.
Before he could even react, Aran had already lunged toward him: "Atsumu—we're finally getting a championship—"
The cheers came crashing in like a tide, the near-exhaustion left Kuroo's ears ringing incessantly.
In his daze, he vaguely heard a faint sigh from the person beside him.
.. Morning dew.. has not yet dried..
He didn't hear clearly what was said before, he didn't hear anything that followed.
Kuroo raised his eyes, watching Shiratori staring blankly at the Inarizaki members, who were already huddled together in a group.
Before he could say a word, Shiratori suddenly took a sharp breath and lifted his head to look at the gymnasium ceiling.
His vision gradually blurred, the white lights blending with the surrounding beams and pillars. The stinging sensation in his nose was unmistakable, yet the tears simply would not fall.
Unable to control his steps, Kuroo reached out and grabbed his childhood friend's collar.
He forced him to lower his head, the tears that were already about to overflow suddenly spilled: "If you've lost, then just cry properly!"
Tears fell in large droplets, soaking the black uniform.
Shiratori opened his mouth, the words almost escaped him subconsciously: "I'm sorry—"
Before he could even finish his sentence, a pair of hands reached out from the side and gently pulled the two of them into an embrace.
Soft pink hair brushed against his face, feeling like clouds or sheep's wool.
It's okay, Haruko.. we'll come back here again, won't we?
The surroundings fell silent, then the sound of uncontrollable sobbing began to ring out one after another.
Having finally escaped from the embrace of his seniors, Hinata tilted his head slightly to look over, hearing Shiratori's sobbing voice.