Back when we were at Shiratorizawa, that wing spiker who was with Hinata said that he needed plenty of praise, so this should be fine..
As Kageyama turned his head to check the status of the back row Wing Spiker, he happened to catch Hinata's slightly uncomfortable and contorted face.
He couldn't help but click his tongue lightly, then sent the ball to Sakusa Kiyoomi over at Position 4.
He gave the ball very gently, providing Sakusa with plenty of time to adjust and move forward to coordinate, ensuring there would never be a serious mismatch or a situation where Sakusa failed to come up for the spike.
After measuring the position of this ball, Sakusa timed it perfectly to take his approach and jump.
Across the net, Miya Atsumu and two others rushed forward, forming a three-man Block directly in front of Sakusa, intending to shut down his spike path.
But Sakusa's advantage lies in using his sufficiently flexible wrists to adjust the ball into even more undefendable trajectories, such as.. an extremely sharp Short Diagonal, or using the ball to tool the block at moments others simply cannot reach.
Facing a three-man Block, Sakusa used a backhand touch to send the ball toward the front of the opponent's court.
Hoshiumi dove for the ball, barely managing to touch it.
“Nice play!" Miya Atsumu praised, raising his hand to send the ball toward Chikatani in the front row.
Chikatani rushed forward quickly, at the moment of his spike, he transitioned into a light tap, sending the ball on a tip over the net.
Hanae reacted extremely quickly, performing a diving save to get under the ball.
Nice play!" Hinata praised, then moved back to create enough space for a run-up. "One more!
The moment he heard those words, Chikatani immediately cast his gaze toward Sakusa.
Hinata's current position isn't great, in Inarizaki's system, Hinata's more important role is as a Decoy. Since it's a Second Attack.. then there's an eighty percent chance this ball will still go to Sakusa.
No.. considering Inarizaki's core playstyle, could it also be a decoy in the opposite direction?
The moment the ball flew out, Kageyama made a fake set toward Hinata.
Chikatani breathed a small sigh of relief and quickly moved toward Hinata.
He knew that the people from Inarizaki were incredibly tough!
But in the next instant, Kageyama, who had originally prepared a back set to Position 2, sent the ball directly; the entire process was extremely fast, with only three fingers making contact.
It was too late for Chikatani to make an emergency adjustment; only Miya Atsumu could face Sakusa head-on.
But Sakusa was never someone who could be restricted by a single-person Block. Miya Atsumu's solo Block was almost meaningless, even the Line he barely managed to restrict was completely unable to interfere with Sakusa.
Sakusa aimed for the defensive gap between Bai Ze and Aoba Haruka on the side, but Bai Ze's oversized body failed to support him in completing his subsequent receiving movement.
The ball hit the side of his arm and went out of control, crashing onto the floor.
The whistle blew, announcing a score for Hinata's side.
As Hinata landed, he raised his hands in celebration toward Sakusa in front of him. After receiving a nod of acknowledgment from Sakusa, he turned and rushed toward Kageyama, signaling for him to high-five.
Kageyama also raised his hand, Hinata, in a very good mood, jumped up directly and gave him a heavy high-five.
Facing such an enthusiastic teammate for the first time, Kageyama lost his balance completely when he went to high-five Hinata, the force of Hinata's slap sent him reeling backward.
Hinata grinned, then turned his head toward Miya Atsumu, baring his teeth and making a peace sign.
Miya Atsumu grinned through gritted teeth, but.. he admitted that he was happy.
Because he could feel that Hinata was very happy at this moment, that was enough.
For Hinata, as he entered the Junior National Team training camp, the Junior National Team coach recognized Hinata's ability while simultaneously splitting him and Hinata apart.
To receive such high recognition from the most important people, even to be able to cooperate with a setter whose technical skills are not inferior to his..
He must have been incredibly happy.
But speaking of which..
Miya Atsumu looked at Kageyama on the opposite side, his expression far from friendly.
Hinata was looking forward to Kageyama's arrival, but from his perspective.. Kageyama had not given him enough of a response.
That's so frustrating.
"So frustrating." Hoshiumi's voice suddenly rang out, catching Miya Atsumu off guard.
Without even looking at Miya Atsumu, Hoshiumi simply shook his hands. "Atsumu, try something more tricky. We can't keep playing like this forever."
The opponents have started using tricks, so their conventional playstyle won't work for us at all.
Miya Atsumu, who had been accused of lacking spirit by Hoshiumi, fell silent for a moment, then turned his head and said, "Then make sure you can keep up."
Hoshiumi let out a scoff: "Heh."
Even if they played with a single core, he was confident he could handle the opponent's defense, not to mention that Komori, who was originally a Wing Spiker himself, could also support the offense.
Aoba Haruka raised his hand to call for the ball: "Me too, me too! I want it too!"
Miya Atsumu gave an OK sign, then turned his head to look at Chikatani: "And you?"
Chikatani waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, no, I'll just stick to my regular style."
