Fukami stood at the service position, holding the ball in one hand, looking up towards the members of Itachiyama.
The next point.. he will score directly.
He cast his gaze toward the Head Referee once again; on this play, he still intended to suppress the whistle.
Given the current situation, his serve's deceptive quality is far greater than its actual power.
A soft thud echoed in everyone's ears; it wasn't the kind of sound a Ceiling Serve would make.
Fukami hit the ball with an extremely high parabolic arc, without any spin, causing it to wobble as it fell toward Itachiyama's court.
It wasn't a Ceiling Serve, it was.. a Jump Float Serve.
Coach Himegomiya, sitting at the Coach's bench, exclaimed in shock, "A low jump float serve?!"
No.. thinking back carefully..
That net ball from the previous set was likely intended to be a Jump Float Serve, but the power might have been a bit too low, causing it to ultimately hit the top edge of the Net.
This was a massive blunder on her part as a coach!
Seeing the ball about to land in the corner of the court, Sakusa let out a small click of his tongue and decisively lunged into a diving save, his outstretched fingers attempting to dig the ball.
But the moment before it hit the ground, the ball shifted slightly to the right again, landing right on the sideline.
The Linesman raised his flag to signal in-bounds, Inarizaki scores.
Fukami laughed, "Second point!"
Watching the widening gap in the score, Komori felt a sense of helplessness rising within him.
It has reached a point where it will be difficult to catch up; Inarizaki is behaving unusually by not engaging him in direct confrontation, he is powerless to do anything about it.
His individual defense is strong, but he can't extend that coverage to the whole team; has he been caught off guard by his opponent?
But he wouldn't give up here; just how far could he go..
Sakusa pushed off the ground with all his might, diving to receive the spike from Inarizaki.
Nice!
Watching Sakusa working quite hard on the court, Coach Unabara said from the sidelines, "Sakusa is putting in a lot of effort today."
Coach Hiya sighed, "It can't be helped; there was no other choice."
Sakusa's spike was dug up by Tokura, Kumagai from the back row followed up, setting the ball to Miya Osamu for a beautiful counterattack that broke Itachiyama's consecutive scoring service turn.
Inarizaki 24:21 Itachiyama.
Match point for Inarizaki.
Suna's serve was received on Itachiyama's side, the ball passed to Sakusa, who spiked it, but fortunately, Tokura's follow-up was fast enough to touch the ball.
"Give me the ball!" Hinata shouted, calling for the pass.
Kumagai did not hesitate for a moment, sending the ball toward the high point in front of Hinata with everything he had.
If the ball is set to Hinata, Hinata will score.
That was.. a promise he and Hinata had made a long, long time ago.
And even now, he still believes in that.
Ogihara dove in front of Hinata, the three of them blocking Hinata's path for a sharp cross: "Don't even think about getting through!"
Komori, from the back row, blocked the path of Hinata's line spike, clearly waiting for him to walk straight into his trap.
But.. there are other spike angles.
Kumagai considered Hinata's spike angle for this ball, so he sent it to a position far enough from the Net, giving Hinata plenty of space to hit a Short Diagonal.
Inamura stared at Hinata's movements, ready at any moment to step forward and cut off the path to the short diagonal.
—Are you going to hit it?
Sakusa looked up at Hinata's profile.
He'll be able to do it; Hinata will definitely be eager to take this final point, hitting a Short Diagonal would be the best shortcut to breaking through their defense.
Inarizaki's Libero is not on the court; win this point, then continue trying to counter-attack.
Just as Hinata's wrist adjusted toward the side, Inamura decisively stepped forward, attempting to shut down the short diagonal.
But in that very instant, Hinata spiked the ball directly against Ogihara's arm.
Ogihara, who failed to react in time to block, became a "rebound," and the ball bounced off him, falling back into Inarizaki's court.
As Hinata landed, he raised his hand to signal, "One more!"
Kumagai didn't doubt him for a second; as he retreated, Miya Osamu had already stepped up to set the ball again.
