"What?"
"You actually know the inside information?"
Hearing his words, not only Tendō Satori but also several other teammates looked over in amazement at the same time.
"Do you know why Washijō-sensei did this?"
"Ushijima-senpai?"
After hesitating for a moment, Shirabu Kenjirō finally asked.
"Hmm."
Ushijima Wakatoshi nodded and continued.
"It is said that there was a junior high school student who was highly regarded by Washijō-sensei."
"But after receiving an invitation from Shiratorizawa, he refused."
"What?!"
"He rejected Shiratorizawa's invitation?!"
Shirabu's voice was filled with shock. It was difficult for him to comprehend this.
"Who would actually refuse an invitation from a powerhouse like Shiratorizawa?"
"Not only that," Ushijima continued. "After he refused Shiratorizawa the first time, Washijō-sensei personally went to see him again."
"But he still refused."
"Hahaha!"
Tendō suddenly burst into laughter.
"I can't believe old man Washijō actually got turned down like that!"
Shirabu, however, was still in disbelief and murmured,
"So many players dream of entering Shiratorizawa, yet this guy turned it down twice..."
"Why?"
"Why would anyone reject an invitation from Shiratorizawa and Washijō-sensei?"
"Wait a minute!" Tendō suddenly exclaimed.
"Sensei has been showing so much interest in Karasuno… could it be—?"
Everyone seemed to realize something at the same time and turned to look at Ushijima.
"That's right."
Ushijima nodded in confirmation.
"He went to Karasuno."
"It seems that this has become something of a grudge for Washijō-sensei."
"I didn't think we'd meet him this year, but Karasuno made it to the finals."
"A player personally invited by Washijō-sensei…"
At this moment, Goshiki Tsutomu muttered softly,
"That guy…"
"Who?"
"Ah, Goshiki, do you know him?"
Shirabu immediately turned to him, his curiosity growing even more.
"He's the captain of that junior high team that won the championship."
"A true powerhouse. A top-tier ace."
"I heard that his junior high team, despite being relatively unknown, won the championship solely because of him."
"If it's someone like that, it makes sense that Washijō-sensei would have taken an interest in him."
"Oh?" Ushijima turned his attention to Goshiki.
"Did you play against him in junior high?"
"Nope!"
Hearing the interest from his teammates, Goshiki suddenly became flustered, his usual confidence slightly shaken.
"But!"
"I definitely won't lose to him!"
Tendō smirked.
"What! I thought you knew how strong he was!"
Goshiki huffed in annoyance.
"Just compare him to me!"
"He's definitely strong!"
"If we're comparing him to you, then he must not be much of a threat to us."
With that, the team started walking toward the exit of the stadium.
"Hey!"
"What do you mean, not a threat?!"
"So excited!"
"I'm so excited!"
"This afternoon! We're going to face the king of Miyagi Prefecture, Shiratorizawa!"
"I can't believe we get to play against such a legendary team!"
Inside the lounge, Daichi and Sugawara drank their sports drinks as they watched Hinata pacing around the room restlessly.
"How long has this guy been like this?" Daichi sighed.
"He's been pacing ever since lunch," Tsukishima muttered, shaking his head.
"Haha! Some people just have boundless energy," Akira commented.
"But…"
He turned to Hinata with a more serious expression.
"The final is a best-of-five match."
"If you waste all your energy before the game and get exhausted, you'll regret it."
"Hinata!"
"Huh?"
"Right! Right!"
Hearing that, Hinata quickly sat down on one of the benches, though his body was still fidgeting with excitement.
"This guy…"
Seeing his behavior, everyone in the room let out a collective sigh.
"Well, excitement is better than nervousness."
...
"Karasuno..."
"After looking forward to this match for so long, it's finally happening."
As the match approached, more and more spectators gathered outside the stadium.
However, among today's crowd, several special spectators stood out.
"Man, I haven't seen a high school match in ages."
Outside the Sendai City Gymnasium, a group of three men arrived, one of whom spoke with a familiar tone.
His two companions looked at him with exasperation.
"You just don't know how to sit still, huh, Musashi?"
"We finally got some time off, and you dragged us here to watch a bunch of kids play volleyball."
Mitsuda Takesa laughed and patted his teammates on the shoulders.
"Haha! Trust me, you won't be disappointed!"
"There are some real beasts playing in this match."
"Players even I would keep an eye on."