Miya Atsumu, who had originally intended to say that Unabara should just receive it however he could and try his best to touch the ball, shut his mouth.
Since the Libero himself said so..
Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes as he looked at Unabara. "Good luck. If you try to do a Fei Yichuan in a moment.."
Unabara's expression turned serious, he pulled back his bared teeth.
This feeling of being threatened by a demon was completely different from the feeling of one's own vows and promises.
He stood at attention and responded, "Yes, it definitely won't fly."
After confirming that Miyazaki was ready, the Head Referee blew the whistle to signal the Serve.
This time, Miyazaki did not toss the ball immediately, but instead patiently delayed until the very last second.
Once the opponents have gained a clear understanding of his strength, surprise attacks become useless; instead, attacking the opponents' mental state through a delayed serve is more effective.
But just as Arima Shuji had judged, Unabara's mental state would not be affected under normal circumstances.
Miyazaki Sho's serve followed almost the exact same trajectory as the previous one, but the people from Inarizaki would not make the same mistake twice.
Unabara dropped down on one knee, adjusting the angle of his forearms to intercept the ball's path, precisely cutting off the heavy spike that carried intense spin.
Under the force of the impact, he lost control and sank downward, his knees slamming into the floor.
“Atsumu-senpai!”
His judgment was still a bit slow, causing his knee to touch the ground, which would delay the subsequent counterattack.
But while seeing that Unabara was in poor condition, Rishia Heisuke had already stepped forward to cover the defensive zone left vacant by Unabara.
Unabara retreated quickly after getting up, completing the exchange of responsibilities with Rishia Heisuke.
Miya Atsumu praised, "What a great first receive!"
It was a perfect first receive, as the setter, he naturally could not let such a ball go to waste.
As he jumped, he raised his hand to send the ball to Hinata at the net.
Hinata, who had finally scored a point, jumped with all his might and spiked the ball precisely over Harukawa's head, who was half a step too slow.
The speed of the line shot was incredibly fast, in the blink of an eye, it was already inches from the floor.
Hakuma Mebuki immediately extended his leg and kicked the ball up.
But the ball was simply too close to the ground, his kick failed to send it much higher.
Fortunately, the libero on the other side reacted quickly, performing a diving save to send the ball toward the net.
"Nice!" Hoshiumi Hikari shouted, taking four steps forward to chase down the ball, leaping up without any fear against Fukurodani's three-man Block.
Fukurodani's libero Sae stared intently at Hoshiumi's movement, but Hoshiumi's contact point was extremely high, he pressed the ball down toward the three-meter line from an overhand position.
The Setter, being closer, performed a diving save to barely pop the ball up.
"Unabara!" Miya Atsumu called out to Unabara, who was coming up from the back row to cover.
After returning from Beach Volleyball, Unabara's overhead receiving skills were also quite good; this ball should be passably set.
But Miya Atsumu's speed in getting up after the receive was not fast enough, which to some extent interfered with the movements of Miya Osamu or Unabara coming in to receive the ball.
In the end, Unabara could only barely touch the ball.
Sorry! Shoyo!
Watching the ball fly over the net, Unabara hurriedly called out to Hinata.
Hinata's pupils suddenly contracted, many possible subsequent developments flashed through his mind in an instant.
——The best choice would be to go straight for a Spike.
But Aoba Haruka was closer and higher, so there was a high probability that Aoba would steal it.
Then.. should I try a feint?
No, Aoba Haruka was very cautious and wouldn't be easily baited like the people from Date Tech; it was best to face him head-on.
He was still a certain distance from the net; as long as he could make full use of this space for his approach to jump even higher and spike it directly, it would be a much more successful play than trying to fight for the ball from below.
Hinata took off decisively, his standard four-step approach ending with a heavy thud as he leaped into the air extremely close to the net.
At this distance, the probability of the spike hitting the net is extremely high, but..
It's no problem.
Aoba Haruka took a single step's run-up and leaped violently, reaching out with one hand in a desperate attempt to reach the ball.
He could do it; he could definitely reach this ball—
He was over ten centimeters taller than Hinata; there was no reason for him to lose a challenge like this.
In his field of vision, a hand suddenly reached out from behind the ball, coming down from a higher point to press down on the upper half of the volleyball.
Through the volleyball, Aoba Haruka could feel that the strength he used to contest it wasn't that great, but the force pressing down on the ball from above was far more terrifying and irresistible than any force coming from below.
Aoba Haruka gritted his teeth, watching Hinata at a higher point with eyes full of shock.
This guy.. can actually perform a spike from mid-air above the net? That's a bit too much!
After a half-second stalemate, the ball slipped from Aoba's hands.
