In addition, Karasuno recruited a high-level Libero among their freshmen this year. He isn't sure about their Setter yet, but they should be the best one in the prefecture, meaning the upcoming Karasuno will truly have no blind spots.
In contrast, Inarizaki has quite a lot of problems.
At this stage, they are not suited to play against Karasuno at all; after all, it wouldn't be conducive to their coordination or to building sufficient confidence.
But.. since when did Miya Atsumu make an enemy of Hoshiumi Hikari?
Coach Kurosu, who had just been lying down, suddenly sat up and looked at Miya Atsumu with a slightly panicked expression.
Wait, why does he feel like Miya Atsumu has offended every single team they're somewhat familiar with!
Thinking of this, Coach Kurosu, who realized there was another issue he had almost forgotten, hurriedly called out to Miya Atsumu.
Osamu, you can go. Atsumu, you and I need to talk.
Giving Miya Atsumu a look that said "good luck," Miya Osamu left the coach's office with a light step.
Those messy documents gave him a headache too; it was a relief that he had nothing more to do with them!
Coach Kurosu's expression was very serious, he immediately pointed to the empty chair opposite them, which had originally belonged to Coach Omimi.
Miya Atsumu sat down obediently, watching the Coach's expression, as many possibilities flashed through his mind in an instant.
No, he believed he had performed very well during this period and hadn't made any serious mistakes.
He seemed to hesitate for a moment over whether to speak, but in the end, Coach Kurosu spoke up, wanting to get it over with.
Atsumu, tell me the truth, what do you really think of Shoyo?
The moment he heard that question, Miya Atsumu's entire brain stalled for a moment.
Eh? What did Coach Kurosu just ask him? He and Shoyo?
Not long after sitting down, Miya Atsumu stood up abruptly, looking at Coach Kurosu with a face full of disbelief: "Coa.. Coach, you already know?!"
Coach Kurosu pressed his temples, feeling his headache worsen. "Sit down. It's not that it's forbidden; I just want to understand the situation."
He didn't oppose players being in relationships, but this was the first time since he started coaching that he had encountered players having feelings for one another.
Miya Atsumu was a bit restless, his gaze toward the coach flickered involuntarily: "Is it that obvious?"
If Shoyo knows too, then.. hasn't he already been rejected?
Thinking of this, Miya Atsumu's face turned somewhat pale. But soon, he calmed down from his panic. Seeing Shoyo's appearance, he seemed to still be quite clueless about things, so he still had a chance.
Seeing his unstable behavior, Coach Kurosu felt even more despair: "Who do you think I am? Do you know how old my daughter is?"
“Your little schemes won't escape my eyes!”
After losing his temper slightly, Coach Kurosu sighed deeply. "I'm certainly not trying to kill the idea in its bud; I just want to confirm your attitude."
“Shoyo is still young and doesn't understand many things. If you truly have feelings, I need to know if you are serious.”
Hearing that Coach Kurosu had no intention of crushing his budding romance, Miya Atsumu relaxed.
His expression was incredibly serious, as if he were making a vow when he spoke, "Please don't worry, Coach Kurosu. If I really do end up with Shoyo in the future, I will definitely treat him well for the rest of my life; I wouldn't even mind ripping my heart out and giving it to him."
Finally, Miya Atsumu added one last thing: "I'm serious about this, just as serious as I am about volleyball."
Coach Kurosu had originally scoffed at Miya Atsumu's previous words, but by the end, he fell silent.
Without a doubt, before this, the most important things to Miya Atsumu were his family and volleyball.
But now Coach Kurosu knew that Miya Atsumu placed Hinata on the same level as his family.
No.. it would be more accurate to say that Miya Atsumu yearned to become family with Hinata.
Things had come to this, so there was no need for him to keep asking.
All he wanted was Miya Atsumu's attitude, to confirm whether Miya Atsumu was just "playing around."
After all, Atsumu's personality itself has a bit of a cynical streak, he often acts very casual toward his fans. If he ever dared to treat Hinata like that, he would definitely give Miya Atsumu a severe beating.
