[79] Grade 11: Spring National High School Competition
The members of the Fukutani volleyball team stood on the edge of the spacious court at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, looking up at the familiar yet completely different venue.
The air was filled with the unique, enthusiastic atmosphere of the final day, a blend of the noise of passersby and the orderly cheers of the support groups.
Kotaro Bokuto suddenly spread his arms wide, his voice booming, almost echoing: "The finals—!!!"
Haruki Omi stood with his hands on his hips, his gaze sweeping over the growing crowd in the stands, and said with emotion, "I've been to the Tokyo Gymnasium so many times... but this is the first time that we, representing the school, have truly stood on this final stage."
While stretching, Konoha Akiki jokingly replied, "Didn't you come here for a competition before? You're acting like this is your first time here."
Xiao Jian shook his head: "This is different..."
He paused, trying to find the right word.
Mutu immediately interrupted, shouting even louder and more excitedly, "This is the finals!!!"
"—It's still the most important Spring High School Finals! The air even smells different now!"
"Yes!!!" Xiao Jian nodded vigorously. "This is the Spring High School Finals! The highest stage in the country!"
"We were able to come here in first grade, and we will definitely be able to come again in the future! No, we want to come many more times!"
“Speaking of which,” Washio glanced at the opposing team warming up, “they seem to have more first-year students than us, don’t they?”
Indeed, among the twelve volleyball players on the roster, Fukutani's team has five first-year students: Kotaro Bokuto (outside hitter), Tatsuo Washio (middle blocker), Yamato Saruhisa (outside hitter), Akiki Konoha (outside hitter), and Haruki Omi (libero).
This ratio is quite remarkable in a normal high school volleyball team—after all, most teams are still centered around second and third-year students, while first-year students are often still accumulating experience.
On the other side, there were even more first-year students from Tsurumeikan. In addition to the familiar first-year core members such as Imadegawa Yuzuru, Aoyagi Mio, Saotome Chihaya, Koizumi Minato, and Akiyama Kenya, there were also two or three other equally young first-year faces sitting on the bench.
"When Tsurumeikan was in IH, there weren't this many first-year students, were there?" Washio said thoughtfully. "It's only been half a year, and they've almost completely changed the students... How did they manage to do that?"
"Could it be that a few geniuses suddenly emerged in the first year, whose strength surpassed that of the seniors, so they were promoted by the supervisor?" Xiao Jian leaned over and guessed.
“Not only that,” someone chimed in, “I heard they’ve replaced several of their second and third-year key players; it’s practically like they’ve rebuilt the entire team.”
"Then I really don't understand..."
This is a common question among almost all schools that have played against Hemingguan since the start of the Spring High School Tournament—why are they able to replace most of their twelve-person starting team in just a few months, yet still maintain such terrifying fighting power?
“I heard from a rumor…” Sarutobi, who had been silent all along, suddenly lowered his voice, drawing everyone closer. “Their school has a tradition of ‘hellish training camps.’ Before every major competition, they organize all members to participate. The training intensity is simply outrageous. Many veteran team members can’t keep up and their performance declines, so they are directly eliminated.”
"Really?" ×N
The crowd immediately erupted in discussion, each offering their own opinion.
Wooden Rabbit scratched the back of its head, its round eyes filled with confusion.
...Is that so? Imadegawa never mentioned it.
"I can't guarantee it's true—" Yuan Yi quickly waved his hand at the crowd that had gathered around him, "I just saw some rumors on the forum before, and I was just saying it casually!"
Forums are always a mixed bag, with both true and false information, so no one dares to believe everything.
"If that's really the case, isn't that terrifying? If you're not strong enough, you'll be replaced directly?" Washio frowned, his tone tinged with reluctance.
“But didn’t we also take the places of some of our predecessors to stand here?” Xiao Jian retorted. “That’s how competitive sports are, survival of the fittest.”
“That’s different,” Washio retorted immediately. “We joined because some of our seniors had to leave the club to prepare for their entrance exams.”
At this point, Washio seemed to suddenly remember something and clapped his hands: "That's right, maybe the third-year students at Tsurumeikan are also doing this because they're about to graduate..."
“Impossible,” Sarutobi interrupted him. “When they were in IH, there were only three or four third-year students left. Now, in Spring High, there are only two third-year regulars.”
He paused, then added, "Moreover, these two third-year students are also new faces, and since their major overhaul is basically made up of second-year and first-year students, this claim is simply unfounded."
“So…” Washio’s voice lowered, “they don’t care about grade at all, they only care about strength.”
Konoha paused in her stretching, gently lowered her arms, and said seriously, "To be precise, it only recognizes 'ready-to-fight' ability. I looked it up before; the coach of Tsurumeikan advocates a 'cyclical strengthening' team-building philosophy—not relying on geniuses, but ensuring the overall strength of the team by constantly introducing new members and maintaining internal competition."
"...'Not relying on genius' or anything like that."
Everyone revealed the same beady eyes that their teammate (specifically, Mokuto) often showed.
"That's ridiculous..."
Putting aside the terrifying talent of Yuzuru Imadegawa, a first-year student who can deliver professional-level passes, the other first-year students at Tsurumeikan alone are enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Saotome Chihaya, this free agent who is less than 1.6 meters tall, has completely redefined the perception that "short people can also hold up a sky" on the national stage.
Looking at all the participating teams, no starting player was shorter than him—even many liberos from the neighboring women's volleyball team were taller than him.
Yet this player, whose height broke the national minimum for men's volleyball liberos, won the "Best Libero" award the first time he stepped onto the national stage.
