However..
I bet Shoyo definitely won't play that it's that easy.
Kenma continued to add, "So, when it comes to luring the enemy deep, the Libero needs to cooperate with me."
Yaku raised his hand to make an OK sign: "No problem at all."
Isn't it just changing the decoy from himself to Kenma? He's familiar with that.
The time-out ended, Inarizaki's Miya Osamu continued his serve.
And in this interval, Coach Kurosu also substituted Hinata back into the game.
Bouncing on his toes in the back row near the sideline, Shoyo licked his lips, his gaze sweeping imperceptibly across Kenma at the net.
The whistle blew, the referee signaled for Miya Osamu to serve.
Miya Osamu didn't have Miya Atsumu's dual-wielding tricks, but when it came to serving, his threat level was also very high.
Yamamoto, the Libero for Nekoma, took a step back and lowered his center of gravity, positioning himself beneath the ball.
"Kenma!" The volleyball landed steadily near the attack line.
The time-out was also an opportunity for Nekoma to regroup and rest, so Yamamoto, who had been feeling somewhat restless, was able to completely calm down.
In the stands, Shiratori couldn't help but marvel, "That was a truly beautiful First Receive.."
“Aho's First Receive is amazing!”
Kenma leaped in place, raising his hands to set the ball to Kuroo, who was half a step behind him.
Kuroo was also quite skilled at handling the spread-out Quick Attack and the Back Quick; combined with Fukunaga's decoy on the other side and the attack launched by Yamamoto's smash from the back row, the only person who eventually managed to follow up in front of Kuroo was Oori alone.
The range of balls a solo player can limit is very small, Kuroo seized this opportunity, raising his hands to spike the ball into the corner of Inarizaki's back row.
Before Hinata could even make a move, Akagi on the other side had already shouted, "I've got it!"
Akagi dove forward, using one hand to send the ball up.
Miya Atsumu also followed up just as quickly: "Nice receive!"
"Give me the ball!" the Ace shouted, calling for the set.
In the previous few plays, Aran had already demonstrated his unparalleled dominance.
As soon as he spoke, he directly drew the attention of the Nekoma members.
The Nekoma members didn't make any reckless moves; instead, they only chased after Hinata, who was performing a back-row attack behind Position 4, the moment Miya Atsumu made the touch.
This wasn't a Quick Attack, but a very high Ball.
However, a back-row attack is inherently prone to being touched by a block due to the ball's trajectory, so Miya Atsumu also provided Hinata with plenty of space to react during the set.
Shoyo's gaze swept across the Nekoma members on the opposite side almost instantly.
The players who rushed up to block him were Kuroo and Fukunaga, while Kenma stayed in a back position and did not join the Block.
Yaku-senpai and Yamamoto-senpai each guarded half of the court, while Kashiinayuki was also on guard against his dump.
You could say he was impeccable in every sense of the word..
Hinata used his peripheral vision to look toward Kenma's position, with a twist of his wrist, he sent the ball into a short diagonal toward the other side of the net, aiming directly in front of Kenma.
Kenma's lips curled slightly into a faint smile, he didn't move to dodge, simply watching him quietly.
In the next instant, a hand suddenly reached out from the other side, firmly blocking the ball's path.
Hinata put his full strength into this spike, so the speed at which it was deflected by the block was extremely fast.
Additionally, Akagi had just performed a diving save to receive the ball, so he was unable to get back into defensive position in time.
With a loud thud, the volleyball landed on the Inarizaki court.
Hinata was completely dazed; when he landed, he almost failed to brace himself properly because he had been lost in thought.
After stumbling two steps, his significantly improved sense of balance still supported him, preventing him from falling.
Then he looked up, staring at Kuroo on the other side of the net with a look of disbelief.
He just—
Was the spike's trajectory being manipulated?
Kuroo gave him a smile, Kenma approached from the other side, giving Kuroo a light high-five. "Nice one, Kuroo."
Watching the two of them cheer, Hinata's expression gradually turned into one of frustration and madness.
Damn it, he was so focused on Yaku-senpai on the other side that he never even considered that Kenma was also a decoy!
Standing by the court, Iwaizumi Hajime felt like his brain had short-circuited: "This is a scheme within a scheme within a scheme."
Using absolute defense to lure Hinata into attacking the setter's toss, then using the setter to bait Hinata into a very risky short diagonal.
Just when everyone thought Nekoma was going to successfully defend and counterattack, it turns out they were actually going to score through a shut-down Block..
But it was true that Kuroo's solo blocking ability was arguably the strongest in high school; this kind of adaptability was indeed his comfort zone.
