Rishia on the court hesitated, wanting to say something but holding back.
After a long silence, he let out a resigned sigh, his expression looking somewhat pitiful, his back looked particularly desolate.
——He also wants to be the King.
Chapter 545: The 545th Fox
Hinata reached out and patted Rishia's shoulder to comfort him: "Don't worry, next year we'll win three consecutive championships ourselves!"
Tokura Ria countered, "Then it wouldn't be three consecutive championships, it would be five."
Hinata lightly tapped his palm, realizing the truth: "Oh, you're right!"
The furious Hoshiumi-senpai interrupted the conversation between Hinata and the others: "What do you mean, 'right'! Stop talking big nonsense; this match isn't over yet."
This leisurely attitude showed that he didn't take them seriously at all!
Even if the score gap is large right now, but..
Hinata looked at Hoshiumi, blinked slowly, then tilted his head slightly.
Hoshiumi raised his hand to cover his face, the courage he had just summoned was unconsciously suppressed again by Hinata.
Alright, he admitted, the current score difference was indeed enough to cause despair.
This was no longer something that could be solved simply by exhausting Inarizaki, besides.. given the quality of Inarizaki's current bench, they wouldn't be able to win even if they fought with their reserve strength.
In terms of player development, Inarizaki invests heavily every single year, basically producing three to four usable players every year.
However, Coach Kurosu has a habit of liking to scout rookies and specialized players, which indeed causes the new Inarizaki team to face issues with cohesion when it is first formed every year, but it is only for a short period.
The leagues organized by Inarizaki, Shirabu, Seito can greatly enrich players' practical experience, a point at which Karasuno truly cannot compare.
To put it another way.. shouldn't Karasuno also organize their own massive leagues like those powerhouse schools? At least something involving five or six schools.
Aside from Aichi Prefecture, there aren't actually any particularly strong schools around Nagano, Shizuoka's performance in recent years has been mediocre as well.
And their geographic location is actually not advantageous; to the north is Tokyo, to the south is the Kyoto and Osaka area. Both directions have their own league ecosystems, basically centered around Fukurodani and Inarizaki.
Maybe.. I should try to build some rapport with the Fukui Prefecture side?
His exhausted brain caused Hoshiumi-senpai to start daydreaming unconsciously; the moment the whistle blew in his ear, he was startled and quickly refocused his attention back on the court.
Anyway, he was graduating soon, so these things were none of his business. At most, he would mention it to Coach Aran, as for the rest.. he would let the juniors figure it out for themselves.
Miya Atsumu's serve was already locked onto Takahashi's side, giving Hoshiumi no chance to counterattack.
Takahashi, who was already at the end of his rope, still failed to control the position of this ball. Fortunately, Lady Luck was on his side; the second the ball missed his arms, it landed directly on the top of his foot.
“Nice play, Takahashi!”
Great job, Xiao Ai!
Akagi's eyes widened: "That actually worked??"
Aran put his hands to his head. "What on earth! Did Atsumu use up all his luck during the lottery today?!"
If it had been just half a centimeter off, that ball would have landed directly for an ACE!
Hearing the gasps from the stands, a string of question marks popped up over Miya Atsumu's head.
The laughter of the crowd was exceptionally clear at this moment, Coach Kurosu couldn't help but frown.
Hoshiumi's reaction speed was fast enough that he lunged directly toward it, forcefully saving the ball which had not bounced high enough. He used all his strength to give the ball momentum, allowing it to be sent toward a higher point.
He shouted the setter's name, "Tokura Ria!"
Tokura Ria crossed over Hoshiumi without hesitation, rushing toward the spot where the ball would land in the front row.
Although Takahashi's receive was largely due to luck, Hoshiumi had already done his best to compensate for his mistake; this ball could have been easily set.
Hakuma raised his hand to call for the ball: "Left Wing!"
Tokura Ria did not hesitate, at the moment of contact, she sent a high, stable ball toward Position 4 that was at a moderate distance from the Net.
Tokura Ria and Ginjima chased after it, while Hinata fell a step behind and did not follow, instead taking a half-step back to prepare to defend against a Sharp Cross.
Hakuma learned his lesson this time; he didn't stubbornly aim for a Line shot or attempt a Technical ball he wasn't good at. Instead, he focused on the gap left by the Inarizaki two-man Block that couldn't cover the whole court, which prioritized defending against his Line shots. Taking advantage of the excellent hang time on this ball, he spiked a massive Line shot toward Inarizaki's Position 5.
Rishia's reaction speed was fast, but Hakuma's power was somewhat beyond his imagination. He instinctively tried to absorb the impact, but after the ball hit his arm, it lost control due to the spin brought by the cross shot itself, falling directly outside the boundary line on the side of the net near Karasuno.
“Shoyo!” Rishia hurriedly called out to Hinata.
At the same time Rishia called out, Hinata had already lunged forward. Relying on his advantage of being relatively small and agile, he dove directly under the net, rushing toward the ball.
His speed was even faster than the ball, he firmly got in front of it, controlling its flight back into Inarizaki's back row.
Rishia, relying on the absolute trust of his teammates, had already moved his position back to the baseline after the receive, watching the path the ball would take as he jumped, preparing to spike it directly.
