Offensive Rhythm

After classes ended for the day, Hayato and Kiyoko headed to the swimwear shop. On the way, Hayato was chatting with Hinata on his phone. Hinata had just messaged him, saying Coach Ukai was taking him to his home for training. The former Karasuno Volleyball Club supervisor, Ukai's grandfather, who had led the Little Giant to the National Championship, had just been discharged from the hospital and returned home.

Hayato had already heard Hinata talk about the Little Giant countless times, and since he already knew about it, he wasn't particularly surprised. After some thought, he explained everything he knew about offensive rhythm to Hinata.

Seeing Kiyoko looking curious, Hayato smiled and told her about Hinata's message.

"You know, you said yesterday you were going to train Hinata, but now you're skipping out," Kiyoko said.

"It's because the gym is under maintenance, and I also have to accompany Kiyoko-senpai to buy swimsuits," Hayato explained without a hint of guilt.

From the first rhythm to the third, Hayato wrote a lengthy explanation. After hitting the send button, he smirked. He figured reading so many words would be agonizing for Hinata, who learned best through practical application and struggled with simply reading instructions.

Still, the kid needs to learn to grow up a bit. Volleyball knowledge is also very important.

Meanwhile, Old Coach Ukai, who had just thrown his grandson out, was full of energy. Hinata, trembling from being intimidated by the old man, still managed to greet him, "Please guide me."

"Guide you? I was just teaching that spineless grandson a lesson, I don't just throw anyone around," the old man retorted.

"My senior who was supposed to train me today had something come up, so the coach said he'd bring me here to learn from you. I came to gain the ability to fight on my own."

"Senior?" Old Coach Ukai looked at his grandson, who was lying on the ground after being thrown. He waited for an explanation.

"A new second-year member recently joined the volleyball club. He was supposed to be training Hinata, but he had a last-minute issue today. Since you're out of the hospital now, I thought I'd bring him to you..."

Before he could finish, he was thrown out again by Old Coach Ukai.

"Useless fellow! Do players need to take care of their own training? What kind of coach are you? And now you're bringing him to me?"

Ukai, lying on the ground once again, struggled to get up. He didn't dare to retort, as his grandfather's words were not wrong. As a coach, he was still too inexperienced.

Ignoring his grandson, the old man looked at Hinata.

"With your height, do you really think you can dominate the skies?"

Hinata stood up straight and replied matter-of-factly, "It's precisely because of my height that I have to do it."

In that instant, the old man saw a glimpse of the Little Giant, the black-haired ace in the number 10 jersey from years ago, in Hinata.

"Perhaps you think I'm talking nonsense," Hinata added dejectedly, his confidence wavering. But the old man interrupted him. He casually picked up a volleyball from the ground and pointed at Hinata.

"Where is it nonsense? No matter how talented the setter is, in an offensive style like a quick attack, the absolute dominant force is you."

"Ah, that... Hayato-senpai also said that. And when I was chatting with senpai earlier, he knew I was coming to see you and sent me a bunch of knowledge points. Look." Upon hearing this, Hinata quickly replied and took out his phone to show the old man the message Hayato had sent.

"Heh~ I'm suddenly interested in your new member."

After glancing at the message on the phone for two or three seconds, he returned it to Hinata. A rare expression of interest appeared on the old man's face. Glancing at his grandson, Coach Ukai quickly provided Hayato's information.

"Kuroba Hayato, Ace (WS), 191 cm tall, second year. He only recently joined the volleyball club. He basically has no weaknesses. If I had to point out a flaw, it's that he's too focused on offense, and sometimes his spikes go out of bounds. Moreover, he not only has the potential of an ace but also significant potential as a captain. Yesterday, Hinata had a small conflict with our setter, and he stepped in to resolve it. He also told you the same thing."

"You said he's busy today, right? Can you bring him tomorrow?"

After learning all of Hayato's details, the old man became even more interested. He desperately wanted to see for himself what kind of player Kuroba Hayato was.

Then, the old man took the volleyball and walked onto the court. He called the elementary school students who were training, intending to demonstrate directly for Hinata.

"Anyway, let me show you what this 'offensive rhythm' your senior sent you actually looks like. Kid, you come over and try to block. Aren't you a wing spiker?"

