"That's true, later when you.." Aran's voice trailed off as he noticed two people on the court.
He reached out and pointed toward the two people whispering beside the court under the Inarizaki banner, his voice full of accusation.
I said that even though I clearly left seats for the two of them, they refused to come no matter what! So they actually snuck in with staff passes behind my back!
After saying that, he turned his head to look at Unai: "Even though I feel like Oikawa definitely wouldn't come to the Inarizaki cheering area."
Unai hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
Seeing Unai remain silent, Aran was slightly at a loss: "Unai-senpai, at a time like this, you should be retorting, 'So you invited him just to make him feel uncomfortable?'"
“Then I'll answer you, 'No, I did it just to make Atsumu feel uncomfortable.'”
Unai replied seriously, "I've learned it."
In the row behind, Ogata Tomoya silently swallowed the words that were already on the tip of his tongue.
Complaining about a senior is bad, bad..
The commentators had finished introducing the starting players for both sides, everyone had taken their positions according to the pre-submitted rotation sheet, waiting for the Head Referee to conduct the inspection.
A gasp escaped from the Karasuno members who were already seated in the stands.
“Eh?”
Takahashi's eyes widened: "Rakusan adjusted their opening rotation? They gave up on having the Ace start in Position 4?"
Tokura frowned slightly. "That shouldn't be right.. Not only does this rotation prevent the Ace from being in his most advantageous zone, but even the Captain, the pillar of the block, will be rotated to the back row in the next rotation.."
Kongming Asahina propped his chin in his hand, squinting as he looked at everyone on the court. "Maybe Rakusan really is hiding something interesting for Inarizaki."
Hoshiumi Hikari, sitting in front, turned his head to look at him: "What do you mean?"
Asahina sat up straight and replied, "I won't comment on the opponents Rakusan faced previously, but the Shirabu they faced in the last set is essentially a completely different style from Inarizaki."
“The Shirabu Ace is still a First Year and lacks maturity, so his strengths in blocking are still more prominent. Additionally, Usui-senpai's own skill level is quite average, his offensive coordination isn't particularly outstanding. Overall, that match was mostly about Rakusan's Ace, Aoba Haruka, breaking through Shirabu's blocking and defense; Rakusan's blocking level didn't really stand out much."
At most.. you could say that Aoba Haruka has indeed made some progress.
"That's true." Hoshiumi gave an affirmative response after recalling Rakusan's previous performance.
Looking at their positional adjustments, besides Miyazaki's serve potentially being stronger than originally expected, the one most likely holding something back is Aoba Haruka.
Hirugami nodded in agreement: "Yeah, Miyazaki's Banana Ball might indeed be stronger than we anticipated."
I remember Miya Atsumu can hit spin serves, but he's not particularly good at it; their Libero will likely struggle to receive a high-angle spin serve.
Oikawa Tooru crossed his arms over his chest and spoke to Kito.
Kito recalled seriously, "But I remember Inarizaki played against Rakusan before, right? Since they won, their Libero should have some experience."
Oikawa Tooru gave his opinion: "But that was over two months ago. There are still many ways for a mature Server to make adjustments."
“Whether it will actually be effective.. depends on what kind of adjustments Miyazaki Sho makes.”
“If I were him, I would sacrifice some precision and focus all my efforts on strengthening the spin and the arc of the Banana Ball, targeting the opponent's weak zones to the greatest extent possible.”
Kito nodded, giving Oikawa Tooru his affirmation: "Indeed, if the target is Inarizaki, this approach is very suitable."
In other words, if that is truly the case, then Rakusan's strategy of hiding must have been decided upon when they received this schedule.
The whistle blew from the court, the Head Referee signaled for Miyazaki Sho to serve.
Miya Atsumu didn't care about Rakusan's adjustment to their opening rotation; he had absolute confidence in his team's formation and would never be thrown off by any minor adjustments from the opponent.
He'll just deal with whatever comes his way.
Unabara Uta slightly raised his center of gravity, making it easier for him to adjust at any time based on the trajectory of the opponent's serve.
After going through these devilish training sessions with his teammates, he felt that his dynamic vision was quite good now, he wouldn't have much trouble with sudden reactions.
Hinata's positioning was deep in the back, protected by Rishia in the corner of the court to avoid being targeted by the serve.
Rishia Heisuke had a solemn expression, prepared at any moment to make the First Receive.
Miyazaki's serve is still very threatening, the Ace absolutely cannot be left exposed to the opponent's offensive range.
He said that he would become Hinata's strongest support, with him there, no one would be able to target Hinata with a serve.
Miyazaki spun the volleyball in his hands, adjusting his grip to get the feel right, after letting out a final breath, he decisively tossed the ball up.
Holding his breath, Miyazaki sprinted to the baseline and jumped less than ten centimeters from it, extending his arms before swinging down with all his might for a Spike.
A heavy thud echoed throughout the entire stadium as the ball, under Miyazaki Sho's heavy spike, flew in a wide arc outside the antenna on one side of the net, possessing an extreme curve and intense spin.
Rishia had just prepared to step forward to receive it when he heard Unabara Uta's voice in his ear: "I'll get it!"
He quickly stabilized his stance and took a half-step to the side, making space for Hinata to take his approach run.
On the other side, Unabara Uta had already judged the landing range of the ball, stepping back while lowering his center of gravity and raising one shoulder to prevent the ball from flying away after hitting his arms.
