“Besides, he shares the same DNA as Miya Atsumu, so I'm not surprised he can pull off a spike like that.”
Amatori spoke stuttering in shock: "N-no.. that's not right! This isn't right at all!"
This just doesn't make any sense at all!
Takahashi also cried out in frustration on the court.
You have to understand, when they saw it was Miya Osamu's toss, they had already ruled out the possibility of a negative tempo Quick Attack, yet in the end, Inarizaki showed them that Miya Osamu and Hinata could play it too.
After high-fiving Hinata, Miya Osamu tilted his head slightly toward Miya Atsumu and gave him a nod of acknowledgment.
Miya Atsumu curled his lip in disdain toward him, but ultimately offered a compliment: "The set was decent; it was halfway to my level of skill."
Miya Osamu laughed, "You're so stingy. I think it was at least eighty percent as good as mine."
Miya Atsumu raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding me?! That set of yours wasn't even a high ball! You didn't even give Shoyo a chance to adjust! How can you have the nerve to say that!"
Seeing him like this, Miya Osamu replied expressionlessly, "What are you rushing for? Maybe if I work hard when I get back, I'll be able to master it."
—Even though he didn't want to practice at all, it didn't stop him from annoying Miya Atsumu.
Knowing that Miya Osamu was trying to provoke him, a slightly calmer Miya Atsumu turned and asked, "Are you more interested in volleyball now?"
Miya Osamu shrugged. "Not really."
Compared to volleyball, he might be more interested in teasing Miya Atsumu.
Miya Atsumu's eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head. "Tsk."
“Both sides have more or less figured out each other's methods; what comes next is a test of willpower.." Shiratori's words paused slightly, as he suddenly realized that the people around him were unusually quiet.
He turned his head to look, what met his eyes was Bokuto's pale face.
Shiratori's heart sank, he completed his analysis of Bokuto's situation in just a single second.
He hurriedly reached out to grab Bokuto, shaking him by his shoulders. "Breathe! You're going to suffocate!!"
The match is between Shoyo and Hoshiumi's group, not you!
Bokuto finally caught his breath, his face filled with terror: "That was terrifying.. I thought I was going to die.."
“Long rallies are terrifying.. so terrifying..”
He was worst at this; if he hadn't been able to score with a spike himself, he would have definitely wanted to find a crack in the ground to hide in and grow mushrooms.
Shiratori said weakly, "Can you please show some spirit?"
After two seconds of silence, Shiratori mustered the courage to cheer for Bokuto: "Don't you want to be a role model for Shoyo? When he comes to us, you can't let him see an Ace who can't even handle a single long rally, right?"
Bokuto sat up straight instantly.
He thought seriously about Shiratori's words, his eyes lit up. "That makes sense! Natsume, let's go back and practice our strategies for long rallies!"
Shiratori nodded repeatedly. "Alright, alright, let's practice, let's practice."
On the court, Hakuma's spike was dug up by Unabara Uta's diving receive, sent with precision toward the Attack Line.
Seizing the opportunity, Miya Atsumu executed a beautiful front-to-back Double Quick, Miya Osamu scored with a spike.
Inarizaki took an early 8-point lead, bringing the match to a time-out.
Unabara Uta supported his legs, unable to even straighten his back.
Rishia grabbed his arm and pulled him straight up: "Go back and rest for a bit. If you really can't move anymore, we'll sub in Nishizawa Hokuto."
Unabara Uta felt his vision go black: "You're even helping him stage a coup.."
But truly, he felt that he was reaching his limit; once he let this breath out, he might not be able to sustain this high-intensity exercise anymore.
On the other side, Hinata and Miya Atsumu also sat down on the Coach's bench for a brief rest.
This high-intensity pace, established by their proactive offensive, cannot be slowed down. Hinata's and Miya Osamu's conditions are far from good, Miya Atsumu's spirits are also somewhat flagging.
Seeing Hinata sit down in the chair, his breathing still rapid and unable to steady, feeling as though he were gasping for air, Coach Omimi quickly pulled out an oxygen tank and pressed it into his hands.
Seeing Hinata looking dazed while holding the oxygen tank, Miya Atsumu reached out to help him start it and pressed it against his face.
“Don't rush, slow your breathing down. There's enough oxygen; don't inhale so sharply.”
As a higher concentration of oxygen was pumped in, Hinata, under Miya Atsumu's guidance, controlled his breathing, slowly recovering his condition.
Coach Kurosu frowned as he scanned everyone's faces. "Hold on a little longer. Karasuno will likely collapse, setting Hoshiumi aside, Hakuma can no longer jump."
Nishizawa Hokuto will replace Unabara for the rest of the match, but the overall strategy remains the same. Can Osamu hold on? Should we sub in Ginjima?
Miya Atsumu spoke up in time: "Let Yui replace Heisuke."
Although Nishizawa Hokuto's condition is quite good, I need Ginjima Yui to handle the defense on the left wing. Rishia Heisuke's physical exertion has also been quite high, so let him rest for a while.
Coach Kurosu nodded in agreement. "Alright."
