Какой номер у хинаты волейбол

Шоё Хината (яп.:日向 翔陽 Hinata Shōyō) — главный герой аниме и манги Волейбол. Хината начал играть в волейбол, после того как увидел игру волейболиста из Карасуно по прозвищу Маленький гигант. Хинату впечатлило как низкий игрок обыгрывал гораздо более крупных противников. Проиграв свой первый и единственный официальный волейбольный матч в средней школе против Тобио Кагеямы, «короля площадки», Хината поступил в старшую школу Карасуно, но обнаружил, что Кагеяма тоже решил поступить в неё. На протяжении большей части манги/аниме Хината был первогодкой в Карасуно и одним из центральных блокирующих волейбольной команды.

После окончания старшей школы он отправился в Бразилию, чтобы два года тренироваться в пляжном волейболе. Вернувшись в Японию, он стал членом команды MSBY Чёрные шакалы, команды 1-го дивизиона V-Лиги. А так же выступал за сборную Японии.

Внешность

Когда Хината стал первогодкой старшей школы, его рост составлял 162,8 см, но к середине учебного года он вырос до 164,2 см. Шоё один из самых низких игроков в команде, ниже него только Нишиноя (хотя его рост довольно средний для японского старшеклассника мужского пола). У него непослушные рыжие волосы и карие глаза. Его относительно худощавое телосложение и невысокий рост часто приводят к тому, что его принимают за ученика младших классов средней школы (а в некоторых случаях даже начальной школы). Хината обычно одевается в свою школьную форму Карасуно с черной курткой и черными брюками. Под пиджаком у него бежевая или коричневая толстовка. В первом эпизоде он был одет в зеленую волейбольную форму своей средней школы.

Во время матчей Хината надевает свою волейбольную форму — черную майку и соответствующие шорты с белыми и оранжевыми полосками по бокам. На задней стороне его майки — номер 10 (по совпадению, тот же самый номер, который носил Маленький Гигант) и название его школы, написанное кандзи. На площадке он носит наколенники и белые волейбольные кеды с красными полосками.

Личность

Хината обладает жизнерадостным и энергичным характером. Он веселый и легкий на подъем парень. По большей части Хината очень простодушен, что иногда заставляет его принимать необдуманные решения. Однако он также показал себя весьма наблюдательным. Хината очень чуток и с большим сочувствием относится к чужим страданиям и переживаниям. Поэтому он часто говорит именно то, что другим так необходимо услышать, чтобы подтолкнуть себя в правильном направлении. Его дружелюбный и прямолинейный характер позволяет ему легко подружиться даже с самыми тихими людьми, такими как Кенма из старшей Некомы и Аоне из Датеко.

Однако, несмотря на свою дружелюбную и веселую, отчасти детскую внешность, Хината может быть очень серьезен насчет волнующих его вещей, например, когда речь заходит о волейболе. Его сильная любовь к спорту проявляется впечатляющим проявление упорства, исходящего из его постоянного желания улучшить свои способности. Как утверждает Сугавара, Хината играет с большой силой духа, противостоит невзгодам и никогда легко не сдается во время матча. Хината также может демонстрировать очень пугающее выражение лица, когда люди недооценивают его. Тем не менее, Хината легко пугается, особенно более крупных и сильных противников. Из-за этого у него выработалась привычка прятаться за спинами ближайших товарищей по команде. Однако он быстро приходит в себя, после чего уверенно бросает вызов своим противникам.

Поначалу Хината легко теряет голову перед матчами из-за отсутствия опыта. Он становится настолько нервным, что у него случается расстройство желудка или необходимость постоянно ходить в туалет. Он также становится неуклюжим, так как он портит свои подачи или приёмы. Со временем Хината все легче переносит давление и учится справляться с ним. Несмотря на всю боязливость, Хината берет себя в руки и хорошо выступает во время матчей.

Хината, как и Кагеяма, плохо учится в школе, так как полностью увлечен волейболом. Однажды он сказал Сугаваре, что с тех пор, как поступил в старшую школу, никогда не набирал двузначного балла ни на одном из своих тестов.

Статистика

Старшая школа:

Сила		1/5
Прыжки		5/5
Выносливость		5/5
Стратегия		1/5
Техника		1/5
Скорость		5/5

2018 год:

Сила		3/5
Прыжки		5/5
Выносливость		5/5
Стратегия		4/5
Техника		5/5
Скорость		5/5

Хината часто описывается как неуклюжий, но невероятно спортивный. Когда он только поступил в Карасуно, он мало что знал о волейболе и сосредоточился только на ударах. Однако с помощью своих новых товарищей по команде он вскоре освоил основы и основные приемы. Несмотря на свою неопытность, Хината постоянно пытается выяснить, что он может сделать, чтобы помочь во время матча. Он не боится экспериментировать с новыми вещами и легко импровизирует, когда все идет не по плану. Это невероятно быстрый ученик, который может улучшить свои навыки, просто наблюдая за другими, чтобы скопировать их движения (хотя в большинстве случаев он терпит неудачу с первой попытки). Хината также является одним из немногих игроков, способных видеть всю ширину площадки, когда он достигает вершины своего прыжка. Он сказал, что когда прыгает на удар, может видеть движения своих противников и даже отдельные выражения на их лицах.

Со времени Токийского тренировочного лагеря общие навыки Хинаты значительно улучшились. Его координация и подвижность увеличились вместе с его мастерством управления полетом, что позволило ему сделать некоторые почти невозможные удары. Кроме того, Хината теперь может сражаться в воздушном бою, используя блок-ауты и финты.

Хината известен не как сильный игрок, а скорее как тот, кто использует скорость и выносливость в своих интересах. Главное достоинство Хинаты это его стойкость и решимость победить.

Высота и блок на момент середина ноября:

• Высота кончиков пальцев: 210 см
• Высота удара/блока (без разбега): 333 см/310 см

Навыки

• Выносливость и скорость: Хината известен как самый быстрый игрок в своей команде и обладает невероятными рефлексами и подвижностью. Он также обладает, казалось бы, неограниченной выносливостью, которую он накапливает, катаясь на велосипеде тридцать минут через горы, чтобы добраться до школы. Хината может легко перейти с левой на правую сторону корта еще до того, как его противники успеют среагировать. Однако его скорость может стать проблемой, если он пойдет за борт, так как слишком большой импульс может привести к тому, что он врежется в сетку или другого игрока.
• Прыжки: Хината обладает невероятными прыжками, чтобы компенсировать недостаток своего физического роста. У него есть вертикальный прыжок 1,23 м. В сочетании с его подвижностью, он способен прыгать по диагонали, чтобы увернуться от блокирующих. Он также может добавить разбег, чтобы увеличить свою высоту блокировки. Из-за его впечатляющих прыжков, его движения часто описываются как полет в соответствии с зрителями. Получив совет от Кагеямы после тренировочного лагеря и увидев нового «маленького гиганта» — Коурай Хошиуми, Хината теперь освоила новую технику прыжков. Сосредоточив импульс своего разбега на подушечках ног, он совершает очень высокий прыжок с повышенной устойчивостью в воздухе. Это особенно называется прыжком «БАМ» из-за того, что он издает слышимый звук, когда он взлетает с земли.
• Приманка: Хината прозвали «абсолютной приманкой» за его способность привлекать внимание противников к себе, тем самым позволяя другим доигровщикам забивать гораздо легче. Куроо заявил, что причина, по которой Хината рассматривается как большая угроза, заключается в его непредсказуемости. Совсем недавно Хината добавила тактику смешивания и отвлечения в свой репертуар. Теперь он может настроить свой темп либо так, чтобы соответствовать остальным для синхронной атаки первого темпа, либо броситься вперед для быстрого темпа минус.
• Быстрый удар в минус-темпе: это фирменная атака Хинаты и Кагеямы. Это означает, что Кагеяма посылает бросок в точное место точки удара Хинаты. Поначалу Хината бьёт с закрытыми глазами из-за отсутствия у него навыков. С тех пор удар претерпел множество изменений и породил новые атаки. Теперь Кагеяма использует бросок, который останавливается рядом с точкой удара Хинаты. Хината, который теперь бьёт с открытыми глазами, получает контроль над боем в воздухе, позволяя ему избегать блокирующих либо с помощью финтов, либо блок-аутов. Дуэт также разработал вертикальный удар от быстрого удара, в котором Кагеяма обеспечивает бросок близко к сетке, а Хината пронзает его прямо вниз.
• Блок-аут: в мини-матче против Льва, Цукишимы и Куроо, Хината случайно научился «блокировать» себя, когда он спихнул мяч с кончика пальцев Льва. С тех пор он пытался использовать эту технику для удара через два или три блокирующих. Однако иногда у него все еще возникают проблемы с точным наведением на руки блокирующих.
• Финт: ас Академии Фукуродани, Бокуто, также научил Хинату финту — полезной тактике для неожиданных блокирующих. Он умудряется использовать это как против школы Джозенджи, так и против школы Аобаджосай, чего обе команды не ожидали от него.
• Обратная атака: Хината и Кагеяма редко используют эту атаку, за исключением критических ситуаций, когда им нужно очко. Хотя первая задняя атака Хинаты потерпела неудачу во время матча против старшей Аобаджосай, он способен прекрасно выполнить атаку во время матча против Шираторизавы. Сугавара в конце концов окрестил эту атаку «обратным минусом»
• Прием: Хината изначально слаб в получении, но он показал радикальные улучшения до такой степени, что его хвалили другие команды. Во время Токийского тренировочного лагеря он овладел приемами пилотирования, что дало ему координацию действий, чтобы быстро побежать за контратакой. Во время первого года интенсивного тренировочного лагеря Мияги, Хината осваивает разножку и учится предсказывать курс атаки. Теперь он может реагировать и позиционировать себя так, чтобы в совершенстве получить мощный удар. Кроме того, Хината может использовать близкий прием, разновидность мягкого блока, расположенного в 60-122 см позади сетки.
• Открытый удар: с улучшенным прыжком Хината более способен поразить открытый удар с высокого броска. Он почти не попадает в точку удара в своей первой попытке, но его более поздние попытки оказались довольно грозными, когда он ударил против блока из трех человек
• Пасы: в манге было показано, что Хината может отлично настроиться на связующего во время своих тренировок со своим товарищем по команде в Бразилии.

Интересные факты

• Любимая еда: Тамаго Каке Гохан (рис с яйцом — популярный японский завтрак).
• Хината говорит в начале первых трех сезонов: «На моих глазах он преграждает мне путь. Высокая-высокая стена; что же это за сцена с другой стороны? Что я смогу там увидеть? „Вид сверху“ — это пейзаж, который я никогда не увижу сам; но если я не один, тогда… Может быть, я смогу его увидеть.»
• Насущная проблема: он не может поймать мяч одной рукой.
• Насущная проблема после таймскипа: он купил слишком много солнцезащитного крема в Рио и теперь не знает что с ним делать.
• Как и Кагеяма, поскольку он родился на стыке знаков зодиака, неясно какой именно у него знак: если он родился до 12 часов дня, он Близнец, если после, он Рак.
• Перед выпускным экзаменом в Токийской экспедиции, Хината заявил, что у него никогда не было двузначного балла ни по одному из своих школьных тестов.
• Худший предмет для Хинаты — английский. Его актер озвучки Мурасе Аюму, однако, родился в Америке (Лос-Анджелес) и может свободно говорить по-английски.
• Когда Хината чувствует страх или угрозу, он инстинктивно прячется за ближайшим человеком.
• Хината — самый старший первогодка в команде.
  • И наоборот, Кагеяма — самый молодой первогодка.
• Его день рождения совпадает с летним солнцестоянием (21 июня, самый длинный день и самая короткая ночь в году), что контрастирует с Днем рождения Кагеямы, который приходится на зимнее солнцестояние (22 декабря, самая длинная ночь и самый короткий день в году).
• В первом опросе популярности Хината занял 2-е место после Кагеямы с 6058 голосами. Во втором опросе популярности он занял 1-е место с 12 720 баллами.
• В опросе, проведенном компанией Charapedia, японской базой данных персонажей аниме и манги, которая спросила людей, какие персонажи аниме они выберут в качестве основы для имени своих детей, Хината занял 8-е место со 104 голосами среди респондентов женского пола.
• В Haikyuu!!: One Shot, номер майки Хинаты был 7, а не 10.
• В Haikyuu!!: One Shot, Хината не был первогодкой. Хината и Кагеяма сформировали свою «странную комбинацию» во время матча против другой школы, а не в матче три на три против Цукишимы, Ямагучи и Дайчи.
• Английские СМИ, такие как Crunchyroll (аниме) и VIZ Media (манга), пишут его имя как «Хината Шойо». У имени Хинаты есть символ «солнце», а у имени Цукишимы — символ «луна». Это отсылка к тому факту, что они соперники, несмотря на то, что находятся в одной команде, а также идея о том, что Хината яркий, как солнце, в отличие от отчужденного и незаметного Цукишимы.
• Часть первого имени Хинаты и часть первого имени Кагеямы при объединении образуют слово «Хишо» (飛翔), что означает «парить» или «летать».
  • Кроме того, первый символ имени Кагеямы «Тоби» (飛) также может быть прочитан как «привет», как и Хината.
• Что касается его имени, Фурудате писал: «Я дал ему это имя, имея в виду образ „солнца“ и „полета“».
• Что касается характера Хинаты, Фурудате утверждает, что он гордится тем, каким Хината получился, и утверждает, что он был создан так, чтобы не иметь никакого сходства со своим создателем.
• Все первые попытки атаки Хинаты проваливаются.
  • Его первая атака, задняя атака, финт, и т. д.
• Самый ненавистный тип блокирующего для Хинаты это Мацукава Иссей.

• Терминология:
  • Shōyō (翔陽) можно прочитать как «парящие небеса».
  • В то же время у «yō» есть несколько понятий: «солнечный свет, мужчина, положительные эмоции, небо, день».
  • Его фамилия Хината (日向) может обозначать «место под солнцем».

“	I may be small, but I can jump!	”

Shōyō Hinata (Japanese: 日向 (ひなた) 翔陽 (しょうよう) Hinata Shōyō) is the main protagonist of the Haikyū!! series by Haruichi Furudate. For the majority of the series, Hinata was a first-year student at Karasuno High and one of the volleyball team’s middle blockers.

In 2018, Hinata became a member of the MSBY Black Jackals, a Division 1 team in the V-League. He became a member of Japan Men’s National Volleyball Team during the 2021 Olympics. As of 2022, he is now a member of Asas São Paulo, a professional team in the Brazil Super League.

He is the older brother of Natsu Hinata.

Appearance

Upon entering the first year of high school, Hinata stood at 162.8 cm and grew to 164.2 cm halfway through the school year. He is the second shortest person on the Karasuno volleyball team, next to Nishinoya. He has unruly orange hair and brown eyes. His relatively thin build and short stature often lead him to be mistaken for a junior high (or in some cases even grade school) student. Hinata typically dresses in his Karasuno school uniform with a black jacket and black pants. Beneath his jacket is a beige or tan sweatshirt. In the first episode, he wore the green volleyball uniform from Yukigaoka Junior High.

During matches, Hinata wears his volleyball uniform—a black jersey and corresponding shorts with white and orange stripes on the sides. On the back of his jersey is his position number 10 (coincidentally, the same number that was worn by the Small Giant) and his school’s name written in kanji. On the court, he wears kneepads and white volleyball shoes with red accents.

Post-timeskip, Hinata has undergone intensive training in Brazil. As a result of playing on the beach and following a strict diet and health regimen, Hinata has grown to 172 cm and developed a lean but muscular body.

Personality

Hinata has a cheerful and energetic personality. He is easily excited and can be quite loud, a trait second only to Nishinoya and Tanaka. For the most part, Hinata is very simple-minded which sometimes causes him to make rash decisions. However, he is also shown to be quite observant. He is capable of reading social cues and can be incredibly empathetic toward others’ struggles. As such, he often says just what others need to hear to push themselves in the right direction. He is also noted to be a natural schmoozer, a quality that his teammates occasionally use to win someone over such as when Nishinoya agreed to help with Hinata’s receives after being flattered by the first-year. His friendly and straightforward personality allows him to befriend even the quietest of people effortlessly, such as Kenma from Nekoma High and Aone from Date Tech High.

However, despite his generally bubbly exterior, Hinata is also shown to have a serious attitude, particularly when it comes to volleyball. His intense love for the sport is demonstrated through his impressive display of tenacity stemming from his constant desire to improve his abilities. As stated by Sugawara, Hinata plays with great fortitude in the face of adversity and thus doesn’t give up easily during a match^[1]. Hinata can also exhibit a very intimidating expression when people underestimate him or speak poorly of his team. Still, Hinata gets scared easily, especially by larger and stronger opponents. This prompts him to develop the habit of hiding behind his nearest teammate. However, he recovers quickly before confidently challenging their opponents.

In the beginning, Hinata is easily agitated before a match due to his lack of experience. He becomes so nervous that he would have an upset stomach or need to go to the toilet constantly. He also becomes clumsy as he would mess up his spikes or receives. Before Karasuno’s first practice match against Aoba Johsai High, Hinata is so affected that he mistook Daichi and Kiyoko’s attempt to comfort him as more pressure and short-circuited^[2]. He only recovers after royally messing up and driving a serve into the back of Kageyama’s head. Over time, Hinata becomes more apt at handling the pressure. Although still faint-hearted, Hinata has a considerably less severe reaction and can perform well during matches regardless.

Hinata, like Kageyama, does poorly in school since he, too, is preoccupied with volleyball. He once told Sugawara that ever since he’d entered high school, he had never scored in the double digits on any of his tests^[3].

Background

A young Hinata passed by an electronics store while riding his bike. He stopped upon hearing the name «Small Giant» from the big screen TV at the storefront ^[4]. On display was Karasuno High’s volleyball match during the Spring Interhigh. Like Hinata, the Small Giant lacked height, yet he prevailed against blockers 20cm taller than him. Hinata was memorized by this figure clad in Karasuno’s black uniform and is inspired to do the same. He joined the volleyball club upon entering Yukigaoka Junior High but found himself to be the only member. However, Hinata refused to give up and would practice by himself at the corner of the gymnasium, off to one side of the sports ground, or in the hallways.

In his third year, three first-years joined the volleyball club. Despite having new members, Hinata still lacked enough players to form a team so he asked his friends Izumi and Kōji, who were from the basketball and soccer club respectively, to help out. They joined Hinata’s team and soon attended their first volleyball tournament. It turned out that Yukigaoka’s first opponent would be Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High, the tournament favorite. While everyone thought that Yukigaoka would lose, Hinata remained convinced otherwise.

Upon seeing their opponent, Hinata grew nervous right before the match and ran to the bathroom. Afterward, he overheard some second-years from Kitagawa Daiichi insulting his team. He defiantly talked back only to be ridiculed for his size. Just then, Tobio Kageyama, Kitagawa’s “King of the Court”, appeared to berate his teammates for looking down on their opponents. His tirades didn’t end there as he turned to Hinata. Kageyama insulted Hinata’s lack of height and his foolish determination to win despite it. In response, Hinata proclaimed he can jump and will win every match.

When the match started, Hinata jumped high for a spike but found his spike easily blocked by Kitagawa Daiichi blockers. He remained positive, but it soon became clear that Kitagawa Daiichi was one-sidedly dominating the match. Faced with an impossible situation, Hinata still refused to give up to the point of risking injury just to chase down a ball. When asked about it, he simply said it’s because they haven’t lost yet. In the following play, Izumi made a missed toss but Hinata stunned everybody when he still managed to hit it across. The spike unfortunately landed out of bounds and cost them the match. However, Kageyama has noticed Hinata’s incredible stamina, jumping power, and pure determination to win. He gained a little more respect for Hinata but, at the same time, was also outright disapproving of Hinata wasting his potentials.

The number of sets Hinata’s team won was 0 and the match only lasted 31 minutes. Hinata remembered Kageyama’s name and his title as the «King of the Court». After the match, Hinata approached Kageyama and announced that he will overthrow the setter from his title. Kageyama accepted his challenge but told him to grow stronger first. Afterward, Hinata trained rigorously by jogging, practicing with the girls’ volleyball team, and joining the neighborhood mothers’ team. Soon, he graduated and entered his dream school, Karasuno High.

Since Hinata currently lives in Yukigaoka with his mother and younger sister, he travels to Karasuno each morning by a 30-minute bike ride through the mountains^[5]. Coach Ukai has noted it would be a 40-minute ride normally, but Hinata has grown used to traveling over mountains ever since junior high.

Plot

Karasuno High Team Formation Arc

Entering Karasuno

Hinata races through the hallway in Karasuno High School to the gym, excited to start practicing and determined to get revenge on his opponent from junior high, Kageyama. However, as soon as he enters the gym, he finds that Kageyama is already there. The setter insults Hinata as soon as he recognizes him but before a full-scale fight can start, the Karasuno third years enter the gym. Tanaka recognizes Hinata as “that number 1 shorty” and compliments him. Hinata exclaims that he will become Karasuno’s ace, causing Kageyama to insult him again, leading to an argument. The vice-principal enters the gym to check out the ruckus and despite Tanaka’s efforts to get the first-years to stop, they start their 1-on-1 match against each other. Kageyama serves to Hinata but it flies past the latter’s face. The second time, to Kageyama’s shock, Hinata manages to receive the ball but it bounces off him and hits the vice-principal across the face, causing his wig to fly off his head and onto Daichi’s. The vice-principal then takes Daichi outside to talk and after coming back, Daichi tells the two first years of Karasuno’s past and his desire to get the team to nationals. However, he can’t accept anyone who can cause trouble for the team, no matter how skilled or determined they are. To the first years’ shock, Daichi then throws them out of the gym, saying that until they view each other as teammates, they are not allowed to participate in club activities^[6].

Out of desperation, Hinata starts begging but nothing works until Kageyama decides to challenge the third years to a 2-on-2 match. Hinata disagrees with the idea at first but after Kageyama reminds him of his past, Hinata starts to change his mind. He tells Kageyama that he has to get into the club because if he wants to beat Kageyama one day, he needs to practice.

3-on-3 First Years Match

Later on in the evening, as the Karasuno members are cleaning up, Hinata and Kageyama ask the third years for a match. However, Daichi changes it to a 3-on-3 match against the other first years and has Tanaka play with Hinata and Kageyama. The conditions are that if the two first years lose, Kageyama will not be allowed to play as a setter as long as the third years are still around. Hinata tries catching the captain’s attention, feeling left out since he didn’t receive a punishment, but fails. The two first years eventually agree to the terms and leave. As he’s walking away, Hinata tells Kageyama happily that it’s okay if he isn’t the setter because he will still be able to become a regular and wing spikers are cooler than setters anyway; this angers Kageyama and leads to an argument about whether setters or spikers are cooler. As they’re talking, Kageyama thinks about how they’re going to practice and Tanaka catches their attention from inside the gym. He discreetly tells them that the gym will be opened before 7 am the next day, and the two first years decide to come at 5 am.

The next day, Hinata and Kageyama arrive at the gym only to find it locked. At that very moment, Tanaka arrives with the key and to their delight, decides to help them practice. Hinata enters the gym excitedly, remembering how the Small Giant had once practiced there. He thinks happily that compared to junior high, he now has a net to use and a setter to play with, no matter what kind of personality the latter has.

They start practicing but can’t seem to sync at all and soon end up fighting. Suddenly, they’re interrupted by Sugawara’s arrival, but the third year agrees to keep their secret and helps them practice as well. Sugawara ends up helping Hinata with his receives while Kageyama practices with Tanaka, but Hinata isn’t satisfied. Hinata decides to approach Kageyama and asks him to toss to him but Kageyama flat out refuses, stating that Hinata’s too slow. To Hinata’s anger, Kageyama tells him that all Hinata should do on Saturday is to try his best not to drag the team down. Hinata asks him whether he will toss to him if he can receive the ball in a way that satisfies Kageyama, and Kageyama replies that he will toss to Hinata only if it’s necessary; however, he doesn’t think Hinata’s necessary to help him win^[7].

Later on, during a break in class, Hinata goes outside to practice with Sugawara. As they’re talking, Hinata reveals to Sugawara that during junior high, he didn’t have a setter and had to ask his friends to toss to him. However, he didn’t give up and practiced with the mothers club and the girls’ club’s setters, but he could never consider them as teammates. When he went to high school, he was excited to see what kind of setter he would have, but it turned out to be Kageyama. Sugawara tells Hinata that he will set to him from now on, but Hinata replies sullenly that it will feel like he lost to Kageyama. Sugawara asks Hinata if he came to Karasuno just so he could defeat Kageyama, and Hinata replies that he wants to become as strong as someone who can beat Kageyama; this will allow him to play against other strong opponents on equal footing. He doesn’t want to lose anymore. Sugawara states that even though Hinata views Kageyama as the strongest player and enemy, he is currently Hinata’s strongest ally.

A few days later, Kageyama starts practicing with Hinata for real. One day, Kageyama pushes Hinata to his limits, but the latter refuses to give up, stating that the ball hasn’t fallen yet. Kageyama spikes a ball too hard and it flies to the back of the gym, but Hinata chases after it with all his might. This inspires Kageyama to finally toss to Hinata and despite being at his limits, Hinata spikes it happily. Kageyama then approaches him and says that they will win on Saturday, showing his acceptance of Hinata as a teammate. Hinata tries to reply but throws up instead.

A while later, Kageyama and Hinata are practicing outside and Hinata contemplates happily how he finally got Kageyama to toss to him^[8]. Kageyama suddenly hits the ball up the tree and Hinata has to get it down. Angrily, Hinata calls Kageyama a “damn King”, annoying the latter, but Hinata doesn’t understand why because he views “King” as a cool nickname. The two continue practicing into the night until they’re interrupted by Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Tsukishima teases Hinata, angering him. Hinata exclaims that he won’t lose to Tsukishima in the match. The taller boy then asks Hinata if he wants him to just throw the game. He soon turns his attention to Kageyama and teases him about his nickname and past. Hinata watches on, confused as to why Kageyama isn’t reiterating. He then decides to take things into his own hands when Kageyama starts walking away. As Tsukishima throws the volleyball into the air, Hinata jumps up from behind him and grabs it, exclaiming that he’s going to hit the ball above Tsukishima’s head in the game. Tsukishima soon leaves and Hinata angrily tells Kageyama that they’re going to beat up Tsukishima, but Kageyama brushes him off coolly.

The next day, the match starts with Hinata, Tanaka, and Kageyama vs Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Daichi. Hinata is shocked at first because Daichi’s on the other team, but he quickly gets over it. Right after the match starts, Kageyama tosses to Hinata and he spikes it, his high jump shocking everyone in the gym, but it’s immediately blocked by Tsukishima. Hinata reassures himself that even if the opponent is huge, he’s only one person. Hinata can get it through next time. However, Tsukishima keeps blocking his spikes.

Tsukishima teases Kageyama about his past, and Kageyama replies sullenly that tossing the ball only for no one to be there frightens him. Hinata interrupts him, stating nonchalantly that that situation was back in junior high. Kageyama tossed the ball properly to Hinata, so the latter doesn’t care about the setter’s past.

The next move, Kageyama was going to toss to Tanaka but Hinata suddenly appears behind him, asking for a toss. He barely hits the ball past the net. He then turns to Kageyama, yelling that he is here now. No matter what happened in junior high, Hinata wants to hit Kageyama’s tosses. He will jump anywhere and hit any kind of ball, so Kageyama has to keep tossing to Hinata.

Tanaka approaches the two first years, asking if they know how to do quick sets. Hinata replies that he doesn’t know how to and only hits whatever tosses he can get and Kageyama adds that they aren’t in sync so a quick strike is still impossible, angering Hinata. Tsukishima adds that Hinata’s reckless playstyle isn’t a good mindset, and Hinata sullenly explains that no matter how high he jumped, he was always stopped by a blocker and could never fill the overwhelming gap in height. However, the Small Giant didn’t let that stop him, so Hinata wants to be like him. Disadvantages and inability don’t bother Hinata because of that. With this body, he wants to win and keep winning. Tsukishima continues berating Hinata though, but Kageyama steps in, stating that clearing the wall in front of a spiker is what the setter is for. He then turns to Hinata, stating that he needs to use all of his physical ability and reflexes to hit his toss. While Tanaka’s worried that Hinata doesn’t understand Kageyama, Hinata wants to try Kageyama’s idea anyway. Hinata excitedly rushes onto the court and tries to spike Kageyama’s toss but misses, surprised at how quick it is. Hinata then fails several times and Kageyama starts arguing with him. Sugawara interrupts the two, reminding Kageyama of his past in Kitagawa Daiichi. Sugawara explains that Hinata lacks technique and experience but he has the determination, and Hinata blushes at the compliment. Sugawara continues, saying that Kageyama should try to utilize Hinata’s ability. Kageyama thinks over Sugawara’s words and turns to Hinata, exclaiming that he’s jealous of Hinata’s physical ability and hates how Hinata has skills but is horrible at volleyball. Kageyama announces that because of that, he has to help Hinata, confusing the latter. Kageyama then tells Hinata to move as fast and jump as high as he can and Kageyama will get the ball to him. Kageyama explains that Hinata doesn’t have to see the toss and Hinata doubts the idea because he doesn’t think he can hit without looking. However, Kageyama convinces him to try the idea anyway.

In the next move, Hinata jumps and spikes successfully. Hinata excitedly celebrates, but the other players are shocked because Hinata’s eyes were closed. As Hinata rambles to Kageyama, the latter asks him angrily why his eyes were closed and Hinata replies simply that if his eyes are opened, he can’t stop watching the ball. Hinata’s utter trust in Kageyama confuses the latter, but Kageyama tells Hinata to believe in him and jump for the next toss anyway.

However, they fail the second time and Hinata ends up getting hit in the face. As he’s walking away, he looks down at his hand, remembering the amazing feeling of the ball hitting it. In the end, Kageyama and Hinata succeed with most of their quicks and win the game.

After the match ends, Hinata approaches Tsukishima and tries to make peace with him by offering a handshake but Tsukishima rejects it. Determined, Hinata forces it anyway. Kageyama and Hinata then approach Daichi and hands him their application forms which Daichi accepts.

