His mind spun for a moment before he said, "But it's a shame, Adler has already decided on Hoshiumi-senpai, so I probably won't have the chance."
Miya Atsumu let out a laugh. "Isn't that just perfect?"
Hinata looked at him, a hint of doubt in his eyes.
I've long found their posture as the undisputed kings to be quite unpleasant. What's the point of a stagnant professional circuit..
Atsumu stood with one hand on his hip, turning his head to look at the Club World Championship third-place medal in the display case, his eyes filled with a challenging light. "In other words, why must they be the strongest?"
Miya Atsumu closed his eyes and turned his gaze back toward Hinata. "The winning side is the strong one. As long as we defeat them, the Black Jackals can become the new kings."
“This isn't the first time I've done something like this, is it?”
So.. even though part of this is my own little selfishness, I still want to extend an olive branch to you, Shoyo, regarding the Black Jackals.
Atsumu's voice carried an indescribable trace of sadness: "—Even though it might be too early to say this now, I beg you to consider it."
Hinata, who had never felt this kind of emotion from Miya Atsumu before, felt a moment of panic, but he still quickly organized the situation in his mind.
Then he realized.. that it was actually something that didn't require much thought at all.
The current situation of V1 is that Adler dominates, while the Black Jackals, Thor, Tachibana Red Falcons form a three-way standoff, with the Black Jackals' level being somewhat more prominent among them.
After Miya Atsumu joins the team, there is no doubt that the Black Jackals will receive a very important reinforcement, potentially even gaining the opportunity to leave the other two teams far behind.
In this situation, if his goal is to be the strongest, given that Adler won't consider him, his only optimal choice is actually the Black Jackals.
But before he could give Miya Atsumu a definitive answer, Miya Atsumu spoke up again.
“Of course, if there are even better teams that want you at that time, I also hope you won't worry about my feelings.”
“Even if I want to stand side by side with you on the court, more than that.. I hope to see you fly even higher and further.”
He just..
He wanted to become someone who could provide a safety net for Hinata.
Even if Hinata truly suffers some setback in the future, or ends up battered and bruised against that wall leading to the top.. with him there, Hinata will always be able to become the sharpest blade in his hands.
But he believed that Hinata would not be defeated by them.
His future will definitely lead him to that vast and boundless sea of stars.
—Just like Hinata once told him.
Hinata will become a stronger person, whether it's compared to Kageyama or to him.
Listening to Miya Atsumu's words, Hinata's expression also turned serious.
He replied to Miya Atsumu with utmost seriousness: "Okay."
Miya Atsumu smiled in a good mood, then took the lead walking out of the corridor. "Then let's go check out the gymnasium; the first event on the activity schedule is in half an hour."
If all the challenges are successful, you can get an autographed volleyball from the Adler's starting lineup, as well as a spot at the next meet-and-greet.
Hinata perked up instantly; he really wanted this one!
He already had a volleyball signed by Kito-senpai, but now he wanted one from Heiwajima-senpai!
He grabbed Miya Atsumu and charged forward fiercely, "Then let's go right now!"
This is outrageous, over here—
Before Miya Atsumu could even finish his sentence, Hinata, who had rushed around the corner, nearly collided with someone.
Watch out!
A voice that both of them were quite familiar with rang out.
Hinata looked up and met a pair of eyes filled with a hint of concern.
He instantly let go of Miya Atsumu's sleeve and raised both hands to greet him.
“Ushijima-senpai!!”
Chapter 462: The Four Hundred and Sixty-Second Fox
“Hinata?”
Ushijima clearly froze for a moment as well; he looked up at Miya Atsumu, who was also walking around the corner, tried to think about it.
He asked Miya Atsumu, "Did Coach Suzaku invite you to Adler?"
The topic changed so quickly that even Miya Atsumu had to struggle to process the current situation.
First, I'll ignore why Ushijima is here and answer his question..
Miya Atsumu shrugged at Ushijima. "We have, but Shoyo and I are just here to have some fun this time. What about you, Ushijima-senpai?"
Ushijima replied seriously, "I was invited to participate in the event."
Hinata leaned closer to Ushijima, asking with a face full of curiosity and excitement, "Eh? Ushijima-senpai, are you joining Adler after graduation?"
Ushijima nodded. "Yeah, after all, Adler is the best choice among the Japanese teams."
Considering how Tendo had complained that he sometimes only says half of what he means and is hard to understand, Ushijima Wakatoshi thoughtfully added a half-sentence: "Coach Suzaku has already spoken with me, but I plan to wait until my junior year, when I no longer need to participate in Junior National Team matches at such a high frequency, before considering professional teams."
Considering Miya Atsumu's situation, Hinata instantly found his answer: "So, it's already a done deal?"
Ushijima Wakatoshi gave Hinata an affirmative answer: "You could say that."
“By the way, I haven't congratulated you on winning the national championship yet, nor on your individual MVP award.”
