Watching the volleyball fall from above his head, Kanayama, the setter, raised his hands to touch the ball.
The moment he looked in the direction of the volleyball, the sound of the hit had already rang in his ears.
The ball slammed onto the ground immediately after, the orange-haired Little One, who had jumped much higher than their Ace, landed lightly and cheered with a clenched fist.
“Nice! Your touch is amazing today!”
The Hayakawa Industrial side was deathly silent; from the corner of his eye, he saw that the player facing Hinata's spike had even lost focus, spiking the ball out of bounds.
Coach Kurosu, who had specifically instructed Hinata to hit a scary shot, laughed heartily, extremely satisfied with the result.
"It means defeating the enemy without fighting." Shiratori nodded repeatedly.
"Natsume, what does this mean?" Bokuto leaned in, his face full of curiosity.
But Shiratori knew that even if he explained it, Bokuto wouldn't understand, it might even lead to even more overwhelming questions.
So he chose to pretend he hadn't heard.
“Natsume, Natsume, so what does that mean?” Bokuto's persistence flared up at this moment.
—Don't show it in a place like this!
The gentle smile on Shiratori's face almost vanished, but considering he was in his own cheering area and surrounded by many juniors, Shiratori still maintained his basic composure.
Seeing Shiratori treat him like thin air, Bokuto's expression slumped, he blinked his eyes, trying to win Shiratori's sympathy.
But Shiratori was iron-faced, sharp-tongued, cold-hearted.
As long as he wasn't on the court, he didn't have to indulge Bokuto—this was what Akaashi had taught him!
Shimizu shook her hands, drawing Bokuto's attention: "Mr. Sunshine, someone said they're coming over to watch the match, they're an acquaintance."
Bokuto's attention was instantly diverted: "Who? Is it that black-haired soccer player?"
Shimizu gave a big, emphatic "no"—"It's not—"
Kuroo is currently at Nippon Sport Science University's football club, he had visited their school during the previous exchange between the two schools.
But the other party had been participating in some kind of closed training recently, so there had been no contact with him for a long time, let alone coming here to watch the match.
Before Bokuto could come up with an answer, a voice rang out: "It's been a long time, Senpai."
Bokuto snapped his head around and saw Akaashi Keiji standing in the hallway.
“Akaashi—!”
Akaashi sat down in the empty seat next to Shimizu. "Bokuto-senpai is still the same as ever, but the match is about to start, so Bokuto-senpai should sit properly and not cause any trouble for Shiratori-senpai and the others."
Shiratori waved his hand dismissively. "He certainly has."
Akaashi smiled and turned to say, "Shiratori-senpai, you don't need to spoil Bokuto-senpai too much; he's the type who gets cocky when he's pampered."
He's fine off the court, but when Bokuto-senpai was less mature, he would get discouraged on the court because he couldn't find his rhythm for the Kou Chokusen.
This person was just protesting and feeling down last month because the cheering squad's clapping wasn't synchronized," Shiratori said, looking at Bokuto in an attempt to tattle, "While it's true that lack of synchronization can seem less enthusiastic, you can't expect the elderly and the children who came out of their own accord to cheer to find the exact beat.
Akaashi Keiji let out a soft sigh. "Bokuto-senpai has already improved; at least he doesn't lose his focus just because he thinks the venue is sparsely populated."
Shiratori's eyes widened: "So.. the rumor wasn't just a rumor?"
That rumor about Bokuto striking because of absurd reasons like the venue being too small or having too few people—he had always thought it was fake!
Thinking of this, Shiratori's gaze toward Akaashi held a hint of awe in addition to admiration.
Bokuto stared blankly at the two of them as they took turns accusing him, his shoulders slumping as he began to lose heart.
Shimizu smiled softly and pulled a piece of fruit candy from her pocket and handed it to him.
Bokuto felt a little bit comforted after receiving the candy.
Although he still has no way to completely control the ebb and flow of his emotions.. he will try his best.
While they were criticizing the unreliable Ace, both sides warming up below the court were also in a state of high tension.
Hinata performed many Quick Attacks during the warm-up phase, even showcasing his superb Short Diagonal technique.
Fukaya Kenro remarked softly, "Seeing this kind of quick attack from up close is truly even more terrifying."
Yamashiro Soji nodded. "The spiking motion is very standard. It looks like it's just fast, but in terms of positioning, ball speed, where the ball lands, it's absolutely flawless."
Wajima, the Libero, felt like his head was spinning: "The level of that technical spike is already invincible, isn't it?"
Thinking of the average number of saves made by Inarizaki's opponents in those videos, he turned his head to look at the two Middle Blockers.
“Whether it's a touch, a soft block, or just spiking directly at him so he can't get up.."
I'm leaving my life in your hands!
Hinata perked up his ears to listen to his opponent's praise, a happy smile spreading across his face, but then he let out a soft sigh.
Miya Atsumu raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"
That set he just made should have been perfect; there's no way Hinata wouldn't be satisfied with it.
