Watching Nishizawa's legs tremble slightly, Miya Atsumu fell silent.
He certainly had the determination, but he seemed to have overestimated Nishizawa's physical readiness.
Wait.. has Nishizawa Hokuto never played in a formal match before?
Hinata, who had been dragged into a match despite his lack of experience, hit him in the head with a serve, hoping Nishizawa wouldn't hit him with a toss.
Otherwise..
He really thought the flowerbed in front of Sankan's entrance was quite nice.
Atsumu spun the volleyball in his hands, deciding to ignore these issues for now.
If we really can't play, Coach Kurosu will make a substitution, so let's just let Nishizawa try a few balls first.
They have the confidence to pay for their teammates' mistakes, so there is no need to hesitate.
The whistle blew, the Head Referee signaled Miya Atsumu to serve.
Chapter 407: The 407th Fox
Wajima is very nervous right now.
As the Libero of a team trained under the Nekoma system, he, who has already risen to become a Third Year, is undoubtedly the core of the team's core.
Although he had some confidence in his own fundamentals, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread when facing the legendary Miya Atsumu's serve.
The Coach and his teammates didn't have high expectations for him; they basically just wanted him to be able to receive the ball within five attempts, without even requiring a stable receive.
Can he do it?
In the moment the cheers from the entire crowd fell silent following Miya Atsumu's movement, Wajima had already reached his answer.
In the next second, as the whistle blew, the ball had already been tossed into the air.
Before his gaze could even follow it, the sound of impact erupted. The ball slammed into the ground by his feet almost instantly, giving him absolutely no time to react.
—You can't do that.
The whistle blew, the Head Referee signaled that Inarizaki had scored the point with a serve.
Cheers erupted from the stands: "Great play, Atsumu! One more!!"
Wajima slowly relaxed his clenched hands, his fingers trembling and numb uncontrollably.
It wasn't even Miya Atsumu's signature Jump Float Serve; it was just a simple and pure Power Serve, it was just.. simply so fast that he couldn't react in time.
At this rate, let alone five serves, he wouldn't even have the full confidence to receive ten.
"Calm down!" Fukaya Kenro shouted sharply.
He didn't look back at Wajima, but simply kept his back to him, repeating once more, "Don't panic."
He didn't dare look back, fearing his unsightly expression would interfere with Wajima's state.
Before this, Miya Atsumu's highest serve speed was around 110 kilometers per hour, but that last serve was clearly above that—it was a ball speed he had never faced before.
After all, the best team they had played against in terms of results was Nekoma, Nekoma was still a very typical team, lacking both strong offense and power serves.
Wajima took a deep breath and suddenly raised his hand, slapping it hard against his own face.
Slap!
With that slap, Wajima's hands stopped shaking, his heart stopped racing.
He let out a long breath. "Okay, I'm calm now."
Don't be afraid.
He didn't think someone with Miya Atsumu's flamboyant personality would switch to a Jump Float Serve after scoring a point with such momentum from a Power Serve, especially since Miya Atsumu's Power Serve would specifically target the Libero, so all he had to do was "guess" where Miya Atsumu would aim.
A fifty-fifty chance—it was worth the gamble, he had to take it.
Hinata looked at his own hands. "Is it really that useful?"
He seemed to have seen this scene more than once; could he do the same next time he felt nervous?
If he could have learned it a little earlier.. maybe he wouldn't have hit Atsumu with his serve.
As if sensing what Hinata was thinking, Suna looked back at him. "Don't copy him."
Hinata felt a bit of regret. "Oh."
It was true; as long as he wasn't nervous, that kind of technique was useless.
Except for those first few times he played in a match.. he really hasn't felt nervous on the court much since then.
Arashiyama, standing by the sidelines, gasped, "That must have been one hundred and fifteen, maybe nearly one hundred and twenty."
Hayami expressed her deep loathing for this: "And it was a buzzer-beater, too."
They've all gone bad, every single one of these servers has gone bad. Hirugami-senpai is the root of all evil!
In the future, it won't just be Suna using whistle-blowing tactics at Inarizaki; Miya Atsumu might also play like that, making the pressure on the First Receive even greater..
Thinking of this, he gave Wajima a sympathetic look.
Miya Atsumu tossed the volleyball in his hands in a good mood, then stood six steps away from the baseline, preparing for his next serve.