Having already lost his balance, he was pressed backward, losing his equilibrium and falling toward the ground, while the ball simultaneously grazed his body as it dropped.
Aoba struggled to adjust his position to the side, attempting to dig the ball.
But all the struggle was in vain; the ball had already hit the ground, making a soft sound.
The ball bounced once more, finally rolling to a stop near the boundary marker.
Withdrawing the hand that hadn't touched the volleyball, he looked up, gazing at the shadow that was right before his eyes.
Even though he was clearly small in stature, even though he was clearly at such a disadvantage in this kind of sport, yet..
In that angle where the backlight obscured his features, that figure appeared so tall, so.. breathtaking.
In the periphery of my vision, the Head Referee raised his hand, deciding the final result of this point.
The whistle also rang out across the entire stadium in the next second.
Karasuno 5:2 Fukurodani.
Akaashi Keiji raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his chin, while Saru Nagi reached out to pull him, helping him stand up.
Hoshiumi's jump was just too decisive; that powerful jumping ability completely overwhelmed him in terms of height.
Moreover, Hoshiumi's strength level was quite high, he snatched the ball almost instantly.
"Great play, Hikari-kun." Hirugami reached out and gave Hoshiumi a high five.
Hoshiumi nodded, after high-fiving Hirugami, he reached out a hand to Takahashi, who had just scrambled up: "That was a great save by the Libero."
Saru's timing on that spike was absolutely perfect; to be able to save the ball in such a situation was nothing short of a miracle.
The Libero, Takahashi, nodded. "It's part of my job. We just need to get the Service Right back."
Saru's spike was indeed quite powerful, Akaashi's ability to adapt was also very strong; once the first receive could no longer suppress it, things would become quite troublesome.
The Service Turn is quite important for Karasuno in the current situation.
Fortunately, Fukurodani's current lineup is quite single-core, making it easy to apply heavy pressure on the inexperienced Saru Nagi.
What's truly troublesome is..
Inarizaki has so many offensive options it's a headache; they're terrifying.
Miyazaki Sho sighed, looking at the scoreboard showing Inarizaki 7, Rakusan 4, feeling a massive headache coming on.
They failed to stabilize right from the opening, allowing the point gap to widen due to Miya Atsumu's serves alone. Although they were able to keep up with the rhythm of the rallies later on and prevented Inarizaki from scoring consecutive points frequently, still..
Glancing at his Ace, who was looking down in deep thought, Miyazaki didn't know what to say for a moment.
He also felt suffocated; they had possessed every advantage in that last play, yet Inarizaki still managed to counterattack.
“That was so cool, Shoyo,” Miya Atsumu said, reaching out to pat Hinata on the head.
Hinata was still savoring the feeling of his recent jump. "I feel like my vertical reach is a lot higher than before."
He jumped wildly on the sand for two rounds, roughly understanding what his state would be like when jumping with full strength.
Although one needs to consider the subsequent deceleration on a hard floor, Coach Utsunomiya had worked with him thoroughly to correct this point.
Coach Kosano, who was in Tokyo on a business trip, also came by to take a look, his overall evaluation was quite positive.
Although the improvement was limited, in his current situation, every millimeter was incredibly precious.
And.. he had undoubtedly just overpowered Aoba Haruka in their head-to-head clash.
Hinata turned his head and scanned the edge of the court; only a few people from Fukuda General were there, he didn't see Coach Unabara, who had been present this morning.
Meanwhile, Coach Unabara, who was walking in circles between the two courts to observe, said that his legs felt a bit sore.
Both matches were being held at the same time, but they were both spectacular showdowns that one simply had to watch.
Although both matches could be seen simultaneously from the stands, they were too far away, so he couldn't see many of the fine details he wanted to observe.
Glancing at Hinata's somewhat disappointed expression, Unabara was a bit confused. "What's wrong with Shoyo? He doesn't look very happy."
Miya Atsumu, standing beside him, let out a light chuckle. "It's just that some people aren't here, Shoyo, he simply wants to declare to certain people that he is stronger than anyone else."
Stronger than Hanae and stronger than Aoba, so he will not let anyone regret choosing him.
He is the right one, that's all.
Clap!
A crisp sound rang out, startling Hinata, who had been spacing out for a moment.
He turned around and just happened to see the two red palm prints on Aoba Haruka's face.
Aoba Haruka let out a long breath after giving himself a heavy smack, then turned sharply and left the net.
—He won't lose again.
Hinata, who had just been glared at fiercely, blinked, feeling a bit bewildered.
Was that just now.. a declaration of war against him?
Hinata, who had thought he understood everything, had a sudden flash of inspiration and said to the recently departed Aoba Haruka, "No matter what amazing techniques Aoba-kun intends to show, the one who wins in the end will definitely be me!"