Finally, he exhaled softly and turned his head toward Kuroo in the waiting area, the two quickly exchanged a glance.
As expected..
Is it still going to be like that?
Chapter 177: The One Hundred and Seventy-Seventh Fox
At this stage, it has become very obvious that Inarizaki has shifted toward an absolute core of Quick Attacks.
Because of the inducement and pressure from Nekoma, they gave up on the Ace as a strong offensive point and transitioned into a state where Hinata and Miya Osamu conducted joint quick attacks.
Of course, this does not mean that Nekoma can stop controlling Aran.
Because if they let their guard down, Inarizaki could reactivate this killing machine at any time.
For Nekoma, who has a top-tier Libero, the threat level of a Quick Attack is, to some extent, less than an Ace's spike. After all, Yaku himself has a relatively weak physical foundation; once the power of a spike exceeds a certain threshold, a small-statured Libero who hasn't stabilized himself can easily be knocked aside by the ball.
However, there was no sign of panic on Nekoma's side; in fact, they were carrying out their process of defending and then counterattacking with an unhurried composure.
"Nekoma is really getting into the zone," Iizuna-senpai said, standing by the court with his arms crossed.
For Nekoma, this kind of slow pace was probably the most comfortable state.
On the contrary, being crushed by Inarizaki's strong attacks during the opening is a much more difficult state to handle; after all, once the tempo picks up, it becomes very hard to find an opportunity.
"After all, it's the defensive Nekoma," Amatori said noncommittally.
After scoring a point through Fukunaga's tooling the block, the ball turned to Fukunaga Masahira for his serve.
"Nice serve!" the people in the Nekoma waiting area shouted.
Watching Lev raise his hand to perform a serve cover at his side, Kumagai, sitting beside Coach Kurosu, rubbed his chin. "I don't know if it's just my imagination, but that grey-haired tall guy, has he become more obedient?"
He remembered that when he watched the Nekoma match tapes yesterday, Lev played in a complete mess during Nekoma's match.
Even though there has been improvement since Yaku left due to injury, he still cannot reach the state of being able to coordinate with others for a collective defense like he does now.
Sitting on the other side, Suna Osamu nodded. "Yeah, their tactical execution has improved."
As a Middle Blocker in the same position as Lev, he could naturally see things even more clearly.
Most of the time, Lev actually acts based on the movements of the people around him or instructions from Kuroo in the substitution area.
To put it nicely, he has strong tactical execution, but to put it bluntly, it means he lacks a mind of his own.
So.. theoretically, you just need to treat Lev like a slightly taller, but less skilled, Kuroo.
Kashiinayuki spiked the ball toward Hinata's position, who was not participating in the block.
On the other side, Akagi was defending, Hinata's position was indeed the best attacking point.
However, Hinata was no longer the Hinata he used to be; this kind of ball was not difficult for him to receive.
After lowering his center of gravity, Hinata controlled his arms and actively moved toward the ball.
“Atsumu-senpai!” he called out to Miya Atsumu, a happy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth at the same time.
He received it!
Moreover, it was a perfect receive, his condition remained completely unaffected.
This also means.. he can participate in the subsequent attack.
The moment Lev looked over from across the net, Hinata had already stepped back to create enough space for his approach.
It was still a standard full-court approach, charging from his original Position 4 over to Position 2, preparing to execute a Flat Quick Attack.
Watching the moment Miya Atsumu arched his back. Kuroo, on the court, gave instructions at the same time.
After catching the instruction in his peripheral vision, Lev immediately led the charge toward Hinata, jumping alongside Yamamoto to prepare for the block.
But at that moment, Kuroo's mind buzzed as he finally saw the entire trajectory of the setter's pass.
No, this wasn't a normal Flat Quick Attack.
The angle of Miya Atsumu's ball was even higher, with its highest point further from the edge of the net, leaving a full body's length of distance from Hinata's maximum hitting point.
A set like that couldn't possibly be accompanied by an ordinary Quick Attack, but rather..
The Spiker's individual time difference.
Kuroo had no time to give Lev any more instructions, as Hinata's approach had already come to an abrupt halt before the net.
Unable to stop at all, Lev had already jumped up foolishly, he took Yamamoto from the other side up with him.
Looking down at Hinata, who was still standing there motionlessly, Lev was completely stunned.
