"I really didn't expect you to calmly declare your ambition to dominate the nationals in that situation," Tōru Oikawa said, his mouth full of beef, as he spoke indistinctly to Taichi.

With all the tedious matters concluded, the entire Aoba Johsai volleyball team gathered once again at their favourite yakiniku spot, Gyu-Kaku.

Unlike the apprehensive mood during their last team dinner, this time, the atmosphere was thoroughly celebratory.

"Maybe Taichi's secretly a super passionate guy!" Takahiro Hanamaki remarked, deftly flipping beef on the grill without missing a beat.

"What's wrong with that? A guy's gotta be passionate!" Hajime Iwaizumi said boisterously, reminding Taichi of Iwaizumi's T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Grit Above All".

"It's not about being passionate," Taichi replied calmly, "It's just that there's still about a month left before Nationals. If I didn't say something like that, Kunimi might slack off during training."

"Eh?!" Akira Kunimi exclaimed, glaring at Taichi with a look of pure indignation.

"Wait, what?!" some of the team members chorused, wide-eyed, clearly unaware that Nationals were just a month away.

"You second and third-years are unbelievable," Issei Matsukawa muttered, shaking his head at the group's cluelessness.

"Well, it's not like we've ever made it to Nationals before…" Shigeru Yahaba mumbled, pouting slightly.

That one statement cast an awkward silence over the table.

"Sorry, senpai!!!" Shigeru shot to his feet and bowed deeply.

Oikawa, wearing a sly smile, waved it off and said teasingly, "No worries, Yahaba. You were just stating facts. Now, the day after tomorrow, you'll be helping Taichi practice his spikes—until he's satisfied!"

"What?!" Yahaba's face fell. Normally, everyone rotated shifts helping Taichi train. The thought of doing it alone felt like a death sentence.

As for why Oikawa had set the session for the day after tomorrow instead of the next day, it wasn't out of kindness—it was because the team had a scheduled rest day on Tuesday.

"Thank you, Yahaba-senpai," Taichi said immediately. He understood why Oikawa had planned it this way; getting in sync with Yahaba sooner was crucial.

When skills fell short, familiarity and coordination could bridge the gap. Sugawara and Karasuno's third-years had proven that.

"Speaking of which, how did Taichi know there's only a month left until Nationals?" Hanamaki asked, suddenly realizing the gap in their knowledge.

"Oh, on the way here, I messaged Kenma from Nekoma to tell him we're going to Nationals," Taichi replied as he quickly grabbed the remaining beef from the grill, lest it disappear in the lively chatter.

"Kenma said their qualifiers don't start until this weekend and are spread out over four weeks—one match per weekend. So, Nationals will kick off in the last week of this month."

"Tokyo's schedule sounds so relaxed! As expected of a big city!" Hanamaki said enviously.

"That's got nothing to do with it," Matsukawa countered, thoughtfully stroking his chin. "Though, playing three days in a row is definitely exhausting."

"Miyagi has its own reasons," Iwaizumi chimed in, considering the organizers' perspective. "Our transportation isn't as convenient as Tokyo's. Some schools have a hard time just getting to the venue and back."

"Not to mention," he added, "the Nationals schedule is three straight days of matches too. You could say our gruelling qualifiers are like a dress rehearsal for the real thing."

"Ohhh," the team murmured in agreement, nodding at Iwaizumi's insight.

"Sasuga Iwaizumi-senpai!"

"Hey! Leave some for me!" Hajime Iwaizumi finally stood up, joining the beef battle. No wonder he'd been so quiet—he had been busy silently devouring food.

"You seem pretty close with Nekoma's setter, huh? Texting him, not even bothering with honorifics…" Oikawa suddenly asked Taichi, his tone laced with playful curiosity.

What the heck? Is this…jealousy? Taichi wondered. Setters' minds were truly strange.

"Kenma and I are brother-in-arms!" Taichi declared proudly. "We've been teaming up to play Monster Hunter whenever we have time."

