Only those eyes, looking at Miya Atsumu from the shadows, grew incredibly bright under the sunlight, as if sizing up some prey.
Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes. "That's only if our team agrees. You and Fukurodani are from Tokyo, so that doesn't count."
Kageyama blinked and added, "Coach Kurosu agreed as well."
Miya Atsumu replied decisively upon hearing that, "Impossible, where would you even find our coach?"
I'd rather believe that Kageyama Tobio would proactively approach a coach from another school to request something than believe that a comet will strike the Earth tomorrow.
Kageyama frowned slightly and added again, "Hinata asked for me."
His tone was very serious, as he did his best to list evidence to prove he deserved the right to watch this match.
Miya Atsumu snapped his head toward Hinata, who had already secretly shrunk behind Rishia Heisuke: "Shoyo, you're still in contact with him?!"
Ginjima was shocked: "Is that even the point?!"
Feeling inexplicably guilty, Hinata grabbed Rishia Heisuke's arm and poked his head out from behind him: "Ah.. yeah, that's right, Coach Kurosu said it's fine."
But he hadn't really done anything wrong, so why did he feel so uneasy?
Rishia Heisuke felt as if Miya Atsumu's gaze was about to pierce several holes in him, he was so stiff that he didn't dare move a muscle.
Hinata shrank back again, while simultaneously reflecting on his own behavior.
But no matter how he thought about it, it didn't seem wrong.
As a result, Hinata felt a surge of confidence. He stood tall with his chest out, staring intently back at Miya Atsumu.
—but still shrank behind Rishia Heisuke.
Just as Hinata and Miya Atsumu were staring each other down, a voice drifted from behind them: "What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and get inside."
Everyone from Inarizaki looked up at the same time, all their activities coming to a halt as their gazes simultaneously turned toward the entrance leading into the gymnasium.
The boy with black hair stood there quietly, looking at them with a serious expression and a frown.
“Kita Team!!”
Hinata instantly let go of Rishia Heisuke and rushed toward Kita Shinsuke with a cheer: "I missed you so much!"
As Kita Shinsuke was bumped by the significantly heavier Hinata, his previously strained, serious expression instantly vanished, replaced by a helpless smile.
Kita Shinsuke patted Hinata's junior: "Alright, alright, get down."
"By the way, Kita Team! Let me introduce my juniors to you!" Hinata climbed down from Kita Shinsuke's shoulders and immediately turned to grab Masaru Haseda and the others.
He was like a parent showing off their own child, proudly introducing each junior to every senior who looked back at them.
Kita Shinsuke quietly listened to him finish introducing the four people, then responded to each one in turn.
Stripped of his identity as the more dignified Inarizaki Captain, his smile was more abundant than before, his eyes filled with the satisfaction and gentleness of watching his juniors.
On the other side, Rishia and the others had already entered the gym under Miya Osamu's lead, leaving only Hinata and the others at the entrance.
Leaning against the door, Miya Atsumu pursed his lips, when he lowered his eyes and looked up again, he met Kita Shinsuke's gaze.
Kita looked at the number 1 underlined on his jersey and gave a gentle smile. "You've become a reliable Captain, Atsumu."
It was clear that Atsumu was doing a great job as Captain.
Inarizaki was still the Inarizaki he remembered; although they could be somewhat nonsensically noisy, they were still a reliable and solid team.
Miya Atsumu stood tall with his chest out. "Of course, I will become an even more reliable Captain than Kita Team."
Kita Shinsuke reached out and patted his shoulder: "You're too reliable, Yu Team."
Inside the gymnasium, Coach Omimi called out, "Come in and warm up—Shinsuke, you too!"
Kita Shinsuke, who had just intended to go upstairs to watch the match, froze for a moment, but he still entered the court at the coach's call.
Inside, Coach Kurosu patted the chair beside him with a chuckle. "Shinsuke, sit here."
Akaashi, who was also warming up on the opposite side, had been observing the Inarizaki side.
From the moment a certain person entered, the Inarizaki side, which had been warming up normally, suddenly became tense and solemn.
In an instant, it felt to him as if this wasn't just some practice match, but a formal competition at the national level.
“What happened?”
Kageyama, in the stands, was also a bit bewildered.
Kenma said in a low voice, "A powerful person has appeared, so they probably don't dare to be careless."
Kageyama was even more confused.
Fukurodani didn't have anyone particularly amazing suddenly appear either; it was still the same lineup as before.
—What is Inarizaki so nervous about?
Chapter 280: The Two Hundred and Eightieth Fox
Looking at everyone on the court, Fukami Subaru was somewhat surprised: "It feels like the seniors are exceptionally spirited today."
Masaru Haseda also nodded. "Yeah, they aren't talking much either."
Especially Twins-senpai, who actually didn't exchange any trash talk before the match.
—Though he didn't understand why they would exchange trash talk with their own people, that is.
Reo Mizuta rubbed his chin, speculating, "That's because Kita-senpai came back."