While Hinata was going crazy on the court, a long, drawn-out whistle echoed from the court on the far side.
Karasuno 2-0 victory, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Chapter 182: The 182nd Fox
The serve passed to Kuroo's hands.
Miya Atsumu shook his hands. "That annoying Block finally went through."
Kuroo's solo blocking ability and his ability to read the play for a Block are both excellent. Moreover, he is very intelligent and has incredible reaction speed, making him significantly better than Lev.
Especially for their Quick Attack, Kuroo is the biggest obstacle.
Lev's spike intensity was indeed higher than Kuroo's, but.. it made no difference to Inarizaki.
"I've got it!" Since the serve was aimed toward the center, Akagi moved directly in front of Hinata to receive the ball.
As Miya Atsumu moved forward, he gave a look toward Aran, who was jumping toward Position 2.
Aran quickly followed the setter's signal, taking two steps to close the distance and then rushing forward, lowering his center of gravity as he prepared to jump for a spike.
Lev's reaction was also very fast; since he was already near Aran, he immediately took two steps toward him, preparing to Block.
Kuroo, who was behind, had a premonition that something was wrong and quickly took a step toward Inarizaki's Position 4.
Given the depth of Miya Atsumu's cunning, such an obvious, directional movement was bound to be a fake.
Considering Inarizaki's current overall situation, this set should be for.. Hinata in the back-row attack.
Kenma and Fukunaga made the same judgment.
Coupled with Lev's initial misjudgment, Kenma, who had no intention of participating in the block, could only be pulled along, jumping with all his might to prepare for a touch.
Although Hinata's spike didn't necessarily need to make contact, since Yaku wasn't on the court right now, no one else could match that level of reaction speed, so it was better to at least make contact.
In the next instant, Hinata's hand, which had jumped up to spike, suddenly hit nothing but air.
The volleyball flew past him, lightly clearing the net near the antenna before smashing down.
Kuroo's reaction speed from the back row was still a bit slow; he had been defending Hinata's line shot, so his positioning was somewhat deep.
This sudden Second Attack gave him no time to react; he could only watch helplessly as the ball dropped.
The whistle blew, Inarizaki scored another point.
The score jumped to Inarizaki 11:7 Nekoma.
“This is getting tough,” Oikawa Tooru muttered from the sidelines, breaking a sweat for Nekoma.
To be honest, being able to successfully keep long rallies going multiple times against an offense of Inarizaki's intensity is already quite an incredible feat.
But Nekoma never had a chance to counterattack; instead, they were completely suppressed by Inarizaki's defense.
Even Hinata, whose receiving skills are relatively weak, was no longer a defensive gap for Inarizaki; in this situation, looking for an opportunity was nothing more than a pipe dream.
On the court, Hinata retreated to receive the spike from Kashiinayuki.
Although the set was a bit off-target, the form was standard enough that the ball was popped up directly.
"Nice receive!" Miya Atsumu praised, then raised his hands to send the ball toward Aran for a back-row attack.
Aran, having finally managed to get a touch on the ball, put all his strength into the spike, sending it straight through between Lev's arms.
Yaku, who had rushed back to cover, grit his teeth.
A spike of this level triggers a physiological fear, causing the body to instinctively perform evasive movements to avoid danger.
Therefore, Libero training specifically includes exercises designed to overcome this kind of instinct.
No matter how heavy or powerful the ball is, as the defensive pillar of the team, he cannot retreat even half a step.
Don't be afraid of the pain.
He had to hold his ground to seek the next opportunity for a counterattack for the team.
After a heavy thud, Yaku's arms took the hit head-on, his entire body was carried slightly to the side.
The heavy ball left his arms numb, his mind went blank for a moment.
Just as he was about to fall, he took a step back, using his right leg to forcefully steady his body.
“Kenma!!”
The moment the volleyball flew into the air, Kenma rushed to keep up, took two steps to build momentum, jumped, used his hands to back set the ball back into the court.
Yamamoto, who had already jumped from Position 4, leaped suddenly, raising his hands to deliver a heavy spike with all his strength.
At that moment, Hinata, who was directly opposite the ball, lowered his center of gravity and adjusted his posture, preparing to receive it.
Yamamoto's strength is very great, he is not even inferior to Aran.
However, there was still a gap in spiking technique and power delivery, which meant he couldn't fully utilize his own strength.
Even so, the speed of this spike was still too fast for Hinata to adjust his position.
In the heat of the moment, unable to adjust his position in time for the ball's trajectory, Hinata could only raise his hands and shield himself.