Hirugami watched his movements.
This kind of ball has no value; the height of the attack from the back row is naturally lower, since there was no setter to draw the block away from him, the target was too singular and lacked sufficient spiking conditions.
Rishia's serve was good because his toss was perfect, allowing him to create the best attacking conditions for himself, but now..
The moment the ball was spiked by Rishia, Hirugami leaped up simultaneously with Hakuma and Norikura Isao, forming a three-man Block to firmly obstruct the ball's path.
Having reached a higher point, Hirugami pressed both hands downward, forming a downward umbrella just as the ball was about to touch the Block, enveloping the ball within it.
To break through a block like this, one must deliver a spike with enough power.
Unfortunately, Inarizaki cannot do that right now.
With a loud bang that rang in everyone's ears, Hirugami spiked the ball back into Inarizaki's court.
Hinata dove back to try and save it, but he was ultimately a step too slow.
The whistle blew immediately after, Karasuno scores.
A beautiful point scored, Hoshiumi couldn't help but laugh aloud: "Hahaha—it looks like fate is on our side."
"Sorry, my bad," Rishia apologized.
Hinata shook his head at him. "No, it was my fault for not being able to save it."
After saying that, Hinata looked back at Hoshiumi-senpai on the other side of the net: "Hikari-kun.. no, Hoshiumi-senpai, you know we never believe in that kind of thing."
Hoshiumi-senpai turned serious.
To be honest, he really didn't believe it.
But to be honest, Miya Atsumu's bad luck over the past two years really was something else, making everyone somewhat believe that he had done something he shouldn't have and was now facing retribution.
However.. he also agreed with Hinata's words.
If he truly believed in fate, he and Hinata shouldn't be standing here; it would have been a better choice for them to go play soccer or do something that doesn't require height.
“That's so wicked, Hinata.”
That's truly wicked, Hinata.
Bessho Chigen and Asahina were talking together at the Coach's bench.
Hearing this, Hinata felt a bit hurt. What did he do? Why was he being spoken of like that!
Asahina shook his head.
Hoshiumi-senpai finally managed to use that play to cheer everyone up, but Hinata actually had to twist the knife at a time like this.
Miya Atsumu, whose service turn had been interrupted, received a full dose of mockery from his own brother, he transformed his grief and indignation into fury, venting it back onto Karasuno.
Hinata also decided to vent his grief and indignation. As he turned back to his position, he locked eyes with Miya Atsumu, the two of them reached a silent, wicked agreement.
Rishia trembled. For some reason, he felt a chill running down his spine.
The quality of Hirugami's serve was not as good as in the previous two sets, but he still maximized his accuracy as much as possible, precisely sending the ball into the space between Miya Atsumu and Unabara Uta.
Unabara Uta stepped toward his right without hesitation.
Because they were using a two-receiver, one-libero formation, Miya Atsumu himself was not in a position that would be targeted by the serve; it was only because of the vertical distance that it would affect Unabara Uta's overall defensive positioning.
Hirugami's spike was aimed between the two of them, but he was actually aiming for the corner.
This kind of "too tricky" ball was actually the kind that was relatively easy for Unabara Uta to handle.
Unabara Uta slightly turned his body and raised his shoulders, sending the ball back steadily to the Attack Line.
Miya Atsumu was very satisfied with Unabara Uta's performance; while offering a word of praise, he jumped and raised his hands, preparing to set the ball.
Hinata, occupying Position 4, had also completed his jump. He used his four-step approach to maximize his forward momentum, using the final step to drive his body upward.
A thud rang in Bessho Chigen's ears as the orange shadow on the other side of the net reached the highest point on the court.
In the moment Bessho Chigen and Hakuma reacted and jumped, Miya Atsumu had already used a one-handed set to flick the ball into Hinata's hands at the shortest distance and highest speed.
The ball met Hinata's hitting point and his hands, pausing for a fleeting moment.
In that split second, Hinata's field of vision reflected the defensive gap appearing in Karasuno's back row due to the absence of a Libero.
The setter was positioned forward, meaning Hirugami and Hoshiumi couldn't cover the front area of the defensive range. So..
Bang!
The crisp sound of the hit exploded at extremely close range, the ball flew past Bessho Chigen's fingertips, the resulting airflow something he could clearly sense.
But.. he couldn't block it.
In the next second, the ball crashed down at a speed almost impossible for the naked eye to capture, landing in the space between Hoshiumi and Hirugami, closer to Hirugami.
Hoshiumi, who tried his best to chase after it, ultimately missed the ball and failed to make contact.
The whistle blew, Inarizaki scores.
Great play, orange!!
Superhuman speed! I couldn't see it at all!
Shoyo! Unstoppable—
Listening to the loud cheering from Shiratori, Coach Himegomiya's mouth twitched in the front row. "This is completely unreasonable."
To be honest, in a high-frequency tournament like Haruko, when a spike that simultaneously pursues both speed and height is brought out, it basically means they have no intention of playing the rest of the match.
Hinata alone might not be that terrifying, but when paired with the one-handed setting technique developed by Miya Atsumu, the speed of this Quick Attack is quite terrifying.