Everyone stared in shock at Yū Nishinoya, who came running in.
"Height up to 2 meters!"
"That's basically the top height in the national competition, right?!"
The reason everyone reacted this way was because in the last Inter-High competition, there had been such a player.
Hakuba Gao, a second-year at Kamomedai High, led his team to victory in the Inter-High with his towering 203cm frame!
And now, what no one expected—there was such a player right here in Miyagi Prefecture!
"How is it? Pretty awesome, right?" Nishinoya asked excitedly.
Everyone was extremely curious.
After all, even seeing someone that tall on the street would draw attention.
Let alone going up against him on the court?
"I heard he's a first-year from Kakugawa, and only started playing volleyball after entering high school!"
"But we haven't seen any footage of their matches yet, so we have no idea what this guy is actually capable of!"
"He started volleyball in high school…"
Shōyō Hinata muttered off to the side:
"Isn't that just like Lev?"
"Yeah!" Daichi Sawamura chimed in.
"The difference is, we don't know this guy's talent or how far he's progressed in that short time."
"Don't worry about it so much!"
Seeing the tension rising in the room, Kōshi Sugawara spoke up reassuringly:
"Anyway, there's no guarantee we'll even face Kakugawa in the tournament!"
"Let some other team worry about him!"
But what no one expected was…
Just a few weeks later, Sugawara's words would come true!!
———
"Right wing!!"
Kei Tsukishima shouted loudly!
He leapt up together with Tobio Kageyama and Hisashi Kinoshita!
Jump and block!
Bang!
On the opposite side of the net, Akira launched a powerful spike!!
Just as he was about to break through the block, Tsukishima suddenly adjusted his defensive posture!!
Smack!
The ball slammed directly into his arm!!
Blocked!!
"It's fine!"
Akira gave a nod. He honestly hadn't expected that Tsukishima could stop that spike just now.
Mainly, Tsukishima had made huge progress in his blocking recently.
Thanks to the knowledge and techniques passed on from Kōtarō Bokuto, Tetsurō Kuroo, and others, he had kept practicing and experimenting during training matches.
It was a gradual accumulation process.
Plus, Akira had been constantly by his side, helping him fix his form and correct bad habits, keeping him from straying off course.
Everyone could clearly feel Tsukishima's growth as a blocker!
"Tch…"
Tsukishima muttered a little helplessly:
"You weren't even using your full strength."
"Haha…"
Akira just laughed softly at that comment.
Clearly, Tsukishima still wasn't satisfied with his current level!
That was a good thing.
Because once someone becomes content with their current self, they stop improving.
If Tsukishima could think that way, it meant he was still hungry to grow!
Crunch!
Just as Karasuno's players were in the middle of an intense intra-squad training match in the gym…
The doors burst open!
"It's out!!"
Ittetsu Takeda ran in, panting for breath.
"The schedule for the Miyagi Prefecture Spring High Qualifiers was announced today!!"
"What?!"
Everyone immediately stopped the training and rushed over to Takeda.
The Spring Tournament Qualifiers!
Although there was still more than half a month to go, no one expected the matchups to be announced so early!
"We're matched up against…"
Keishin Ukai examined the bracket in his hand carefully.
Sixteen teams had made it in, so the competition had been divided into four groups.
And in Karasuno's group, their first opponent—Group's opening match—was against Kakugawa, who had advanced from the preliminaries!!
"Now we really do have to start studying that two-meter-tall opponent!"
At the same time, across Miyagi Prefecture, all the participating schools—big and small—had received the bracket.
But this year's Spring High Qualifiers were a bleak one for many teams.
In previous years, every team had to be careful not to face Shiratorizawa too early.
Because in recent years, Shiratorizawa had dominated Miyagi with unshakable strength.
Any team that went up against them, strong or weak, met the same fate:
Defeat.
No one could withstand Wakatoshi Ushijima's unstoppable spikes.
And now, this year, there was yet another seemingly invincible team—
Karasuno!
In the last prefectural qualifier, Karasuno had crushed Shiratorizawa with a stunning 3-0 win and advanced to nationals!
And at nationals, they had defeated team after powerhouse team and claimed the championship!
Everyone had seen their incredible performance.
They were the reigning national champions. No school could walk into a match against Karasuno feeling confident.
Even in smaller matchups.
So when this year's schedule was released, many of the participating schools let out a collective sigh.
The bracket had clearly been divided into two "death zones."
In other words, if a team couldn't overcome either Karasuno or Shiratorizawa, they had no chance of reaching the final round.
Let alone winning the prefecture and becoming Miyagi's representative.
"Our first opponent…"
"It's Karasuno?!"
At Kakugawa's gym, everyone who saw the schedule couldn't help but exclaim.
Their third-years had retired after the Inter-High.
Now, the team was led by second-year setter and captain Yuzuru Komaki.
"Unbelievable… We just made it to the second round of qualifiers, and now we might already be done for?"
Second-year wing spiker Isao Inagaki said weakly:
"Talk about unlucky…"
"National champion team? That strong?"
A tall figure spoke up behind him.
Among the Kakugawa players, this person stood out like a giant among chickens.
The others barely reached his chest.
"Hey!"
Inagaki turned around and said even more wearily:
"Hyakuzawa! You just started volleyball. You probably don't even get it yet!!"
"That's the national champions! The strongest team in the entire country—how could you not call them powerful?!"
Yūdai Hyakuzawa scratched his head, looking confused.
"Is that so…"
"But… I don't think anyone on their team is taller than me?"
"Uh…"
Everyone else was momentarily speechless.
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1st Bonus Chapter - 400 Power Stones
2nd Bonus Chapter - 800 Power Stones
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