After Ryosuke tossed the ball, he pushed off the ground with his right foot, drove power from his waist, and struck it steadily with his right hand.
Yes, steadily. The key was that word, steady. Against a hook jump float, speed and weight could be set aside for the moment, but the serve had to be steady.
A hook jump float was different from a hook jump serve. The former was flexible and unpredictable, while the latter was fast and fierce. The methods were different, but the serving motion itself was similar.
It had to be abrupt, sudden, then struck with steady precision so the ball would float without spinning.
Ryosuke had spent a long time figuring that out on his own. He had to train this move properly.
"Bang!"
The ball floated up and down, flying over the net at high speed, its arc extremely deceptive.
Yaku and Komori both took a few steps back at the same time, their movements perfectly in sync. The two exchanged a glance, then Yaku began moving. He rushed toward the front court. Yaku was extremely good at intercepting balls midway. To him, a ball intercepted halfway was easier to receive.
"Whoosh."
The ball instantly drifted past the platform Yaku had set, grazing his arm as if it had eyes.
Komori smiled proudly from behind. As a fellow Libero, he had naturally studied Yaku plenty. Ordinary float serves and jump serves could indeed be received steadily, but a hook-style float moved too fast and too unpredictably. If he had to describe it in one word, it was ghostly.
A ball like this could not be intercepted at all.
The only option was to wait in the back, wait for the ball to fall, and then absorb its power at just the right moment. The force of this ball had been controlled, so it absolutely would not go out of bounds. Even if it did, that was fine. Komori would definitely receive it anyway.
After all, this was training, and Komori really wanted to try receiving this ball.
A tiny yellow, blue, and white ball seemed to spin in Komori's eyes. He took adjustment steps backward, bent his knees, kept his center of gravity steady, extended both arms forward, and shifted left.
The volleyball brushed against Komori's arms. Just when it looked like he was about to receive it, the ball slipped away in the next second, rolling straight onto the floor. Komori swayed slightly, then sighed and stood up, scratching his hair sheepishly.
"Ah, no good. Your ball really drifts way too much. I got careless, careless. Tsk."
"Ahahaha, not at all, not at all." Ryosuke felt a little embarrassed from the praise.
"Clap, clap, clap."
Applause suddenly sounded from the side of the court, drawing everyone's attention.
"Not bad, not bad. Heroes really do emerge from the young. A hook serve like that tests both technique and familiarity. There's only one first-year in this National Youth, so I suppose that must be you."
Everyone turned around and saw two people standing in front of Hosho. The man at the front had deep wrinkles on his face, and his buzz cut had already turned frosty white. He looked like someone with a great deal of experience.
Behind him and slightly to the left stood five young men of roughly similar age, looking to be in their twenties. All of them were smiling as they watched everyone.
Ryosuke was still standing there blankly.
This person… looked so familiar.
At that moment, Ushijima hurried over, speaking with rare formality.
"My apologies, everyone. My junior isn't good with words. Please don't mind him. Ryosuke, hurry and say thank you."
"Oh… oh!"
Ryosuke snapped back to his senses and stood perfectly straight.
"Thank you for the compliment! But I think I still have many shortcomings. In a major competition, it really wouldn't be enough."
"Hahaha, modest."
The man in the shirt beside Hosho laughed as he spoke. The white shirt stretched tightly across his body, making it clear that the muscles beneath were very well developed. At a glance, he was obviously someone who trained seriously, but the words coming out of his mouth were not serious at all.
Hosho rolled his eyes helplessly. The head coach was right here. Could Hibarida not at least change the way he spoke?
Hibarida tugged uncomfortably at his shirt. Sigh, what a pain. Since the head coach was here, he even had to come greet him properly. His poor beard. He had grown it for so long, only to shave it off today. He had no presence at all now and looked like some pretty boy.
Seeing that Hibarida was still immersed in his own world, Hosho gave up expecting anything from him and stepped forward to introduce them to everyone.
"Come on, let me introduce everyone.
"The person beside me is Hibarida, coach of the men's national volleyball team. He has been observing your training these past few days. The person in front is Mr. Yuichi Nakagaichi, head coach of the national team. This time, he has brought the national team here to interact with everyone.
"Come on, everyone, greet the coaches."
By now, everyone had gathered together. After hearing Hosho's words, they all straightened their chests one by one, trying to make themselves look energetic and sharp in every way.
"Hello, coaches!!"
Their unified shout nearly lifted the ceiling. It was much louder than when Hosho usually led them in training.
"Good. All of you look promising."
