Whether it was because Hinata's gaze was too intense, but after finishing an autograph, Sokolov Son looked up and met Hinata's eyes directly.
Seeing the other man stand up straight, Hinata decisively turned his head and said to Miya Atsumu, "I feel like he's over two meters."
Miya Atsumu nodded. "Yeah, over 2m."
Hinata pressed his hand against his chest. "Damn, I'm so jealous—"
After entering the gymnasium, Hinata, who had originally intended to follow the crowd and line up at the far left, quietly shifted his position and walked to the end of Sokolov Son's line.
Sokolov Son smiled at him.
After communicating with the translator and the staff on the other side, he turned and leaned in to whisper something into Sokolov Son's ear.
Sokolov Son was visibly surprised, then he looked up at Hinata and Miya Atsumu.
That translator was called away again by someone suspected to be a coach, leaving Sokolov Son's side once more.
Miya Atsumu clicked his tongue lightly, realizing that he seemed to have truly been targeted by someone from Adler.
Hinata walked up to Sokolov Son, handed him Unai Aman's notebook, looked at him with sparkling eyes.
He also wanted an autograph from him, so Miya Atsumu handed over a signature board behind him.
Sokolov Son, whose Japanese was quite poor, scratched his head; the curiosity in his eyes ultimately faded because the language barrier prevented him from striking up a conversation with the two.
This little person seemed to say something to him, as if he were praising him.
But he didn't understand, nor was he clear on what Hinata specifically wanted, so in the end, he could only sign autographs for Hinata and Miya Atsumu as usual.
To be honest, as a player who hasn't officially appeared in a Japanese league yet, the managers arranged for him to come and sign autographs mainly to give him a warm-up before he joins Team One.
He won't have the chance to participate in this V1 League, but Adler is still first in the standings, so he just needs to wait to play in next spring's Finals.
The translator, having finally finished communicating with the staff, returned to see only the retreating figures of Hinata and Miya Atsumu.
The translator reached out his hands toward the two of them, but the two were so focused on discussing the current situation within Adler that they didn't notice the person behind them at all.
Miya Atsumu said with certainty, "Actually, I think Adler wants Hirugami Yukio."
Even though he might be slightly lacking in terms of height, his playstyle is almost identical to Hirugami Fuku's, so there wouldn't be many issues with coordination. Combined with a highly unified blocking style that aids in control.. from every angle, Hirugami Yukio would be the optimal choice.
Hinata also nodded. "But Hirugami-senpai doesn't plan to continue playing volleyball."
Miya Atsumu said with a chuckle, "But Sokolov Son is indeed a good choice; I really like his blocking style."
He looked up at Miya Atsumu, his eyes filled with curiosity: "Has Atsumu-ge played against that person before?"
It sounded like Miya Atsumu was very familiar with his opponent, since Miya Atsumu had played matches before, although he had watched the whole thing, he couldn't quite remember which country Miya Atsumu and his teammates' opponents were from.
“Of course.. no.”
Atsumu looked up and lightly tapped Hinata's head. "The matches we played before were all Asian competitions; Russia is in Europe."
Hinata tilted his head. "Is that so?"
Miya Atsumu nodded. "That's right."
Upon hearing this, Hinata gave Miya Atsumu a sincere compliment: "Atsumu-ge is amazing, he knows everything."
Miya Atsumu raised his chin quite proudly. "Of course."
Very good, a truly wonderful life should be just like this!
There was no Suna jumping out from some corner, no obnoxious Miya Osamu complaining about him!
Mentioning the keyword, Hinata suddenly remembered something he hadn't told Miya Atsumu: "By the way, Kenma told me that Yaku-senpai has already gone abroad."
Miya Atsumu froze for a moment. "He's already left?"
Hinata nodded. "Yeah, Yaku-senpai's passport was applied for a long time ago. After he passed the language exam, the team over in Russia helped him apply for a long-term work visa, he left at the beginning of the month."
I heard he's in.. um.. Hamburg now?
Miya Atsumu sighed with emotion, "That really is far away."
However, he remembered that Yaku had no intention of changing his nationality like Oikawa, they went to this year's Asian competitions together.
Thinking of this, Miya Atsumu paused and looked down at Hinata.
Even though he said Yaku was going far away, no matter how far Russia was, it wouldn't be as far as South America, where Japan and South America are back-to-back on Earth; some guy is truly going to go very, very far.
He took the initiative to bring up the matter: "Shoyo, how has your language learning been going lately?"
I haven't seen you reading lately?
Hinata's expression was very serious: "I'm still working hard on memorizing vocabulary. The online classes Coach Sanjo arranged for me don't have any sessions lately, just basic assignments; the next round of classes will be during winter break."
“Coach Sanjo's intention is for me to try taking the English and Portuguese proficiency exams next year, but I have absolutely no confidence in that.."
He wants to study abroad, but it's impossible for him to leave right now; he still has other exams to take, only after passing them can he qualify to study abroad.
Furthermore, there are opportunities during the second, third, fourth years of university; the first two involve being an exchange student, while going in the fourth year would mean applying for a master's degree overseas.
Coach Utsunomiya's advice to him was to go during his second year; after the two-year exchange program ended, he would return just in time for his fourth year, allowing him to start preparing to join a professional team.
Even though he did indeed want to play in the domestic leagues in Japan, if there were an opportunity to play for a world-class powerhouse like Yaku.. he thought he wouldn't refuse.
