The difference in their physical builds was immense, creating a powerful visual impact.
Hyakuwa was a bit dazed, but he still bowed slightly and extended his hand to Hinata: "Nice to meet you."
Hinata quickly asked the most important question: "I'm Hinata Shoyo, what's your name?"
This is the second person he has seen who is two meters tall; the previous one was Hakuma-senpai from Karasuno, this classmate is a first year just like him.
Although I don't know who will be at this training camp yet, I definitely can't miss the chance to practice with someone two meters tall!
Two meters.. so amazing, I'm so jealous.
Hinata didn't notice the various gazes coming from behind him at all; his entire mind and eyes were focused solely on the two meters.
Actually, Hinata had already heard his name when he arrived. Hyakuwa Takehiro nodded slightly. "Kagawa Academy, Hyakuwa Takehiro. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Is this.. the national champion?
Even though he is so small, is he the strongest one?
After thinking for a moment, Hyakuwa Takehiro asked, "Are you.. a Libero?"
Volleyball is a very "simple" sport; he found it somewhat hard to imagine Hinata playing any other position.
Hinata shook his head. "No, I'm a Spiker. I play both Wing Spiker and Opposite."
This time, it was Hyakuwa Takehiro's turn to be shocked.
Is he actually a Spiker just like him? With that height?!
Seeing the shock in the other's eyes, Hinata puffed out his chest with a hint of pride: "I'm really amazing!"
In that instant, he suddenly understood why Hoshiumi-senpai had been troubled by the fact that fewer and fewer people looked down on him.
This feeling.. is so good!
No one would question Hinata's words; how could a championship member, invited all the way from Shiratorizawa, possibly be weak?
"I remember now, I think there's a nickname, the Little Giant of Inarizaki." Kunimi tilted his head slightly, recalling a report he had seen while doing research on national-level players, spoke the phrase that had now become widely circulated.
On the other side, students from other schools exclaimed in surprise, "The Little Giant? Isn't that Karasuno's.."
Everyone simultaneously looked at the only two pitch-black figures in the entire arena.
Finally realizing something was wrong, Hinata Shoyo turned around and locked eyes with Kageyama Tobio, who was less than ten meters behind him.
After a brief moment of confusion, Hinata Shoyo took a sudden step back.
The King?!
What the hell is this!!
Seeing the extra person in the dormitory, Miya Atsumu, who had been enjoying several days of single-occupancy dormitory life, collapsed.
Oikawa Tooru gave a light click of his tongue, his face clearly written with disgust: "Why is it you?"
He glanced at the bottom bunk, where it was clearly Miya Atsumu staying, but he didn't bully his junior: "Take your things from the top bunk."
Miya Atsumu scrambled up, dragging his feet and reluctantly moving his things.
He had originally planned to go to training after finishing breakfast, but just as he reached the door, a coach came by to inform him that someone would be moving into his room and told him to go back and tidy it up.
He had many speculations, but.. none of them included Oikawa Tooru!
Watching Oikawa Tooru pull out hairspray of the same kind as his, along with different types of facial cleanser and a hairdryer, Miya Atsumu quickly stepped forward to defend his territory on the table.
“This side is mine! You're not allowed to put anything here!”
Oikawa Tooru shot him a glance before reluctantly setting it aside.
The two of them were thinking exactly the same thing at that moment.
—This guy actually uses this brand of facial cleanser, how tacky!
After packing up his things, Oikawa Tooru quickly changed into a short-sleeved shirt and shorts for training.
Without even looking at Miya Atsumu, he opened the door and left the dormitory.
Miya Atsumu followed behind, openly observing Oikawa Tooru in front of him.
To be honest, he didn't know what had happened, but he could faintly feel as if something had quietly changed.
—He's become even more annoying.
He admitted that he did indeed enjoy the drama of a challenger being crowned, but.. that didn't mean he liked Oikawa Tooru because of it.
On the contrary, he absolutely loathed this senpai.
However, he didn't know why either.
Just thinking about having to live with this guy for another half-month made him feel hopeless.
No way, he's going to call Shoyo tonight to complain!
So..
How did it go?
Coach Irihatsu looked at Coach Kosano on the opposite side; he had originally intended to accompany Oikawa Tooru, but Kosano had volunteered himself.
Having acquaintances on the national team certainly gave him more confidence when speaking.
However.. they only went as Oikawa's guardians; essentially, it was a negotiation between Unabara Uta and Jose Blanco.
After watching Oikawa Tooru's match footage, Jose Blanco expressed a desire to take Oikawa Tooru as his disciple and lead him to Argentina in the future to inherit his legacy.
Moreover, Oikawa Tooru himself indeed had the desire to go with him; the two of them had discussed this matter as early as the beginning of summer.