Coach Kurosu let out a soft sigh and waved his hand at Miya Atsumu with extreme disdain. "That's all. There's nothing else, so you should head out too."
Miya Atsumu froze for a moment. "That's it?"
No way, he still has so many words left to say!
Coach Kurosu looked even more disgusted: "Get out, get out, get out! If you have heartfelt things to say to each other, go tell Shoyo, don't say them here."
I'm not interested in a kid's emotional problems, nor am I interested in how you plan to pursue someone. Just don't let the two of you interfere with our training and matches.
Even he, who was usually calm, couldn't help but speak harshly to Miya Atsumu.
He had spent most of his temper over the past few years lecturing the twins, in front of those two, he had long since lost any sense of being a gentle coach.
Having received permission from the most important head of the household, a relaxed Miya Atsumu patted his chest. "Don't worry, Coach. Once we settle down, we'll definitely invite you to our wedding banquet!"
After saying that, before Coach Kurosu could continue scolding him, he directly changed the subject.
So Coach, can we really not consider Karasuno for our training matches in April?
Miya Atsumu provided a reasonable reason: "Karasuno's important Libero and Setter are both going to be replaced by new students. It would be better for us to scout the situation in advance before the Interhigh. After all, Karasuno isn't a seed, so there's a high possibility we'll run into them early."
Coach Kurosu froze for a moment, then followed suit and entered a serious conversational state.
“I have indeed considered that aspect, but after taking everything into account, it isn't the optimal choice.”
After Aran and the others graduate this year, many schools' rosters will undergo large-scale adjustments, not just Karasuno.
Coach Kurosu turned around, grabbed a folder, handed it to Miya Atsumu: "Karasuno's blocking intensity is high. Although it isn't indestructible for us, the ones who are actually the hardest to deal with are Hoshiumi Hikari and Hakuma Mebuki."
Before this, Karasuno's Setter was Suwa, his individual ability was actually only at a mediocre level when looking at the entire high school landscape.
Moreover, his playstyle is very conservative, he can't fully utilize the strong attacks of Hoshiumi and Hakuma. Before this, Coach Aran didn't put much thought into the choice of Setter, but I think he should have started looking since last year.
Miya Atsumu flipped through the folder and found that it contained resumes of several players.
Most of them were strangers to him, looking at their dates of birth, they were all in the same year as Fukami and his group.
Coach Kurosu gestured for him to look at the top right corner: "The first few pages list the Setters from several prefectures in the Nagano area who played in last year's Interhigh Junior High and performed quite well. The ones I've marked in red are those whose current whereabouts are unknown."
Especially this Best Setter from Nagano; his current whereabouts are unknown, but there's a high possibility he's at Karasuno.
If this person really went to Karasuno, then Karasuno's lineup this year would be a perfect formation, filling the gaps in Libero and Setter on top of their existing roster.
“Atsumu, you've worked with Hoshiumi before, so you should be very clear about his abilities. Add a more mature two-meter player to the mix, he could completely handle both technical plays and strong attacks at the same time.”
In addition, Hirugami's quick attack is already quite good. If there is a Setter with sufficient skill to lead, Karasuno's offensiveness will become something that cannot be underestimated.
Coach Kurosu sighed, "For us, this is actually the most troublesome part."
Even if their First Receive could be trained, it wouldn't reach Nekoma's level in a short period of time. It might be fine if it were just a technical player, but the opponent also has a pure power player.
Especially since their biggest problem right now is that their blocking height is insufficient.
Under normal circumstances, it might not be a major issue, but once they face players like Hakuma and Hoshiumi who are extremely fond of off-tempo attacks..
Miya Atsumu pursed his lips, understanding exactly what Coach Kurosu was concerned about.
Indeed, even if Suna and Ginjima had precise timing for their blocks, they would still be powerless against such an unreasonable, high-powered attack.
And Unabara Uta currently lacks experience, since he isn't a player with extreme talent like Hanae or Komori, if his block loses control, he likely won't be able to neutralize the opponent's attack.
