What, did you learn that from fighting him?!
Before Atsumu could even give Miya Osamu the middle finger in return, he was jolted by a cold sensation touching the back of his neck.
“Gah! What was that?!”
Hinata, who had instinctively reached out to hug him back just now, let out a soft gasp as he looked at his own hands.
Damn, he forgot that his hand had been holding an ice pack this whole time.
Osamu laughed softly. "You got it."
At the same time, Ichibayashi had also treated Kuroe's injury.
The finger he was just hit by was his left middle finger. Although it isn't the primary finger used for setting, unlike the ring and pinky fingers which only need to protect the ball, the middle finger must, to some extent, bear the responsibility of ball control.
Not to mention that the subsequent blocking and defense could very likely lead to a secondary injury; Ichibayashi doesn't have enough substitutes.. everything must be handled with extreme caution.
For Ichibayashi, who lacks a coach and has a much shallower player pool than Inarizaki, the departure of any starter would be fatal.
Returning to the court, Aran prepared to serve.
Hinata's perfect performance also earned him the opportunity to return to the front row sooner, allowing him to leave the back row to avoid being targeted by heavy spikes.
Aran patted the ball in his current approach position, his gaze casually sweeping over the scoreboard by the side of the court.
Although Inarizaki is currently leading on the scoreboard, the score difference is actually practically zero.
If either side loses focus even for a moment, they will likely be overtaken by their opponent and see the gap widen instantly.
In contrast, the upcoming rotations are all part of Inarizaki's strong period.
After his service turn ended, the Coach prepared to substitute Kumagai in for Oori Ren's upcoming service turn.
Then it was Miya Atsumu's turn to serve, rotating back to the best offensive rotation for the opening.
So, what he needs to do now is to utilize the advantage of the service turn as much as possible to gain as much of an advantage for the team as he can.
Isn't it just a Power Jump Serve?
Inarizaki's own Ace can do that too!
Immediately after the whistle blew, Aran decisively chose to toss the ball.
Great, the feel of the toss was excellent!
Aran took several large strides toward the ball to build momentum, then leaped powerfully just over ten centimeters away from the baseline.
With his arm extended, every single muscle in his body exerted its full strength, supporting Aran as he completed this Power Jump Serve that was in no way inferior to Hoshinoya's.
BANG!!
The serve was equally powerful, but Ichibayashi lacked the solid defense that Inarizaki possessed, Nasuji's diving save sent the ball flying straight away.
Fortunately, Kuroe-senpai's reaction was fast enough.
He had already started retreating the moment he saw Nasuji misjudge the ball, managing to keep up with the ball as it flew out of bounds.
As he jumped, he used his hands to bump the ball back toward the net.
“Taichi!”
This ball was too close to the net; even Hoshinoya and Ouji Son, who were still in the back row, couldn't reach it, leaving them to rely solely on Hayakawa in the front row.
The intent behind this ball was too obvious, the blocking speed from the Inarizaki side was equally fast.
Even without Hinata participating in the block, Miya Atsumu and Oori Ren alone were more than enough.
Oori pressed down from above, smashing the ball down the instant after Hayakawa's spike.
The volleyball fell toward Ichibayashi's court, but on the other side, Fujisawa Kafka decisively dove toward the ground, barely managing to save the ball.
Fujisawa Kafka called out to Kuroe-senpai, who was running back: "Kuroe-senpai!"
His set had enough height, so Kuroe-senpai could definitely keep up with it.
"Great save!" Kuroe-senpai prepared to set the ball again.
The entire counterattack process lasted only a fraction of a second; it was already quite remarkable that Fujisawa Kafka could react in time.
Next.. I'll leave it to them as my seniors.
Akiteru!
Once again, the volleyball was delivered unerringly into the hands of the Ace for a back-row attack.
Hoshinoya watched the three Inarizaki blockers lunging from both sides, noting how they subtly adjusted their momentum at the very last moment of their full-power spiking motions.
With a light sound, the volleyball flew over the net and the block, landing in the Inarizaki court.
As the ball fell, Hinata and Miya Atsumu both turned at the same time, trying to reach out and save it, but unfortunately, neither of them could touch it.
The volleyball landed softly on the floor, at the same time, a whistle blew from the sidelines, signaling a score for Ichibayashi.