Huh? Not jumping?
Just as Nekoma's block was about to descend, Hinata finally jumped up unhurriedly.
Unlike blocking against conventional teams, blockers like Lev Haiba and Suna Osamu can completely rely on their physical advantages to perform a second jump.
Therefore, even with an individual time difference, one cannot wait until the opponent has completely begun to fall before jumping; instead, one must feel that the opponent is about to fall and jump then, so as to completely prevent the opponent from performing a second jump to catch up.
With a loud bang, the volleyball was spiked with immense power, crashing into Nekoma's backcourt.
Yaku dove sideways, rolling and using one hand to dig the volleyball at the same time; the whole process was extremely extreme.
Moreover, because Hinata's spike had such extreme speed, he had no chance to further dissipate the force to adjust his angle.
Kenma!!
Watching the ball fly off course, Kenma took a few quick steps to follow it.
This time, everyone on the sidelines was shocked.
"Nekoma Setter actually moved? He ran?!" Amatori was dumbfounded.
He once thought that Kenma had some problem with his legs, even lamented to Kazama about how Kenma's spirit remained strong despite his physical limitations.
As it turns out.. it seems he's just too lazy to run?
Nekoma just spoils him like that?!
The volleyball flew toward Position 2, having already received instructions, Lev rushed forward in two steps and jumped at the edge of the net.
Watching Lev cross the nine-meter distance across the net so easily, Hinata felt envious.
Long legs are truly amazing! He has to take an extra step himself!
But no matter how long his legs are, he still has uncoordinated upper limbs responsible for dragging him down.
Lev once again performed a feat of missing the volleyball entirely.
Watching the volleyball peek over the top of the net, Hinata, who had already moved to this side to block, jumped up on one foot.
With a loud thud, Hinata spiked Lev's failed spike back across the net.
The volleyball hit the line right in the corner of the court, ruled in by the referee, Inarizaki scores.
Watching Hinata's triumphant figure with hands on his hips, Miya Atsumu couldn't help but chuckle.
For some reason, he looked up and gave Kenma a thumbs up.
Nekoma, that was a great set.
Kenma's expression twisted instantly.
—This guy!!
Oori Ren serves.
And just as he stepped up to the service line, a prompt sounded from the sidelines, signaling a substitution for Inarizaki.
Kumagai Kuniharu was replaced by Oori Ren, who stepped onto the court to serve.
“Dual Wield,” Yaku said, turning his head, “It's impossible to say; it depends on reaction speed.”
Fortunately, Kumagai was at a mediocre level with both types of serves, so they weren't difficult for him to handle.
Kumagai naturally knew this as well.
He understood Yaku's terror deeply and regarded him as an even stronger Libero than Komori.
After all, when it comes to stability, Yaku's ability to keep the setter almost completely immobile is simply terrifying.
So.. he had no intention of targeting Yaku at all.
After a brief moment of thought, Kumagai delivered a float serve toward the direction furthest from Yaku.
“I've got it!” Kashiinayuki shouted.
Everyone on Nekoma is skilled at receiving, as a third-year Wing Spiker, his receiving skills are second only to the Libero within the team.
A mere float serve of this level is nothing to mention as long as one can judge the landing spot correctly. Therefore, from the very beginning, it wouldn't have mattered which direction Kumagai hit it; the result would have been about the same.
The volleyball flew steadily into the air, landing right above Kenma's head.
Kenma jumped in place, turning and sending the ball toward Fukunaga Masahira.
Thud.
The volleyball was lightly tapped over the net by Fukunaga, smashing down in front of Hinata.
Hinata maintained his stability once again, receiving the ball, then retreated to prepare for an attack.
Kenma let out a soft breath.
How do you capture a cunning and powerful beast?
Kenma raised his head; having avoided his opponent's gaze from the very beginning, he was now staring directly at the center of the Inarizaki court.
Those exposed, feline-like sharp eyes reflected the orange figure that had already taken flight.
Kenma, in a good mood, curled the corners of his mouth.
At a signal from Kuroo on the coach's bench, Lev and Yamamoto jumped at the same time.
It looked like it was blocking Hinata head-on, but in reality, it had accurately predicted the trajectory of his spike the moment Hinata adjusted his spike.
Feeling the impact of the ball against his arms, Lev's eyes widened.
Kenma was right.