In the silence, Sakusa spoke calmly, "Amatori-senpai, this is your only chance to win the championship."
Sakusa—" Amatori glared fiercely, "Don't undermine your senior at a time like this!
After intimidating the junior Ace into silence, he rubbed his hands together: "Very good. Once the Haruko starts, I'll show these ignorant juniors why the flowers are so red."
Sakusa hesitated for a moment, but ultimately lowered his head and silently continued reading the magazine.
Skipping the part about Miya Atsumu, Oikawa Tooru began reading the interview with Inarizaki's captain and Ace that followed.
Compared to Miya Atsumu, who talks nonsense, the interviews with these two seemed much more grounded and practical, containing plenty of information regarding Inarizaki's usual training schedules and tactical decisions.
But to sum it up.. play normally under normal circumstances, let Miya Atsumu improvise in emergencies.
"It has zero reference value." Iwaizumi Hajime remained silent.
They had already watched Inarizaki's match footage twice, the summary was that they played however they pleased..
But because Inarizaki possessed such high overall quality, they were able to achieve a state of order within chaos—a form of freedom built upon absolute strength.
Oikawa Tooru said expressionlessly, "That's why I like Fukuda General."
MVP Miya Atsumu and the only first-year to start, Hinata Shoyo, were at opposite ends of the interview spectrum; amidst everyone else's serious demeanor, the interview records of these two were exceptionally absurd.
Setting aside that explosive statement about five consecutive championships and eight consecutive championships, just this last part alone..
“‘My favorite player is Hoshiumi-senpai from Karasuno, the one I look up to most is Unai-senpai from Karasuno, the strongest person is Atsumu-senpai’.. Why did it turn into a self-introduction?”
Kuroo was at a loss for words for a moment; why did he feel like Inarizaki hadn't had Hinata and the reporter go over the script beforehand?
Shouldn't they be asking about previous experience and future goals..
Oh, I asked. Eight consecutive championships.
Kenma lowered his head and stroked the magazine: "Shoyo is given a lot of coverage in the magazine; you can tell that Shoyo's performance has indeed received widespread recognition."
Kuroo looked at his childhood friend: "So? Are you looking forward to it?"
Kenma's fingers paused, he looked up at Kuroo, his eyes shining brilliantly under the reflection of the sunlight from the window above.
On the other side, Haiba Lev leaned over, trying to see what exactly was written in the magazine, just as Kenma's voice rang out.
Of course, I'm looking forward to it immensely.
On the other side, Coach Nekota was also holding a magazine, his gaze fixed on the double-page spread of Hoshiumi and Hinata, unable to look away for a long time: ".. I really want my old friend to see this too."
These people.. there's no way they aren't looking forward to it.
Meanwhile, far away in Hyogo, Miya Atsumu had already cut out the illustration with Hinata on the front and himself on the back at top speed: "I'm going to buy another one."
Hinata, who simply wanted to frame the poster of him and Hoshiumi Hikari as a souvenir, stood up as well: "I want one too!"
He didn't even know there was a color page of him; he was so cool—he would definitely hang it in the most prominent spot in his room!
Watching the two of them rush out of the fast food restaurant one after another, Aran silently took a bite of his beef burger to calm his nerves.
I don't know why, but I have a feeling Atsumu lost again.
Chapter 129: The One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Fox
Hinata, holding two magazines, said goodbye to Miya Atsumu and two seniors at a fast-food restaurant, still immersed in the joy of having been featured in a magazine.
Miya Atsumu decided to add fuel to the fire: "Shoyo, do you know? There will be live television broadcasts and interviews during Haruko."
Hinata's footsteps faltered as he whipped around to look at Miya Atsumu: "S-So you mean—just like a star!"
Hinata, who had already begun to imagine it for himself, suddenly took a step back, unable to suppress the excitement on his face.
Miya Atsumu nodded: "Exactly, exactly, just like a star."
Hinata began to enjoy the wonderful future: "Ohhhhh—"
Miya Atsumu pointed his finger toward the sky: "Alright, for that goal, let's crush them all during Haruko!"
Hinata jumped up along with him: "Defeat them! Defeat them all!"
We're going to win the championship! Five titles in a row!
Ohhh! Champions! Eight consecutive titles!
Wakamura, who was passing by, fell completely silent. He looked at Matou beside him: "Is Inarizaki crazy?"
They were only here in Amagasaki for a training match today, while taking a stroll before the other team arrived, they actually ran into people from Inarizaki acting crazy in the middle of the street?
What bad luck, what bad luck.
Matou pushed up his glasses and continued walking forward without any intention of stopping: "It's understandable."
After all, they are the national champions, which is the ultimate goal for people like them.
But understanding is one thing..
—He doesn't know anyone from Inarizaki.
In the blink of an eye, the person who had been standing beside him was gone. After a brief moment of daze, Wakamura wailed, "Yukimaru! Why are you walking so fast! Is it because you have long legs?!"
Wait for me!
After buying a pair of ankle supports for Hinata at a nearby sporting goods specialty store, Miya Atsumu led Hinata on their way to the youth volleyball clinic.
Since it was a school day, there weren't many people in the club at this time, most of the courts were rented out for adults in need.
