This guy.. really has no self-awareness at all.
After two seconds of silence, Miya Atsumu asked out of the blue, "Is Bokuto-senpai cool?"
Although Hinata didn't know why Miya Atsumu had suddenly asked that, he still nodded. "Very cool."
Miya Atsumu pressed further, "Then, is the Ace cool?"
Speaking of which, Hinata became incredibly excited: "Even cooler! Bokuto-senpai's Ace is super, super cool."
Miya Atsumu looked down at Hinata in front of him, his tone certain and full of trust.
Now you're our Ace, aren't you?
The moment he heard those words, Hinata froze.
His heart rate suddenly accelerated, he suddenly felt his face getting a bit hot.
But the constant symphony of the Inarizaki supporters in his ears forced him to forcefully cool himself down.
Hinata looked back at Miya Atsumu: "Atsumu-senpai, I'm happy that you're encouraging me, but this isn't the time to let emotions get the better of us."
He isn't Suna-senpai, who can manipulate people's hearts, so no matter how much he tries to incite him, it really won't work.
He won't be fooled!
Praising him won't help!
Miya Atsumu shrugged. "I'm not being emotional; I'm making a formal proposal."
Aran took a sip of water and looked at the two of them with a somewhat strange expression. "That's rare.."
Miya Osamu, who was still handing out towels to the members, asked in confusion, "What?"
He only looked away from Miya Atsumu for a moment, so what was wrong now?
Aran rubbed his chin slightly. "This time, it's actually Atsumu instigating Shoyo."
Usually, Shoyo is the one in that role, egging Atsumu on to try more tricky and dangerous things.
So.. isn't anyone going to step in and pull the brakes on these two?
Although he didn't care that much about the identity of Ace, it was obvious that Miya Atsumu's thoughts were far more dangerous.
—He was a little worried about his own personal safety and mental and physical health.
Listen to me," Miya Atsumu said, reaching out to pat Hinata on the head, "you don't actually need to do anything special, you don't even need to think about what exactly you're supposed to do.
You just need to keep attacking, over and over again.
Hinata blinked in confusion, but ultimately nodded in agreement with Miya Atsumu's proposal: "I understand."
Alright, he could certainly understand that.
When it comes to attacking, he would do his absolute best.
Miya Atsumu had a beaming smile, his entire being radiating a sense of satisfaction.
Suna silently stepped back two steps, moving away from Miya Atsumu.
Atsumu didn't care that his classmates were collectively moving away; he was simply visualizing how he would play in a moment.
Although Hinata himself didn't know what to do, the truth was that this had long been etched into his very bones.
As long as he plays normally, he is already able to attract the attention of the entire crowd.
For a player of Bokuto's type, Hinata is simply a natural catalyst.
Chapter 220: The 220th Fox
Watching the match on the court gradually reach a fever pitch, the people in the stands were a bit bewildered.
Amatori looked completely bewildered. "I can understand Fukurodani wanting to catch up on the score as quickly as possible, but why is Inarizaki playing so aggressively too?"
It wasn't that Inarizaki was doing anything specific, but rather that even with a large lead in score, Inarizaki maintained that high-intensity offensive playstyle.
You have to understand that previously, as long as Inarizaki had a lead of more than two points, they would start switching to a more stable, defensive playstyle to protect their lead.
Iizuna speculated: "They'll want to end this set as quickly as possible, since they'll have to play at least five high-intensity sets."
With Fukurodani's consecutive scoring streak increasing significantly, the score gap between the two sides widened instead of narrowing.
It only meant that Inarizaki was playing more aggressively and at a faster pace.
With Bokuto's beautiful back-four spike, the score jumped to Fukurodani 17:23 Inarizaki, Fukurodani regained the serve once again.
Saru Yamato stood firm at the baseline, watching the Inarizaki members on the opposite side with focus.
His serve was only at an acceptable level, but the current positioning of the Inarizaki back row was actually quite easy to target.
Hinata and Aran are both in the back row, so at least one of them can be targeted through specialized pressure.
That Number 14's serve and receive skills are both quite good, but from start to finish, he hasn't managed to execute any particularly eye-catching spikes during his attacks.
Relatively speaking.. suppressing Hinata offers the highest return on investment.
