Volleyball: The Time of Resonance

The ball crossed the net, carrying the lingering resentment of Senran's main attacker, and was narrowly saved by Yoruichi's diving save.

The ball traced a rather large arc, heading straight for the area behind the three-meter line.

"One touch!" Before Yoru's shout had even faded, Kozume Maki had already moved into position.

Yinchuan Mian blinked too; their mushrooms could move on their own!!!

The brown-haired boy glanced over the net and surveyed the opponent's defense.

OxO

Yu Guang didn't notice the big sheep's series of movements, and Guzhao was focused on the ball.

A formidable double block had already been erected in front of the main attackers, and the center of gravity of the back row defense was also slightly tilted towards that side—a typical trap setup... to lure the enemy into a strong attack, and then rely on solid defense to bite back.

With a flick of his fingertips, he passed the ball to position three with a flat, fast arc.

Yamamoto, like a tiger poised to pounce, runs and leaps!

Yinchuan Mianye, who had been distracted for a moment, quickly snapped back to reality and ran away!

The boy's approach run was short and his jump was light, like a feather lifted by the airflow.

Senran's middle blocker reacted extremely quickly, immediately jumping to block, his raised arms forming an almost impenetrable high wall in front of him.

A direct, forceful attack would be difficult for Yinchuan Mianye to break through.

The fighter is out of bounds!

In the air, Yinchuan Mianye's gaze quickly swept over the pair of hands blocking the net.

The outer edge of the right palm reflects light slightly under the lamplight; that's it.

His arm swing was full and powerful, but the sound of the ball hitting the ball was not a heavy, muffled thud.

"Snapped!"

Instead, it was a crisper sound.

The ball struck the outer edge of the opponent's right thumb with precision, not with much force, but enough to change its direction.

The ball suddenly bounced outwards and flew far beyond the sideline.

"Beep—! Out of bounds, Soundhorse scores."

The middle blocker landed, staring incredulously at his palm.

Tetsuro Kuroo whistled a short whistle from the sidelines: "Beautiful, Mianya!! Grinding is great!"

Kozume Grinding silently lowered his head even further.

Yinchuan Mian also tilted her head slightly, her blue eyes filled with eagerness.

18:13 Sound Horse is in the lead!

Yinchuan Mian also scored 8 points.

Senran's setter launched a sudden second attack, interrupting Yinju's scoring streak.

Yinchuan Mian finally got her wish and was rotated out of the game.

When he arrived at the bench, Coach Naoi patted him on the head.

For some reason, the sheep felt that its own head was particularly attractive.

It's one thing to have teammates who are around the same age, but why does the coach seem to like this more and more?

The adorable red kitten of a certain sound horse attracted the attention of Coach Fukutani.

Otoko's children are all very well-behaved. (Biting a handkerchief)

After a few rounds, the opportunity came again, and Yinju, through tenacious defense, once again "held back" Senran's attack.

After several passes, the ball, with a slightly disordered rhythm, came into the hands of the lone claw grinder.

This time, Senran's blocking team learned their lesson. They kept a close eye on Mianye's take-off point, and their blocking was more cautious. They maintained their hand positions well and no longer gave the ball to the outside of the net easily.

Yinchuan Mian also rotated back when serving this ball.

Kozaki Grinding naturally passed the ball to Yinchuan Mianye.

After a short rest, the boy jumped up again quickly, and the opponent's block came right away, ready to fight.

The arm-swinging motion seemed no different from the previous one.

But—lightly suspended—!

But just before touching the ball, Yinchuan Mianye's taut wrist suddenly relaxed, her five fingers spread open, turning a clench into a support.

The full power of that arm swing seemed to be instantly drained, leaving only a gentle force at the fingertips.

The ball left his palm, obediently and almost vertically, passing over the blocking hands that were trying their best to block but could not quickly press down, and fell silently in front of the opponent's toes like a ghost.

That area was completely deserted.

The defenders were focused on guarding against his powerful dunk or his change of direction, and no one expected this sudden silence amidst the intense competition.

The ball landed softly, with a faint sound.

Yinchuan Mianye's curly hair became frizzy from jumping, and his reactions kept up with his brain!

Several suppressed gasps rang out from the sidelines, even the stern-faced players were taken aback.

"This guy..." The sinister Free Man gritted his teeth.

"Wow, that's amazing! No wonder he's Yinchuan-kun!"

Kozume Kenma remained expressionless, only slightly adjusting his position and glancing at Mianye a few more times.

Mianye's breathing became slightly rapid. The continuous high-quality jumps had taken a toll on his stamina. Should he pass the ball to Mianye again?

"Grind! Again!" Her blue eyes curved into crescents, brimming with a hint of joy.

"Mmm," the mushroom cat responded softly.

Yinju won the first game smoothly, the second game begins—

Senran's attack became somewhat impatient, and a clearly intended diagonal spike was effectively blocked by a double block composed of Kuro and Mianye.

The rebounding ball was caught steadily by Hisense and sent to the Lone Claw Grinding Center.

This gave Otoko a chance to retaliate.

Guzhao grinded his eyes and looked up; Mian had already started grinding.

This time, the curly-haired boy's positioning was even more unpredictable. He first feinted towards position two, and then turned towards position three.

The imposing block was distracted by his feint, and the middle blocker subconsciously moved half a step towards position two, creating a tiny gap between him and his teammate at position three.

The gap may have appeared in less than a heartbeat.

But for Kozume Grinding and Ginchuan Mianye, that's enough!

The moment the ball was passed, the two men's blocks managed to close up, but because of that half-step hesitation, the two arms, which were side by side, ultimately failed to form a perfect seal.

The attacker changed lanes.

The sheep's heart raced, and the silhouette of an owl appeared in its mind.

Yinchuan Mian also jumped to meet the incoming ball, swinging his arm as if he was going to smash the gap with all his might.

The blocking hand, taut and tense, was ready to withstand the impact.

However—at the very last moment of the shot, Mya's wrist made an extremely subtle, lightning-fast inward rotation!

The ball didn't go straight; instead, it touched the side of his palm and seemed to be gently "smeared," changing its original trajectory.

Instead of flying straight through the gap, it traced a tiny inward arc along the inside of one of the blockers' arms, then—grazing the inside of the opponent's arm—changed direction and flew back to the side of the court where the ball was, landing lightly near the undefended sideline.

This wasn't out of bounds; it was a clever deflection shot that used the opponent's body to score.

The entire action was completed in the blink of an eye, so fast that one might wonder if they had misread the ball's trajectory.

"Beep—!"

The whistle blows, the score is valid.

This time, even Kozume Kenma slightly raised his eyes to look at the landed Mianye.

The speed at which your own large sheep advances in rank is comparable to that of a flying airplane!

Yinchuan Mianye gently flicked his wrist; the subtle movement was less about relieving pressure and more about savoring the feeling of touching the ball just now.

"Hey, hey, that guy just now..." Yamamoto Takeo's eyes widened.

"Ah," Kuroo crossed his arms, his smile filled with understanding and admiration, "It wasn't that the thug went out of bounds, but that he used the other party's hand to change his own path back. Quite bold, Mina."

Mian also walked back to his position. As he passed Kozume Kenma, he heard Kenma whisper in an almost inaudible voice, "Great."

Mianye's lips curved into a very slight smile, then she quickly pursed them back.