Miya Osamu sent the ball directly to a high point in front of Hinata, signaling for him to step forward and spike it again.
Hinata lowered his center of gravity, sprinted forward, used his right foot to take one final step before leaping with all his might.
In this interval, which was not long but felt unexpectedly vast, the last thing he realized was—
No matter what, you must believe in your teammates.
The members of Itachiyama quickly kept up, once again sealing off all of Hinata's offensive paths.
Sakusa stepped forward, wary of Hinata's sudden dump.
And in that very instant, Hinata, who had already jumped, turned without warning, his hands cupped inward toward the ball.
In the next second, Hinata redirected the ball, sending it right to Ginjima, who had somehow already rushed to a position under Position 4.
—A net ball!
Sakusa and Komori turned their heads and retreated almost simultaneously, attempting to block the ball with their combined defense.
But Ginjima's movement was incredibly fast; without a block or defense, the ball was driven directly toward the Three-meter Line of Itachiyama.
Bang!
Bang!!
Komori dove, stretching his body as far as possible in an attempt to make contact, but the sound of the ball hitting the floor came even faster.
—It's impossible to save.
The court fell silent for a moment, a long whistle sounded the next second, signaling the end of this match.
Sakusa stood in place, withdrawing his gaze from Hinata.
In the very end.. did he abandon the pride of an Ace and deliver a deceptive spike with the most composed demeanor?
No, being able to make the most correct decision with composure at all times is also a mandatory skill for an Ace.
At the edge of his vision, the ceiling lights glowed with a halo.
His heart was beating at a speed he had never experienced in his memory, the sensation of being unable to control his breathing made him feel incredibly uncomfortable.
But.. he unexpectedly didn't particularly hate it.
It seemed like sweat had gotten into his eyes, making his vision a bit blurry.
Sakusa closed his eyes lightly.
Sweat rolled down the side of his face, dripping from his jaw onto his jersey, which was already soaked with sweat.
It's over, his high school life.
Inamoto supported himself by his knees. His stamina wasn't exhausted yet; he could still play.
But.. there were no more chances.
He struggled to straighten his back, but he couldn't stop himself from stumbling two steps.
Ishikawa's footsteps faltered, he wanted to say something, but he couldn't get the words out through his choking sobs.
In the end, he could only softly call out Inamoto's name: "Inamoto-senpai.."
Inamura walked up from behind and reached out to pat the shoulders of the two juniors: "Alright, alright, line up."
"I'm sorry." Looking at Sakusa's sneakers in his field of vision, Inamoto suddenly spoke.
Sakusa paused for a moment, then turned to look at the two juniors. "There is no need to apologize; failing to judge the purpose of Hinata's last ball was my mistake."
Komoriya also let out a helpless laugh. "I'm taking some of the blame too; my reaction speed was too slow."
Inamoto shook his head, biting his lower lip before suddenly looking up at the two of them. "I'll work harder! Next time—I'll definitely make things easier for the Ace!"
Upon hearing these words, Sakusa, whose expression had been calm, slightly widened his eyes.
In Inamoto's field of vision, the usually expressionless Sakusa suddenly curled the corners of his mouth, showing him a very gentle smile.
Good luck, we're counting on you, Ishikawa.
A stinging sensation welled up in his nose, tears burst from his eyes like a breaking dam.
Inamoto raised his hand to wipe them away, but his hands, already drenched in sweat, only made the situation on his face more of a mess.
Damn it, damn it, damn it—
The Head Referee signaled for everyone to line up and salute their opponents.
Hinata stood with his chest out and head held high, his eyes burning with intensity.
They won; next would be the final match to claim the championship.
This time..
He would never let Yu or his seniors leave with any regrets.
“Thank you for the guidance!!”
Thank you for the guidance!!
Chapter 528: The Five Hundred and Twenty-Eighth Fox
Iizuna let his hands drop and slumped back against his chair as if deflated. "It's over, then."
Amatori shrugged his shoulders. "It's over, isn't it?"