The Birth of A Volleyball Legend

Chapter 213 Training Camp (III)

"So, you are Kobayashi-kun from Tsunemori High," a boy slightly shorter than Yuki suddenly greeted him. The boy extended his hand, introducing himself: "I am Yuuji Tanaka, an opposite hitter from Kodokan High. We will be partners for the rest of the day, so

yoroshiku onegaishimasu

."

Yuki blinked for a moment before accepting the handshake politely. "

Yoroshiku onegaishimasu

, Tanaka-san."

Inwardly, however, he was pleased with his partner. He knew what was coming next, and honestly, Tanaka was probably one of the best options for him.

-A little flashback-

"A test?" all the players asked in unison.

"Yes, a test," Sato nodded. "Although I have the necessary data about all of you, it would be better for me to judge directly by watching you play. This will allow me to see more clearly your strengths, weaknesses, and playing styles. Trust me, this will be important in the future."

Everyone nodded, accepting the reasoning. "So, how will we conduct the test?" Haruo—bless him and his talkative personality—asked the question everyone had in mind.

To that, Sato just grinned widely and said, "Why, of course, it will be the traditional 2v2 game!"

-End of the flashback-

Yes, it was another 2v2 game. Honestly, Yuki didn't know if this was standard protocol, but every time he had met a new coach, they all used the same method to test players' abilities. Akira did this in the beginning, Kawaki also followed suit when he was about to join the Tokyo Thunder, and now Sato was the third one. Only Sekine didn't do that, which Yuki was grateful for since 2v2 games took a very long time.

"Well, it's simple. That means they will get a chance to play more, and just to inform you, the referee for today is Hasebe-kun, so you can connect the dots."

Oh, yes, that piece of information was enough to make all the players restless. The more games they won, the more they would shine, increasing their chances of impressing Hasebe and maybe, if luck was on their side, getting recruited to the national team for the World Cup next year.

"Also, to make this interesting, the top two teams will receive a special prize at the end of the day, and the bottom four teams will have to clean everything up after the day is over for the rest of the week. Any more questions?" he grinned.

If the earlier information about Hasebe supervising the games made everyone excited, this time, all the players looked at the old man in horror. After all, they all knew the training would be hard, so adding another task at the end of the day seemed overwhelming. However, no one complained, believing they would never find themselves among the bottom four teams.

"Good! Now, to make it fair, I have ten pieces of paper with different numbers on them. The teams that draw numbers one and two will play first, and the losers will be replaced by the teams with numbers three, four, and so on. Do you understand?!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Good! Now, come up here and pick your number!"

Without being asked twice, all the players rushed toward the old man immediately. While everyone wanted the lowest possible number so they could play as soon as possible, Yuki inwardly hoped that Tanaka would draw a high number like 7 or 8. That way, they could observe the abilities of others without breaking a sweat.

Unfortunately, it seemed Tanaka's luck was pretty good that day. After drawing his number, he came over to Yuki, and together they opened the piece of paper.

'3'

"So, we won't have to wait too long, huh? Sweet!" Tanaka grinned, unaware of Yuki's thoughts. "Well, good! That means we'll have more chances to impress Hasebe-sensei quickly!"

Yuki could only chuckle wryly at his new friend's naive optimism. Still, as this was what they had, and they couldn't change it, he had to adapt. Fortunately, they wouldn't play first, allowing him to still observe the two teams that would compete next.

"So, who got the lucky numbers one and two?" Sato asked.

To Yuki's surprise, Riku suddenly stepped forward with a big grin on his face, followed by a boy slightly taller than the blonde as he announced, "We got number 2, Sensei!"