Chapter 357: The Three Hundred and Fifty-Seventh Fox
Rishia Heisuke's serve was of exceptionally high quality as always, accurately aimed at the angle between the setter's side and the edge of the court, ensuring that unless the opponent received it, it would hit the sideline.
To handle Rishia Heisuke's serve, Karasuno chose to have Hoshiumi drop back to receive for the setter; the corner itself had a dense formation, which provided him with the perfect opportunity to target.
As for proficiency.. after being hit like this so many times, he naturally knew exactly how to handle it.
“I've got it!”
Hoshiumi stepped back and raised his hands, legs spread wide and center of gravity lowered in a horse stance, stabilizing himself before directly using his hands to push up against the ball.
Bang!!
A heavy thud echoed throughout the entire gym; Hoshiumi intercepted Rishia Heisuke's serve mid-air, giving their setter no chance to launch a counterattack.
“Great receive!!”
What a First Receive!!
Hinata's eyes widened, revealing shock, admiration, a hint of envy.
He had also tried this high-risk method of handling the ball with his hands, but in the end, something was still missing, he would easily be sent to the floor.
But in a situation like that, the optimal solution would be for a player moving back from the front row to handle the ball with an overhead pass, completing the first receive without interfering with the setter's toss.
I wonder when he will be able to act with such ease..
Karasuno began organizing their offense on one side, while Unabara Uta stepped forward to prepare for the front-court ball, Hinata also moved down from the net to defend the front court on the other side.
The ball in Asahina's hands had already reached Hoshiumi, Hinata was also staring intently at the opponent's movements.
With Tokura there, Hoshiumi's conditions for a self-set and spike meant he had no way of reaching the height of a super spike; his remaining options were nothing more than technical shots or similar.
If the person spiking at this moment were himself..
Following Hoshiumi's body orientation, Hinata suddenly stepped half a pace toward his right side the moment the opponent spiked, lowering his center of gravity by squatting down.
A solid sensation traveled up his arm, the clear sound indicated that the ball had not flown wide, but had instead flown steadily toward the Attack Line due to his original posture.
Hoshiumi, who had hit a short diagonal to exploit the gap in the opponent's block, gave a small smile, while Hinata called out to his setter, "Atsumu-ge!"
Hoshiumi clicked his tongue lightly and quickly took his position at the blocking site after landing.
Inarizaki doesn't have many options on the front row; Tokura's spiking level isn't quite enough to challenge them, his approach movement isn't as fluid as Hinata and the others, so if they wanted to, they could definitely keep up.
So this ball.. eighty percent of the time, it will still go to Hinata.
The ball flew from Miya Atsumu's hands, heading toward Hinata just as Hoshiumi had expected, the three players from Karasuno quickly gathered near the Inarizaki Position 2 marker.
Facing the three-person block, Hinata jumped without a trace of fear.
Because his approach distance wasn't sufficient, he indeed couldn't reach above the Two-Meter Giant's hands, but Hoshiumi had rushed over from the far end of the net, so he didn't have to jump quite as high.
Relatively speaking, hitting a short diagonal over Hoshiumi's head would have been the best choice.
But..
The number 9 jersey flashed by in his field of vision, Hirugami's eyes were also fixed tightly on him.
Hinata knew very well that it was a decoy.
Whether it's Suna-senpai inducing an opponent's mistake or his own feint against the opponent's defender, they are essentially the same.
Like something sweet, seductive, leading opponents into a trap of errors..
Glamour.
Suna, standing by the sidelines, lowered his head and chuckled softly; amidst the noisy gymnasium, it made Unabara Uta think he was hallucinating.
Hinata's eyes shifted slightly as he pulled his gaze from the side, staring intently at Hakuma's hands on the opposite side.
He would never obey the enemy's will; he had to find his own path to victory.
An indescribable sense of danger rushed toward her, the moment she locked eyes with those aggressive eyes, Hakuma felt her scalp go numb.
As he jumped, his hair, already matted with sweat, flew through the air, even though those eyes were clearly so calm.
But why.. did he feel as if he were being pierced through?
Thinking back to Hinata's direct breakthrough against him just a moment ago, Hakuma slammed his hands together, trying to close the gaps that could be smashed through.
But in that very instant, Hinata's gaze, which had been locked onto him, vanished.
The next second, he heard the sound of a spike.
The rapidly spinning ball suddenly flew past his peripheral vision, the resulting airflow causing him to squint slightly.
The sound of the volleyball striking the floor followed immediately, the entire process happening so fast that he didn't even have time to blink.
Norikura Isao missed this ball, which hit the sideline of the court and fell out.
The whistle blew, the Head Referee announced that Inarizaki scores.
Hinata bent down and slid under the net, following the momentum of his body to dissipate the force.
Since the spike was a certain kill and this rally was over, there was no need to force a landing to absorb the impact on his ankles and knees; he could simply follow the momentum and step directly into the opponent's court.
Watching the score on the sidelines jump up another point, the middle-aged men in the Inarizaki stands instantly erupted.
The man wearing the same number 10 jersey as Hinata directly ripped off his cheering bandana and waved it passionately in the air: "Little Radish!! So cool!! That was amazing!"
