After traveling all night, Coach Ukai and Teacher Takeda took turns driving, and they finally arrived at Morisaki High School in Saitama that morning. Those who hadn't rested well or fully woken up were all yawning.
Hinata, on the other hand, was full of energy and grabbed Kenma from Nekoma, who had arrived with them.
"Sky Tree, where's the Sky Tree?"
Tokyo Skytree, also known as Tokyo Sky Tree and the New Tokyo Tower, was a broadcasting tower located in Sumida, Tokyo. It was one of Tokyo's famous landmarks, and its attached shopping complex, Tokyo Solamachi, was also well-known. It could be said to be a must-see attraction when traveling to Tokyo.
"Ah, isn't that Tokyo Tower?!"
An excited Hinata pointed at an ordinary steel tower and asked.
"That's just an ordinary steel tower."
Hearing their conversation, Kuroo, Nekoma's captain, who was mixed in with Karasuno's group, turned to look at Daichi, Karasuno's captain. His face wore a teasing expression.
"What, doesn't Miyagi have any steel towers? And that conversation feels awfully familiar."
In fact, the last time they had gone to Tokyo, Tanaka and Nishinoya had pointed at a steel tower and shouted, "Sky Tree!" Seeing someone else do something they had already done really did feel familiar.
"To outsiders, every steel tower in Tokyo looks like the Sky Tree."
As soon as Daichi said that, Sugawara, the vice-captain, immediately called him out.
"Hey, don't talk nonsense. And this is Saitama."
Kageyama, trailing behind the main group and still a little groggy, heard the conversation ahead and silently thought, So that wasn't Tokyo Tower.
Hayato was helping the two managers with their luggage. Hitoka hurriedly said it was too much trouble for a senior, but Hayato shut her down with, "We'll still need your help with logistics over the next week. This is nothing."
The senior-junior hierarchy in athletic clubs was really troublesome. Underclassmen had to use honorific language with upperclassmen and weren't allowed to defy them. Hayato felt those rules were unnecessary, so when he got along with first-years and third-years alike, he always kept things relaxed.
That was also why he could quickly build good relationships with the others. It really was troublesome, but since that was the prevailing norm, no one dared say it was wrong. Hayato's easygoing friendliness was all the more valuable because of it.
Haiba Lev had specifically come to greet his good friend Hinata.
"Hinata, have you gotten taller?"
Lev ran quickly up to Hinata, waving his arms, only to be scolded by Kenma for being too loud.
"You're already being rude the moment we meet. It's only been two weeks—how could I have gotten taller?"
"I grew two millimeters, you know."
"What? Really? Damn it."
Carrying their luggage, everyone first went to put it away. After washing up and changing clothes, they arrived at the gymnasium.
Once they had finished warming up, Coach Ukai called everyone over.
"Today, I'll be constantly rotating people in, so make sure you're all ready."
Coach Ukai spoke to the club members gathered before him. He wanted to use this opportunity to train the others more as well. Once the third-years graduated, the rest would have to become regular players. They couldn't always be left watching from the sidelines; they wouldn't improve that way.
Their first opponent was Fukurōdani. Hinata, Kageyama, and Asahi were in the front row, while Tanaka, Daichi, and Tsukishima were in the back. Nishinoya rotated with Tsukishima, while Hayato was placed among the substitutes.
Hayato had no objections to Coach Ukai's arrangement. The coach had said they would keep rotating players in today, so it was no problem if he didn't get on the court right away. Fukurōdani had the first serve.
A chance ball serve flew over and was received by Nishinoya. At that moment, Hinata suddenly started moving. Kageyama understood what Hinata meant and used the New quick attack. He first glanced at the opposing blockers' positions, then at the incoming volleyball, calculating the route in his mind.
"Stop the ball. Stop it there."
Taking a deep breath and focusing, Kageyama muttered to himself. The instant he received the ball, he decisively set it. The volleyball spun from the right toward the left, stopping directly there. Hinata felt that the set was perfect and excitedly slammed it down for a point.
