Ah, he almost forgot.
For Hinata, who doesn't think much, being calm and restrained is no different from being distant.
What Hinata needs most is the most passionate and straightforward emotion.
Miya Atsumu leaned forward slightly, taking the initiative to close the distance with Hinata.
"Sorry, I was just watching your movement during that play," he explained proactively.
“So cool, so perfect.”
Hinata's face flushed slightly at the praise, but he reacted in the next second, quickly putting a massive distance between himself and Miya Atsumu.
“Atsumu-senpai is lying! You can't see my serve at all!”
He's not stupid!
Miya Atsumu had his back to him!
Watching Hinata standing there with his hands on his hips, looking triumphant as if he had seen through a scheme, Miya Atsumu fell silent.
Well, he had been careless.
Miya Atsumu, feeling even more interested, narrowed his eyes and spoke with even more conviction.
No need to look; I can tell just by listening.
After all, I've seen your serve countless times already; it's all etched into my mind.
Chapter 229: The 229th Fox
Hinata's brain went blank for a moment.
He tried to find evidence on Miya Atsumu's face that he was lying to him, but he could only see seriousness in those eyes.
Casting aside those strange feelings in his head, Hinata quickly extracted the useful information.
—Atsumu-senpai really was praising him.
Has he become this amazing!
Handsome and perfect!
Watching Hinata's expression shift from a daze to surprise, Miya Atsumu's smile deepened.
His heart, which had just suddenly raced, slowly returned to calm, Hinata raised his hand to answer eagerly, "It's because Atsumu-senpai is a great teacher!"
Miya Atsumu's expression stiffened visibly for a moment, before he let out a hearty laugh: "That's right, that's right, Shoyo has truly mastered my techniques."
He was being a bit too impatient.
But it didn't matter; as an excellent Setter, the one thing he never lacked was patience.
Miya Osamu's desire to be an only child had never been stronger: "This guy is so pathetic."
Suna also showed a hint of faint disdain: "So worthless."
Glancing at Miya Atsumu, who was radiating silliness, Miya Osamu clicked his tongue lightly. "Forget it, he's still worth something; after all, he promised me he'd invest in my shop in the future."
Suna nodded in agreement. "True, I still have to sell photos too."
The two exchanged a glance, silently striking another wicked deal.
Hinata, his face full of excitement and thrill, bounced back to the Position 1 serving spot.
Great, he felt like his condition was at its peak right now, he would definitely be able to play the next ball well too!
Rishia Heisuke shouted loudly, "Shoyo! One more ball!!"
Komi clapped his hands: "It's fine, it's fine, don't worry about it. The ball wasn't that fast."
The reason I couldn't receive it just now was mainly because that spinning ball caught me off guard; it's quite normal to miss a receive when you're unprepared.
As long as I know how the opponent might play.. it will be absolutely fine.
The cheers from the Inarizaki stands grew even more intense, making Hinata feel as if he were some kind of superstar for a moment.
He gave a small chuckle and, after the whistle blew, spun the volleyball in his hands in a good mood.
After calming down once more to properly adjust his state, Hinata raised his hand and tossed the ball into the air as the service time limit approached.
As he stepped forward quickly to prepare for a spike, he couldn't help but show a look of joy on his face.
Very good, the touch is excellent; this toss was absolutely perfect.
To execute a good serve, every part—the toss, the approach, the jump, the spike—must be performed at its absolute best.
And that was the very purpose of their years of training.
Bang!!
The ball was spiked by Hinata again, smashing rapidly toward the other side of the net.
This time, Suna and Miya Osamu continued to provide serve cover using their regular playstyle, this time they adjusted almost in sync with Komi.
Suna pretended to nonchalantly adjust his hair, using his elbow to block Komi's line of sight, not giving Komi another chance to make a last-minute adjustment to observe Hinata's serve.
Komi felt very indignant.
When it comes to this kind of serve with spin, the worst part is being obstructed and unable to observe it immediately.
Because of the height difference on the Inarizaki side, the obstruction was even more complete, so he couldn't see exactly how the ball was spinning until it flew over the top of the net.
Fortunately, unlike spikes, which can be affected by various factors, a serve relies more on the player's own physical strength on top of the arm swing.
Hinata's serve speed itself isn't that fast, so even in this situation, he has plenty of time to adjust for the receive.