As the team’s resting, Kiyoko arrives with the new jackets, and Hinata excitedly receives his, modeling it to Tanaka and Sugawara. Kageyama asks Hinata to practice their quick strike and the two begin talking about a practice match against another school. They are soon interrupted by Takeda’s arrival and the announcement of a practice match. Kageyama and Hinata grin in excitement when they find out that the opponent is one of the prefecture’s best four schools; Hinata notes to himself happily that since coming to Karasuno, the Aoba Johsai game will be his first official match with all the necessary players.

Aoba Johsai Practice Match

The next day, the positions are handed out^[2], and Hinata’s shocked when he receives the middle blocker position because it’s usually for tall players. Kageyama announces loudly that Hinata will be the absolute strongest decoy. Initially, Hinata’s overjoyed, but he quickly becomes disheartened because it isn’t a cool title. Kageyama then points out the good points of being a decoy but adds a weakness that Hinata has to look out for. This worries him and he begins to freak out, despite Daichi’s efforts to calm him.

Hinata can’t calm down though and on the way to Aoba Johsai, his anxiety reaches its peak and he throws up on Tanaka’s lap. That still doesn’t help and even when he arrives in Aoba Johsai, he’s still worried about messing up, getting benched, and many other things. He ends up going to the bathroom to cool down and bumps into Kindaichi and Yahaba there. Hinata and Kindaichi instantly recognize each other from junior high, and Kindaichi asks Hinata jokingly if Kageyama’s still the same. Hinata replies firmly that Kageyama’s even worse and then goes on with Kindaichi to complain about Kageyama to Yahaba. However, the two reach a disagreement on Kageyama’s tosses; Hinata thinks the tosses are amazing while Kindaichi thinks the opposite. Kindaichi quickly shoots down Hinata though, stating that even though he’s a setter, Kageyama still fails to do his job–to enable the spiker to hit the toss. He needs game pieces that move according to his own will, so whatever isn’t needed for him to win is thrown away. Tanaka then interrupts the first years and reassures them that Kageyama has changed but Hinata’s doubtful, having been unnerved by Kindaichi’s words.

Hinata soon goes back to his teammates and the game begins. However, Hinata makes a bunch of mistakes right away, such as taking a receive that was meant for Daichi, knocking Tanaka over, and finally hitting the back of Kageyama’s head with his serve.

The point scored over the missed serve allows Aoba Johsai to win the first set, and Kageyama’s livid. He slowly approaches a terrified Hinata, backing him into the wall. Kageyama then asks Hinata why he’s so afraid and starts hitting the back of his head to emphasize his words. Just as Hinata thinks Kageyama’s going to deliver the final blow, Kageyama yells at him to get back to normal, surprising the latter because he realizes that Kindaichi’s words about Kageyama throwing away unnecessary things are false.

After Kageyama backs away, Tanaka approaches Hinata, scaring the latter as he thinks he’s going to get blamed for the team’s loss, but Tanaka only encourages Hinata to get his head back into the game. Hinata then recovers and the second set starts. Kageyama and Hinata try to perform a quick but fail, causing Kindaichi to mock them. However, the second time’s a success and the entire gym’s shocked at the speed. During a break, Hinata stares down at his hands in awe and Daichi asks him what’s wrong. Hinata replies that back in junior high, he thought that he had to handle everything by himself because his team was a complete mess but now, he is surrounded by players who are much better than he is. All he can do is trust in them and jump.

Just as the third set begins, Hinata and Tanaka suddenly hear a lot of girls cheering, and the two look over to see Oikawa enter the gym. Kageyama introduces him as his senpai in junior high, and Hinata immediately nicknames him as the “Grand King”. The game then resumes but Oikawa doesn’t play yet, and Karasuno’s soon at its match point. Oikawa’s then switched in as a pinch server and soon scores several points off Tsukishima. Hinata watches his teammate and thinks of how he doesn’t like his personality, but he’s still his teammate. Hinata then starts calling for Oikawa to serve at him instead so he can take the attention off Tsukishima. However, Tsukishima only insults him for it.

After several tries, Tsukishima finally manages to receive the serve but it’s sent back as a free ball to Aoba Johsai’s side. Kindaichi spikes it, but Hinata touches the ball and can send it to Kageyama for another quick. Hinata spikes the ball right past Oikawa, scoring the last point for Karasuno to win the game.

The Karasuno team gets off the court and goes to Takeda to thanks him. Takeda states that he feels like something incredible is happening, like a chemical reaction, and the team will become even stronger than ever before. Hinata doesn’t understand the speech though, partly because he isn’t paying attention and is thinking of food^[9]. Karasuno begins to leave the school but is stopped by Oikawa at the entrance. Tanaka and Hinata approach him hostilely, asking him if he wants to fight, but Oikawa compliments Hinata on his skills instead. Although, he adds that Hinata and Tsukishima need to improve their serves, and Hinata’s reminded that if Oikawa had been playing from the start, Karasuno would’ve had a lot more trouble. Daichi then announces that Karasuno’s “Guardian Deity” is returning soon, so they don’t have to worry. Hinata becomes interested in that person and is in awe over the nickname because it sounds so “cool”.

Asahi and Nishinoya’s Return

The Karasuno team heads back to the school where the members then go off on their separate ways. Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka, and the third years are walking home together when Tanaka asks Kageyama why he’s in Karasuno. Hinata asks Kageyama excitedly if it’s because he admired the Small Giant as well. However, Kageyama replies that it’s because of the famous Coach Ukai. The players then start talking about their current team and their weaknesses, and Kageyama states that they lacked a libero and an ace. Hinata exclaims that he could be the ace but to his disappointment, Kageyama interrupts by stating that Hinata’s already the decoy. He then asks about the “Guardian Deity” and Tanaka replies that he has been under one week of house arrest and a month’s ban on club activities but isn’t a delinquent; he just gets overexcited easily. This intrigues Hinata and he wonders what type of person he is.

The next day, Kageyama’s practicing his serve when Hinata runs in front of it and tries to receive it. This causes the ball to fly off to the top of the gym and Hinata has to go up to bring it down. As Hinata’s getting the ball, Kageyama serves again but this time, it’s interrupted by someone else. Hinata watches the stranger, thinking to himself that the sound of the receive is different from his. The third years and Tanaka then arrive, greeting the stranger excitedly. Daichi introduces the first years to Nishinoya and Hinata stutters in shock that Nishinoya’s shorter than he is, which annoys the latter.

As Nishinoya’s catching up with the members, he asks if Asahi came back and when the answer’s no, he insults Asahi. Tanaka yells back at him to not talk about the ace that way, surprising Hinata. He thinks to himself in awe that there is a proper ace on this team after all.

Nishinoya angrily announces that if Asahi isn’t coming back, neither is he, and he leaves the gym. Hinata follows after him and asks Nishinoya if he can teach him how to do receives because he’s a libero. Nishinoya asks coldly if Hinata thinks that because he’s short, and Hinata replies that he only thinks that way because Nishinoya is good at receives. Hinata states that he’s still clumsy at receives so he needs help and remembering Daichi’s words, calls Nishinoya “senpai” which quickly wins the libero over.

Later on in the evening, Nishinoya explains receives to the first years, but none of them except for Kageyama understands him. Hinata then asks Nishinoya about Asahi and states determinedly that he wants to become an ace because he’s inspired by the Small Giant. While Kageyama berates Hinata for thinking that way, Nishinoya compliments him, stating excitedly that it’s an awesome idea. He then asks Hinata what his position is, and Hinata replies sullenly that he’s a decoy. Nishinoya tries to cheer him up by pointing out the good points of being a decoy, but Hinata’s composition still doesn’t change.

The next day, Hinata and Kageyama go to the third year hallway to look for Asahi. Just as they’re fighting over who goes inside the third year classroom first, Asahi suddenly walks out, and almost instantly, Hinata hides behind Kageyama. Sugawara comes out as well and introduces the first years to Asahi but to the first years’ surprise, Asahi tells them to do their best instead of indicating that he will be playing with them. Hinata tells him that he wants to play with Asahi because he wants to be an ace so seeing a real ace in action would help him. Asahi’s surprised but replies that he isn’t an ace before walking away. Sugawara revealed to the first years that Asahi has come to hate volleyball because of a crushing defeat. Hinata doesn’t understand because he doesn’t think it’s such a big deal to end up hating volleyball. The two then leave for practice and Hinata wonders if Asahi does hate volleyball, and Kageyama replies that he doesn’t think Asahi hates it.

Inside the gym, Nishinoya shows off his “Rolling Thunder”, impressing Hinata. Takeda suddenly bursts into the gym, announcing a training camp and practice match against Nekoma High, Karasuno’s destined rival. Hinata’s excited at first but begins to worry, wondering what he can do to bring Asahi back so the team won’t have such a strained atmosphere.

The next day, during lunch break, Hinata and Kageyama approach Asahi again. Hinata exclaims loudly that if Asahi won’t come back to the team, the senpais will be sad. Asahi only replies that the image of getting blocked is still fresh in his mind so he can’t bring himself to play volleyball anymore. Hinata understands Asahi though and responds that his spikes had always been blocked but now, he has Kageyama. He can evade even the tallest blockers and finally see everything on the other side of the net. Before Hinata can say anything else, the bell rings and he has to get to class, but he leaves an impression on Asahi.

Sometime later, Ukai joins the team as a temporary coach and sets up a practice match against the Neighborhood Association Team^[10]. As the players are warming up, Hinata notices Asahi outside and announces it to the team. Ukai pulls Asahi into the game and it becomes a faceoff of Kageyama and Hinata against the ace. Hinata’s placed with Kageyama, Ennoshita, Tsukishima, Tanaka, and Daichi.

Right as the game starts, Hinata and Kageyama perform a quick, shocking everyone due to the speed. Asahi then attacks back with a spike and Hinata gets awed by the strength of it. However, as the match progressed, Hinata begins to get jealous of Asahi’s incredible power which distracts him from the game, leading to him getting hit in the face by Asahi’s spike. The game’s paused for Hinata to recover, and Hinata reassures his teammates that he’s fine and just doesn’t react fast enough. However, Kageyama sees right through him and points out how Hinata let his jealousy of Asahi get to him. Hinata angrily replies that someone tall like Kageyama won’t be able to understand him at all, but quickly regrets it. He thinks guiltily that it’s his fault the game is paused but he still yelled at Kageyama.

The match soon resumes and right off, to Hinata’ surprise, Kageyama announces that he will toss to him. He commands Hinata to move according to his toss and Hinata spikes it past everyone. As soon as he lands, Kageyama yells angrily that with that speed, jump, and his toss, Hinata can evade any blocker. The point scored by the ace and the point scored by a decoy are of equal value, and it’s also because of the decoy that the ace and other spikers can breakthrough. Kageyama asks Hinata if he still thinks that being a decoy’s lame, and Hinata replies almost tearfully that he doesn’t think that at all^[11].

In the end, the Karasuno Neighborhood Association Team wins. After the Neighborhood Association leaves, Hinata approaches Asahi and after some hesitation, tells him that he’s not an ace but he’ll become the strongest decoy and create a pathway in front of the ace. Hinata begins to run out of things to say though and gets flustered and Asahi cuts in, stating that the person the opponents are scared off is the coolest, reassuring Hinata of his importance.

Nekoma Practice Match

On the day before the training camp begins, Hinata rides his bike to school excitedly as he thinks of the match against Nekoma. That evening, after practice, the team goes to the training camp facilities. Hinata explores the entire building, exclaiming that he has never been to a training camp before^[12].

Later at night, Hinata’s standing near the baths, looking terrified. Tanaka comes over and Hinata explains that there’s a child in the building with them, scaring Tanaka because only the Karasuno team is supposed to be there. Suddenly, someone appears behind them, and Hinata starts screaming that it’s the person he saw. It turns out to be Nishinoya who had his hair flattened, thus changing his appearance.

The next day, the team goes jogging in the morning and while trying to outrace Kageyama, Hinata gets lost. As he’s wandering around, he finds a boy around his age in a red jersey and approaches him. Hinata tries speaking to him at first but the boy doesn’t seem interested until Hinata notices his volleyball shoes. Hinata then introduces himself and finds out that the boy’s name is Kenma Kozume. The two of them start discussing volleyball, though Kenma was a bit reluctant initially. Hinata asks sheepishly if Kenma thinks it’s weird that a short person like him was a middle blocker, and Kenma replies that it isn’t because he’s in the same situation as a setter. Hinata asks Kenma excitedly if his school’s strong and surprisingly, Kenma replies firmly that he thinks it’s strong. Before Hinata can ask Kenma what school he goes to, Kenma’s teammate comes over. As Kenma’s leaving, he says that he’ll see Hinata later, to the latter’s confusion.

The next day, during practice, Hinata and Kageyama overhear Ennoshita saying that he once ran away from practice and decides to question him about it later in the evening. Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita reveal that during the period Ikkei Ukai returned to coach the team, they had quit the team but regretted it afterward. However, by the time they decided to return, Ikkei was already gone. Ennoshita states sadly that he, Narita, and Kinoshita are disgraceful second years but since returning, they’ve decided to work hard so they won’t lose to the first years.

After the second years leave the room, Hinata starts thinking of how everyone on the team intends to get on the court at some point, the second years’ speech having affected him. Hinata states that, as frustrating as it is to admit, he’s only on the court because of Kageyama’s toss. The next day, the uniforms are handed out, with Kageyama receiving the number 9 and Hinata receiving 10. Immediately, Hinata points out disappointedly that Kageyama has a higher number than him. To reassure Hinata, Sugawara and Daichi tell him that the number 10 was also the Small Giant’s number back when he was in Karasuno and Hinata’s entire outlook on his uniform changes.

The practice match against Nekoma soon arrives and the members line up to greet each other. To Hinata’s surprise, he finds Kenma on the team^[13]. After greetings, he approaches Kenma and complains light-heartedly that Kenma could’ve told him he’s from Nekoma back when they first met each other. They are not able to talk much though because Yamamoto then interrupts them, thinking that Hinata is bothering Kenma. Tanaka is quick to come defend Hinata from Yamamoto although the two would quickly be scolded by Sugawara and Yaku for causing a scene.

The teams soon go inside the gym, and the match begins. Right off, Kageyama and Hinata perform their quick strike; shocking everyone. As the match progresses, Karasuno’s able to give Nekoma some trouble, but Hinata starts noticing that Inuoka’s slowly catching up to him. Suddenly, Inuoka was able to completely block him. However, to everyone’s surprise, Hinata smiles due to the challenge and doesn’t give up.

He faces off against Inuoka again and decides to try opening his eyes to spike, though he has trouble at first. Ukai calls for a timeout and tells Kageyama to try a new toss with Hinata. Kageyama agrees, but Hinata can’t grasp the new toss at first and keeps messing up. However, his concentration never wavers and after some time, he’s finally able to spike with his eyes open, though his ball goes out.

In the end, just when the Karasuno team thinks they won, Kenma suddenly saves a ball and sends it back over. Nishinoya and Hinata chase after it but neither makes it in time, and Nekoma wins. As the players are recovering, Hinata shoots up, asking for a rematch. Two more games are played but even though Karasuno loses all of them, Hinata continues asking for more matches. Nekomata calmly tells Hinata that they’ll play again at Nationals, and Hinata agrees excitedly.

While the teams start cleaning up, Hinata and Inuoka compliment each other happily. Hinata then approaches Kenma and asks him if, after this game, he enjoys volleyball more. Kenma replies that he doesn’t feel anything, and Hinata exclaims determinedly that he will win next time and get Kenma to feel frustrated.

The teams soon part ways^[14] and as Karasuno’s walking back, Kageyama states that if today’s a regular game, they would have been disqualified already, reminding Hinata of his junior high match against Kitagawa Daiichi.

Interhigh Arc

The Karasuno team starts training for the Interhigh as soon as the practice match with Nekoma ends. One afternoon, after practice concludes, the players huddle over a volleyball magazine. Tanaka points out this year’s noteworthy aces, Ushijima from Shiratorizawa being one of them. To the senpais’ surprises, Hinata doesn’t know who Ushiwaka is because he only cares about the Small Giant. Tanaka points out that Ushijima is the number 1 ace in the Miyagi prefecture, and Hinata realizes that they will have to beat him to get to Nekoma. Ukai cuts in, stating that Shiratorizawa isn’t the only school they had to look out for; this year’s top schools, besides Shiratorizawa, are Aoba Johsai, Wakutani Minami High, and Date Tech.

The night before Interhigh, after practice, Takeda announces that Kiyoko has a surprise for the team. With Takeda’s help, Kiyoko unfolds an old Karasuno banner she’d found while cleaning and tells the team to do their best before running out. This increases the team’s morale by tenfold, and they are finally ready for the Interhigh.

The next day, Hinata’s running to school, happy that he’s going to get to the gym before Kageyama. However, Kageyama appears behind him suddenly and knocks Hinata over before rushing to the gym. As soon as he arrives, he stutters out breathlessly that he has 31 wins and 30 losses, but Hinata cuts in sadly that he’s wrong and has 32 wins because Kitagawa Daiichi beat Yukigaoka last year around this time. Remembering everything from last year, Hinata gets up and tells Kageyama determinedly that he will overthrow him from his title of being the “King of the Court” and be the one who stands on the court the longest.

Karasuno soon heads for the stadium where the tournament’s taking place^[15]. As he’s entering the gym, Hinata looks around excitedly until his team bumps into Date Tech. Hinata notices right away that Aone doesn’t have eyebrows and gets intimidated by his size, but recovers quickly and backs up Asahi when Aone challenges him. Aone’s soon stopped by his captain and Date Tech walks away, but not before issuing a challenge to the entire Karasuno team.

Later, as Karasuno’s preparing for their first match, Hinata’s nervous and starts shaking and jumbling up his words. Sugawara asks Asahi what he usually does to calm himself, and Asahi replies that he’ll think of something scary to distract himself. Hinata thinks over it and suddenly remembers Kageyama’s expression when he’d hit a ball into the back of his head during the Aoba Johsai practice match. That calms Hinata down instantly.

Karasuno vs Tokonami

Karasuno soon heads to the stadium, and Hinata gushes excitedly over the huge arena. As the team’s warming up, Hinata suddenly spots Kindaichi in the bleachers and points him out using his nickname “shallot-head”, confusing the spoken boy as he doesn’t realize who the name refers to. Oikawa then greets Hinata and Kageyama, and the two stare back hostilely.

The match begins shortly, but Karasuno doesn’t use Kageyama and Hinata’s quick-strike yet. Tanaka and Asahi score the first two points, and Hinata begins to fidget impatiently before Kageyama finally tosses to him. Jumping high above the net, Hinata slams the ball down and shows the entire stadium that Karasuno can no longer be called the “Flightless Crows” anymore.

Karasuno beats Tokonami easily in the end. Hinata can barely believe that he’d gotten past the first match, his junior high days still fresh in his mind. He asks Kageyama if they have a match next, and Kageyama replies affirmatively. Hinata looks at his hands happily and cries out that they won and can keep playing again and again^[16].

Karasuno vs Date Tech

Karasuno goes back to the hallways to rest before its next match. To Hinata’s joy, passing by players point him out and he states that nobody has ever said those things about him before. Kageyama tells him that it’s a good thing he’s getting noticed because the more Hinata stands out, the harder it’ll be for the opponents to notice the other players.

Hinata and Kageyama then go outside to warm up, and Kageyama reveals to Hinata that Date Tech’s the team that defeated Karasuno devastatingly last year, causing Asahi to leave the team. Right afterward, Sugawara approaches the two and tells them he’s counting on them for the Date Tech game because with the strongest decoy and Kageyama to clear the wall in front of the ace, Asahi can finally get his revenge. Hinata and Kageyama agree silently, determined to win the game for the senpais.

They go back inside for the match. As Hinata’s entering the court, he nearly bumps into Aone, whose immense size terrifies him. The teams start warming up and Nishinoya exclaims that he will protect everyone’s backs, impressing Hinata.

The game soon starts and right off, Kageyama tosses to Hinata, but it’s nearly blocked by Aone. Hinata manages to hit the ball to another side and get a point, but he’s worried that Aone will succeed next time. Sure enough, Aone blocks Hinata on his second try. However, Hinata and Kageyama still have another technique to use.

They perform their quick-strike which flies past Date Tech, to everyone’s shock. The next few attacks are successful again, but Aone manages to catch up to Hinata and blocks him. However, this is Karasuno’s tactic to distract Date Tech from the other spikers, allowing Asahi to breakthrough^[17]. Hinata remarks that even though he doesn’t hit the spike, his spine’s tingling with excitement.

With Hinata’s decoy skills, Asahi and the other spikers can get through and in the end, Karasuno wins. As the teams are leaving, Aone asks Hinata for a handshake, which the latter gladly accepts. He then walks over to Kageyama, pointing out that the opponents haven’t noticed their signals for the quick strike yet.

Karasuno vs Aoba Johsai

Karasuno goes back home to rest before their next match. As soon as they arrive, a teacher announces that they’re on TV and the entire team goes inside the faculty office to watch^[18]. However, the program skims right over Karasuno’s match against Date Tech to show Oikawa instead. When asked what he thinks of Karasuno, he replies that it’s a good team and he would like to destroy it, angering the entire team. They then silently walk back to their gym to hold a meeting.

After going over the tactics they’re going to use against Aoba Johsai, the team heads home. Kageyama appears worried over the game so Hinata quickly reassures him that they will win; Kageyama agrees determinedly.

The next day, the match begins and both teams are intent on beating each other, their last practice game has affected them greatly. Both teams were doing well initially, Hinata and Kageyama’s quick strikes succeeding each time. However, halfway through, Oikawa figures out the signals Kageyama and Hinata use for their quick strike, thus rendering it useless. Kageyama begins to lose his composure as Aoba Johsai pulls ahead of Karasuno.

Hinata watches his teammates, especially Tanaka, worriedly after the team gets disordered. He wonders if he should say something to Tanaka since the second year’s always cheering him up whenever he’s depressed, but Tanaka recovers before Hinata can do anything. He slaps himself to clear his thoughts and exclaims that he’s going to succeed next time, impressing Hinata and Nishinoya.

Even though Tanaka’s able to get his head back into the game, Kageyama’s still unfocused. Soon, Kageyama’s switched out^[19] with Sugawara taking his place so that the first year can cool his head, and he gets off reluctantly. To cheer him up, Hinata reminds Kageyama loudly that he’ll be the one that’ll defeat him so he can’t lose here.

With Sugawara’s help, Karasuno takes back some points but Aoba Johsai wins the first set. Hinata asks Kageyama if he’s depressed and he angrily replies that Hinata should worry about himself instead; but Kageyama adds, to Hinata’s happiness, that when he gets back into the game, he’s going to make Hinata hit spikes like crazy.

Before long, Kageyama’s switched back in and as he’s walking onto the court, he suddenly smiles–a rare sight that sends Hinata scurrying away fearfully. Hinata then asks Kageyama if Sugawara told him about the hand signals he came up with and Kageyama nods as he holds his fist up, silently telling Hinata that he’s confident they can win.

The break helps Kageyama cool down and he’s able to set up two successful spikes, both performed by Hinata. Right after the second spike, Hinata asks Kageyama for a high five, showing his acceptance of the setter as a teammate. Karasuno soon turns the game over in their favor and wins the second set; Aoba Johsai isn’t letting up though. Hinata’s then switched out temporarily so Karasuno can try a different tactic.

As the game progresses though, he begins to get impatient; seeing Aoba Johsai’s incredible strength makes him want to play and he almost steps out of line. Before long, Hinata’s switched back in. His pent up frustration from being out gives him a strength boost and helps him out-speed the opponents^[20]. Hinata thinks to himself that if his speed slows down for even an instant, it will be all over. He runs to the ball and spikes with all his strength against two blockers. However, this is a fluke so Asahi can break through and Karasuno finally catches up to Aoba Johsai, pushing Aoba Johsai to call for a timeout.

As Karasuno’s taking a break, the senpais compliment Hinata on his decoy skills, but Hinata isn’t satisfied yet. He isn’t letting down until Karasuno wins the game. Things take a turn for the worse though when suddenly, Aoba Johsai’s able to completely render the quick strike ineffective. With their new technique of leaving Hinata unguarded so that the libero can receive the spike, Hinata and Kageyama are finally stopped. Karasuno’s movements are thrown into disorder and in a last-minute attempt to gain back a point, the ball’s given to Hinata. However, he’s blocked completely.

To pull back ahead, Ukai switches in Yamaguchi for Hinata. As Hinata’s getting off, he tells Yamaguchi to serve a nice one, but he isn’t going to lose to him. Yamaguchi fails though but this takes a lot of pressure off the other players, and everyone’s moods change.

Despite having his signature move stopped and his jumping power weakening, Hinata doesn’t give up and finds a new way to score, although he ends up smashing his face on the floor^[21]. However, this allows Karasuno to turn the scores around and they are now at match point.

Aoba Johsai quickly takes back their points and Kageyama appears worried, so Hinata cheers him up. Both teams are getting tired and making more mistakes now, but Kageyama’s confident that his next toss will get through. He sends the ball to Hinata who spikes eagerly; it is then blocked by Kindaichi and Hinata freezes and isn’t able to react in time to save it. Aoba Johsai wins the game with that point^[22].

Hinata stays on the floor in shock until Daichi comes over, and the former starts apologizing; Daichi stops him, stating that his spike wasn’t a mistake. The teams line up silently before getting off the court. Hinata tries to say something to Kageyama but is cut off by a team running onto the court.

Hinata and Kageyama go outside to cool off. As they’re washing their faces, Kageyama suddenly apologizes, angering Hinata. He grabs the setter and yells at him to not make it sound like he shouldn’t have tossed to him. As Hinata’s holding Kageyama down on the grass, Takeda approaches them. Smiling gently, he states that the two first years did an incredible job today, but Hinata responds sullenly that they still lost. Takeda replies that it’s true, but the defeat will help them move forward because it’s like a trial to overcome. Only the weak will remain on their knees like Hinata and Kageyama are right now; this inspires the two to get back up on their feet.

Loss and Decisions

The Karasuno team soon leaves the gym and goes out to eat. Ukai tells the team to eat up so they can recover and get stronger. Hinata starts eating and slowly, his emotions overcome him, and he starts to cry.
His loss still affects Hinata greatly the next day^[23]. He can’t pay attention in class and as soon as lunchtime comes, he runs out of his classroom without eating and heads for the gym. By the time he arrives, Kageyama’s already inside, spiking angrily at the wall. Hinata doesn’t say anything and just stands there, but Kageyama understands him instantly. He passes a ball to Hinata and they pass it back and forth silently. Eventually, Hinata messes up and Kageyama states expressionlessly that Hinata’s balance is off. Hinata doesn’t reply and instead, points out that the final match’s starting soon. All of a sudden, everything that happened during the Interhigh comes to him and in a fit of frustration, Hinata starts jumping all over the gym, Kageyama joining him shortly.

The two eventually stop when they run out of breath, and Hinata says angrily that he wants to win. Kageyama replies that he won’t apologize anymore because he has to throw the sort of toss that he won’t have to apologize for. Hinata agrees, adding that there was no time to waste and they have to continue training. At that moment, Kiyoko comes in, lightly scolding the two for being too loud. Hinata asks her anxiously if the third years are staying in the club to go on to the Spring High and his happiness, Kiyoko replies affirmatively.

Hinata then goes back to his classroom to eat lunch with his friend. The two discuss their losses and Hinata’s friend brings up the fact that the third years on his team are retiring because the teachers won’t let them play. This shocks Hinata and he slams his hands down on the table loudly, shouting that he still has a lot to learn from the third years so he still wants to play volleyball with them.

He then runs off to the faculty office to find Takeda. Anxiously, Hinata exclaims that he wants to keep playing with the third years, but Takeda replies calmly that the third years need to choose a path that they won’t end up regretting. Hinata adds that he would regret never being able to play volleyball again more than anything else, but that’s only for him. Takeda suddenly receives a phone call so Hinata excuses himself and leaves.

In the hallways, Hinata’s walking back to his class when Sugawara comes up behind him. Hinata gets scared as he thinks over what to say to Sugawara because simply asking him to stay in the club is too selfish a request. Before Hinata can say anything though, Takeda calls Sugawara away.

Later, the second- and first-years go to the gym, despite there not being any practice, and waits for the third-years to come. Just as they are all about to give up hope, the third-years arrive and announce, to everyone’s happiness, that they are going to the Spring High.

Ukai soon arrives in the gym as well and holds a meeting. He tells Karasuno that they lost in a match of strength to Aoba Johsai but Shiratorizawa is the overall winner, shocking Hinata, and Kageyama. Daichi announces that Karasuno has only gone to Nationals once, so he intends to get the team back on that court. Hinata’s overwhelmed by what he hears; he thinks of how the Spring High will be the third years’ final matches and if he goes, he’ll be standing on the same court the Small Giant had once stood on. However, he acknowledges that his team won’t be able to win in its current state.

Suddenly, Takeda bursts in and immediately announce that they’re going to Tokyo.

Tokyo Expedition Arc

Hinata excitedly asks Takeda if, by Tokyo, he means Nekoma, and Takeda confirms that they have another practice match against that school, but Nekoma isn’t going to be the only team there^[3]. The entire Fukurōdani Academy Group, composed of Nekoma and several other schools in Kanto, often holds joint practice matches; this time, thanks to Nekomata, Karasuno will be able to join the Group.

Remembering how Inuoka and Yaku stopped his quick-strike during the practice match, Hinata gets super excited and yells that this time, he will slam the ball past Nekoma. Takeda asks Karasuno what they think of the match, and everyone answers enthusiastically that they’re going.

The next day, Hinata’s in class when he hears the students in the hallways talking about someone. He pokes his head out to see and finds Kiyoko in his hallway. She asks him if he knows any first years who aren’t in any clubs, confusing him.

That evening, in a team meeting, Takeda announces the training schedule for Karasuno before the summer camp begins. The players are excited until Takeda reminds them of the final exams that are coming up soon. If the players can’t pass, they have to take supplementary lessons and will not be able to go on the Tokyo trip. Suddenly remembering the tests, Hinata begins to shake in terror. He desperately asks if they can just beg the vice-principal to let them go but Takeda replies forlornly that no matter what they do, supplementary lessons are higher priorities. Hinata, Kageyama, Nishinoya, and Tanaka begin freaking out but Daichi quickly cuts in, stating that they still have time before exams begin.

Daichi rounds up the “four idiots” that night to lecture them on how to study. Hinata whispers to Kageyama if he wants to ask Tsukishima to tutor them, but Kageyama automatically refuses. Hinata retorts that they don’t have a choice because if they fail, they won’t be able to go to Tokyo.

