Inamoto had already moved under the ball by this point. Due to the ball's position, his field of vision was far from wide at this moment. However, the act of passing the ball to the Ace had long since been etched into his very bones.
The Ace's position, the ball's location, the distance..
If he didn't have to worry about things like breaking the block, the setter's job would become many times easier.
The moment his fingers touched the ball, Inamoto shifted the focus of the power to one of his hands, guiding it into a flat ball toward the side-back.
Sakusa, who had already jumped, Inamoto completed a nearly perfect combination.
While executing a back-row attack, Sakusa's spike carried a side spin, grazing the side of Inarizaki's block and landing at the extreme inner edge of the sideline within the Inarizaki court.
The antenna vibrated slightly from the airflow of the volleyball brushing past it, while the Head Referee remained motionless, watching the ball land near the Inarizaki sideline.
With a loud thud, the ball hit the ground right next to Nishizawa's body; Ginjima was just a fraction too late to reach it.
The whistle blew, the Head Referee signaled that Sakusa's spike scored.
Hinata, having dove into empty space, pursed his lips with a hint of frustration; he should have anticipated Sakusa's spin serve route.
Even if there was space left along the line, Nishizawa's positioning was more than capable of keeping up; there was no opening to exploit.
"That was on me, my bad!" Gin Nishizawa hurriedly raised his hands to take the blame.
He had actually guessed that Sakusa was going to hit the line, but his body failed to react in time.
The block left space on the side, intended for him to defend and then organize a counterattack, but he messed it up.
Nishizawa and Hinata bowed to each other, taking the blame, while Ginjima watched them, feeling quite helpless.
He pressed his hands against his lower back, one on each side, spoke comfortingly, "It's fine, it's only one point. It's normal not to be able to react to that ball just now.."
Hinata and Nishizawa both pursed their lips almost at the same time.
In truth, they had reacted, but their failure to respond in the correct way was what deserved the most criticism!
"This is why I admire Inarizaki." Coach Unabara rubbed his stiff stubble.
They always manage to force their opponents into making.. unexpected choices, from a coach's perspective, that's exactly what I want to see.
"Because there's always that feeling of 'you've already fallen completely into the trap, if you don't change something, you're definitely finished,' right?" Hoshiumi said, shrugging his shoulders.
He actually didn't hate this.
From his perspective, what was truly annoying was.. that there was always someone who could predict exactly what adjustments they would make to resist, setting traps for them well in advance.
But it was impossible for Itachiyama to be part of Inarizaki's predictions, especially since Miya Atsumu's expression on the sidelines had been quite shocked just now.
It is possible that Itachiyama might actually seize the initiative. Unless.. Inarizaki also comes up with something new and difficult to counter.
Hoshiumi felt that Inarizaki most likely did.
Because several people on the court were still talking as if something important were happening.
Koldorf took the service right, Komori rotated out.
Hinata, in the front row, made a hand signal behind his back, after Kumagai and Miya Osamu saw it, they both gave a light cough to signal to Hinata that they understood.
Hinata lowered his hands and lowered his center of gravity, preparing to receive the serve from Itachiyama.
Inarizaki has opportunities to counterattack at any time, after all, Itachiyama hasn't fully adapted to the service rotation from this side yet.
But there's no rush to decide on the server for this crucial point; let's play one rotation with this lineup first.
If the situation remains stable and no massive gap is created.. they could absolutely use Miya Atsumu as a key server as well.
Thinking of this, Hinata couldn't help but curl his lips into a slight smile.
Koldorf's serve landed in the back row between Kumagai and Miya Osamu, Miya Osamu stepped forward to receive the ball, while Kumagai prepared to circle around from behind him.
Ogihara paused, no.. based on the rhythm of Kumagai's movement.. he probably won't be able to reach this ball.
Hinata had already adjusted his position toward the back.
He lightly leaped in front of the attack line, raising his hand to touch the ball.
Ogihara, who originally thought Hinata was preparing for a Quick Attack, was caught completely off guard and almost jumped along with him.
Fortunately, his calm mind managed to stop his movements at the last second, preventing him from blindly following Hinata.
Suna and Ginjima had already spread out to opposite ends of the net, maximizing the horizontal distance between them in an attempt to split Itachiyama's block.
Ogihara did not rush to act.
Hinata didn't have the ability to set that kind of negative-tempo Quick Attack, so there was no need to make any preemptive guesses.
In the next second, Hinata passed the ball to Kumagai, who had jumped from the back row to attack.
There was no feint, nor any little trick with a second ball; he simply and clearly passed the ball to Kumagai.
Ogihara, along with Inamoto and Ishikawa who jumped in from both sides, jumped together to form a block directly in front of Kumagai.
Kumagai's power is immense, they are all well aware of it.
