Top 5 Ace in the Nation

On the second day of the summer training camp, Hayato had just woken up when he noticed two empty beds in the first-year section. As expected, it was the Kageyama and Hinata duo, who had apparently gone for their morning run. Since it wasn't time to wake everyone up yet, Hayato quietly got up without disturbing the others.

He habitually added protein powder to his and Hinata's water bottles. Ever since Hayato returned from Hawaii, he'd been supplementing Hinata's nutrition during their morning and evening workouts, and this training camp was no exception. However, the container at home was too large to bring, so he'd brought a small bottle filled from it.

Arriving at the outdoor track and field, he was surprised to find very few people training. It seemed most others felt the ample daytime training was enough. Besides Hinata and Kageyama, there were a few familiar faces among the other students: Bokuto from Fukurodani, Goro Masaki from Kamomedai—the one with the thick lips called "cod roe lips"—and Kuroo from Nekoma.

The captains of the various strong schools weren't slacking off even in these casual moments. Seeing Hayato approach, Bokuto waved and greeted him, asking if he wanted to join their workout. Hayato nodded and joined their jog.

Hinata and Kageyama, who were racing each other, also saw Hayato's arrival. They greeted him before arguing and running off again.

"Sorry, I think I might have upset your team's 'glasses-kun' last night. Kuroba-kun, you followed him out, right?"

During their jog, Kuroo apologized to Hayato with a raised hand. He should have apologized to Tsukishima, but since he wasn't present, apologizing to Hayato, a teammate, was necessary.

"It was resolved later, so don't worry about it."

"Wow, but I never would have guessed Karasuno would produce an anomaly like you."

Seeing that Hayato wasn't offering more details, Kuroo changed the subject to Hayato, and Bokuto, who was nearby, also chimed in.

"Indeed, Kuroba, you're really good at volleyball. How long have you been playing?"

"I played for a year in my second year of junior high."

"One year?!"

The two captains exclaimed in unison, shocked.

"My, my, that's the most surprising thing I've heard."

Kuroo, breaking out in a cold sweat, seriously sized up Hayato. It was no wonder he was surprised; Lev, who had the same conditions as Hayato, still had trouble receiving.

"That's truly astonishing."

Bokuto also marveled as if seeing Hayato for the first time. Not to mention others, Bokuto himself had been playing since childhood and had persisted until now to achieve his current skill level.

Seeing the two captains so surprised made Hayato a bit awkward. If you added his previous playing time, it would likely be longer than their ages. Currently, he was relying on his physical abilities and seasoned volleyball experience to compete with others.

Strictly speaking, he wasn't a genius. Those who could join the national team were the true geniuses, especially with Yanhuang's population; those who made it to the national team were truly one in a million.

Hayato hadn't been able to join the national team, so he never considered himself a genius.

However, he did possess the pride of an ace. Otherwise, he wouldn't have displayed his strength to compete for the ace position as soon as he joined the volleyball club.

"Speaking of which, I heard during the training camp that Bokuto-senpai is one of the top five aces in the country."

"Oh, so what, isn't that amazing!"

"But I just can't break into the top three."

"Hey! Don't bring that up at a time like this."

Bokuto was about to boast when Kuroo interrupted him.

"So, what did you want to ask by bringing that up?"

"Gathering information. I'm also very interested in the other top five aces, so could Bokuto-senpai enlighten me?"

To be honest, Hayato was someone who only watched anime. Through the manga, he knew Karasuno's ending, but the anime had only reached the match against Shiratorizawa. He hadn't had time to get to this world before that.

So, among the top five in the country, he only knew Bokuto and Ushijima; he had no information on the others.

"Oh~ Such a frank answer. Alright, I'll satisfy you."

Bokuto wasn't stingy. Primarily, even if he didn't say it, Hayato would eventually find out. Saying it now was just a way to pass the time during their jog.