The two then run after Tsukishima and requests for him to teach them^[24]. Tsukishima initially refused but Hinata continues asking him; Tsukishima then interrupts him, pointing out that Kageyama isn’t doing anything and is making Hinata do all the asking. Annoyedly, Kageyama bows and requests loudly for Tsukishima to teach them.

A while later, Kiyoko returns to Hinata’s hallway to look for recruits, and Hinata gives her a list of first years that aren’t in any clubs. As she thanks him, Hinata asks curiously if the manager job’s that difficult that Kiyoko has to recruit another one. Kiyoko replies that the third years won’t be here anymore after the Spring High ends, so she needs to prepare for her retirement by finding a replacement for herself as soon as possible. Hinata volunteers eagerly to help her but she kindly rejects him, stating that he has to focus on his studies and training because everyone has high hopes for the strongest decoy.

The next day, during practice, Kiyoko suddenly comes in and introduces Hitoka Yachi as a potential new manager. Hinata happily greets her before continuing with the practice. The following day, Hinata and Kageyama try to ask Tsukishima to tutor them during a break, but he refuses. Yamaguchi then tells them to ask Yachi instead since she’s also in a college prep class. The duo finds Yachi in her classroom and introduces themselves before asking her to teach them. Yachi agrees and goes over the problems with the two, Hinata complimenting her on her notes now and then. Yachi asks Hinata if he likes studying, and Hinata replies sheepishly that it’s tough for him to sit still for a long time. Because he wants to play against Tokyo’s champions, he has to do everything he can to pass the exams and go on the trip. Yachi asks him if he’s a manager because he’s short, and Hinata exclaims that he’s a regular player. He adds proudly that he’s short but he can jump. His opponents are always so tall and strong, but the fact that he can still fight against guys like those sends shivers down his spine.

After practice one day, Hinata suddenly smacks himself. A shocked Yachi looks at him and he responds that he won’t lose. Yachi then asks him curiously why he’s working so hard to go on a trip to play in matches that aren’t even official and why he wants to win. Hinata responds calmly, “Do you need a reason to not want to lose?” His aura when he says that intimidates Yachi for a moment.

A few days later, Yachi tells him about what her mother said to her about being a manager, and Hinata asks her if she’s bothered by it. Hinata tries to reassure her by bringing up his past mistakes, but Yachi remains worried. Hinata then decides to help Yachi out by bringing her to her mother and convincing her to say her thoughts. Yachi, inspired by Hinata’s words, yells out to her mother that villager B can fight too and announces her goals. As soon as she’s done, Yachi turns to Hinata who gives her a huge grin and a thumb up.

With this, Yachi’s finally convinced to become the manager of the club. The next day, during practice, she’s given her team jacket and the entire team poses as they welcome Yachi. Daichi announces to the team that they don’t have a lot of time left before the training camp begins. All that was left were the exams. Hinata quickly turned to Yachi nervously and she reassured him that it would be fine, though she did invite Hinata and Kageyama to study at her house the next morning.

The next day, the three finished studying early and as they were leaving, Kageyama states that Yachi lives near Shiratorizawa. Hinata asks him if, by Shiratorizawa, he means Ushijima and coincidentally, Ushijima’s just passing by when Hinata mentions him. He stops and asks the duo if they have some business with him, surprising the two^[25]. Hinata and Kageyama don’t answer Ushijima at first, so he starts leaving.

Reacting quickly, Kageyama introduces himself and Hinata and asks Ushijima to allow them to watch Shiratorizawa practice. Ushijima recognizes Karasuno as the team that uses a strange quick strike before agreeing to Kageyama’s request; he states that no matter how strong the two are, they will see that Shiratorizawa never weakens. Kageyama and Hinata reply nonchalantly that they’re going to beat Shiratorizawa anyway, so they may as well see what their opponents will be like.

The three starts running together and Hinata jumps around in excitement, surprising Ushijima who notes that Hinata’s able to catch up with him. The minute the three arrive in Shiratorizawa, Hinata runs all over the school, looking around at the huge size and other features it has. The duo soon gets lost and stumbles around before finding the gym. The two look inside to check out the team and are surprised to find that Shiratorizawa’s practice match opponents are college students.

Ushijima then comes by, stating that it took the two long enough to find him. Kageyama reintroduces himself and Ushijima recognizes him from Kitagawa Daiichi. After Kageyama adds that he tried to get into Shiratorizawa but failed, Ushijima replies that his team doesn’t need a setter that can’t devote himself to the ace. Hinata cuts in, laughing at his teammate because it’s true that Kageyama doesn’t seem like that type of person. Hinata adds that Oikawa’s the same yet he’s the strongest setter in the prefecture. Ushijima remarks that Oikawa is an excellent player and should’ve gone to Shiratorizawa and Kageyama asks him if Oikawa will be devoted to the ace. Ushijima replies that Oikawa is a setter that draws out the maximum potential of whatever team he’s on; however, his team’s too weak for him and can’t utilize all of his abilities. Hinata thinks of the players in Aoba Johsai and responds calmly, with an intimidating aura, that if Aoba Johsai’s barren land, then Karasuno would be concrete.

A stray ball suddenly comes at the three and Ushijima reaches for it; Hinata jumps up in front of him and grabs the ball, exclaiming that he sprouts from that concrete and will take Ushijima down to get to nationals. Before any of them can say anything, a teacher walks by and kicks Hinata and Kageyama out of the school. As the two are leaving, Kageyama states that they weren’t able to defeat Aoba Johsai so they have to do that first before reaching Shiratorizawa. Hinata replies determinedly that if they defeat both schools, there won’t be any trouble. They have to go to Tokyo to get stronger.

A few days later, test results come out. Hinata and Kageyama fail, despite all the studying they did. However, they’re still planning on going, even if they have to bike there. Tanaka then approaches the two with a solution; his sister Saeko will drive them to Tokyo once they finish their make-up exams.

Like Tanaka’s proposal, as soon as the lessons ends, Kageyama and Hinata bolt out of Karasuno and runs outside. Saeko’s waiting for them there and they soon start driving to Tokyo. In the car, Hinata glares at the road ahead and Saeko pinches his cheeks, telling him to relax. She asks him why he’s playing volleyball and before he can finish his sentence, Saeko interrupts and asks if it’s because he saw the Small Giant. Hinata excitedly asks her if she knows him and she answers that he’s her former classmate. She adds that she once watched one of Karasuno’s practice matches and the Small Giant wasn’t doing so well during that game. He was switched out midway and started trashing the hallway around before turning to Saeko with an intense look. It felt like his entire body gave off a sense of sheer pride and confidence from being the team’s ace. Hinata thought of Ushijima, comparing his aura to the Small Giant’s.

The two soon arrive in Tokyo and enter the gym^[26], where their team’s waiting for them. For the rest of the day, Karasuno plays several practice matches; each time, the opponents are perplexed by Hinata and Kageyama’s quick strike. As Karasuno’s taking a break, Hinata looks over at Nekoma and notices that Inuoka’s benched but there’s a new player that seems to have a whip-like spike.

After practice ends, Hinata walks around with Kenma and Inuoka who reveals to him the new guy’s name—Lev Haiba, a half-Russian, half-Japanese. They discussed his skills and Kenma stated that Lev just started volleyball in high school so his basic skills are terrible, even worse than Hinata’s.

Hinata then leaves to go to the bathroom and just as he enters^[27], he nearly bumps into Lev. Hinata’s shocked that Lev knows Japanese and quickly introduces himself before asking Lev’s height. Lev points out how Hinata’s even shorter up close, angering the latter, but quickly adds that he means if Hinata jumped, he won’t be able to reach as high as Lev can. Hinata decides to prove him wrong by jumping up, though he ends up hitting his head on the ceiling. After recovering, he exclaims confidently that he will jump even higher than the Russian can to beat him. Although, Hinata does admit that Lev’s spikes are incredible because they blow right past the blockers. Lev replies with a confident smile that he’s Nekoma’s ace, after all. Hinata counters that Lev’s a middle blocker so he can’t be the ace, but Lev replies that position has nothing to do with it. An ace is the one that makes off with the most points. This affects Hinata’s way of thinking, and he looks down at his hand as he thinks of all the points he usually scores for his team.

The next day, during a timeout in his practice match, Hinata looks over at Nekoma’s game again. He watches Lev’s successful spikes, remembering his words on being the ace. A while later, Karasuno and Nekoma play against each other, and right from the start, Hinata surprises Lev with a quick strike. However, Lev quickly blocks his next attacks and challenges Hinata to try to beat him.

As the game progresses, Hinata slowly gets distracted by Nekoma’s strength and starts thinking of Ushijima and the Small Giant. In the next move, Hinata’s so absorbed in his thoughts that he spikes the ball spontaneously, not realizing it’s meant for Asahi. As a result, the two crash into each other. Hinata apologizes frantically right afterward.

Hinata gets back into the game but gets a new idea. He approaches Kageyama and tells him he’s going to stop closing his eyes during the quick strikes, shocking his teammates. Hinata explains that he can’t have Kageyama enabling him to hit that quick all the time, but Kageyama rejects him and walks away, stating that he has no intention of tossing to someone who he knows will miss.

The game continues but the tension from Hinata and Asahi’s collision is still there among the players. By the end of the day, Hinata hasn’t given up his decision to start spiking with his eyes open. He asks Kageyama again, with Sugawara backing him up this time, but Kageyama won’t change his mind. Hinata explains that he wants to fight on his own in the air and reminds Kageyama of their loss to Aoba Johsai. Kageyama replies that the quick strike is Hinata’s greatest weapon, but there is no need for him to think on his own in it. He then walks away. Sugawara tells Hinata that he agrees with Kageyama now that he has heard his viewpoint and before Hinata can reply, Ukai comes out and says the same thing.

Hinata responds quietly that when he’s in good form^[28], he can see everything on the other side of the net. At first, Ukai assumes Hinata only thinks he sees everything until he looks into the latter’s eyes and realizes he’s serious. Before Ukai can react, Hinata walks away, but Ukai seems to have a change of heart. As soon as they all enter the gym, Ukai approaches Hinata and tells him that he’s right; the quick strike can still evolve, and he wants Hinata to try.

After practice, Hinata tells Kageyama to toss to him. The two and Yachi use an empty gym to practice with Hinata’s idea, but they keep failing. In the end, Kageyama gets angry and yells at Hinata that there are a ton of things he should be fixing instead of wasting his time on an attack he can’t do. Hinata argues back that he has to get better and Kageyama shoves him, shouting that he will destroy the team’s balance with his selfishness. Hinata loses it and grabs Kageyama who throws him over. The two continue fighting until Yachi calls Tanaka in to stop it.

A bandaged Hinata ends up walking home with Yachi. Hinata apologizes to Yachi for earlier and tells her his past with Kageyama. Hinata says that he knew he and Kageyama wouldn’t be friends at first, but they could be partners.

The next day, Hinata approaches Ukai and asks him for tips on how to practice. Instead, Ukai decides to take him to someone else: the original Coach Ikkei Ukai. Hinata asks Ikkei to teach him to fight on his own and jokingly, the coach points out his height. However, Hinata says that he wants to fight on his own because of his height. Ikkei says that he’s right in thinking that way because, in a quick strike, the spiker is the definite moving force. To better explain that notion, Ikkei tells Hinata to try blocking his students’ spikes.

Ikkei sets up a few different tempos that Hinata stops easily until the First Tempo^[29]. Ikkei asks him about the differences between the tempos and Hinata replies that timing’s different. The coach adds that the run-up for the quick begins before the setter’s toss, so the setter has to match the toss to the spiker. In other words, the quick strike is an attack led by the spiker. Ikkei’s words seem to affect Ukai who runs off suddenly, leaving Hinata alone with Ikkei.

Hinata, while gripping a volleyball, tells Ikkei that all this time, he has been moving on his own until he got to the top. The older man asks if from now on, Hinata wants to fight even at the top but to do that, Kageyama will have to improve too. Hinata states that Kageyama is already incredible so he’ll probably be fine, but Hinata needs to learn how to fight at the top so he won’t fall behind.

The following Tuesday, Hinata apologizes to Tanaka before practice begins. Ukai arranges for the players to have a practice match between themselves, with Hinata on the opposite team to Kageyama’s. Yachi approaches Hinata and asks him if things between him and Kageyama are ok. Hinata replies with a calm smile that they’re fine.

For the next few weeks, Hinata visits Ikkei several times to practice until the summer training camp resumes. Karasuno goes back to Tokyo^[30]. The first practice match is against Fukurōdani and Kageyama and Hinata try their quick-strike again, but Kageyama’s toss is too short and it fails. Hinata seems surprised but doesn’t say anything initially.

The second time almost fails, but Hinata manages to switch hands midair. As he lands, he stares at Kageyama silently, nothing to himself that Kageyama has changed.

That night, Hinata’s walking by when he hears Bokuto ask Tsukishima to train with him. After Tsukishima rejects the Fukurōdani ace, Hinata bombards Tsukishima with questions, but the latter ignores them. Irritated, Hinata complains to Yamaguchi who is shocked that Tsukishima would reject a champion school’s ace like that. Yamaguchi then interrupts Hinata’s rant to ask him what he would say to Tsukishima the way he is now. Hinata replies that he wouldn’t say anything because he doesn’t even know if Tsukishima even wants to play volleyball. Yamaguchi replies sadly that Tsukishima probably likes volleyball because if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have come to Karasuno. Hinata, noticing Yamaguchi’s worry for his friend, asks him what he would say^[31].

Yamaguchi, inspired by Hinata’s words, then leaves and runs to Tsukishima, surprising Yachi who comes in to ask Hinata about it. Hinata states wistfully that Tsukishima would never do anything uncool so he thinks he’ll be fine because if one compares being good at volleyball to being bad, it’s obvious which one’s cooler.

Sometime later, Yamaguchi comes back into the gym and Hinata asks him what happened to Tsukishima. After Yamaguchi replies that Tsukishima went to train with Kuroo and Bokuto, Hinata gets jealous. Yamaguchi then asks him if he sees Tsukishima as a rival. Hinata replies affirmatively, stating that Tsukishima is also a middle blocker and has all the things Hinata doesn’t, but he definitely won’t lose to him.

As the summer passes by, Kageyama and Hinata’s quick-strike barely improves. In a practice match against Nekoma, Karasuno gets worn out and begins to make mistakes. Irritated by his blunders, Hinata starts to lose his temper and stresses about how everyone, even Tsukishima, is improving tremendously. So far, Hinata’s the only person that hasn’t shown any real progress.

He finally snaps when Kageyama makes a mistake with his toss^[32]. While everyone commends Hinata for his quick recovery, Hinata turns on Kageyama and yells at him for doing a bad job, angering the setter. Kageyama threatens the spiker, but Hinata replies that the toss just now wasn’t their usual falling toss. Before Hinata can say anymore, Tanaka drags him away.

After practice, Kageyama tells Hinata that he won’t be practicing with him anymore because he keeps screwing up the toss. Hinata is stunned because Kageyama is being considerate for once and questions him, to which Kageyama replies angrily. Yachi then interrupts and says that she wants to see the new quick-strike, motivating the duo to start practicing right away. Hinata rushes outside and forces Kenma to practice with him, though he only manages to get five tosses out of the setter before he runs away.

Afterward, Hinata hurries to one of the gyms where Tsukishima, Bokuto, Akaashi, and Kuroo are. Just as he asks if he could join their practice, Lev arrives next to him and asks the same thing. With enough people there now, Kuroo proposes a 3-on-3. To his excitement, Hinata ends up on Team Owls with Bokuto and Akaashi. However, just as the game reaches the second set, Bokuto pauses it for dinner.

A while later, the game is restarted. Bokuto performs a “tipping into the block” which amazes Hinata. After asking the third year about it, Bokuto explains the steps and tells Hinata spiking isn’t just about slamming the ball to the floor. If he keeps his cool, he would be able to see what actions to take. Hinata stares as the ace’s back in deep thought.

Taking into account what Bokuto proposed, Hinata then aims for the tip of Lev’s finger when he and the other two blockers gang up on Hinata. The ball bounces off Lev’s finger and goes out, scoring a point for the Owls. Although, Hinata does confess afterward that his success was just a fluke. Bokuto gets excited and rubs Hinata’s head while complimenting him and offers to teach him a special finishing move (a type of feint), thrilling the first year. The next day, Karasuno goes against Fukurōdani for the last time this summer camp. Before the game starts, Daichi tells his team about the secret BBQ the coaches planned, boosting all of their morale’s.

Just as the game begins, Bokuto performs a perfect block=out. Hinata watches him and tries to think of a way to retaliate before remembering the special move Bokuto taught him. He successfully pulls off the feint, shocking his teammates and opponents. As the opponents are scrambling to save the ball, Hinata thinks back to Bokuto’s words on how the feeling he gets from a successful feint is the best.

Daichi states that this trip has been one loss after another but at the very least, they should snatch a win from Fukurōdani, the strongest among the training camp’s members, before leaving. Motivated, the players get ready for a comeback.

However, the score continues to be in Fukurōdani’s favor and Karasuno doesn’t show any improvement until Hinata initiates the new quick attack with Kageyama by starting his run-up early. The ball flies past Akaashi and hits the floor, stunning everyone. Hinata and Kageyama look at each other knowingly before celebrating loudly. Hinata’s so overjoyed, he exclaims that Kageyama is incredible before excitedly calling for another try. Kageyama doesn’t know what to make of that and ends up stuttering out his thanks.

The second time fails though, but the duo isn’t worried at all. Bokuto ends up slowly making more mistakes until he finally snaps. Depressed, he tells Akaashi to not send the ball to him anymore and Karasuno takes advantage of the ace’s dilemma. Karasuno slowly gains back their points in the meantime, each member showing off his new skills. However, at the last minute, Bokuto makes a sudden comeback, and Fukurōdani wins^[33]. Asahi apologizes to the team but Ukai replies that it’s good he realized his fault on his own. In his situation, it’s understandable that Asahi would get scared. Even though the team lost today, their attacks got through against a nationals level opponent. Takeda adds that right now, the players can’t beat the other teams in serves or combination moves because they’ve been at it longer than the players have. That doesn’t mean they should stop there though. When colors mix, they become muddy and messy but when they all blend, the final result is the color that wins against all others: black. To finish his speech off, Takeda asks the players to become a team of black like the crows they represent.

After penalties, Kageyama states to Hinata that if their quicks were more successful, they probably could’ve taken a set from Fukurōdani. However, with their quick, they can fight now. Even if the opponents read what they’re going to do and chase after them, they can still fight.

At the BBQ, Hinata exclaims to Bokuto that he won’t lose in a real match and Bokuto agrees to the challenge. As they begin eating, Bokuto brags loudly that he’s one of the top five aces in the country, but Kuroo points out how Ushijima is one of the top three. Lev asks who the other two are and Kuroo reveals their names: Kyushu’s “Kiryū” and Kanto’s “Sakusa”. However, this year, Sakusa’s school is the favorite to win the championships. Lev and Hinata simultaneously ask if they beat Sakusa, they’ll be the top in Japan. Kuroo points out how those two are saying this despite being the top two in crappiness.

As Karasuno finally heads home, Hinata says to Kageyama that he doesn’t like being weak but the fact that there are a lot of people who are “above” it makes him happy, puzzling the setter^[34].

Spring High Preliminary Arc

Now back in Karasuno High, the members are busy preparing for the upcoming Spring High. Hinata and Kageyama practice into the night with the former Coach Ukai, who advises them to take a break since their quick hasn’t been succeeding. However, as soon as he says that, Kageyama and Hinata finally pull it off, surprising Ukai and everyone else near the court.

August 11, the first day of the Spring High begins. In the hallway, passersby are surprised by Hinata’s haggard appearance. He reveals that he feels a lot better now since he threw up on the bus; this memory adds to the other members’ anxiety and causes them to get sick as well. Tanaka congratulates Hinata for managing to hold in his puke until after the bus stopped instead of hurling in anyone’s lap, embarrassing the first year.

Hinata then heads to the bathroom and bumps into Yoshiki Towada. The stranger yells at him and Hinata apologizes hastily. He stops when he notices that the guy’s from Ohgiminami High, the school he’s going up against. Before Hinata can say anything though, the guy pats his head and apologizes for shouting at him, assuming that he’s the younger brother of a player. Hinata quickly shouts that he’s a first-year at Karasuno and announces that he’ll win and go to nationals. Seemingly annoyed, the guy coldly states that Hinata shouldn’t talk about winning the nationals so easily. He’s initially unnerved by the confident gaze Hinata gives him but says that in the end, everyone will lose to Shiratorizawa.

Karasuno vs Ohgiminami

Karasuno enters the stadium and warms up. The match begins and before long, Karasuno is leading by five points and is nearing the 20s of the first set. Since the Ohgiminami players don’t put much effort into their play, Karasuno’s able to clinch the first set easily with Hinata and Kageyama’s infamous quick scoring the final point.

As the members are celebrating, they hear one of their opponents announce that he’ll take down Karasuno and beat Shiratorizawa. Confidently, they accept their opponent’s challenge. The second set begins and Karasuno dominates its way to the 20s again. The now motivated Ohgiminami players try to save the ball, but Karasuno wins the match with a quick strike from Hinata and Kageyama (2:0 / 25-16, 25-13).

Done with their match, the Karasuno members celebrate and head off the court. As they’re walking by, they see a match between Nishita and Kakugawa, their next opponent. Hinata appears unnerved by the 2m tall player in Kakugawa and notes that he has to beat him or he won’t be able to advance to the representative battle.

Karasuno vs Kakugawa

As Daichi is encouraging the team for its next match, Hinata turns around to see the 2m player towering over him. When Yamaguchi compares their heights, Hinata gets offended and yells that he’s 163 cm if they round up. Tsukishima comments that Hinata and Yūdai Hyakuzawa have a 40cm height difference, and Yachi tries to defend Hinata by adding that Kitty-chan is also 40cm so it’s not such a big difference. This leads to a conversation about the types of things that can be placed on Hinata’s head so he can match the player in height. Hinata states that he wants to combine with a Lucifer Dogfish because he’ll then be 2m tall. Kageyama hears this and blatantly asks if Hinata’s scared.

The match between Kakugawa and Karasuno soon begins. Hinata’s shown hiding behind Tanaka as he eyes the two-meter player. Tsukishima serves first, but it’s received easily by Kakugawa. The ball’s then sent to Hyakuzawa, who spikes right over Hinata’s head.

Counterattacking, Hinata and Kageyama try their infamous quick. While spiking, Hinata notices that he’ll be blocked at that angle, so he quickly switches to a feint. However, Hyakuzawa easily moves his arms over and completely blocks the ball^[35]. This continues until Kakugawa is leading by three points, and Hinata begins to get frustrated. Even his diagonal jumps aren’t working in throwing Hyakuzawa off. On the other hand, Kageyama seems unaffected, even unusually optimistic. He suddenly asks to use the new quick-strike, to Hinata’s surprise, but this boosts the middle blocker’s morale immediately.

In the next move, Kageyama sets the ball to Hinata at the perfect angle and Hinata spikes it down so quickly that none of the opponents, including Hyakuzawa, can react. The quick strikes continue succeeding until Karasuno is nearing its set point. Hinata and Kageyama then use a minus tempo to score, taking the first set for Karasuno.

The second set begins and Karasuno uses a first tempo synchronized attack right off the bat. The members score easily, and the score gap increases gradually until Karasuno is at its match point. Despite this, Hinata is wary of Hyakuzawa, knowing that if he lets his guard down, the opponent will reach him in no time. To counter Hyakuzawa’s height, Daichi tells Hinata and Tanaka to give up trying to block the opponent completely and instead look for a different technique. When Hyakuzawa spikes again, Daichi, Tanaka, and Hinata use a soft block to decrease the momentum of the ball so it can be received easily. The ball is sent towards Hinata, who suddenly remembers his time in Tokyo, and performs a block-out off Hyakuzawa’s fingers. The ball then goes out and Karasuno wins the match (2:0 / 25-22, 25-19).

Hinata closes his hand, proud of himself for scoring a point with something other than a quick. The Karasuno members praise him, with Asahi holding Hinata up to the team. With this match, Karasuno has passed through the Miyagi Prefecture’s first Spring High Preliminary and will advance to the Representative Playoffs^[36].

Karasuno vs Johzenji

The Karasuno members soon head home. Kiyoko goes back to the gym to check for forgotten items and the team goes ahead. Hinata remarks that with this match, they’re finally going to be in the same arena as Oikawa and Ushijima. Suddenly, he remembers his lunchbox that he forgot in the stadium. As he heads back to get it, he sees two guys harassing Kiyoko for her number. Despite being afraid of their intimidating appearances, Hinata jumps in between them and Kiyoko and tries to get the manager away. However, the guys easily brush Hinata aside and continue with their advances. Hinata gets between them again, jumping high over one of the guys, who notices Hinata’s Karasuno shirt. He recognizes Hinata as a member of the team which had defeated the “2m team”. He then states frivolously that he wanted to have some fun against that team too, surprising Hinata. The first year asks the guy if he made it through the preliminary and the guy reveals that his team was in the top four in the Interhigh Preliminaries. He then starts to leave and pats Hinata’s head, stating that if they face off in the representative playoffs, they should get some fun out of it.

A confused Hinata watches the guys walk away as he thinks of how the stranger had called volleyball fun. Kiyoko then gives him his lunchbox and comments on the cute cat wrapping, embarrassing Hinata who quickly asserts that it’s his sister’s. Sometime before the qualifiers begin, Hinata asks Tsukishima if he could block Ushijima as he was already planning the finals. When Tsukishima asks him about that, Hinata answers that as middle blockers, they’ll have to face Ushijima and Shiratorizawa eventually. After he is rejected, Hinata complains and claims that he’ll find his own way to defeat Ushijima. That night, Kageyama comes back from Aoba Johsai and when learning that he had lost confidence in trying to defeat Oikawa, Hinata gets provoked at the fact that the setter had given up. Despite admitting that he’s afraid of Oikawa, Kageyama then expresses his determination to defeat Aoba Johsai, and Hinata joins in.

A few days later, Hinata talks to Kenma and starts to get cold. Despite Hinata not bringing up nationals much, Kenma tells his friend that he wishes to take part in a match that would be instantly over once either of their teams loses. At this, Hinata immediately accepts. ^[37].

October 25th comes around soon. Karasuno goes to Sendai City Gymnasium again for the Representative Playoffs. Remembering his loss against Aoba Johsai, Hinata states that they are going to have their revenge. He then runs inside and bumps into the guy who was harassing Kiyoko—Yūji Terushima. Hinata finds out that he’s from Johzenji before Terushima pushes him away and waves to Kiyoko. This enrages Tanaka and Nishinoya, who rush at Terushima, but Johzenji’s manager intercepts and apologizes. Terushima ignores the two and walks away after saying that he’ll see Karasuno in the first round.

After Johzenji leaves, Hinata notes that all the teams are in this stadium right now. Motivated, he and Kageyama run down the hallway, exclaiming that they’ll beat everyone. After the team’s settled in, Hinata goes to the bathroom. With a grave expression, he faces the door and remembers all the times he’d bumped into “dangerous types” there. As he’s telling himself to be careful, Oikawa and Iwaizumi approach him. Iwaizumi tries to compliment Hinata for defeating the 2m guy, but the latter’s unnerved and ends up replying incoherently.

Oikawa teasingly threatens to bury the middle blocker and Hinata quickly escapes. However, he ends up crashing into Ushijima who instantly recognizes him. Ushijima then greets Oikawa and Iwaizumi and wishes them luck for their last high school tournament, unknowingly insulting them due to his implication that they won’t get into nationals. Hinata tries to interrupt, exclaiming that Karasuno will triumph, but gets cut off by menacing glares from the other three. As he’s backing away fearfully, he bumps into Aone. Ushijima then leaves after stating that Shiratorizawa will accept all challenges. Relieved now that the tension’s gone, Hinata goes inside the bathroom while reaffirming that it is indeed a scary place.

Afterward, he goes back to the court and watches the other teams set up. Sugawara points out that the “Queens” are on Court C. He introduces them as Niiyama Joshi, the team which had been representing the girls’ side for years. Unnerved, Hinata remarks that they look strong. Tanaka suddenly calls out to someone on the team but stops when all the girls glare at him. As they walk away, Hinata excitedly asks Tanaka about it and Tanaka replies proudly that he raised Niiyama Joshi’s up-and-coming ace. Sugawara and Daichi quickly respond that Tanaka was just on the same junior sports team as that person.

Soon, it’s time for Karasuno to go against Johzenji for their first round. Karasuno serves first and Johzenji has trouble receiving it. However, Karasuno’s soon surprised when Terushima spikes the ball back while jumping and turning around midair. Johzenji’s wild, random playing style throws Karasuno off. A ball suddenly goes towards the bleachers and Hinata jumps after it, catches it midair, turns, and propels himself off the wall and back onto the court. Nishinoya swipes the ball over the net back to Johzenji’s side, demonstrating that Karasuno can be just as unpredictable.

Hinata and Kageyama bring out their infamous quick for the first time in this match, shocking everyone in the stadium. Johzenji’s unable to stop the next few quicks until Kageyama gets hit in the face with a ball. With a nosebleed, he’s forcibly taken off the court. Hinata reassures him that the team will take care of everything while he’s gone. Hinata is then switched out as well because, without Kageyama, he knows there’s no purpose for him to be on the court. However, Hinata remains optimistic.

The game continues with neither side yielding. Before long, Kageyama comes back. Karasuno wins the first set due to a mistake Johzenji made. The duo is switched back into the game for the second set^[38]. Hinata’s greeted by Terushima who teasingly remarks that things are dull without Hinata there and announces that he’s going to win this set. Hinata yells back that he can’t beat him one-on-one yet, but his team as a whole will beat Johzenji.

Kageyama and Hinata try a quick strike, but Hinata’s excitement causes him to miss his spike. However, Daichi hits the ball just as it was about to strike the ground. Terushima spikes it back over but Daichi sends it to Kageyama and Hinata, who scores. The duo apologizes to the captain for their mistake, but Daichi simply replies that he was already prepared for it since he knew they would let their overexcitement get to them.

Karasuno soon has a five-point advantage over Johzenji. However, after a pep talk from its manager, Johzenji devises a new tactic to counter Hinata’s quick-strike by leaving him open and falling back so they can receive it easily. This infuriates Hinata, who notes that even though he hates getting blocked, it’s even more annoying when blockers ignore him. He asks for another quick to intimidate Johzenji and succeeds when he spikes the ball to the very corner of the opposing court.