Fukurōdani's blockers had no time to react before they lost the first point. More importantly, Hinata and Kageyama's new coordinated attack was different from before.
Karasuno, having taken the opening point, celebrated loudly.
"Ooh! Kageyama, it worked on the first try!"
"Shut up. I saw it."
Even as he said that, Kageyama couldn't stop smiling.
"Has that weird quick attack come back?"
"No, this is different from the previous one."
Fukurōdani's ace, Bokuto, thought the quick attack just now was the same one they had used during the training camp, but their setter, Akaashi, said this one was different. Bokuto was left confused.
"So was that ball really impressive? Can we do it too?"
"That's something we can't imitate. That short middle blocker makes it look easy, but unless you're very accustomed to that set, it's hard to hit. Most importantly, stopping the ball at the point of contact—that kind of advanced technique is beyond me."
As the match continued, Hinata excitedly bounced around at the net, while Bokuto spread his arms and said not to get carried away. It had only just begun.
Over the next stretch of the match, the New quick attack's success rate remained at fifty percent. But Coach Ukai took it in stride. They had plenty of training camp time left, and he had great faith in Hinata and Kageyama.
Their new tactics—the libero setting and multi-pronged attack—were also put into use. Naturally, they were even less proficient with those. It was a practice match, after all. This was exactly the time to practice new techniques. Winning would be great, but even if they lost, it would still count as training.
Under the policy of rotating players and practicing new tactics, they fell somewhat behind in the first set against Fukurōdani. At 16–10, they entered a one-minute technical timeout.
After Coach Ukai finished summarizing the match so far, he looked at Hayato.
"How is it, Kuroba? Can you go in?"
"Of course. I've been ready the whole time."
Watching others play from the sidelines was relaxing enough, but Hayato was genuinely getting impatient. He wanted to get on the court and play.
Hayato replaced Tanaka and joined the practice match.
"Good luck."
Hayato high-fived Tanaka as he came on. Listening to his teammates cheering behind him, he slowly rolled his wrists, his eyes gradually turning serious.
"Now, let's pull the score back."
"Yes, Hayato-senpai."
Hayato patted Hinata beside him and made his declaration. Hinata nodded seriously. Although he had scored many points just now, he had also lost quite a few. Hayato made a hand signal behind his back, and Sugawara, the setter who had come on earlier, understood what Hayato wanted to run on the next ball.
"Hinata, Decoy operation."
As they prepared at the net, Hayato quietly told Hinata the next play. Hearing that, Hinata understood and nodded seriously. The Decoy operation was just like its name: with the opponents' attention currently focused on Hinata, he would jump with everything he had, then Hayato would launch the attack.
It wouldn't succeed every time, but for now, it could still catch the other side off guard.
Fukurōdani had the serve. Once the whistle blew, one of their players served a chance ball. Daichi received it and shouted, "Chance ball!" At the same time, Hinata took off running. His movement was even faster than before, and the opposing players instinctively focused their attention on him.
"So fast!"
"Block him! A quick attack is coming!"
"But the setter isn't that black-haired guy. That short middle blocker can't use the previous quick attack, can he?"
In that instant of confusion, Hayato on the other side of the net was left completely unmarked. Sugawara sent him a set along an easy hitting path. Hayato grinned and shouted, "Nice set!" before hammering the ball into Fukurōdani's court.
Fukurōdani's libero did spot Hayato's spike, but Hinata distracted him for a moment, and he didn't make it in time to save the ball.
"Nice ball! Great job!"
"Set me again on the next one, setter."
Hayato and Sugawara high-fived in celebration. Sugawara was actually very happy that Hayato always called him "setter" instead of using his name during matches. More than being treated as a senior, he wanted to be regarded as a setter. And now Hayato, who was already Karasuno's ace, was calling him setter, which further showed his recognition of Sugawara's volleyball skills.
That made Sugawara very happy.
Of course, that was only on the court. Normally, Hayato still respectfully called him Sugawara-senpai.
"Keep your spirits up, everyone! Let's keep pulling the score back!"
Hayato loudly encouraged his teammates. The moment he came on and scored, everyone's momentum rose another level.
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