Author's Note:
Let us repeat Miya Atsumu's famous words—
Chapter 6: The Sixth Fox
The testing on the first day of joining the club took only the entire morning to finish; after all, the gap in everyone's strength was quite significant. For example, Rishia could create a certain point difference relying solely on his serves.
In the afternoon, the coach did not keep the freshmen any longer, but instead conducted a preliminary assessment of the newcomers' performances together with Omimi.
Although Miya Atsumu himself did not think highly of Kumagai, Kumagai's delicate setting was certainly not bad.
Based on his performance during the all-court match, his abilities extend far beyond that.
Thinking this, Coach Kurosu wrote Kumagai's name at the top of the second-string roster.
With proper training, there will be no problem playing next year.
Xun Yidou, an outside hitter by trade, but his setting is also quite decent; he could be considered for training as a more all-around opposite hitter..
After writing down the names of these two, Coach Kurosu picked up Hinata's club application. The large, bold words "I love volleyball" made one unable to help but smile.
From what has been seen so far, Hinata's subjective initiative is somewhat lacking, the extent to which his inherent advantages are utilized actually depends largely on the strength of the setter.
Hinata and Kumagai performed exceptionally well in both offense and acting as decoys during their two matches, but when Coach Kurosu replaced the setter with a much weaker player, Hinata's overall mobility was significantly compromised.
But Coach Kurosu was not actually surprised by this result.
He had already learned from Rishia Heisuke that Hinata's formal contact with volleyball had not been for very long. For players whose overall awareness had not yet reached a certain level, this kind of tactical imbalance was quite common.
Holding Hinata's application form, Coach Kurosu fell into a brief silence.
Without a doubt, he could train this child into an absolutely perfect weapon.
Especially with Miya Atsumu as the setter, the benefits brought would be far more significant than a simple case of one plus one equals two.
After all, Miya Atsumu himself possessed such high proficiency in quick attack coordination that it was difficult to find a second person like him in the entire country.
Even if he were to enter the game directly after a brief period of adaptation to serve as a decoy during critical moments, he would absolutely be able to tear through the block.
But on the other hand.. he was actually hoping for a different kind of development.
In the very end, his pen left the bottom of the first-string list, writing Hinata's name after Xun Yidou.
Don't be impatient.
What they seek is strength pushed to its absolute limit.
Coach Kurosu's hand gently brushed over the list below, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
The day the test results were to be announced arrived, these results would determine what kind of training resources everyone would receive, while simultaneously discouraging those who were not a good fit.
Hinata stood nervously in the queue, his palms sweating.
He wasn't even sure how his performance had actually been yesterday; although he had scored quite a bit, his serves and receives were nothing short of a total mess.
Many of the people who played with him yesterday were much stronger than him, such as Kumagai and the others.
And after arriving in Hyogo, he also gradually became clear on Inarizaki's status in many sporting events, which was the undisputed strongest in the prefecture.
So.. his current wish is also very simple.
It didn't matter if he was in the top three; all that mattered was getting the chance to stay in the volleyball club.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Coach Omimi opened the booklet in his hands. "Next, I will announce the results of the club tryouts."
First string, Rishia Heisuke, Unabara Uta.
Hinata cast an envious gaze toward Rishia, who was already extremely tense beside him.
The first string.. does that mean we'll be able to see Rishia wearing the Inarizaki uniform very soon?
That black one is so handsome!
Miya Atsumu was not surprised by this; since they had been recommended, they were bound to be exactly what was needed at this stage.
One is a primary attacker in training who needs focused development, the other is an indispensable substitute libero; even if their current strength is insufficient, they will still be able to take the court at critical moments.
However, the Inarizaki first string usually consists of about 20 players, even with these two added, there are only 15.
I reckon Coach Kurosu will promote a few more from the second and third years, or.. wait until the second half of the year and see?
“Second string: Kumagai Kuniharu, Xun Yidou, Hinata Shoyo, Kuregawa.."
Rishia Heisuke instinctively looked at Hinata beside him, but found that the other was still looking at him, seemingly lost in thought.
He reached out and poked Hinata, whispering, "You're on the spot, second-stringer."
Hinata felt as if he had just woken from a dream, for a moment, he couldn't quite process what had happened. "Huh?"
Ah?!
Realizing suddenly that he shouldn't have shouted at a time like this, Hinata hurriedly reached out to cover his own mouth.
But it was already too late; everyone's eyes were already on him, making Hinata feel somewhat uneasy.
Coach Omimi let out a hearty laugh before continuing to read the roster.
Hinata's hands were clutching his clothes behind his back, he found it difficult to suppress the grin spreading across his face.
