He raised his hands to set the ball, but this time Akaashi didn't set it high, nor did he set it near the Three-meter Line; instead, he set it almost just slightly ahead of where Bokuto was standing.
The next second, under the gaze of everyone in the stadium, Bokuto took a lateral step.
He leaped into the air, raising his hand to strike the ball.
With a loud crack, it flew past the inside of the antenna and landed in a corner of Inarizaki's side.
Oori Ren dove for it but couldn't keep up, Fukurodani scored.
Bokuto was in high spirits: "Did you see that! My spike!"
Hinata's eyes widened: "Whoa, whoa, whoa—Spike!"
Bokuto-senpai can do this suddenly too! Indeed, without the conditions for a running start, this kind of ball is the easiest to hit!
After five seconds of silence, Oikawa Tooru, sitting in the stands, raised his hand to cover his face, on the other side, Iwaizumi Hajime also felt a rare sense of empathy.
—Coach Kosano is truly a handful!
After Saru, Miya Atsumu's serve ended with a point scored.
Bokuto, whose form was steadily heating up, scored a beautiful point for Fukurodani with a spike from his strongest position, Position 4, breaking Miya Atsumu's service turn.
However, Osamu's service turn didn't provide an opportunity to score.
Suna's block stopped one of Washio's spikes, but Fukurodani's counterattack still had issues since the Libero was not on the court.
Watching Suna walk to the service area once again, Amatori held his snack high above his head in the Fukurodani supporters' section on the other side.
I'll bet one stick that Suna's serve will definitely hit the eight-second mark.
Iizuna said expressionlessly, "I'm not betting with you."
Because he also judged that Suna would choose a ball that suppresses the serve time; after all, a buzzer-beater only serves its greatest purpose during a surprise attack.
Komi Haruki rubbed his hands together, staring intently at Suna on the opposite side.
Inarizaki's cover during this serve was a bit loose; although he is not tall, he could clearly see Suna's every move.
Whether it's a buzzer-beater or a play ending on the eighth second can basically be determined at the very first moment.
While the referee had not yet blown the whistle, Saru Yamato on the other side adjusted his position through several different angles, attempting to break free from the opponent's line of sight.
In this situation, Komi naturally couldn't feel the coverage from the opposing side.
—Because Inarizaki was covering for him.
Saru turned his head and made a gesture to Komi, signaling him to give some hints when Suna tossed the ball.
Komi nodded after realizing what he meant.
Anyway, as long as Suna didn't toss the ball immediately after the whistle, he was basically preparing to make his move at the last second.. right?
Suna's expression remained unchanged, he raised his hand upward immediately after the referee blew the whistle.
The sudden movement startled Komi, nearly causing him to commit a foot fault.
But it was just a feint by Suna; at the exact moment half the time had passed and it reached the fifth second, he simply raised his hand and tossed the ball up.
Aside from the two seemingly obvious choices, he chose a third option.
He completed the serve at the exact moment the opponent's guard dropped halfway through the play.
With a loud bang, the volleyball flew straight over the net in the next second.
Saru Yamato should have been able to adjust his position to perform a forearm pass after seeing the serve, but because the ball arrived so suddenly, he could only dive for it once again.
On the other side, Komi also called out urgently to Akaashi Keiji: "Akaashi!"
Akaashi frowned, could only rush after the ball again to try and save it.
Although the ultimate result was always a first receive error and unstable setting that failed to provide the Ace with enough space to spike, Inarizaki and Shirabu had different playstyles.
Shirabu relies mainly on blocking and supporting certain attacks, whereas Inarizaki.. attacks from both serve and offense simultaneously.
Amatori bared his teeth. "This serve is just too disgusting."
Suna's serve wasn't just a matter of technique anymore; it was a direct assault on one's soul..
Akaashi's brain worked rapidly, then he raised his hand to set the ball to the best of his ability, aiming directly at Bokuto Kotaro, who was jumping at Position 2.
I'm counting on you, Ace; this was the best he could do at his current stage.
Everything from this point on would have to rely on the Ace.
This serve wasn't actually that good; it only ensured basic height and position, but it had almost no spin, leaving Bokuto only that brief instant to handle it.
But it was precisely in that split second that Bokuto accurately captured the gap between Oori and Aran.
Although Rishia Heisuke had already closed in from behind, Hinata had also retreated from the other side.
But they were only first-years; he still had enough confidence to break through their defense.
After all, at this stage, no special technique was actually required; simple, pure brute force was more than enough.
He said that he wanted to become an ordinary Wing Spiker.
So he would become someone who could spike any ball and would dare to spike any ball.
