Hinata was even more shocked: "Atsumu-senpai.. can you read minds?"
"That's not the point." Miya Atsumu's expression froze for a moment, but he immediately spoke up, steering the conversation away from the topic that was about to be lost forever.
I mean, even for Shoyo, it's best not to go into a match with the mindset that he can cover the whole court himself.
As for how he knew.. that guy's thoughts were written all over his face.
"Even with a bye in the first round, there are still five matches from the second round to the finals, they aren't just any five matches, they are—" Miya Atsumu drew out his voice, attempting to exert some pressure on Hinata.
It's equivalent to five matches, they'll be even more intense than the regional finals.
Miya Atsumu said in a very serious tone, "With this level of intensity, even Aran and I wouldn't dare say we could play the whole match from start to finish, let alone you."
Hinata thought about it. If it were the intensity of that match against Shiratorizawa he had participated in before, playing seventeen sets in four days..
He shook his head repeatedly.
You'll die, you'll really die!
Even if getting enough rest and massage during the competition can ensure physical stamina keeps up, the mental pressure is also a very serious issue.
Seeing Hinata also turn serious, Miya Atsumu softened his tone: "Yesterday's first round of matches was mainly for us to find our rhythm, so we didn't make any substitutions."
“And starting from today's match, Kita Team will be making frequent substitutions. Do you understand what I mean?"
Hinata Shoyo nodded vigorously: "Understood! I'll distribute water bottles and towels to everyone in time!"
Miya Atsumu was completely defeated.
He stared into Hinata Shoyo's eyes and said gloomily, "No, it's about managing your own physical expectations when you step onto the court; don't always think about how much you can still run and jump."
Hearing this, Hinata nodded. "I understand."
Although I don't know exactly how well I can play, Coach Kurosu thinks that if I can't keep playing, he will substitute someone else in. I will always trust the coach's instructions and judgment.
Akagi Michinari's voice came from the entrance: "See, Shoyo is much more obedient than Atsumu."
Before Miya Atsumu could even feel moved, he turned around and met the gazes of the Inarizaki members.
Ginjima raised an eyebrow slightly beside them, his face written with confusion. "What kind of pose is this? You're practically crushing Shoyo. Don't you have any sense of your own weight? Get up, quickly."
Aran really couldn't help but complain, "Right now, you look like a pervert trying to kidnap an innocent boy."
Suna, peeking out from a corner, said nothing, but silently pulled out his phone.
Kita Shinsuke, standing at the very back, spoke up softly: "It just so happens that we'll be passing through Tokyo on the way back. Coach said we need to go to Itachiyama to borrow some equipment to conduct VO2 max tests; the first-years don't have any historical data yet."
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire corridor fell silent.
Everyone who had been watching the spectacle involving Miya Atsumu had their expressions instantly contort.
And at the entrance of 903, Bokuto, who had just taken a step outside, collapsed to the ground immediately upon hearing a certain word.
Akagi waved his hands repeatedly. "The freshmen can do it! We'll pass!"
Aran also tried to protest, "Atsumu and I already did it in the Junior National Team at the end of last year! We don't need to do it this time!"
Miya Osamu raised his hand: "Kita-senpai, I'm going to be sick after the match, so I can't do the test."
Kita Shinsuke ruthlessly cut off everyone's resistance: "This is an important indicator for evaluating physical fitness. It's not just for the newcomers; everyone must take the test."
The coach needs to use this to see the effectiveness of everyone's physical training, so he can arrange the subsequent training intensity.
Watching Miya Atsumu shrink behind him, Hinata Shoyo was filled with question marks.
What's going on? Why did the seniors suddenly have a collective breakdown? Did the Kita Team say something terrifying?
Miya Atsumu, who was trying to hide himself completely behind Hinata, let out a cry of pain: "On the court, the worst that happens is you run your legs off, but this will actually kill you.."
Hinata's confusion grew even deeper.
He was very curious now—what kind of test was this VO2 max test, exactly? Was it really that terrifying?
Miya Atsumu replied with apprehension, "After the last test, Rintaro lost consciousness immediately."
Miya Osamu added, "There's also the possibility of getting hit by the equipment and having your mouth full of blood."
Hinata felt a sense of profound respect upon hearing that.
Having come to terms with it, Miya Atsumu sighed and pulled Hinata to his feet. "Forget it, let's just do it. It'll be a good chance to see exactly what level your physical condition is at, Shoyo."
If both the player and the coach have no concept of this, it is very likely that something could happen where the body has already reached its limit or even starts to run a fever, yet it is mistakenly thought to be in a hot streak..
Moreover, each regular player can only be substituted once per set. If a key server has already been substituted, then by the time they truly collapse, it will be too late, one will have no choice but to request a special substitution.
Once a special substitution is requested, the player who was substituted out cannot return to the court for the remainder of the match.
Aran had the best stats last time, I wonder if you can surpass him, Shoyo.
Regarding this, Miya Atsumu was quite confident.
After all, during every training session, Hinata could basically exhaust Aran.
Chapter 67: The Sixty-Seventh Fox
By the time the Inarizaki members arrived at the venue, the second round of matches had already begun, featuring Seito versus Nishiosawa, as well as Fukurodani versus Ichiyosumi.
The winner of the first half of the round of sixteen in the first major district was the Tokyo representative, Itachiyama Academy, and.. the second representative from Hyogo Prefecture, Municipal Kobe High School.
Looking at the red line drawn on the board, Miya Atsumu was shocked: "Huh? Who won?"
Two months ago, they hadn't even played a predictable 2:0 match, so how did they suddenly advance to the national top eight?
What is this? The biggest dark horse is right beside me?
Hinata's eyes also widened. "It's Wakamura-senpai and the others!"
