Almost at the same time as Ushijima Wakatoshi jumped, Tsukishima and Rishia Heisuke jumped simultaneously, completely shutting down the spiking route on Ushijima's side.
When there is sufficient space, attempting to spike through a block is a poor choice, so even someone with Ushijima's immense strength wouldn't frequently choose to do so during non-critical moments.
And on the other side, where there was no block to obstruct the path.. someone was already fully focused and ready.
Hinata stared intently at Ushijima Wakatoshi's spike, constantly recalling in his mind how he should handle the lefty's spin.
But the situation at this moment.. was incredibly clear.
With the ball's trajectory confirmed, Hinata's heel, which had been slightly lifted in preparation to move at any moment, instantly slammed down, producing a dull thud.
He pressed his entire weight downward, his arms meeting the heavy, powerful spike head-on.
With the next step, accompanied by a deafening crash, the volleyball flew high into the air, once again coming incredibly close to the ceiling.
But this time, the ball didn't get stuck; instead, it dropped toward Kageyama's position.
"Nice receive!" Kageyama said, getting excited.
That was Ushijima's spike! It was also the first time they had received a spike that solid in this set!
Even though the power and speed of the ball were terrifying under the influence of gravity, Kageyama neutralized it with ease and sent it straight to Tsukishima Kei.
Kageyama set the ball high, but it was placed perfectly within reach of Tsukishima Kei.
And according to Tsukishima's own habit, he only provided enough visibility, without any suggestive intent in the set.
However, this height was enough for Tsukishima to reach past Kawanishi's hands.
With a loud bang, Tsukishima scored with an over-the-top spike.
Hinata was the first one to jump up! "Ohhhhhh—we received it! We scored!!"
He rushed toward Tsukishima Kei almost without hesitation: "Tsukishima! That was an amazing block!"
He perfectly restricted the direction of Ushijima-senpai's spike! That was amazing!
Kunimi Akira, who had been praised for almost an entire set, had already seen through Hinata's true nature: "What a terrifyingly natural-born hype man.."
The key was that it wasn't just Hinata praising others anymore; even Kageyama, who had learned the essence of Hinata's style, had started shouting "Nice kill!" at every opportunity.
Coach Saito's mouth was practically stretched from ear to ear. "They're truly amazing, the first years."
Although Tsukishima and Kindaichi's receiving skills are problematic, Hinata and Rishia cannot cover the entire court on their own.
But Shiratorizawa's problems without a Libero were equally significant; even with two heavy cannons on the court, their firepower was roughly on par with the first-year group.
Under the increasingly hot offense of the first-year group, Shiratorizawa's Ohira Shion was being made to run all over the court; furthermore, since Shirabu could not compensate for receiving errors the way Kageyama could, the offensive power of Ushijima and Goshiki also declined.
In the end, the first-year duo won by two points.
Coach Saito pushed up his glasses. "Young people are truly formidable."
The four matches of the afternoon concluded one after another; the Shiratorizawa side took a beautiful three-set victory, while on the first-year side, only Hinata and his teammates managed to take a single set at the start.
The entire training camp came to an end.
The two from Inarizaki, who wouldn't be leaving until the next day, stood at the Shiratorizawa main gate, saying their goodbyes to their newly made good friends one after another.
Bye, Kageyama! Bye, Tsukishima!
By this time, Tsukishima couldn't even be bothered to correct Hinata's way of addressing him, merely nodding and saying, "See you."
"See you." Kageyama waved back.
But before he could take even two steps, Kageyama stopped in his tracks.
His voice drifted from afar: "Hinata."
Hinata froze, looking up at Kageyama, who had called out to him.
Kageyama's next words followed immediately: "Thank you."
Hinata stood with his hands on his hips, flashing a big smile at Kageyama. "You're welcome."
Tsukishima, who had already walked quite a distance away, gestured to Kageyama, "Let's go."
Kageyama ran a few steps to catch up, the two from Karasuno quickly departed.
The two from Aobajohsai, having finished packing up their dorms, also came out together, waving goodbye as they passed by.
"Kindaichi! Kunimi! See you next month!" Hinata waved vigorously at the two of them, almost jumping up and down as he shouted.
"See you!" Kindaichi waved back just as enthusiastically.
Standing at the Shiratorizawa main gate, Hinata quietly watched one person after another, who had become familiar over these past few days, depart.
He knew that there were some people he might never see again in his entire life.
A little.. sad.
“Hinata.” A voice he had become incredibly familiar with rang in his ear.
Hinata looked up and saw Hyakuwa Takehiro, who had appeared by his side at some unknown time: "Oh! Hyakuwa-kun!"
Hyakuwa Takehiro's lips curled into a slight smile as he reached out toward Hinata Shoyo. "See you another day."
In the past, he had been overly overconfident, but now he knew very clearly that with his school's level, it would be impossible to break out from Miyagi.
But it didn't matter; even so, he would continue walking down this path until..
Hinata gripped Hyakuwa's hand tightly: "See you later."
