Training Camp Begins, First Practice Match

On the bus to Tokyo, Hayato dozed off next to Kiyoko, his body gradually tilting until he leaned against her. This made the two members of her "guard squad" so envious they wanted to punch him. Kiyoko, however, made a shushing gesture at them as they grumbled, and seeing Kiyoko's rare expression, Tanaka and Nishinoya, the guard squad duo, became both happy and angry.

"Damn it, that Hayato."

"Is this what childhood friends can do?"

Although they were muttering, they lowered their voices. After all, it was Kiyoko's shushing gesture.

After the bus arrived in Tokyo, Hayato woke up and gave Kiyoko an embarrassed smile. He got off the bus with everyone else. The surrounding scenery wasn't much different from their Miyagi Prefecture.

As Hayato was thinking about this, Asahi beside him spoke up, and Sugawara replied that it was probably because they were all located in the suburbs.

Kuroo Tetsurou, the captain of Nekoma High School's volleyball club, who was responsible for welcoming the Karasuno team and had a peculiar hairstyle, noticed the unfamiliar Hayato.

"Oh, is this your new player?"

"Of course. Kuroba Hayato, second year, 191 cm tall, and very skilled at volleyball. Don't be too surprised later."

Daichi introduced him with a smile. Kuroo let out a "Hoh" and looked Hayato up and down.

"He looks pretty good, but speaking of which, aren't you guys a bit short-handed?"

Hearing this question, Daichi's face fell.

"Actually, yes..."

"So, that superhuman duo is attending cram school right now?"

"That's right, but our new players are also quite promising."

Before the two could finish their conversation, Tanaka's "second," Yamamoto Taketora, with his mohawk, fell to his knees.

"Ah!!! Girls, there are two girls. The elegant type and the cute type."

Hitoka, startled, hid behind Kiyoko. Kiyoko also extended her arm to protect Hitoka. Seeing this, Tanaka walked in front of Yamamoto Taketora with a benevolent expression, as if the area around him was glowing.

"See, Tora? This is Karasuno's strength. Ahaha."

Ignoring the clowning Ryunosuke and Taketora, Kiyoko walked away with Hitoka. At this moment, Hayato caught up.

"Kiyoko-senpai, have you seen my knee pads? I looked through my bag but couldn't find them."

"Because they were a bit torn, I helped you sew them. You gave them to me yesterday, don't you remember? Honestly."

"Ah, I think there was something like that. Sorry, sorry."

Hayato's conversation with Kiyoko greatly stimulated Yamamoto. He pointed at Hayato with his finger.

"Ryu, what's the deal with that, that new guy?"

Tanaka, who had just had a benevolent expression, instantly deflated, and the light behind him extinguished.

"That's Kiyoko-senpai's childhood friend, Kuroba Hayato, who is a year younger than her. He's a new player on our team."

"Child... what! Is there such an enviable thing?"

Severely struck, Yamamoto Taketora could not get up again. Tanaka patted his shoulder in comfort, and the two hugged each other and wailed.

"Ooooh ooooh ooooh!"

Watching the two clown around, Kuroo and the Karasuno third-years beside him ignored them.

"Well, when you're ready, come to the gymnasium. Everyone else has already arrived."

Hayato took the knee pads Kiyoko handed him, glanced back at Tanaka's "second," and rubbed his chin.

"Hmm, they really do look alike. And one is a Dragon, the other a Tiger."

After muttering this to himself, he followed the main group and they arrived at the gymnasium together.

As soon as they entered, the heat wave hit them. The various teams had already begun intense practice matches. Wearing green vests and yellow short sleeves were the powerful servers from Ikegawa High School. Wearing purple vests and white short sleeves were the experts in teamwork from Morisaki High School. Wearing blue vests and dark blue short sleeves was Fukurōdani Academy, a top-tier powerhouse with a nationally ranked ace in the top five.

And then, Karasuno's old rival, wearing blue vests and black short sleeves, the cats from the "Battle of the Garbage Dump" between crows and cats, Nekoma High School.

Each of them was technically skilled. Being able to have practice matches with these strong schools was like a godsend for Karasuno.

After the warm-up exercises, Karasuno's first opponent was the powerful serving Ikegawa High School.