Great play! Hinata, great play!!
Miya Atsumu waved his hand at Hinata. "Shoyo, that was so cool."
Hinata had already dove back through the net under Hakuma's stunned gaze, quickly walking up to Miya Atsumu to high-five him. "Of course!"
Atsumu looked at Hinata with a smile, making no effort to hide his voice: "The big oaf on the other side is being completely played, just like a rookie."
Hoshiumi raised an eyebrow.
The big dummy Hakuma Mebuki raised a finger and pointed at himself: "Me?"
The suspected giant, Hirugami Yukio, rubbed his chin: "It shouldn't be me."
The implicated giant, Norikura Isao, fell to his knees: "It's probably me.."
Hinata stood tall with his chest puffed out, his face beaming with pride. "Heh."
Listening to the deafening cheers, Unai Aman was blasted by the noise from just across the hallway.
He rubbed his ears and said helplessly, "This level of enthusiasm.. it's scarier than an older man I know."
Moreover, the Inarizaki supporters were even more numerous, those who came for the Finals were more than those at the previous tournament; when they all cheered together, it was truly quite intimidating.
Inunari realized a problem: "That uncool nickname won't follow Hinata all the way to his professional career, will it?"
Unai smiled. "Hinata will cry."
Inunari rested his chin on his hand, no longer continuing the topic that would make Hinata cry. "Hinata's spike feints are already masterfully executed; I feel like he'd be incredibly difficult to deal with if he were actually on the court."
Especially when the blockers are deceived and the back row players fail to follow up completely.
Moreover, defending the line is not the Libero's responsibility; even if he were the Libero for Karasuno, he would be powerless to stop it.
Unai nodded. "Yeah, Hinata is really amazing."
This kind of offensive strategy was something he had never specifically practiced in the past, but thinking about it now.. well, it could be drawn into a manga.
Add a little bit of exaggerated artistic flair, it would become "The Vanishing Volleyball"!
Glancing at Unai's hair, Inunari said somewhat helplessly, "You haven't left the house at all these past few months, have you?"
The noise in the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium was something they were familiar with, but Unai had clearly been startled just now.
Unai scratched his head sheepishly. "Ah.. I've been busy working on manuscripts."
Although he had been drawing manga since his university days, he wasn't at the stage where he could strike out on his own yet; currently, he was working as an assistant for a popular shonen battle manga author in the industry.
Moreover, the requirements for the plot and artwork were extremely high. After auditioning many people, they ultimately only hired him as an assistant to help with line work and screentones. Since it was a weekly serialization, the two of them were so busy they barely had any time to leave the house.
After all.. the weekly magazine editor had already set up camp in their hallway.
Most of the reason for coming out this time was to deliver the signed illustrations to Hinata, plus these past two days were when the manga artist was planning the plot and drawing the storyboards.
He compressed the proofreading, scanning, typesetting work for his previous manuscripts into a single day yesterday, which finally gave him the free time today to watch the match.
My teacher says the works I'm working on are expected to be finished within three years. Once they are, I'll be able to try submitting them on my own," Unai Aman said, leaning back against the chair. "I can use these next few years to properly hone my drawing skills and work on my research and concepts.
Inunari couldn't help but laugh: "I hope your editor doesn't decide to set up camp in your hallway by then.."
Unai smiled effortfully. "I'll do my best."
Inarizaki, who had scored consecutively, was still serving with Rishia Heisuke, Hinata also cheered loudly for him: "One more, Heisuke!"
Rishia nodded.
Although his spike was just received by Hoshiumi, a serve to that position is still very effective, as long as he can make it so Hoshiumi cannot control the ball.
Or.. maybe make the ball's trajectory jump a little higher.
With the idea in mind, Rishia tapped the ball after the whistle blew, tossed it high into the air, then began his approach.
Hoshiumi observed Rishia's movements through the gap between Ginjima and Tokura.
This body orientation.. he's probably going to hit it here.
After the loud impact, the ball flew over the net and came crashing down. Watching the height of the ball, Hoshiumi slightly adjusted his position and raised his hands, preparing to receive it.
But just as he was about to touch the ball, Asahina's voice suddenly rang out from behind him: "Out!"
Hoshiumi pulled back almost by reflex, bending his waist to the side to let the ball fly past him, while Asahina retreated from behind to let the ball land out of bounds.
Hoshiumi didn't actually look at where the ball landed; he simply raised his hand to signal out to the referee.
He trusted his teammate, that was all.
The Head Referee, who leaned down to inspect the play, hesitated slightly; judging the ball with the naked eye was indeed difficult, as the high school matches were only equipped with slow-motion replays from live broadcasts, rather than Hawk-Eye technology capable of simulating the ball's trajectory.
Ultimately, after careful deliberation, the Head Referee ruled that it was out.
Inarizaki's serve went out, Karasuno scores.
A series of disappointed sighs rose from the stands: "What a shame—just a little bit more!"
Rishia Heisuke couldn't help but click his tongue in frustration, then swapped positions with Unabara Uta to head off the court.
Coach Kurosu patted the empty space beside him. "It's alright, get them back next time."