The members of Star First also leaned toward Hayami with some nervousness, looking at this team's unfortunate "youngest member" with great concern.
Arashiyama asked, "What's wrong? Is your leg bothering you? Do you need to rest?"
Hayami's eyes darted away.
Izumi Nozomi also looked at him with concern. "We'll be fine. If you can't hold out, just say so."
Although Sasaki's expression was one of confusion, he was also a bit uneasy: "Don't scare me, I'm a coward. If something happens to you, Kirishima-senpai will kill me when he gets back."
Hayami closed her eyes, looking as if she were ready to face death.
Um..
I have a confession to make!
Chapter 495: The Four Hundred and Ninety-Fifth Fox
The moment they heard those three words, everyone from Star First felt their minds go blank. Although they didn't know what Hayami was about to say, it was clearly nothing good.
Hayami seriously considered whether or not he should perform a dogeza, but thinking about how the seniors had always been very lenient toward him, he silently gave himself a little encouragement in his heart.
He said honestly, "Actually, when Hinata and I were in Youth Training, I discussed our playstyle with him, I also showed him my underservers."
The smile on Izumi Nozomi's face froze for a moment. That ominous premonition had ultimately become reality, leaving him momentarily speechless.
But this actually failed to explain why Nishizawa, who had never interacted with Hayami, was able to receive his Dual Wield Serve.
He didn't think Hinata was the kind of genius who could master anything in any field; if he had only demonstrated it once, Hinata theoretically wouldn't have the ability to replicate it for practice with his teammates.
If Hinata could really do that, his Serve wouldn't always be so "ordinary."
No.. speaking of Hinata's serve, he thought of Miya Osamu's and Suna's serves.
Looking back on it now, although these people's overall serving styles, as well as their power, speed, spin, were all different, they strangely shared one commonality.
—Their actual targets were all near Star First's Position 1.
Izumi Nozomi smiled and locked eyes with Hayami, after catching the slight hint of a guilty smile on her face, he could roughly guess what had happened.
It was nothing more than..
“I told Hinata before that you hate serves coming from behind you, Izumi-senpai, because he asked me how to produce the most effective serve with the least amount of energy expended.”
As Hayami spoke these words, she averted her gaze from Izumi Nozomi, refusing to meet the eyes of this dear senior who had been victimized the most.
Izumi Nozomi's smile deepened, while Sasaki looked as if the sky were falling.
Arashiyama listened intently to what he said, silently summarizing the current situation in his mind.
Then I can understand it. I felt something was strange before, now, reasoning through it seriously, I can at least confirm that someone in Inarizaki's current substitute lineup has changed their training to a 下手发球 Dual Wield.
No.. thinking about it in an even more terrifying way, is it possible they could actually develop a Five-Six Blade Style?
Sasaki didn't know where to begin his rant for a moment: "Does a person have that many hands?!"
Arashiyama pointed a finger toward a certain short Middle Blocker who had blended into the crowd over at Inarizaki.
“For a player like Fukami, his setting ability is mediocre, his receiving isn't on par with a Libero, his low vertical jump also limits his ability in aerial combat. Don't you think it's perfect for him to focus entirely on his Serve and become Inarizaki's greatest weapon for turning the tide?”
Sasaki waved his hands repeatedly, trying to snap his own Captain back to his senses: "No, no, no, is this really the point?"
He pointed a finger at Hayami, who was currently wringing his own fingers. "This little thing was colluding with the enemy before the match! He leaked all of our team's secrets to the opponents! This is simply.. being dazed by Inarizaki's Little One!"
Arashiyama shrugged, making excuses for Hayami: "It's not like he did it on purpose. Who could have guessed that the things they discussed during Youth Training would actually lead to us facing Inarizaki? Besides, I sent him the schedule later; he probably just communicated with Hinata normally."
Think about it, if Hayami hadn't contacted Hinata and Miya Atsumu in advance, we would have received several of their Quick Attacks by now.
Arashiyama reached out and patted Hayami's head, signaling that he didn't need to be nervous. "This is just normal intelligence gathering and communication. The only issue is that Hayami didn't tell us before the match."
Inarizaki's overall intelligence analysis capability is very strong. Even if no one says anything, Miya Atsumu and the others will eventually deduce certain things themselves; it's only a matter of time.
Izumi Nozomi also nodded in agreement, "Now that we know, we can make tactical adjustments."
He analyzed it seriously for a while and then offered some countermeasures: "Since the opponent likes to play to Position 1, then I'll prepare to use edge sets to Position 1 and 2. Although it will affect tactics like the Back Quick, it doesn't matter; my technique isn't that good to begin with, so a flat set might actually yield better results."
Sasaki looked at Arashiyama and Izumi Nozomi, then at Coach Mikumo, who was nodding, finally settled his gaze on Hayami, who was becoming increasingly self-righteous.
His finger pointing at Hayami began to tremble. "You.. you.. you all just keep spoiling him!"