As Hyakuwa's figure disappeared from sight, Koganezawa also came bounding out from the Shiratorizawa main gate: "See you next year, Hinata! Our Date Tech will definitely make the cut!"
Hinata raised both hands in farewell: "See you later, Koganezawa!"
See—you—later—
The sun was completely swallowed by the horizon. Hinata pursed his lips. "They're all gone now.."
Rishia raised his hand and patted Hinata on the head. "Don't be sad, we'll see each other again in the future."
As long as everyone is still playing volleyball, in the future.. we will definitely meet again.
Hinata looked up, his previously saddened expression replaced by a bright one: "I just did the math, I still have plenty of pocket money left. Let's go eat grilled beef tongue!"
This was originally his food allowance, but since the Shiratorizawa cafeteria is free for them, this money was completely saved.
Rishia was choked by him.
But in the end, he still nodded. "Alright, let's go. The dorms don't close until nine, which is enough time for us to finish eating and get back."
“Alright!”
Go! For it!
At the same time, far away in Amagasaki, Coach Kurosu's phone vibrated as he waited at the station for Miya Atsumu-kun.
He looked down and found it was a video file from the old man Washijo.
Because he had lost the arm-wrestling contest and had absolutely no desire to spend another night with Oikawa, Miya Atsumu returned to Amagasaki overnight. As soon as he stepped out of the station, he saw Coach Kurosu staring at his phone with a solemn expression.
He leaned in. "What is it?"
Coach Kurosu's speed in closing the screen was nowhere near as fast as Miya Atsumu's sudden approach, making the isolated clips stand out exceptionally clearly at this moment.
By the time Coach Kurosu turned back to look at his star pupil, he found that Miya Atsumu had already turned into a statue.
After a long while, a scream that could only be described as pig-slaughtering echoed from the station entrance.
“Shoyo——!”
Chapter 159 The One Hundred and Fifty-Ninth Fox
After having their last breakfast at Shiratorizawa, Hinata and Rishia Heisuke said goodbye to Coach Washijo and boarded the vehicle for their return trip.
With the Shinkansen and transfers, it took the two of them about four hours to return to Amagasaki, they were still met by Coach Kurosu.
Hinata, rushing out from the station, lunged forward immediately: "Coach—"
Catching Hinata, Coach Kurosu felt his lower back let out a loud crack.
Has Hinata's weight increased a bit lately?
No, no, no, it's just that he's been in a great mood lately, going out drinking with Coach Omimi whenever he has free time, so he's been a bit lax with his training.
It's good to have you back, the same goes for Rishia Heisuke. You two had a long trip today, so go back and get some good rest, report in tomorrow," Kurosu said with a smile, patting Hinata on the head. "What do you want to eat now? It's my treat.
Hinata raised his hand: "Oden!"
"Let's go, there happens to be a century-old shop nearby." Coach Kurosu put an arm around each of his first-year rising stars.
Although there were some minor hiccups yesterday, he also took a good look at the rotation from that practice match.
Hinata's body control during spikes has indeed shown significant growth, it is evident that he is in a state where he is trusted by everyone on the team, forcing his teammates to keep up with his rhythm.
Rishia's performance in both offense and defensive support was also commendable, especially with a significant boost in confidence; he performed very well even when paired with unfamiliar teammates, showing the same style Aran had in his prime.
Coach Washijo truly lived up to his reputation; his observations were as accurate as ever, he had reportedly arranged many players from other schools to partner with Rishia Heisuke.
Coach Kurosu sipped his sake while listening to Hinata describe some two-meter-tall giants and a 1.9m setter.
Hearing this, Coach Kurosu recalled the key point: "A 1.9m setter? Ah, I saw him in the video, the one from Date Tech, right?"
With his mouth full of meatballs, Hinata mumbled, "Does Coach know?"
It seems he only knew Karasuno before, he only heard about Shiratorizawa from Miya Atsumu later; not to mention he only found out about Aobajohsai and Date Tech after that.
—He doesn't even remember the name of Hyakuwa-kun's school to this day.
“They can be considered an old powerhouse; the only ones Miyagi has to show for it are Date Tech, Shiratorizawa, Karasuno.” Coach Kurosu rested his chin in his hand, watching the young chef serve them their food.
Even before the Little Giant, Karasuno had made it to the top seven about seven times under Coach Ukai's leadership, Date Tech even more, but unfortunately, both of these schools have declined to varying degrees.
"Especially with the personnel changes in the coaching position, there has been no effective succession at all." Having said this, Coach Kurosu subtly puffed out his chest.
And Hinata received the response at the perfect moment: "Indeed, Kageyama told me that Karasuno's current Coach Ukai only arrived during Golden Week, even now he hasn't.. officially joined the staff?"
He recalled that word and finally managed to force it out.
Coach Kurosu grunted twice again, emboldened by the alcohol, under the chef's curious gaze, Rishia Heisuke felt a sudden urge to bury his face in his plate.
But I have a feeling," Coach Kurosu said, propping his chin in his hand, "the landscape in Miyagi is about to change completely. Next year, our opponent will likely be either Date Tech or Karasuno.