Hinata's expression turned serious. "I suddenly understand where Hikari-kun's previous worries came from."
Atsumu was somewhat puzzled. "What troubles?"
What, since Hoshiumi has an issue with him, does he want Shoyo to have an issue with him too?
Hinata raised a finger and said seriously, "The number of people who look down on me is getting smaller and smaller."
Although the feeling of being valued and being targeted in a strategy was also exhilarating, but.. his spikes no longer had that effect of shocking the entire crowd.
That feeling of crushing them with a victory after being looked down upon—that's what's truly exhilarating!
Miya Atsumu's mouth twitched. Unable to free his hands, he used his toes to kick Hinata, who was across the net from him. "You should learn less from Hoshiumi; he really doesn't teach you anything proper."
Hinata dodged Miya Atsumu's foot. "Atsumu-ge, you're just lying through your teeth."
Miya Atsumu was the one who taught him the most improper things!
Reading the meaning in Hinata's eyes, Miya Atsumu gave a light cough. "I didn't teach you; you learned it yourself."
He changed the subject: "But as you move higher up, there will still be people who look down on you. Don't worry about that."
You have to realize that when they go out to compete, even Aran has been looked down upon because of his height, let alone Hinata.
This is only Asian-level competition; in world-class competitions where the average height of an Opposite is nearly 2m, Hinata would only be even more terrifying.
Of course, that's only if they can win and use their performance to slap those people in the face.
Hinata rubbed his hands together in anticipation: "That's going to be so exciting."
He is already prepared to shock the world stage alongside Hoshiumi!
Having learned a profound lesson from IH, Coach Kurosu decisively sent Miya Osamu onto the court for the draw.
Watching Miya Osamu return with the starting lineup, Miya Atsumu couldn't help but let out a scoff.
Coach Kurosu gave a light smile. "Just like usual, giving the newcomers a chance to make an appearance and get some practice in."
With a broad sweep of his hand, he wrote down Nishizawa Hokuto's name.
Inarizaki was never the type to hide anything; they didn't need to maintain an information advantage against national-level teams like they did in prefectural tournaments. Now that they were already competing on the national stage, they should boldly introduce anything new they had to offer.
Besides, there are two matches tomorrow, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Given that their blocking hasn't been fully mastered yet, the Libero, who needs to make frequent saves, will naturally be under significant physical strain, so Unabara Uta's stamina must be conserved as much as possible.
Nishizawa Hokuto was stunned: "Eh? You want me to go on?"
Miya Atsumu, who had made this decision together with Coach Kurosu, looked at him: "Is there a problem?"
He didn't need to ask Nishizawa Hokuto if he was ready to take the court, because he had already understood the other's resolve regarding "becoming the guardian behind the Ace."
Since he had sufficient resolve, there would be no problem with him taking the court.
Watching both sides confirm their starting lineups on the court, Hayami, who had just taken her place by the sidelines, widened her eyes.
He pointed at Nishizawa Hokuto, who was on the court wearing a white number 17 jersey. "Arashiyama-senpai, did Inarizaki have this person before?"
Arashiyama shook his head. "I don't think so. I remember their substitute Libero was a Third Year, right?"
Hayami narrowed her eyes slightly.
It's a short Libero..
In the stands, Inamura was equally confused.
Inarizaki changed their Libero? Unabara Uta went to the substitute bench? Has his injury not fully healed yet?
Komori shook his head. "That shouldn't be possible. It's just a mild muscle strain, not a broken leg. He'll probably be fully recovered in half a month."
Looking at the extremely familiar uniform on Nishizawa Hokuto, Inamura's mind raced with alarm: "Wait, don't you guys think this scene feels a bit.. like déjà vu?"
Komori pursed his lips. "It does seem a little bit like that."
Sakusa nodded, "Yeah."
Koldorf pointed out the crux of the matter: "The jersey numbers are the same, too."
The members of Itachiyama fell into a heavy silence.
Inamura tried to brainwash himself: "No, no, no, impossible, absolutely impossible!"
“This is all just deceptive tactics thrown out by those damn Inarizaki foxes! Where do they find so many sunbeams in the cracks of rocks!”
He didn't believe it!
This is definitely a tactic used by Inarizaki to deceive people!
The first match of the National Sports Festival doesn't prove anything, since the opponents' strength was limited after all.
If the opponent performs poorly, it doesn't show just how great the Libero is, so they must have just been there to fill the numbers and get some practice.
But likewise, Inarizaki could use this to their advantage to pull a fast one.
Shiratori crossed his arms over his chest, denying Akaashi's guess.
The only thing this kind of match can confirm is whether a Libero's fundamentals are solid; if one were to conclude that the opponent's skill level is lacking based solely on that, they would truly be falling into Inarizaki's trap.
As for high school matches, as long as a Libero's fundamentals are solid enough, that is actually sufficient.
Libero players from Coach Nekota's lineage were mostly trained according to this model.
But if it were Coach Kurosu..
There might be some unexpected surprises.