As it turned out, even if Miya Atsumu frequently committed foot faults during serves, such a low-probability occurrence would not arrive alongside the Captain's own bad luck.
In the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium, which was not particularly large to begin with, the advantages of a Ceiling Serve could not be fully demonstrated.
Within the range of where the ball would land, Hinata took a step forward, slightly lowering his center of gravity to ensure his feet were planted firmly on the ground.
After judging the landing spot, all he had to do was stabilize his body and then send the ball up.
Bam!
Miya Atsumu praised loudly, "What a great first receive!"
As expected of Hinata, the placement of that ball was extremely precise and high enough to create time between the first receive and the subsequent offense.
After Akagi's receiving movement, Hinata turned and stepped back while shaking his wrist, then took a large stride forward and leaped into the air with a thud behind Position 2.
Itachiyama's reaction on their side was also quick; on an offense that wasn't a Quick Attack, they managed to follow up in time. The three-man Iron Wall blocked Hinata's line of attack, while simultaneously shutting down his options for a Line or a cross shot to the left side.
Koldorf stared fixedly at Hinata on the opposite side, the emotions in his eyes clear and determined.
—Don't even think about getting past me.
Hinata watched the ball being set to him by Miya Atsumu.
It was gentle and delicate, hovering slightly at his spike's contact point, giving him the opportunity to adjust.
Throughout his past volleyball career, he had spiked hundreds and thousands of times, he knew very well how to utilize the original state of the ball to perform even more extreme spikes.
But at this moment, none of that mattered.
All he needed was that most fundamental thing, which is the most difficult for a Setter to grasp—the hang time at the Spiker's point of contact, commonly known as the ball's peak.
Hinata knew that his own power wasn't very strong, so he would never go up against a block head-on without being certain of his advantage.
He had also discussed with Miya Atsumu how he could generate the necessary momentum from a direct confrontation, the final conclusion was to rely on the back-row attack's own sufficient penetrative power while fully exploiting the gaps in the opponent's block.
Just as Miya Atsumu had said, Inamoto and Ishikawa were easier targets than Koldorf.
Hinata's gaze swept past the volleyball in front of him, scanning toward Koldorf in the back, toward Inamoto Shoma to his right.
The moment he sensed his intention, Koldorf decisively adjusted his blocking direction to cover the area toward Inamoto.
But in the very next instant, the volleyball was smashed directly between Koldorf's arms.
As long as a tiny crack is left open.
As an Ace, he would never, ever let the path to victory slip away.
Koldorf's expression changed drastically, but he had no time left to resist; he could only tense his body as much as possible, attempting to block with the inner side of his forearm.
But the surface of a volleyball, which is already rougher than that of a basketball, becomes even harder to control under the effect of spin.
Bang!
A heavy sound rang in everyone's ears as the ball tore through the block, smashing into the area near Itachiyama's front court with unstoppable momentum.
Komori, in the back row, tried to save it, but the ball was just too fast, he couldn't reach it at all.
The whistle blew immediately after, the referee signaled that Inarizaki scores.
Before anyone else could say a word, Hinata, who had just landed, was already cheering while looking at his own hand from the spike: "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did you see that, Atsumu-ge! My super spike!"
He smashed right through the block! He still managed to score from in front of Oikawa-senpai!
—Even if he did use a bit of a feint to bait him.
But even so, he scored with a direct spike! He is just too amazing!
Miya Atsumu gave him a thumbs up, using all his knowledge to praise Hinata: "That was so cool! That's what an Ace's style looks like!"
Hinata jumped up and lunged at Miya Atsumu. "Atsumu-ge, your setting was also super amazing! Because it stopped right there, I had time to handle the spike!"
It was precisely because of Miya Atsumu's such delicate setting that he had enough time to execute a feint in a critical situation.
Patting Hinata's leg to tell him to get down, Miya Atsumu raised his hand to wipe his face. "Shoyo, calm down. You're still on the court."
Hinata, having stepped down from Miya Atsumu, tilted his head. "Is it not okay? But that's how we've always celebrated before."
Having finally found an opportunity, Miya Osamu let out a sneer. "That's why I'm telling you, this guy has been lying to you from the very beginning."
Hinata's eyes widened, he looked at Miya Atsumu in shock. "Eh?! Is that so?"
But he remembered this happened a long time ago, so early that he hadn't even started playing as a starter yet. Could it be that Atsumu-ge had different feelings for him since that time?
So, it wasn't that his early schemes against Atsumu-ge were discovered by Oikawa-senpai, but rather that the two of them were plotting against each other?
Hinata's brain overloaded for a moment, leaving him stunned and unable to think.
His thoughts were practically written all over his face, Miya Osamu didn't hesitate to poke at his twin brother's back: "No, at that time, it was probably just pure possessiveness acting up."
If that pig-brained Miya Atsumu had actually figured things out long ago, he wouldn't have been getting so jealous for so long.
—To the point where he didn't even realize he was being jealous.
Miya Atsumu, feeling extremely guilty, gave a low response: "Mm.."
Meeting Hinata's slightly surprised eyes, Atsumu-ge became self-righteous again: "That's why I'm saying you can only hug me; you're not allowed to hug anyone else."
Miya Osamu's laughter grew even louder: "What were you doing before?"
Because of Miya Atsumu's clumsy attempt to cover his tracks, Hinata had already embraced countless setters, including Aran and the others.
