If the person serving this ball were him, adhering to the philosophy of utilizing everything available on the court.. there wouldn't even need to be much thought regarding the target of the serve.
The moment the heavy sound exploded in his ears, Hinata's eyes moved almost instantly toward his own right.
His gaze swept past Ginjima in the middle, he looked toward the corner of the court on Unabara Uta's right.
Unabara Uta's right leg was injured; although he could manage to keep up most of the time by adjusting his footwork, at this moment, the court didn't give him enough room to move.
To receive this kind of ball, he would have to move his right leg to the right and then lower his center of gravity to perform a receive.
And this simple movement, for the current Unabara Uta..
Unabara Uta could hear his own heavy breathing.
Perhaps he could choose to force a receiving movement using his right leg as a fulcrum to complete the play, but that single-leg squat, which the doctor had strictly forbidden, would be difficult to perform under the constraints of the brace and might even lead to a worsening of his injury.
But that was absolutely out of the question.
Not to mention that his reckless actions would likely lead Coach Kurosu to substitute him out, besides.. he would definitely, definitely let the people who cherish him down.
But he is the guardian of the team; he must do everything in his power to provide a First Receive that makes the Setter comfortable.
Since he cannot go down.
Then it shall be upward.
The moment Hinata turned his head, he saw Unabara Uta take a decisive step toward the direction of the ball.
Raise the hand, stabilize the center of gravity.
Just like every previous time receiving Shimizu's serve on the sand, as long as the angle of the touch is mastered, the power can be transferred through the arms to the body.
Bang!
Watching the ball fly steadily upward, Hinata suppressed the excitement in his heart and called out to his own setter, "Nice ball! Akuma!!"
Komori in the stands couldn't help but clap his hands: "Incredible."
His own skill at receiving the ball was nothing more than average; if he were to receive it, he would only be able to choose a low stance like Hoshiumi to lower his center of gravity and intercept such a power serve.
He hadn't practiced discharging force in such a high-center-of-gravity situation, after all, it wasn't a practical skill for hard training.
But at this very moment.. it was indeed a perfect answer, one belonging solely to Unabara Uta.
Chapter 360: The Three Hundred and Sixtieth Fox
Unabara Uta was pulled back two steps, but she successfully stabilized her body.
“Great first receive! Follow up!” Coach Kurosu stood up abruptly at the Coach's bench, shouting loudly.
As long as they could stabilize this one ball, the victory of this set would basically be theirs.
After raising his hand to call for the ball, Hinata took a quick approach run and leaped steadily behind the three-meter line.
As Bessho and Asahina closed in on him, the ball from Kumagai was instead sent right to Miya Osamu.
Bessho adjusted his blocking target on the fly, but Miya Osamu had already spiked the ball at maximum speed. The ball flew over the block and crashed straight down toward Hakuma Mebuki in the backcourt.
Unlike the way a Libero provides seamless cover for the other Wing Spiker during a First Receive, during this kind of offensive process, Hakuma often has to rely on himself.
But his receiving skills..
The sound of a collision rang out again, the ball bounced straight out of bounds.
Inarizaki 25: 24 Karasuno, Inarizaki has reached set point once again.
Feeling the searing pain radiating through his palm, Unabara Uta clenched his fist and roared, "Yes!!"
Hinata had already approached him, his eyes sparkling: "So cool! So incredibly cool! Just as cool as Hikari-kun!"
“He's so cool, he just picked up the ball! That was a Power Serve!”
Looking at the hand Hinata extended toward him, Unabara Uta gave a soft smile, then suddenly said with a serious expression, "I'm the coolest."
“Eh?” Hinata froze for a second before finally realizing what Unabara Uta was saying.
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately succumbed to the perfect performance of their guardian deity: "Yeah! Unabara is the coolest!"
Unabara Uta was satisfied, taking advantage of Miya Atsumu's absence from the court, he quickly squeezed in a request: "Alright, repeat it again after the match is over, I'll record it for Maho to listen to."
That's right! Right now, he is the most handsome person on this court!
The Ace himself certified it! Imai can no longer tease him for floor-diving!
“Childish guy..”
The young woman smiled softly, crouching on the ground and resting her chin in her hands. "Mopping the floor is quite cool too."
The Saxophonist next to her leaned over: "Hmm? Can a livestream record the sounds from inside the court?"
She usually watched badminton matches too; how did he remember that live streams weren't supposed to record the players' voices?
Imai waved her hand dismissively. "No, it's just.. I can guess what he's saying."
“Eh—" the other person crouched down right beside her. "This number 9 in white is your boyfriend? Why is he wearing calf-high socks? Do you need shin guards for volleyball too?”
Hearing the description of calf socks, Imai felt a bit helpless and explained simply, "It's probably a compression sleeve; he got injured this morning."
During the break in the morning practice, she squatted in the hallway for a while and happened to witness the entire process of Unabara Uta's injury.