Hirugami-senpai's buzzer-beater serves were mostly flat trajectories in pursuit of speed, but since a flat trajectory would affect the power and speed of the serve, it was not his first choice.
After all.. if he wasn't pursuing extreme power and ball speed, why would he use a Power Serve?
Wajima stared with full concentration at Miya Atsumu. Although he couldn't see Miya Atsumu's movement clearly because of the cover provided by Suna and Miya Osamu's serve, at the very least, he could see him when the ball was tossed into the air.
But this time, Miya Atsumu delayed tossing the ball, the breath he had held in anticipation of a buzzer-beater ball remained stuck in his throat, unable to subside.
Wajima instantly realized it was a ball meant to time the serve.
This kind of technique is something they use themselves quite often, it's a bit easier to deal with compared to a buzzer-beater..
But.. receiving this right after a buzzer-beater feels like being in two completely different worlds..
He silently counted the seconds remaining for the serve in his mind, at the exact moment the eighth vibration of the second passed in his heart, something flew into his field of vision.
Wajima lowered his center of gravity, ready to face the impact at any moment.
Bang!!
A heavy thud occurred again as the ball flew over the net and smashed down in an instant.
Watching Wajima's incredibly decisive movement of stepping one step toward his left, Miya Atsumu's expression was slightly surprised.
Having successfully predicted the landing area of the ball, Wajima lowered his center of gravity, attempting to face this serve in the most stable position possible.
He guessed that the landing spot of this ball was entirely due to luck, so he absolutely could not waste this opportunity.
The ball's speed was still very high, but since he had already found the right receiving position, that speed was no longer a problem.
As long as he can complete the process of absorbing the impact..
Thud!!
The ball hit his arm, knocking him backward and causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
The ball bounced back almost at its original speed, flying at a very high angle toward the second floor of the spectator stands.
The whistle blew again, the Head Referee signaled a point for Inarizaki.
Miya Atsumu, who had landed on the floor, stuck out his tongue to lick his lips and gave a small smile toward Wajima on the ground.
—Just kidding.
—Even if you guessed, you wouldn't be able to receive it.
Hinata pressed his hand against his chest, attempting to suppress his pounding heart, but he failed completely.
Atsumu-ge, that was so cool—
Miya Atsumu raised a hand to brush back his hair and snapped his fingers at Hinata. "Cool, right? Come on, cheer for me!"
Hinata threw confetti around him, cheering for him: "Atsumu-ge is the strongest! Atsumu-ge is the coolest! Atsumu-ge's Serve is invincible!"
One more! The third point!
Miya Osamu rolled his eyes: "That was tacky."
What kind of sane person plays with their hair and snaps their fingers like that? This isn't even a peacock displaying its feathers anymore; it's just an eyesore.
Suna stood with his hands on his hips. "But some people are willing to support him."
Osamu replied irritably, "That's because you're blinded by greed."
Atsumu protested, "Hey!"
Asakura, the Middle Blocker standing in Position 4 in the front row, let out a soft sigh: "He's.. not taking us seriously at all."
Such an easygoing attitude.. is this the composure of a top-tier team?
Wajima, having crawled up from the ground, shook his hands and said with a solemn expression, "No, on the contrary, I feel like they are taking us quite seriously."
As a Libero from a school known for its strong defense, to have the chance to receive a serve like that before graduation..
He felt incredibly honored.
Coach Kanoko, who was by the sidelines, intended to call a time-out, but Fukaya Kenro, noticing Wajima's fighting spirit, waved his hand to signal to wait for one more play.
That kind of serve's power was indeed something that couldn't be adapted to in a short period, but after the direct contact from that last ball, he believed Wajima had already found some rhythm.
It's fine, as long as he can barely receive it, that's enough..
Exhaling, Miya Atsumu walked back to the serving position once again.
He raised his hand and lightly flicked the volleyball, making it spin on his fingertips.
The whistle signaling the serve sounded in his ears, the Head Referee's hand gesture appeared in his field of vision.
This time, Atsumu didn't wait for the whistle or linger too long; after a quick adjustment to his touch, he tossed the ball directly.
It was still a powerful Jump Serve, still aimed directly at the Libero, Wajima.
After a heavy thud, the ball slammed directly onto the floor.
Wajima failed to hit that fifty percent this time; he missed.