He and Wase Eita had known each other since junior high, their relationship was decent enough, since Wase wasn't at Shiratorizawa back then.
It's just a video; just follow the standard communication procedures.
After finishing that shout, Oikawa Tooru rubbed his chin. "What is it with me suddenly finding Inarizaki a bit more pleasing to the eye?"
But the next second, he thought of Miya Atsumu's face.
Feeling nauseous, he changed his words: "No, these two are equally annoying."
Meanwhile, in the Shiratorizawa Academy cafeteria, the members of the Volleyball Club were wandering around the hall in small groups after finishing their training.
Seeing Ushijima acting out of character by using a laptop in the cafeteria, Tendo Makoto poked his head over and asked, "What is Wakatoshi-kun doing?"
Ushijima replied, "Wase wants the Inarizaki footage. I sent some to him this morning, but there's still some left to transfer."
His hands moved incessantly, he quickly copied all the videos from his USB drive to Wase.
According to the normal progression of a tournament, as long as they are not in two different regions, there is a very high chance that Inarizaki and Shiratorizawa will face each other.
At the same time, Shiratorizawa has not won a single official match against Inarizaki in recent years.. Therefore, for the purpose of research, Shiratorizawa's data on Inarizaki can be described as quite comprehensive.
Glancing through the transfer list on Ushijima's computer screen, Tendo blinked. "Isn't this footage from Seijo's previous match?"
Ushijima answered directly, "Ah, Inarizaki requested it."
"Inarizaki?" Tendo was even more confused.
What's going on?
It was already very strange that Wase wanted Inarizaki's footage all of a sudden.
Even though they were indeed playing a practice match against Inarizaki, why did Wase suddenly ask for the footage? Hadn't everyone already watched it together before?
Could Wase be secretly evolving, preparing to push Shirabu down?
No, no, no, his intuition told him that there was definitely a connection between the two sides.
Inarizaki's footage of Aoba Johsai.. then the one who wanted Inarizaki's footage might not be Wase himself, but.. someone from Aoba Johsai?
Suddenly realizing something, Tendo looked down at Ushijima: "Judging by the timing, it should be something happening tomorrow."
"What?" Ushijima was a bit confused.
Tendo had already guessed everything: "A practice match between Seijo and Inarizaki, do you want to go watch? Oikawa will be facing that Miya Atsumu."
Ushijima's eyes lit up, he stood up without hesitation, saying, "I'll go ask the coach for leave; watch my computer for me."
After making a victory sign, Tendo pulled out his phone and found Owari Aran in his contact list.
He wanted to get a sneak peek at the enemy's situation in advance, to prevent being played by Miya Atsumu and the others when the time came.
While the coaches and managers of Seijo were completely unprepared, the members of Inarizaki had already entered the Seijo volleyball gym on time at ten o'clock.
Of course, they arrived at Seijo even earlier. Before heading to the gymnasium, they went to find Coach Kosano to watch Hinata train for a while.
Hinata, who was no longer a novice at traveling with the team for matches, was not a step behind this time; instead, he bowed along with his seniors to everyone at Seijo.
Please look forward to playing with us!!
Lifting his head, Hinata rubbed his pant legs with a hint of excitement.
Perhaps for him.. Miyagi was different after all, he might even run into old friends or classmates!
—That was impossible.
Among his friends from middle school, none of them played volleyball at all.
But speaking of which, he always felt that two people in yesterday's video looked incredibly familiar.
Unfortunately, the footage used for review was always a wide shot, so he didn't have the chance to see the opponents' faces clearly.
Furthermore, after cleaning his room yesterday, he and Miya Atsumu only had time to watch two match recordings before Kita Shinsuke confiscated all their electronic devices and sent them to bed.
So.. why do they look so familiar? Where has he seen those two before?
Coach Irihatsu was having a massive headache right now.
Of course, he did not oppose Oikawa Tooru and the others in pursuing opportunities to play against strong schools, but this timing was still far too rushed.
He wasn't sure what the situation was on Oikawa's end, but he and Mguchi had started watching the footage of Inarizaki's important matches as soon as they received it, staying up all night and only managing to study three matches in detail.
Moreover.. looking at the footage from this year's Interhigh preliminaries, Inarizaki's Setter has already begun transitioning into a Dual Wield, the difficulty of the Receive Serve has increased more than anyone can say.
Seijo itself has a weakness in receive, Wataru is originally a Setter; under the threat of Inarizaki's lineup, where everyone except the Middle Blocker possesses powerful serves, he is very likely to collapse.
The strongest Setter, a top-five Ace in the country, a top-tier blocking lineup, an incredibly solid receive level.. Inarizaki's composition was practically flawless.
If they had enough time, they would have the opportunity to arrange long-term tactics to break the deadlock.
After all, Seijo itself was not the kind of team that relied on improvisation on the court; for them, thorough pre-match preparation was the top priority.