Yuichi Nakagaichi swept his gaze over everyone with satisfaction. Not bad. They looked much better than last year's group. Bokuto and Ushijima were here again this year. He had thought highly of these two last year.
But after the coaching bench discussed it, they decided to hold Bokuto back for one year, hoping he would gain more experience. Once he moved up this year or next year, it would line up perfectly for him to play two years in the club league. Then, depending on the situation, he could move on to major competitions.
Wakatsu Kiryu and Hirugami were also good. Both were promising prospects, and they could be considered this year too. But that Hoshiumi Korai…
This kid was quite controversial among the coaching staff. As one of the few short players, Hoshiumi Korai kept winning aerial battles, giving him even more of an advantage than some taller players. A short body, explosive power, perfect jumping ability, and solid aerial technique.
Every part of him made him a rare promising talent.
But he was too short. Right now, he was only around 160 centimeters. Although he would indeed grow after his development stage and adulthood, judging by appearance, he would probably only reach around 170 centimeters at most.
The volleyball world was already biased toward taller players, let alone the national team, which valued height and strength. Among the coaching staff, Hoshiumi's nomination was highly controversial.
Some agreed, saying they should try new styles and tactics, and perhaps there would be a pleasant surprise. Others disagreed. They were conservative and stubborn, unwilling to experiment or take risks.
As for Nakagaichi, he did not agree with those conservatives at all. They were all cowards without a shred of sportsmanship. Back in his day, he dared to use anyone. Otherwise, how could he have taken the top coaching seat he had now?
"Come on, let me introduce everyone. These are the players who will be training with you today. Ran Takahashi, outside hitter. Kento Asano, middle blocker. Motoki Eiro, setter. Shoma Tomita, middle blocker. Yuji Nishida, opposite hitter. Tomohiro Yamamoto, Libero.
"Come on, everyone, say hello."
"Yo, nice to meet you. Kid, your serve is pretty good. Let me try receiving it this afternoon. Oh, right, I'm Tomohiro Yamamoto."
Ryosuke looked at the person speaking to him. His skin was dark, and he did not look very local, but Ryosuke was not playing middle blocker this afternoon anyway.
A little shy, he said,
"Sorry, Yamamoto-senpai. I'm playing Libero this afternoon. If that's okay, we can try it during evening training."
"Libero?"
Wasn't that exactly his specialty? Yamamoto burst into laughter.
"Great! Then I'll be looking forward to seeing what you can do later."
The two of them quickly started chatting. Ryosuke seemed to have some strange buff. He did not dare talk to strangers, but the people who came up to him all started chatting with him easily.
"Long time no see, Ushijima," Takahashi said with a smile, stepping forward to greet Ushijima.
They had met once last year. Now, Ushijima looked even more mature.
Ushijima stepped forward and shook Takahashi's hand.
"Takahashi-senpai, long time no see."
"Have you grown this past year?"
Takahashi spoke gently, like a proper senior, and Ushijima stood to the side, cooperating very politely. Ryosuke, who had been completely overwhelmed by Tomohiro Yamamoto, quietly shrank back behind Ushijima, causing Takahashi to glance at him a couple more times.
"What's that child's name?" Nakagaichi asked, pointing at Ryosuke behind Ushijima.
He had been watching just now. This child was very good.
"Oh, that little leopard? His name is Ryosuke Hanyu."
Hibarida only reacted after a moment and realized Nakagaichi was talking to him. He chuckled before answering.
Nakagaichi was helpless against Hibarida's personality. He had lectured him countless times, but Hibarida still had this awful attitude. There really was no changing him.
"Ryosuke Hanyu, huh. Not bad. A good name. Wait. Ryosuke Hanyu?"
Nakagaichi suddenly reacted. Hanyu? There were not many people with that surname. Among the boys in the Hanyu family around his age, there should only be that young master.
He seemed to have attended a tea party at their house before. No wonder he looked so familiar. The little boy from back then had already grown this big.
But now that he was playing volleyball, had his family agreed to it?
Then Nakagaichi suddenly remembered. This practice match had been sponsored by that eldest young master. Nakagaichi had originally planned to bring people here anyway, and then Keigo Atobe had suddenly stepped in. Since there was money to take, Nakagaichi had not paid much attention to it at the time.
He had not expected that this eldest young master actually did not oppose it.
On the other side.
"Hello, I'm Motoki Eiro. I've heard about you two for a long time. The twin setter and the genius setter. I've been looking forward to meeting you."
"Not at all, not at all."
Atsumu Miya's face flushed from being praised. Being complimented by a senior like this was such an honor. How embarrassing!
Kageyama looked awkward, not knowing how to handle this situation. It was not the first time someone had praised him so directly, but he knew the other person was a senior. For a moment, he had no idea what to say.
