With the point won, the serve shifted to Hinata's side. Hinata, Kageyama, and Kinoshita formed the front-row defense while Asahi served from the back row. After taking the first point, everyone's spirits rose.
"Serve it well~"
At those words, Asahi pulled himself together and answered with a Jump Float Serve. Ever since being stuck on the bench during training camp, he had been holding back his frustration. Though he lacked the intimidating presence of an ace, his skills were more than worthy of the title. After returning, he worked hard during the free practice time after club activities every day, encouraging himself as he tried to win back his starting position.
A Jump Float Serve not much weaker than Hayato's came flying over. Since the other side had gained the serve, Hayato's side did not need to rotate. From left to right, the front row was still Tanaka, Tsukishima, and Ennoshita, while the back row consisted of Daichi, Sugawara, and Hayato.
However, Daichi received the ball and sent it high into the air. Hayato took the first pass, sending the ball into the hands of Sugawara, the setter.
"Hayato!"
"Coming!"
Leaping again for a Back-row attack, Hayato viciously spiked the ball Sugawara set for him. The advantage of a back-row attack was that it started farther from the net, allowing the ball to enter the opponent's court at a sharper angle. This move was originally meant to work in tandem with a quick attack from the front row, but relying on the power of Hayato's spike and finding a gap in the blockers, the ball slipped between Kinoshita and Kageyama's wrists.
Although Nishinoya got a hand on the ball, its force was too great for him to dig it up. It struck his hand and flew away.
The score was tied at one-all, and Hinata high-fived the two upperclassmen in the back row to celebrate the point.
"Damn, Hayato's serves are still as sharp as ever. Sorry, everyone. That was my mistake."
Rubbing his wrist, Nishinoya took responsibility for the lost point. Kageyama hurriedly said it was because the front row had failed to block properly, and Kinoshita nodded beside him.
"It's still early!"
Hinata clenched his fist and cheered everyone on. Hayato had not aimed at him during the block just now, which made Hinata unhappy. He wanted to fight Hayato too, but Hayato had not attacked through his side.
Both sides fiercely traded points. Hayato's side scored through Hayato's powerful attacks and decoy tactics. Once Hayato rotated to the front row, even if he was not the actual hitter after jumping, he still put tremendous pressure on the other side. Until the setter sent the ball to one of the front-row attackers, no one knew whether the airborne Hayato would spike it.
This style of attack was not impossible to handle. A read block that waited to see the direction of the set before jumping could stop it, but that led to the key issue: if Hayato really was only a decoy, then it was fine if he did not spike.
But if the ball was actually sent to him, then apart from Hinata, no one in the front row could jump after seeing the ball and still reach their highest point in time to block Hayato. His outstanding hang time gave Hayato more time to fight in the air. Those assigned to read block often had not even reached the peak of their jump before Hayato sent the ball crashing into their court from high above.
In volleyball, as long as one could touch the opponent's spike and keep it up, a counterattack was possible. Failing to reach the highest point meant being unable to touch Hayato's spike. As long as the back-row defenders could not receive it, it was Hayato's time to score.
Fortunately, Karasuno's Guardian Deity was in the back row. Nishinoya pressed his knee pad-covered knees against the floor and used all his strength to receive the ball. However, the ball's path was poor, making a direct attack too difficult. Kageyama decisively called for them to use the first pass to reset their formation before attacking.
Asahi took the first pass. At that moment, Hinata moved like lightning, sprinting to the other side of the net the instant the blockers landed before leaping high into the air.
"Give me the ball!"
Though he did not say it aloud, Kageyama sensed Hinata's unspoken message. He wanted to use that new quick attack, the one beyond the Monster Quick Attack, today, at this very moment.
My touch is great right now, but I'm not sure I can set it perfectly to you, you idiot Hinata.
Understanding Hinata's meaning, Kageyama muttered to himself. He had originally intended to set to Asahi in the front row, but suddenly, Hinata's voice seemed to enter his mind, and his gaze involuntarily shifted toward him.
