After the National Sports Festival last year, when the scouts from Inarizaki came for testing, Suna Rintaro failed to control himself because he wanted to surpass Kurosu's limit; once he stepped off the machine, his entire mind went blank.
—It's said that if you don't reach the line, you'll be dragged off for extra physical training.
As Coach Himegomiya finished explaining the precautions to Hinata and started the machine, Miya Atsumu's gaze drifted toward the top of Hinata's head.
The straps of the mask are in the middle and on both sides; Hinata's hair is very fluffy, so the places where the straps press down will be dented, which means his current hairstyle..
Miya Atsumu narrowed his eyes.
To be honest, he's a bit like Bokuto.
Coach Himegomiya, who was quite familiar with this equipment, returned to the computer, while Coach Utsunomiya and Iizuna acted as safety officers.
After only eight minutes of running, Coach Himegomiya clearly noticed that something was wrong.
She frowned. "The heart rate hasn't gone up yet."
Coach Utsunomiya, who was beside him, looked back and saw that the heart rate was still under 150.
A flash of confusion crossed his face, followed immediately by a sense of absurdity rising in his heart.
—No way.
Miya Atsumu glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's been ten minutes."
He and Miya Osamu both finished their runs in about twelve minutes, while Aran took even longer, finishing in nearly fourteen minutes.
Generally speaking, one should start to be on guard from this point on, but it feels like.. the two coaches from Itachiyama aren't in a hurry at all?
Hinata ran quietly on the treadmill.
To be honest, he didn't know what to do during this test, nor was he clear on exactly what he was required to do.
All he could understand was Coach Himegomiya telling him to keep running, as for when he needed to finish.. he was even less certain.
As for his own physical fitness, he didn't actually have a clear concept of it; it was just that Nagumo-senpai and the others had mentioned more than once that he was still full of energy even after training ended.
Is it that impressive? Perhaps.
The originally flat treadmill had gradually increased to an 8% incline; with his heart pounding violently, the accumulation of lactic acid in his muscles made Hinata inevitably feel a hint of fatigue.
His thoughts drifted away for a moment.
—When did Coach Himegomiya say he would stop?
—Probably until we can't run anymore.
Beside him, Coach Utsunomiya had already stood up straight, watching Hinata with unblinking eyes.
Generally speaking, most athletes' heart rates would approach 200 at this level of incline, which is a physiological limit, but..
Coach Himegomiya rested his chin in his hand, staring at the computer screen with an equally serious expression.
I'm not even 190 yet, I can still grow.
Iizuna asked Hinata loudly, "Hinata, how are you feeling now? Are you still okay?"
Hinata nodded, indicating that he was perfectly fine.
Coach Utsunomiya steeled himself and said directly, "Add some more, add even more."
It can't be measured this way; it's obvious that Hinata's limit isn't even here—even though this is an intensity that this machine has never experienced in its entire life.
"More?" Aran's eyes were practically popping out of his head.
No, is it really this ridiculous?
After the machine's final adjustment, Hinata could clearly feel that the speed of his heartbeat had noticeably quickened.
The rhythm under his feet didn't stop, he tried his best to maintain active breathing to adjust his condition.
Run until he can't run anymore..
Hinata didn't know when he would finally run out of breath, so.. he would just keep running like this.
The Iizuna members were stunned, for a moment, they felt as if they were trapped in a dream.
Why is Hinata still running? Has he traveled back two minutes in time?
His legs felt heavy, he kept getting acid reflux.
His lungs felt as if they were on fire, his vision pulsed with waves of darkness.
In a daze, Hinata seemed to hear Iizuna say something, but he couldn't hear it clearly at all.
He could feel his own heartbeat so clearly now, it felt as if it were about to leap out of his throat.
Coach Utsunomiya glanced at Hinata, then quickly turned back to look at the computer screen over by Himegomiya.
Hinata's heart rate was already at 200; he probably couldn't continue..
Before he could even process the rest of his thoughts, the sound of the doors opening was accompanied by a heavy thud right beside him.
The moment he turned his head, the orange-haired figure had already lost control and fallen onto the treadmill.
Because of the shock, Iizuna Sho's brain stalled, his attempt to reach out and grab the person was half a beat too slow: "Hinata!"
The speed of fifteen kilometers per hour combined with the incline sent Hinata flying, but fortunately, the tube's mask caught him, preventing a nasty fall.
Coach Utsunomiya hurriedly turned off the machine and reached out to grab Hinata, making him step onto the sides of the treadmill.
The Inarizaki members, who had been sitting in a row on the floor, quickly stood up and crowded around: "Shoyo!"
Coach Kurosu, who had just entered the room, felt his head spin as he took in the scene, which could only be described as chaos.