But the speed and power of this serve completely exceeded his original expectations; when the ball hit his arm, it carried his upper body backward with it.
Thud!
A collision sound rang out immediately after, the ball flew straight out of the court out of control.
There was no one behind Unabara Uta, Rishia Heisuke was even further away than Unabara Uta.
Miya Atsumu, who was closer, estimated the speed of the ball and decisively gave up on chasing it.
Miya Atsumu watched the ball land with one hand on his hip. He couldn't catch up to it anyway, even if he did, he wouldn't be able to receive it; in this situation, chasing after it would just be a waste of his already precious stamina.
The whistle blew, Miyazaki Sho scored a point with his serve.
The stands of Rakusan erupted into a thunderous roar of cheers in an instant.
Nice spike, A-xiang, A-xiang! One more ball!!
Unabara Uta apologized immediately: "Sorry, sorry! It was my fault!"
What happened with that ball..
He was certain he hadn't received the ball from the side, but he still lost control.
Before Miya Atsumu looked over, Hinata was the first to wave it off: "It's fine, I'll just get the next one."
Miya Atsumu withdrew his gaze and said nothing more.
This ball was quite unexpected. After struggling through three sets against Shirabu, can Rakusan still hold onto some of their strength?
For Inarizaki, who was playing from behind, scoring the first point was important, but not absolutely necessary. As long as they could break the momentum and score a point during his Service Turn, Inarizaki would still maintain their initial advantage.
Coach Natsume gave a small chuckle. They had come to this match with a determination to win, every single step had been carefully planned!
By the sidelines, Oikawa Tooru cried out in mock surprise, "Whoa—Inarizaki actually lost the first point, how rare."
You have to realize that, under normal circumstances, whether they start or go second doesn't have much impact on Inarizaki.
After all, as long as they win the first point of the entire match when serving second, it's still Miya Atsumu's Service Turn, there's no difference from serving first.
Kito crossed his arms over his chest and turned his head slightly to look at Oikawa Tooru. "You're right. This guy has truly conducted deeper research and training regarding the spin and the arc."
Oikawa Tooru lifted his chin slightly, a look of smug satisfaction crossing his face after being praised.
That guy has a physical advantage to begin with; unlike Sakusa, who uses his wrists to create spin, he uses those long arms of his to whip the ball away.
“As long as he can properly figure out the hitting angles and the way he applies power, he certainly won't be limited to his previous intensity.”
"But when it comes to arm length.." Kito's gaze shifted toward the Inarizaki waiting area, which was relatively close to them.
“Inarizaki's 11, with his long legs and long arms, his wingspan is bound to be superior to Miyazaki Sho's, even though he is taller.”
Oikawa Tooru waved his hand: "Inarizaki 11 is a rookie; studying these things is not as good as practicing your fundamentals."
And his advantages aren't limited to just his arm span; that guy also has great flexibility. I've seen him spike balls like Suna's.
Kito's eyes widened: "That's incredible."
Setting aside the current Third Year Miya Twins and Suna, Inarizaki already had Hinata as a mainstay among the Second Years, Rishia Heisuke's overall ability was also very strong.
It's still too early to tell with the First Year, but Nishizawa Hokuto, who has already taken the court, has a very high level of receiving; among Liberos of the same age, he is definitely in the upper echelon.
Now, the second years also have the newcomer Tokura, who possesses excellent physical conditioning in all aspects.
He was actually a bit curious about where Coach Kurosu managed to scavenge all these talented youngsters from..
The tall man, wearing sunglasses and a scarf, rushed to the Inarizaki side of the stands and sat in the seat next to Unai Aman: "It just started, so I made it in time."
Aran glanced at the other man but didn't ask anything.
The fact that Kita Shinsuke wouldn't be able to make it today had already been communicated to the Coach and the person in charge of the cheering squad, so it didn't matter whether the seat remained empty or someone else sat there.
The newcomer looked at Unai, but his eyes lit up when he finally saw Aran.
He pointed his finger toward the Inarizaki waiting area and said quite familiarly, "That one, the tallest one, is my kid!"
Aran froze for a moment. "Tokura Yukihito?"
The other person nodded vigorously. "Oh, my seat was originally behind the third floor, so I couldn't see anything clearly, but Yukihito told me there was an empty seat in the first row today, so I could sit there just in time."
I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Gojo, I was Yukihito's former teacher.
Tokura, in the middle of the court, felt something and turned around to see someone vigorously waving at him from just behind the Inarizaki banner.
“Yukihito—Go for it—!”
Yukihito—the coolest—
Tokura turned his head back, pretending he hadn't seen anything.
Chapter 432: The 432th Fox
Hearing that exceptionally distinct voice, which felt completely out of place with Inarizaki's usual cheering, Miya Atsumu froze for a moment: "That.. is that Yukihito's teacher?"
Miya Osamu replied, "Probably."
Miya Atsumu fell silent.
He raised his hand and wiped his face. "They really are lively.. even a bit noisy."
In the cheering area, Tokura hunched his shoulders, trying to pretend he wasn't there.
He hadn't even stepped onto the court yet, but if he did later.. if he played well, it would be fine, but if he played poorly, someone would definitely start mocking him loudly on the spot and would even take a photo to send to his mother, who worked far away at Sydney Theater.