The whistle blew, Inarizaki scores.
"Nice!!" Hinata raised his hands and cheered.
Inarizaki's cheers followed immediately, shouting, "Shoyo! Shoyo! Great spike! One! More! Ball!"
Hanae dove for the ball by instinct, but ultimately failed to touch the volleyball and collapsed to the ground.
The familiar headache, the familiar pain in the arms, the familiar pain in the chest, this feeling of having blocked one shot only to have another one come immediately after..
He felt that he had become stronger and was fully prepared before reaching this point, but.. now it feels as if nothing has changed.
Yaku rubbed his chin: "Hinata's ability to play those tip balls is truly impressive."
On the opposing sidelines, Iizuna also nodded, "Hinata's advantage in his ability to find the ball has been fully utilized by this kind of play."
The speed of this attack was more than anyone could react to, leaving the opposing Libero struggling as he faced two consecutive spikes without any blocking restrictions at the start of the set.
Wakamura reached out to pull Hanae, who was lying on the ground contemplating life, back up: "Alright, get up."
Having finally figured something out, Hanae turned his head to look at Miya Osamu.
During the Interhigh, Inarizaki's lineup consisted of Miya Osamu, Aran, Ginjima; even though they lost 2-0, they didn't lose too miserably, as they were at least able to keep up the pace.
It was just that in the second set, they were made to look a bit disheveled by Inarizaki's Quick Attack.
The Haruko Spring Qualifiers were quite something this time; with Miya Osamu not playing, a little youngster was subbed in, he completely took that nauseating Quick Attack to a whole new level.
After he finally went through the grueling training to master receiving quick attacks, Inarizaki once again brought out the double quick combination of Miya Osamu and Hinata Shoyo..
Just as Wakamura-senpai was about to say something, his junior suddenly sprang up from the floor like a carp: "No way!"
Kanzaki was right; he had to cheer himself on at a time like this, so the first step was to shout it out loud.
"What?" Wakamura, who had completely failed to keep up with the rhythm, was a bit dazed. What was going on?
"I! I will never admit defeat!!" Hanae shouted.
After shouting, once everyone in the entire gymnasium turned to look at him, he covered his face and crouched down again.
Hanae, acting on impulse, felt too embarrassed to show his face, but Kanzaki became excited instead.
Ohhh! This is so intense!
What is the other side doing?
Miya Atsumu, who had taken the ball and was preparing for his third serve, was full of questions, but as luck would have it, someone from his own team was echoing his thoughts.
Hinata stared at Hanae: "I won't lose either!"
After saying that, he turned his head to look at Miya Atsumu, his eyes clearly saying, "Set for me."
Miya Atsumu remained silent, turning his head with difficulty before resolving not to look at Hinata again.
No, when he sets the ball, he has to take into account all the factors—timing, location, teamwork—he can't just give it away whenever he wants!
Moreover, to be honest, they were all startled by Hinata's ball just now; the normal procedure should have been to let Akagi receive it, or for him to set it himself to reorganize the attack.
But it was true that the ball passed right through Hinata's most comfortable hitting point; it wouldn't have been particularly surprising if he had just spiked it directly.
Taking long-term considerations into account, they would be best off winning this set within two sets; to achieve this, every single ball needs to be carefully considered.
Hinata, being conspicuous enough, is their best decoy; as long as they can exploit the opponent's habitual thinking, it will produce a sufficient effect.
Kuroo, in the stands, laughed just as much as it was difficult: "Inarizaki's offensive intensity.. is a bit ridiculous."
Compared to their only previous encounter, the difference was night and day, not to mention that the improvements in Inarizaki weren't limited to just their offense.
Didn't that little guy say? They have become much stronger in defense as well.
A low chuckle reached his ears; he turned around and saw Kenma with his eyes slightly squinted.
"What are you laughing at?" Kuroo asked him.
Kenma kept his hands in his pockets, huddling into his jacket to stay warm. "I just suddenly feel like the version update was a bit too fast."
It's so fast it feels like a boss is secretly using cheats.. However, the players trying to clear the game have also become stronger.
Using limited resources to find a way to break through a blockade—that is the true essence of the game.
The whistle signaling Miya Atsumu's serve sounded again, Kenma's voice came in at that moment: "Let's watch first, I have a few ideas."
Kuroo nodded: "Yeah, I'm leaving it to you, our brain."
But that is all in the future; their match this afternoon would be another difficult hurdle as well..
Hinata shouted, "Miya Atsumu-senpai, give us a good one!"