Rishia had no objections, merely nodding silently before taking the small blanket handed to him by the coach and wrapping it around himself to prevent catching a cold once the match concluded.
Coach Omimi looked at Hinata cautiously: "How are you feeling?"
After confirming his condition, Hinata put down the oxygen tank: "It's amazing, I feel like I've come back to life."
Although his body was still very tired, his mind was much clearer.
Those last few movements really did exceed his physical limits; he should be more careful. We are already in the middle-to-late stages of the match, so if he has to leave the court because of physical issues, it wouldn't be worth the cost.
While Hinata was discussing his physical condition with Coach Omimi, Miya Atsumu was also making arrangements for the next steps.
He turned his head toward Tokura and said, "Yukihito, when you are in the front row later, keep a close eye on Hoshiumi."
Tokura processed this and asked, "Should I use a one-on-one block on Hoshiumi-senpai?"
Miya Atsumu nodded. "Yes."
It was rare for a team to choose to use a one-on-one block against Hoshiumi, mainly because Hoshiumi was not actually Karasuno's primary scoring player.
But the situation is different now; Hakuma can no longer jump, so the heavy responsibility of scoring has essentially fallen on Hoshiumi's shoulders. At a time like this, a one-on-one block against Hoshiumi is the correct strategy.
Tokura replied, "Understood."
Although he had never done anything like this before, he had seen it happen to others.
As Hinata's teammate, he had already seen too many blockers adapt to Hinata's playstyle. Similarly, he didn't think Hoshiumi would be any easier to handle.
The players from both sides returned to the court, Miya Osamu served.
The notification sound rang out by the court as Inarizaki's Ginjima Yui was substituted for Rishia Heisuke, while on the other side, the substitution for the Libero position, which required no formal procedure, was also completed at this moment.
Amatori, in the stands, wore an expression that said "I knew it": "Inarizaki's newcomers are coming on."
Nishizawa Hokuto rotated his wrists, spread his legs shoulder-width apart, slightly lowered his center of gravity.
He couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile; seeing the back of Hinata's head in his field of vision made him feel incredibly energized.
Finally.. it's time for him to take over the match!
Everyone, who had just relaxed slightly after Unabara Uta left the court, regained two hundred percent of their alertness upon seeing the relaxed expressions on the faces of the Inarizaki members.
Inarizaki's substitute rookie is skilled at the first receive, a trait that should have been a counter to Karasuno.
But as the match has progressed to this stage, the quality of Karasuno's jump serves has also declined; in fact, aside from blocking, they have mostly relied on the offense from Hoshiumi Hikari and Hakuma to score points.
But.. if that is really the case, Inarizaki should also be able to realize this and, in turn, put forward a more complete defensive lineup.
Even if Inarizaki has substituted in Ginjima now, it doesn't change the fact that they only have one Libero left in the back row.
What is this supposed to be?
Are they going to make this guy defend the entire court all by himself during the subsequent spike defense?
—No way.
Ginjima Yui, who was preparing to serve, fell silent for a second.
At this moment, Inarizaki's positioning is intended to provide cover for the serve; Nishizawa is staying in the back purely because he lacks sufficient height, so he isn't participating in the cover.
But.. don't underestimate them.
"I've got it!" Norikura Isao shouted, diving to receive Ginjima's heavy spike.
Diving and the subsequent movement to get back up is very physically demanding, but to ensure a basic quality for the first receive, it was something he had to do.
And it doesn't matter; even if he can't keep up, Kaku Ken and the others can sub in to take his place.
In contrast, it is best to maintain a bit of the Libero's condition.
Asahina passed the ball to Hoshiumi Hikari, choosing to give the Ace a scoring opportunity since the quality of the ball was good.
Hoshiumi Hikari did not let down the trust from the setter, using a tooling the block to take this point.
Nice!
Glancing at the ball as it smashed into the second floor, Nishizawa felt a sense of regret.
That ball was truly impossible to save.
The service right passed to Bessho Chigen, this time, Inarizaki truly utilized a formation of two opposites receiving from the setter.
In a lineup with an Opposite, having two Middle Blockers and a Setter is actually a common formation used to guarantee the team's offensive capabilities.
Hoshiumi frowned slightly.
Inarizaki.. is trusting this rookie Libero, who hasn't even played in the IH, this much?
He remembered that Coach Aran had specifically checked this before; this guy didn't even have a playing record in Junior High, his experience in matches leading up to this National Sports Festival was practically zero.
But Inarizaki never plays a hand they aren't sure of.
Although I don't want to admit it, but..
This is going to be bad.
Facing Bessho Chigen's serve, Nishizawa Hokuto accurately judged the ball's trajectory and moved under it. "I'll take it!"
His first receive was of quite good quality, both high and accurate.
Miya Atsumu was not stingy with his praise: "Nice play!"
Looking at his position, Komori in the stands raised a hand to scratch his face: "Ah.. he really is a rookie."
—After Nishizawa Hokuto received the serve, he failed to adjust his position in time, leaving the Ace stuck behind him.
Hinata didn't say anything, he just silently adjusted his position to a place where he could move.