Coach Kurosu crossed his arms over his chest, speaking about the thoughts he had been dwelling on during this period: "Of course, although our players have more or less all taken the court in previous tournaments, to the outside world, they are actually still in a state of being unknown."
“This uncertainty itself is one of our weapons; we must save as much of it as possible for when it truly matters.”
Having said that, he gave Miya Atsumu his suggestion: "Personally, I favor choosing our allies for training matches; at the very least, it ensures that information doesn't leak out."
This refers to the teams from the Kansai League; whether it's Shirabu or Inubushi Higashi and Seito, who just took the Semifinals, they are all actually good opponents.
“However, if you have any other ideas, you can bring them up; we can discuss them.”
Coach Kurosu didn't want to be too definitive either, after all, Miya Atsumu was a very smart person who often considered things more comprehensively than he did.
Maybe.. there really will be some suggestion he hasn't thought of.
Miya Atsumu carefully flipped through the folder Coach Kurosu had given him, ultimately feeling that Coach Kurosu's words made sense.
Among opponents of comparable strength, they could first rule out Itachiyama, a fact Coach Omimi had already helped him determine.
Shiratorizawa could actually be considered, but for one, they are too far away, for another, they already know exactly what Shiratorizawa is like, so there was no need to waste effort investigating them further.
They weren't familiar with Rakusan, since their relationship with Seito was very tense, there was no need to provoke them.
After the roster change, Fukurodani was left with only two people, neither had been particularly outstanding before this. Although there were some newcomers worth watching, he felt it would be better to wait a few more months.
As for the remaining teams like Fukuda General, their lineups will likely undergo massive changes after the roster turnover, since they lack a fixed training model, it's hard to say what they will become.
By comparison..
Miya Atsumu's gaze rested on a document in his hands, at the same time, he tapped the photo on it with his finger. "Let's go with Shirabu then, I'm very curious about this person."
That guy with the middle part and a dark expression doesn't seem like the type who would indulge a Setter like Kiryu; I have a feeling there's going to be some great entertainment.
Coach Kurosu glanced at the person Miya Atsumu had chosen and gave him a thumbs-up. "Good eye."
Actually, his own internal answer had been Shirabu and Inubushi Higashi; since Miya Atsumu ultimately made the final call for Shirabu, their opinions had aligned.
Besides, even if Shirabu undergoes many personnel changes, the overall training philosophy won't change much, since the renowned Kusubashi is there after all.
The corners of Miya Atsumu's mouth curled up slightly. "Tomomichi Chita.. I have an impression of this person. Was he last year's Best Server at the Interhigh Junior High?"
"Yes, that's him." Coach Kurosu nodded.
Last year's Best Player in the Interhigh Junior High was Fukurodani's Saru Nagi, he was also the Best Spiker. However, the Best Server title went to this person from the Semifinals, which is enough to show how terrifying this person's serve is.
Coach Kurosu added more information: "Moreover, like Iizuna, he is from the National Junior Team, he performed quite well in the previous U15 matches."
Because he was from Kansai, he had paid a bit more attention to him.
Although he arrived early, this child ultimately chose Michiko, who arrived much later than him.
However, Coach Kurosu could understand. After all, Inarizaki's roster is currently complete, so any new students coming in would be 100% guaranteed to serve as substitutes, for at least six months or at most a year.
But Shirabu is different; with most of the starters having already graduated, the opportunities available to the new students are immense.
Not to mention, Shirabu is a school that excels at nurturing core Aces; under Coach Kusubashi, Kiryu is not the only top-tier Ace to be produced.
If you want to become the ultimate Ace, there is no better place than Shirabu or Shiratorizawa.
Moreover, choosing between becoming the core of Shirabu or becoming a part of the group at Inarizaki was an easy decision.
Coach Kurosu nodded. "Then I'll contact Coach Kusubashi."
Even though they have training camp scheduled for Golden Week, playing against each other in advance would actually be beneficial for both sides, as both teams are currently in an important period of adjustment.