He's injured!" The Saxophonist was startled, before suddenly realizing, "No wonder you were so distracted when you came back this morning.. but if he can still play, it means the injury isn't serious. I recall this is the Finals, right?
Yeah," Imai sighed softly, "Unabara has grown up. Before, whenever he had an injury like a finger injury, he would come to me and cry.
This sentence left even the Saxophonist silent for two seconds: "You really are.."
Imai smiled, glanced up at the other schools still waiting in line ahead, then lowered her eyes to look seriously at the tablet in front of her.
She knew, after all..
She also didn't call Unabara Uta to ask about the injury.
The Clarinetist, who had come over carrying a cup of water, stuffed the metronome he had taken out earlier back into his backpack and crouched down beside the two of them. "I don't know how things are going with the volleyball team, but I have a feeling our chances for the championship are slim. Yamazaki Tachibana is performing a bit too well; there's a high probability he'll get a high score.."
"Relax, who knows the result until the very last moment?" Imai poked Unabara Uta on the screen a couple of times and paused the livestream.
Besides, our repertoire was prepared based on achieving the highest score; it's still anyone's game!
Alright, it's time for the final preparations!
“Nice serve, Akuma!”
Hinata cheered loudly for Kumagai, looking at Hoshiumi on the other side of the net with full confidence as he raised his hand to prepare for a receiving movement.
When it comes to serving, Kumagai is truly amazing!
As a player who serves during crucial points, Kumagai has the best serve among his generation. After all, he can Dual Wield, with Rishia's Power Serve not yet reaching its peak, Kumagai's performance is bound to be even better.
It was incredibly lucky that Kumagai would get to serve during the second set point of this set. Being more skilled than Tokura, Kumagui could certainly create better conditions, or.. it wasn't impossible to score directly!
Kumagai did not hesitate once he had the ball, tossing it straight up the moment the whistle blew.
The target of the serve was very clear, the goal of scoring was placed at its highest priority at this moment.
And what he had to do was very simple, just as he had done during every previous serve training session..
The approach, the jump, the full-power spike.
His target was aimed directly at Hakuma Mebuki, but.. this serve was much more accurate than Tokura's serve, just as heavy.
BANG!!
The ball expanded instantly in Hakuma's field of vision; even though he knew he was being targeted, he still failed to react correctly in time.
His large physique itself made him an easier target for people like Takahashi, this incredibly tricky chest-aimed spike..
After the second impact, the ball flew directly out of the court, giving Takahashi absolutely no chance to save it.
Landing on the ground, Kumagai let out a breath and pumped his fist in celebration: "Yes!"
An absolute Ace serve secured the final point of the set for Inarizaki, while simultaneously setting the entire stadium ablaze.
That was awesome! Akuma!!
Great serve, Kumagai!
Miya Atsumu, sitting at the Coach's bench, also stood up and clapped his hands. "Great play!"
Takahashi, who failed to provide timely cover for Hakuma on the Karasuno side, hurriedly apologized, "Sorry, my bad!"
It's fine, it's not your fault. You couldn't have covered a chest-aimed spike anyway.
Exhaling a breath, Hoshiumi raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, then turned his head to look at Hakuma with a deep gaze: "Stand a bit further back next time. If you can't catch it, at least you won't be unable to dodge it, right?"
Hakuma's brain worked hard as he replied seriously, "I'll receive it, someone will cover for me."
Hoshiumi raised his finger and pointed at the Inarizaki members on the other side: "You're being targeted, so play a bit more cautiously."
Listen to me, you stand closer to the baseline. Leave the receiving to me.
Takahashi hurriedly patted his chest. "Leave it to me!"
Hakuma said no more.
He understood what Hoshiumi meant. As long as he stood far enough back, he wouldn't be hit by a chest-aimed spike. After all, in that situation, he would only need to step aside, the ball would definitely go out of bounds. For the opponent to target him, they would have to choose to control the ball's landing point within the court, that way, Takahashi and the others on the side could perform a diving save.
But as expected.. there was still a sense of unwillingness.
Whether it was Coach Aran, his Junior High teachers, the basketball coaches he occasionally encountered before, or even Hoshiumi and Hirugami, they had all said more than once that he possessed "talent."
Of course, he thought so himself.
Height is the most incredible thing in volleyball, so he is the strongest genius.
But at this very moment, he has become the team's weakness, targeted by the opponents to lose points.
He can't go on like this, being covered by those shorty players and everything.. it's a bit too embarrassing.
As if sensing something, Hoshiumi looked up at Hakuma and said, "Work hard to break through their defense. After all, when it comes to absolute offense.. you are the Spiker, aren't you?"
Watching Hirugami go to get the school sign to prepare for the side change, Hoshiumi added one last sentence: "We'll cover you."
For Karasuno, the coach had already placed Hakuma, whose receiving movements lacked flexibility due to his physique, in the Opposite position.
And an absolute, powerful Opposite like Ushijima-senpai doesn't need to receive.