Sensing the ambition radiating from Hinata, Miya Atsumu slightly lowered his eyes.
But at that moment, Hinata turned his head and asked proactively, "What about you, Atsumu-ge? Do you have any plans to take on the world?"
Miya Atsumu stared at the sign in front of him in the Adler showroom, his tone firm and decisive: "If the opportunity arises, I might consider it, but not right now."
I haven't fully polished my skills yet; my current goal is to be number one in Japan.
Hinata smiled at Miya Atsumu. "I believe in you, Atsumu-ge."
The two of them visited the Adler showroom and looked through the rosters of players from past generations. Hinata was overwhelmed by the sheer variety of trophies on display.
It wasn't just the trophies from competitions like the V1 League and the Black Eagle Flag; Hinata even saw the medals from the Club World Championship. Although they weren't championship trophies, it was the first time he had been in such close contact with world-class glory.
Miya Atsumu put his hands in his pockets and remarked with emotion, "As expected of King Adler, these achievements are truly something to be proud of."
By comparison.. the Black Jackals' showroom was a size smaller than this.
So, has Miya Player become interested in our Adler's?
Right at that moment, a voice filled with laughter rang out from behind the two of them.
Miya Atsumu turned around and found that it was the Adler Head Coach, Suzaku, whose profile he had caught a fleeting glimpse of back at the Inarizaki No. 2 Gymnasium.
He stood up straight and greeted him, "Hello, Coach Suzaku."
Coach Suzaku laughed heartily. "No need to be so formal; the main reason we're holding this event today is because we want to get closer to the fans."
Miya Atsumu hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.
He wasn't actually a fan of Adler's; if anything, he wasn't very familiar with the current players of Adler, the only one he truly admired was the current Japan's First Libero, Heiwajima.
Coach Suzaku didn't beat around the bush, saying directly, "Your performance at this National Sports Festival was truly admirable. To be honest, I think our Adler needs a powerful Setter like you."
But unfortunately, I heard that Miya Player has already signed a formal contract with the Black Jackals?
Miya Atsumu replied, "At this stage, it's still a gamble."
Coach Suzaku took the initiative to propose, "Then does Miya Atsumu have any interest in joining our Adler? If it's not too outrageous, we can pay the buyout fee."
Hinata looked at Suzaku in shock, stunned by such blatant poaching.
But it was true; there were no Black Jackals members here right now, so there was no need to be secretive.
Miya Atsumu politely refused. "I'm sorry, but I personally have no intention of joining Adler's for the time being."
Coach Suzaku turned and asked, "Then may I hear your reasons? I don't believe there would be any issues with your coordination and our team; I believe that you are capable of handling any style of team or player."
He wanted to know if Adler had some problems he couldn't see, things that could cause such an excellent player to reject them so decisively.
Miya Atsumu was left speechless.
He silently swallowed back those improper and selfish excuses, choosing instead a reason the other party couldn't refute: "Adler's current starting setter is still in his prime; I doubt they'll be replacing him that quickly."
“I just want to be in the starting lineup, that's all.”
It is normal for a player to take about half a year to integrate with a team after joining, but Adler's probationary periods generally last a full year, he remembers that Adler's current starting setter's contract won't expire until the winter of the year after next.
He had no interest in being a substitute; the Black Jackals were simply willing to give him the treatment of being a starter as soon as he joined the team, that was all.
Coach Suzaku sighed, "That is truly a shame."
Indeed, he couldn't refute that point.
Moreover, they truly don't absolutely need Miya Atsumu, according to Adler's current planning, the ideal successor should be chosen from players who are currently in their second year of high school or third year of university.
And among them, someone had mentioned another person to him who possessed equally excellent qualities.
Although the opponent's evaluation wasn't particularly high, he had seen other matches while watching the opponent's high school game footage, he had a very deep impression of that person.
If I had to say..
He is a player with great potential who just needs further cultivation, but what Adler lacks least is the resources to develop excellent players.
Coach Suzaku also had no intention of continuing to disturb the two of them: "Then I won't disturb you further. The activity in a bit will be quite interesting, so enjoy yourselves to the fullest."
There was no need for him to be overly aggressive, after all, the turnover rate among professional players was quite high; perhaps one day in the future, he would be discussing a transfer with Miya Atsumu.
Before leaving, he turned his head to look at Hinata.
By the way, Hinata, regarding the matter about Dai Nippon Railway that I asked Hirugami to mention to you before, I hope you can give it some thought.
They will try their best to satisfy all your needs; Coach Nanami really likes you.
Hinata nodded seriously in response, "Okay, I'll think about it."
Watching Coach Suzaku leave, Miya Atsumu said to Hinata without hesitation, "He wants to harm you."
Hinata didn't react in time: "Huh?"
What? Who wants to harm him?
What kind of hidden weapon did that Coach just install in this room?
Because Atsumu-ge disagreed with joining Adler, they decided to lock both of them in here?!
Miya Atsumu's tone was very serious: "Dai Nippon Railway isn't a strong team; they've been in the lower-to-middle part of the V1 League for years. If their recruitment of new players fails, they'll likely fall straight into the relegation zone. Even if the opposing coach is good to you, considering pure strength, he shouldn't be your choice, Shoyo."
They haven't fully seen your potential, Shoyo, but I believe.. you are completely worthy of the best.
Hinata opened his mouth to speak.