Miya Atsumu glanced at the back of Hinata's head, then took his position and raised his hand to call for a halt to the cheering once again.
Still six steps, still a Power Serve.
Oikawa Tooru raised an eyebrow: "Isn't he tired?"
Iwaizumi Hajime glanced at him, but ultimately said nothing.
This time, Miya Atsumu did not intentionally stall for time, but instead stepped forward to serve immediately after confirming he was ready.
An identical high toss, seemingly preparing for the same power serve as before.
With a heavy thud, Miya Atsumu leaped into the air, aiming for the ball's position and swinging his arm with all his might.
Then.. he pulled back his strength at the very moment of contact.
The volleyball was spiked straight down, then suddenly dropped after crossing the net.
—A float serve?!
Miya Atsumu landed, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
This wasn't a float serve, just a serve with a bit of topspin added on top of a light tap.
Shiratori, standing by the court, exclaimed, "Miya Atsumu's serve has already reached a level of divine perfection."
Murata in the front row raised his hands to touch the ball, but he failed to get any height on it.
On the other side, Wakamura-senpai hurriedly kept up, but he had no way to attack at a time like this, so he could only lower his center of gravity and dig the ball up.
On the wing, Tosaka raised his hand to spike the ball, but to avoid the block, it lacked its usual power.
Hinata, positioned right near where it would land, stabilized the ball: "Miya Atsumu-senpai!"
The volleyball was sent into Aran's hands once again, while Hanae's mind raced at full speed before he finally steeled his resolve.
With a heavy thud, the volleyball soared high into the air.
"Opportunity Ball!" Akagi shouted again.
Meanwhile, Hinata had already moved forward, preparing once again to coordinate a Double Quick.
But just at that moment, Miya Atsumu keenly sensed that something was wrong.
That ball seems to have.. dropped.
The next second, as the volleyball was falling toward the net, Tosaka slapped it away directly.
The volleyball flew over everyone's heads at Inarizaki, smashing into a corner of the court a considerable distance from Akagi.
Akagi dove for it, but he missed.
The volleyball rolled to the ground, Municipal Kobe scores.
The next second, everyone from Inarizaki simultaneously looked toward Akagi and Hinata.
Bathing in the gazes of his seniors, Hinata knelt down softly. "My fault, my fault—I should have stayed back to receive the ball!"
He is the Right Wing, he needs to assist Akagi-senpai with defense!
The court is so wide; Akagi-senpai definitely couldn't defend it all by himself; he was careless this time.
And Akagi, who had made a complete misjudgment and shouted "Opportunity Ball," lay on the ground, unable to get up, pretending he didn't exist.
But in the waiting area, Kita Shinsuke's gaze was incredibly sharp, staring at him as he stood up again.
Akagi and Hinata knelt together: "Sorry, sorry, we misjudged!"
That was so devious, that move by the Kobe Libero—
This is a direct hit to the heart!
Chapter 167: The One Hundred and Sixty-Seventh Fox
The opposing Libero's brain works way too fast..
Watching the two who had made the same mistake together, Miya Atsumu instead focused his attention on the opposing Libero.
Indeed, the opposing Libero is currently in the back row, so the front row can be spiked; it was a misjudgment on their part..
However, normal defensive receives are meant to absorb power and spin; who would intentionally add even a little bit of spin to it!
Thinking of a certain third-year setter who had been very close to Hanae during the Junior National Team training camp, Miya Atsumu decisively shifted the blame onto him.
Damn it, being devious is definitely contagious.
After being pardoned by Aran, Hinata got up.
His mind kept replaying that last play, there was indeed a spin on the ball that was difficult to distinguish.
Moreover, Hanae's serve was so high that it was actually difficult to see clearly from a distance.
But.. he would keep it in mind for now, the next time it appeared, he would definitely be able to distinguish it.
Pursing his lips, Hinata returned to his position and stood ready.
Wakamura, who had gained the serve for the opposing team, prepared to serve.
Watching the state of the Municipal Kobe players, who looked like they had just survived a catastrophe after enduring Miya Atsumu's service turn, Kuroo gave a strained laugh: "When it comes to serving, Municipal Kobe is at a huge disadvantage."
The serve is the most unstoppable weapon, it can help a team gain the initiative; the gap between the two sides on the court regarding serves is simply too large.
Of course, the same applied to Nekoma.
Kenma said nothing, but thinking from the same perspective and situation, he had already roughly guessed how the captain of Municipal Kobe would play.
The moment the whistle blew, Wakamura tossed the ball up.