His own receiving skills were quite good; he had only changed his playstyle due to strategic adjustments.
Rishia Heisuke's serve, however, still had a long way to go compared to Aran's, especially in terms of power.
It was instantly neutralized by the three-person defense and first receive of Aoba.
Kindaichi, having received the ball in the front row, sent a high lob toward Hinata.
Hinata dropped to one knee, picked up the ball with one hand, then quickly stood up.
To be honest, this kind of serve, which was clearly targeting him, was quite easy to receive; at the very least, it didn't fly off his arms as frequently as a spike.
It's just that carrying out the follow-up attack is a bit difficult.
Beautiful!
Miya Atsumu took two steps back into position to prepare for the set, while simultaneously glancing up at Oikawa Tooru on the opposite side.
Want to clip his claws?
It's not that easy; after all, he has more than one trick up his sleeve!
He sent a high-arcing ball, clearly intending to extend the ball's trajectory to give Hinata a chance to spike.
But just as the Aoba members rushed toward Hinata, Miya Osamu had already moved up from the back row, jumping high behind Hinata to deliver a spike.
Hawarai, stepping back to receive the ball, lowered his center of gravity and found his position, steadily receiving Miya Osamu's back-row attack.
Nice one!
The volleyball was passed from Oikawa Tooru to Kindaichi, Kindaichi once again chose to suppress Hinata's Quick Attack.
Miya Osamu from the back row tried to dive to save the ball, but he almost collided with Hinata, causing the ball to be mishandled.
"Sorry!" Hinata apologized immediately.
"My bad, my bad." Miya Osamu waved his hand.
He had just subconsciously thought about ensuring Hinata's offensive power as much as possible, but in truth, he shouldn't have reached out just now; Coach Kurosu's intention was to let Hinata handle the pressure himself.
Miya Atsumu's expression twisted.
Is number 12's tall frame just for show? He should just focus on hitting a spike properly!
Not a shred of passion!
Kindaichi, glared at by Miya Atsumu, shrugged his shoulders and silently swapped positions with Yagihata Shu, who was stepping onto the court to serve.
What choice did he have? That spike in Position 3 was simply impossible for a human to spike; targeting Hinata specifically was a much better way to score.
Although Yagihata Shu's serve didn't have the same intensity as Oikawa Tooru's, one could already faintly see Oikawa Tooru's shadow in it.
The heavy, spinning serve successfully earned Seijo a point.
Yagihata Shu's second serve was received by Akagi, Aran's spike was touched by Kindaichi.
Across the net, Kyokutsu put all his strength into the spike.
Timing it perfectly, Akagi kicked the ball up: "Atsumu!"
Miya Atsumu quickly moved up to prepare a set: "Beautiful!"
Just as he said himself, no one could stop Hinata's momentum as he took flight.
Even if he were being watched by an opponent, he would still pave the runway for Hinata's takeoff.
The volleyball was tossed high by Miya Atsumu, falling toward the edge of the net furthest from the opposing block with a trajectory that carried just a slight arc.
It was a speed close to a flat shot, yet it carried just enough arc to hang in the air long enough at the point of contact; the entire ball's speed had been brought into a near-perfect balance under Miya Atsumu's control.
For Hinata, that position was also the furthest away, but..
That mere distance of a few meters couldn't even slow Hinata down for a single extra second.
A smile spread across his face as Hinata slightly crouched his body, the moment his feet pushed off the ground, his entire being practically launched forward.
Like a beast that had caught sight of its prey, he crossed the net and reached the volleyball almost in an instant.
Across the net, even Matsukawa was a bit dazed, feeling as if the person he had been watching had vanished in the blink of an eye.
Chasing down this ball with absolute dominance, Hinata leaped into the air, his gaze sweeping across everyone on the Aobajohsai side.
Near Watari Chikaharu's position, his pupils instantly constricted.
Although Matsukawa had lunged forward when Miya Atsumu set the ball, he couldn't keep up with the speed of the volleyball at all, being thrown back nearly half a meter by Hinata.
By the time Matsukawa jumped, the sound of the hit had already echoed in his ears.
The swing, which had become almost a blur, brought forth a powerful ball; he hadn't even clearly seen the shadow of the volleyball before it had already smashed toward him.
Hanabusa's brain couldn't react in time, but instinct had already driven him to extend his leg.
With the sound of a second collision, the volleyball flew diagonally straight out of bounds.
Finally snapping out of it, Hanabusa Takahiro shouted to the others, "Save it!!"
Oikawa Tooru even moved a step faster than his voice, rushing out from outside the court to skillfully dig the ball toward the net.
He couldn't provide a perfect set like Miya Atsumu's, no matter the circumstances, because that belonged to the realm of geniuses.
But.. even with a dig, he could still provide a set with the same quality.
Kyokutsu aimed for the ball's trajectory and leaped up with a heavy thud.