Now that Oikawa has led his team to the Nationals, Jose Blanco's desire has become even stronger.
But as luck would have it, the invitation from the Japan Junior National Team arrived at this exact time, explicitly stating their hope that Oikawa Tooru would join the current U19 team.
Oikawa Tooru himself had no reaction yet, but Unabara Uta and Jose Blanco, who had both somehow picked up the rumor, both exploded in indignation at the same time.
Unabara Uta said, "You foreign jerk! You're even trying to scout our precious setter prospect!"
Jose Blanco said: You're blind! I discovered him even earlier than you did!
Taking a somewhat melancholy sip of ramen, Kosano Kana said, "Nothing much was negotiated, but the final result is that they want to give Oikawa Tooru the right to choose for himself. Even if he wants to leave in the future, Unabara and the others aren't allowed to block him; they have to let him go directly."
It's easy enough to handle since there's no record of him participating in the adult division, since they'll let him go smoothly.. Oikawa just needs to be careful about that three-year naturalization requirement.
At this point, Kosano became even more distressed: "And then the two of them started fighting with each other. Blanco said he could directly make Oikawa a starter, while Unabara Uta directly wanted Oikawa to be the captain.."
Kosano put down his chopsticks, his face full of heartbreak: "If you ask me, he should have played badminton!"
I was the one who discovered him first!
Coach Irihatsu remained silent.
It's a good thing this person didn't run off to the Volleyball Association to say such things, otherwise it would definitely..
This is bad.
Rishia Heisuke, who had already begun warming up with Koganezawa, whispered to Goshiki Tsutomu on the other side.
Watching Hinata stare at Kageyama with his whole body stiff, almost turning into a statue, Goshiki was a bit bewildered: "They know each other?"
Rishia nodded. "Yeah, he played against Kitagawa Daiichi when he was in junior high, he lost very badly."
Recalling Hinata's status as a volleyball novice, Goshiki Tsutomu could already roughly imagine the tragedy of that time.
Although he wasn't close to Kageyama Tobio, he had still heard the nickname "Tyrant."
"Aren't you going to help?" Goshiki Tsutomu asked Rishia Heisuke.
Rishia shook his head. "Probably not necessary."
He felt that Kageyama probably didn't have any ill intentions.. probably.
"Long time no see," Kageyama said, nodding to Hinata.
He had originally wanted to try playing in a group with Hinata Shoyo, but since Hinata Shoyo had already found someone else, he saw no need to ask.
However, what drove him here.. was, as expected, his curiosity about the national championship.
Kageyama looked back, preparing to find the next person.
Hinata, who was just about to hide behind the two-meter giant to say something intimidating, blinked, not expecting Kageyama to leave so decisively.
However, it was true that after playing once before, he wasn't quite as afraid of Kageyama anymore. It was more about.. the shock of seeing that face so suddenly.
But most of the people present had already paired up, leaving only those who had been slowed down by watching the commotion.
"Are we practicing?" Kageyama asked Kunimi Akira.
".. Let's practice." His expression contorted several times before Kunimi Akira finally resigned himself to his fate.
What else could he do? It was just the two of them left; if they didn't practice, weren't they just waiting to be kicked out by Coach Washijo?
Luckily, receiving isn't a highly technical skill, so even though the two had almost zero communication, they managed to keep the drill going.
Looking at Kageyama's expressionless face, Kunimi Akira raised his hand and put more strength into his spike, forcing Kageyama to move to receive the ball.
Kageyama remained composed, chasing after the ball with great focus, digging it up, offering a word of praise.
Nice receive.
After steadily receiving the ball sent by Hyakuwa Takehiro, Hinata once again looked at the opponent with curiosity.
Setting aside height, this person.. is terrible at receiving.
His movements were extremely contorted, especially compared to his previous ones.
Coach Washijo also quickly noticed this problem student, bypassed the unusually intense Kageyama and Kunimi nearby, walked over.
He reached out and placed a hand on Hyakuwa's arm. "Stop for a moment."
Coach Washijo, who had already scouted all the players for this competition, was of course aware that Hyakuwa Takehiro was a complete novice, the situation over at Kagawa Academy was not necessarily any better; Hyakuwa Takehiro's fundamentals were a real headache.
Glancing at Hinata as he approached, Coach Washijo began to physically correct Hyakuwa's form: "The arm movement should be like this; when you're in a receiving stance, make sure to press your wrists.."
Listening to these familiar words, Hinata blinked.
He had heard these words a total of four times: the first time was from the awkward guidance of Rishia Heisuke, the second time was from Coach Kurosu, the third time was from Coach Washijo.
And the fourth time.. was Coach Inubata, who taught him from scratch as if he were a little child.
Come to think of it, it seems like every coach's method for improving his fundamentals is basically to teach him everything from scratch again..