What a joke! He watched the Finals, even if he used Shadow Clone Jutsu, he wouldn't be able to keep up with the kind of flashy set Miya Atsumu pulls off!
Bai Ze also shook his head, indicating that he should just play as usual.
Miya Atsumu nodded: "Understood."
Hoshiumi was already back in the front row; for now, it would be best to build a system centered around him as the sole core.
Suna's serve was as weak as ever; although it was a ball that was somewhat difficult to receive due to being a buzzer-beater, it wasn't too difficult for Komori.
He raised his hands, receiving the ball steadily and sending it with precision toward the front row's attack line.
Miya Atsumu jumped decisively the moment he saw the ball flying toward him, sending a high and fast set toward Position 4 with great decisiveness.
Although it wasn't as difficult as the balls Hinata usually hits, the overall tempo was still faster than most Quick Attacks.
Seeing Miya Atsumu increase the difficulty for him, Hoshiumi-senpai quickly stepped up to follow.
It must be said that Miya Atsumu controlled the timing perfectly; this height and speed was a Quick Attack orchestrated right at the limit of his reaction speed.
The moment he jumped and prepared to spike, Hoshiumi suddenly realized something was wrong.
Wait.. does Miya Atsumu understand him that well?
He and Miya Atsumu didn't have much of a history of working together; was Miya Atsumu really able to be this familiar with his offensive habits?
Seeing the ball land precisely less than three centimeters from the sideline, Hoshiumi also landed on the ground the moment the whistle blew.
He turned his head to look at Miya Atsumu, a terrifying suspicion forming in his mind.
Wait.. this Miya Atsumu guy..
He wouldn't have watched the footage of their match countless times after losing the game, would he!
Miya Atsumu confirmed it.
He now knows more about all the players of Karasuno than even their coach does, being able to precisely grasp Hakuma's blocking habits and the scope of Hoshiumi's offensive capabilities.
For their future matches.. this is their greatest weapon.
Hanae, having failed to receive the ball, cried out in frustration, "Just a little more!"
Damn, why has Hoshiumi-senpai started using this kind of Quick Attack? I didn't expect that at all!
Kageyama pulled his gaze away from the ball, at that same moment, Miya Atsumu was looking at him.
That look seemed to be saying to him—did you see that? That's how the ball is set.
Hinata looked at the two people who had completed a perfect coordination on the other side of the net, his eyes shining: "That was so cool! Atsumu-ge! Hikari-kun!"
Damn it! He felt like he should be on the other side!
He also wanted to play in Team One alongside Atsumu and Hoshiumi!
Kageyama lowered his head in thought, mentally recording the entire process of the play that just occurred.
It was still the same as before, trying to push his teammates to their limits and stimulating their motivation to attack..
First, I should find a way to probe the habits of the other teammates.
Kageyama looked at Sakusa, a fierce fighting spirit burning in his eyes.
Sakusa turned his head to avoid Kageyama's gaze, refusing to meet his eyes.
For some reason.. Kageyama gave him the feeling that he might be a lot of trouble.
"Give me the ball!!" Hinata shouted, raising his hand to call for Kageyama's set.
He didn't intend to perform a Quick Attack, it was just a regular Hou Si, Kageyama's movement didn't change at all.
In the moment he prepared to set to Position 4, he used his fingers to flick the ball, sending it directly over the net.
Hoshiumi, who hadn't even had time to jump for a Block, turned his head and lunged to the side, getting under the ball for a receive.
"Nice!" Watching the ball fly up, Miya Atsumu breathed a sigh of relief.
Kageyama, whose Second Attack had failed, gave a light click of his tongue and quickly prepared for the subsequent defense after retreating.
Atsumu quickly moved forward, lowering his center of gravity, almost crouched on the ground to deliver a back set.
Komori had already leaped in front of the net, coordinating with Miya Atsumu to spike the ball.
Kageyama's eyes widened slightly as he watched Miya Atsumu's movement from up close, he couldn't help but daze for a moment.
The ball was spiked right along the sideline by Komori, crashing into Hinata's side of the court.
"Nice!" Komori high-fived Miya Atsumu as he landed, the two of them cheered together.
Aoba clapped: "The momentum has shifted!"
Hinata cheered for everyone: "Don't worry about it, don't worry about it! Just win the next one back!"
But the only ones responding to him were Hanae and.. half of Hakuma.
After scoring consecutive points, Miya Atsumu regained control of the match. Even with the upper hand, his more conservative playstyle became impossible to break through under Komori's all-around protection.
After thinking it over carefully, Kageyama still decided to utilize Hakuma, a player who leaned more toward a brute-force style, to break through the defense.
Coach Hiya, who had walked back to the sidelines, reached out to scratch his chin. "I can tell.. to some extent, Kageyama is imitating and learning from Miya Atsumu's play."
That makes sense. Whether it's Hinata or Sakusa, both are very unique Spikers. Without enough time to build chemistry, copying the answer directly might be their best option.
Coach Unabara also nodded: "Let's wait and see."
He could actually understand Kageyama's thought process.