Karasuno wins when Johzenji’s ball goes out (2:0 / 25-21, 25-20). The players celebrate happily and leave the court. As he’s pushing the volleyball trolley out, Hinata sees Aone looming over him. He states that tomorrow, he’ll beat Hinata. Eagerly, the latter accepts the challenge and starts shouting in excitement.

Karasuno vs Wakutani Minami

Karasuno goes to Court B to see who its next opponent would be. Wakutani Minami had just won its match and Kageyama reminds Hinata that Ukai had warned them about this team before the Interhigh. Hinata exclaims that before they can get to Date Tech, they have to beat these guys.

The team soon goes back to Karasuno High to prepare for the next match tomorrow. Ukai explains Wakutani’s prowess and techniques and warns the members to not get impatient, especially Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka, and Nishinoya. Daichi reassures everyone that he and the defensive specialists of the team would back up the wing spikers. The team then huddles and vows to win tomorrow.

The next day, the teams gather up at the Sendai City Gymnasium again. As he’s warming up on the court, Hinata sees the Nakashima family cheering for Takeru and gets jealous. The game soon begins and Hinata scores the first point right away with a quick^[39]. To motivate Hinata, Daichi points out that Wakutani Minami is studying him carefully after noticing how on guard it is against the middle blocker; this works effectively.

The game flows smoothly until Takeru tries to spike against three blockers–Hinata, Tanaka, and Daichi. Takeru chooses to perform a block-out off Hinata’s hand. This playing style instantly reminds Hinata of the Small Giant’s.

Both sides are neck-to-neck until Tsukishima blocks a spike and Asahi spikes through the blockers. Karasuno begins leading by two points. However, this is cut short when Daichi collides into Tanaka as they were both trying to receive the same ball. He’s taken off the court to recover and Ennoshita replaces him. Karasuno has a little trouble adapting at first, but gets back on its feet before long and wins the first set.

Without Daichi, Karasuno ends up losing the second set to Wakutani. In the break, Hinata asks Ukai about Takeru’s playing style to confirm if it’s really like the Small Giant’s. Ukai replies that it’s the closest in the prefecture, causing Hinata to get jealous of Takeru. Kageyama tells Hinata to not try to compete since the other team’s mid-air techniques are way better than his, annoying the middle blocker.

When the game resumes, Hinata attempts a block-out but fails. He’s unnerved by the smug look Takeru gives him afterward. However, when Takeru tries a block-out off Hinata and Tanaka, Hinata runs after the ball, hits it back up into the air, and easily flips over with technique he perfected from doing so many flying falls during the summer^[40]. He and Kageyama counter with a quick strike before crashing into each other.

Hinata’s soon up against three blockers, but he isn’t discouraged. As he assesses them, he realizes that he’ll get blocked and with quick thinking, he bounces the ball off their hands so Karasuno could try another attack.

The third set goes by quickly, but the exhausted players on both sides are starting to make more mistakes. Soon, Karasuno’s at match point. Takeru goes to spike against Hinata and Kageyama and Hinata moves his hand in an attempt to stop the ball. However, it bounces off him instead and flies towards the back. Acting quickly, Ennoshita jumps and hits it back towards Kageyama, who performs another quick with Hinata. The ball goes towards Shunki, but he fails to receive it properly and it ends up going out. Karasuno wins the match (2:1 / 25-20, 20-25, 25-23)^[41].

Despite his victory, Hinata feels insecure about his ability in comparison with Takeru’s. He states to Kageyama that he wasn’t able to win a head-to-head battle against the third year and admits that Takeru was more of a “Small Giant” than he is. Kageyama simply responds that Hinata’s just too young.

Now that the match has ended, both teams exit the court. Hinata goes upstairs with the first years, confident about his next match. Suddenly, Yamaguchi runs to the bathroom, and Hinata comments on how fired up the former is about it. Kageyama wonders if Yamaguchi’s going to shit and Hinata calls him out for using vulgar language.

Aoba Johsai vs Date Tech

While watching the match, Daichi tells Hinata not to stuff himself, among with a few other teammates, as they devour their food. When Date Tech’s third years are commenting about the match, Hinata watches them. As he watches Koganegawa set perfectly to Aone, Hinata doesn’t say anything but he is shown being shacky to play. Aoba Johsai soon wins and Karasuno heads down. On the way, Hinata passes by Aone, and both silently vow to beat each other next time.

Karasuno vs Aoba Johsai

The warmups are filled with tension as each member remembers the loss in Interhigh. Hinata casually asks Kageyama if he’s nervous and instead of the usual indignant response, Kageyama admits that he is because Oikawa’s strong. He remembers something Iwaizumi once said during junior high about how with a full team, the strong will get even stronger. He states that he didn’t understand it back then but with Karasuno, he realizes the true meaning. It’s not a matter of adding up the players’ abilities, but rather multiplying them. Oikawa will draw out more of the spikers’ power than Kageyama can, no matter what team the third year is on. Hinata replies that Karasuno’s an exception then, surprising Kageyama.

As the team finally heads onto the court, Hinata remarks that they’re going to get their revenge this time. The match begins and Karasuno shows off its improvements from the summer training camp. While the other players have utilized all their new techniques, Hinata still hasn’t hit the ball yet and he starts to get jittery. His desire to hit a quick stems from when his spike was blocked at the match point in the Interhigh match against Aoba Johsai.

However, when he finally hits a quick, it’s blocked by Kindaichi. The ball’s saved by Tsukishima, but Kageyama worries about Hinata’s ability to play due to his overexcitement. To calm down the middle blocker, Kageyama kicks him hard in the butt, annoying the latter. Hinata tries the new quick again, thinking back to his fight with Kageyama during the summer. It succeeds^[42], slamming right past Kindaichi.

Aoba Johsai switches in Kyōtani, who steals Kindaichi’s ball right off the bat. Karasuno’s shocked by the new player’s attitude and Hinata wonders who he is while he’s impressed by the wing spiker’s “Mad Dog” nickname. Kyōtani then spikes right across the court, scoring a point easily. Karasuno can’t stop Kyōtani initially because of his brute strength and Oikawa’s tactics. Despite being overwhelmed, Hinata exclaims that Kyōtani’s spikes are cool.

To mitigate the score gap, Kageyama tries a back attack with Hinata, but it gets completely blocked by Oikawa. The third-year reveals that he had been expecting that. With the score gap increasing steadily every second and the players in chaos against Kyōtani’s reckless playing style, Ukai sends in Sugawara to change the match dynamics. Sugawara uses a synchronized attack with Kageyama spiking to gain back a point. However, Aoba Johsai still has a huge advantage over Karasuno. With no other choice, Ukai sends in Yamaguchi. Hinata tells Yamaguchi to score ten points and cheers him on with Nishinoya, Sugawara, and Ennoshita.

Yamaguchi pulls off two jump float serves^[43] before getting stopped by Hanamaki. His success boosts Karasuno’s morale tenfold and helps the team take back a few points. On the side, Hinata cheers on his teammates. Aoba Johsai soon wins the second set. Yamaguchi comments on how amazing Oikawa’s serve is and Hinata assures him that his jump float is just as great. Despite this, Yamaguchi remains unsure of himself until Tanaka comes over.

The third set begins, but there is noticeable tension on both sides because this will be the last match for the teams with these members. Karasuno plays fiercely to pull itself ahead and Oikawa begins to make mistakes with his serves. However, Aoba Johsai easily catches up but due to problems with Kyōtani, Coach Irihata switches him out. Karasuno uses this opportunity to take a few points until Kyōtani comes back.

Both teams are keeping up by now, but Hinata can see Kageyama getting distressed over his and Oikawa’s differences in setting style. To reassure his setter, Hinata blatantly remarks that Oikawa is strong but with Hinata here, Kageyama is invincible. His words impress both his team and Aoba Johsai^[44].

The duo performs a quick but this time, Hinata accidentally jumps too far. Despite Hinata being too close to the net, Kageyama still sets to him and inadvertently creates a new version of the quick strike. When Hinata slams the ball down, no one can receive it. He and Kageyama celebrate excitedly afterward.

Despite some members showing clear exhaustion, Hinata remains active and continues running across the court or performing risky moves that send him flying backward. Soon Aoba Johsai is at set point and Sugawara is switched in. Hinata’s eyes are glazed over now, his concentration fully on the game. When Kyōtani spikes, the middle blocker crashes into Kageyama to create a two-man block, successfully stopping the second year. Hinata apologizes uneasily for it, afraid of retaliation from the setter.

The tides have turned so that Karasuno is at match point. Both teams are playing vigorously, with each player taking dangerous risks to ensure that the ball doesn’t drop. Kageyama tosses to Hinata, who slams the ball past Kindaichi’s hand. Oikawa fails to receive it properly and Karasuno wins the match (2:1 / 25-23, 26-28, 26-24). Hinata stares down at his fist as he remembers his blocked quick during Interhigh. The team huddles in happiness before exiting the court.

Karasuno vs Shiratorizawa

On his way to the bus, Hinata remembers Ushijima’s words about Aoba Johsai being barren land. He tells Kageyama that they will show Ushijima the strength they grew from the concrete. When they get back to Karasuno High, they celebrate loudly and Daichi announces that their goal is to win nationals. Ukai then gathers the players around him to discuss their next opponent–Shiratorizawa.

The next day, the team goes back to the Sendai City Gymnasium for their finals^[45]. Someone calls Hinata and he turns to see Izumi and Kōji. Excitedly, he introduces the two to Tanaka until Kōji suddenly notices Kageyama. Hinata explains teasingly that Kageyama’s different now and the latter yells at him for being slow. Hinata runs back to his team after bidding his friends goodbye.

As the members enter the court, they’re overwhelmed by the number of people in the bleachers and Hinata clutches his stomach as he heads to the bathroom again. When he comes back, the team warms up. Hinata and Kageyama use the new near-the-net quick, shocking the spectators. At some point, Hinata sends a ball over to Shiratorizawa by accident and runs over to get it from one of the players. When he takes it, he’s surprised by the player’s resemblance to Benkei.

The match begins and the players line up. Hinata’s so nervous that he forgets to bow to Shiratorizawa. The rest of the team is just as anxious, allowing Shiratorizawa to gain two points over them. Hinata can’t block the opponents completely and Nishinoya has trouble receiving Ushijima’s spikes. A huge eight-point score gap is soon established. However, after a few moves, Nishinoya can adapt to Ushijima’s left-handed spikes and finally receives a ball. An excited Hinata cheers on his teammate.

When Hinata’s switched in, he has trouble blocking Shiratorizawa because of his opponents’ techniques. Up to this point, Ushijima hasn’t received at all and instead, leaves it to his teammates. Hinata thinks back to the challenge he gave to the ace the first time they met and slams the ball down, forcing Ushijima to finally receive. The latter retaliates with a spike, which Hinata tries to block. It slams off his hands and Hinata immediately shakes them around to alleviate the pain.

With overwhelming power, Shiratorizawa soon takes the first set^[46]. Hinata’s completely motivated now to beat Ushijima but has trouble against Tendō as well. He blocks Hinata several times, but it angers Kageyama more. The next move, the setter gets revenge by hiding his movements so Tendō can’t guess who he’ll be tossing to. Kageyama then shoots the ball to Hinata, who slams it straight down before anyone in Shiratorizawa can react.

Karasuno has gotten used to Shiratorizawa’s tactics by now and can keep up, even if the players can’t stop Ushijima. The players are switched out multiple times to try attacks that may be able to mitigate the score gap, but none provide very successful results. On his way back to the court, Hinata notices Sugawara encouraging him. The first year holds his thumb up before crashing into Tsukishima. The blond tells him a new strategy and Hinata tries it the next move. He can one-touch Tendō’s spike, allowing Kageyama to pull off a dump shot. Hinata runs to Tsukishima to give him a high five, but Tsukishima simply side-steps the attempt.

Hinata soon appears to perform a feint, but it’s only a ruse to distract the blockers from Tanaka. This pulls Karasuno to match point, but Shiratorizawa keeps up. Ushijima spikes the ball off Tsukishima’s hand and Hinata runs after it. He jumps off the borders used to separate the court and manages to keep the ball in the air.

The second set’s going to the thirties and neither side is giving in. Shirabu makes a mistake in his set to Ushijima, allowing Tsukishima to block the ace. This allows Karasuno to finally win the second set^[47]. Hinata congratulates Tsukishima and tells him that one point is just as good as a hundred. Tsukishima responds with a condescending thanks, annoying Hinata.

Shiratorizawa takes back the third set and the court changes. As Hinata passes by Ushijima, the ace tells him that he’d thought the first year would be more skilled. However, Hinata’s skills are actually at an infantile level. This shocks and infuriates the middle blocker. When the first year goes back to his team, Kageyama criticizes him for walking slowly and Hinata comments on his similarity with Ushijima. Oblivious to the true meaning of that, Kageyama agrees and states that he’ll eventually be able to hit the same spikes as the ace. Depressed, Hinata falls and mutters that Kageyama misunderstood.

Before the next set starts, Hinata approaches Ukai and asks him for blocking tips. Ukai remarks that since Hinata lacks height, he’ll have to rely on timing. The coach tells Hinata to immediately switch to soft blocking if he messes up his timing.

The fourth set begins, with both sides taking dangerous risks to ensure their victory. The players are starting to get irritated, especially Hinata who yearns to defeat Ushijima after his earlier insult. Hinata thinks angrily that he’s jealous of tall people as he runs to the net. He swings his arms back as if he’s attacking before jumping high up. He blocks Ushijima completely and smiles in a thrill. As he falls back, he crashes into Tanaka. The second time he tries blocking, he ends up crashing into the net.

Now that Karasuno’s keeping pace with Shiratorizawa, Ukai switches Hinata out so he can rest. Once he’s better, Hinata’s switched back in and heads to Kageyama^[48]. He tells him that he’ll hit any toss, even if it’s crappy, and Kageyama angrily retaliates that he never sets crappy tosses.

Right away, Hinata and Kageyama attempt a quick. It gets blocked but ends up going out, giving Karasuno the point. The next move, Kageyama’s toss is short but Hinata, thinking back to something Ukai said, switches to his left hand and slams the ball down. Karasuno wins the fourth set. Excitedly, Hinata runs around Kageyama until the setter grabs him. He stutters out a compliment and Hinata shows his happiness at being able to play another set.

Shiratorizawa establishes a three-point score gap in the fifth set. Tsukishima suddenly gets injured and has to be taken off the court. Hinata exclaims to the blond that they’ll win nationals by the time he gets back so he doesn’t have to worry. The match continues, with Karasuno playing more vigorously to pull itself ahead. When Asahi gets blocked, Hinata uses his cheek to save the ball. He claims afterward that he did so because he didn’t have time to use his hands and didn’t want to injure his nose. If his nose had started bleeding, he would be taken off the court. His words impress his teammates and unsettle his opponents, especially Ushijima^[49], who glares at Hinata. The first year notices and jumps backward with caution.

When Kageyama’s switched back in, he and Hinata perform their near-the-net quick strike. Hinata’s surprised at the huge risk Kageyama took in that move. Hinata’s concentration starts to improve now that the game’s nearing the end. When Ushijima spikes, the middle blocker’s able to calculate the path of the ball and jump back away from the net to catch it. He sends it flying back over to Shiratorizawa’s side and scores.

Shiratorizawa soon reaches the match point at the same time as Tsukishima returns to the court. The middle blocker sits down on the bench and Hinata tells him that he and Yamaguchi bought him time. Tsukishima thanks Hinata genuinely.

With one of its main blockers back in play, Karasuno’s able to get ahead and reach match point. Hinata is quieter than usual by now and doesn’t make any usual exclaims, his concentration fully on the game. However, his fatigue begins to show when he fails to jump high enough to block Goshiki. Angrily, Hinata punches his legs. Despite this, he continues to push himself. Kageyama sends him the ball and using his remaining strength, Hinata slams it down. Yamagata fails to receive it properly and it goes out. Karasuno wins the finals (3:2 / 16-25, 31-29, 20-25, 29-27, 21-19)^[50].

The players hug one another and even burst into tears. Hinata feels the strain on his legs and has to be helped by Nishinoya and Kageyama to stand up. Karasuno heads off the court to rest and Hinata’s congratulated by Izumi and Kōji. Ushijima then comes and interrupts them with a vow to defeat Hinata next time. The first year loudly proclaims that he’ll make it to the same stage as Ushijima again.

Aftermath

Karasuno heads back to the restaurant it went to when it lost to Aoba Johsai in the Interhigh. The players are exhausted and many, including Hinata, have fallen asleep on the table.

A few days later, in school, Hinata’s thrilled to hear his classmates compliment his team and excitedly talks about the upcoming nationals. He gets annoyed when his classmates reveal that they think he’s only an errand boy on the team.

At the end of the day, he heads to the club room and asks the upperclassmen about the Spring High in Tokyo. Tanaka reveals that Nekoma and Fukurōdani have made it to the top four and will be battling it out shortly. Hinata loudly proclaims that Karasuno will defeat Nekoma.

A few hours after Nekoma’s match ends, Kenma texts Hinata, announcing his team’s advance to nationals^[51]. As soon as Natsu notifies Hinata about this, he runs to his phone and cheers loudly. Excited, he goes out for a run to train for his long-anticipated match against Nekoma.

Tokyo Nationals Arc

Preparation for Nationals

In mid-November, Karasuno begins preparing for nationals^[52]. Hinata walks with a friend from the music club before morning practice. Acchan states how much Hinata has changed volleyball-wise while reminiscing on when Hinata would ambush him in the hallways to ask him to practice with him. They’re interrupted when Kiyoko calls out to Hinata that he and the other first years will need to meet after classes to take measurements for a pamphlet for the Spring Tournament; the conversation earning Hinata the envy of several male students for talking to Kiyoko. Kageyama suddenly appears behind Hinata and challenges him to a vertical reach competition. Feeling confident, Hinata decides to turn this into a competition and offers the bet of the one with the lower point buying the winner three curry buns.

The team later meets at the gym to have their new measurements taken. Hinata proudly announces that he has grown 1.4 cm. Although satisfied that he grew more than Kageyama, Hinata becomes annoyed at finding out many of his teammates grew more than he did; especially when Tsukishima is revealed to have reached 190.1 cm. The members then begin to take the vertical reach measurements. Students from the basketball clubs are watching as the volleyball team measure their apex points. Several of the bystanders are surprised at seeing how high the volleyball players reach. While some had mocked Hinata for his shorter height, they become surprised at seeing that he has one of the highest jumps. Yachi announces that Hinata has a reach of 333cm, matching with Asahi, and measuring just 4 cm under Kageyama; thereby making Hinata the loser of their contest. After the team has their blocking height and Hinata continues to try to engage Kageyama in more competitions, Takeda appears in the gym. He announces that Kageyama has been invited to attend the All-Japan Youth Camp. Hinata and the team are stunned to hear this information. Hinata becomes even more upset when Tsukishima is announced to have been invited to a First Year Training Camp at Shiratorizawa Academy. However, upon hearing that he himself wasn’t invited to either camp, Hinata becomes enraged when Kageyama brags that he will be moving further ahead than his partner.

First Year Selective Training Camp

That night, Hinata goes to Sakanoshita Shop and is looking over a selection of toothbrush kits when he overhears Yamaguchi mention how he would like to see what the All-Japan Youth Camp is like and Tsukishima playfully suggest that he crash the camp. A few days later, to everyone’s surprise, Hinata shows up at the First Year Training Camp. The spontaneous act angers Tsukishima so much that he fully yells at his teammate for not thinking things through.

Coach Anabara takes Hinata into the office to speak with Ukai and Takeda. Hinata gets yelled at over the phone by Ukai and, while he apologizes, sticks to his initial reasoning of wanting to become stronger as his reason for crashing the camp. Coach Washijō then comes in and takes the phone from Hinata. He states that he doesn’t mind Hinata staying so long as he carries out the position and duties of a ball boy. After a quick discussion with Ukai and Takeda, Washijō turns to Hinata and states that he does not see much worth in him without Kageyama as his setter. He offers Hinata the chance to leave at any time if he does not want to be the ball boy.

Hinata does not take long to come to a conclusion before running after Washijō into the gym. He faces the other players and apologizes for the disturbance he caused. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he loudly announces that he will be a ball boy for the camp. As the camp proceeds, Hinata meets Shiratorizawa first years Kai Akakura and Yūshō Sagae who are each part of the camp as extra ball boys. For part of the practice, Hinata easily carries out ball boy duties but almost mistakenly joins in the spiking practice until Washijō reminds him that he cannot take part in practices. Hinata attempts to catch all of the spiked balls. He narrowly saved one that almost tripped Kindaichi and receives further scolding from Washijō about not being fast enough and causing Sagae to believe that Hinata is getting more attention from Washijō than the invited players. Once the first day of practice ends and most of the players are leaving, Hinata stays behind to practice by himself. As he does, he attempts and fails at trying a jump serve. At this time, Hinata realizes that this is the first time he has actually been a ball boy as other teams that have practiced with him would ask for his help for their own practice first.

As Hinata begins to see that he does not want to be left behind everyone else, Tsukishima arrives to collect him so they can return home. Hinata begins to apologize to the taller middle blocker for the trouble he’s caused but Tsukishima promptly stops him before he can while stating that Hinata’s impulsive actions are nothing new. He goes on to mock and question Hinata if he is upset that he cannot actually be part of the practices since he is a ball boy and wonders if he will quit and leave the camp.

The next day, Hinata goes to Ukai’s shop during lunch. Ukai questions Hinata if he had believed that no one at the camp would question his sudden appearance and be fine with him wanting to join without a formal invitation. Although Ukai understands that Hinata is doing this in order to become stronger, he still chastises Hinata for not thinking things through and the trouble that resulted from this. Knowing that Hinata willingly agreed to be the ball boy for the camp, Ukai urges Hinata to learn as much as he can while finding something that only he can do; adding that he should not underestimate what it takes to be a ball boy. Hinata returns to the school and now must speak with Takeda. Instead of getting a fearful lecture, Takeda instead gets Hinata to realize that he must first start from the bottom and work his way up to be where he wants; stating that there are no short-cuts through life. After this meeting, Hinata is located by Tanaka who quickly teases him for getting repeated lectures. When questioned if Daichi had talked to him yet, Hinata answers that their captain was the first one to talk to him that morning and gave him a stern talking to; although Sugawara would voice his support for Hinata’s actions^[53]. Tanaka lightly pokes fun at Hinata’s current lack of skills but also gives his support and confidence that his junior will be able to use this opportunity to become better.

Hinata returns to Shiratorizawa later that day for the second day of the camp. Shortly after several drills, Hinata is surprised to see the retired third years arrive for a practice match. Hinata is quickly spotted by Ushijima and Tendō who immediately vows that he will crush Hinata but he and Ushijima are soon confused and surprised to see Hinata not take part of the practice match. After the match, Hinata is quickly questioned by Tendō on why he is not playing. Hinata hesitantly admits that he was not actually invited to the camp and instead crashed it. Tendō immediately breaks out in laughter and shares this information with Ushijima. The Shiratorizawa ace asks Hinata what he is doing while there.

During a break, Hinata goes to a storage room and angrily stuffs his head under several gym mats and asks himself what he’s doing while at the camp. He thinks back to all the advice and insults he’d heard from Tsukishima, Tanaka, Washijō, Goshiki, and Ukai and tells himself to think hard and find the thing that will help him grow stronger. He is able to come to realize what it is he needs to do and returns to the gym with a new sense of determination. During another match, Hinata is on the second floor of the gym hanging practice bibs and now sees the court form a new perspective. As he watches, he notices the players making movements he hadn’t noticed before and how Yamagata is moving in sync with the blockers. This reminds him of how Nishinoya once told him that truly talented defenders, like Daichi and Yaku, are able to predict the course of the ball by watching the spikers form. After his task is done, Hinata returns to the ground floor and begins watching libero Junji Kuroishi. In doing so, Hinata spots Kuroishi do a small hop when Semi serves and then launches himself into the right location to receive the serve. When Kuroishi repeats the movement a second time, Hinata recalls why the move seems so familiar.

He remembers a day back in middle school when he asked a friend from the tennis club, Junpei Tamayama, to practice with him. Junpei accepted so long as Hinata helped him with his own practice first. During the tennis practice, Hinata repeatedly misses returning the ball and admits that he tenses up a lot. Junpei offered advice by telling Hinata of a basic tennis trick where he needs to disconnect his feet from the ground in order to reset his form. Remembering how Junpei described the Split Step technique, Hinata watches Ushijima as he serves. At the moment of contact, Hinata performs the Split Step and propels himself into the location where the ball goes after ricocheting off Kuroishi’s arm. Although Hinata caught the ball and gained a small nose bleed, he is pleased to have been in the right place at the right time and unknowingly impressing several others who witnessed his actions. Now keeping score, Hinata continues to watch the players and realizes that there is much more that he could be learning and doing.

At the end of the day, Hinata is excitedly ranting to Sagae and Akakura about how amazing Shiratorizawa’s laundry equipment when Washijō appears and informs Hinata that, because he wasn’t invited to the camp, he will not be allowed to stay overnight or receive any food. The statement immediately catches the attention of all those around them, including Tendō and Ushijima. However, Hinata accepts the situation without any fuss. A short time later, Hinata is helping clean the gym when he hears Koganegawa asking for partners for extra practice. As he gets several practice partners, Hinata offers his assistance. It’s then that he spots Goshiki heading for the exit but he is able to catch the wing spiker before he leaves. Hinata questions Goshiki if he plans to join the practice.

When Goshiki tried to refuse joining them, he is quickly overwhelmed by Hinata’s flattery and admiration of his straight shot and wanting to see it up close. With Goshiki now joining the practice, Hinata begins attempting trying to figure out how to use the split step technique and fails on the timing several times. He realizes that he shouldn’t be worrying about the jump itself but should actually concentrate on where he needs to position himself.

After practice ends and Hinata begins making his way off the campus, he notices how hungry he is and wonders what the food at Shiratorizawa is like. Not looking forward to how long he has to wait until he gets home to eat, Hinata suddenly remembers how Ukai is always telling the Karasuno players to eat proper meals. When remembering how his coach once told them how eating a proper meal can help heal and strengthen their bodies, Hinata realizes he doesn’t know much about what his body needs in order to properly grow and calls Ukai in order to find out what types of foods he should eat to give his body proper nourishment. Hinata happily accepts all of the information Ukai gives him and soon makes his way back home^[54].

On the third day of camp, Hinata is noted by Kunimi to be so focused on his ball boy tasks that he looks like he’s single-handedly playing a game. As drills are carried out, Hinata is noticeably catching the balls more easily but he still does not feel satisfied as he feels that he now needs to master moving into his next movement with ease. As Hyakuzawa prepares to spike, Hinata is able to use the split step properly and catches the spike. However, Hinata becomes distracted when receiving praise from Sagae that he doesn’t notice Kindaichi spiking and the ball hits him directly in the crotch. Hinata falls over in pain, the others shocked to see what happened, and Washijō once more yells at Hinata for not paying attention. After recovering, Hinata watches Kindaichi and Koganegawa during a set. He sees the set was slightly too high which will result in Kindaichi not being able to do a direct downward spike. Hinata is happy that he correctly analyzed what would happen. When the players are taking a break, Kindaichi questions Hinata about why he feels so desperate to prove himself. Hinata answers that he wants to be strong enough to defeat Kageyama but is annoyed that the setter is at the All-Japan Youth Camp. Understanding Hinata’s desire, Kindaichi tries to assure the middle blocker that Kageyama surely must be having a hard time at his own camp.

Sometime later, Hinata’s cleaning up after practice when Tsukishima approaches him and asks him to accompany him somewhere. Shocked, Hinata does a double-take and Tsukishima coldly explains that he wants to do blocking practice. Since it’s free practice, Hinata should be able to join without getting in trouble. Happily, Hinata goes over to the others and announces that Tsukishima will be joining them. The practice begins and Hinata scores past Tsukishima right away; impressing and intimidating those are watching. Kindaichi suddenly enters himself into the block, reasoning that he wants to shut down Hinata. Koganegawa joins as well, bringing the blockers against Hinata up to three. However, Goshiki makes it clear that he will be the next spiker. After Goshiki was able to trick the blockers, Hinata asks Tsukishima if he wanted to do the match because he thought Hinata wanted to practice. However, Tsukishima lies and blatantly shoots him down. As the camp continues, Hinata is now fully capable of carrying out his numerous tasks and helping the other players. He finds one of his favorite things now is being able to watch the matches from the balcony area. One thing that he notices is that Kunimi appears to move as little as possible and not putting much effort into saving a ball. Koganegawa shares these same discoveries to Hinata during a break. Hinata admits that he’s noticed the same thing about Kunimi since Karasuno’s first match against Aoba Johsai and believes that Kunimi is actually conserving his energy. He begins to study Kunimi’s plays which causes Kunimi unease when he notices Hinata staring at him.

Hinata is soon passing out water bottles to other players. When he hands Hyakuzawa a bottle, the taller middle blocker inadvertently lets slip how he thinks Hinata should have been the one invited to the camp instead of him. Hinata corrects Hyakuzawa by saying they should both have been invited to the camp. When Hyakuzawa tries to insist that his only good quality is his height, Hinata is stunned at how little Hyakuzawa thinks of his natural gift. He goes on to say that Hyakuzawa rightfully should be at this camp as he possesses the ultimate talent that is his great height.

Hinata confesses that if he were given the choice of having an amazing serve or being 2 meters tall, he would choose being tall as he could always work on his serve at any time and even goes so far as to admit that he knows he’s not at his best without Kageyama as his setter. When Hyakuzawa questions why Hinata feels the need to help him, Hinata answers that he would like to face Hyakuzawa when he is at his best^[55]. Hinata then asks Hyakuzawa if there is a tactic that he would be willing to try that doesn’t require much technique. During a 2-on-2 match, Hyakuzawa is playing with Kuroishi as his teammate. When it is becoming clear that the two are struggling to keep up, Hinata calls out to Hyakuzawa to relax. Following Hinata’s advice, Hyakuzawa makes his first hit a high toss that allows himself and Kuroishi time to collect themselves. At Hyakuzawa successfully scoring over Kunimi, Hinata excitedly cheers for him and the two share a high-five in celebration. Not long after, Hinata continues studying Kunimi and his plays but, to Kunimi’s displeasure, Koganegawa has joined Hinata in watching him.