In Inarizaki's matches over the past few years, Kita-senpai's presence on the court was basically to stabilize the atmosphere, especially when Owari-senpai got too worked up.
Hearing the whispering of the three people behind him, Ginjima, who had swapped positions with Unabara Uta to head off the court, silently looked back.
He said with a serious expression, "Don't you dare mess up today, otherwise Atsumu and the others will hold a grudge."
Fukami shrugged his shoulders. "That's serious.."
Although as a Server, he must not fear any unexpected situations and must be brave enough to take responsibility for his own mistakes, he was equally prepared to be blamed.
But being held a grudge by Miya Atsumu.. that's a little too terrifying!
On the other side, Ogata and Nishizawa, who had come with the team, had already sat down in the second-floor stands, right next to Kenma and Kuroo.
Nishizawa pursed his lips with some excitement: "This is the first time I've seen a formal match from such a close distance."
Although he had been able to see the seniors playing practice matches every day at Inubushi Higashi during this period, but..
This was the first time he had seen everyone in these black uniforms.
Just like on TV, they look incredibly cool!
The coin toss result was that Inarizaki would serve first, Inarizaki also used the usual formation with Miya Atsumu starting in the first position.
Fukurodani, on the other hand, had their Ace in the initial Position 4 on the right wing, which was a significant departure from their usual offensive patterns.
Standing at Position 4 near the net, Hinata turned his head to observe the Fukurodani members on the opposite side.
The person wearing the Fukurodani jersey in Position 4, whom Miya Atsumu had shown him in the materials, was a wing spiker from the Fukurodani Junior High team named Saru Nagi.
He is said to be related to that cat-mouthed Saru-senpai from Fukurodani, apparently they are cousins.
It's said that he is incredibly amazing, even more so than Tomomichi Chita from Junior High, but I wonder if he's the same type as Bokuto-senpai.
I'm so looking forward to it!
Fukurodani's starting Libero at this stage is Saegusa Rio, who had replaced Komi Haruki on the court during the previous Haruko tournament, while he had no impression of the remaining players.
Although Atsumu-senpai had pulled him aside to look at some materials yesterday, he had fallen asleep toward the end, so he really had no memory of it.
Later, he didn't know how he had returned to the classroom next door; some senior probably carried him back.
Hinata stole a glance at the Middle Blocker, Honma Masaaki, who had swapped positions with Sae and headed to the waiting area, felt a slight sense of regret.
This person is very tall and feels quite dangerous, but he isn't quite sure what kind of player the opponent actually is.
Never mind, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Even if a three-meter giant blocks him, he will definitely overcome it!
Hinata raised his hands behind his head, preparing to wait for Miya Atsumu's serve.
Saegusa, who already had experience facing Miya Atsumu, had an extremely serious expression, positioned in the center and not daring to make any preemptive movements.
Counting steps was unreliable right now; the only thing that could be certain was that Miya Atsumu's four steps indicated he was going for a Jump Float Serve.
It was impossible to judge specifically where the ball would be aimed, whether it would be a standard short jump float serve or a ball that dropped sharply near the baseline.
Therefore, a central position is relatively the most conservative choice.
Anyway, the speed of a Jump Float Serve won't be as terrifying as a Power Jump Serve; one can completely react after Miya Atsumu makes contact.
He should be able to react.. right?
The whistle sounded in his ears, Saegusa looked solemnly at the Inarizaki members on the opposite side, trying his best to observe Miya Atsumu's movement through the gap between Suna and Miya Osamu.
But clearly, he had failed.
It wasn't until the ball flew over the net and fully entered his field of vision that he realized the angle of the shot was very high.
Because the movement and the way force is applied when a volleyball is hit vary, it will appear in mid-air in a state with almost no rotation, causing its trajectory to become unpredictable.
To judge the type and the landing spot, one can basically only rely on observing the angle of the ball itself; the rest depends almost entirely on the receiver's own experience.
And a ball at this high angle was very likely a jump float serve that would drop near the back row close to the baseline.
Saegusa quickly retreated following the ball; after ruling out the possibility that Miya Atsumu would serve it out, he decisively leaped and reached out to touch the ball before it lost its height.
Ogata, watching from the stands, narrowed his eyes. "That ball.."
Kageyama said, "It should have been out, but it was touched."
Since it had already been touched, whether it was out or not didn't matter; this point was essentially a freebie for Inarizaki.
If you don't have much experience receiving jump float serves, it's hard to judge, extreme calls often depend heavily on the referee's judgment," Kenma said softly. "Is there a Hawk-Eye system here?
Nishizawa Hokuto, who couldn't tell at all, was a bit dazed. He spoke up to Ogata beside him, "Was it out?"
Ogata shook his head. "It's hard to say. Personally, I think it'll end up being a line shot, but Atsumu-senpai's spike was definitely too powerful."
Nishizawa Hokuto nodded; indeed, Atsumu-senpai's expression didn't look good, so there might have been some issues with the ball itself.