Atsumu-ge snapped in embarrassment, "If you don't speak, people will think you're a mute!"
Hinata nodded earnestly: "Then from now on, I'll only hug Atsumu-ge."
Miya Atsumu was satisfied, throwing a peace sign at Miya Osamu while wrapping an arm around Hinata's shoulder, flaunting his arrogant attitude as the victor.
Osamu rolled his eyes and decided to go join Suna to badmouth Miya Atsumu.
In the stands, Aoba Haruka pointed at the Miya Twins and Hinata on the court, slapping her thigh and saying with an excited expression, "Look, look! I told you my guess was absolutely correct!"
Miya Atsumu and Hinata are family now! They're collectively bullying Miya Osamu!
Harukawa tried his best to smile beside him, his brain unable to process it for a moment.
He felt as if he were the one running a fever; otherwise, how could he hear such explosive nonsense?
On the other side of the stands, watching the Libero enter the court after Itachiyama made a substitution, Hakuma Mebuki raised the question that everyone at Karasuno was curious about.
I wanted to ask this yesterday, but even though Inarizaki clearly doesn't have any players who use a high serve, their Libero and Hinata both seem very skilled at receiving.
That effortless state of receiving wasn't just about being able to receive; it was a sense of being completely prepared, a firm conviction that one could successfully receive it.
Hoshiumi said, "They both trained with a master—Shimizu Kanata, the Best Middle Blocker from last year's National Sports Festival."
Hirugami was a bit surprised. "Hinata told you?"
It shouldn't be possible; Hinata is quite good at keeping team secrets, he hasn't done anything like revealing a secret technique to someone's face this year.
Hoshiumi crossed his arms over his chest. "I deduced it from the answer."
Hinata had mentioned before that he used to play beach volleyball, so he made a special effort to go take a look.
The participating teams for the challenger tournament of the second half of the Beach Volleyball World Professional Tour's Qingdao stop have been announced, among them is Shimizu, whom he had seen from a distance during the National Sports Festival; Shimizu is currently studying at Central Physical Education University.
The high lob serve is a common tactic in beach volleyball; compared to outdoor conditions, the lighting and space in an indoor setting are far from sufficient.
However, Karasuno had no plans to rely on this kind of serve to score, so it didn't have much of an impact on them.
As for Itachiyama.. choosing to field this player even though they knew the opponent could handle this kind of ball was a bit irrational.
Glancing at number 3, who was talking to the coach in the waiting area, Hoshiumi raised his hand and rubbed his chin.
No, is it because number 3's injury is still in the recovery phase, the substitution is just to let him rest as much as possible..
Rishia Heisuke, who had previously served as the server for crucial points, took the ball and walked to the serving position.
To be honest, Hinata's spike just now was truly motivating for him.
Given that Hinata could provide such a perfect response in that situation, he absolutely cannot lose either.
Miya Osamu, Fukami, the others had already confirmed that Itachiyama would be at a slight disadvantage and feel somewhat uncomfortable when facing an absolutely dominant Power Jump Serve, which happened to be his most comfortable area.
Since the opening, neither side has managed to score even a single point from a serve, he wanted to break that zero.
The whistle sounded in his ears, Rishia looked up, catching a glimpse of the back of several seniors' heads in his field of vision.
After taking a deep breath to adjust his state, he raised his hand and tossed the ball up.
He didn't need to strive for some sudden burst of inspiration; it was enough just to ensure he fully demonstrated his true capabilities.
Just like usual, steady and composed—
Bang!!
Komori's pupils shrank rapidly in this instant, but judging by the expected landing area of this ball, it shouldn't be him receiving it, but rather Inamura on the other side.
But judging by the speed of this ball, he felt..
The whistle blew again the next second, the ball struck Inamura squarely on his shoulder, sending him falling backward, before bouncing up and landing out of bounds.
The whistle blew, announcing that Inarizaki scores.
Hinata suddenly turned his head toward Rishia Heisuke, raising both hands high toward him. "Whoa—ACE! Heisuke! That was so cool! That was amazing!"
Rishia also slapped his hands together loudly: "Oh!"
Hoshiumi clapped from the stands, exclaiming in admiration, "The first ACE serve of this match."
Whether it was the way it targeted the opponent or the quality of the serve itself, it was nothing short of perfect, the serving motion was a sight to behold.
Inamura lay on the ground contemplating life, Komori and Sakusa's heads immediately appeared in his field of vision.
Komori reached out to him: "Are you okay.."
Sakusa ruthlessly pointed out Inamura's mistake: "Even with a Power Serve, the most basic thing is to step back and create distance. Even if there isn't enough time for a chest-level ball, you should at least raise your arms and use your forearms to defend. Your reaction was too slow just now."
Inamura looked at Sakusa expressionlessly: "You just have to twist the knife, don't you?"
Sakusa's expression remained unchanged as he quietly watched Inamura, who was being pulled up into a sitting position by Komori. "I am merely stating the facts."
Raising a hand to scratch his head, Inamura finally just gave a grunt of agreement.
In front of Sakusa, he couldn't bring himself to say anything like "it was just a mistake" to make excuses.
A mistake is a mistake, there is no need for any excuses; one only needs to keep the mistake made this time in mind and ensure it isn't repeated next time.
Wiping his hands on his pants, Inamura capriciously reached out his other hand toward Sakusa, his face full of righteous confidence: "Give me a hand."