Having made up his mind, Saru Yamato tossed the ball up the moment he had adjusted his touch.
Hinata could certainly feel himself being targeted, but he did not retreat in the slightest.
Aran-senpai once said that a true Ace must be able to both attack and defend.
The speed and spin of this ball weren't particularly strong; it could be saved with just a single diving save.
“What a great first receive!”
Miya Atsumu took two steps and jumped, performing a fake Back Set before controlling the ball to drop just behind him.
Suna, who had originally prepared to spike a short diagonal, twisted his waist the moment he saw the Fukurodani block closing in, forcibly changing the ball's trajectory to spike it straight down a line.
But Komi Haruki had anticipated this and moved to follow, receiving the ball steadily: "Akaashi!"
Give me the ball!!
The Ace's shout echoed throughout the entire gym, unquestionable and impossible to refuse.
The sound of the final step hitting the floor was incredibly heavy, in that same instant, Bokuto's broad body soared upward from the ground.
He drew everyone's gaze, gathering the heavy expectations of everyone present.
—Like the rising sun.
Miya Atsumu and Suna quickly kept up, joining Rishia from the other side to block Bokuto.
A powerful aura descended from extremely close range, creating a sense of suffocation that made one feel as if they couldn't breathe in a daze.
Hinata lowered his center of gravity, staring with extreme vigilance at Bokuto's movements.
With a three-man block, Akagi-senpai was preventing Bokuto-senpai from playing a tip to the front court, while Aran-senpai was responsible for covering the short diagonal in the back row.
His task was to chase down the off-court tooling the block and the parts that Aran-senpai couldn't cover.
This situation right now..
Suddenly, an incredibly sharp gaze was cast upon Hinata, dazzling like the most scorching sun at high noon.
He slightly raised his head, meeting Bokuto's eyes, which were as sharp as an eagle's.
But in the next instant, that gaze abruptly shifted away.
In that split second of a chill running down his spine, Hinata's body moved by instinct.
The heavy sound of the spike exploded in his ears, in the next second, the ball passed through the entire Inarizaki block and appeared on the other side.
—A short diagonal with an extremely narrow angle against the net.
Miya Atsumu's expression was grim.
The current situation has actually become somewhat out of control; Bokuto's state is very stable, he is very calm and rational.
Of course, he was also relieved that he had rejected the others' proposals to play more conservatively.
Given Bokuto's current offensive intensity, it might actually be possible to score three or four points in a row.
But it doesn't matter, it's only two points so far..
Bang!
Another loud sound rang out, but it wasn't the sound of the ball hitting the floor; instead, it was the sound of the impact against an arm.
Before Miya Atsumu could even turn his head, a call followed immediately into his ears.
“Atsumu-senpai!”
Something came flying toward him in his peripheral vision. Miya Atsumu reached out instinctively, his whole body dropping into a side crouch.
The volleyball, which had originally been padded by Hinata, bounced straight toward the net next to Miya Atsumu. Atsumu touched the ball again, barely managing to keep it in play.
The ball flew to the top of the net, Rishia quickly moved in, preparing to spike.
But Washio Tatsuki on the other side reacted faster than him, jumping even earlier to spike the ball.
Fortunately, Rishia was closer, so he was the one who eventually touched the ball.
Two consecutive impacts occurred. Washio Tatsuki quickly transitioned from a spike to a block, getting in front of Rishia Heisuke and deflecting the ball back.
The ball fell back onto Inarizaki's side, but this time the members couldn't save it.
The volleyball slammed onto the floor, the whistle blew immediately after, signaling a score for Fukurodani.
The scoreboard on the side of the court jumped to Fukurodani 18:23 Inarizaki.
"Tsk." Miya Atsumu let out a light click of his tongue, turning his head to pull both Hinata and Akagi up.
There was nothing we could do about that ball; it's already impressive that Shoyo was able to react and touch it.
Hinata nodded slightly, but said nothing more.
Even if Miya Atsumu comforted him again, he knew that the error on that ball was his own.
If he could have set it a little higher, even without a touch, Atsumu-senpai could have adjusted to give Heisuke a ball he could spike.
Miya Atsumu said it was impossible.
He actually didn't think the ball could keep up at all; the angle of this short diagonal was quite extreme, it was already incredible that Hinata could flash past the block.