In fact, he didn't have the confidence to block the opponent's spike; he could only tense his body and lunge forward as much as possible to avoid being sent flying by the impact..
In Ogihara Ayato's field of vision, Kumagai's spike seemed to suddenly slow down at the very moment of contact.
With a crisp sound, Kumagai hit the ball with the heel of his palm, sending it over the block with no spin, before it suddenly dropped.
Hoshiumi, standing by the sidelines, was dumbfounded: "What on earth was that!!"
Sakusa and Inamura, who were also prepared to receive the heavy spike, were both positioned quite far back, leaving no one to defend the area where the ball landed.
A light thud rang out as the ball hit the floor, none of the players rushing from all directions managed to touch it.
Kumagai pumped his fist and cheered, "Yes!"
Hinata raised his hand to high-five him: "That was awesome, Akuma!"
The idea of incorporating a jump float serve into a spike was proposed by Fukami, but at close range, this technique requires sufficient power to support it; currently, within Inarizaki, only Kumagai uses it quite well.
Miya Atsumu, sitting by the sidelines with his legs crossed, rested his chin in one hand. "Not bad."
If this kind of playstyle couldn't even pull off a first-sight kill, Kumagai really deserved a proper lesson.
Coach Himegomiya was also at a loss for words: "He's being completely played.."
Under normal circumstances, a setter's extremely simple sets are basically used to ensure the spiker's attacking conditions and to provide the spiker with opportunities for a heavy spike.
But Inarizaki did the exact opposite..
Coach Utsunomiya let out a chuckle. "Acting so precocious."
Komoriya, getting ready to take the court, smiled. "A very clever move."
Koldorf, coming off the court, looked at the three people who were laughing and hesitated to speak.
The match isn't over yet, is it?
Chapter 526: The 526th Fox
Sakusa raised his hand to tidy his hair; the feeling of being soaked in sweat was terrible.
He tilted his head slightly and glanced at the towel on the Coach's bench.
Sakusa exhaled softly, refocusing his attention back on the opposite side.
Forget it.
There is no more time.
Komori stared at the Inarizaki members, analyzing the current situation in his mind.
Although Inarizaki's recent playstyle was sudden and difficult to defend against, it wasn't as if there were no way to counter it.
Once you've seen that style of spike once, you naturally know how to defend against it. Hinata's setting skills aren't particularly outstanding either; as long as they adapt a little..
Kumagai's set reached the edge of Inarizaki's Position 2 at an extremely high speed, Hinata, who had already prepared himself, jumped there, completing a precise Quick Attack with Kumagai.
The ball slammed down by Komori's feet, he only had time to twitch a finger.
A bitter smile played on his face, for a moment, Komori didn't know what to say.
Inarizaki isn't giving them any chance to adapt at all!
Hinata raised a finger toward Inamoto on the opposite side: "This is the—real deal!"
Regardless, the tempo of the Quick Attack and its final intensity are controlled by the Spiker; his speed ensures that the opponent can absolutely never catch up to him.
And that point.. is something Itachiyama simply cannot replicate, no matter what.
Inamoto was a little frantic: "That damn Hinata!"
Miya Atsumu, sitting on the Coach's bench, felt delighted: "Oh—it's working wonders."
As expected, against old rivals, simply becoming stronger is better than nothing. But if they were to completely change their tactical approach.. it would be no different from facing an entirely different opponent.
Even though Inarizaki hasn't secured a major advantage yet, the opponents will need at least half a set to adapt; they only need to wait for the right moment to sub in a server capable of deciding the game.
For example..
Miya Atsumu straightened his clothes, making a gesture as if preparing to stand up.
And right at that moment, Coach Kurosu reached out and called to Fukami Subaru: "Subaru, you'll take over the service turn from Yukihito in the next round. Try to win this match in one go."
Fukami Subaru couldn't catch his breath for a moment: "Eh? We're going to take ten points?!"
By the time it reached Tokura's serve in the next service turn, it shouldn't even be halfway through the set. There would still be at least ten points left before the end of the match. Does "taking them all at once" mean.. he has to score all twenty-five points directly?
Was this task a bit too absurd? But.. thinking about it carefully, it wasn't impossible; after all, he wasn't being asked to score twenty-five points in one go.
Entrusting him with such a heavy responsibility proves exactly how much the coach and his seniors trust him!
He absolutely cannot fail to live up to this trust!
He will absolutely not repeat the mistake from the third ball of the previous set!
It's time to let my inner power explode!
Looking at Fukami's face full of fighting spirit, Miya Atsumu felt like he might have misunderstood something.
But.. having fighting spirit is a good thing; the rest can wait.
Miya Atsumu silently lowered his center of gravity and sat all the way back.