Atsumu Miya noticed Kageyama's awkwardness and pouted as he helped him out. He was not exactly a warm-hearted person, but they were all setters, after all. He could not let this guy embarrass the setters of their generation.
"He's Tobio Kageyama. This kid isn't good with words, so I hope you won't mind, senpai."
Motoki Eiro was also understanding. He was not petty enough to take issue with a junior.
"Alright, stop chatting. Those who need to rest, rest. Those who need to warm up, warm up. The practice match starts in one hour. Everyone, get ready."
At this moment, Hibarida finally fulfilled his role as a coach. Usually, he rarely personally guided anyone. He believed a person should only do the work their salary covered, and he could not be bothered with the rest.
Well, when he encountered someone with good talent and good instincts, Hibarida would still give a few pointers.
After hearing that, everyone nodded and went off to do their own things.
On the national team's side, the players followed Nakagaichi into the changing room to change clothes. Ushijima and the others also resumed their own training.
"Hurry up, hurry up."
Shoma Tomita kept urging everyone while changing, pushing Kento Asano in front of him forward nonstop. Asano rolled his eyes.
"What are you doing? In a hurry to reincarnate?"
"Oh, what a way to talk. Little Asano is becoming more and more disrespectful to his seniors. I just can't wait to go up against these kids."
"That's true," Asano muttered.
As the youngest junior on the team, everyone was still fairly tolerant of Asano. After all, their future would depend on him.
Once everyone changed, they returned to the gym one after another. The training camp group and the national team each took one side of the court. The national team members kept sneaking looks at the training happening on the other side.
They did not dare look too openly, afraid that these kids would be thin-skinned. Someone like Kageyama or Ryosuke, for example, might feel uncomfortable if people kept staring at them. But once they threw themselves into training, the gazes from outside no longer mattered.
"Bang!"
"One more!"
"Bang!"
"One more!"
"Bang!"
"One more!"
Shoma Tomita watched the rhythm of Ushijima's spiking practice, his eyes nearly popping out.
"No way. Are high schoolers' training rhythms this intense now?"
Then he looked at Kageyama, who was tossing the ball on the side, and Shoma Tomita was honestly worried those thin arms and legs might snap. It really was not easy. As expected, there was a reason strong people became strong.
There were still about twenty minutes before the match started, and everyone was making tight preparations.
"Alright, report your positions on your side. Today's match is very unfavorable for you. There's a good chance you'll lose from beginning to end, but all of you had better keep your mindsets steady! Did you hear me? When you're practicing against strong opponents, those few brief seconds can vanish in an instant. Seize them! Try to learn as much as you can!"
Hosho stood in front of everyone, speaking passionately. He hoped these kids would not lose too badly. Sometimes, experience and time really could make up for a lack of talent. Now it was time to see what these geniuses could ultimately learn.
"Yes!!"
"Then discuss the positions yourselves. I'll go take a look over there."
Hosho spoke as he walked away. He had been watching their training these past few days, and every night, he had given them targeted guidance. Now it was time to verify the results.
"Who's going to summarize?" Atsumu Miya rested one hand on Kageyama's shoulder and looked around at everyone.
Summarizing this kind of thing was not easy. If handled badly, it could offend people.
Everyone looked at one another.
Kiryu and Hirugami tacitly took a step back. Bokuto only wanted to play, so naturally, he did not care. Sakusa dragged Ryosuke to the side to watch the show, bringing Komori along with him while he was at it.
Yaku looked left and right, then also ran over to stand beside Komori.
Now only Ushijima was left, staring at everyone.
Ushijima stood there blankly for two seconds before understanding what they meant. He fell silent.
Fine. Then he would speak.
Ryosuke silently assisted, pushing the small whiteboard cart over with a rumbling sound.
Ushijima: "…"
Ryosuke silently returned to his original spot.
Ushijima picked up a marker and drew a small formation diagram on the board.
"We'll prepare lineups for two matches. For the starting lineup, we'll begin like this.
"Hirugami, Atsumu Miya, me.
"Komori, Ryosuke, Kiryu."
"The starting lineup should be a little steadier. Hirugami and I will be the main two attack points. If our stamina can't hold out, Atsumu Miya will fill in. I know you can play middle blocker, and your blocking is good too. I'm counting on you.
"Komori will play opposite hitter. Ryosuke will be Libero. Keep the floor defense steady. When Kiryu sets, remember to send high balls. We can adjust to high balls."
"Got it."
Everyone nodded. This lineup was acceptable to all of them. It was still within their range of ability.
***
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