On the final day of camp, Hinata watches as Goshiki and Tsukishima play against Hyakuzawa and Kunimi. As Hinata watches Kunimi, he reads his form and is able to correctly predict that he would attempt a setter dump. Hinata would then be surprised when Goshiki did not hold back in scolding Tsukishima for his poor set attempt. The first years soon have one final practice match against the Shiratorizawa team. During the game, Hinata watches Ushijima with such intensity that Tendō points this out to Ushijima. Once the match is over, Hinata surprises everyone again by going to Ushijima and asking what he thinks of when making receives. His bold action causes Kenjirō Shirabu to prompt Goshiki into speaking with Ushijima as well.

Finishing the camp strong, Hinata is getting ready to head home when he approached by Kindaichi. The Seijoh middle blocker stumbles with his words but Hinata is eventually able to get him to question how Kageyama has been since he’s noticed he’s changed his playing style. When Kunimi points out that Kindaichi is still too concerned about what happened in middle school, Hinata tells Kindaichi that having rivalries with others and not wanting to back down is fine; stating that this is why Kageyama is doing well. Kunimi attempts to end the conversation by dragging Kindaichi away and promising that Seijoh will defeat Karasuno the next time they play one another but Kindaichi is able to say good-bye to Hinata before they leave and Koganegawa appears to ask Hinata for his contact information.

Date Tech Practice Match

On December 10th, Hinata and Kageyama reunite after both training camps are over^[56]. Kageyama asks what Hinata’s been doing while he was gone and Hinata replies that he was a ball boy, but Kageyama understands right away that Hinata had been more than that.

Since neither of them has the keys to the club room, they practice tossing outside. As they move around, they discuss the players they encountered at the training camps. Kageyama tells Hinata about Hoshiumi, remarking that Hinata’s going to jump higher now, but Hinata doesn’t understand his meaning.

The other members soon arrive and practice begins. Kageyama goes to serve and it goes out, but Hinata moves quickly right into its trajectory, surprising everyone. After practice, Hinata goes to Kageyama and asks what he meant when he said Hinata was going to jump higher. Kageyama points out that Hinata’s jumps don’t have enough impact; he needs to find another position to start his jump.

The two practice several times and Hinata thinks to himself that he has to focus on the balls of his feet for the momentum. As he finally gets the right move, Daichi interrupts and yells at the two to go home.

Sometime later, Karasuno and Date Tech hold a practice match with each other. Hinata arrives and greets Koganegawa excitedly before bowing to Aone. The match begins and right away, Karasuno realizes Date Tech has improved drastically. To make things worse, Kageyama seems to be troubled by something and finally snaps at Nishinoya and Asahi.

After Karasuno loses the first set, Kageyama yells that he will always bring good tosses so his teammates have to be more decisive. Immediately after, he realizes how much like his junior high self he acted and apologizes, but Hinata cuts him off. Hinata asks why the nickname “King” is a bad thing and no matter what reason, he doesn’t care. If he doesn’t like Kageyama’s words, he’ll just tune him out. The other members agree and Hinata adds that it doesn’t matter what kind of reputation is associated with Kageyama.

After Kageyama gets back into the game, Hinata tells him that no matter how much Kageyama pretends to be a goody-two-shoes, he’ll still be a King to Hinata. With this said, Hinata takes his towel and folds it into a crown before setting it on Kageyama’s head. He announces that with this, the new King of the Court is born. Kageyama smiles, having finally gotten over what had happened during junior high^[57]. In the end, Karasuno and Date Tech tie with four sets each.

Arriving in Tokyo

Nationals has finally come and Karasuno heads to Tokyo where they would finally see the Tokyo Skytree^[58]. After practicing during the day, the members go back to their hotel where Ukai would present the team with a video that Takinoue made for them of their best moments from their previous matches as a method of helping the team stay calm and see how amazing they are. Hinata and Kageyama try to go for a run afterwards, but Ennoshita attempts to stop them since he was concerned of them being alone in an area they were not familiar with and has Tsukishima join the two to ensure their safe return to the hotel without being out too late.

The first day of the tournament arrives and Karasuno makes their way to the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium for the opening ceremony. Just before the opening ceremony begins, Karasuno is joined by the Nekoma team. While in the crowd, Hinata is bumped into which causes him to bump into Nishinoya. The act nearly causes Nishinoya to crash into Tanaka’s childhood friend Kanoka Amanai. Afterwards, Hinata would reunite with Bokuto and the two vowed not to go easy on one another should they face each other in a game. After the ceremony, Karasuno would head to a gym to warm-up for their first match. When they had to leave early due to the match before them ending sooner than expected, the team briefly stops at a waiting area where Hinata would take the chance to run to the bathroom. Upon arriving at the stadium, Hinata notices that his sneakers are missing and Yamaguchi guesses that Hinata’s bag carrying his shoes must have mistakenly been taken during Hinata’s run to the bathroom. Hinata begins to panic about not having his shoes until Kiyoko volunteers to retrieve them. Since he did not have his shoes, Hinata was unable to join in the official warm-ups and just acted as a ball boy until Kiyoko returned with his shoes.

Karasuno vs Tsubakihara

Just before the match is set to begin, Hinata notices that his sneakers are missing. Yamaguchi admits that there was a brief moment that he looked away from the team’s luggage when Hinata and Tanaka had run off to the bathroom and guesses this is when the bag containing his shoes was taken. Hinata would try to assure Yamaguchi that he is not at fault but his own panic does little to help. When Kageyama questions where Hinata left his cell phone, the middle blocker remembers that he left it in the bag containing his shoes. This allowed Yamaguchi to call the phone and announce that a young boy had mistakenly taken the bag but was still at the gym where the team had previously practiced at. When no one else was available to get the bag, Kiyoko volunteered to retrieve it while Hinata and Yamaguchi greatly expressed their sorrow for causing the situation.

Since Hinata did not have his shoes, he was unable to take part in the warm-ups and instead acted as the ball boy for the time being. He is overjoyed when Kiyoko returned to the stadium with his shoes just as the teams were about to take the court for the game. However, once the game begins, Hinata and Kageyama have trouble syncing up which resulted from them not being able to warm-up together. As a result, Hinata was unable to hit Kageyama’s set due to the setter’s senses being off from being in a new area. Because of this, there were several attacks that Hinata and the rest of the team would manage to make until Kageyama was able to get back on track. While Kageyama was still adjusting, Hinata would surprise his team when he was in position to receive attacks made by Teradomari and Maruyama; although he would receive with his body on both occasions. Because of these receives and narrowly succeeding in scoring from Kageyama’s off sets, Hinata is briefly ridiculed by the Tsubakihara cheering section. It would be right after this that Hinata would be subbed out for a while in order to allow Yamaguchi to enter the game as the pinch server.

Hinata eventually returns to the court. Once Kageyama finally gathered his senses, Hinata does not hesitate to show how eager he is for one of his sets. Right away, the two were able to perform their super quick attack which stunned everyone watching. Thanks to Kageyama finally being back on track, Hinata is able to use the quick attacks more and his effectiveness as a decoy increases. Thanks to this and the third year’s efforts, Karasuno went on to win the match.

After the match is over, Hinata and Yamaguchi look around the gymnasium to buy shirts. When finding the one Bokuto wore during the training camp, Hinata immediately wants it. Sometime later, Hinata and Yamaguchi find the court where Fukurōdani is holding their game in order for Hinata to show Bokuto the shirt he just bought. Conveniently, it gives Akaashi the idea to tell Bokuto that his disciple is watching as the ace is in one of his moods which helped Bokuto get back on track. When leaving the gymnasium, Hinata encounters Hoshiumi. On first sight, Hinata immediately knows that Hoshiumi is an opponent to be feared.

Upon learning that Hinata plays middle blocker, Hoshiumi gets alarmed but becomes smug when Hinata tells him that his highest reaching point is shorter than his. After watching Hoshiumi’s plays, Karasuno goes heads back to the hotel. On the way, Hinata tells the team that he is glad to be able to attend the national tournament with a smile on his face.

Karasuno vs Inarizaki

Hinata goes into the match against Inarizaki with high hopes and the excitement of playing against the team said to be one of the favorites to win the tournament. When the match starts, Hinata is in awe of the way Atsumu silences the crowd for his serve. When he eventually moves to the front row and starts a quick attack, Hinata is able to use his improved jump and reach a higher spiking point that catches many people by surprise. However, his excitement over the accomplishment causes him to forget to spike the ball^[59].

Hoping that Kageyama would not be too upset and instead would encourage the middle blocker to do better next time, Hinata is faced with an angry setter who threatens to not send him anymore sets for the rest of the game if he dared to repeat his actions again.

After Kageyama purposely spikes the ball into the blockers to give Karasuno another chance to attack, Hinata performs the wide broad attack and leaves everyone speechless at the speed in which he used to do the attack. When Kageyama is preparing to serve, Hinata becomes incredibly excited at the thought of being faced against the Inarizaki team and the entire cheering section when he has his chance to serve. His excitement is quickly drowned when he hears the Inarizaki band and cheering section start to use a gradually increasing rhythm that throws off Kageyama’s timing. When Saeko arrives to the match with her taiko drum group, Hinata and Nishinoya are overwhelmed by her presence. In the next play, Karasuno is able to counter and Hinata scores; leading to him getting a personalized cheer from Saeko’s group. Completely filled with the good atmosphere since Saeko’s arrival, Hinata believes that he will unleash his best serve yet. As the rally plays out, Hinata gets into position to receive Ginjima’s spike but the ball instead bounced off his foot. Hinata becomes embarrassed at this but quickly overcomes this when Nishinoya praises his positioning. In a later rally, Hinata is stunned at seeing Atsumu and Osamu pull off his quick attack on their first try^[60]. Afterwards, Karasuno would attempt a counter attack and Kageyama sent the set to Hinata. Atsumu, having correctly predicted what Kageyama would do with a botched receive, would block Hinata. Hinata is able to get revenge when Atsumu attempted to block him again but he did a block-out against the setter’s hand.

When Tsukishima was able to block Osamu’s spike, Hinata became mildly insulted when Yamaguchi commented how Tsukishima’s blocks were amazing but he wouldn’t always be in the front row. When Hinata is later rotated back into the front row, he becomes angry at hearing Atsumu claim that Karasuno’s block has fallen and becomes more annoyed when Kageyama says that Atsumu was telling the truth.

In a brief flashback, Ukai spoke with Hinata about his blocks still needing work and asks if he might be able to block like Inuoka while commit blocking Osamu. To his delight, Hinata is able to block Osamu when the wing spiker attempted an attack. His next attempt to block Osamu fails which led to Kinoshita’s serves being stopped. At his next attempt to stop Osamu, Hinata fails to beat the Inarizaki second year in a joust and is mocked by Osamu for not being as strong as he appeared. During a time-out, Ukai instructs the team to use the ‘blend and distract’ tactic. Hinata, having forgotten the plan, acts like he remembers and agrees only for Tsukishima to call him out on not knowing what their coach is talking about. Tsukishima believes that Hinata’s forgetfulness is a result of having seen the twins version of the quick attack and Hinata believing that his own quick is much faster. Shortly afterwards, Hinata hears Osamu declare that he is not afraid of Hinata which causes him to become slightly discouraged at hearing that his blocks are not frightening. As the rally plays through, Hinata remembers all the blockers he has faced up to this point and questions whose block he hates most. Remembering one certain player, Hinata is able to cut off Osamu’s path for a cross shot and forces him to hit a straight shot directly to Nishinoya.

After Daichi is able to score, Nishinoya would question Hinata if the way he blocked was on purpose. Hinata confirms this and explains that he blocked like Matsukawa; the person whose blocks Hinata despises the most^[61]. Hinata later makes an emergency set to Asahi that he feels was fairly satisfactory and is unaware of Kageyama’s belief that it was a fluke. After this rally, Hinata is next to serve. He is overjoyed to be serving only to become crestfallen when he sees Yamaguchi is going to be subbed in to serve. After the rally in which Tanaka had tried to help Tsukishima block Suna, Hinata excitedly compliments Tanaka for trying to help, stating that it is comfort to middle blockers to have that extra support since they tend to block alone many times. Hinata would soon find himself getting that extra support from Tanaka when Osamu tried to get past Hinata. Thanks to his upperclassmen’s help, Hinata and Tanaka were able to force Osamu to hit a straight shot where Daichi was positioned to receive.

At the start of the second set, it became apparent that Atsumu was starting to target Nishinoya with his float serves. Hinata labeled this match as the super spiker versus the super receiver. When first year Heisuke Riseki is subbed in, Hinata is able to stop his serve. He is momentarily stunned when he hears the Inarizaki cheer section booing but finds that it is not directed at him but rather Riseki. Immediately after, Kageyama is able to score a no-touch service ace and Hinata states that Kageyama has entered the state he refers to as «Calm-geyama«. He explains to Tanaka that this is the state in which Kageyama is playing at his utmost peak condition. During a time-out, Asahi would try to encourage Nishinoya and Hinata would point out Kageyama’s bad timing when he made the request to have high sets if he couldn’t get an a-pass.

In a flashback, Hinata became greatly annoyed by Tsukishima when Ukai had decided to have him attempt to block Osamu as he was the one who would most likely stop the twins quick attack. Tsukishima had wasted no time in rubbing it in Hinata’s face that he has stolen the important role that Hinata had originally been tasked to do. Later on, Tsukishima is baited into trying to block Osamu on the left side of the court only for Osamu to turn his spike into a set to Aran.

With Tsukishima unable to help in the block, Aran spikes past Daichi but Hinata was in place to make a perfect receive that leaves everyone stunned^[62]. Hinata was able to figure out where to position himself from having seen that Osamu’s set was short and Aran was struggling with his approach. Even though Karasuno would eventually lose the rally, Hinata would excitedly ask his team if they had seen his receive. He is surprised when Kageyama claimed he didn’t and say that he heard the setter compliment his receive. He tells Kageyama that he should pay close attention to when he makes another receive. Hinata’s enthusiasm inspires his team and refreshes their fighting spirits.

Late in the third set, Hinata is mostly seen trying to block Inarizaki’s attackers while getting in a few quick attacks. At one point, Kageyama would attempt a one handed set to him but the ball falls short and appears like it will land before it can be saved. However, Hinata would pull off another miracle save when he uses his foot to kick the ball over the net and score. When Kageyama tells him to complain about the set, Hinata instead says he has nothing to complain about and requests the next set as well. When Hinata is able to receive Suna’s spike thanks to Tsukishima directing the ball to be where he would be positioned, Hinata silently admits that he has always been aware of how amazing Tsukishima is when it comes to blocking.

Karasuno would be at match point once again when it became clear that the players were starting to play at a faster pace. Many of them were unable to hear Ukai call out to them to try to get them to slow down. Hinata was able to save his team when he sent his receive high into the air. It gave them time to breath and calm their nerves. Thanks to this, Karasuno is able to steady themselves and get back on track. After the ball is returned to Inarizaki, Hinata and Kageyama would see the Miya twins attempt the quick attack. He and Kageyama were able to be in place to block the twins and therefore get the final point needed for Karasuno to claim victory. Hinata soon found himself being happily embraced by his teammates.

Afterwards, he would claim that he was the one to block Osamu’s spike but Kageyama would say that he did and the two have a brief argument. After the teams shake hands with one another, Hinata suddenly hears Atsumu call out to him though he momentarily forgot which twin was talking to him. Atsumu would make a promise to the middle blocker that he would one day set for him but warned that he would defeat Karasuno at the next Interhigh^[63].

As the team is in the sub-arena preparing to leave the stadium, Hinata is noted to still be fully awake while admiring the bruises on his arms from the receive he had made on Aran’s spike. His behavior is silently described by Tsukishima as having his special moment and falling deeper into volleyball. That night at their hotel, Hinata is with the other first years in the bath when Yamaguchi points out how Hinata still seems to have plenty of energy to spare. Hinata would agree and say that he wanted to play another match right away, his eagerness being commented by Tsukishima as being creepy. After the bath, Hinata would tell Kageyama that he is aware that Kenma would most likely not be too interested in the outcome of their match against one another but would still do all he can to beat his friend.

Karasuno vs Nekoma

Hinata appears to be the most excited as the game against Nekoma is about to begin and seems to be the one that Ukai is referring to about the players not needing to do any extra movements that may cause them to burn precious energy. When Lev attempted to counter, Hinata joined Tanaka in trying to block him but Lev was able to get past them. After Hinata failed to beat Lev in a joust, he and Kageyama perform the super quick attack and score the first point of the match when Lev and Kenma were unable to block and receive the ball. At this, Hinata excitedly calls out to Kenma that they’re finally playing a game that would mean an automatic ‘game over’ for the loser. However, Hinata would show annoyance when Lev got his revenge by scoring the next point.

Hinata would attempt to block Kuroo but the senior blocker was able to get by him. Shortly after this, Hinata notices Kenma glancing behind him at Yamamoto and nearly moves in that direction but stops himself before he does as he remembers Kageyama’s warning of how Kenma may do a decoy glance to lure blockers to one side of the court. However, his realization caused him to be delayed and he was not able to properly help Daichi in trying to block Kuroo^[64]. After Tsukishima rotates onto the court, Hinata would be stunned as he watched Nekoma perform a synchronized attack. After this attack, Hinata and the others would witness Kuroo shut down Daichi’s attack. Hinata would actually not be surprised about Kuroo being able to figure out which Karasuno player would be the one to attack as he points out that Kuroo is the mentor of Tsukishima^[65]. Not long after, Hinata would be subbed out so that Yamaguchi would be sent into the match.

Once back in the game, Hinata would find himself faced with Lev’s blocks again and he would attempt to spike past his friend but his spike is received. He and Kageyama soon perform the quick attack again and successfully score. When the score reaches 22-21 with Karasuno narrowly keeping the lead, Hinata makes a receive on Kenma’s spike. He hopes that Kageyama would compliment him on the receive but Kageyama does not say anything. Shortly after Asahi was able to get the ball sucked between the net and the blockers, Hinata realizes that his attacks are getting saved more than normal. At the end of the set, Hinata expresses great shock when Nekoma was able to win when Kenma returned the ball directly in the path that Kageyama would make his forward approach and no one made an attempt to save the ball due to confusion. When the teams are switching sides, Hinata receives praise from Kenma on having improved at his receives to which Hinata explains is a result of his training as a ball boy. Upon rejoining his team as they discuss the events of the first set, Hinata learns that there were times that he had been purposely targeted to make the serve receive and that Nekoma was using the same tactic on him that Karasuno had used on Aran. Even though his making the serve receive would get in the way of doing the super quick, Hinata was still thrilled at the thought of being targeted and being a threat on the same level as one of the top five ace’s^[66].

At the start of the second set, Hinata receives Fukunaga’s serve. As he does this, he mentally goes over where his teammates are on the court and decides his best option to attack is to use the wide broad jump. His plan works as he is able to score and leave Nekoma and their supporters speechless. He once again hopes that Kageyama will compliment him but is once more ignored by the setter. Hinata hears Kenma call out to him and say that he should stay interesting. The behavior of the setter would cause Hinata to jump back in fear^[66]. He would try to make another wide broad attempt but was halted in his actions when Nishinoya cut off his path in order to receive Kenma’s serve. Immediately in the next rally, Hinata and his teammates gather together near the front of the court which caused Lev to serve more towards the back. Lev’s plan would not work as it allowed Nishinoya to receive the serve and Hinata to score.

When the score reached 6-9 with Karasuno in the lead, Hinata tried to help Kageyama stop Yamamoto’s spike but mistakenly touched the net in the process. To Hinata’s annoyance, Yamaguchi is eventually subbed in to serve and while he is on the sidelines he is noted by Sugawara to be doing mental run-throughs of making receives. He eventually returns to the court and once again faces off against Lev. His next attempt at a spike past the Nekoma middle blocker would narrowly land out of bounds that Lev would claim was due to Hinata being too afraid of being blocked by him. Hinata and Kageyama would soon attempt another quick attack but are caught by a triple block. During a time-out, Hinata listens as it’s figured out that Nekoma is purposely trying to cut off his attempts to use the quick attack and keep him contained. This would cause him to not only not be able to jump as much but also cause stress to build which would affect his plays; such as when he touched the net during the block and unintentionally landed his spike out of bounds^[67]. Ukai would attempt to keep Hinata from getting upset at this revelation by saying that being targeted is the fate of every ace before Hinata himself points out that he’s not being forced to stop monstrous serves or face someone of great height and vows that he will continue to attempt a solid approach. He is able to keep this promise when he is made to receive Fukunaga’s serve and right away make an approach for a broad jump. Despite this and Tanaka making a receive of Lev’s serve, Hinata continues to struggle through the rally and is even unable to block Lev. His frustration becomes more obvious that Kiyoko admits to herself that she has never seen Hinata appear so stressed during a match^[68].

As Sugawara is sent into the game, Hinata would attempt to secure his running approach but would be forced to save a ball. Despite this, Hinata is aware that there are times that he will be made to choose one thing over the other but still accepts this as it will mean the chance to not let the ball fall and the game to continue. After having distracted the blockers, Hinata tries to secure a running approach but slips on sweat that was on the floor and is unable to attack or defend. When Nekoma takes the lead at 22-21 with Fukunaga serving, Hinata’s running path is blocked when Tanaka makes the receive. Knowing that his speed and mobility are his greatest weapons, Hinata is able to run behind Tanaka as Kageyama sets him up for an open attack. Now having a proper running approach, Hinata is able to perform his new jump but narrowly manages to get the ball over he blockers with an unplanned tip. Even though he was able to score with this, Hinata still gets light ridicule from Nekoma and Kageyama. As he prepares to do the attack again, Hinata remembers many of the setters who have practiced with him. This time, he is able to spike between Lev and Kenma and score. Hinata right away receives praise from Tanaka about now being able to jump higher and Hinata gives partial credit to Kageyama’s toss although Kageyama would be caught off guard by the compliment. After Kageyama misses his next server, Hinata eagerly welcomes Inuoka into the game although Inuoka would right away be able to stop his spike. Hinata is then able to perform a block-out that puts Karasuno at set point.

Hinata is able to win the set for Karasuno when he makes a receive on Yamamoto’s spike and the ball bounces off Hinata and lands back on Nekoma’s side. Nekoma is left stunned and Karasuno greatly celebrates at having won the set^[69]. At the start of the third set, Hinata is able to help Karasuno gain the first point by surprising Nekoma with a rebound and then acting as a decoy which allowed Tanaka to score. He would then attempt to spike past Lev and Yamamoto but is surprised to see that Yaku was in place to receive. Later on, Hinata attempted to stop Kenma’s setter dump and managed to graze the ball but it caused a moment of panic when Nishinoya would appear to attempt a receive but now would be unable to because the course changed. However, Nishinoya would make a miraculous save when he uses the back of his foot the not only save the ball but return it to Nekoma’s side to score.

Hinata would soon find himself fighting against Kenma more often when Kenma continually attempted to get Hinata to make narrow and almost impossible saves. At the same time, Inuoka is brought back into the game. Hinata was able to get a spike through Inuoka’s block when he mistakenly left his arms too far apart. When another rally continued with both sides not wanting to back down, Hinata is eventually faced against a triple block. Remembering the tips Bokuto taught him during the summer training camp, Hinata tried a feint shot over the block. Kenma was able to see what Hinata was attempting and tried to get to the feint but was only able to graze the ball before it landed out. It would be at this moment that Hinata would hear Kenma finally admit that he was having fun and responded in an excited manner. Eventually, Hinata is able to get Karasuno to match point when he is able to do another block-out against Lev’s hand. Hinata would attempt a direct spike on a receive that Yaku made only to right away be blocked by Lev. Eventually, Karasuno was able to beat Nekoma although the players would all be too weary to fully enjoy their win. After the teams shake hands with one another, Hinata and Kageyama both requested to Kenma that they should meet again at the next Spring Tournament; although Kageyama made the request before Hinata did. Hinata then joins his team and Nekoma as they catch the tail end of Fukurōdani’s match against Matsuyama Nishi Shōgyō. Shortly after the team rests and has lunch, Hinata runs into Hoshiumi and they decide to use their match against one another to decide who is the true Little Giant^[70].

Fukurōdani vs Mujinazaka

Yamaguchi tells Hinata of Fukurōdani’s game against Mujinazaka shortly before it begins. Unironically, Hinata is eager to watch it in order to watch his “master”’s plays. A dozen rallies into the game, Bokuto does an impressive chest receive. Seeing this, Asahi tells himself that nothing less could be expected from Hinata’s teacher, but Hinata corrects him by saying that he hadn’t actually learned much from him. When Kageyama announces Bokuto’s receive a fluke, Hinata tells him to quit being so eloquent in his critics. Sometime later, Hinata expresses aloud what both Akaashi and Onaga were thinking as their combo ends up being too low. When Kageyama scolds him, Hinata gets angry at how even a simple observation gets him yelled at. During the second set, Hinata marvels at Akaashi’s clean rebound.

Karasuno vs Kamomedai

Just before Karasuno’s match against Kamomedai, Hinata and the team gather together for a pre-game meeting. They listen to Ukai as he goes over the Kamomedai team and how they will need to be most cautious of Hoshiumi; stating that Hoshiumi, like Kageyama, had attended the All-Japan Youth Camp and possesses a wide variety of attacks. Although several of his teammates appear nervous at hearing this information, Hinata appears to not be bothered and instead seems rather excited. He becomes more fired up when Daichi points out that Karasuno had earned their way to being one of the top eight teams in Japan and may get the chance to play on center court if they are able to secure the win in their next match. Shortly after the meeting, Hinata is with Kiyoko and Yachi when they see Kageyama writing in a journal. As Yachi believes that this is a way of Kageyama maintaining self-discipline, Hinata points out that, while Kageyama is an incredible player, it had been through hard work and many sacrifices that Kageyama was able to become the brilliant setter he is now; adding that this path is possibly the reason that Kageyama does not have many friends since he devoted much of his time to practicing and improving his skills. Even knowing how talented and hard working Kageyama is, Hinata loudly declares that he refuses to be beaten by him.

As the team begin making their way to the court, Hinata hears Saeko calling out to him and inform him that the Little Giant is near by. Hinata quickly rushes to find Saeko where she introduces him to Tenma Udai, Karasuno’s original Little Giant. Hinata excitedly introduces himself to his idol, stating that he had become interested in volleyball after having seen Udai on tv playing at nationals several years earlier, and asks about Udai’s current volleyball status as he was not able to find any information about him after high school. Hinata and Saeko are both surprised when Udai answers that he stopped playing volleyball after high school as he had other interests he wanted to do as well as not having gotten many offers to join any teams. Kageyama retrieves Hinata as it is time for their match to start. As they make their way back to the team, Hinata surprisingly admits that, while he had always hoped to one day be like Udai, he is not upset by the outcome of meeting him^[71].

Hinata soon overhears Hoshiumi and Hakuba speaking and realizes that Hakuba was the towering figure that had bumped into him on the first day of the tournament. Hinata is then annoyed when Tsukishima states that Hakuba must not have noticed Hinata due to the height difference. As the match starts, Hinata and Hoshiumi are hailed as the two players that everyone should keep their eyes during the match. In Karasuno’s first play of the match, Hinata and Kageyama perform the super quick. Hinata is able to easily get past the triple block, leaving Hoshiumi and Hakuba stunned in the process. However, Hinata would soon be surprised when Hoshiumi was able to spike over Karasuno’s triple block with ease. He and Hoshiumi then stare one another down through the net as Ukai tries to remind them to pay attention to the timing of their blocks.

Hinata would next try to act as a decoy to allow his one of his other teammates to attack but the attempt was unsuccessful as Hirugami did not jump to block Hinata and instead managed to block Tanaka. Hirugami is then quick to mock Hinata and Kageyama that all their decoy attempts will not work on him and they would just be wasting their time trying to fool him.
In the next play, Hinata blends in with the others for a synchronized attack and is certain that Kageyama will set to him only for the setter to instead send the ball to Tanaka. After Tanaka receives Hirugami’s serve, Hinata is seen rushing ahead of his teammates. Kamomedai’s blockers take notice of this and attempt to stop the first year but Hinata his the ball against Bessho’s fingers to score. He would be next to serve as Tsukishima moves to the front row. Hinata’s serve was able to cause Hakuba to be late to attack and give Tsukishima the time he needed to be ready to get a one-touch on Bessho’s spike; Tsukishima noting that a quick attack off a weak serve is a standard play.

After Tsukishima is able to prove himself to be capable of blocking Hoshiumi, Hinata and Udai soon are able to tell that Hoshiumi would perform a block-out. They are proven right when Hoshiumi tooled the block to his advantage; although Udai would get scolded by Saeko for his accurate assumption, Hinata looked on with a nervous expression^[72]. Hinata would later openly admire a high set that Hoshiumi would set to Hakuba; his comment being heard by Ukai, Kageyama, and Hoshiumi. Hinata’s next serve would be received by Hoshiumi. Hinata would attempt to receive the spike but was unable to. Kamomedai eventually reached set point first but Hinata did not appear too concerned about this. He right away goes to attack and throws the blockers off with a diagonal jump. While Hakuba jumped to block Hinata, the set actually went to Asahi; although Hakuba’s incredible height allowed him to jump a second time to block the ace and win the set.

As the second set is about to start, Hinata and Tsukishima are noted to have switched their positions on the court; meaning that Hinata will rotate out first and Tsukishima will stay out on the court. According to the players of Date Tech, Kamomedai most likely shifted their own rotation in order to go against Karasuno’s weakest rotation but because of Hinata and Tsukishima switching positions it now means that Hinata will be faced with Kamomedai’s strongest formation. After several sets take place, Hinata eventually moves to the front row. It would be at this point that he would utilize one of his best attacks, the wide broad attack. He easily outpaces Hoshiumi, Hirugami, and Hakuba and scores with no one able to stop him. As Hoshiumi’s next serve is received by Nishinoya, Hinata is already making his approach into another broad attack only for Kageyama to take advantage and perform a setter dump. Hinata again is able to perform another broad attack and Hirugami is unable to receive the spike.