He wasn't cut, he wasn't in the third team, but the second team!
After reading out the entire list, Coach Omimi waved his hand to everyone: "Those in the second and third teams, follow me. You will undergo basic training in Gym No. 3 from now on."
YES!!
Coach Kurosu did not follow them, but instead prepared to head over to the second and third-year group to take another look and scout for usable substitutes, such as a middle blocker capable of blocking or a serving specialist.
"By the way, Shinsuke," he called out to Kita, who had just brought back the two, Rishia and Heisuke.
After handing the freshmen over to Aran, Kita proactively walked over. "Coach."
Kurosu took the initiative to ask Kita, "I'm planning to arrange a few practice matches to help everyone build some chemistry. There are a few opponents that would be quite suitable; I'd like to hear your thoughts."
Kita took over the conversation: "Which schools are they?"
Kurosu gave a few options: "The closest ones are Shirabu or Seito. A bit further away, you could consider Itachiyama or Karasuno, if you go even further.. Shiratorizawa is also a good choice."
Hearing these schools, Kita lowered his head and thought for a while.
If the goal was to dampen their momentum, the best choice would have been Itachiyama, but clearly, they didn't need that.
Overall, Inarizaki is actually not particularly skilled at defensive receiving; they rely primarily on blocking for coordination. Combined with the presence of Miya Atsumu, the setter can also fill the gaps to the greatest extent possible, which is why there have never been any major issues.
However, now that Miya Osamu has moved into the starting lineup, he has strengthened both blocking and receiving to a certain extent, making things quite passable in that regard.
If you think about it from the perspective of experimentation, then Shirabu and Shiratorizawa are both excellent choices.
But when it comes to "coordination," it's impossible to only experiment on defense; it must be all-encompassing.
Therefore, the more moderate and balanced Seito and Karasuno would be more suitable than Shirabu and the others.
And the final point to consider was.. what Inarizaki, or rather, what the coach who suddenly brought up the practice match today, wanted.
In the end, Kita gave the answer: "Karasuno, I suppose."
Powerful blocking and sharp serves—it was, without a doubt, a sufficiently comprehensive whetstone.
Plus.. perhaps they need someone to go and see that ace from Karasuno.
As expected, Coach Kurosu nodded without hesitation. "Then let's go with Karasuno; I'll get in touch with Coach Aran."
Last time they came here, but this time we might need to go there, or rent a gymnasium in Kyoto.
Fortunately, Inarizaki had always provided plenty of funding for clubs, so expeditions were never an issue at all.
"Understood," Kita nodded.
On the other side, Aran, who was still going over the precautions with the newcomers, noticed that Rishia Heisuke was somewhat distracted.
Aran, who guessed what the other was worried about in a single second, took the initiative to say, "Don't worry, the second string side will also start teaching from the basics again, so they'll be able to keep up completely."
"Yes.." Rishia nodded.
Aran reached out and patted Rishia Heisuke on the back. "Listen, we're all in the second string, but the people whose names are called first are actually different."
"Senior?" Rishia Heisuke was still a bit unaccustomed to it.
After all, having spent so much time as an invisible nobody during junior high, being able to speak with a nationally famous senior like this felt like a pipe dream no matter how he thought about it.
Ah, that's not right, he is already on Inarizaki's first string now.
Seeing him in this state, Aran smiled. "The team uniform might take a few more days; for now, just train with the team to get used to things."
"Yes," Rishia nodded.
After a brief silence, he took the initiative to start the conversation: "Um, what Senior meant was.."
"Ah, actually, the list itself is ranked according to the coach's personal level of importance," Aran explained.
“The second string is essentially the reserve for the first string. After a comprehensive evaluation of position, ability, other factors, those whose names are called first are inevitably those the first string will likely need in the near future.”
For example, Kumagai—our current substitute setter is a third-year, so once the current substitute retires, there is a high possibility that he will step up.
Rishia blinked. "Is that really how it works?"
Aran shrugged. "Of course, Coach Kurosu's eye for talent has always been excellent."
For example, before becoming captain, Kita Shinsuke had always been the leader of the second string, so no one was surprised when he became captain.
It felt like.. he truly deserved the position.
—That is exactly how a captain should be.
"Come on, before today's training is over, let's practice serving." Aran pushed Rishia's back as they walked toward the court.
Such a well-behaved and quiet junior was truly heartening; one wondered if he could also join him in complaining about the twins.
But speaking of that..
Aran's gaze swept across the entire gymnasium, then he asked Miya Osamu loudly from over there, "Osamu, where did Atsumu go?"
Miya Osamu said with dead fish eyes, "He went to play a nurturing game."
Aran's head was covered in question marks: "What on earth?"