As the most high-profile genius Ace in Japan in recent decades, Ushijima Wakatoshi's junior high and high school years did not include any national-level titles, the best achievements of his various awards stopped at being the best in Miyagi Prefecture.
The youth teams of this generation are still in a state of being refined and coordinated, their results are not particularly good; they have similarly failed to win any Asian or world awards.
Although he was certain that he would work harder toward those goals, at this moment.. all he had to do was give Hinata enough praise.
Hinata tried to suppress the corners of his mouth that were about to fly up, but unfortunately, he failed.
He bounced twice with an excited smile on his face: "Thank you, Ushijima-senpai! I'll work even harder!!"
Miya Atsumu crossed his arms over his chest, watching the two of them interact, while his mind caught onto several details he had just overlooked.
Ushijima seemed very certain that Coach Suzaku would invite him, but his intention to join the Black Jackals was no secret. Why did Ushijima still think that Coach Suzaku would take the risk of inviting him and having to pay him a buyout fee?
Some things began to connect in his mind, Miya Atsumu suddenly thought of a possibility.
If Ushijima Wakatoshi has already decided to join Adler, then when it comes to choosing a successor for the setter position, Coach Suzaku will very likely take this future Ace successor into consideration.
In this case..
"Ushijima-senpai.. You mentioned me to Coach Suzaku?" Miya Atsumu asked tentatively.
Ushijima Wakatoshi nodded. "Yes, Adler's setter's contract is about to expire, since you are planning to develop your career abroad, I once suggested to Coach Suzaku that he recruit you."
In fact, he had suggested not only Miya Atsumu to Coach Suzaku, but also mentioned Iizuna and Oikawa Tooru.
These three people already represent the peak of the current stage of Japan's Junior National Team setters, as far as he knows, Oikawa Tooru is about to go abroad.
Iizuna plans to play at Tokai University until his third year. If they decide to recruit him, it will cause a one-year vacuum for Adler's.
And while Miya Atsumu had basically decided to sign with the Black Jackals.. he also presented Coach Suzaku with another option.
Although he hadn't played against Kageyama Tobio during his time at Shiratorizawa, he had faced Kageyama during this year's Junior National Team training. Given the high level of his teammates, Kageyama's performance was remarkable; in terms of setting ability alone, he was not inferior to Miya Atsumu.
At this stage, the main deficiencies likely lie in tactical thinking and experience, but these are things that can be honed through practice.
However, Kageyama is still undecided whether he intends to apply for university or join a professional team, so he was only put forward as a backup to the backup; it is unclear if Coach Suzaku will take this seriously.
However, the current V1 setters actually all possess excellent qualities; among this year's rookies, Wakamura has garnered a lot of attention. Additionally, there is the previously famous Shiratori, whose height advantage will have a remarkable effect within the Adler's overall excellent height.
Or Coach Suzaku might consider scouting players from abroad, as well as signing transfer players from other strong teams..
The rest was not something he needed to worry about.
He was just a Wing Spiker, whether the position of Ace would ever fall to him was still up in the air.
Therefore, he had no right to influence the thoughts of the team's upper management; all he had to do was do his best to cooperate.
Moreover.. he could ensure that his own performance and condition wouldn't be compromised by the varying skills and styles of the setters.
—That is already enough.
Miya Atsumu said helplessly, "That's a shame. Actually, I was quite looking forward to working with Ushijima-senpai."
Of course, he didn't mean that he wanted to join Adler, but rather that he had previously wondered if Ushijima would consider the Black Jackals.
Kiryu-senpai and Aran both already have confirmed team affiliations, now Ushijima has also basically finalized his destination, so among the former top five wing spikers, only Bokuto and Sakusa have yet to sign with professional teams.
To be honest, he doesn't particularly like either of them.
If I had to say who my dream Spiker was..
It feels like Hinata is first, Ushijima-senpai is second.
Hmm.. I guess Ushijima-senpai is still third, because he decided to leave second place for his dream idol, Romero.
Just maybe!
Maybe one day he'll be interested in transferring to Japan!
Ushijima replied, "There will be opportunities in the future."
He and Miya Atsumu had enjoyed partnering together during their time in the Junior National Team; when playing alongside Miya Atsumu, he didn't need to worry about much, he only needed to focus on spiking.
Hinata pressed his hand against his chest. "I want to work with Ushijima-senpai too!"
But he knew it was impossible.
Whether it was Inarizaki or Coach Unabara, his training was focused on the Stronger Opposite position, the current peak of that position among Japan's youth players is Ushijima.
In other words.. he and Ushijima were playing in the same position.
After feeling disappointed for two seconds, Hinata adjusted his mental state on his own.
Atsumu was right; it was indeed much more interesting to challenge and defeat the King.
Ushijima issued an invitation to the two of them: "Then, do you want to go to the training venue together?"
Just as Hinata was about to agree readily, Miya Atsumu reached out from behind and covered his mouth.
“I'm sorry, Ushijima-senpai.”