Hinata and Kageyama later are able to perform a perfect quick attack despite being off balance, once again annoying Kamomedai’s blockers. After Karasuno called a time-out, Hinata eventually is up to serve. Although Hakuba was able to receive Hinata’s serve, it also kept him from partaking in any attacks. As Hinata, Kageyama, and Tsukishima are then praised by the announcers as dependable players which causes Sugawara to try to get Daichi and Asahi to not let themselves be overshadowed by the first years. Later during a time-out, Sugawara was attempting to help Asahi come out of his depression of feeling that he wasn’t being of much help. Hinata expresses his faith in the ace by stating that Asahi is capable of scoring one hundred percent of the time; although Kageyama was quick to point out that such a thing wasn’t possible for anyone to accomplish. Hinata’s faith in Asahi is proven when the ace was able to trick the blockers into thinking he would perform his usual powerful spike but instead switched to a feint shot. When Asahi scores, Hinata and many others express great surprise at seeing this^[73]. At Sugawara’s second serve, Hinata correctly figures out which attacker will receive the set. He is able to get a one-touch on Hirugami’s spike; although Tsukishima would comment that this was possible thanks to Sugawara’s serve.

Hinata would later attempt a center attack but was blocked since Kamomedai’s blockers were use to seeing someone of short stature with incredible jumping abilities. As Tanaka manages to receive Hoshiumi’s second serve, Hinata is already throwing himself into a minus tempo attack as he knows that his best weapons are his speed and his jumping height. Using both, Hinata’s minus tempo reaches a height that allows him the chance to spike past Hirugami and Hakuba; the effects of the attack even causing Aone to react. Hinata immediately showers Kageyama with heavy praise for his incredible set but Kageyama simply pushes him away. Not long after this, Hinata managed to get a one-touch on Hakuba’s spike but right away sees that he will not be able to use the boom jump. Because of this, he decides to try the wide broad attack. His spike ricochets off the libero and puts Karasuno ahead at 23-20. At Hirugami’s second serve, Hinata debates if he should run ahead of the others but decides to blend in with a synchronized attack. Switching to first tempo and using the boom jump, he does a block-out against Hakuba and the ball lands out; putting Karasuno at set point. Hakuba right away promises that he will soon stop Hinata but is confused at seeing Hinata’s eager expression. When Karasuno wins the set thanks to Tsukishima dodging Hoshiumi’s spike, Hinata expresses his joy to Kageyama about getting to play a total of six sets that day. While he admits he’s aware that it’s probably better to win a match in straight sets, he believes it’s more fun to play an extra set; although his words fell on deaf ears as his fellow first years had tuned him out.

As the third set begins to play out, Hinata is determined to gain the attention of Kamomedai’s blockers and continues to blend in the group’s attacks. He does this again later when he again blends in with the team and notices that he has one side of the court to use. Because of this, Kamomedai’s blockers became overwhelmed from not knowing who to block but were eventually able to determine that Hinata would get the set. Even faced with two blockers, Hinata was still able to get a spike through when he hit the ball against Hirugami’s hand. Hinata would continue to surprise the blockers with his incredible speed when he was able to get an attack through when Hakuba and Hirugami were momentarily caught off guard by how fast he was and therefore were unable to complete the block in time. Hinata would then hear Hakuba comment how amazing he is but Hinata corrected him by saying that Kageyama was the amazing one. He says that it was because of Kageyama’s sets that he is able to play the way he can since his own talent is his speed and jumping abilities.

Hinata then is able to correctly guess that Nozawa would be next to attack and is able to block the spike. Because of this, Kamomedai was thrown off balance but Hoshiumi and Hirugami were able to counter. As Nishinoya is able to save Hirugami’s spike, Hinata secures his running distance and makes his approach. His presence catches the attention of the blockers but Hirugami in particular seems most fixated on Hinata. As Hinata jumps to his peak, Hirugami noticeably shifts as if he is going to block Hinata but is able to stop himself from doing so. The split second that Hinata was able to keep the blockers attention allowed Tanaka the time to get his attack through. From this, Hirugami came to the conclusion that he would now have to retire from the nickname ‘The Immovable Hirugami’^[74]. Hinata would then state that he would now like to have the title of the Ultimate Decoy and ‘allows’ Hoshiumi to have the title of the Little Giant. Hoshiumi right away few into a rage at this, stating that he already had the title of the Little Giant and that Hinata had no authority to ‘give’ him the nickname but would laugh immediately afterwards.

After the court change, Hinata is spotted by the blockers and appears like he will try the super quick again only for him to jump diagonally and successfully gets Hakuba and Bessho to attempt to block him. This allows Tanaka to land a straight shot with no one to stop him and Hoshiumi narrowly missing making a save. As Hinata rotates to the back for his serve, he muses how much fun the game is and wishes he did not have to move to the back for fear of being subbed out so Yamaguchi can serve. However, he determines that as long as Karasuno keep getting break points then it will mean that he will not have to leave the court just yet. The ball is returned several times until Hakuba is eventually given the ball. He uses his height to spike over the blockers but Hinata makes another amazing receive of the ball. After making the receive, Hinata right away goes into a minus tempo back attack and gets past the blockers. At the success of his attack, Hinata relishes in the fact that he can stay on the court.

As Tanaka goes to give him praise and help him stand from his kneeling position, Hinata reaches out to grab his hand only to suddenly fall forward. He begins to struggle to find his footing and Kageyama reveals that the middle blocker may have a fever after having noticed how hot his hands felt when he had praised the setter earlier but had attributed it to the fact that Hinata had been more active during the match. Hinata is quickly moved to the bench where his temperature is revealed to be 39.1 °C. Hinata argues that he can still move about since the fever isn’t a physical injury but Takeda eventually is able to make Hinata understand that he needs to take care of his health if he wishes to continue growing stronger^[75]. Hinata then begins to cry and apologize to his teammates as they in turn try to comfort him as much as possible although some would admit that match will be more difficult without him there. As he is about to leave, Kageyama reminds him of when they first met and Hinata had stated that he would be the one to stay on the court longer. Kageyama now claims that he is the one on the court longer and claims it as a win. As Hinata is being escorted off the court, he hears Hoshiumi call out to him and state that he will be waiting for his return. Hinata bows to Hoshiumi in respect and leaves.

In the sub-arena, Yachi instructs Hinata to change into warmer clothes. As she leaves and Hinata begins changing, he suddenly notices that Kenma has followed him to give him his support and to use his tablet so he can watch the outcome of the match. As Yachi and Shimada are taking Hinata to a hospital, Hinata continues to watch the match on Kenma’s tablet. While at the hospital, Hinata sees the results of the game. As the teams bow to one another, Hinata does the same. He later returns to the inn to rest until Ukai brings him a light meal. Hinata listens to Ukai as he explains how Hinata is not at fault for what has occurred as he was beginning to understand how to overcome his limits but now has to focus on nurturing and strengthening his body. After the tournament, the third years graduate high school and return from the team. Hinata is with the rest of the team trying to hold back tears as Ennoshita is made the new captain and thanks the third-years for everything they’ve done.

Final Arc

Brazil

Following graduation, Hinata goes to Brazil to train in beach volleyball for two years. When he first arrived in Rio de Janeiro, he meets with Lucio Katō; a graduate of Shiratorizawa Academy and former student of Washijō who became a beach volleyball coach. Katō would introduce Hinata to his new roommate, Pedro, before offering Hinata the chance to take part in helping with a class. Because of the new environment, Hinata initially struggled to adjust to the shifting winds and playing on the sand. Despite the struggles, Hinata was able to stay patient. He obtains a part-time job in food delivery but because he was still learning proper Portuguese one of his early deliveries ran late and he discovered the new wallet Natsu gave him was missing. When he returned home, Hinata tried to bond with Pedro only for his roommate to remain distant. Hinata briefly became overwhelmed with homesickness before calming himself and heading to the beach. There he would play in a volleyball game with some of the locals who would be impressed at his advanced skills. It would be during this game that Hinata would be spotted by Oikawa^[76].

After Hinata finished his game, he and Oikawa would catch up over dinner where Oikawa would tell Hinata how he had first become interested in being a volleyball setter. After dinner, Hinata invited Oikawa to play a game of beach volleyball with him. He would be amused at seeing how Oikawa also struggled playing on the sand which led to Hinata feeling a sense of superiority over Oikawa. He confesses to Oikawa that he had been depressed earlier but now feels that weight lifted after having spent time with the former Seijoh captain. Hinata and Oikawa would be challenged by the ‘Buy me a beer’ brothers, Gabriel and Gino, to a game but easily lost. Despite their struggle and loss, Hinata still eagerly requested to play more games with Oikawa while he was in Brazil for the week. Upon hearing Oikawa’s concern about Hinata getting use to playing on the sand and returning to a court when his training is done, Hinata admits that he helps with a junior indoor volleyball team in his spare time which helps him stay familiar with the solid court.

After Hinata and Oikawa agree to meet again and exchange contact information, Hinata returned to his apartment where he was finally able to start a friendship with Pedro upon seeing that he was reading One Piece^[77]. The two would chat over their favorite characters and watch other anime series that Pedro has saved on tape. During Hinata and Oikawa’s next game against Gabriel and Gino, the two were much more aware and adapt of playing on the beach. They were able to win their game and the brother’s treated them to dinner. Oikawa would eventually leave but promised Hinata that he would defeat him if they ever faced each other in an official match. Hinata would then become more involved in his training that would soon involve weight training, proper education of nutrition and rest, left-handed spiking, and many other tactics.

Some time later, Hinata’s reputation on the beach has grown and he is now known by the people as Ninja Shoyo. He is approached by Heitor Santana and is asked to become his new partner for an upcoming tournament as Heitor’s latest partner had decided to partner with someone else. Hinata agreed to become Heitor’s partner and the two would quickly win many games together and become good friends. On the final day of the Solcard Cup, Heitor and Hinata lose their last match. Heitor had earlier mentioned that he had wanted to propose to his girlfriend, Nice Rodrigues, if they had won their match but the two are quickly figured out by Nice when she guesses Heitor wanted to propose after winning. She would instead propose to Heitor and Hinata is seen attending their wedding before he returns to Japan^[78].

MSBY Black Jackals vs Schweiden Adlers

Upon his return to Japan, Hinata attends tryouts for any professional team in Japan’s Division 1 Volleyball League and is successfully brought onto the MSBY Black Jackal team as a wing spiker; now being teammates with Bokuto, Atsumu, and Sakusa. Just before the match against the Schweiden Adlers begins, Hinata runs into Kageyama when heading to the bathroom. At the same time, members of the Jackals and Adlers, Ushijima and Hoshiumi, meet in the hallway with each side promising they will be the winner of the match.

As the match is about to start, the starting line-up players for both teams are introduced and Hinata is revealed to be part of the starting line-up in place of Oriver Barnes. Speculation for Hinata playing instead of Barnes is partly due to Coach Samson Foster possibly wanting to put in a player that the Adlers had no information on and would therefore not know how to handle Hinata’s plays. Hinata receives Kageyama’s first serve and stuns everyone with his incredible jump. At scoring the first point of the match, Hinata loudly proclaims that he is now at home and receives welcoming shouts from his former Karasuno teammates that are attending the match^[79]. After scoring, Hinata comments how he is upset that he was not able to stay on his feet when making the receive but receives praise from Bokuto that he was able to dig Kageyama’s serve at all. When Nicollas Romero scores a service ace, Hinata is one of many that are surprised but also in a state of admiration of seeing his serve in person after having previously watched him play on television for several years. In the next rally, Sakusa is able to receive Romero’s serve which allows Hinata and Atsumu to perform their own version of the freak quick attack^[80]. While Kageyama was able to receive the attack, the ball landed out of bounds. When Ushijima next attacks with an improved spiking form, Hinata has a shocked expression from seeing the power behind it and how it had ricocheted off Inunaki. When Sakusa is able to tie the score at 3-3, a minor flashback shows that Hinata and Bokuto were transfixed on Sakusa stretching his particularly flexible wrists and Hinata would notice that Sakusa and Ushijima appeared to square off against one another.

With the score at 4-4, Hinata is next to serve and surprises everyone by performing a jump serve; although the serve narrowly landed out. He notices Kageyama mocking that his serve was poor. Shortly afterwards, Hinata would attempt to contain Romero by forcing him to make the first touch. While he managed to get Romero to make the first receive, Hinata is surprised to see that this was not enough to keep Romero from attacking as the Brazilian was still able to land a spike. Although his plan failed, Hinata was still impressed at seeing Romero in action and is thrilled at the chance of playing against a world renowned ace^[81]. Romero would then attempt to get the better of the Jackals by using a feint shot but Hinata was able to move in place in time to receive it. When Sakusa’s next serve is received and about to be countered by Hoshiumi, Hinata surprises everyone yet again when he is once more in place to receive the attack. When Bokuto successfully scores, it would be at this point that Romero would point out that he recognized Hinata as Ninja Shōyō and how his son had become interested in playing beach volleyball after seeing Hinata play.

Midway into the set with the score 16-16, Hinata is seen running across one side of the court to the opposite end. The Adlers blockers are momentarily distracted by watching him long enough for Shūgo Meian to spike through the block. As the Jackals take the lead, Hinata serves. It is received and Atsumu is forced to make the first touch. However, Hinata once more surprises everyone when he makes a set to Atsumu; proving himself to truly be a well-rounded player skilled in both offence and defense. Hinata then continues to help the Jackals stay in the lead by performing a block-out against the blockers hands. He later attempted to receive Ushijima’s spike but was not able to withstand the brute force behind it and falls over in the process. In the next rally, Atsumu is once more forced to make the first receive when Kageyama’s serve clipped the net. Hinata appears to attempt a direct spike and lures in Fukurō Hirugami and Romero to block only for him to suddenly switch from a spike to a set. He sets to Bokuto who is able to score and thus win the first set for the Jackals at 25-20.

Early in the second set, Hinata is able to receive Ushijima’s serve. He later is surprised when Kageyama suddenly allowed the ball to pass over the net instead of trying to make a set. Atsumu would comment that it was because of Hinata that Kageyama is playing in the condition he is in now. Near the end of the set, Hinata would come to understand what Atsumu meant about Kageyama’s ‘awakening’ when the setter explained how the players of Karasuno helped Kageyama to reach a new level of skill that would allow him to do a wide variety of sets and get away with it. Shortly afterwards, the Adlers would win the set 25-21.

Hinata receives Kageyama’s first serve in the third set but the Adlers would still be able to score. Kageyama then scores a service ace. At one point, Hinata is part of a triple block faced with trying to stop Hoshiumi and had attempted to dodge what he thought was going to be a block-out attempt. However, Hoshiumi got the better of Hinata by using the now open space to land a spike. Hinata later is once more called on to make a set after Atsumu had dived to save Ushijima’s block-out attempt. As Hinata prepares to set and has the Adlers trying to figure out what he will do, Hinata suddenly spikes with his left hand^[82]. This wins the third set for the Jackals at 25-23.

In the fourth set, Hinata is able to block Hoshiumi. Hoshiumi would claim that Hinata succeeded because of shorter height and did not see him appear until it was too late. Hinata would again attempt to receive a spike from Ushijima. He succeeds in digging the ball even though the spin and power behind it were enough to nearly prevent that. Ushijima again tried to deliver a spike that Hinata would not be able to receive but Hinata channeled the training that he had gone through in Brazil and makes a perfect receive. The move allows the Jackals to score and Hinata is showered with praise from Bokuto and Inunaki. On his second serve, Hinata scores a service ace. Each side soon does everything they can to quick rack up points. Hinata and Atsumu again attempt their quick attack that Hinata is able to get past Kageyama. When Romero attempted a feint shot, Hinata was able to receive. When the Jackals are at match point, Hinata attempted to spike but was blocked by Kageyama. However, once more remembering all his beach training, Hinata uses the back of his foot to kick the ball up. He then appears to attempt a wide broad attack and keeps the attention of the blocker just long enough that Bokuto is able to spike and land the spike that wins the game.

As the team shake hands with one another, Kageyama congratulates Hinata for finally making it to the same level. Hinata then states that he now has 1,096 wins and 1,100 losses; a grand total from competitions that he and Kageyama have been keeping track of since high school. When Hinata is later doing his cool down stretches, he is approached by Romero who promises that he will not lose to Hinata the next time they face each other. Hinata eagerly accepts the challenge before Romero introduces Hinata to his son, Rubens. Romero tells Hinata that Rubens is a great fan of Hinata’s and asks if he would be willing to take a photo with him; although Rubens was suddenly struck with a bout of shyness. Shortly after this, Hinata receives word that there is someone from the JVA who is looking for him. To his surprise, Hinata sees that this person is Kuroo who now works for the sports promotion division. Kuroo reveals that he and Kenma are working together on a collaboration video to promote sports and Kuroo asks if Hinata would be interested in being in the video. Hinata happily accepts although he admits that he is not sure what he would be doing. Afterwards, he and Kageyama reunite with Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Yachi.

In 2021, Hinata has become part of the National Japan Team for the Tokyo Olympics. Just before Japan’s match against Argentina, Hinata reunites with Oikawa and the two are seen embracing one another. As the match starts and Oikawa’s monstrous serve is received, Hinata and Kageyama perform their famed quick attack. In 2022, Hinata has now joined the Brazil Super League and currently plays on the Asas São Paulo team. During the FIVB Club World Championship finals, Hinata once more faces off against Kageyama who has now become part of the Italian Serie A professional team Ali Roma. As the match is about to start, Hinata and Kageyama both promise they will be the winner of the match.

Statistics

Hinata is often described as clumsy, yet incredibly athletic. When he first entered Karasuno, he didn’t know much about volleyball and focused only on spiking. However, with the help of his new teammates, he soon learned the fundamentals and basic techniques. Despite his inexperience, Hinata constantly tries to figure out what he can do to help out during a match. He is not afraid of experimenting with new things and can easily improvise when things don’t go according to plan. He is an incredibly fast learner who can improve his skills merely by watching others to copy their movements (although most of the time he fails on the first try). Hinata is also one of the few players with the ability to see the entire width of the court when he reaches the apex of his jump. He has said that when he’s jumping to spike, he can see the movements his opponents make and even the individual expressions on their faces.

Since the Tokyo Expedition Arc, Hinata’s overall skills have improved greatly. His coordination and mobility have increased with his mastery of flying receives, allowing him to make some near-impossible saves. Also, Hinata can now fight in mid-air battle using block-outs and feints. After his 2 years of beach volleyball, Hinata has gained immense balance and increased leg strength. As such, Daichi commented how he now never leaves his feet for a receive and never takes a knee. Hinata’s balance and dexterity is so great that he can now spike with his left hand even while turning in mid air.

Hinata isn’t known as a powerful player, but rather as one who utilizes speed and stamina to his advantage. Above all else, Hinata’s main assets are his fortitude and determination to win.

Height and reach:

• April 2012:
  • Jumping Reach: 327 cm
• November 2012:
  • Fingertip Height: 210 cm
  • Jumping Reach: 333 cm (spike) / 310 cm (no run-up block)
• Post-Timeskip:
  • Jumping Reach: 350 cm ^[83]

Skills

Post-Timeskip Skills Parameter
Serve		8/10
Serve Reception		9/10
Dig		10/10
Setting		9/10
Spike		10/10
Block		7/10

• Stamina and Speed: Hinata is known as the fastest player on his team and has incredible reflexes and mobility. He also has seemingly unlimited stamina, which he builds up by riding his bike thirty minutes through the mountains to commute to school. Hinata can easily go from the left to the right side of the court before his opponents can even react. However, his speed can be a problem if he goes overboard since too much momentum can cause him to crash into the net or another player.

• Jumping: Hinata has incredible jumping power to compensate for his lack of physical height. He has a vertical jump of 1.23m, or almost 50 inches (48.4). Combined with his mobility, he is capable of jumping diagonally to dodge blockers. He can also add a run-up to increase his blocking height. Because of his impressive jumps, his movements are often described as flying according to bystanders. With advice from Kageyama after the Training Camp Arc^[56], and seeing the new «Little Giant»—Kōrai Hoshiumi; Hinata has now learned a new jumping technique. By focusing the momentum of his run-up into the balls of his feet, he makes a much higher jump with increased mid-air stability. It is notably called the «BAM» jump due to it making an audible sound when he takes off from the ground^[84].

• Decoy: Hinata is dubbed as the «Ultimate Decoy» for his ability to attract opponents’ attention to himself, thus allowing the other spikers to score much easier. Kuroo has stated that the reason Hinata is seen as a great threat is due to his unpredictability. Most recently, Hinata has added the blend-and-distract tactics to his repertoire. He can now adjust his tempo either to match the rest for an all-in synchronized attack or charge forward for a minus-tempo quick^[85]. According to Daichi, Hinata has also learned to act as a decoy for himself. Hinata makes obvious movements and hints that he is defending one area to lure spikers to hitting there, only to move to another area and perfectly receive the hit.

• Minus-Tempo Quick Strike: This is Hinata and Kageyama’s signature attack. It involves Kageyama sending a toss to the exact location of Hinata’s spike point. Initially, Hinata spikes with his eyes closed due to his lack of skills. Since then, the quick has undergone plenty of changes and give rise to new attacks. Kageyama now uses a toss that stops near Hinata’s spike point. Hinata, now spiking with his eyes open, gains control over mid-air battle, allowing him to avoid blockers either through feints or block outs. The duo also developed a vertical spike off of the quick strike, in which Kageyama provides a toss close to the net, and Hinata spiking it straight down^[86].

• Block-Out: In a mini-match against Lev, Tsukishima, and Kuroo, Hinata accidentally learned how to «block-out» by himself when he spiked the ball off the tip of Lev’s fingers^[87]. Since then, he has attempted to use this technique to spike through two or three blockers. However, he occasionally still has trouble accurately targeting the blockers’ hands. He has mastered this after his two years of beach volleyball.

• Rebound: A move that Hinata learned from having watched Bokuto during the summer training camp in which a spiker can give their team another chance to attack by purposely hitting the block to have the ball brought back. Hinata is shown very capable of performing the rebound during matches, such as the matches against Wakutani and Shiratorizawa.

• Feint: Fukurōdani Academy’s ace, Bokuto, also taught Hinata how to feint—a useful tactic for surprising blockers. He manages to utilize this against both Johzenji High and Aoba Johsai High, something both teams didn’t expect him to be able to do.

• Back Attack: Hinata and Kageyama rarely use this attack except in crucial situations when they need the point. Although Hinata’s first back attack failed during the match against Aoba Johsai High, he can perfectly execute the attack during the match against Shiratorizawa. Sugawara eventually dubbed this attack as «Back Minus»^[88].

• Receives: Originally, Hinata was known as a weak receiver and usually was seen making a poor receive or using his body to get the ball up. He often receives guidance from Nishinoya or Sugawara about how to best make a receive but still struggled with the execution. During the Tokyo Expedition Arc, Hinata was able to master flying receives. While acting as the ball boy during the First Year Training Camp, he was able to better understand how to position himself to be in place to receive by studying the players, the sets given, and reading a spikers form. Thanks to this and utilizing the Split Step technique, Hinata has made great improvement although he still sometimes has trouble with positioning. He is shown to begin mastering receives during Karasuno’s match against Inarizaki when he is able to make a receive of Aran’s spike and using a high receive to allow his teammates time to settle their nerves. With Hinata now being better at receives, he began to be targeted by Nekoma to be forced to receive in order to be kept from attacking. Post-timeskip, Hinata fully mastered receives while training in Brazil. Thanks to improving his balance and physical strength, Hinata is now capable of making receives of serves and spikes from powerful opponents such as Kageyama and Ushijima.

• Open Spike: With an improved jump, Hinata is more capable of hitting an open spike from a high toss. He almost misses the spike point on his first attempt^[89], but his more recent attempts have proven to be quite formidable when he pulled off a block out against a three-man block^[90].

• Setting: Inspired from being at the First Year Training Camp and wanting to become better at all volleyball skills, Hinata began working on setting skills. Having practiced during his time in Brazil, Hinata is now stated to have setting skills nearly on par with Atsumu and is the back-up setter for the Jackals if Atsumu is unable to make a set. Thanks to this new skill, Hinata is able to effortlessly make a set to one of his teammates or trick the opposing team by either using a direct spike or switching between a setting or spiking form.

• Serves: Originally using regular serves, Hinata at times struggled with power and accuracy; even once hitting Kageyama with a serve when under immense pressure. Over time, Hinata began to have better control of his serves although they were still fairly easy for opponents to receive. Post-timeskip, Hinata now uses jump serves. Thanks to his new physique and power, Hinata’s serves are now very impactful.

• Left-handed Spiking: While in Brazil, Hinata began teaching himself how to use his left arm for spiking^[91]. He would use this new spiking method during the match against the Adlers, which came as a surprise to many^[82].

• Blocking: Despite his height, Hinata plays as a middle blocker on the Karasuno team. While his shorter stature does not always allow him to get stuff blocks, his jumping height and reflexes allow him to be in place in time to get a deflection which allows the Karasuno team to use that as a chance to counter attack. Because of his shorter height, Hinata is usually beaten in a joust at the net against taller players. When Hinata is given the proper guidance and information, he is able to time his blocks to get occasional kill blocks. Recently, Hinata has began using his blocks to direct the path for a spiker to hit a straight shot by cutting off the path for a cross shot; a method he channeled from his most disliked blocker, Matsukawa.

Relationships

Karasuno High/Yukigaoka Junior High

• Tobio Kageyama: Hinata and Kageyama have a frenemy-like relationship. Though they are on the same team and have different positions, they compete with each other often, even over trivial things such as who gets to the gym first; they also keep a tally of their wins (Kageyama-32 wins, Hinata-30 wins).
  They argue with each other often and sometimes have full-blown fights, but they see each other as teammates. Whenever someone brings up Kageyama’s past, Hinata would stand up for Kageyama; whenever Hinata feels down about his height and role as a decoy, Kageyama would encourage him and remind Hinata of his importance to the team. Out of everyone in the club, Kageyama and Hinata seem to understand each other the most and are often called the “freak duo”. They are usually, if not always, with each other when it comes to volleyball-related activities but outside of those, they don’t interact much; Hinata eats lunch with his friends.
  They first met when their junior high schools competed against each other in the first round of a volleyball tournament, but their relationship started badly. Kageyama viewed Hinata as an overly idealistic and weak player while Hinata saw him as an arrogant jerk. However, after seeing Hinata’s incredible stamina, jumping power, and sheer determination during the match, Kageyama seemed to respect him a bit more. In the end, Kitagawa Daiichi won, but Hinata vowed to one day defeat Kageyama.
  When they saw each other again in Karasuno’s gym, they started fighting immediately and ended up getting kicked out of the club until they viewed each other as teammates. After several failed attempts to get back into the club, Kageyama and Hinata grew desperate and asked for a match to prove that they could work together. They were given a week to practice but Kageyama refused to work with Hinata; this changed when one day, Kageyama pushed Hinata to his limits and spiked an impossible ball, but the latter wouldn’t give up and chased after the ball. This inspired Kageyama to finally accept Hinata and toss to him. During the match, they didn’t do well at first but when Tsukishima insulted Kageyama and brought up his past, Hinata stood up for the setter, exclaiming that Kageyama had him now. Kageyama then decided to try adapting his toss to fit Hinata’s skills, and their now-famous quick-set was created. Hinata, who despised Kageyama before, trusted him completely and closed his eyes when he spiked; Kageyama had become his strongest ally and vice versa.
  However, during the Tokyo Expedition Arc, their relationship became strained due to their conflicting ideas. Hinata didn’t want Kageyama doing everything for him anymore so he announced that he would start opening his eyes when he spiked. However, Kageyama was completely against it. After many complaints, he reluctantly decided to give Hinata’s idea a try, but Hinata couldn’t hit any of Kageyama’s tosses with his eyes opened. Despite his failures, Hinata refused to back down and they started fighting, causing Yachi to be frightened by their hostility and calling Tanaka to come over. Afterward, they wouldn’t talk to each other for the majority of the summer until they finally decided on a toss that they both liked. Since then, they have reconciled and even strengthened their relationship.

• Kei Tsukishima: Although often picked on by Tsukishima for various things, Hinata has admitted to seeing his teammate as a rival who possesses everything he does not. While they originally had a tense relationship when they first met, Hinata has attempted to smooth things over with Tsukishima and has managed to, unknowingly, obtain his respect as a formidable volleyball player. As a fellow middle blocker, Hinata has witnessed Tsukishima’s blocking abilities and is somewhat fearful of what he is able to accomplish; such as being nervous when he sees Tsukishima try to block the Miya twins attempting their version of a freak quick. Despite their friendly rivalry, Hinata respects Tsukishima’s abilities and views him as one of the best blockers he’s seen.

• Tadashi Yamaguchi: When they first met, Hinata was often picked on by Yamaguchi although not as much as Tsukishima. As time passes through the Interhigh and the Spring Tournament Qualifiers, Hinata and Yamaguchi began to form a better friendship with one another and they can often be seen speaking with each other and encouraging and cheering for one another during matches. Hinata often praises Yamaguchi on his jump float serves and usually requests for him to score numerous points as he believes he is capable of doing so.

• Hitoka Yachi: Next to Kiyoko, Hinata became the first person that was able to make friends with Yachi when she was brought to the team as a potential new manager. However, he was seemingly unaware of her nervous and timid behavior and would unintentionally intimidate her at times with his loud and energetic personality. Despite this, he was able to ask for her help for studying for final exams and was able to help her figure out if she wanted to join the club as a new manager as well as helping her overcome her fear of standing up to her mother. Since then, Hinata and Yachi are often seen talking to one another or studying together, and Hinata will often help Yachi with her manager duties.

• Yū Nishinoya: When Hinata and Nishinoya first met, Hinata felt relieved that there is a person that’s shorter than him, which annoyed Nishinoya. However, Nishinoya soon warmed up to Hinata due to the first-year’s good schmoozing skills. Hinata is one of the few people that understand what a true libero is–someone who is good at receives, not because of their short stature. Because of that, Nishinoya likes Hinata and agreed to teach him how to do receives. Hinata is the only person that gets excited about Nishinoya’s «Rolling Thunder» and the «again version» and has asked Nishinoya many times to teach him. Nishinoya is one of the few people that call Hinata by his first name. In the anime English dub, he does refer to Hinata by last name.

• Ryūnosuke Tanaka: Hinata greatly admires Tanaka as his upperclassman and teammate. Although Hinata is often teased by Tanaka, he still greatly admires how confident and supportive Tanaka is. Hinata will at times rely on Tanaka during matches to help him better understand certain plays or what an opposing player may be attempting and tends to receive heavy praise from Tanaka when he excels in his own plays.

