From the side, Saru Yamato lowered his center of gravity to save the ball.
Unable to make any adjustments, Akaashi sent the ball toward Bokuto, who was jumping in the back row; Bokuto decisively abandoned his heavy spike, opting instead for a soft tip to bypass the block.
His intuition told him that if he attacked so bluntly, he would inevitably be blocked.
And Bokuto's intuition was also very accurate.
Having made up his mind to end the match in this set, Suna really gave it two hundred percent of his concentration, successfully blocking two of Bokuto's spikes in a row.
Hoshiumi was somewhat surprised: "Even if Bokuto's condition isn't quite what it used to be, this is still too exaggerated.."
"When it comes to solo blocking ability, Agatsuma-senpai, Kuroo-senpai, Suna are all at the top of the first tier; it's just that you can't really tell with Suna normally," Hirugami said.
Given that it's a block capable of controlling people's minds, one can imagine just how great Suna's observation skills and sharpness are.
Mokoba quickly stepped up in the court to save a block during the counterattack.
Nice save!
Akaashi's voice rang in Mokoba's ears once again.
But at this moment, he no longer found the voice pleasant; instead..
It was inexplicably filled with sarcasm from Inarizaki.
He suddenly realized that he seemed unable to move, while Bokuto, who had been looking for an opportunity to adjust his condition and catch his breath, had been forced to launch high-frequency attacks for some time now.
Moreover, their offensive efficiency was very low, as they were unable to break through their opponent's defense.
The spectators in the stands, observing from a bystander's perspective, also began to successively notice that something was amiss.
Amatori grimaced, feeling the same excruciating pain as Bokuto.
That's too disgusting. Inarizaki, this is an open scheme.
In Fukurodani's style of play, the offense is primarily initiated by the Wing Spiker positioned adjacent to the Setter.
The best combination consists of a setter skilled at coordinating between positions 1 and 2 and the middle, along with a wing spiker skilled at attacking from position 4.
But this kind of single-core playstyle also has a drawback.
—When the Ace is in the front row's advantage zone, the Setter is also there most of the time.
When there are only two spikers in the front row, it is impossible to provide enough offensive cover.
The state of having three offensive points in the front row is where the tactical possibilities are most abundant.
As long as you can control the person who is constantly responsible for supporting the Ace, you can achieve the goal of constantly forcing the Ace to launch an attack.
And after Inarizaki's provocations and his state reaching its peak during the first three sets, Bokuto is now showing signs of decline.
In this situation, if you continue to force him to keep attacking, you can minimize the overall threat posed by Fukurodani.
The pressure on the offensive players, Hinata and Miya Osamu, was not that great after all, since they didn't need to forcibly break through the opponent's defense; they only needed to ensure their targets were being drawn away.
The rest can be left to the Middle Blocker, who will face the opponent's block head-on.
Of course, this was predicated on the basis that Suna, who was responsible for the primary blocking, was willing and had sufficient energy.
Bokuto panted heavily, trying to adjust his condition.
In his field of vision was Hinata's face peeking out from above the block, then he lightly pushed the volleyball, allowing it to fall toward the position near the back row where Saru Yamato and Mokoba were.
Watching Saru and Mokoba dive to save the ball, the cheers from the Fukurodani supporters erupted: "They saved it!"
Oikawa Tooru, standing above, frowned, his fingers clenched and his expression grim: "No, that ball wasn't saved."
In a physical sense, the ball was indeed sent back, but in reality.. the situation had become even worse.
Two wing spikers in the back row of Fukurodani were forced to save the ball, since one of the players in the front row was a setter, the only two people capable of making a move were Osa Noboru and Bokuto.
Even if the pass were to use the entire distance of the net to pull the blockers apart on both sides, the target of the pass would become incredibly obvious due to the excessively long trajectory of the ball.
After all, Akaashi didn't possess the ability to deliver long-distance flat balls like Miya Atsumu—balls that could simultaneously outpace the block and give the spiker enough time to complete their spike.
After landing, Hinata quickly retreated, creating a bit of distance from the net before charging forward two steps, lunging toward the already airborne Bokuto alongside Suna Osamu.
Hinata, being a little slower, decisively chose to show a weakness by not spiking at his peak, opting not to bring the ball down immediately.
And just as Bokuto had expected, his sharp gaze locked onto him almost instantly.
But even in this condition, Bokuto still maintained a degree of rationality; he didn't follow Hinata's lead entirely, but instead spiked the ball into the space between him and Suna.
Suna swung his arms violently, his palms precisely intercepting the ball's trajectory.