Kita Shinsuke said, "They made it to the top sixteen in the nation last year, so it's nothing impossible for them to take it a step further."
Besides, their Ace Libero is a freshman and is growing rapidly; they might even become a formidable opponent of ours by the time Haruko arrives.
"No, I just feel like having two teams from our Hyogo in the top eight is incredible." Hinata shook his head, his face written with eager excitement.
Ah.." Aran fell silent for two seconds before nodding and saying, "Some regions are like that.
"Some?" Hinata blinked, looking at Aran, waiting for him to explain.
Aran held up three fingers one by one: "Miyagi, Tokyo, Kyoto."
After hesitating for two seconds, he raised a fourth finger: "Maybe we should add Hyogo to that right now."
"Kageyama?" Hinata was shocked once again.
So his hometown is also a hellish division? Now that I think about it, it's true; Aobajohsai is also very strong.
Akagi Michinari gave Hinata a brief summary: "I won't even mention Tokyo, but there are already two teams from there in the top eight. Generally speaking, the host teams for Haruko aren't weak either; they are at least at the level of the top sixteen."
Those three from Kyoto all have a history of winning championships. As for Miyagi.. well, Shiratorizawa goes without saying, but Date Tech is also an established powerhouse, Karasuno has an eight-time Haruko qualification record, from the looks of it, Aobajohsai is also very strong.
Aran added the final blow: "What's most serious is that, unlike us, Miyagi, just like Kyoto, only has one qualifying spot."
But Miyagi is different from Kyoto; although Sendai is a large city in the Tohoku region, it cannot compare to Kyoto.
Even without that many slots for qualification and competition opportunities, the influence on schools in Kyoto was limited, whereas Miyagi..
Akagi thought back to the major event from a while ago: "But speaking of Tokyo, it seems the champions of this year's Interhigh Junior High were Fukurodani, that national third-year Ace, Saru Nagi, is quite incredible."
They broke Itachiyama's two-year stranglehold, directly snapping the opponent's three-peat.
Aran nodded. "I watched them too. They're practically the perfect successor to the Fukurodani Ace, even if their style might be a bit different from Bokuto's.."
I expect they'll be a headache for Shoyo and his team next year.
Glancing at the progress of the match on the court, Kita Shinsuke clapped his hands to interrupt the discussion. "Alright, no more discussing this. Get ready to warm up."
Shonan Institute of Technology from Kanagawa is also a long-established powerhouse, consistently delivering very stable performances. Their results in recent years have always been in the top sixteen or top eight, so we must approach this with two hundred percent seriousness.
Seito and Fukurodani successfully advanced to the top eight, the third match began immediately after.
The men's volleyball matches were Inarizaki vs. Shonan Institute of Technology, Shiratorizawa vs. Akamine Boys.
Glancing at Inarizaki's starting lineup, Shonan's captain Tachikawa Yohei was stunned. "Huh? What on earth? Their captain is in the starting lineup?"
This is different from the research they did. Didn't they say the Inarizaki captain only plays as a substitute?
Miya Osamu stood in the waiting area with his hands in his pockets, watching Miya Atsumu, who was preparing to serve, wondering what he was thinking.
"This is going to be difficult." The Ace, Suzuki, raised his hand to scratch his bald head.
Based on the footage from this year's Interhigh preliminaries, Inarizaki's core weapon is the system of the Miya Twins combined with Suna's Quick Attack, which is simultaneously used to support the Ace, Aran.
But.. why has the opponent replaced their core Quick Attack player now?
Tachikawa expressed how devastated he was: "Why isn't Inarizaki playing by the book? I finally managed to figure out their Quick Attack patterns completely—"
Their blocking was still respectable, so they had specifically trained on how to chase down and touch the quick attacks.
Especially since Miya Osamu's movement patterns and quick attack hitting points follow a predictable pattern, they clearly put a lot of effort into studying them.
But the opponent's current lineup is clearly abandoning the quick attack points, shifting to heavy firepower suppression from the wing spikers and the opposite..
"Don't panic, don't panic. The fact that their ace hasn't been in the starting lineup until now shows that his individual skill isn't as strong as the Miya Twins. It's actually a good thing for us that they've switched to a conventional playstyle." Suzuki clapped his hands to reassure everyone, while simultaneously casting a fierce glare at the unreliable captain who was leading the collapse.
Libero Kamiya Yuichi rubbed his chin. "Since the opponents aren't using a Quick Attack, then we just need to let them know that their regular playstyle is useless."
Tachikawa, who had just collapsed, sat up: "That makes sense. Yui, you're practically a genius."
And.. it sounds incredibly cool, okay?
By the sidelines, the manager Iwamoto Yugari raised her hand to cover her eyes, feeling like she couldn't bear to watch: "You guys.. follow the pre-match arrangements I gave you properly!!"
Inarizaki, when they don't use a Quick Attack, isn't much different from Fukurodani's playstyle; they both rely on the Spiker themselves to execute a strong attack, at most adding a quick attack from the Middle Blocker.
But with Suna Rintaro's unique ball trajectory variations, the overall threat was not diminished in the slightest.
But Shonan was no weak school either; without any Quick Attack interference, they adapted to Aran's strong attacks very quickly.
They couldn't even keep up with Suna Rintaro's spikes at first, but after a rotation, they were able to receive them through coordination between the front and back rows.
Just then, the sound of a substitution echoed from the sidelines, as Miya Osamu was replaced by Ginjima Yui to take the court for the serve.
"They're coming on, Twins." Kamiya said seriously.
Hinata turned his head and asked Coach Kurosu, "Coach, if we're talking about single-round serves, Osamu-senpai and Ginjima-senpai are about the same, so why make the switch like this?"