While Coach Irihatsu was thinking, Coach Omimi had already walked over: "Hello, do you have any vests we can wear?"
"Yes, in the storage room.." Coach Irihatsu had only said half of his sentence when he suddenly realized something was wrong.
Underneath the red uniforms of the Inarizaki players in his field of vision were different T-shirts; they weren't even team uniforms.
After straightening his white uniform, Oikawa Tooru's expression soured even more: "I'm being completely looked down upon.."
He looked at Kindaichi, who was just about to walk over. "Kindaichi, bring all the jerseys over—the two sets we used when we played against Karasuno before."
Kindaichi froze for a moment. "Two sets?"
Didn't they already wear team uniforms? Do they need to wear pinnies too?
Oikawa Tooru's attitude was very firm: "Since they aren't wearing their team uniforms, then no one should wear them."
"Yes." Kindaichi and Kunimi walked toward the storage room together to get the vests.
The Seijo members put on green jerseys, while Inarizaki was given orange-red ones.
Hinata, who was thinking about the playstyle Miya Atsumu had mentioned, took the vest, but the other person did not let go for a long time.
As Hinata looked up in confusion, a voice rang out: "Have I.. seen you somewhere before?"
The person opposite him was very tall, based on his hairstyle, he seemed like someone he recognized from the video.
.. Wait, hairstyle?
Hinata suddenly took a step back: "You're that—the King's little garlic!"
Miya Atsumu laughed loudly beside him: "A weed? Hahahaha—what a description!"
Kindaichi didn't even have time to care what his hair looked like anymore; at this moment, he only wanted to ask one question: "Wait, are you a member of Inarizaki?"
That can't be right; how did he remember this guy being so ridiculously unskilled?
Are they twins? Yet this guy still recognized him.
Can a person grow from a complete novice who knows nothing to playing for a top-tier team in just one year?
No, no, no, just a benchwarmer here to do the odd jobs..
Iwaizumi's voice called out from behind, "Kindaichi, what are you doing?"
Handing the jersey to Hinata, Kindaichi turned and left: "It's nothing! I'm coming!"
Miya Atsumu asked Hinata, "You know him?"
Hinata recalled how he had felt before: "That King's junior high teammate, his blocking is incredible."
“Eh..” Miya Atsumu let out a soft sound, staring at Kindaichi's back with an ambiguous expression.
Finally, he reached out and patted Hinata's head: "Just relax, just like before, there's nothing to be afraid of."
Hinata nodded: "I won't be afraid."
Miya Atsumu nodded: "That's good."
Since he wouldn't be afraid.. then he wouldn't hold back.
After all, in his perception, no matter how strong Seijo's blocking was, it could never be stronger than Shirabu and Karasuno's.
Upon hearing that Seijo would be playing a practice match, the students gradually gathered at the gymnasium, but since it was summer vacation, there weren't that many people.
During the process of confirming the rotation for both sides, Kindaichi was shocked to find Hinata standing in Inarizaki's number three position, while Suna Rintaro, whom they had specifically warned them to be wary of, was standing in the waiting area.
Wait, a starter? And a Middle Blocker?
Kindaichi, who was positioned against Hinata, had ten thousand question marks at this moment, which ultimately coalesced into a single sentence.
—What right does he have!
For a Middle Blocker, the most important thing is height, Hinata's height could be described as pitiful on this volleyball court where every Libero is over 1.7 meters tall.
But even so, he stood in the Middle Blocker position, the one with the strictest height requirements.
Seijo's Oikawa Tooru starts.
Holding the volleyball, Oikawa Tooru stood in position for his approach, his eyes cast downward.
That little guy was indeed an unexpected variable in their plans.
A player who had never appeared in Inarizaki's match footage had become a Middle Blocker so abruptly.
But he wouldn't be confused like Kindaichi; in fact, you could say this position directly helped him rule out many wrong options.
—The little guy is a Spiker.
That's right. To be able to get Seijo's Track and Field Club to provide guidance, they must have outstanding points in either speed or jumping ability.
And for the Middle Blocker position, aside from blocking, the most important thing is performing Quick Attacks to provide support and coordination.
The whistle sounded in his ears, Oikawa Tooru pulled his thoughts back, spinning the volleyball in his hands before holding it with one hand, preparing to serve.
At the same time, voices from the spectators on the second floor rang out: "Get ready!"
Miya Atsumu looked up.
Oikawa Tooru raised his hand and tossed the ball, almost simultaneously, cheers erupted from above.
“Oh—Hey!”
With a loud striking sound, the volleyball smashed into Inarizaki's side of the court with heavy spin.
Akagi was not surprised.
After watching the footage of the Seijo and Shiratorizawa final, he had already placed this Oikawa's serve on the same level as, or even higher than, Miya Atsumu's.