Chapter 544: The 544th Fox
Amatori shrugged his shoulders. "I can't think of anything Karasuno could use to win right now."
Judging by the performance of both sides in this match, it's clear that Karasuno was completely overwhelmed by Inarizaki in every aspect; one could even say that if it came down to the bench strength, they wouldn't stand a chance against Inarizaki.
Inarizaki's bench strength is widely recognized as the strongest in all of high school, to the point where even a powerhouse like Itachiyama cannot compare to them.
Since that defeat in the summer, Inarizaki has been visibly filling the weaknesses they exposed during that match.
Amatori could assert that even Inarizaki itself might not have the ability to recreate such a luxurious lineup again in the next dozen years or so.
The Miya Twins and Suna go without saying, but if Miya Osamu were also willing to continue playing volleyball, Inarizaki would have achieved the feat of sending three V1 players away in a single year.
—Oh, Suna rejected EJP Gods' invitation and went to college instead.
As for Hinata's current batch, Hinata already has V1 teams interested in him, although they are mid-to-lower tier teams, being in the V1 says it all.
From his own perspective, Rishia's serve was already at a level that could be described as peak perfection.
Regarding power serves, he felt that even Miya Atsumu wouldn't be able to surpass Rishia—after all, Miya Atsumu himself wasn't actually that proficient at power serves.
Although his other aspects are still quite weak, these can all be trained, Rishia's height is perfectly suited for a Wing Spiker; he is likely to be a great prospect for the V1 in the future.
Unabara Uta and Ginjima Yui are relatively average; if they are still at this level after playing for so many years, it is difficult to say if they will have any better development in the future.
But.. it's hard to say the same for Tokura and that substitute Libero, Nishizawa Hokuto, who has already been on the court.
Even with Inarizaki's own strategic setup and the overall strength of the team as factors, it is impossible to ignore the fact that these two can produce such great results even while still being novices.
Amatori Toru rubbed his chin, thinking seriously.
At the very least, they'd be at V2 level with this kind of performance..
No, no, no, these are all rookies, they are all still waiting to be discovered.
Perhaps there are still some little surprises waiting to surface..
Amatori Toru shifted toward Iizuna and asked seriously, "How many starters from Karasuno do you think will go professional after this match?"
Iizuna, who had been fully immersed in watching the match, was momentarily stunned. Although puzzled, he still responded seriously, "Hoshiumi and Hakuma definitely have no problem. Hirugami can go pro, but he doesn't have any plans for himself. As for the rest.."
Scanning the Karasuno Coach's bench, Iizuna added, "Bessho Chigen's skill level is quite decent, he is the core Middle Blocker successor that Karasuno is putting all their efforts into developing. In a way, he is similar to the Libero that Nekoma nurtures."
“I don't have much confidence in Takahashi and Asahina. Asahina has technical flaws, while Takahashi has issues with his temperament. If he can be refined, I think Takahashi has hope.”
Amatori rested his hand under his chin and said with feigned solemnity, "Then Inarizaki wins after all."
Iizuna was stunned. "Huh?"
Amatori tilted his head slightly and spoke with a serious expression, "Um, Atsumu.."
Iizuna crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back slightly as he asked, "What is wrong with you, exactly?"
Amatori Toru said, "I think we should pay some ticket money for this match."
Just as Iizuna frowned slightly and was about to say something, Amatori Toru waved his fingers at him. "What if—and I'm saying what if—we're actually watching an All-Star game?"
Iizuna didn't want to discuss with Amatori whether the match was an All-Star game or not; what he cared about was a different point: "You didn't pay for the tickets?!"
Amatori Toru's eyes widened. "Is that even the point?!"
He spread his hands and said under Inamura Gen's shocked gaze, "Why would I give money! I asked Inamura directly!"
Inamura Gen, who was in front, turned around and gave Iizuna a thumbs up, signaling that he was indeed the one who had provided the tickets.
I almost laughed from anger: "I was wondering why the two of us have to switch positions every single match; it turns out you didn't buy spectator tickets."
He really should have realized sooner; they had been moving back and forth with the Itachiyama cheering squad for the past two days, but..
Iizuna asked a heavy question: "Where did today's tickets come from?"
Inamura explained, "Ah, Ishikawa originally got tickets intending to bring Mingsha along, but Mingsha couldn't make it because of something else. Ishikawa failed all his subjects and was also dragged away by his teacher for remedial classes."
If Agatsuma-senpai comes, there really won't be any seats left.
Upon hearing the words "failing all subjects," Iizuna's vision went dark instantly.
Help me.. someone, please, come and save the overall academic level of Itachiyama Volleyball Club.
Inarizaki can even get into Todai, but over here, it's just a bunch of failing bratty kids!
Iizuna raised his hand to cover his face: "As expected, having too many guaranteed admissions from private schools leads to this.."
Look at Hinata! Hinata only fails his classes three or four times a year; what kind of bunch of clowns is this family!
While Iizuna was collapsing, Inarizaki had already snatched the Service Right back from Karasuno, once again stabilizing their lead.
Hinata moved to the front row and took his position at Position 4.
Miya Atsumu walked to the service position holding the ball in one hand, calmly scanning the Karasuno members who were standing ready on the opposite side.