Hinata leaped high, turning his head to look at Kageyama's face. Though he did not say anything.
"Won't you use it?"
As though he had heard Hinata say those words, the influenced Kageyama instinctively set the ball over. It spun and stopped at Hinata's hitting point. Unlike before, when the ball passed through Hinata's hitting point after being sent out, this time it stopped exactly there, at its highest point.
And stopping meant that Hinata had a fleeting moment to think before hitting it, giving him more choices in aerial combat.
Spotting a gap in Hayato's side's defense from the air, Hinata swung his arm. Before the front-row players could react, a perfect line shot slammed into the opposing court and scored.
All of that took only a few seconds. At that moment, the Super Quick Attack that surpassed the Monster Quick Attack was successfully unleashed by the two of them.
The two stared at each other first, then shouted excitedly at the same time.
"Ohhh! We did it! We did it, Kageyama!"
"I know, I know! You bastard, at least say something before you use it!"
"Because I knew it would work just now! Didn't you think so too?!"
Seeing that Hinata had completed the quick attack with his eyes open, Hayato and the others, including Coach Ukai and Hitoka, all cheered. Kiyoko did not cheer, but her clenched fist showed just how excited she was.
"Well done, Shoyo, Kageyama! I knew you could do it!"
"That was a great hit!"
"Ohhh! That last ball was incredible!"
Not holding back their praise, everyone gathered around and lifted the two into the air in celebration. Although Hayato had stepped in to resolve their argument during training camp, the atmosphere between them had remained somewhat tense. Now that they had finally completed the New quick attack, that tension was finally broken. Everyone was happy both because the new quick attack had succeeded and because the two had returned to normal.
Of course, Tsukishima was excluded from that "everyone." Tsukishima, who had yet to open his heart, would not take part in something like this. Part of it was also simply his personality.
"Hinata and Kageyama's problem has been solved. Karasuno's first evolution is complete. Next... it's your turn, Tsukishima."
After the celebration, everyone returned to the court under the coach's urging and continued the practice match. Hayato glanced at Tsukishima, who was also in the front row, and silently spoke in his heart.
Tsukishima seemed to sense something and involuntarily shivered.
"Strange. Why did it suddenly get cold? Am I catching a cold?"
The match resumed, with Hinata's side serving again. This time, when the ball came over, Hayato gave them a fierce answer, smashing through a three-man block with a powerful spike that hit the floor for a point.
"The match isn't over yet. It's too early to celebrate. Keep attacking, Kageyama, Shoyo."
After scoring, Hayato crooked his fingers at the two of them, telling them to bring it on.
"Yes, Hayato-senpai!"
The Hyper Attack had been successfully used, but once was not enough. From then on, whenever they had the chance, Kageyama and Hinata used it again. Unfortunately, the success rate was low, with only four successful attempts out of ten. Either Hinata jumped too late, or Kageyama failed to set the ball to the right spot.
However, on one play, because of the distance, Hinata managed to push the ball over the net with his left hand and score. It seemed that his frequent contact with volleyball had greatly improved the way he trained himself to become more familiar with the ball.
Not even reaching a fifty percent success rate discouraged the two, but they quickly pulled themselves together and doubled their efforts, determined to make the Hyper Attack combat-ready as soon as possible.
The practice match ultimately ended with Hayato's side victorious, but the score was incredibly close at 25–22. It was enough to show that even the immature Hyper Attack had already begun to reveal its frightening power as a scoring weapon.
"Damn it, we were so close."
After the match ended, Hinata held his head in both hands, looking deeply frustrated. Kageyama also appeared dissatisfied with his performance. As the team's resident peacemaker, Sugawara pushed them both toward Coach Ukai.
"Alright, being able to use it successfully is already a huge achievement. Just keep practicing from here on out. Come on, the coach still needs to give his review."
While everyone drank from their water bottles to rehydrate, they gathered around Coach Ukai and listened to his assessment of the practice match. He pointed out one by one who had performed well and who needed improvement.
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