His exceptional ball-catching skills and wide-ranging defensive range have been repeatedly studied by coaching staff from various schools, and the videotapes have been worn out from being watched so many times.
Aoyagi Mio, who seemed unremarkable during the IH period, has now shown amazing growth.
Although his selection for the national youth team training camp sparked some controversy, he silenced all doubts with his performance at this spring's high school basketball tournament.
Besides the almost unspoken understanding and perfect passing with Imadegawa that required virtually no eye contact, he also displayed a terrifying "sensory blocking" technique.
—It wasn't his height that gave him an advantage, but rather his accurate prediction of the offensive route and precise timing that allowed him to repeatedly score crucial points for Heming Hall.
Among the newcomers who have made their mark at this year's Tsurumeikan Spring High School, there are two monsters: Koizumi Minato and Akiyama Kenya.
Koizumi Minato's existence was enough to make all the school supervisors who had carefully studied the Tsurumeikan match videos green with envy.
This guy is an all-around warrior – his blocking judgment is accurate, his spiking technique is varied, his first pass is as steady as a mountain, and he can even occasionally fill in as a second passer to create exquisite plays.
Although in the Crane Cry Hall team, which is full of hidden talents, he may not be the best in any one aspect, such a well-rounded ability would definitely make him a top-tier core player in any other school, and he would be treated as a treasure and given special attention.
As for Kenya Akiyama—that's "unreasonable" in a completely different sense. How could someone grow to be so tall in first grade, like they've been given hormones?
His amazing height and wingspan, combined with his impressive jumping ability, made him a formidable barrier at the net that left many attackers in despair.
Many of the opponents who had their spikes blocked by Akiyama's sheer height during matches were tossing and turning in bed late at night, biting their blankets.
As soon as I close my eyes, the shadow of those arms, which seemed to cover the sky and ruthlessly block out all the lines, will uncontrollably and repeatedly appear in my mind.
"So," Xiaojian concluded, "they don't lack geniuses at Tsurumeikan; they have so many that they can switch them around all the time. No wonder their coach doesn't seem to value the term 'genius' much!"
These words plunged the members of Xiaogu into a brief silence.
While other schools rejoice at the discovery of a genius and treasure them like a precious gem, the geniuses at Heming Hall seem to emerge one after another, meticulously crafted standardized products on a modern assembly line.
The sheer number and frequency of their work have made the word "genius" seem somewhat ordinary and commonplace to them.
So, where did they come from and what methods did they use to discover and gather so many exceptionally talented players?
Could it be that Crane Cry Pavilion truly possesses some unknown "spring of genius" that can continuously gush forth the waters of talent?
After all, Tsurumeikan is widely known in Kyoto, and even has a somewhat legendary reputation—'the cradle of geniuses'.
The name itself has shrouded the subject in mystery, fueling various speculations.
Or perhaps, Crane Cry Pavilion possesses a selection and training system that far surpasses the comprehension of ordinary people.
Like panning for gold in the sand, we first select hidden talents, and then use unique training methods to polish ordinary players into diamonds.
Either possibility is terrifying enough.
"Compared to them..." Washio said with a hint of helplessness, gazing at the group of dazzling first-year students at Tsurumeikan in the distance, "Among our first-years, the only one who can truly stand out and be compared to them is probably Bokuto..."
His voice gradually lowered, and he didn't say the last half of his sentence.
As for comparing himself and Sarutobi to those "monsters" from Tsurumyoukan...
Let's forget about it.
Washio scratched his head; he was somewhat aware of the gap between himself and a genius.
"What? Are you talking about me?" Wood Rabbit barked excitedly as she approached, her eyes flashing brightly.
He hadn't been interested in their discussion about Tsurumeikan, so he went to warm up. He had just returned when Washio mentioned his name.
“It’s nothing—” Washio replied casually, “I was just praising how amazing you are.”
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Of course!!!" Wood Rabbit puffed out his chest instantly, as proud as a peacock spreading its tail feathers. "I'm the strongest! Next, I'm going to crush the opponent!"
"Great ambition!!!" Xiao Jian patted Mu Tu's arm encouragingly.
As for why I didn't pat your shoulder...
Don't have too high hopes for a free agent who's only a little over 1.6 meters tall.
Asking Xiao Jian to pat the shoulder of a teammate who is 20 centimeters taller than him is asking too much of Xiao Jian.
If they actually filmed it, the pose would be way too contorted.
"Then I'll leave it to you, our ace player." The captain of the third-year volleyball team, who happened to be passing by during warm-up, smiled and patted Mokuto's shoulder forcefully.
He was tall and imposing, unlike the short, junior libero in the team who always had to stand on tiptoe to pat his arm when encouraging Muto.
Yes, Tsurumeikan has their brilliant first-year captain, Imadegawa Yuzuru, while Fubuki has his own dazzling first-year ace—Bokuto Kotaro.
Despite being only a first-year student, Muto's strength has already surpassed that of many second- and third-year students.
The Fukutani volleyball team, which also believes in the principle of "strength above all else," entrusted him with the responsibility of being their ace without hesitation.
This trust stems from MuTu's pure and dazzling talent and indomitable fighting spirit.
"Yes!!!" Wood Rabbit clenched his fist and shouted in response.
Seeing the bright, confident smile that bloomed on Bokuto's face after being encouraged by the captain, Washio and Konoha exchanged a smile, a mixture of helplessness, pride, and relief.
Perhaps, Furuya doesn't need to have as many dazzling geniuses as Tsurumeikan.
Having one trump card that's always burning might be enough.
————————!!————————
(Sucks the little ones' paws) Goodnight—I'll leave the comments for later, I'm too busy.
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