The moment he walked through the club gates, Miya Atsumu saw Inubata Masahiko hanging up the volleyball net: "Coach Inubata—long time no see!"
Hearing that familiar yet inexplicably headache-inducing voice, Inubata turned his head toward the entrance.
Seeing the face of his star pupil, he stood up abruptly to greet him: "Oh, Atsumu, long time no see!"
I've already watched the finals; they were quite spectacular. A few of those tactical plays already showed glimpses of my former glory!
Miya Atsumu and Coach Inubata embraced: "I definitely play more handsomely than you."
That's right, his technique might indeed be far from that of a national player from those years, but in terms of looks, he is a complete winner!
Following behind, Hinata stole a glance at the other person, but his gaze could not be pulled away from the other's hairstyle.
A, a curly, curly afro-haired coach!
But he was a former national team setter! Super amazing!
Coach Inubata also noticed Hinata following them in, he proactively walked over. "You're Hinata-kun, right! You can really jump! You really startled me in the semifinals."
Atsumu was playing so chaotically at that time that he was truly breaking into a sweat for Inarizaki; he never expected that this little guy could actually keep up with Atsumu's kind of setting.
In his impression, the only person who could play around with Miya Atsumu like that seemed to be Miya Osamu.
Hinata scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "It's because Atsumu-senpai is amazing."
This was certainly true; although he would occasionally take the lead in directing, most of the time, Atsumu was actually acting as his brain.
Coach Inubata gave a thumbs up. "Don't underestimate yourself; your performance was very brilliant, Little Giant."
Watching Hinata start smiling foolishly, Inubata looked back at Miya Atsumu: "So why did you suddenly think of coming here today? Where is Osamu?"
Miya Atsumu spread his hands. "I brought Shoyo here to take a look. He hasn't attended a volleyball class before, so I wanted him to experience it. Osamu.. that guy is at home pretending to be a corpse because he has a cold and a fever."
Coach Inubata frowned, "Oh, I was wondering why Osamu wasn't at the finals."
After asking about Miya Osamu, Coach Inubata looked toward Hinata: "But as for the experience.. there are no classes here today either."
But speaking of not having attended any classes at the volleyball club..
Coach Inubata took the initiative to bring up the topic: "Shoyo-kun, did you start playing volleyball in junior high?"
After all, if he had started learning in elementary school, it would be impossible for him to have never attended a volleyball clinic.
Hinata nodded decisively: "Yeah! I started playing volleyball after watching Unai-senpai's match."
That was certainly one reason, but on the other hand.. there simply weren't any around their home. Even the nearest ones required traveling close to the city area, without a bus service, it seemed far too distant.
Miya Atsumu hesitated to speak.
He silently waved his hand when Coach Inubata looked over, then pointed to the back of Hinata's head, made the gestures for one and three with both hands, finally gave a thumbs up.
—Don't listen to his nonsense; this guy has only been playing volleyball for a year and three months, he's a novice.
Coach Inubata thought he had misunderstood.
Looking down at Hinata's face, which was filled with excitement and admiration as he looked at him, Coach Inubata momentarily forgot how Hinata had completely overwhelmed the top high school Middle Blockers at the National Sports Festival.
Since switching to coaching kids, Inubata has developed a new habit—valuing talent.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of affection: "Shoyo-kun, what do you want to learn? Receiving? Spiking? Or setting? I don't have much to do today, so I can teach you."
Miya Atsumu raised his hand. "Let's do receiving; I'm not very good at explaining it."
After all, he himself rarely used it, so if he actually had to teach it, he might have to call Coach Kosano from afar.
Hinata nodded along. "Yeah, yeah, Atsumu-senpai said this is helpful for receiving spikes."
To think I could actually receive guidance from a former national athlete—I'm so excited!
"A footwork step, right? I can.. Eh? You're going to teach me something like that?" Inubushi Higashi froze.
This is a high-level technique; to be able to learn this after only a year of playing volleyball?
Oh, this little guy has already helped Inarizaki defeat Itachiyama as a starter, even won a championship.
Miya Atsumu gave Hinata another thumbs-up from behind him, his face full of pride.
Having been a coach for so many years, Inubata was quite reliable when it came to teaching, he was very good at tailoring his methods to the student; even Hinata would definitely be able to understand him.
Moreover, he had just bought Hinata ankle braces, Hinata also needed time to adjust to the reduced ankle flexibility caused by them.
Coach Inubata was quite patient, staying with Hinata and Miya Atsumu as they warmed up.
And in this short amount of time, he keenly noticed that Hinata had some deficiencies in his fundamentals.
Although it's clear that Hinata's current coach is working hard to make up for his deficiencies, the progress might still be a bit too fast..
While teaching Hinata the individual drills for footwork, Coach Inubata pulled Miya Atsumu aside to the sidelines while Hinata practiced alone.
Coach Inubata rubbed his hands together. "How about considering letting him stay with me for a few weeks? I'll fine-tune him from the ground up. I guarantee that in a month, I'll have him back to his normal Academic Style state."
Haruko is just around the corner, we can't afford to lose to those kids from Itachiyama. Hyogo must win another championship.