Oikawa Tooru, sitting in the stands, finally managed to settle his heart, which had nearly leaped out of his throat, continued pointing at the court.
“Iwaizumi, look, look! Everyone else has cheers for their serves, but some people aren't allowed to make a single sound.”
Oikawa Tooru said it in a way that made even himself almost believe it: "If this isn't a demanding request from some minor celebrity, then what is?"
Iwaizumi Hajime finally couldn't help but speak up: "Even though I don't like the people from Inarizaki either, there's no need for you to target Miya Atsumu like this."
Mainly, Oikawa Tooru and Miya Atsumu are two of a kind in this regard, but he can find an excuse to back him up from almost any other angle.
Oikawa waved his hand. "Iwaizumi, don't worry about those details. Come and join me in talking about him."
Kawarai reached out and patted Iwaizumi's shoulder: "Give up, he's a lost cause."
Matsukawa chimed in, "Just kick him."
“Hey!!”
As Oikawa Tooru protested, a whistle sounded across the court; Bokuto was preparing to serve.
Chapter 219: The Two Hundred and Nineteenth Fox
What would Bokuto's serve be like?
Hinata looked up and stared directly at Bokuto, who was adjusting his touch on the opposite side of the net.
He recalled the video in his mind and the matches he had watched closely from the sidelines before.
It is very similar to Aran-senpai, but not quite the same; Bokuto-senpai's serve gives one a feeling of.. lightning-fast thunder.
In terms of precision, Bokuto-senpai is incredible, his ability to vary the trajectory between line shots and cross shots is just as impressive.
Although in his current role in this match he doesn't need to Receive Serve, he also has to think about what he would do if he were in that position.
In the previous play, Bokuto-senpai's condition was very poor, so his performance was quite unsightly.
And this play right now was a great opportunity for him to test his judgment.
As the serve timer reached the five-second mark, Bokuto, who had finally adjusted his touch, raised his hand and tossed the ball into the air.
Hinata's position was very marginal, so his line of sight was practically unobstructed.
In my field of vision, Bokuto-senpai jumped from the baseline, his arm drawn back in a standard motion before swinging forward to spike the ball.
This ball had a bit of side spin; combined with the orientation of his body at the moment of the spike, the ball should have landed closer to Heisuke's side..
The next second, the ball passed through the center near Hinata's side, curving sharply to land in front of Miya Atsumu, near Akagi.
Hinata's expression froze, a strange sense of guilt welled up within him.
Bad news, he misjudged it completely.
Good news, he isn't the one receiving this ball.
Akagi, who was responsible for receiving this ball, was quite reliable; knowing he likely couldn't control the speed of the ball, he decisively chose to go for a diving save.
He threw his whole body under the ball, the ball flew up steadily after making contact with his arms.
“What a great first receive!” Miya Atsumu shouted.
Ignoring the previous unknown, poor judgment, Hinata quickly rushed past him under Miya Atsumu's instructions, running toward the Position 4 marker on the other side.
Aran had also moved from his original position toward Position 2, the two of them performed a very standard front cross in front of the setter.
The two of them jumped almost simultaneously; it wasn't a quick attack and a standard strong attack with a time difference between them, but rather two wing-based quick attacks.
Miya Atsumu's ball also flew out at this moment, landing in front of Aran.
Because Inarizaki played a Quick Attack tactic, Fukurodani's block was forced to split in two to chase Hinata and Aran on both sides of the net.
There was only Saru Yamato in front of Aran at this moment; Washio rushed over, but he couldn't keep up with the speed of Miya Atsumu's set.
Washio leaped diagonally, stretching his body as much as possible to attempt a touch.
Since it was just a flat Quick Attack, it naturally lacked height, since he had been running and possessed some initial momentum, he was able to keep up.
With Washio moving in to restrict the ball's path, Saru Yamato's hand touched the ball: "Touch!"
Komi Haruki quickly followed up: "Great touch!"
Even though the speed of the ball itself wasn't significantly reduced, it was enough for him.
He only needed to provide a ball with sufficient height and less spin, leaving the rest to Akaashi.
Watching the ball fly up, Akaashi also breathed a sigh of relief: "Nice ball!"
The frequent saves from the opening until now had left him physically and mentally exhausted, but this High Ball actually provided him with a sense of comfort, almost giving him a chance to "catch his breath."
“Ball to me!!” Bokuto shouted for the set.
From the start until now, he hasn't even performed a proper back-row attack; the only one that could remotely be considered decent was that spike from a standing jump.