Komi stepped sideways, lowering his center of gravity while raising his shoulders, steadily received the ball.
Watching the ball fall perfectly onto the Attack Line without any deviation, Akaashi Keiji praised loudly, "Great first receive!"
With the first receive being extremely precise, he, as the setter, had more spare time to adjust the subsequent tactics.
Watching Akaashi's movement, Suna and Miya Osamu quickly closed in from both sides to stand before him.
Hinata, who was in the back row preparing for coordinated defense, made a quick judgment in his mind.
—This movement is a precursor to a Second Attack.
But the Inarizaki blockers did not jump immediately; instead, they patiently watched Akaashi, who was already in mid-air.
After all, the blockers only needed to ensure that their height at the moment of the touch was above the net; given their height and arm span, this kind of soft Second Attack could be defended at any time.
What they had to be wary of was that Akaashi might choose to use the Second Attack as a feint, subsequently passing the ball to the wing spikers on both sides.
Glancing at the Inarizaki blockers out of the corner of his eye, Akaashi used one hand to touch the ball.
Washio Tatsuki, who had already leaped up a step behind him, cooperated with Akaashi Keiji to execute a beautiful Back Quick spike.
Akagi stepped back half a step to try and receive the ball, but Washio's spike was too fast; after it hit his arm, the ball bounced straight out of the court.
On the other side, Hinata followed up in an attempt to save the ball, but unfortunately, he couldn't reach it.
Watching Hinata's service turn be interrupted, Hoshiumi let out a light click of his tongue. "Fukurodani is playing very steadily over there as well."
They don't make a single mistake, as soon as they find an opening, they launch a rapid counterattack..
This kind of opportunistic playstyle is truly annoying.
Coach Kusubashi gave Akaashi high praise: "Akaashi has also become much more composed and calm."
After going through the match against them earlier, Akaashi's mind was clearly much sharper in this situation, his Back Quick set was nothing short of perfect.
Akaashi's serve was aimed directly at Hinata's position.
This time Hinata played as a Right Wing Spiker, so no one came to receive for him; if he could trick them into a diving..
Hinata quickly adjusted his positioning toward the diagonal rear, distancing himself from the ball's landing point as much as possible.
Then, he threw his entire body down, reaching out to touch the ball as his hand nearly brushed the ground.
The ball hit Hinata's arm and immediately bounced up, landing on the front row's attack line.
A high and stable First Receive—for Miya Atsumu, it was perfect.
"What a great first receive!" Miya Atsumu lowered his center of gravity, jumping in place and raising his hands, preparing for a toss.
And Hinata, having just received the ball, had already used the momentum to rise.
Because he had already pulled back enough distance at the beginning, he only needed to take a few steps forward after standing up.
Seeing that his serve had no effect, Akaashi Keiji frowned.
Bokuto, Washio, Mokoba had already moved quickly to the net, ready to jump for a block at any moment.
Miya Atsumu leaned his body slightly backward, intending to perform a back set to Suna, who was running a wide opening at Position 2.
Mokoba remained unmoved, instead continuing to stare at Miya Atsumu's movement.
—A feint.
In this situation, it would be impossible for Miya Atsumu to give the ball to Suna, whose target is too obvious; relative to that, Aran or Miya Osamu on the other side would both be good choices.
Furthermore, this feint—disguising a set to Position 2 as a back set, while actually delivering a toss that resembles a jump shot—was also a deceptive move frequently used by Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes, a faint smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
—Really?
The entire process from Hinata's first receive to Miya Atsumu's toss took less than a second, the moment the ball touched Miya Atsumu's fingers, its direction was already being changed.
The ball arrived in front of Hinata, who had jumped from the back row, almost instantly, was no more than two meters away from where Suna had jumped.
With a loud bang, the ball zipped past the side of the antenna and slammed down right on the line at the edge of the Fukurodani court.
The whistle blew, the referee ruled that the play was in-bounds, the Inarizaki score was valid.
Miya Atsumu turned his head to give Hinata a high five, then turned back to flash a smile at Mokoba on the opposite side.
A feint is a certainty, but how could an opponent possibly predict the trajectory of the actual toss?
Watching Fukurodani's block stand there motionless as if in a daze, Hoshiumi could relate.
Setters are such creatures.. every single one of them is incredibly calculating. Just thinking about having to guess what's going on inside the opponent's head on the court gives him a headache.