The result of skilled blocking skills is a flawless execution; he pressed the ball back down, the entire process was so fast that it gave Fukurodani no time to react.
Even while Bokuto was still in mid-air, the ball had already slammed into the ground.
Bokuto grit his teeth.
Damn it, that ball was so hard to save..
Kiryu Ya's forehead was covered in cold sweat, his clenched fists were already soaked with perspiration: "Inarizaki plays too aggressively."
For Fukurodani at this moment.. it was no different from being forced to push their Ace toward the execution grounds.
Jumping up to attack time and time again, repeatedly executing attacks that yielded no results.
Both his body and his mind were exhausted to the extreme.
And.. there were absolutely no effective countermeasures.
Bokuto tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
The light from the gymnasium's overhead lamps filtered through his eyelids and into his vision, turning his entire field of view red.
It was blood rushing through his veins.
Stay calm, stay steady; he is Fukurodani's Ace, he cannot surrender first.
Across the net, Hinata glanced at Bokuto out of the corner of his eye, Suna, on the other side, looked over as well; the two of them made their intentions completely obvious.
Their gazes met in front of the net, as the silent threats and provocations from the demons were transmitted without reservation.
—Continue.
—Don't stop.
Chapter 231: The 231st Fox
Sitting on the Coach's bench, Coach Anromi could only watch with growing anxiety.
Inarizaki's goal was not hidden at all; this blatant, open strategy.. was to completely exploit the fact that not a single player in Fukurodani could step into Bokuto's role.
Although Fukurodani's substitute lineup was full, their actual strength could only serve as a temporary replacement to bridge the gap.
And in the current situation, where the score gap has already been widened by Inarizaki, rashly replacing the Wing Spiker with someone of lesser ability would only cause the deficit to widen even further.
The best-case scenario would actually be for Mokoba or Saru Yamato to withstand the pressure, allowing Akaashi to better coordinate the others.
But Inarizaki is extremely skilled at this kind of targeted playstyle; before this, many teams had already been made extremely uncomfortable by it.
Especially Hinata, when he is able to hit above the block, he can achieve an effect where he can hit wherever he aims.
For their Fukurodani.. it was even harder to deal with.
Akaashi wiped the sweat from his forehead, preventing the torrential sweat from entering his eyes and interfering with his vision.
In this situation, using the Middle Blocker for a Quick Attack is actually the best option.
However, his own declining stamina would cause a decrease in his precision during flat sets, indirectly affecting the quality of the Quick Attack itself.
Taking a glance at Hinata, who was leaning on his knees and looking at them with an extremely serious gaze, a sense of helplessness suddenly welled up in Akaashi's heart.
He considered his own physical conditioning to be quite good, Bokuto's physical conditioning was the best in all of Fukurodani.
But now that they were already in a state of decline, why was the Little One from Inarizaki, who had played the most matches, still so full of energy?
He had watched the previous match between Inarizaki and Itachiyama, in that match, Hinata had indeed delivered his most brilliant performance of the year, but that could only be used to judge his explosive ability over a short period.
An entire long-term competitive season requires more reliance on experience to manage physical energy distribution.
People like him, or even more obviously Suna, can clearly see this period of fatigue.
But Hinata was not like that; as long as he was on the court, he always played with such high frequency and a fast pace.
Fearless and tireless.
It was almost like.. a monster.
Akaashi took a deep breath, trying to bring his exhausted and wandering mind back to a state of calm as much as possible.
What should be done? What should be done now?
In this situation, where we are lagging behind in every aspect, what on earth must be done to find a way to break through?
Miya Atsumu, who had already taken his stance six steps away from the baseline, raised his hand.
The Inarizaki brass band behind Fukurodani came to an abrupt halt mid-performance, leaving behind nothing but an endless silence.
Komi, who was preparing for the First Receive, felt a sudden tingling sensation on his scalp.
Please, let some kind of sound come and break this silence..
In the very next moment, a loud shout suddenly rang in everyone's ears.
“Bring it on!!”
Hinata, who had already straightened his back before the whistle blew, suddenly looked up to face Bokuto, who was standing directly opposite him.
On that face, he couldn't see even a hint of hesitation or fear; there was only a passion that was almost overflowing.
Even with a net between them, Hinata could still feel that wave of heat rushing toward him.
It was like.. a blazing sun.
Hinata unconsciously opened his mouth, his eyes widening as he stared unblinkingly at Bokuto.
He never feared that dazzling sensation; he even wanted to reach out and touch it.
That kind of radiance is captivating.
He will become that kind of person too, right?