• Daichi Sawamura: Hinata greatly respects Daichi as the team captain and his upperclassman. While Hinata greatly admires Daichi’s capabilities and stable presence, he does become fearful of the captain when he is angered. He often receives encouragement and advice from Daichi during matches that he takes to heart.

• Kōshi Sugawara: When Hinata first joined Karasuno and was trying to join the volleyball club, Hinata received help from Sugawara on how he can see Kageyama as an ally instead of an enemy as well as being given tips to improve his abilities. Hinata often receives great encouragement and support from the third-year setter that he appears to take to heart. In turn, Sugawara is one of the people Hinata trusts most and often goes to him for help, whether it be related to volleyball or not. Despite Sugawara’s supportive nature, Hinata knows not to anger the setter as he can be just as intimidating and fearsome as Daichi if provoked.

• Asahi Azumane: Hinata looks up to Asahi as the ace of the volleyball club. Hinata is one of the people that convinced Asahi to rejoin the team. Initially, Hinata was jealous of Asahi due to his status as the ace, and his incredible height and power. After the practice match against the Neighborhood Association Team, Asahi approached Hinata and encouraged him to accept his position as the decoy. Although hoping to become the ace, Hinata has great confidence in Asahi and his abilities; even stating during the match against Date Tech that Karasuno had no reason to fear how the match would turn out because Asahi was on the court.

• Kiyoko Shimizu: Like many others, Hinata finds Kiyoko very beautiful, and often trips over his words and blushes whenever she speaks to him. When Kiyoko was looking for a new manager, Hinata eagerly agreed to help her search in his free time. Unlike many of her admirers, Hinata does not actively chase after her to gain her attention. Hinata greatly respects Kiyoko as the team manager and admires all of the things she does for them.

• Ikkei Ukai: Hinata was brought to Ukai for help with his training when he wanted to handle mid-air battles on his own. Although Hinata was initially nervous around the older Ukai after remembering his reputation, he eagerly accepted all of his training and advice of how he could improve his overall play. Although he was unaware of it, Hinata would at times remind Ikkei of the Little Giant.

• Yukitaka Izumi and Kōji Sekimukai: Izumi and Kōji are two of Hinata’s longest and closest friends, having known each other for several years before Hinata decided to attend Karasuno. When Hinata first became interested in playing volleyball, he would frequently ask the two to practice with him even though they themselves were part of different sports clubs. Hinata was able to convince his friends to be part of a team so he could participate in a volleyball tournament during middle school and showed great gratitude to them for helping him reach that point. It’s been hinted that Izumi and Kōji were partially responsible for Hinata’s good footwork. Hinata has been stated to have kept in contact with the two after he was accepted into Karasuno but never really spoke of where he currently was with volleyball or that he was now teammates with Kageyama. Hinata would continue to stay close friends with Izumi and Kōji over the years and received their support when he was accepted into the V-League as a new addition to the MSBY Black Jackals.

Nekoma High

• Kenma Kozume: Hinata first met Kenma after getting lost in a neighborhood during a jog shortly before Karasuno’s match against Nekoma High. Hinata was able to quickly become friends with the setter and they are later shown to have exchanged phones numbers to keep in contact. During training camps, Hinata can often be seen spending a lot of time with Kenma even though the setter is well known amongst his team for keeping his distance from others. Hinata wishes to one day make Kenma become more passionate about playing volleyball and the desire to win. During the Spring Tournament, Hinata would see how frightening Kenma and his tactics could be but showed great joy when Kenma would admit that he was finally having fun when playing. The two are shown to have remained close friends over the years and Kenma became Hinata’s sponsor when he traveled to Brazil.

• Sō Inuoka: Hinata and Inuoka are shown to both have cheerful and outgoing personalities. During the Karasuno vs Nekoma practice match, Hinata found a great rival in Inuoka as the Nekoma middle blocker became the first to block Hinata’s quick attack and would continue to block him once he figured out Hinata’s attack patterns; Hinata would later comment that he was blocked so much because: «Inuoka is too awesome!«. The two would afterwards be seen excitedly praising each other’s skills in their own gibberish language. Even after Inuoka was later replaced as a starting regular, Hinata continued to see him as one of his greatest opponents and one of the blockers he would be most cautious of.

• Lev Haiba: Their relationship is both competitive and playful, as the two have similar personalities. They first met during the summer training camp. Hinata was curious when he saw that Lev replaced Inuoka on the court and noticed his whip-like spike. He asked Kenma about him and was awed when he found out Lev’s height and ethnicity. However, they didn’t officially interact until one evening after practice, by the bathroom. Lev challenged Hinata to jump higher than him right away and the latter accepted, although he ended up hitting his head on the door frame. This surprised Lev, who began to see Hinata as a rival and vowed that he would stop Hinata’s quick attack during the practice match between Karasuno and Nekoma. He did so easily the following day, an act that became the final catalyst in Hinata wanting to change the quick attack. The two also practiced with each other during the summer camp with Bokuto, Kuroo, Tsukishima, and Akaashi. During a practice match, Lev, Kuroo, and Tsukishima ganged up on Hinata, only for the latter to turn it around and pull off a block-out by aiming for Lev’s fingers.

• Tetsurō Kuroo: Kuroo and Hinata first came across each other when Kuroo retrieved Kenma after the setter had gotten lost and met Hinata. They face each other in the practice match between Karasuno and Nekoma the next day where Hinata found Kuroo very intimidating and scary. However, during the week long training camp at Shinzen High, Hinata and Kuroo became good friends with Hinata, Tsukishima, and Lev often receiving blocking tips from Kuroo. Hinata clearly thinks highly of Kuroo’s blocking abilities as he is at one point shown with a look of disbelief when Kuroo admits that he does not think he could block one hundred percent of Ushijima’s spikes.^[92] Although their friendship is not explicit, it’s clear the two view one another as good friends and challenging opponents.

Aoba Johsai High

• Tōru Oikawa: During the practice match against Aoba Johsai High, Hinata started calling Oikawa «The Great King» because he’s Kageyama’s former upperclassman and the person Kageyama learned several volleyball techniques from. Hinata greatly admires Oikawa’s skills as a setter and leader of his team as well as being one of the strongest opponents Karasuno had to overcome. Like many others, Hinata becomes overwhelmed at the sight of Oikawa’s powerful serves. Several years later, Hinata and Oikawa would meet in Brazil. They develop a good friendship as they got to know each other better while playing beach volleyball and eating meals several times during Oikawa’s visit. Hinata came to learn how Oikawa became interested in being a setter when he was young as well as getting to see a silly side of the former Seijoh captain. It would be through Hinata that Oikawa would remember how fun volleyball is. When Oikawa eventually left Brazil, he began addressing Hinata by his first name and also promised that he would not go easy on him if they were faced against each other in a real game. When the two reunited during the 2021 Olympics, they were seen embracing one another on live broadcasting.

• Yūtarō Kindaichi: While they first met during the middle school volleyball tournament, Hinata and Kindaichi would officially meet in high school. Over time, Hinata would find himself forming a rivalry with Kindaichi and would come to understand that Kindaichi was still troubled about his past with Kageyama. Throughout the First Year Training Camp, Hinata would not only learn from Kindaichi that he desired to shut down his spikes but would also help Kindaichi start to overcome his troubled relationship with Kageyama. Because of this, Hinata would start to form a friendship with Kindaichi and, although unaware of it, would have his support when playing at nationals.

• Akira Kunimi: Although their relationship is not shown, Hinata and Kunimi went to the First-Year Training Camp. That changed when Hinata and Koganegawa read Kunimi’s plays, much to the latter’s dismay. Nevertheless, they eventually became friends.

Other Schools

• Takanobu Aone: Since the Date Tech vs Karasuno match in the Interhigh, Hinata and Aone are revealed to have formed an unlikely friendship and rivalry. While Aone would defend Hinata from his teammates criticism during the Spring Tournament, Hinata would also acknowledge Aone as a great opponent and one of the best blockers he’s ever faced. Often times Hinata would compare the blocking skills of other blockers to those of Aone; a sign of how highly he thinks of Aone as a blocker. The two hold great respect for each others skills and tend to greet one another with a bow, even though Hinata is younger than Aone.

• Kōtarō Bokuto: Hinata greatly admires Bokuto as the ace of one of Tokyo’s champion schools. The two became close during the summer training camp, and Hinata often flatters Bokuto’s skills and plays which causes the ace to happily teach the middle blocker a variety of new techniques. Because of their close friendship and having been taught many things by him, Hinata began to acknowledge Bokuto as his mentor while Bokuto has called Hinata his number one disciple. While they are good friends, the two have promised that they would not go easy on one another should they ever play against each other in an official match. As of November 2018, Hinata and Bokuto are teammates for the Div. 1 volleyball team the MSBY Black Jackals.

• Kōrai Hoshiumi: Hinata first meets Hoshiumi at the Spring Tournament and the two right away formed a rivalry. Hinata admires and respects Hoshiumi’s skills as a volleyball player, at times learning several things from him as well. Despite being rivals, Hinata appears to be on somewhat friendly terms with Hoshiumi as they are shown to greet each other almost enthusiastically when they first meet again in the V-League.

• Atsumu Miya: Originally, Hinata appeared intimidated by Atsumu when they met at the Spring Tournament and Atsumu subtly implied that Hinata was not skilled in volleyball. However, during their match against one another, Hinata would be both shocked and amazed at Atsumu’s skills as a setter. Years later, the two would be teammates on the MSBY Black Jackals where they now appear to be close friends and a powerful duo able to perform a newer version of the super quick attack.

• Kiyoomi Sakusa: Hinata and Sakusa are currently MSBY Black Jackals players. While Sakusa tends to keep his distance, Hinata admires Sakusa’s abilities.

• MSBY Black Jackals: Hinata works well with the team.

Others/Family

• Heitor Santana: Heitor was Hinata’s beach volleyball partner some time during his last year in Brazil. Heitor had asked Hinata for his help in an upcoming tournament which Hinata eagerly agreed to. The two quickly became close friends, sharing their interests, and history of playing volleyball. Heitor even revealed to Hinata that he wished to propose to his girlfriend, Nice, if they won their final match. Before Hinata left Brazil, he attended Heitor and Nice’s wedding.

• Pedro: Pedro was Hinata’s roommate during his time in Brazil. Pedro was opposite from Hinata in terms of personality and socializing as he tended to keep to himself after Hinata’s arrival and at times appeared to ignore his new roommate attempting to form a friendship with him. Their friendship soon changed for the better when Hinata discovered he and Pedro share an interest in One Piece and other anime series. Since then, Pedro began spending more time with Hinata, helped him improve his Portuguese, and even attended the tournament Hinata participated in with Heitor. As Hinata was about to return to Japan, Pedro tearfully hugged Hinata and later watched his debut match in the Olympics (Japan Men’s National Volleyball Team).

• Natsu Hinata: Shōyō is Natsu’s older brother. While they have a close relationship, with Natsu asking Shōyō to play jump rope with him when they were younger, when Natsu gave Shōyō a new wallet before he moved to Brazil, they are shown to still pick on one another at times; such as when Hinata laughed at Natsu when she was unable to go through a volleyball formation he demonstrated.

Quotes

• «Before my eyes, it blocks my path. A high, high wall; what sort of scene is on the other side? What will I be able to see there? ‘The View from the Top;’ a scenery that I will never see on my own; but, if I’m not alone, then… I might be able to see it.» (To himself, Volume 1 Chapter 1 / Season 1 Episode 1)

• «You can’t assume we’ll lose, as long as we don’t give up-…The six of us… The six of us can finally play volleyball on the court. The first game, second game… We’ll win and keep winning. We’re going to give it our all!» (To Kageyama, Volume 1 Chapter 1 / Season 1 Episode 1)

• «It doesn’t matter if they’re strong or weak. The bottom line is whether we win or lose, and if we lose, we’re off the court for good.» (To Izumi and Kōji, Volume 1 Chapter 1 / Season 1 Episode 1)

• «If you’re the king that rules the court, I’ll have to defeat you, and I’ll be the last one standing!» (To Kageyama, Volume 1 Chapter 1 / Season 1 Episode 1)

• «It’s true that I’m not very tall; however, I can jump/fly!» (To Kageyama, Volume 1 Chapter 1 / Season 1 Episode 1; To Tanaka, Volume 1 Chapter 2 / Season 1 Episode 2; To Yachi, Volume 9 Chapter 74 / Season 2 Episode 2)

• «It’s painful. I want to stop. When I feel that way, I take a step forwards.» (To himself, Volume 1 Chapter 4)

• «I’m not an ace but, I can create a pathway in front of the ace. I’ll be the strongest decoy!» (To Asahi, Volume 3 Chapter 24 / Season 1 Episode 10)

• «Townsperson B has its own kind of awesomeness!» (To Kageyama, Season 2 Episode 3)

• «It wasn’t that he was the first friend I’d made. He was a partner.» (To Yachi, Season 2 Episode 5)

• «Next time, we’re gonna make you play real hard, and make you get really determined, but we’re gonna win. And then, we’re gonna make you say ‘it was really fun’ or ‘it was a hard loss’ or ‘we’re gonna get you next time!’ Something… anything other than ‘it was just okay’!» (To Kenma Kozume, Volume 4 Chapter 34 / Season 1 Episode 13)

• «My name is Shōyō Hinata. I’m from the barren concrete. I’m going to thrash your team and go to Nationals.» (To Wakatoshi Ushijima, Volume 9 Chapter 77 / Season 2 Episode 1)

• «There are tons of really big, really awesome players. But! When I’m out there on the court, I can tell I’m on even ground with them. That we’re competing… it’s super exciting. Just thinking of it gives me the shivers!» (To Hitoka Yachi, Volume 9 Chapter 74 / Season 2 Episode 2)

• «Do you need a reason not to want to lose?» (To Hitoka Yachi, Volume 9 Chapter 75 / Season 2 Episode 3)

• «I don’t want to get blocked, but being ignored by the blockers is even more frustrating. Why?!» (To himself, Season 2 Episode 16)

• «Man, the grand king really is amazing… But even so, as long as I’m here, you’re invincible!» (To Kageyama, Volume 16 Chapter 142 / Season 2 Episode 23)

• «I thought it would be so cool if I could be like them. But you know? Even as I keep learning how to do more new and different things… I think… if someone were to give me a nickname… I’d want to be called… The Greatest Decoy.» (To Tobio Kageyama, Volume 41 Chapter 362)

• «Oh man… this is fun. This is so much fun!» (To himself, during the game against Kamomedai, Volume 41 Chapter 364)

• «Well… y’know? If I’m being honest… I don’t mind leveling up. No matter how hard or easy the skill, getting good at something new is always fun.» (To Tōru Oikawa, Volume 42 Chapter 373)

Trivia

• Favorite Food: Egg-cooked Rice (Japanese: 卵 (たまご) 掛 (か) けご飯 (はん) Tamago Kake Gohan).
• Pre-timeskip Concern: He can’t catch a ball one-handed.
• Post-timeskip Concern: He bought too much sunscreen from Rio and now he doesn’t know what to do with them.
• Star Sign: Unknown. Like Kageyama, since he was born on the cusp, his star sign isn’t clear; if he was born before noon, he is a Gemini, but if he was born after, he is a Cancer.
• Worst Subject: English. His voice actor Ayumu Murase, however, was born in America (Los Angeles) and can speak English fluently.
• He failed in the English exam because he wrote the answers in the wrong place on the answer sheet. It is hinted that if he had placed them in the correct lines he may have received a perfect score, as Yachi has stated that all of his answers were correct.
• Before the final exam in the Tokyo Expedition Arc, Hinata has stated that he has never had a double-digit score on any of his quizzes at school.
• He is the oldest first-year on the team.
• His birthday overlaps with the summer solstice (June 21^st, the longest day and shortest night of the year) which contrasts Kageyama’s birthday which occurs in the winter solstice (December 22^nd, the longest night and shortest day of the year).
• Part of Hinata’s first name and part of Kageyama’s first name when combined will form the word «Hishō» (飛翔), which means «to soar» or «flight».
  • Additionally, the first character of Kageyama’s first name ‘Tobio’ (飛), can also be read as ‘hi‘, like Hinata.
• Hinata’s name has the character for «sun» and Tsukishima’s name has the character for «moon». This is a reference to the fact that they are rivals despite being on the same team as well as the idea that Hinata is bright like the sun in both personality and publicity in contrast to Tsukishima’s being aloof and low-profile.
• English media such as Crunchyroll (anime) and VIZ Media (manga) have his name written as ‘Hinata Shoyo’.
• In One-Shot (Jump Next!), Hinata is not the main character and wears the number 12 jersey. One-Shot (Weekly Shōnen Jump), Hinata’s jersey number was 7, instead of 10.
• In One-Shot (Jump Next!), Hinata is not short and about the same height as Kageyama. He is pulled into volleyball after Kageyama recognize his athletic potential. In One-Shot (Weekly Shōnen Jump), Hinata was not a first-year regular. Hinata and Kageyama had formed their «Oddball Combo» during a match against another school and not in a 3-on-3 against Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Daichi.
• In the first popularity poll, Hinata was ranked 2^nd, after Kageyama with 6,058 votes. In the second popularity poll, he was ranked 1^st with 12,720.
• In a poll conducted by Charapedia, a Japanese anime and manga character database that asked people which anime characters they would choose as the basis for their children’s name, Hinata came in 8^th with 104 votes among female respondents.^[93]
• When Hinata feels scared or threatened, he instinctively hides behind the nearest person.
• Somewhat of a running gag is that he tends to run into current/future opponents when heading to the bathroom.
• His most hated blocking type is Issei Matsukawa’s ^[94].
• Nekomata calls him a demon’s kanabo (iron club).
• Hinata says this at the start of the first three seasons (this was unfortunately absent from the fourth season):

• Hinata (post-timeskip) can speak Portuguese and is also learning Spanish and English by watching Dragon Ball dub.
  • He, Takahiro Hanamaki, Kōrai Hoshiumi, and Akinori Konoha are the only all-rounders in the series.
• Hinata’s favorite character in One Piece is Zoro.
• Hinata worked part-time as a food delivery boy in Rio De Janeiro.
• He, Kōtarō Bokuto, Atsumu Miya, and Kiyoomi Sakusa are currently MSBY Black Jackals players.
  • To date, he is also the only known member of the Brazil league team Asas São Paulo (á-sas sáw páw-lo).
• In regards to Hinata’s character, Furudate states that they are proud of the way Hinata turned out and claimed he was designed to have no similarities whatsoever with his creator.
• Nomenclature:
  • Shōyō (翔陽) can be read as «flying sun«.
    • 翔 — soar, fly
    • 陽 — sun, sunlight
  • His family name Hinata (日向) can be read as «place in the sun» or «sunny place«.
    • Hina (雛) also means a chick or a baby bird, which is alluding to him being a baby crow (Hina Garasu).
    • His last name’s kanji 日 means «day» or «sun» in Japanese.
  • In regards to his name, Furudate wrote, «I gave him this name with the image of ‘sun’ and ‘flying’ in mind.»^[95]
• Game Cameos:
  • He appears in J-Stars Victory VS as a Support Character. He is also known as «The Sportiest Assist» in the game.
• Awards:
  • In 2021, Shōyō Hinata won the «Best Boy» award at the 5^th Crunchyroll Anime Awards.^[96]

References

“	I may be small, but I can jump!	”

Shōyō Hinata (Japanese: 日向 (ひなた) 翔陽 (しょうよう) Hinata Shōyō) is the main protagonist of the Haikyū!! series by Haruichi Furudate. For the majority of the series, Hinata was a first-year student at Karasuno High and one of the volleyball team’s middle blockers.

In 2018, Hinata became a member of the MSBY Black Jackals, a Division 1 team in the V-League. He became a member of Japan Men’s National Volleyball Team during the 2021 Olympics. As of 2022, he is now a member of Asas São Paulo, a professional team in the Brazil Super League.

He is the older brother of Natsu Hinata.

Appearance

Upon entering the first year of high school, Hinata stood at 162.8 cm and grew to 164.2 cm halfway through the school year. He is the second shortest person on the Karasuno volleyball team, next to Nishinoya. He has unruly orange hair and brown eyes. His relatively thin build and short stature often lead him to be mistaken for a junior high (or in some cases even grade school) student. Hinata typically dresses in his Karasuno school uniform with a black jacket and black pants. Beneath his jacket is a beige or tan sweatshirt. In the first episode, he wore the green volleyball uniform from Yukigaoka Junior High.

During matches, Hinata wears his volleyball uniform—a black jersey and corresponding shorts with white and orange stripes on the sides. On the back of his jersey is his position number 10 (coincidentally, the same number that was worn by the Small Giant) and his school’s name written in kanji. On the court, he wears kneepads and white volleyball shoes with red accents.

Post-timeskip, Hinata has undergone intensive training in Brazil. As a result of playing on the beach and following a strict diet and health regimen, Hinata has grown to 172 cm and developed a lean but muscular body.

Personality

Hinata has a cheerful and energetic personality. He is easily excited and can be quite loud, a trait second only to Nishinoya and Tanaka. For the most part, Hinata is very simple-minded which sometimes causes him to make rash decisions. However, he is also shown to be quite observant. He is capable of reading social cues and can be incredibly empathetic toward others’ struggles. As such, he often says just what others need to hear to push themselves in the right direction. He is also noted to be a natural schmoozer, a quality that his teammates occasionally use to win someone over such as when Nishinoya agreed to help with Hinata’s receives after being flattered by the first-year. His friendly and straightforward personality allows him to befriend even the quietest of people effortlessly, such as Kenma from Nekoma High and Aone from Date Tech High.

However, despite his generally bubbly exterior, Hinata is also shown to have a serious attitude, particularly when it comes to volleyball. His intense love for the sport is demonstrated through his impressive display of tenacity stemming from his constant desire to improve his abilities. As stated by Sugawara, Hinata plays with great fortitude in the face of adversity and thus doesn’t give up easily during a match^[1]. Hinata can also exhibit a very intimidating expression when people underestimate him or speak poorly of his team. Still, Hinata gets scared easily, especially by larger and stronger opponents. This prompts him to develop the habit of hiding behind his nearest teammate. However, he recovers quickly before confidently challenging their opponents.

In the beginning, Hinata is easily agitated before a match due to his lack of experience. He becomes so nervous that he would have an upset stomach or need to go to the toilet constantly. He also becomes clumsy as he would mess up his spikes or receives. Before Karasuno’s first practice match against Aoba Johsai High, Hinata is so affected that he mistook Daichi and Kiyoko’s attempt to comfort him as more pressure and short-circuited^[2]. He only recovers after royally messing up and driving a serve into the back of Kageyama’s head. Over time, Hinata becomes more apt at handling the pressure. Although still faint-hearted, Hinata has a considerably less severe reaction and can perform well during matches regardless.

Hinata, like Kageyama, does poorly in school since he, too, is preoccupied with volleyball. He once told Sugawara that ever since he’d entered high school, he had never scored in the double digits on any of his tests^[3].

Background

A young Hinata passed by an electronics store while riding his bike. He stopped upon hearing the name «Small Giant» from the big screen TV at the storefront ^[4]. On display was Karasuno High’s volleyball match during the Spring Interhigh. Like Hinata, the Small Giant lacked height, yet he prevailed against blockers 20cm taller than him. Hinata was memorized by this figure clad in Karasuno’s black uniform and is inspired to do the same. He joined the volleyball club upon entering Yukigaoka Junior High but found himself to be the only member. However, Hinata refused to give up and would practice by himself at the corner of the gymnasium, off to one side of the sports ground, or in the hallways.

In his third year, three first-years joined the volleyball club. Despite having new members, Hinata still lacked enough players to form a team so he asked his friends Izumi and Kōji, who were from the basketball and soccer club respectively, to help out. They joined Hinata’s team and soon attended their first volleyball tournament. It turned out that Yukigaoka’s first opponent would be Kitagawa Daiichi Junior High, the tournament favorite. While everyone thought that Yukigaoka would lose, Hinata remained convinced otherwise.

Upon seeing their opponent, Hinata grew nervous right before the match and ran to the bathroom. Afterward, he overheard some second-years from Kitagawa Daiichi insulting his team. He defiantly talked back only to be ridiculed for his size. Just then, Tobio Kageyama, Kitagawa’s “King of the Court”, appeared to berate his teammates for looking down on their opponents. His tirades didn’t end there as he turned to Hinata. Kageyama insulted Hinata’s lack of height and his foolish determination to win despite it. In response, Hinata proclaimed he can jump and will win every match.

When the match started, Hinata jumped high for a spike but found his spike easily blocked by Kitagawa Daiichi blockers. He remained positive, but it soon became clear that Kitagawa Daiichi was one-sidedly dominating the match. Faced with an impossible situation, Hinata still refused to give up to the point of risking injury just to chase down a ball. When asked about it, he simply said it’s because they haven’t lost yet. In the following play, Izumi made a missed toss but Hinata stunned everybody when he still managed to hit it across. The spike unfortunately landed out of bounds and cost them the match. However, Kageyama has noticed Hinata’s incredible stamina, jumping power, and pure determination to win. He gained a little more respect for Hinata but, at the same time, was also outright disapproving of Hinata wasting his potentials.

The number of sets Hinata’s team won was 0 and the match only lasted 31 minutes. Hinata remembered Kageyama’s name and his title as the «King of the Court». After the match, Hinata approached Kageyama and announced that he will overthrow the setter from his title. Kageyama accepted his challenge but told him to grow stronger first. Afterward, Hinata trained rigorously by jogging, practicing with the girls’ volleyball team, and joining the neighborhood mothers’ team. Soon, he graduated and entered his dream school, Karasuno High.

Since Hinata currently lives in Yukigaoka with his mother and younger sister, he travels to Karasuno each morning by a 30-minute bike ride through the mountains^[5]. Coach Ukai has noted it would be a 40-minute ride normally, but Hinata has grown used to traveling over mountains ever since junior high.

Plot

Karasuno High Team Formation Arc

Entering Karasuno

Hinata races through the hallway in Karasuno High School to the gym, excited to start practicing and determined to get revenge on his opponent from junior high, Kageyama. However, as soon as he enters the gym, he finds that Kageyama is already there. The setter insults Hinata as soon as he recognizes him but before a full-scale fight can start, the Karasuno third years enter the gym. Tanaka recognizes Hinata as “that number 1 shorty” and compliments him. Hinata exclaims that he will become Karasuno’s ace, causing Kageyama to insult him again, leading to an argument. The vice-principal enters the gym to check out the ruckus and despite Tanaka’s efforts to get the first-years to stop, they start their 1-on-1 match against each other. Kageyama serves to Hinata but it flies past the latter’s face. The second time, to Kageyama’s shock, Hinata manages to receive the ball but it bounces off him and hits the vice-principal across the face, causing his wig to fly off his head and onto Daichi’s. The vice-principal then takes Daichi outside to talk and after coming back, Daichi tells the two first years of Karasuno’s past and his desire to get the team to nationals. However, he can’t accept anyone who can cause trouble for the team, no matter how skilled or determined they are. To the first years’ shock, Daichi then throws them out of the gym, saying that until they view each other as teammates, they are not allowed to participate in club activities^[6].

Out of desperation, Hinata starts begging but nothing works until Kageyama decides to challenge the third years to a 2-on-2 match. Hinata disagrees with the idea at first but after Kageyama reminds him of his past, Hinata starts to change his mind. He tells Kageyama that he has to get into the club because if he wants to beat Kageyama one day, he needs to practice.

3-on-3 First Years Match

Later on in the evening, as the Karasuno members are cleaning up, Hinata and Kageyama ask the third years for a match. However, Daichi changes it to a 3-on-3 match against the other first years and has Tanaka play with Hinata and Kageyama. The conditions are that if the two first years lose, Kageyama will not be allowed to play as a setter as long as the third years are still around. Hinata tries catching the captain’s attention, feeling left out since he didn’t receive a punishment, but fails. The two first years eventually agree to the terms and leave. As he’s walking away, Hinata tells Kageyama happily that it’s okay if he isn’t the setter because he will still be able to become a regular and wing spikers are cooler than setters anyway; this angers Kageyama and leads to an argument about whether setters or spikers are cooler. As they’re talking, Kageyama thinks about how they’re going to practice and Tanaka catches their attention from inside the gym. He discreetly tells them that the gym will be opened before 7 am the next day, and the two first years decide to come at 5 am.

The next day, Hinata and Kageyama arrive at the gym only to find it locked. At that very moment, Tanaka arrives with the key and to their delight, decides to help them practice. Hinata enters the gym excitedly, remembering how the Small Giant had once practiced there. He thinks happily that compared to junior high, he now has a net to use and a setter to play with, no matter what kind of personality the latter has.

They start practicing but can’t seem to sync at all and soon end up fighting. Suddenly, they’re interrupted by Sugawara’s arrival, but the third year agrees to keep their secret and helps them practice as well. Sugawara ends up helping Hinata with his receives while Kageyama practices with Tanaka, but Hinata isn’t satisfied. Hinata decides to approach Kageyama and asks him to toss to him but Kageyama flat out refuses, stating that Hinata’s too slow. To Hinata’s anger, Kageyama tells him that all Hinata should do on Saturday is to try his best not to drag the team down. Hinata asks him whether he will toss to him if he can receive the ball in a way that satisfies Kageyama, and Kageyama replies that he will toss to Hinata only if it’s necessary; however, he doesn’t think Hinata’s necessary to help him win^[7].

Later on, during a break in class, Hinata goes outside to practice with Sugawara. As they’re talking, Hinata reveals to Sugawara that during junior high, he didn’t have a setter and had to ask his friends to toss to him. However, he didn’t give up and practiced with the mothers club and the girls’ club’s setters, but he could never consider them as teammates. When he went to high school, he was excited to see what kind of setter he would have, but it turned out to be Kageyama. Sugawara tells Hinata that he will set to him from now on, but Hinata replies sullenly that it will feel like he lost to Kageyama. Sugawara asks Hinata if he came to Karasuno just so he could defeat Kageyama, and Hinata replies that he wants to become as strong as someone who can beat Kageyama; this will allow him to play against other strong opponents on equal footing. He doesn’t want to lose anymore. Sugawara states that even though Hinata views Kageyama as the strongest player and enemy, he is currently Hinata’s strongest ally.

