[47] Grade 11: National Youth Team Intensive Training Camp
On another field inside the stadium.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! This is so awesome!!!"
On the second day, Bokuto, who had successfully teamed up with Imadegawa, stared with bright, piercing eyes and shouted passionately, "Imadegawa! One more shot!!!"
"Wooden Rabbit Lord"
Before Imadegawa could respond, Kiryu, like a dark vine, wrapped himself around Bokuto from behind, his voice trailing off.
"That ball... just now... must have been... given to me by... Imadekawa—"
Kiryu's fingers poked at Bokuto's back again and again, accompanied by his resentful tone.
“Yeah, that’s right—” The other attackers in the team also chimed in.
"Wood Rabbit, don't rush towards the ball every time you see it!"
"The ball two balls before that was given to me by Imadegawa, wasn't it?"
"Lord Wooden Rabbit, please have mercy and let a few balls slip through your fingers for us—"
A chorus of resentful voices surrounded the wooden rabbit.
"Huh? Wasn't this for me?" Wood Rabbit opened his signature owl eyes wide, looking completely bewildered.
He turned to look at Imadegawa: "But Imadegawa clearly glanced at me."
Imadegawa: "..."
Imadegawa sighed and smoothed the ends of his tied-up hair. "Bokuto-san, I was looking at Kiryu-san."
"Click".
—It's as if I can hear the sound of my heart breaking.
Wooden Rabbit instantly turned to stone, its entire body shattering into countless fragments, which were then scattered by the cold wind blowing in from some unknown vent in the stadium.
"However..." Imadegawa looked at the shards scattered on the ground, his tone softening, "That shot by Wataru-san was really beautiful, don't be discouraged."
A miraculous scene unfolded—
The fragments were pieced back together as if drawn by a magnet.
In the blink of an eye, a lively wooden rabbit reappeared in the middle of the field, its signature laugh echoing throughout the venue: "Hey! Hey! Hey!"
"Of course! I'm Owl Valley's ace—"
He puffed out his chest proudly, like a proud owl.
Kiryu clung to him again, this time hanging directly on Bokuto's back: "Then, Ace, you'd better pay close attention to the setter's instructions next time—"
“Hey…” Wood Rabbit’s eyes darted around, and his voice unconsciously lowered, like a big bird that had done something wrong, “…I know.”
......
Meanwhile, on the opposite half of the court, the setter from Ichirin was frantically trying to mediate between Saotome, who was facing off against Tendo.
The setter asked cautiously, "Saotome-kun, is there some misunderstanding about Tendo-kun?"
“No, no.” Saotome said curtly, “I won’t let my emotions get into the game.”
He paused, then added through gritted teeth, "The problem is that he can't even receive the most basic first pass properly."
Tendo jumped up like a cat with its fur standing on end: "Hey, hey, I'm the vice attacker—"
He spread his hands, "Why do I have to receive it? Shouldn't that ball have been handled by the setter?"
Saotome took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down: "Listen," he pointed to the area near the three-meter line, "the speed and landing point of that ball just now, the setter's position was too far back."
He then pointed to the spot where Tian Tong should have been, saying, "And that spot is only reachable by your speed and reach."
Lin and the setter were dejected and bent forward: "I'm so sorry for the positioning mistake..."
Tears streaming down his face, he said, "I'm so sorry, Tendou-kun. It turns out it was because of me that this conflict started..."
Saotome was still explaining, counting on her fingers: "First, it was an opportunity to adjust the attack; second, the ball's spin required a specific angle to receive it securely; third—"
Saotome's voice suddenly rose, "Such a perfect shot, even a Shiba Inu could catch it, right??"
Tendo blinked: "But—"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Saotome scratched her hair in frustration. "Even if you're a middle blocker and can't receive it, just spike it directly. It's better than making a mistake and letting the ball slip by, right?"
Tendo silently took two steps back and muttered to himself, "...He's so scary when he gets angry."
Someone chimed in, "Like a Chihuahua with its fur standing on end..."
Saotome's murderous gaze immediately swept over them.
......
How effective are the top five outside hitters in the country?
During the brief pause, the chubby little bird asked Imadegawa, standing next to him.
"generally."
Ide Sichuan was so tired that he vomited his soul.
At this moment, he especially misses Koizumi Minato, the left-behind child at Tsurumeikan.