Look how spoiled he's become!
They were originally wondering if Hayami would bring back a yellow card if he defected halfway through, but now, some of these little ones had already defected before the match even started!
Hayami also began to speak with righteous indignation, "This is all just normal tactical communication and exchange, but next time I'll remember to tell my seniors in advance."
Sasaki reached out and grabbed Hayami's ear. "You think there will be a next time!"
But it didn't matter; even if there were a next time, it would have nothing to do with him.
He will graduate after this Haruko, the ones Irie and the others bullied in the statistics later will be Hayami.
While Izumi Nozomi and Arashiyama were discussing countermeasures, Irie was giving Hayami bad advice.
I think Inarizaki's Little Ace should be quite easy to trick. Since you're so close to him, why don't you try to pry some secrets about Inarizaki's secret weapons out of him next time?
Hayami refused: "I wouldn't do something like that."
Hinata trusts me so much; I can't take advantage of his trust.
Walking behind toward the court, Sasaki tried to pull Kuwabara to his side: "Listen to me! Where on earth did his elbow go?!"
Kuwabara scratched his head. "But there's nothing we can do about that, right? Hinata really did help him. Even though Irie and I are in the same year as Hayami, we haven't really seen much of him before he returned this autumn.."
And for some things, it is difficult for seniors like Sasaki and the others, who have never reached such a high level, to play much of a role.
It was just that.. the person who had forced their way in happened to be Hinata.
Sasaki felt very lost.
He felt like he should be a normal person, but why did he seem so abnormal instead?
He tried to struggle a bit. "No, this definitely deserves a punishment!"
Arashiyama raised an eyebrow slightly. "And how do you plan to punish him?"
The biggest victim, Izumi Nozomi, also cast a curious gaze, ready to hear what Sasaki was going to say.
Standing in his position, Sasaki held it in for a moment before saying fiercely, "After the match, you are not allowed to talk to anyone from Inarizaki, you are not allowed to shake hands either."
Arashiyama's mouth twitched.
What kind of punishment was this? He thought he was being told to go back and do several more sets of Coach Kosano's physical training.
Hayami turned his head in shock.
Sasaki gave a triumphant laugh, looking down at Hayami with the posture of a victor.
Physical training is nothing compared to this; this is a truly effective punishment.
Hinata, who never missed a chance to stir up trouble, poked his head over and asked, "Why?"
He reached out his hand under the net and waved at Hayami.
Hayami understood immediately. Taking advantage of the fact that the match had not yet begun, he rushed over to give Hinata a high-five before quickly turning and leaving.
Miya Atsumu frowned, staring at Hayami.
Sasaki glared at Hinata with a distorted expression.
It's all this Little One's fault! This precious child, whom they held in their hands for fear of dropping and in their mouths for fear of melting! He's been corrupted!
He looked at his own Libero with frustration, "You might as well just go to the other team."
Hayami swallowed the words he was about to say.
His expression was serious and solemn: "That won't do. We are still in the middle of a match."
Sasaki was almost driven to laughter by anger.
What, are you planning to pack your bags and head to Inarizaki as soon as the match ends?
He gave a cold laugh. "You'd better watch yourself; if you transfer now, you'll be suspended until you graduate high school."
Sasaki shrugged at Hayami, saying with a mischievous smirk, "That's a shame."
Across the net, Osamu had already walked to the service area. Sasaki said to Hayami with his back turned, "Since you like Hinata so much, you should just be teammates with him in the future."
Hayami remained silent for two seconds before saying calmly, "I can't do that."
Sasaki froze for a moment. He had wanted to say something more, but in the end, he no longer had the time to speak.
The whistle had already blown, the Head Referee signaled that the Inarizaki side could serve.
Hayami placed his hands at his sides, his receiving posture extremely relaxed.
He was very confident in his reaction speed and had great confidence in his receiving ability; only in his most relaxed state could he provide the best answer.
No matter what kind of Serve it is.. he will receive them all.
A heavy thud echoed in his ears as his gaze locked onto the incoming ball. He took a precise step, positioning himself perfectly to meet the ball and once again providing a textbook first receive.
The sensation against his arms was solid, providing him with feedback that allowed him to be certain of the result of this ball.
In the past thousands of practices, this had been his only purpose.
An orange flash flashed through the field of vision, Hayami moved in to adjust his position, just like every time before, to move to the side of the gap in the block and take control of the trajectory of the opponent's spike.
The volleyball flew past the block, dropping toward a high point at Position 4.
The spinning volleyball had a very high speed, yet it remained in a state that wouldn't be judged as a double hit.
The volleyball in his field of vision shifted from solid to a blur, passing through the afterimage, finally, what was reflected in his eyes was..
It was the figure of the person behind him.
Hinata used his left hand to point out the spiking route. His gaze shifted away from Hayami, scanning Star First's block once again.
—What are the ways to break through a block?
—What is the logic that the opponent's defense should follow?
He knew it very well, but..
Not enough.