While he was away, was this how Utsunomiya was babysitting for him?!
After making sure the machine was turned off, Iizuna quickly stepped forward to remove the mask from Hinata: "Paper, paper, paper! Sakusa, bring the paper!"
Miya Atsumu, who had already squeezed to the very front, snatched the tissues directly from Sakusa and wiped away the saliva Hinata had spat out.
Looking at Hinata, who was clearly somewhat disoriented, Miya Atsumu frowned.
There was blood on the paper; he must have cut his mouth. His knee had also scraped against the track, it would likely swell up in a little while.
Unable to speak at all, Hinata raised his hand to signal to everyone that he was still alive.
It just feels like I'm about to die..
Miya Atsumu carefully helped Hinata down, using the momentum to let him remain standing.
He can't sit down yet; he needs to recover for a bit longer.
He raised his hand and gently pinched Hinata's cheek, using his thumb to press against the corner of his mouth: "Come on, open your mouth, let me take a look."
Not yet fully conscious, Hinata obediently did as he was told. Miya Atsumu leaned down slightly to check the condition of his mouth.
Miya Atsumu's tone was quite harsh: "Tsk, do we have saline? Bring it here."
Komori immediately went to search the first aid kit.
“Let me see, let me see.” Coach Kurosu squeezed his way in and immediately saw Hinata's scraped left knee.
His vision instantly went black.
The two coaches from Itachiyama stood side by side, watching Kurosu, who was radiating resentment, they didn't even dare to breathe heavily.
Himegomiya poked Utsunomiya beside him guiltily, asking with his eyes: What should we do? We've injured that kid.
Utsunomiya, who was already serving as a safety officer, felt even more guilty: just slide down and apologize.
Even though this was the Itachiyama testing center, the members of Itachiyama all looked like elementary schoolers who had done something wrong, gradually lowering their heads under Kurosu's mounting fury.
After feeling Hinata's pulse stabilize, Miya Atsumu led the others to sit down in the chairs.
Hinata simply rinsed his mouth with saline, Kita Shinsuke took a piece of sterile cotton from Iizuna and handed it to him: "Bite down to stop the bleeding."
Seeing Hinata obey, Kita Shinsuke finally knelt down and used iodine to treat the wound on his knee.
"Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm." Seeing the atmosphere gradually turning sour, Hinata, who had fully recovered, tried to say something to ease the tension.
The translator Kumagai said, "He is saying that he is really fine."
Miya Atsumu's expression darkened even further.
On the other side, Coach Kurosu was staring at the two members of Itachiyama as they organized their reports.
Being stared at, Himegomiya shrank her neck, but looking at the final number, she was completely unable to remain calm: "76.4?!"
Coach Omimi's voice cracked: "How much?!"
Coach Kurosu pushed up the glasses on the bridge of his nose and tried to maintain a serious expression: "A bit higher than Ushijima."
It didn't reach Hoshiumi Hikari's stats, but it wasn't much less.
Coach Himegomiya turned back in shock. This guy's mouth was practically curling up to the sky; what was he trying to act so profound about?
But.. this is just too ridiculous!
Unlike Hoshiumi and Ushijima, this little guy is just a first-year, one who hasn't even trained much yet!
Himegomiya asked, "What was the world record again?"
Coach Kurosu had already checked: "97.5."
Coach Utsunomiya could no longer remain calm either; just as he had said in the car the day before yesterday, the word "composed" had been tossed out the window.
Hinata can already produce these kinds of numbers; if he undergoes complete, systematic training, it's estimated that he could reach an even more terrifying figure by the age of 20.
The improvement that training can bring varies from 10% to 30%, but taking the median, the final figure is estimated to be in the high 80s.
With this level of physical conditioning, even if he doesn't reach the pinnacle of volleyball in the future, he would undoubtedly be a genius in things like mountain biking or skiing.
From this moment on, Hinata is no longer just some volleyball novice in Coach Utsunomiya's eyes.
Instead.. he is an indisputable, ultimate talent.
The death-defying Coach Utsunomiya asked, "Um, has Hinata not played in an official match yet?"
The coach was silent for a few seconds, then Kurosu squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth: "Get lost."
Coach Utsunomiya's eyes lit up: "Room and board are fully covered, tuition is completely waived, as for his future education, I can at least guarantee he'll get into Beijing Sport University."
It's not impossible to study abroad or transfer programs either; many of Itachiyama's programs are top-tier in the country..
After being tempted for two seconds, Coach Kurosu decisively refused, "Get as far away from me as you can."
He also understood that Utsunomiya didn't actually mean anything else; he was simply reluctant to see such talent go to waste.