A few days later, Kageyama starts practicing with Hinata for real. One day, Kageyama pushes Hinata to his limits, but the latter refuses to give up, stating that the ball hasn’t fallen yet. Kageyama spikes a ball too hard and it flies to the back of the gym, but Hinata chases after it with all his might. This inspires Kageyama to finally toss to Hinata and despite being at his limits, Hinata spikes it happily. Kageyama then approaches him and says that they will win on Saturday, showing his acceptance of Hinata as a teammate. Hinata tries to reply but throws up instead.

A while later, Kageyama and Hinata are practicing outside and Hinata contemplates happily how he finally got Kageyama to toss to him^[8]. Kageyama suddenly hits the ball up the tree and Hinata has to get it down. Angrily, Hinata calls Kageyama a “damn King”, annoying the latter, but Hinata doesn’t understand why because he views “King” as a cool nickname. The two continue practicing into the night until they’re interrupted by Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Tsukishima teases Hinata, angering him. Hinata exclaims that he won’t lose to Tsukishima in the match. The taller boy then asks Hinata if he wants him to just throw the game. He soon turns his attention to Kageyama and teases him about his nickname and past. Hinata watches on, confused as to why Kageyama isn’t reiterating. He then decides to take things into his own hands when Kageyama starts walking away. As Tsukishima throws the volleyball into the air, Hinata jumps up from behind him and grabs it, exclaiming that he’s going to hit the ball above Tsukishima’s head in the game. Tsukishima soon leaves and Hinata angrily tells Kageyama that they’re going to beat up Tsukishima, but Kageyama brushes him off coolly.

The next day, the match starts with Hinata, Tanaka, and Kageyama vs Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Daichi. Hinata is shocked at first because Daichi’s on the other team, but he quickly gets over it. Right after the match starts, Kageyama tosses to Hinata and he spikes it, his high jump shocking everyone in the gym, but it’s immediately blocked by Tsukishima. Hinata reassures himself that even if the opponent is huge, he’s only one person. Hinata can get it through next time. However, Tsukishima keeps blocking his spikes.

Tsukishima teases Kageyama about his past, and Kageyama replies sullenly that tossing the ball only for no one to be there frightens him. Hinata interrupts him, stating nonchalantly that that situation was back in junior high. Kageyama tossed the ball properly to Hinata, so the latter doesn’t care about the setter’s past.

The next move, Kageyama was going to toss to Tanaka but Hinata suddenly appears behind him, asking for a toss. He barely hits the ball past the net. He then turns to Kageyama, yelling that he is here now. No matter what happened in junior high, Hinata wants to hit Kageyama’s tosses. He will jump anywhere and hit any kind of ball, so Kageyama has to keep tossing to Hinata.

Tanaka approaches the two first years, asking if they know how to do quick sets. Hinata replies that he doesn’t know how to and only hits whatever tosses he can get and Kageyama adds that they aren’t in sync so a quick strike is still impossible, angering Hinata. Tsukishima adds that Hinata’s reckless playstyle isn’t a good mindset, and Hinata sullenly explains that no matter how high he jumped, he was always stopped by a blocker and could never fill the overwhelming gap in height. However, the Small Giant didn’t let that stop him, so Hinata wants to be like him. Disadvantages and inability don’t bother Hinata because of that. With this body, he wants to win and keep winning. Tsukishima continues berating Hinata though, but Kageyama steps in, stating that clearing the wall in front of a spiker is what the setter is for. He then turns to Hinata, stating that he needs to use all of his physical ability and reflexes to hit his toss. While Tanaka’s worried that Hinata doesn’t understand Kageyama, Hinata wants to try Kageyama’s idea anyway. Hinata excitedly rushes onto the court and tries to spike Kageyama’s toss but misses, surprised at how quick it is. Hinata then fails several times and Kageyama starts arguing with him. Sugawara interrupts the two, reminding Kageyama of his past in Kitagawa Daiichi. Sugawara explains that Hinata lacks technique and experience but he has the determination, and Hinata blushes at the compliment. Sugawara continues, saying that Kageyama should try to utilize Hinata’s ability. Kageyama thinks over Sugawara’s words and turns to Hinata, exclaiming that he’s jealous of Hinata’s physical ability and hates how Hinata has skills but is horrible at volleyball. Kageyama announces that because of that, he has to help Hinata, confusing the latter. Kageyama then tells Hinata to move as fast and jump as high as he can and Kageyama will get the ball to him. Kageyama explains that Hinata doesn’t have to see the toss and Hinata doubts the idea because he doesn’t think he can hit without looking. However, Kageyama convinces him to try the idea anyway.

In the next move, Hinata jumps and spikes successfully. Hinata excitedly celebrates, but the other players are shocked because Hinata’s eyes were closed. As Hinata rambles to Kageyama, the latter asks him angrily why his eyes were closed and Hinata replies simply that if his eyes are opened, he can’t stop watching the ball. Hinata’s utter trust in Kageyama confuses the latter, but Kageyama tells Hinata to believe in him and jump for the next toss anyway.

However, they fail the second time and Hinata ends up getting hit in the face. As he’s walking away, he looks down at his hand, remembering the amazing feeling of the ball hitting it. In the end, Kageyama and Hinata succeed with most of their quicks and win the game.

After the match ends, Hinata approaches Tsukishima and tries to make peace with him by offering a handshake but Tsukishima rejects it. Determined, Hinata forces it anyway. Kageyama and Hinata then approach Daichi and hands him their application forms which Daichi accepts.

As the team’s resting, Kiyoko arrives with the new jackets, and Hinata excitedly receives his, modeling it to Tanaka and Sugawara. Kageyama asks Hinata to practice their quick strike and the two begin talking about a practice match against another school. They are soon interrupted by Takeda’s arrival and the announcement of a practice match. Kageyama and Hinata grin in excitement when they find out that the opponent is one of the prefecture’s best four schools; Hinata notes to himself happily that since coming to Karasuno, the Aoba Johsai game will be his first official match with all the necessary players.

Aoba Johsai Practice Match

The next day, the positions are handed out^[2], and Hinata’s shocked when he receives the middle blocker position because it’s usually for tall players. Kageyama announces loudly that Hinata will be the absolute strongest decoy. Initially, Hinata’s overjoyed, but he quickly becomes disheartened because it isn’t a cool title. Kageyama then points out the good points of being a decoy but adds a weakness that Hinata has to look out for. This worries him and he begins to freak out, despite Daichi’s efforts to calm him.

Hinata can’t calm down though and on the way to Aoba Johsai, his anxiety reaches its peak and he throws up on Tanaka’s lap. That still doesn’t help and even when he arrives in Aoba Johsai, he’s still worried about messing up, getting benched, and many other things. He ends up going to the bathroom to cool down and bumps into Kindaichi and Yahaba there. Hinata and Kindaichi instantly recognize each other from junior high, and Kindaichi asks Hinata jokingly if Kageyama’s still the same. Hinata replies firmly that Kageyama’s even worse and then goes on with Kindaichi to complain about Kageyama to Yahaba. However, the two reach a disagreement on Kageyama’s tosses; Hinata thinks the tosses are amazing while Kindaichi thinks the opposite. Kindaichi quickly shoots down Hinata though, stating that even though he’s a setter, Kageyama still fails to do his job–to enable the spiker to hit the toss. He needs game pieces that move according to his own will, so whatever isn’t needed for him to win is thrown away. Tanaka then interrupts the first years and reassures them that Kageyama has changed but Hinata’s doubtful, having been unnerved by Kindaichi’s words.

Hinata soon goes back to his teammates and the game begins. However, Hinata makes a bunch of mistakes right away, such as taking a receive that was meant for Daichi, knocking Tanaka over, and finally hitting the back of Kageyama’s head with his serve.

The point scored over the missed serve allows Aoba Johsai to win the first set, and Kageyama’s livid. He slowly approaches a terrified Hinata, backing him into the wall. Kageyama then asks Hinata why he’s so afraid and starts hitting the back of his head to emphasize his words. Just as Hinata thinks Kageyama’s going to deliver the final blow, Kageyama yells at him to get back to normal, surprising the latter because he realizes that Kindaichi’s words about Kageyama throwing away unnecessary things are false.

After Kageyama backs away, Tanaka approaches Hinata, scaring the latter as he thinks he’s going to get blamed for the team’s loss, but Tanaka only encourages Hinata to get his head back into the game. Hinata then recovers and the second set starts. Kageyama and Hinata try to perform a quick but fail, causing Kindaichi to mock them. However, the second time’s a success and the entire gym’s shocked at the speed. During a break, Hinata stares down at his hands in awe and Daichi asks him what’s wrong. Hinata replies that back in junior high, he thought that he had to handle everything by himself because his team was a complete mess but now, he is surrounded by players who are much better than he is. All he can do is trust in them and jump.

Just as the third set begins, Hinata and Tanaka suddenly hear a lot of girls cheering, and the two look over to see Oikawa enter the gym. Kageyama introduces him as his senpai in junior high, and Hinata immediately nicknames him as the “Grand King”. The game then resumes but Oikawa doesn’t play yet, and Karasuno’s soon at its match point. Oikawa’s then switched in as a pinch server and soon scores several points off Tsukishima. Hinata watches his teammate and thinks of how he doesn’t like his personality, but he’s still his teammate. Hinata then starts calling for Oikawa to serve at him instead so he can take the attention off Tsukishima. However, Tsukishima only insults him for it.

After several tries, Tsukishima finally manages to receive the serve but it’s sent back as a free ball to Aoba Johsai’s side. Kindaichi spikes it, but Hinata touches the ball and can send it to Kageyama for another quick. Hinata spikes the ball right past Oikawa, scoring the last point for Karasuno to win the game.

The Karasuno team gets off the court and goes to Takeda to thanks him. Takeda states that he feels like something incredible is happening, like a chemical reaction, and the team will become even stronger than ever before. Hinata doesn’t understand the speech though, partly because he isn’t paying attention and is thinking of food^[9]. Karasuno begins to leave the school but is stopped by Oikawa at the entrance. Tanaka and Hinata approach him hostilely, asking him if he wants to fight, but Oikawa compliments Hinata on his skills instead. Although, he adds that Hinata and Tsukishima need to improve their serves, and Hinata’s reminded that if Oikawa had been playing from the start, Karasuno would’ve had a lot more trouble. Daichi then announces that Karasuno’s “Guardian Deity” is returning soon, so they don’t have to worry. Hinata becomes interested in that person and is in awe over the nickname because it sounds so “cool”.

Asahi and Nishinoya’s Return

The Karasuno team heads back to the school where the members then go off on their separate ways. Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka, and the third years are walking home together when Tanaka asks Kageyama why he’s in Karasuno. Hinata asks Kageyama excitedly if it’s because he admired the Small Giant as well. However, Kageyama replies that it’s because of the famous Coach Ukai. The players then start talking about their current team and their weaknesses, and Kageyama states that they lacked a libero and an ace. Hinata exclaims that he could be the ace but to his disappointment, Kageyama interrupts by stating that Hinata’s already the decoy. He then asks about the “Guardian Deity” and Tanaka replies that he has been under one week of house arrest and a month’s ban on club activities but isn’t a delinquent; he just gets overexcited easily. This intrigues Hinata and he wonders what type of person he is.

The next day, Kageyama’s practicing his serve when Hinata runs in front of it and tries to receive it. This causes the ball to fly off to the top of the gym and Hinata has to go up to bring it down. As Hinata’s getting the ball, Kageyama serves again but this time, it’s interrupted by someone else. Hinata watches the stranger, thinking to himself that the sound of the receive is different from his. The third years and Tanaka then arrive, greeting the stranger excitedly. Daichi introduces the first years to Nishinoya and Hinata stutters in shock that Nishinoya’s shorter than he is, which annoys the latter.

As Nishinoya’s catching up with the members, he asks if Asahi came back and when the answer’s no, he insults Asahi. Tanaka yells back at him to not talk about the ace that way, surprising Hinata. He thinks to himself in awe that there is a proper ace on this team after all.

Nishinoya angrily announces that if Asahi isn’t coming back, neither is he, and he leaves the gym. Hinata follows after him and asks Nishinoya if he can teach him how to do receives because he’s a libero. Nishinoya asks coldly if Hinata thinks that because he’s short, and Hinata replies that he only thinks that way because Nishinoya is good at receives. Hinata states that he’s still clumsy at receives so he needs help and remembering Daichi’s words, calls Nishinoya “senpai” which quickly wins the libero over.

Later on in the evening, Nishinoya explains receives to the first years, but none of them except for Kageyama understands him. Hinata then asks Nishinoya about Asahi and states determinedly that he wants to become an ace because he’s inspired by the Small Giant. While Kageyama berates Hinata for thinking that way, Nishinoya compliments him, stating excitedly that it’s an awesome idea. He then asks Hinata what his position is, and Hinata replies sullenly that he’s a decoy. Nishinoya tries to cheer him up by pointing out the good points of being a decoy, but Hinata’s composition still doesn’t change.

The next day, Hinata and Kageyama go to the third year hallway to look for Asahi. Just as they’re fighting over who goes inside the third year classroom first, Asahi suddenly walks out, and almost instantly, Hinata hides behind Kageyama. Sugawara comes out as well and introduces the first years to Asahi but to the first years’ surprise, Asahi tells them to do their best instead of indicating that he will be playing with them. Hinata tells him that he wants to play with Asahi because he wants to be an ace so seeing a real ace in action would help him. Asahi’s surprised but replies that he isn’t an ace before walking away. Sugawara revealed to the first years that Asahi has come to hate volleyball because of a crushing defeat. Hinata doesn’t understand because he doesn’t think it’s such a big deal to end up hating volleyball. The two then leave for practice and Hinata wonders if Asahi does hate volleyball, and Kageyama replies that he doesn’t think Asahi hates it.

Inside the gym, Nishinoya shows off his “Rolling Thunder”, impressing Hinata. Takeda suddenly bursts into the gym, announcing a training camp and practice match against Nekoma High, Karasuno’s destined rival. Hinata’s excited at first but begins to worry, wondering what he can do to bring Asahi back so the team won’t have such a strained atmosphere.

The next day, during lunch break, Hinata and Kageyama approach Asahi again. Hinata exclaims loudly that if Asahi won’t come back to the team, the senpais will be sad. Asahi only replies that the image of getting blocked is still fresh in his mind so he can’t bring himself to play volleyball anymore. Hinata understands Asahi though and responds that his spikes had always been blocked but now, he has Kageyama. He can evade even the tallest blockers and finally see everything on the other side of the net. Before Hinata can say anything else, the bell rings and he has to get to class, but he leaves an impression on Asahi.

Sometime later, Ukai joins the team as a temporary coach and sets up a practice match against the Neighborhood Association Team^[10]. As the players are warming up, Hinata notices Asahi outside and announces it to the team. Ukai pulls Asahi into the game and it becomes a faceoff of Kageyama and Hinata against the ace. Hinata’s placed with Kageyama, Ennoshita, Tsukishima, Tanaka, and Daichi.

Right as the game starts, Hinata and Kageyama perform a quick, shocking everyone due to the speed. Asahi then attacks back with a spike and Hinata gets awed by the strength of it. However, as the match progressed, Hinata begins to get jealous of Asahi’s incredible power which distracts him from the game, leading to him getting hit in the face by Asahi’s spike. The game’s paused for Hinata to recover, and Hinata reassures his teammates that he’s fine and just doesn’t react fast enough. However, Kageyama sees right through him and points out how Hinata let his jealousy of Asahi get to him. Hinata angrily replies that someone tall like Kageyama won’t be able to understand him at all, but quickly regrets it. He thinks guiltily that it’s his fault the game is paused but he still yelled at Kageyama.

The match soon resumes and right off, to Hinata’ surprise, Kageyama announces that he will toss to him. He commands Hinata to move according to his toss and Hinata spikes it past everyone. As soon as he lands, Kageyama yells angrily that with that speed, jump, and his toss, Hinata can evade any blocker. The point scored by the ace and the point scored by a decoy are of equal value, and it’s also because of the decoy that the ace and other spikers can breakthrough. Kageyama asks Hinata if he still thinks that being a decoy’s lame, and Hinata replies almost tearfully that he doesn’t think that at all^[11].

In the end, the Karasuno Neighborhood Association Team wins. After the Neighborhood Association leaves, Hinata approaches Asahi and after some hesitation, tells him that he’s not an ace but he’ll become the strongest decoy and create a pathway in front of the ace. Hinata begins to run out of things to say though and gets flustered and Asahi cuts in, stating that the person the opponents are scared off is the coolest, reassuring Hinata of his importance.

Nekoma Practice Match

On the day before the training camp begins, Hinata rides his bike to school excitedly as he thinks of the match against Nekoma. That evening, after practice, the team goes to the training camp facilities. Hinata explores the entire building, exclaiming that he has never been to a training camp before^[12].

Later at night, Hinata’s standing near the baths, looking terrified. Tanaka comes over and Hinata explains that there’s a child in the building with them, scaring Tanaka because only the Karasuno team is supposed to be there. Suddenly, someone appears behind them, and Hinata starts screaming that it’s the person he saw. It turns out to be Nishinoya who had his hair flattened, thus changing his appearance.

The next day, the team goes jogging in the morning and while trying to outrace Kageyama, Hinata gets lost. As he’s wandering around, he finds a boy around his age in a red jersey and approaches him. Hinata tries speaking to him at first but the boy doesn’t seem interested until Hinata notices his volleyball shoes. Hinata then introduces himself and finds out that the boy’s name is Kenma Kozume. The two of them start discussing volleyball, though Kenma was a bit reluctant initially. Hinata asks sheepishly if Kenma thinks it’s weird that a short person like him was a middle blocker, and Kenma replies that it isn’t because he’s in the same situation as a setter. Hinata asks Kenma excitedly if his school’s strong and surprisingly, Kenma replies firmly that he thinks it’s strong. Before Hinata can ask Kenma what school he goes to, Kenma’s teammate comes over. As Kenma’s leaving, he says that he’ll see Hinata later, to the latter’s confusion.

The next day, during practice, Hinata and Kageyama overhear Ennoshita saying that he once ran away from practice and decides to question him about it later in the evening. Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita reveal that during the period Ikkei Ukai returned to coach the team, they had quit the team but regretted it afterward. However, by the time they decided to return, Ikkei was already gone. Ennoshita states sadly that he, Narita, and Kinoshita are disgraceful second years but since returning, they’ve decided to work hard so they won’t lose to the first years.

After the second years leave the room, Hinata starts thinking of how everyone on the team intends to get on the court at some point, the second years’ speech having affected him. Hinata states that, as frustrating as it is to admit, he’s only on the court because of Kageyama’s toss. The next day, the uniforms are handed out, with Kageyama receiving the number 9 and Hinata receiving 10. Immediately, Hinata points out disappointedly that Kageyama has a higher number than him. To reassure Hinata, Sugawara and Daichi tell him that the number 10 was also the Small Giant’s number back when he was in Karasuno and Hinata’s entire outlook on his uniform changes.

The practice match against Nekoma soon arrives and the members line up to greet each other. To Hinata’s surprise, he finds Kenma on the team^[13]. After greetings, he approaches Kenma and complains light-heartedly that Kenma could’ve told him he’s from Nekoma back when they first met each other. They are not able to talk much though because Yamamoto then interrupts them, thinking that Hinata is bothering Kenma. Tanaka is quick to come defend Hinata from Yamamoto although the two would quickly be scolded by Sugawara and Yaku for causing a scene.

The teams soon go inside the gym, and the match begins. Right off, Kageyama and Hinata perform their quick strike; shocking everyone. As the match progresses, Karasuno’s able to give Nekoma some trouble, but Hinata starts noticing that Inuoka’s slowly catching up to him. Suddenly, Inuoka was able to completely block him. However, to everyone’s surprise, Hinata smiles due to the challenge and doesn’t give up.

He faces off against Inuoka again and decides to try opening his eyes to spike, though he has trouble at first. Ukai calls for a timeout and tells Kageyama to try a new toss with Hinata. Kageyama agrees, but Hinata can’t grasp the new toss at first and keeps messing up. However, his concentration never wavers and after some time, he’s finally able to spike with his eyes open, though his ball goes out.

In the end, just when the Karasuno team thinks they won, Kenma suddenly saves a ball and sends it back over. Nishinoya and Hinata chase after it but neither makes it in time, and Nekoma wins. As the players are recovering, Hinata shoots up, asking for a rematch. Two more games are played but even though Karasuno loses all of them, Hinata continues asking for more matches. Nekomata calmly tells Hinata that they’ll play again at Nationals, and Hinata agrees excitedly.

While the teams start cleaning up, Hinata and Inuoka compliment each other happily. Hinata then approaches Kenma and asks him if, after this game, he enjoys volleyball more. Kenma replies that he doesn’t feel anything, and Hinata exclaims determinedly that he will win next time and get Kenma to feel frustrated.

The teams soon part ways^[14] and as Karasuno’s walking back, Kageyama states that if today’s a regular game, they would have been disqualified already, reminding Hinata of his junior high match against Kitagawa Daiichi.

Interhigh Arc

The Karasuno team starts training for the Interhigh as soon as the practice match with Nekoma ends. One afternoon, after practice concludes, the players huddle over a volleyball magazine. Tanaka points out this year’s noteworthy aces, Ushijima from Shiratorizawa being one of them. To the senpais’ surprises, Hinata doesn’t know who Ushiwaka is because he only cares about the Small Giant. Tanaka points out that Ushijima is the number 1 ace in the Miyagi prefecture, and Hinata realizes that they will have to beat him to get to Nekoma. Ukai cuts in, stating that Shiratorizawa isn’t the only school they had to look out for; this year’s top schools, besides Shiratorizawa, are Aoba Johsai, Wakutani Minami High, and Date Tech.

The night before Interhigh, after practice, Takeda announces that Kiyoko has a surprise for the team. With Takeda’s help, Kiyoko unfolds an old Karasuno banner she’d found while cleaning and tells the team to do their best before running out. This increases the team’s morale by tenfold, and they are finally ready for the Interhigh.

The next day, Hinata’s running to school, happy that he’s going to get to the gym before Kageyama. However, Kageyama appears behind him suddenly and knocks Hinata over before rushing to the gym. As soon as he arrives, he stutters out breathlessly that he has 31 wins and 30 losses, but Hinata cuts in sadly that he’s wrong and has 32 wins because Kitagawa Daiichi beat Yukigaoka last year around this time. Remembering everything from last year, Hinata gets up and tells Kageyama determinedly that he will overthrow him from his title of being the “King of the Court” and be the one who stands on the court the longest.

Karasuno soon heads for the stadium where the tournament’s taking place^[15]. As he’s entering the gym, Hinata looks around excitedly until his team bumps into Date Tech. Hinata notices right away that Aone doesn’t have eyebrows and gets intimidated by his size, but recovers quickly and backs up Asahi when Aone challenges him. Aone’s soon stopped by his captain and Date Tech walks away, but not before issuing a challenge to the entire Karasuno team.

Later, as Karasuno’s preparing for their first match, Hinata’s nervous and starts shaking and jumbling up his words. Sugawara asks Asahi what he usually does to calm himself, and Asahi replies that he’ll think of something scary to distract himself. Hinata thinks over it and suddenly remembers Kageyama’s expression when he’d hit a ball into the back of his head during the Aoba Johsai practice match. That calms Hinata down instantly.

Karasuno vs Tokonami

Karasuno soon heads to the stadium, and Hinata gushes excitedly over the huge arena. As the team’s warming up, Hinata suddenly spots Kindaichi in the bleachers and points him out using his nickname “shallot-head”, confusing the spoken boy as he doesn’t realize who the name refers to. Oikawa then greets Hinata and Kageyama, and the two stare back hostilely.

The match begins shortly, but Karasuno doesn’t use Kageyama and Hinata’s quick-strike yet. Tanaka and Asahi score the first two points, and Hinata begins to fidget impatiently before Kageyama finally tosses to him. Jumping high above the net, Hinata slams the ball down and shows the entire stadium that Karasuno can no longer be called the “Flightless Crows” anymore.

Karasuno beats Tokonami easily in the end. Hinata can barely believe that he’d gotten past the first match, his junior high days still fresh in his mind. He asks Kageyama if they have a match next, and Kageyama replies affirmatively. Hinata looks at his hands happily and cries out that they won and can keep playing again and again^[16].

Karasuno vs Date Tech

Karasuno goes back to the hallways to rest before its next match. To Hinata’s joy, passing by players point him out and he states that nobody has ever said those things about him before. Kageyama tells him that it’s a good thing he’s getting noticed because the more Hinata stands out, the harder it’ll be for the opponents to notice the other players.

Hinata and Kageyama then go outside to warm up, and Kageyama reveals to Hinata that Date Tech’s the team that defeated Karasuno devastatingly last year, causing Asahi to leave the team. Right afterward, Sugawara approaches the two and tells them he’s counting on them for the Date Tech game because with the strongest decoy and Kageyama to clear the wall in front of the ace, Asahi can finally get his revenge. Hinata and Kageyama agree silently, determined to win the game for the senpais.

They go back inside for the match. As Hinata’s entering the court, he nearly bumps into Aone, whose immense size terrifies him. The teams start warming up and Nishinoya exclaims that he will protect everyone’s backs, impressing Hinata.

The game soon starts and right off, Kageyama tosses to Hinata, but it’s nearly blocked by Aone. Hinata manages to hit the ball to another side and get a point, but he’s worried that Aone will succeed next time. Sure enough, Aone blocks Hinata on his second try. However, Hinata and Kageyama still have another technique to use.

They perform their quick-strike which flies past Date Tech, to everyone’s shock. The next few attacks are successful again, but Aone manages to catch up to Hinata and blocks him. However, this is Karasuno’s tactic to distract Date Tech from the other spikers, allowing Asahi to breakthrough^[17]. Hinata remarks that even though he doesn’t hit the spike, his spine’s tingling with excitement.

With Hinata’s decoy skills, Asahi and the other spikers can get through and in the end, Karasuno wins. As the teams are leaving, Aone asks Hinata for a handshake, which the latter gladly accepts. He then walks over to Kageyama, pointing out that the opponents haven’t noticed their signals for the quick strike yet.

Karasuno vs Aoba Johsai

Karasuno goes back home to rest before their next match. As soon as they arrive, a teacher announces that they’re on TV and the entire team goes inside the faculty office to watch^[18]. However, the program skims right over Karasuno’s match against Date Tech to show Oikawa instead. When asked what he thinks of Karasuno, he replies that it’s a good team and he would like to destroy it, angering the entire team. They then silently walk back to their gym to hold a meeting.

After going over the tactics they’re going to use against Aoba Johsai, the team heads home. Kageyama appears worried over the game so Hinata quickly reassures him that they will win; Kageyama agrees determinedly.

The next day, the match begins and both teams are intent on beating each other, their last practice game has affected them greatly. Both teams were doing well initially, Hinata and Kageyama’s quick strikes succeeding each time. However, halfway through, Oikawa figures out the signals Kageyama and Hinata use for their quick strike, thus rendering it useless. Kageyama begins to lose his composure as Aoba Johsai pulls ahead of Karasuno.

Hinata watches his teammates, especially Tanaka, worriedly after the team gets disordered. He wonders if he should say something to Tanaka since the second year’s always cheering him up whenever he’s depressed, but Tanaka recovers before Hinata can do anything. He slaps himself to clear his thoughts and exclaims that he’s going to succeed next time, impressing Hinata and Nishinoya.

Even though Tanaka’s able to get his head back into the game, Kageyama’s still unfocused. Soon, Kageyama’s switched out^[19] with Sugawara taking his place so that the first year can cool his head, and he gets off reluctantly. To cheer him up, Hinata reminds Kageyama loudly that he’ll be the one that’ll defeat him so he can’t lose here.

With Sugawara’s help, Karasuno takes back some points but Aoba Johsai wins the first set. Hinata asks Kageyama if he’s depressed and he angrily replies that Hinata should worry about himself instead; but Kageyama adds, to Hinata’s happiness, that when he gets back into the game, he’s going to make Hinata hit spikes like crazy.

Before long, Kageyama’s switched back in and as he’s walking onto the court, he suddenly smiles–a rare sight that sends Hinata scurrying away fearfully. Hinata then asks Kageyama if Sugawara told him about the hand signals he came up with and Kageyama nods as he holds his fist up, silently telling Hinata that he’s confident they can win.

The break helps Kageyama cool down and he’s able to set up two successful spikes, both performed by Hinata. Right after the second spike, Hinata asks Kageyama for a high five, showing his acceptance of the setter as a teammate. Karasuno soon turns the game over in their favor and wins the second set; Aoba Johsai isn’t letting up though. Hinata’s then switched out temporarily so Karasuno can try a different tactic.

As the game progresses though, he begins to get impatient; seeing Aoba Johsai’s incredible strength makes him want to play and he almost steps out of line. Before long, Hinata’s switched back in. His pent up frustration from being out gives him a strength boost and helps him out-speed the opponents^[20]. Hinata thinks to himself that if his speed slows down for even an instant, it will be all over. He runs to the ball and spikes with all his strength against two blockers. However, this is a fluke so Asahi can break through and Karasuno finally catches up to Aoba Johsai, pushing Aoba Johsai to call for a timeout.

As Karasuno’s taking a break, the senpais compliment Hinata on his decoy skills, but Hinata isn’t satisfied yet. He isn’t letting down until Karasuno wins the game. Things take a turn for the worse though when suddenly, Aoba Johsai’s able to completely render the quick strike ineffective. With their new technique of leaving Hinata unguarded so that the libero can receive the spike, Hinata and Kageyama are finally stopped. Karasuno’s movements are thrown into disorder and in a last-minute attempt to gain back a point, the ball’s given to Hinata. However, he’s blocked completely.

To pull back ahead, Ukai switches in Yamaguchi for Hinata. As Hinata’s getting off, he tells Yamaguchi to serve a nice one, but he isn’t going to lose to him. Yamaguchi fails though but this takes a lot of pressure off the other players, and everyone’s moods change.

Despite having his signature move stopped and his jumping power weakening, Hinata doesn’t give up and finds a new way to score, although he ends up smashing his face on the floor^[21]. However, this allows Karasuno to turn the scores around and they are now at match point.

Aoba Johsai quickly takes back their points and Kageyama appears worried, so Hinata cheers him up. Both teams are getting tired and making more mistakes now, but Kageyama’s confident that his next toss will get through. He sends the ball to Hinata who spikes eagerly; it is then blocked by Kindaichi and Hinata freezes and isn’t able to react in time to save it. