Karasuno lacked sufficient coaching staff; given their inability to fully explore things on their own, it was reasonable for them to adopt this introductory method.
Hinata used to do the same, proactively learning every technique he ever saw.
Aran's tone was very heavy: "Once he reaches the day where he is no longer limited to just imitation, he'll become terrifying, won't he?"
Miya Atsumu replied, "But at least it's not like that right now."
He didn't mind being imitated or learned from; after all, he was so amazing and strong that being studied was only natural.
At this stage, it is his victory!
He wins! He wins big!
Hinata cheered loudly for Aoba Haruka: "Give it your best, Haruka!"
Standing by the sidelines with her arms crossed, Hayami, who had not been assigned any tasks for these two matches by the Coach, watched Aoba Haruka as he prepared to serve.
He whispered, "Who do you think.. will get the first service ace?"
Chikatani gave it some serious thought before finally providing an answer: "Hirugami-san.. or maybe Ushijima-senpai."
Sakusa-senpai has already moved to the front row. Although Haruka's receiving is decent, at the end of the day, there's a huge gap between her and those who are truly skilled at it. I remember Hirugami Fuku's serve is notoriously nasty in the V1 League; he might not be able to handle it.
As for Ushijima-senpai.. that is pure left-handed advantage and absolute, violent power suppression.
Although Aoba Haruka isn't quite the same small-statured player as Hinata and the others, he is still small enough for a court where the average height is over 185 cm, that kind of violent serve could easily send him flying.
Hayami replied, "Then I'll bet on Sakusa-senpai."
Chikatani said helplessly, "I thought you were going to say Hinata."
Hayami said seriously, "Even though I'm rooting for Hinata, I'm still a realist; there's no point in guessing things that are impossible."
If the probability of Sakusa scoring the first point via a serve is thirty percent, then for Hinata, it is zero.
Low-probability events and absolute impossibilities are fundamentally different.
Aoba Haruka's serve was received by Bokuto and sent toward the Attack Line.
Having enjoyed two of Heiwajima's thoughtful sets, Miya Atsumu gave a negative review of Bokuto's crude setting.
But since it was a playable set regardless, it wasn't that bad, so he gave it a positive review on the surface: "Great first receive!"
After all, maintaining a Spiker's condition is also one of the Setter's duties.
Having just lost the first service point, Bokuto raised his hand to call for the ball: "Give me the ball!"
Neither Sakusa nor Hinata are power players, but he is confident that his back-row attack from this position can directly break through the opponent's block.
Moreover.. he considered himself quite skilled at technical plays.
But Miya Atsumu didn't even look at him; under the cover of him and Aran, he sent the ball to Ushijima Wakatoshi at Position 4.
In this formation, the blocker positioned near Ushijima Wakatoshi was Hinata, while Sakusa and the middle blocker Hakuma guarded the diagonal.
Hinata jumped a little later, reaching out to try and touch Ushijima Wakatoshi's spike at a lower point.
But he wasn't familiar enough with Ushijima Wakatoshi, he couldn't adapt to the spin of a left-hander at all. The position where he reached out to touch the ball missed the trajectory of Ushijima's spike, the ball flew straight past him toward Aoba.
Aoba decisively abandoned a standard receiving stance, choosing to go for a diving save to handle the ball.
With a loud thud, the ball bounced high into the air and landed outside the court.
Hinata lunged to chase the ball as it landed, but the ball was simply too high; it hit the net used to divide the court halfway through its flight, leaving Hinata with no chance to save it.
Ushijima scored with a spike.
Standing by the net, Hinata gritted his teeth and gave it a frustrated tug: "Damn it! Move back a little more!"
Although the ball was high, it wasn't actually that far; even if it landed three or four meters outside the court, he could have intercepted it while it was still in mid-air.
Without that net, he would have been able to reach that ball completely.
Aoba Haruka apologized, "I'm sorry, my bad."
Hinata said decisively, "It's not Haruka's fault, it's the net's fault!"
Although, ultimately, his failure to get a touch on the block was also a reason for the point being lost, he could make up for that mistake if he could compensate for it.
On the other side of the net, Bokuto began to protest: "Atsu-kun—"
From the opening until now, Miya Atsumu hasn't even glanced at him, let alone the ball.
If it were Natsume, he probably would have given it to him just now.
His position is also amazing! How cool is it to score with a back-row attack!
Miya Atsumu was being pestered relentlessly: "Fine, fine, fine, I'll give it to you in a bit!"
It wasn't that he thought Bokuto wouldn't be able to get the point, but after all, Komori was still on the opposing side; he simply chose the side that would cause relatively fewer problems afterward.
Aran said softly, "He's just talking; he won't give it to him in a moment even if he says he will."
Bokuto, who was just about to cheer, froze and blinked twice at Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu's movement froze completely.
He slowly turned his head toward Aran, his expression bordering on a breakdown: "Aran, what are you saying! Do you really have to fan the flames right now!"
Bokuto looked at Miya Atsumu, attempting to use his eyes to win Miya Atsumu's favoritism.
The cold-hearted, iron-blooded setter, Miya Atsumu, acted as if he hadn't seen it.
Asagami, who had replaced the player from Heiwajima, patted Bokuto's shoulder: "Hahaha, don't worry, don't worry. Atsumu always keeps his word. I'll be counting on you to show off your skills in a moment."
Aran silently swallowed his retort.
—He's just lying through his teeth.
Bokuto believed it.
Bokuto, who had originally begun to accept his fate as an ordinary spiker relegated to a mere tool within the team, believed it.
His fighting spirit flared once again, a fierce will to attack surged through his body toward Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu was a bit stunned by this unexpected result.
As everyone knows, Bokuto is a typical slow-starter who relies heavily on his condition during a match.
But the match has only just begun, Bokuto is already in his hype mode?!
So.. is making empty promises the correct way to use Bokuto?!
Miya Atsumu, who had suddenly come to a realization, felt his head itching.
But the next second, he shook his head vigorously, casting aside all that "useless knowledge" and those unrealistic thoughts.
What a joke, he doesn't want to be on the same team as Bokuto; Coach Unabara's arrangement for him mainly focuses on Ushijima.
As long as he could avoid being on the same professional team as Bokuto, he wouldn't have to deal with too many issues regarding adaptation and coordination, he wouldn't need to seriously think about how to keep feeding the other person empty promises.
He refused to think about such a terrifying problem!
Let Shiratori-senpai worry about that instead!
Chapter 400: The Four Hundredth Fox Chapter
Holding the volleyball as he walked toward the service position, Hirugami Fuku let out a laugh. "In that case, it looks like that first serve point will eventually end up in my hands."
Although he is merely a supporting player in this match, at least during the serve phase, he can move and act without any constraints.
Let these youngsters see the terrible serve of a hateful adult!
Spinning the volleyball in his hands, Hirugami and the Head Referee nodded to each other.
Once he confirmed that he was ready, Coach Arakawa raised his hand and blew the whistle as he pulled it back inward.
In that very instant, Hirugami Fuku raised his hand and tossed the ball up.
His toss was a very standard projectile motion, ensuring he could complete the entire hitting process at maximum speed.
It was the most extreme, standard, tricky buzzer-beater.
Hirugami's movement was fast and decisive; from the moment the referee blew the whistle to the moment Komori heard the sound of the hit, the interval was less than half a second, essentially happening in one continuous motion.
Before he could even snap out of it, the ball had already crossed the net and smashed down.
Using his fast enough physical instincts, Komori lunged forward at the very moment the ball was about to hit the ground, barely managing to touch the ball with his single arm.
—Beautiful.
Hirugami, who had just served, was not disappointed that his serve didn't score; instead, he felt a deep sense of gratification from seeing such a brilliant performance by his junior.
"Kageyama!" he shouted, calling out the setter's name.
He didn't doubt whether a setter could handle a low set, after all, he didn't expect every setter to have as much obsession with receiving a set as Miya Atsumu, but..
Kageyama should still be able to handle a low set, right?
Looking at this ball, which wasn't high enough and was far from the Attack Line, Kageyama's mind went blank for a brief moment.
It's a bit difficult to set; if he wants to ensure stability, actually just setting it with his hands would be the best option.
But just letting the ball go like that.. I can't help but feel a bit unsatisfied.
Hinata, who had already stepped back to create enough distance for a running approach, glanced at him, Kageyama stopped thinking.
Across the net, Miya Atsumu was slightly taken aback the moment he caught the change in his expression, but before he could say anything, Kageyama had already reached out to touch the ball while lowering his center of gravity as much as possible.
Although he had experience handling this kind of ball at Karasuno, this was the first time Kageyama had attempted to provide a ball with enough difficulty under these circumstances.
Anyway.. let's try.
The moment the ball slipped from his hands, Kageyama's expression shifted slightly.
Across the net, Miya Atsumu almost burst out laughing, while Heiwajima, waiting in the substitution area by the sidelines, closed his eyes.
That set was quite terrible.
It wasn't a matter of height or speed; under those extreme conditions, Kageyama failed to control the rotation of the touch, resulting in a ball with almost no topspin.
At this ball speed, it's actually impossible to spike.
Watching the ball fly toward him after the setter's light touch, Hinata licked his lips and rushed forward with an extremely calm expression.