The conditions for his attack on this ball were excellent, no one was better suited than him to spike it.
Glancing sideways at the block from Inarizaki, Akaashi did not hesitate, raising his hands to set the ball to Bokuto-senpai.
Please! Bokuto-senpai!
Inarizaki's overall blocking strength is quite high, Washio is being marked so closely that he has almost no opportunity to spike.
Mokoba and Saru cannot forcefully break through a defense like Inarizaki's.
Relatively speaking, relying on Bokuto's attacking level to perform a back-row strong attack is the most likely way to break the deadlock.
The back-row attack wasn't fast enough, but.. it was heavy enough.
BANG!!
The moment the volleyball slammed into the block, the deafening impact was so intense that even Hinata, who wasn't even touching the ball on the other side, felt his eardrums ache.
Oori's expression didn't change much; he simply shouted, "Touch!"
The volleyball continued to smash toward the Inarizaki back row at an extremely high speed.
Rishia Heisuke's pupils contracted as he quickly stepped forward, getting underneath the ball to receive it.
That kind of ball speed.. he has already adapted to it!
"Nice receive!" Miya Atsumu called out again.
Coach Unabara, standing by the sidelines, couldn't help but nod. "This Inarizaki number 14 freshman.. plays very steadily."
The primary responsibility of a Right Wing Spiker is to assist with defense, for Rishia Heisuke to be this stable and brilliant in his receiving during his first year is quite impressive.
Although there are many small flaws, these are all things that can be improved through subsequent training.
For a rookie defender, the most touching thing about Rishia Heisuke.. is that relentless spirit to "dare to receive."
"Atsumu-senpai!" Hinata shouted Miya Atsumu's name as he landed after assisting the block.
Miya Atsumu chased down the ball, leaping into the air on one foot and extending his entire body as much as possible with one hand, attempting to intercept the ball at its highest point in mid-air.
Although the ball's speed was very high, fortunately, he succeeded.
The moment his right hand touched the ball, he changed its trajectory and spin, sending the ball flying toward the highest point above Position 2 near the net.
Hinata, who had been prepared long ago, took a large stride forward, his entire trajectory forming a beautiful arc before taking one last half-step at the net.
Thud.
In Washio's field of vision, Hinata soared to a terrifying height in an instant; he jumped along with him, barely managing to touch the area near the ball's hitting point.
But.. it wasn't enough.
His maximum reach when jumping from a standing position was only about 3.2m, but Hinata's contact point for this ball was above 3.3m.
Even though Miya Atsumu's ball wasn't particularly good and had a very short hang time, it was still enough time for Hinata to spike a line shot with an adjusted trajectory.
Bang!
The ball was smashed down from above by Hinata; at 1.6m, he completely cleared the 1.9m opponent's block.
The volleyball plummeted toward the ground at a very sharp angle, smashing down near the Fukurodani three-meter line.
The whistle blew, Inarizaki scores.
Washio's face was full of shock, he couldn't snap out of it for a long time as he stared at Hinata, who was descending on the other side of the net.
He knew this Little One could jump very high; Hinata had played High Balls before as well.
In the previous few instances, he had managed to create enough distance to time his approach and keep up, but this ball came too fast and too suddenly, even more terrifyingly, its height was still terrifying.
This was the first time in this set that he had faced Hinata's High Ball during a normal block.
—It was simply too incredible.
Bokuto's eyes widened: "That's amazing!"
That contact point.. it's almost as high as Hinata himself is tall!
No, no, no, even higher?!
And the main point wasn't even just that; the way number 14 just received that ball was also quite decisive and beautiful.
After searching through his mind for the right words, Bokuto spoke up: "The new freshmen are incredible!"
The new generation is truly formidable.
White Bird rested his chin on his hand, his gaze toward the court filled with admiration.
He tilted his head slightly toward his childhood friend, who was about to throw himself into the embrace of soccer: "I think that number 14 is going to become even better than you, Rei."
Kuroo crossed his arms over his chest. "That's a certainty. I couldn't act so fearless back in my first year."
Shiratori, who had slacked off for an entire year in his first year, felt offended again, but he said nothing.
Kuroo glanced at the score on the large side screen.
It really was the Finals; the last time two first-years were seen on the court together was during last year's Itachiyama.
The duo of Komori and Sakusa was enough to shock the entire volleyball world at the time.
But they were already famous players back in Junior High, whereas Hinata and Rishia on the Inarizaki court..
It feels like they just popped out from between the cracks of a rock.