Although he only practiced with Koizumi for a few days at the Tsurumeikan, the feeling he got from Koizumi was far greater than that of the group in front of him.
Koizumi is so thoughtful!
It never needs any extra instructions and always appears in the most appropriate place.
The group in front of him each had their own ideas, and if he wasn't careful, the team could easily fall into disarray. Imaichi was running back and forth on the field, trying to direct the team, but he was struggling to keep up and was quite exhausted.
Wood Rabbit, the ace of Owl Valley, is exceptionally strong but prone to emotional fluctuations. It's like holding a time bomb; you have to constantly monitor his state of mind, lest he fall into a "negative mode" if things don't go his way.
Then there's Kiryu, who, like Aoyagi, is introverted and sensitive. Although he's not as outgoing as Bokuto, he still needs careful attention. He easily gets self-blaming when other players don't set the ball well, but fortunately, he can gradually adjust himself as long as the subsequent passes are good, making him a bit less worrisome than Bokuto.
Not to mention the other teammates who were partnering for the first time and had very different personalities... Some were reckless and impulsive, some were hesitant and conservative, some were taciturn, and some were talkative.
After more than an hour of this, Imaichi Chuan felt like he was in charge of an entire noisy kindergarten—he was the overwhelmed, unlucky childcare worker on the verge of a breakdown.
Yesterday, Imadegawa's teamwork with Ushijima from Shiratorizawa, Oshiro from Inarizaki, and the other steady players went relatively smoothly. Most of the time, they were able to keep up with his pace. Although they occasionally had some individual ideas, Imadegawa was able to maintain the overall rhythm, which was much better than today.
Now, I miss the team members of Heming Hall again.
—Indeed, his comfort zone is a team that is completely trusted, with all initiative handed over to him, and who wholeheartedly obey his commands.
Little Chubby tilted his head, looking confused: "But they are the powerful main attacker type that you've been longing for."
Imadegawa said calmly, "No matter how powerful they are, they're not as useful as character cards from the gacha pool."
"I just want a team that can keep up with my pace."
......
The timeout ended, and it was Imadekawa's turn to serve again.
Coach Jinshan crossed his arms and focused intently on the golden-eyed boy on the field.
Imadegawa gently tossed the volleyball up, flicked his wrist, and the ball traced a fleeting arc, flying precisely towards the corner of the opponent's receiving area.
—Another perfectly executed stand-up serve.
His serves are aesthetically pleasing and technically exemplary, consistently performing admirably even when serving as a key server. In past national tournaments, every serve he has delivered has left his opponents scrambling with its unpredictable spin and tricky placement.
After all, Imadegawa is the monster who set an IH scoring record with his skillful serves.
What's even more frightening is that Imadegawa, who specializes in technical serves, has maintained an astonishing record of zero service errors in national competitions and training camps to date, demonstrating an absurdly strong mental fortitude.
Of course, Imadegawa chose to specialize in technique serves largely because of his lack of power. However, he already possesses a precise, compound sidespin serve. If he further improves his stamina and explosiveness, and tries a jump serve...
Just imagining it sends chills down my spine.
Coach Jinshan sighed softly, his emotions a complex mix of feelings, making it hard to tell if there was a hint of regret mixed in.
However, for a setter, the most important thing is physical endurance, while strength is secondary.
Coach Jinshan still hopes to further develop Imadegawa's talent in playmaking and passing, while the crucial serving can be left to others.
Unfortunately, Imadegawa's stamina is really too poor. Yesterday, he teamed up with steady and powerful attackers like Ushijima, and just a few high-intensity matches exhausted his stamina.
Today, under the relentless pressure from the problem-solving duo of Muto, Imadegawa was forced to frequently adjust his passing and cover a wider area than yesterday. His physical exertion was even more intense.
From Coach Jinshan's perspective, before the afternoon's group change, Imaichi's face was already frighteningly pale, as if he was about to faint on the field at any moment.
Even a short rest seemed only enough to barely restore some of his energy.
What's more troublesome is that although Imadegawa's serve is extremely threatening to other players, today he is facing Saotome Chihaya, who is already very familiar with his (QTsa's) serving habits.
—After all, they were teammates. Saotome had already received countless serves from Imadegawa.
Before Imadegawa's serve landed, Saotome suddenly appeared near the landing point and steadily received Imadegawa's serve.
The pink-haired freelancer smiled slightly.
