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[Start of the chapter]
"What the hell is with this guy? Damn it!"
"Damn it, why was he standing so close to Shimizu-senpai?!"
Tanaka and Nishinoya stood there stiffly, staring fixedly at Hank like two statues. Just looking at them made people uncomfortable.
"That's enough, you two."
"This is Hank, Aoba Johsai's ace—the guy who played against us not long ago."
"Don't scare our guest."
Daichi walked over, smacked both Nishinoya and Tanaka on the head, then dragged them off to the side so they wouldn't interfere with practice. The Spring High preliminaries were coming up soon. This was not the time to fool around.
"So this guy came too?!"
"!!!"
Hinata and Kageyama also noticed Hank standing at the entrance, and flames seemed to flare up in their eyes. But before they could rush over to challenge him, Sugawara stopped them.
Hank was Aoba Johsai's ace, after all. The fact that he had agreed to come practice with them was already generous enough on his part. And yet, the moment he arrived at Karasuno's club, four people were already openly hostile toward him.
What was he supposed to think of that?
"Yo, so you're the guy Takeda-sensei went through all that trouble to bring here?"
The blond, slicked-back-haired Keishin Ukai nodded when he saw Hank arrive, signaling that he could go change into practice gear and start training. Next, he would be joining Karasuno's players for practice.
As Karasuno's coach, Ukai could quickly tell how outstanding Hank's talent was. He wanted to see whether Hank's addition really was enough to turn Aoba Johsai into the strongest generation in its history.
Thinking of that, Ukai could hardly wait to see Hank's real performance. If nothing unexpected happened, Hank should be able to surprise him.
After all, Ukai also wanted to see just how extraordinary Hank's talent really was.
"Nice to meet you. Please take care of me."
Hank gave Ukai a slight bow, then moved to the side and began preparing for practice. He wasn't about to stop getting ready just because Karasuno's players were openly hostile toward him.
While Hank was changing, Ukai began arranging the session. For him, the biggest issue wasn't just getting Hank to fit into Karasuno's lineup for practice. Ideally, Karasuno's players would also be able to learn something from him.
That was the real point of this training session. Otherwise, even if Hank came to help with practice, it wouldn't benefit Karasuno at all.
"In that case, we'll start with a rotating setting-and-hitting drill. Nishinoya, go to the other side of the net and handle receives."
"Kageyama, I'll leave the setting to you."
After thinking it over briefly, Ukai decided to focus first on training the wing spikers' hitting. As long as he got a good look at their spiking, it would be easier to adjust the rest of practice to each player afterward.
"Got it."
After answering, Kageyama took his place at the net. He was ready. The rest of Karasuno's club members also straightened up and prepared for practice. Since Ukai had spoken, they had no choice but to get serious.
Next came the Spring High preliminaries. If they didn't want to repeat what happened against Aoba Johsai, then they had to throw themselves fully into training.
"Let me see it. Just how many secrets are you hiding?"
Ukai glanced at Hank, who had already changed into practice clothes, and anticipation rose in his heart. He truly wanted to see what Hank's talent looked like in concrete terms.
Bang!
Once everyone in the club had focused their attention on Hank, Kageyama sent the ball out of his hands. Very soon, it drifted above the net and floated toward Hank's position.
"Come on! I'm definitely going to receive every ball you hit!"
"Damn it, since you stole Shimizu-senpai away, I'm going to make you pay for it!"
Standing alone on the other side of the net, Nishinoya was on the verge of collapse. The scene between Hank and Kiyoko earlier had practically been a death sentence for him. As far as he could tell, whatever chance he thought he had was basically gone.
Anyone with eyes could see that Kiyoko seemed to have a favorable impression of Hank.
And as for Hank, the guy who had stolen away his goddess, Nishinoya was determined to completely figure out how to deal with his serves, then crush him in an official match.
Screech—
With a sharp scraping sound, Hank, already stationed at the net, exploded upward. Then he swung his arm and hammered a power spike straight at Nishinoya. With a tearing rush of wind, the heavy ball slammed directly into Nishinoya's hands.
Nishinoya did manage to get the ball up, but he couldn't control the force at all, and it ricocheted straight back over to the other side of the court.
(End of Chapter)
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