Rishia's consecutive serves over the last two sets had actually broken Takahashi's rhythm. Although Takahashi's reaction speed was quick during that last save, his body could no longer keep up with the pace.
The excessive consumption of physical energy in a short period of time became the last straw that broke the camel's back.
However.. Miya Atsumu felt that he still had to add the final spark.
Curving his lips into a smirk, Miya Atsumu spun the ball on his fingertips.
At a certain point, halfway through the serve time limit, Atsumu lightly raised his hand and tossed the ball into the air.
The speed of this ball wasn't fast, it didn't have much heavy spin, but the moment Takahashi saw it, his vision went dark.
Having been psychologically scarred by Rishia, he was positioned somewhat deep in defense, a position used to defend against power serves and baseline balls. Furthermore, the setter was currently behind Hoshiumi-senpai, making the back row defensive positioning a bit crowded.
Facing Miya Atsumu's exquisite and unpredictable Jump Float Serve at this moment.. was undoubtedly the worst of bad luck.
A short but powerful striking sound rang in Takahashi's ears as Miya Atsumu jumped from just over a step away from the baseline, spiking a very beautiful jump float serve.
The ball maintained an irregular trajectory without any spin, falling toward the space between Takahashi and Hoshiumi.
Hoshiumi wanted to call out, but Takahashi beat him to it, shouting, "I'll take it!"
Hoshiumi frowned, thinking that something was wrong.
Takahashi's receiving movement isn't actually that strong, especially compared to his.
A standard jump float serve can indeed be handled, but the better way to deal with such a violent jump float serve is to intercept it with an overhead receive at its highest point.
Because..
As Hoshiumi's peripheral vision swept toward Takahashi beside him, the ball was already falling, Takahashi's arms were already prepared to receive it.
But just as the ball was about to touch Takahashi's arm, the ball's path shook violently, causing it to veer to the left and fly off toward the left side without making contact with Takahashi's arm.
Hoshiumi, who had anticipated this, reacted with incredible speed, extending his foot almost immediately to cushion the ball with the top of his foot.
However, using one's feet to receive the ball makes it impossible to actively apply power, because a "foot save" motion would be called a lift.
The ball didn't bounce high enough, so Tokura Ria quickly moved in, using her hands to bump the ball toward the net.
The height of the ball was sufficient; having confirmed his position, Hakuma leaped behind the ball, extending his arms as he prepared to spike it with everything he had.
Tokura and Ginjima had already rushed in front of him. Having already read Hakuma's spiking rhythm, Tokura pulled away from the net the moment the spike was executed, completing a one-touch from a further distance.
One-touch!
Atsumu shouted, "Beautiful!"
Tokura's touch on this ball was incredibly beautiful; the ball was popped up softly and steadily, to the point where the Libero didn't even need to handle it.
Miya Atsumu signaled to Unabara Uta that there was no need to handle the ball and to step back to adjust his position, as he prepared to set directly from the first touch.
Hinata had already pulled his position to the outside of the net, as Miya Atsumu retreated under the ball, he took his first step.
With a thud, Hirugami's gaze followed the sound and shifted toward Hinata.
Following this trajectory, Hinata would rush to the net at a very narrow angle relative to the net, a movement that is favorable for hitting a backhand short diagonal..
Miya Atsumu flicked the ball toward Hinata, who was already in the air, controlling the hang time perfectly.
Hinata didn't hesitate after getting the ball; the moment Hirugami and the others lunged toward him—
Turned.
He raised his hands from Position 2 to deliver the set.
The ball curved through the air toward Ginjima Yui, with almost no net in his way, Ginjima scored with a heavy spike.
The whistle blew, Inarizaki scores.
Hahahaha—Nice one, Shoyo!
“Hey, have you had enough rest?” Having finished laughing, Miya Atsumu stood with one hand on his hip, turning to look at Miya Osamu, who was on the Coach's bench chewing on honey lemon.
Miya Osamu raised an eyebrow slightly. He glanced at Miya Atsumu's face, then turned to look at the scoreboard, which showed a large score advantage, finally stared at Miya Atsumu with dead eyes.
They had said he would rest for half a set, but why was he being rushed before this rotation was even finished? Besides, he felt that he wouldn't actually need to step back onto the court for this match at all.
He asked calmly, "I just had two bites."
—What, are your legs broken or your arms broken? Can you not play anymore?
—No way, are you actually planning to lose with such a huge score difference?
—Atsumu, can you even do this?
Hit by a silent barrage of three questions, Miya Atsumu couldn't help but laugh out of sheer frustration, his momentary flash of conscience being decisively thrown to the dogs.
He stood with one hand on his hip, tilting his chin toward Miya Osamu with a victor's smile that was almost mocking.
Get up here once you've finished resting. If you don't come up soon, you'll never get another chance.
Miya Osamu put down his fork, silently closed the lid of the food container, handed it back to Coach Omimi, stood up to go behind the Coach's bench to stretch his joints.
Just you wait.
What the hell?
What did that expression mean—the look on his face that suggested he would continue playing volleyball in the future, therefore, he had won?
No matter what he does in the future, he will be even happier than Miya Atsumu.
And at this very moment.. he was going to pin Miya Atsumu to the ground and crush him in the final moments of the final major tournament of his life!
He was going to make Miya Atsumu realize exactly who the King was!