Miya Atsumu frowned. "Tsk, he's suddenly pulling this stunt."
In the video, Hoshinoya always played straightforwardly and never showed any technical skill like this.
On the other side, Rei, who had entered the court after switching positions with Nasuji, also had a shocked expression: "So Hoshinoya-senpai can actually do a dump."
He actually didn't know, he had never seen it before.
Hoshinoya turned his head and stared at Rei: "It's not like I don't have arms."
As a national-level Ace, how could he not know such a basic technique?
It's not that he can't use it; he just chooses not to.
On the contrary, the feeling of bringing it out as a secret weapon at a time like this..
Watching Miya Atsumu fall to the ground while attempting a diving save, Hoshinoya grinned.
—It was absolutely exhilarating.
Akagi raised his hand: "Mine! Mine!"
Even though a blocker is responsible for the two meters behind the block, he is a Libero after all, so he should be conscious that the opponent might choose a dump when facing a three-man block.
In a volleyball match, taking the initiative too early is a major taboo among all taboos.
Facing Hoshinoya's ferocious smile and terrifying fangs, Hinata shrank his neck.
Help, why does this senpai look like a vengeful spirit coming to claim your soul whenever he smiles..
No, no, no, he looks more like a serial killer.
He was almost killed by that volleyball just now!
While Ichibayashi frequently interrupted Inarizaki's serve, Inarizaki also gave Ichibayashi no opportunity to score consecutive points.
Aside from a few rallies at the very beginning where both sides were still adjusting, no sudden scoring occurred in the subsequent exchanges.
Under normal circumstances, this is an inevitable loss of points for the serving side after a prolonged offensive fails to score.
After one ball interrupted Hayakawa's serve, Kumagai substituted Oori Ren into the game to serve.
"Nice serve, Akuma!" Hinata shouted, then fell silent to give Kumagai space to focus.
In this situation, there is only one purpose for bringing on a key server—to widen the score gap.
The situation is currently very tight; neither continuing this deadlock into a tiebreaker nor being overtaken are outcomes they want to see.
Kumagai took a deep breath, waiting for the referee to blow the whistle.
To be honest, after seeing Hinata's last play.. he was feeling a bit fired up too.
Then, let him be the one to break the deadlock!
The whistle sounded in his ears.
Kumagai spun the ball once with one hand, after confirming his condition, he didn't hesitate and went straight for a toss.
Although the Shoyo Junior High Coach recommended that he switch to learning the Jump Float Serve, his own height and strength still gave him a greater advantage in the Power Jump Serve.
However, at this moment, none of that mattered.
After all.. no matter what kind of serve it is, as long as it scores, it's a good serve.
With a loud thud, the volleyball flew over the net with almost no spin, eventually dropping sharply after crossing the three-meter line.
Nasu and Ouji, positioned in the back row, failed to receive it completely; the diving attempt was ultimately in vain.
The ball hit the ground, Inarizaki scored consecutive points.
"YES!!" Everyone from Inarizaki cheered one after another.
The long-standing deadlock has finally been broken!
Hoshiumi had a look of resistance on his face. "Dual Wield.. that's disgusting."
Meanwhile, Hirugami, who was beside him, rubbed his chin. "Speaking of which, shouldn't we also train a few more servers?"
In these recent matches, Inarizaki's substitution rate has been very high. They have utilized three or four key servers in almost every set, often even leaving them on the court to complete their rotations through the back row.
Hoshiumi fell silent for a moment. "True, after all, Meisei's serve.."
—It was a sight not to behold.
Chapter 207: Two Hundred and Seventh Fox
After the long stalemate, finally scoring consecutive points, Hinata was completely exhilarated.
Akuma! Get ten points!!
Kumagai shuddered, the ball in his hands nearly flying away: "Shoyo! Don't talk!"
He had finally managed to find a bit of rhythm, so why did someone have to go and provoke him?
Every time he says ten, it's considered good if he can complete a third of the task in the end.
Hinata glanced at Kumagai and made a cheering gesture.
Before the referee blew the whistle, he quickly turned his head, giving Kumagai no chance to protest.
Kumagai's expression was blank, for a moment, he felt a sense of frustration with nowhere to vent it.