The Aoba Johsai members fell silent.

This guy…As a student, he seemed to do everything but study—and yet his grades were consistently among the top.

The thought irritated Kindaichi so much that he reached over and snatched the last piece of beef from Taichi's plate.

"Kindai-baka

! You—!" Taichi began.

"Thanks for the meal!" Kindaichi cut him off, grinning mischievously.

The rest of the team feigned ignorance, each one wearing an I didn't see anything expression.

Meanwhile, across the table, the usually composed Coach Nobuteru Irihata wasn't the one who had drunk too much tonight. That honour belonged to assistant coach Sadayuki Mizoguchi.

"Coach Irihata! I'm just so happy!" Mizoguchi exclaimed, his face flushed from alcohol. "After all these years, Aoba Johsai is finally going to Nationals again! This time, it's not just you leading the team there. I'm going too!"

"Haha…" Irihata chuckled wryly, watching Mizoguchi raise his glass for what felt like the eighth toast of the night. "You've already said that eight times tonight."

With a loud thud, Gouchi slumped onto the table, fast asleep. Irihata sighed and poured himself another drink. "Still," he murmured, "we've got to be ready to support these kids through Nationals."

Laughter and cheerful banter filled the room, the celebratory mood tinged with a newfound sense of ease.

------

[Later that evening, at Karasuno High School's Second Gymnasium:]

"Aoba Johsai is strong. It's a fact we can't deny," Coach Keishin Ukai said as he addressed the gathered players. "Today's Inter-High qualifier finals ended with Aoba Johsai as the champions and Shiratorizawa as the runners-up."

The Karasuno volleyball team hadn't been allowed to miss Monday classes to attend the match, given their lack of notable achievements in recent tournaments.

"!!!" The players were visibly stunned by the announcement.

"They actually beat Shiratorizawa…" Sugawara Koushi murmured, his voice trailing off. "But, well, it's not that surprising. After all, they defeated us by a large margin. We just lost to the champions…"@@novelbin@@

As he spoke, Sugawara's fists clenched tightly. His teeth ground together.

Just lost to the champions? No. Karasuno's goal wasn't just to compete—it was to win.

"Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa played a full three sets," Ukai continued. "The scores were 25-22, 22-25, and 29-27. From this, it's clear Shiratorizawa was every bit as strong as their reputation suggested—a team neck and neck with the same Aoba Johsai that crushed us."

Ukai took a deep breath and declared, "We must become stronger!"

Hinata Shōyō sat frozen in place, still processing the information. Taichi and Aoba Johsai had defeated Shiratorizawa. They were going to play on the same stage as the Little Giant.

"Taichi didn't even message me about it," Hinata muttered, though his mind was already racing with thoughts of Nationals.

"He probably didn't want to discourage you," Yamaguchi Tadashi offered. "Besides, it'll be on TV tonight. As the team that defeated us, gloating about winning might've come across as rubbing it in."

Kageyama Tobio, sitting beside them, wore a similarly downcast expression. "I thought I'd surpass Oikawa-senpai once I got to high school," he said, his voice low. "But now it feels like the gap is only getting wider…"

"This can't go on!" Hinata and Kageyama shouted in unison, their voices filled with determination.

"I have to catch up to Taichi!" Hinata declared.

"I have to surpass Oikawa-senpai!" Kageyama exclaimed.

At that moment, the gym doors slammed open with a loud bang. A figure stumbled inside, almost falling over.

"Tokyo!"

It was their teacher, Takeda Ittetsu, who brought news that would change everything.

"We're going to use the Tokyo training camp to get stronger!"

_________

[T/N] - Finally! We are all caught up with all the free chapters from Patreon. From now on, you guys will get 2 chapters daily @ 16:10 GMT.

But, if you guys want to read 50 Chapters in advance of the current story, you can support me on my Patreon. Trust me, it's awesome!

Link - /Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]