On the first weekend of September, Karasuno, having advanced to the next round, returned to Tokyo for a training camp with Kanto High Schools such as Nekoma. Tempered by the first round of preliminaries, Karasuno had improved its teamwork even further and gave the Kanto schools a surprise.
During Saturday's practice matches, both Fukurōdani and Nekoma found Karasuno far more troublesome than before. Their improvement was not limited to offense; their defense had also progressed greatly. Hinata's receives and Tsukishima's blocks stood out the most.
"It's only been a few weeks, but Karasuno has improved way too fast."
"What, even Fukurōdani's ace gets scared?"
"Don't talk nonsense. I was just impressed by how much they've improved."
At the sidelines, Nekoma's captain Kuroo and Fukurōdani's captain Bokuto chatted as they wiped off their sweat after their match. Karasuno's progress was obvious in their games against them. The first-year duo's quick attacks had become increasingly polished, wing spikers Tanaka and Asahi had found sharper cross-court angles, and Hayato's spikes had grown more powerful as well.
Of course, cross-court spikes also depended heavily on shoulder flexibility and how one generated force. As the two chatted, Tanaka's intended cross-court spike flew straight out of bounds, handing Shinzen a free point in their match against Karasuno.
"Ah, damn it! I messed up, sorry!"
Tanaka cried out an apology in frustration. His touch had felt good just moments ago, but after spiking, he realized the ball had gone out.
"Don't worry about it. Next ball."
Hayato patted his back in comfort.
Then, with a powerful spike, he immediately won the point back.
"Whoa, that one looked painful."
"It feels like Hayato tends to break through with line shots when he attacks."
After seeing Hayato's spike, Bokuto said as he rubbed his chin. Kuroo, beside him, nodded