THIS FIC IS NOW ON PATREON, CHECK IT OUT AND IF YOU LIKE IT, I'D APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
[Start of the chapter]
"This guy's spikes... hit insanely hard!"
Nishinoya shook out his arms, already swollen red from the impact, while cold sweat beaded on his forehead. He had never expected that even a spike taken straight into his arms would still almost be impossible to receive. If that had been an actual match just now, it would have basically turned into a free ball for the other side.
And yet he was Karasuno's libero, only to be overwhelmed by the other side in such a one-sided fashion. It was beyond embarrassing.
As the backbone of the team's defense, there was no way he could afford to slack off.
At once, Nishinoya wiped away his earlier goofy expression and began taking Hank seriously. After that last spike, he could no longer guarantee that he would be able to receive every ball cleanly.
"So you can actually get it up? Looks like I need to add a bit more power and height."
Hank glanced at Nishinoya, then tossed the ball back to Kageyama. After Kageyama sent him another set, Hank made his approach and jumped again. This time, his jump had almost reached net height.
Then he whipped his right arm down with force, his hand seeming to drive straight into the volleyball itself. At the exact moment Hank landed, the spike he had just hit smashed off Nishinoya's arms and flew away.
By the time the ball had shot all the way up toward the ceiling and finally started falling from its highest point, Nishinoya's expression froze.
What had just happened in that instant?
How had the other guy's power and contact height increased so much all of a sudden?
Could it be that Hank had been testing them too?
"Terrifying... no wonder his reputation is real."
"So it's not just us testing him. He's testing us too?"
"It's just like Takeda said. This kid knows how to hold back. He won't reveal his true strength that easily."
"What kind of monster showed up in this generation?"
Ukai could only let out a bitter laugh. Now he finally understood why both Aoba Johsai and Takeda placed so much importance on this kid. His ability had far exceeded expectations. It was even possible that, up to this point, nobody actually knew where his limit was.
And that was the scariest part.
Their strength was all out in the open, while his was impossible to read.
Looking at it that way, inviting him over for training not only wouldn't help them figure out his patterns, it might even let him completely understand Karasuno instead.
"Just how much strength is this guy still hiding?"
When Kageyama had set the ball just now, he had actually felt that the toss had gone a little too high. Under normal circumstances, Hinata would already have started panicking, maybe even not knowing what to do in midair. But Hank showed no sign of being thrown off at all.
He was even able to precisely adjust his strength and contact point to match the height of the set.
If playing with Hinata meant Kageyama was the one controlling his spiker, then playing with Hank felt like the exact opposite: Hank was controlling him.
No wonder, when Kageyama had played against him before, Hank had been able to see through every step of his team's movements so clearly.
So that was why.
He had already figured it out.
As long as someone kept their eyes on Kageyama, there would barely be any variation at all.
"Come on, Nishinoya!"
Tanaka could not stop himself from shouting. It had already been bad enough that Hank had crushed him on the court before, but now even off the court they were still getting steamrolled by him. It was infuriating.
He had to get their pride back and show Hank who was really the boss of Karasuno.
Very quickly, Hank's strength stirred up the entire atmosphere of Karasuno. It was as if everyone had started competing against him, throwing themselves into training like mad.
Their efficiency even seemed better than usual.
The whole club was filled with the shouts of everyone practicing.
Thud!
Another heavy sound rang out as Hank's spike once again blasted off Nishinoya's arms.
By this point, Hank had hit one hundred spikes, and Nishinoya had only received thirty-five of them.
In other words, if they played Karasuno again, then even if Nishinoya was on the court, it still would not change the final outcome.
A receiving rate of only one-third meant the match was practically decided before it even began.
"What terrifying talent... On top of that jumping ability, he's got monstrous physical ability too. In every way, he looks like a top-tier volleyball player."
"We have to study him and come up with a way to deal with him."
After watching Hank's training today, Ukai immediately felt enormous pressure. There was no doubt that Hank's strength was worth spending an entire month studying just to figure out how to counter him.
He was simply too strong.
He had already surpassed the level of an ordinary prefectural player, and saying he was far beyond that would not be an exaggeration at all.
If he wanted to, Hank could crush Karasuno all over again right now.
Karasuno simply had no solid strategy for defeating Aoba Johsai.
(End of Chapter)
[100 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]