Since the old man was out of the hospital, his backyard had become a makeshift volleyball court for elementary school students. Hinata had arrived at just the right time, as several elementary schoolers were practicing volleyball there.

Hinata followed them onto the court. The four elementary schoolers on the other side saw his height.

"Middle schooler?"

"Which middle school are you from?"

Hinata, often mistaken for a middle schooler, helplessly explained that he was a high school student and then stood at the net. Because it was for elementary schoolers, the net in the middle of the court was much lower. Looking at it, Hinata felt as though he had grown taller.

"Alright, let's begin."

As the old man spoke, Hinata prepared for defense.

"Third rhythm."

An elementary schooler tossed the ball after the old man called out "third rhythm." Once the old man set the ball, everyone launched their attack, ran up, and spiked. The ball was then blocked by Hinata's face.

"Amazing jump! His face is over the net."

Although tears welled up from the pain in his face, Hinata pretended to be fine and said it was okay. The old man, seeing this, complimented his jumping ability.

Then, the next ball started.

"Second rhythm."

Almost simultaneously with the set, everyone launched their attack. Although it was faster than the previous spike, Hinata still managed to block it, this time with his hands.

"Next, first rhythm." Hinata, staring at the ball, noticed that the elementary schoolers had already started running before the old man had even set the ball. Caught off guard, Hinata was scored on by the elementary schooler's spike. Watching the ball land in the court, Hinata looked at the old man with shining eyes.

"So fast!"

"How was it? Can you block it?"

"At least I can't do it alone."

"Of the three rhythms just now, do you think the ace's playing style had any obvious differences?"

"I don't think so."

"Then what's the difference?"

After thinking carefully, Hinata felt it was the timing of the approach run. His answer also greatly satisfied the old man.

"That's right, this is what your senpai wrote to you about how to use offensive rhythm."

"Oh~! So that's what all those words meant."

With a sound of sudden realization, Hinata finally understood.

"Exactly. The first rhythm is the easiest way to get away from the opponent's block. You approach before the setter sets the ball, then the setter cooperates with the ace to set the ball. The ace chooses their attack method after receiving the ball. This requires you to think about where to hit the ball. In other words, the quick attack is dominated by the ace."

Then, the old man walked through the net to Hinata, looking not only at Hinata but also at Coach Ukai, who was thinking beside him.

"Only passes that 'facilitate the ace's attack' are the most powerful passes."

At this point, Coach Ukai truly understood what Hayato had meant yesterday when he told Kageyama about the best set for Hinata. To let Hinata continue practicing here, Coach Ukai rushed out to find Kageyama.

Meanwhile, Kageyama was at home pondering what constituted the best set for Hinata. To that end, he had been researching a lot of information online. Just as Kageyama was intently watching national team match videos, hoping to gain inspiration, Coach Ukai's call came in.

"Coach Ukai, is there something you need?"

"Kageyama, where are you?"

"I'm at home."

"Hurry to Sakashita Store! I've figured it out, what the best set for Hinata is!"

Hearing Coach Ukai say this, Kageyama immediately put on his shoes and sprinted towards Sakashita Store.

As for Hayato, knowing that Old Coach Ukai would surely understand his meaning, he was relieved that Hinata's situation would be resolved and that Coach Ukai would help Kageyama. He then went with Kiyoko to a swimsuit store to prepare for their upcoming trip to Hawaii.

Under Kiyoko and Hayato's joint selection, they chose a bikini with a color clash of deep blue and rose red, featuring a bow decoration on the chest, a white lace trim on the bandeau top, and a halter neck design. It also had a deep blue thigh band on the left thigh.

However, due to its high level of exposure, Kiyoko requested the addition of a light purple nylon sun-protective jacket with a dropped shoulder and lapel design, and a pair of white ultra-short shorts.

For shoes, they also picked a pair of deep blue lace-up low-heeled sandals.

When Kiyoko emerged from the fitting room in her swimsuit, she was incredibly cute. Her black hair was tied up and bundled at the back of her head. Hayato gave her a thumbs-up.

"You look super cute, Kiyoko-senpai. We'll take this one."

After Kiyoko did a twirl for the fitting room, she agreed with Hayato's opinion. After paying, they bought some travel essentials like motion sickness medicine and eye masks, and then had a big meal to end their day of shopping.