Chapter 14: Both Sides Have Found the Opponent's Weaknesses
"Hoshino!"
"Yes, captain!"
Hoshino Masaru had suddenly lost the strong presence of a protector on the court, and his voice had become weary.
"I know you like to put all your energy into the matches."
"I heard what you said to Mori."
Ichise Guren spoke seriously to Hoshino Masaru, then reached out and patted his shoulder.
"From now on, after the opponents get used to our rhythm, the ground defense task will be up to you."
"Understood, leave it to me."
While Hoshino Masaru still had that weary look, his gaze and tone were unwavering.
"Suzuki! Kawashima!"
"Yes!"
The other two first-year players, who had been trained to focus on receiving and reaction speed, responded the same way as Mori.
Upon hearing their names called by Ichise Guren, they immediately stood at attention, like soldiers in training.
They were quite anxious, as they hadn't done anything like receive the opponents' serves or set up assists like Mori.
They had even become a tactical breakthrough point for the other side, to the point where they wondered if they were even suited for this sport.
But Ichise Guren had no intention of blaming them.
"Your defense and receives have been very diligent, I've seen it!"
"You've done great!"
The two younger players glanced at each other, then quickly looked away, lowering their heads.
"B-but..."
Before they could finish, Ichise Guren cut them off.
"What? Do you feel you're still not good enough?"
"Don't be silly, the opponents are a national candidate, a powerhouse middle school in Miyagi."
"Being able to touch the ball and limit its trajectory is already impressive!"
"Did you really think you could surpass us after just three months of training?"
"No, no, we would never think we could surpass the senpai after just three months of training..."
"We just felt like we were holding the team back."
"Yeah, and my level is about the same as Suzuki's. Before, it was Hoshino-senpai covering for me. When it's my turn to rotate to the front row, I might become a breach in the team's defense."
Their voices got smaller and smaller as they spoke.
"What are you two talking about?"
Before Ichise Guren could speak, Hinata Shoyo stepped forward.
He looked at them seriously and said, "Without you guys, we might not have even been able to enter this match."
"When I found out there were three first-years who signed up, I was so excited I could've cried."
"In that moment, you were our saviors! Do you know what that means?"
"There's no 'holding the team back.' Aren't we still in the lead right now?"
"If you really feel your performance isn't good enough, then just put in more effort and focus in the upcoming matches."
"Right?"
Hinata tilted his head, looking thoroughly confused.
Satisfied with Hinata's persuasion, Ichise Guren also stepped forward.
"Hinata's right, you guys haven't done anything wrong, and you've performed excellently. So there's no need for us to say any more."
"But you."
"Hinata."
Ichise Guren turned his gaze to Hinata Shoyo.
"Huh? What about me?"
Hinata pointed at himself, puzzled.
"You're our secret weapon, you know."
"It's time for you to shine."
"Your lateral movement will definitely draw one person's attention. If they don't follow you, Mori will give you a quick attack. You just need to face the open space and spike for the point."
"And if they do send one person to follow you, the two of us will be unstoppable for the opponents."
Ichise Guren outlined Hinata's tactical role in the current match.
Hinata was overjoyed, putting his hands on his hips and laughing heartily.
"Wow, that's amazing! I'm the secret weapon, haha!"
After laughing for a bit, he then scratched his head, looking a bit confused as he asked Ichise Guren.
"But Ichise, why were you slacking off earlier?"
"!?"
Ichise Guren turned to look at Hinata, somewhat surprised.
"So you noticed that, huh."
"But how did you figure that out?"
Ichise Guren looked at Hinata with intense curiosity.
Suddenly being stared at so seriously by Ichise Guren, Hinata felt like he was being targeted by something.
Even though he knew his teammates wouldn't do anything to him, that wild, instinctive feeling was still quite unsettling.
He quickly waved his hands in the air and said, "Well, it's just that... even though you put a lot of effort into your jumps, serves, and spikes, your presence on the court seemed to drop a lot after serving."
"It's almost like you were deliberately trying to lower your own performance."
Ichise Guren didn't expect that the inexperienced Hinata Shoyo would be the one to notice his deliberate attempts to reduce his own involvement.
He had thought Hoshino Masaru, with his ample experience in big matches, would be the first to pick up on it. But Hinata's wild intuition proved effective even here.
Ichise Guren was reducing his own plays in order to give his teammates more opportunities to train. If he simply relied on himself to fight, defeating Kitagawa Daiichi would be no problem.
Because Kageyama Tobio's current setting ability was still limited - he either had to limit the ball speed to accommodate his teammates, or he would go all out without considering their intentions, turning them into his puppets.
But his single-pass setting technique was indeed worthy of the genius title, as he could use his setting to dictate how his teammates would attack.
He could use his setting to control his teammates' attack choices, and the timing and speed of his sets to control whether they went for a cross-shot or a straight shot.
However, if Kageyama's intentions conflicted with his spikers', mistakes were bound to happen.
'I've figured out a few of his sets now - if the ball is tilted to the right, he wants them to hit cross-court, and if it's tilted left, he wants them to hit straight.'
'Poor teammates, having to deal with this dictator-like approach.'
'But thank the dictator, because if he can truly integrate these players, they'll be quite difficult to beat.'
"Didn't I tell you, this is an opportunity for you all to train?"
"We're aiming for the national tournament, so seize every chance in these matches to experience, learn, and grow."
Ichise Guren ruffled Hinata's fluffy hair.
He gathered all the players together, scanning their eyes filled with excitement and fighting spirit, then smiled.
"Alright, alright, alright."
"Let's shout it together once!"
"You all know what we're going to say."
Ichise Guren extended his hand, waiting for everyone to put their hands in.
Without hesitation, Hyakuzawa Yudai quickly followed Ichise Guren's lead, placing his hand in.
Next was the excited Hinata Shoyo.
"Oh, here we go, here we go! I've been looking forward to this for so long!"
"We're finally going to do it in a real match!!!"
Hoshino Masaru calmly teased.
"You're still just a kid, Shoyo, just pumping yourself up."
"This gesture doesn't look that cool to others, you know."
But even as he teased, Hoshino Masaru put his hand in as well.
Then the three first-year players joined in.
Ichise Guren took a deep breath, then shouted loudly.
"Yukigaoka!"
After a brief pause, all of Yukigaoka shouted with all their might.
"Conquer the Nationals!"
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