He looked up, his gaze passing over the net, and with a sly, triumphant smile, shouted, "Got it!"
Immediately following, a precise first pass sent the ball straight to the setter.
This shout wasn't directed at his teammates in the halfway line, but rather he shouted it out while looking directly at Imadegawa.
—The tone of his voice was mixed with childlike boasting, like a blatant provocation; or like a little animal that had successfully performed a difficult trick and was eagerly waiting for praise, hoping to squeeze out a bit of recognition or appreciation.
Imaichi paused slightly, glancing sideways at Saotome with a half-smile, before quickly adjusting his position to observe the attacking movements of the other opposing players.
...As expected, his serve advantage was greatly reduced against Chihaya.
Even so, Imadegawa was still able to calmly observe the situation on the field.
A serve cannot score directly; it simply extends the battle from the first shot to subsequent offense and defense.
Since the first one was blocked by the shield, we will use a more complex tactical layout to entangle and wear down the shield, and find a tiny gap in it.
The good news is that, like yesterday's Ushijima Shiro team, today's team has received an epic boost in attack power thanks to the support of Bokuto and Kiryu.
Bokuto's explosive power and Kiryu's skills complement each other perfectly. With the addition of these two strong attackers, the experience of going all out is completely different from when Imadegawa led a defensive team.
Imadegawa's high-level attacks allowed him to speed up the pace of the game and launch strong attacks against the opposing team, which consisted of Saotome, Tendo, and the other players.
The quick attack organized by the opposing team's setter was supported by Imadegawa's libero. Imadegawa chased after the volleyball that was not passed accurately, and jumped lightly near the three-meter line to intercept the volleyball that was heading straight for the net.
Tendou Kaku, who was best able to understand Imadekawa's intentions, was currently trapped in the back row of the opposite half of the field, unable to reach him.
Their team's frontcourt blocking thus showed a brief weakness—they were lacking in both height and coordination, so they were not a threat.
Imadegawa's gaze silently fell on Kiryu once again, his eyes quick and light, like a bird skimming the surface of water, yet carrying an undeniable signal.
Kiryu felt the gaze of the golden-eyed setter lightly brushing past his fingertips.
He understood immediately, and almost instinctively began his running start, his feet tapping in rhythm, before he leaped into the air—
"Smack!"
A crisp, clean sound of the ball being struck.
Instead of resorting to brute force, he deftly flicked his wrist, aiming at the outstretched fingertips of the front-row blocker, and delivered a clean and beautiful strike that went out of bounds.
The ball flew out of bounds, and the score was valid.
“This kid—” Coach Jinshan on the sidelines almost blurted out, his lips curving upwards uncontrollably, his tone a mixture of admiration and the satisfaction of “just as I expected,” “…just as I expected.”
————————
Giving my little ones a good pat on the back—(office worker lounging around) Comments: I'll be home tonight—if I work late, I'll save them up and go home together tomorrow—
I haven't read the manga, but I have to support the characters who haven't appeared in the anime, so I've been spending some time studying various manga screenshots and analyses lately (I'm too busy working to catch up on the manga anymore) (bowing deeply). Kasaka is a completely unfamiliar school to me, as is Kiryu. After repeatedly studying Kiryu's personality, I wrote a short piece about how the kids get along lol. I think this description is pretty good, hehe. Kiryu may be sensitive, but he's also a super-qualified ace!!!
After watching the clip analysis, I feel that it would be better to let Fukutani and Kazaka fight first (both can grow). So, the Spring High School vs. Kazaka match will be postponed for now. Tomi or other schools might be prioritized, but it depends on inspiration (if there is a lot of inspiration, it might change its mind). I am really looking forward to the upcoming Fukutani vs. Kazaka match in the anime.
The scene with Ice Cream Cone and Chihiro was also a random inspiration. I hesitated for a long time about whether to include it, but I'm a product of inspiration, and the fact that I could connect this scene to them means they actually did it in that world, so I happily included it anyway. However, Chihiro and Ice Cream Cone's objection stems from being somewhat familiar with each other but lacking chemistry. I didn't question Ichirin's role as the second setter because it wasn't his turn yet (Ice Cream Cone first, then the second setter—neither of them can escape).
However, in this chapter, Little Crane longs to return to Crane's Cry Pavilion even more—
Kotsuru: Homesick JPG (Koizumi, far away in a foreign land, would never imagine that our Kotsuru is deeply missing him ww)
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