The Hank before his eyes was the perfect example. Barring anything unexpected, Hank would suppress their club for three years, perhaps even longer. As long as they remained in Miyagi Prefecture, there was no changing that.
Although Ushijima did not want to admit it at all, the truth was right in front of him now. He had no choice but to accept it.
"Great! We finally made it to the final!"
When Oikawa saw the referee award the final point, he could not help shouting on the spot. They had successfully advanced to the final of the Spring High preliminaries. Next came their battle against Miyagi Prefecture's absolute ruler, Shiratorizawa.
As long as they could defeat Shiratorizawa, they would directly secure a ticket to Spring High. To Oikawa, this was something he had dreamed of.
And now, it was already within reach. With Hank's help, he could finally step onto a greater stage and realize his dream.
He could absolutely make that dream come true now, as long as Hank was with him.
"Hank-chan!"
In the end, Oikawa could not hold back and directly hugged Hank. His heart was filled with excitement. The road they had taken to get here had not been easy.
Seeing this, Hank patted his back, signaling for him not to get too worked up. But no matter what Hank did, he could not calm Oikawa down. Oikawa's eyes were filled with excitement. If they could actually win the Spring High ticket next, Oikawa almost wanted to treat Hank like a lifelong brother.
Hank only smiled at that and did not say much. After all, Aoba Johsai had only just reached the threshold of Spring High in the truest sense. The Shiratorizawa they would face next did not simply possess the strength of the teams they had fought before. Wakatoshi Ushijima was a genuine super opposite hitter.
The next match would not be as easy as the previous three. But right now, this was the time to celebrate.
"Ding-dong! Detected that the host has successfully advanced to the Spring High preliminaries final. Obtained Left-Handed Spike. When spiking with the left hand, the host can exert 150% power!"
"Ding-dong! Detected that the host has played an exhilarating match against Karasuno. Spike +5, serve +4, ball control +4!"
As the system notifications fell silent, a large amount of information appeared out of nowhere in Hank's mind. At this point, he had successfully obtained all the information regarding the Left-Handed Spike. Now, he could use both his left and right hands to spike.
And as long as he used his left hand to spike from now on, the power of his spike would reach 150% of its original strength.
That might not sound especially shocking, but only Hank knew how absurd that increase truly was. To put it simply, if he encountered Date Tech again in the next match, he might even be able to blast through their block directly with a left-handed spike.
His physical ability was already there. In the future, every single one of his spikes would possess tremendous power.
Before stepping onto a world-class stage, teamwork and personal volleyball technique could be set aside for the time being. Just relying on his raw physical ability and talent alone was already enough to leave many teams far behind.
And this was exactly why Shiratorizawa's head coach had always focused on players who were both tall and physically gifted.
Because in competitive sports, as long as someone was tall and powerful, they naturally possessed an advantage. Right now, Hank was constantly advancing in that direction. As for mastering volleyball skills in the future, he could just leave all of that to the system.
"I can't believe we managed to reach the Spring High preliminaries final right after entering our first year!"
"We're seriously lucky."
Kunimi and Kindaichi's faces were filled with joy as well. Speaking of it, they had actually joined Aoba Johsai's club on the same day as Hank. Although they had previously been at Kitagawa Daiichi and had decent physical talent, if one judged them by top-tier potential, they could only be considered slightly above average.
They absolutely could not be developed as the core of the attack.
But now, because they were on the same team as Hank, they had ultimately reached the final of the Spring High preliminaries. It was practically unbelievable. Many people would not believe it even if they said it out loud.
"That's how competition is. Winners move forward. Losers are left behind."
Hank looked at the Aoba Johsai members hugging each other in celebration. When he turned to look at Karasuno, their side was already filled with dejection. According to the original storyline, Karasuno would still lose to Aoba Johsai, but they would not have lost this badly today.
By next year, Karasuno should be able to become a team comparable to Shiratorizawa.
At that time, Hank did not know whether he would continue participating in the Spring High preliminaries. If he did, he would probably have another match against them.
But this year, that was impossible.
"He actually made it to the final. Why was it so fast?"
"Is he really more of a genius than me?"
Sitting in the audience and watching from beginning to end, Kyotani's desire to play a match against Hank grew stronger and stronger. He wanted to prove that his strength was not inferior to Hank's. If he could defeat Hank, then in the upcoming matches, he could be the one to lead Aoba Johsai forward.
Then he would not have to curry favor with those so-called upperclassmen either. Thinking of this, he had already made his decision. Next, he would return to the Aoba Johsai club and have a match against Hank.
He wanted to prove something.
"I didn't expect Aoba Johsai to actually make it to the final. Their ace Hank is too strong. I've watched several of his matches already, and basically, he can suppress the opponent all by himself."