As long as the setter is willing to believe in him and set the ball to him, he will do his utmost to bring scores to the team.
The heavy impact exploded like a clap of thunder as Bokuto chose the most basic line shot.
He spiked the ball down along the sideline in a mere half-second of contact time, sending it straight toward Rishia Heisuke, who had already taken his position.
Rishia knew of course that the ball wouldn't go out of bounds, so no matter what, he had to receive it.
His muscles and his wealth of experience were his greatest weapons, so he knew exactly what he had to do.
Bang!!
The ball flew up in everyone's sight, falling out of bounds with an extremely high trajectory.
But everyone in Inarizaki knew very well that the ball wouldn't travel too far and could definitely be kept in play.
"Nice receive!" Miya Atsumu shouted, then quickly adjusted his position to follow the ball.
Hinata rushed forward from the front row immediately, jumping at Position 2 with the intention of performing a quick attack.
Mokoba followed decisively, not allowing Washio to close in.
Aran and Oori were a bit slower, but the two of them worked together with Hinata to spread across the entire width of the net, maximizing the dispersion of Fukurodani's block.
While Washio and Bokuto were still observing, the ball in Miya Atsumu's hands suddenly flew out, reaching Hinata's hands in an instant.
"Over here!" By the time Mokoba called out, it was already too late; Washio and Bokuto, who jumped later, were clearly out of sync with him.
Hinata did not let the opponent's obvious mistake go unpunished, spiking the ball through the gap between Mokoba and them.
Although he didn't jump with full force, he still slammed the ball down almost vertically, driving it toward Fukurodani's three-meter line.
Komi and Saru Yamato both dove from the back row at the same time, nearly colliding with each other, but fortunately, the ball was saved.
“Nice save!” Akaashi also breathed a sigh of relief.
Compared to the previous ball, this ball had sufficient height, making it even more favorable for him to set the ball.
He shouted loudly, "Bokuto-senpai! One more ball!!"
Akaashi's intention was unmistakable, Aran and Oori Ren followed after once again.
Hinata still did not participate in this block.
With Akagi-senpai off the court, he couldn't leave Rishia to defend the entire back row alone, so in this situation, Inarizaki could only respond with a double block.
The heavy sound echoed again, Rishia stared at the ball's position, preparing to receive it once more.
But the speed of this ball had clearly increased by more than a level compared to the previous one; even though Rishia had already positioned himself in advance, his center of gravity hadn't had time to drop to its lowest point.
The sound of impact rang out once more, the ball fell out of everyone's sight toward the area outside the court.
This time, everyone knew it couldn't be saved.
The ball slammed into the railing near the third floor on the side, giving Oikawa Tooru, who was standing behind it, quite a fright.
Feeling the entire railing shake, Oikawa Tooru was still shaken: "That was an assassination!"
To ensure a clear view of the match for those in the first row of every level, the railings at Center Court were not made of iron, but were instead made of a transparent material.
That feeling of almost getting hit in the face.. was so thrilling.
Having brilliantly taken this point, Bokuto raised both hands high and cheered, "As expected—I am the st-ron-gest!!"
Akaashi also got excited, shouting, "Great spike, Bokuto-senpai!"
From the start until now, this was Bokuto's highest quality spike.
As the setter, Miya Atsumu could clearly feel Bokuto's state rising bit by bit; he estimated that in a short while, he would enter his ideal boiling state.
Bokuto could feel it himself, so he rubbed his hands together in anticipation: "One more! Just one more!"
His hands were warming up, he would definitely be able to land another great hit on the next ball.
The referee raised his hand and pointed at Bokuto.
The service turn passed to Bokuto, his opportunity to perform in the front row vanished.
This feeling of being stuck halfway, neither here nor there, made Bokuto freeze for a moment.
Wait, how is it his service turn again?!
But the facts were already laid out before him; he could no longer refuse to accept his fate.
Bokuto glanced at the significant score gap on the sidelines, quickly shifted his attention and passion toward the serve.
His serve wouldn't be any worse than Atsu-kun's!
As he walked toward the back row service position, Bokuto proactively raised his hand for a high-five, leading the Fukurodani supporters to clap in a synchronized rhythm to match his own.
As the hosts, Fukurodani had so many people that even the Inarizaki supporters, who had originally intended to draw Bokuto into their own rhythm, found themselves somewhat overwhelmed.
Amatori was practically beaming with joy: "Oh my, so even the Inarizaki supporters have a day like this!"
As he spoke, he joined the Fukurodani members in cheering for Bokuto.
“Bokuto—hit a good one—!”
Taking the volleyball from the referee's hands at the side of the court, Bokuto stood with his chest out and head held high, looking at the Inarizaki members.