Hayato was also on the starting lineup. The lineup for this match was: Setter Sugawara Kōshi, Ace Sawamura Daichi, Ace Azumane Asahi, Ace Tanaka Ryunosuke, Middle Blocker Tsukishima Kei, and Libero Nishinoya Yuu.

Due to the libero rotation rules, there were a total of seven players on the court today.

The so-called libero rotation rules were:

First, the libero could only rotate one-on-one with the players on the court within a single game and could not rotate with different players consecutively within the same game.

Second, the libero could only rotate with players who moved to the back row, and only after that player had served and played the next point, and it was the opponent's turn to serve.

Third, when the libero rotated to the front row after playing three consecutive rotations (positions 1, 5, and 6), they had to be substituted out by the "person being rotated."

In the first set, Tanaka would naturally be the one rotating with Nishinoya.

As this was his first appearance in front of other teams, Coach Ukai, after receiving the right to serve first, handed the serving opportunity to Hayato.

"This is your first appearance in front of other schools, so I'm giving you the serving duty. How about it, do you have confidence, Kuroba?"

Being valued so highly by the coach, what else could Hayato say? He nodded.

"Leave it to me, Coach."

After the players took their positions, the front-row players on Karasuno's side instinctively shielded the backs of their heads. Everyone shouted, "Serve a good one!" As the whistle blew, Hayato, taking a deep breath, tossed the ball up and smashed it down with all his might.

Bang! The jump float serve, like a cannonball, crashed into the opponent's court for a direct ace.

"Eek! No matter how many times I see it, Kuroba-senpai's serve is terrifying."

Hitoka, sitting on the sidelines, let out a wail, clearly startled by the serve again.

The opposing Ikegawa High School players were stunned. A serve comparable to an ace's made them deeply doubt if they were facing Karasuno, or a powerhouse school with an ace.

Fukurōdani Academy's captain, Bokuto Kōtarō, who had just finished his match and was resting,'s eyes lit up.

"Nice play, that number 13."

"Indeed. Based on that one shot, he might even be stronger than you, Bokuto-senpai," his vice-captain, Akaashi Keiji, mercilessly teased him.

"Akaashi, who's stronger isn't decided yet!"

Seeing that the surrounding players and the Ikegawa High School players were all awestruck, Coach Ukai, sitting on the sidelines, grinned mischievously.

"Surprise! Karasuno has a new player who's comparable to an ace."

Hayato scored three points directly with his serve, but the fourth ball was received. As expected of a strong school, they adapted quickly, Hayato thought, praising the opponent as he quickly got into defensive position.

But unfortunately, although the ball was kept in play for several rallies, Ikegawa eventually found an opening for a spike and scored.

Finally breaking their zero score, the Ikegawa High School players let out a cheer and celebrated amongst themselves.

It was the opponent's turn to serve next, but Karasuno's back row was now their strongest defensive lineup: Daichi, Nishinoya, and Hayato. The opponent's serve was defended, and then Asahi, on the front row, spiked it, but it was unfortunately blocked.

"It's okay, I'll get it!"

Shouting, Hayato brought his hands together and received the ball with his wrists.

"Chance ball!"

Because he received it so well, the ball was still on Karasuno's side. Everyone shouted "Chance ball!" and began to organize an attack.

"Sugawara!"

Calling out his setter's name, Hayato retreated three large steps from the three-meter line and began his approach. He leaped from behind the three-meter line, and at the peak of his jump, the ball passed by him perfectly from Sugawara's set. Swinging his arm down, he accurately spiked the volleyball into the opponent's back court, scoring a back-row attack point.

To clarify, a back-row attack requires the player to jump from behind the three-meter line to avoid a fault. It's acceptable to cross the three-meter line after jumping.

It was a beautiful back-row attack for a point, the special move that Hayato and Sugawara had been practicing intensely. It was their first time using it on the court, and it resulted in a successful score. An excited Sugawara rushed over and jumped onto Hayato.

"Alright! We did it!"

"Nice job, setter," Hayato praised him generously. Asahi, though a little disappointed, didn't dwell on his unhappiness upon seeing his friend so happy and joined in the team's celebration.

In the following match, Karasuno continued to score points with Hayato as their offensive focal point, but the opponents were not to be underestimated, and the score remained very close. Finally, Karasuno secured their first victory with a score of 25:21.