After some internal struggle, Inamoto finally steeled his resolve, reported his status to Inamura and Komori via his phone, stepped onto the court.
After sizing up the two Itachiyama setters who walked in one after another, Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes. "You guys have so much free time? Not even attending class?"
Inamoto replied, "There's no school today because of the school anniversary."
The two of them only skipped the morning general assembly; they didn't skip class.
And besides.. they both told the Coach before coming!
Miya Atsumu drew out his voice: "Hmm?"
Although winning the championship was exciting, it was still a regret that they didn't get to play a proper match against Itachiyama.
Inamoto quickly changed the subject: "Hey! Is Hinata undergoing testing? How many points has he successfully scored so far?"
Ushijima replied, "This is the sixth ball, he has already received two. There are five chances left; if he receives three more, it counts as a success."
Regardless of why five would be a success, Inamoto said decisively, "That's incredible! Hinata's receiving movement has improved so much. As expected of.. an Inarizaki player! As expected of Atsumu-senpai's junior!"
As he spoke, he also secretly observed Miya Atsumu.
After he finished speaking, a smile spread across Miya Atsumu's face, clearly showing that he found it very pleasing.
Sensing Inamoto's overwhelming survival instinct, Mingsha glanced sideways at Miya Atsumu.
The moment he looked over, he decisively pulled a clipboard out of his pocket. "Miya-senpai! Please give me your autograph!"
Inamoto stared at his junior with a look of pure shock, his gaze darting between him and Miya Atsumu, his pupils trembling as he struggled to process the scene before his eyes.
Miya Atsumu happily agreed.
He never turned down requests for autographs, let alone.. from Itachiyama's setter!
He was going to tell Komori in a moment that this was his victory!
“Got it!”
After successfully receiving the sixth ball, Hinata let out a cheer and turned around, intending to celebrate with Miya Atsumu by the sidelines, only to see Miya Atsumu talking to an unfamiliar Junior High student and even giving them an autograph.
Hinata pursed his lips.
With his hands at his sides, he gazed silently at Miya Atsumu.
Feeling a powerful gaze, Miya Atsumu tilted his head slightly and met Hinata's eyes, which were filled with protest and dissatisfaction, looking as if he might burst into tears of grievance at any moment.
With a buzz in his head, Miya Atsumu, who had originally prepared to give Mingsha a T-O autograph, hurriedly stuffed the pen and the autograph board back away, raised the Fox-Wolf Helper headband in his hands, shouted, "Hinata, you were amazing!"
That's my Shoyo! That was a beautiful receive! Keep it up—only two points left!
Hinata was satisfied, standing with his hands on his hips as he flashed Miya Atsumu a smile.
—Even though he knew that Miya Atsumu hadn't even been looking just now.
But since it was Atsumu, he decided to forgive him.
As he went back to serve the next ball, he used his peripheral vision to observe that Junior High student who had just been about to sign an autograph.
He was someone he hadn't seen before, but he seemed to have come with Inamoto.
A junior from Itachiyama?
But none of that mattered; his goal now was to make two more receives, then claim his reward!
Hinata rubbed his hands together, lowering his center of gravity while slightly rising onto his toes.
He had become quite proficient with the footwork shuffle technique. Even though he had been covered by others during matches this past year, he had never neglected his daily training for receiving.
Since those last few serves weren't aimed too deep into the corners, they were relatively easy to receive..
In that split second, he heard the sound of the serve.
In the following instant, the ball flew over the top of the net, peeking out from behind it.
Hinata immediately completed the process of making his judgment.
—It was a power serve that landed in the corner to his back left.
Unlike a jump float serve that could be handled with a diving save, he could actually use the advantage of the long-distance reach provided by a dive to deal with this kind of ball, but.. as expected, he just wasn't satisfied.
He remembers.
For this kind of long-distance ball coming from the back side, there is a technique that can be applied through a shuffling step, which involves taking a one-and-a-half step crossover toward the corresponding position.
He actually used this technique quite well during training, but because his ball control wasn't up to par, he would still prioritize a diving save when facing this kind of ball during a match.
But now.. he wants to try a different approach.
Give it a try.
After an extremely rapid thought, Hinata had already taken his first half-step toward his back left.
Under slow-motion observation, this way of stepping actually gives the illusion that one's legs might get tangled, but for someone who has already undergone training, tripping over one's own feet is an impossibility.
The only thing to watch out for is..
Compared to Unabara Uta, Hinata's legs are likely shorter, which means his one-and-a-half steps aren't as large as the distance Unabara Uta can adjust.
Moreover, many times when Unabara Uta receives this kind of ball, he does so through anticipation during the opponent's serve, unlike now, where his starting point is when the ball flies over the net.
Actually, it didn't matter; even if Hinata's legs were short, his explosive power was enough to bridge those gaps.
With his extremely fast stride, he took more than a step and a half, even completing the process of shifting his center of gravity from the middle of his body to the far left, instantly lowered his body.
With a loud thud, the ball was bumped by Hinata's slightly bent arms, sent steadily up toward the Attack Line.
Before Hinata could even stand up this time, Miya Atsumu's voice had already drifted over: "Nice, Shoyo! Great first receive!"
Hinata stood up and gave a thumbs-up toward Miya Atsumu.
Coach Suzaku also applauded: "A brilliant performance."
That receiving movement just now perfectly utilized the advantage of Hinata's small stature and stable center of gravity. If it had been a slightly taller player, they would have easily fallen or become unstable during such a rapid shift in their center of gravity.
Mingsha couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "That was incredible.."
He turned his head slightly toward Inamoto. "Is this the senior you mentioned before, the one who is incredibly good at the Quick Attack and is also very fast and agile?"
Inamoto nodded. "Yes, that's him."
Glancing at Miya Atsumu out of the corner of his eye, then looking at Hinata on the court, Inamoto closed his eyes in pain.
He said to Mingsha, "You certainly caught them at a good time."
By the time Mingsha entered high school, all of those monsters had already graduated.
Although new monsters could potentially emerge in high school.. he felt they wouldn't be as terrifying as the current monsters of Inarizaki.
Thinking of this, Inamoto paused again.
No, no, no, no matter the generation, Inarizaki is always a powerhouse.
Judging by the current state of the Inarizaki first years, they will likely become the next generation of monsters in a couple of years. Even if they aren't as outrageous as Miya Atsumu and the others, they will certainly become formidable rivals for Mingsha.
Mingsha's voice sounded a bit regretful: "Actually, I really wanted to have a match against those seniors."
At its current Junior High stage, Itachiyama could be said to be invincible across the board. With Tomomichi Chita and Saru-senpai around last year, there are only one or two teams left this year that seem to pose a significant threat to Itachiyama.
"You.." Inamoto hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.
Fine, he had to admit, compared to volleyball maniacs like Mingsha, he was indeed a bit too kind-hearted.
Soon, having gradually adapted to the rhythm of the test, Hinata scored his fourth point on the eighth ball: "Last point!"
Miya Atsumu dutifully cheered for Hinata: "Go for it—Shoyo!"
Hinata jumped in place.
Great, he felt in excellent shape now, even more fired up than when he first started.
The whistle sounded in his ears again, Hinata stopped his movement, staring intently above the net.
And in the very next instant, the sound of the serve rang out.
Inamoto gasped, completely abandoning any hope of winning the grand prize: "This machine can even time its serves to the buzzer!"
Coach Suzaku curled his lips, as the parameters for the buzzer-beater were kindly provided by Hirugami Fuku, the person in the entire league most skilled at it.
However, Hinata was no stranger to buzzer-beater plays; there were several players currently playing for Inarizaki, they had also undergone special training in this area to prepare for Karasuno.
In addition, this current receiving environment, which is completely obscured, tests reaction speed just like a buzzer-beater ball, but the combination of the two does not equal more than two; in fact, it doesn't produce any significant effect.
Just like before.. he just needs to receive it steadily.
Hinata took a step backward, shrugging his shoulders to ensure his outstretched arm was positioned to face the ball head-on.
With a crisp sound, the ball flew steadily once again, landing in front of the front row Attack Line.
Coach Suzaku blew his whistle, signaling that Hinata's score was valid.
Hinata immediately cheered, "Ohhhhhh—I did it!"
Atsumu-ge, Atsumu-ge! I did it!
He rushed toward the people by the sidelines with both hands raised high, giving them all high-fives one by one, even Mingsha didn't escape.
Miya Atsumu chuckled and vigorously ruffled Hinata's hair. "I knew you could do it, Shoyo."
He leaned forward slightly, pointing toward Coach Suzaku over there and saying, "There's one last ball left. Are you going to receive it?"
Hinata decided instantly: "I'll receive it!"
He absolutely couldn't let such a rare training opportunity slip away!
Unfortunately, the tenth serve from the ball machine was a jump float serve that landed too far forward. Hinata failed to time his receiving movement correctly and missed the ball.
Coach Suzaku clapped his hands: "Five out of ten, congratulations, you've succeeded in the challenge."
Although Hinata felt some regret about not being able to receive that last ball, he became happy again when he thought about the volleyball that was about to be his.
Coach Suzaku beckoned to him, Hinata quickly turned his head toward Miya Atsumu to grab his stamp booklet.
Before leaving, Miya Atsumu placed that Fox-Wolf Helper headband back on his head.
Watching Fox-Wolf Helper approach, his smile becoming increasingly stiff, Coach Suzaku saw that the man's mouth was only curled up on one side because the machine had embroidered it crookedly.
He stamped Hinata's booklet, even adding a special character in the process.
As Hinata put away his checkbook, he followed Coach Suzaku's signal to go pick up the data group's equipment, the coach returned, handing him an unopened Shwaiden Adler headband.