"He really is terrifying. Barring anything unexpected, Hank will definitely become the most famous ace in Miyagi Prefecture."
"Even Wakatoshi Ushijima can't compare with him. After all, Hank is one year younger than him, so he has even greater future potential. Even if his current strength is inferior, Hank will be able to stand on the same stage in the future."
"Now I understand. The reason Aoba Johsai is being called their strongest generation is because Hank joined them!"
Many of the fans around the court had already realized how important Hank was to Aoba Johsai. He was already the soul of the team. If he left Aoba Johsai, the entire team might instantly fall into the ranks of second-rate teams. They would absolutely no longer have the qualifications to represent Miyagi Prefecture's strongest group.
In a team sport like this, players whose individual strength could represent an entire team were truly few and far between.
"Don't get cocky, you brat! You won this match, but someday, we're definitely going to beat you!"
"And don't you dare stop coming to club practice!"
There were still tears hanging at the corners of Tanaka's eyes, but he nevertheless ran over to Hank and made his declaration. Back when he had first encountered Hank, Hank had directly crushed him mentally. Now, after all this time had passed, Hank was still able to defeat him.
At this point, Tanaka being able to bravely face his own nightmare was already rather impressive.
"Of course I'll keep coming. Our two clubs will definitely keep training together."
Looking at Tanaka, who had come up in front of him, Hank did not say much. After briefly saying that he would continue participating in Karasuno's club activities, he prepared to leave the court with the Aoba Johsai team, go home, rest properly, and get ready for the Spring High preliminaries final two days later.
But at that moment, his hand was suddenly held by Kiyoko. Feeling something in his palm, he opened his hand and looked down.
It was a small charm pouch. It seemed to be something hand-knitted from yarn.
After giving him the protective charm, Kiyoko's face flushed bright red. She shyly turned her head and hurried away from the place. This entire scene fell into the eyes of Tanaka and the others, instantly causing Tanaka and Nishinoya, who had already been completely devastated, to feel as if they wanted to swallow Hank alive on the spot.
"Damn it! Why did we lose to this guy?"
"Just you wait!"
Nishinoya and Tanaka directly leaped onto Hank, preparing to duel him. In the end, however, Daichi pulled them back, his face filled with apology.
"I'm very sorry. Thank you for joining our club activities during this period and helping us train."
"Next, carry our hopes with you and advance to the final."
Daichi restrained his emotions. After reaching out and patting Hank on the shoulder, he also left the court. With that, Hank's time with Karasuno's club could be considered completely concluded for now. Next would be the battle that belonged to him and Wakatoshi Ushijima.
No matter what the final result was, the upcoming match would definitely be extremely intense.
Both teams' strength could be considered relatively balanced. Right now, it all depended on whether both sides and Hank himself could make sufficient preparations.
"My four core stats still can't all be raised to youth national team level in such a short time. Looks like I still need to train more."
"I can't slack off."
Hank suddenly thought of something. After the matches against Johzenji, Date Tech, and Karasuno, his four core attributes had already improved to a considerable degree. But to be honest, they had not reached a qualitative breakthrough.
His serve, set, and ball control were still only at the top prefectural level. They had not broken through to youth national team level.
That was rather regrettable.
Fortunately, they had still improved quite a lot recently, much faster than if he had only trained by himself. But now that the final was already approaching, it was impossible for him to keep training through matches against other teams.
That was rather unfortunate. Otherwise, if he took advantage of this period to play another match or two against other teams, it seemed like he would be able to prepare even more.
But now, Hank did not have that opportunity. He could only see what the actual situation would be like three days later.
Thinking of this, Hank turned and caught up with the Aoba Johsai team, walking toward the club.
Meanwhile, at this very moment, on another court, Shiratorizawa's match was also about to begin.
"So, Aoba Johsai has already successfully advanced to the final."
"But you want me to pay attention to their ace?"
Wakatoshi Ushijima, who was over one meter ninety, looked coldly at Tendō beside him. His eyes were filled with disdain.
"Hehe, we can't let our guard down. This year's Aoba Johsai is the strongest generation in their history. You won't be able to see through them by relying on yourself alone."
Satori Tendō, whose limbs were extremely slender, let out a dry laugh. He could sense that Ushijima was already a little angry, seemingly just because he had offered that reminder.
"Don't forget our club's belief."
Wakatoshi Ushijima stood up and walked directly toward the court. The moment he stepped onto the court, the entire venue erupted in cheers. His fans were everywhere.
As Miyagi Prefecture's most powerful Shiratorizawa, anyone who wanted to enroll had to either enter through an athletic scholarship or pass entrance exams that were far more difficult than ordinary ones.
Therefore, the people who could enter this school were basically devoted sports fanatics.
(End of Chapter)
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