"Listen carefully. First is Ushijima from your strong rival Shiratorizawa. He's a lefty with explosive offensive stats. Be mentally prepared when you face him in the preliminaries. Next is Sakusa Kiyo'omi from Itachiyama. That guy's wrist flexibility is frighteningly good, and he's a player with maxed-out offense and defense."

"The remaining ones are Kiryuu Hachi from Muzugawa, who is good at adjusting shots and can hit any bad ball, making him an all-rounder. And finally, Ojiro Aran from Inarizaki, who has solid fundamentals, great power, and stable performance. Most importantly, there's his physique."

After listening to the introductions, Hayato had a general impression of the top five players in the country. Ushijima's left hand was indeed a challenge Karasuno would have to face, but Hayato believed his own spike power wouldn't be inferior. If Nishinoya and the others adapted to his spikes, facing Ushijima shouldn't be too difficult.

"Kuroba, since I've so generously told you, tonight, perhaps..."

Faced with a genius like Hayato, Bokuto decisively wanted to pull him into playing together that night. Accepting Bokuto's offer, Hayato agreed, while Kuroo looked disgusted.

"This guy, once he starts spiking, he won't stop. It's a hassle."

"Kuroo, you jerk."

Hayato shook his head.

"This is extended training with the ace of a strong school. For Karasuno, I still need to get stronger."

After sparring with Bokuto and Kuroo, Hayato greatly admired both of their abilities. After talking with Kiyoko yesterday, he felt a greater sense of responsibility and wanted to become even stronger.

His determined words earned him appreciative glances from both captains.

"Oh~? You were making excuses yesterday?"

With his usual provocative tone, Kuroo smirked at Hayato.

"Yesterday was yesterday. Today, after hearing from Bokuto-senpai that there are so many strong players in the country, I can't fall behind. Moreover, Bokuto-senpai, one of the top five in the country, is right in front of me. I can't miss an opportunity to get stronger."

First, he shamelessly ignored Kuroo's teasing, then he gave Bokuto a little compliment. Hayato's perfect response made Kuroo laugh even harder, while Bokuto let out his signature laugh.

"Wahaha, well said! Then, shall we spike together tonight, Kuroo?"

Thinking of roping Kuroo in, Bokuto turned to look at him, only to find him looking disgusted again.

Hayato greeted Hinata and Kageyama after their run, then left them to continue his slow jog with the two captains. He walked over to the first-year group and handed them water bottles. Hayato had prepared a spare water bottle for Hinata, so including his own, he only had two. Not wanting to show favoritism, he gave both bottles to the two of them.

"Drink up. You ran so fast, you should conserve some energy."

Hinata thanked him and habitually took a water bottle to drink. Kageyama, seeing Hayato only had two bottles, initially tried to refuse, but Hayato insisted, giving it to him and stating he was just jogging and didn't need to rehydrate.

"Um, Hayato-senpai, this inside...?"

After taking a sip, Kageyama noticed something was off and looked at Hayato curiously.

"Protein powder. Tastes good, right? Helps build muscle."

Hayato gave a simple explanation, and Kageyama didn't think much of it, continuing to drink.

Hayato wondered if it was because the current year was still early, or if they hadn't been exposed to such things yet, as he noticed no signs of protein powder use in any sports clubs. They relied purely on their own training and natural physical talent.

This made Hayato quite curious.

After finishing the water and freshening up, Hayato took the two first-years to the cafeteria for breakfast. Upon arriving, most of the Karasuno members were already up, and everyone was greeting each other.

Hayato saw Tsukishima and, without speaking to him, simply nodded. Tsukishima returned the gesture, acknowledging the greeting. It was clear that Tsukishima hadn't fully recovered from yesterday's conversation. Even when Nishinoya loudly urged him to eat more today, he didn't retort with his usual sarcasm but quietly added more rice to his plate.

This made Nishinoya very happy, and he patted Tsukishima on the back.

"Eat more! We need to be full to train hard!"

After breakfast, the second day of summer training camp began.