The Inarizaki members on the other side of the net moved in, forming a double block in front of Kyokutsu.
Kyokutsu did not dodge or evade, instead spiking the ball straight down, aiming directly for Kosaku's fingers.
The hit Kosaku quickly shouted, "Save the ball!"
Hinata stared intently at the volleyball in the air, decisively adjusting his running trajectory after predicting the ball's path.
The trajectory of this ball is an arc, so he only needs to intercept the straight-line distance it will pass through.
The spinning volleyball's height dropped sharply.
Realizing something was wrong, Hinata was unable to lean his weight forward in time to save the ball; he could only extend his leg in the direction he was running and kick the volleyball directly.
The Inarizaki members' cheering instantly boiled over: "Beautiful!!"
The little radish is incredibly cool!
Hoshiumi-senpai, who had just sat down in the stands, narrowed his eyes. "Wait, I thought we were watching a volleyball match?"
What's with all this kicking back and forth? Has this turned into a football match?
It would be a bit more convenient with your feet," Hirugami smiled, "we haven't even used our feet to spike yet.
Hoshiumi covered his face with his hands, feeling like it was getting a bit surreal: "Then it's turning into a different sport altogether.."
While turning while pressing his body close to the ground, Hinata used his hand to brace himself against the floor.
In less than half a second, he completed the entire process of turning around and rushed back onto the court at maximum speed once again.
Seeing him return, Miya Atsumu did not hesitate.
After jumping from outside the court on the other side to chase this ball, Miya Atsumu arched his back during his forward approach and jump, lifting his hand to send the ball flying back toward the net.
Because of the issues with the initial pass, Miya Atsumu was unable to deliver the ball quickly.
Matsukawa stared at the trajectory of the volleyball, almost simultaneously with Kyokutsu, he tracked it down beneath the ball.
But Miya Atsumu's control ensured the basic height and distance from the net, he left enough time at the contact point for Hinata to make adjustments.
Hinata rushed back toward the net almost parallel to it, after jumping at an extremely shallow angle relative to the net, he was met by the three-person block of Aobajohsai.
This ball really had no cover, so Seijo was also bold enough to add Hanabusa Takahiro.
Watching Hinata's current body orientation, Matsukawa heightened his vigilance to the maximum, guarding against the short diagonal Hinata might spike.
But this vigilance had now become the only weak point in Hinata's field of vision.
In order to be able to adjust the direction of the block at any time, Matsukawa's hands did not come down like a mushroom cap, but were more vertical.
And being vertical meant that it could be used for tooling the block.
Hinata's gaze remained fixed on Kyokutsu in front of him, but his attention had already shifted entirely to Matsukawa's hands in his peripheral vision.
His ability to stay in the air for a long time gave him more time to think, likewise, it allowed him to seize more opportunities against opponents whose hang time was not as good as his.
The moment the Aoba block began to descend, Hinata raised his hand and spiked the ball.
With a loud bang, the volleyball hit Matsukawa's fingers precisely before bouncing out of bounds.
The speed and height of this ball were quite high; it bounced directly from the court toward the second-floor stands, giving no chance for the Seijo players to save it.
The moment it hit the ground, Hinata raised both hands high: "Yes! It worked!"
Hoshiumi-senpai had always said he wanted to spike the ball into the stands so the opponent couldn't receive it, but previously, he hadn't been able to support the power of his spikes.
Now he has succeeded!
Although his progress in strength was limited, he found an opportunity to spike high-angle balls!
Miya Atsumu, who had originally intended to give Hinata a hug, looked at him with a confused expression as he stared at the stands with a silly grin: "What are you grinning at like an idiot?"
Hinata turned his head, his mouth twitching slightly despite his best efforts to suppress it; his sense of smugness and joy was plain to see.
He gave Miya Atsumu two thumbs up. "I'm just too amazing."
Miya Atsumu gave a helpless shrug. "Yes, yes, you're the best."
Hinata raised both hands toward Miya Atsumu: "Atsumu-senpai's setting is great too!"
As Miya Atsumu reached out his hand toward him, Hinata slapped it with a loud smack.
It was clear that Hinata had used a lot of force, but Miya Atsumu didn't find it particularly painful; he was just feeling a bit dazed right now.
Isn't this the time for a hug?
Catching a glimpse of the Aoba members on the other side of the net exchanging low-angle high-fives, Miya Atsumu instantly realized that something was wrong.
Wait, don't you go learning that!
But Hinata didn't give Miya Atsumu a single chance to make another request; he had already raised his hands to find the coach to claim credit, leaving not even a shred of attention for Miya Atsumu.
Looking at Miya Atsumu's inexplicably sorrowful back, Aran reached out and patted his shoulder, then extended his hand toward him: "How about we celebrate with a celebratory hug.."
After locking eyes with Miya Atsumu for a few seconds, Aran said expressionlessly, "You don't have to look at me with such disdain."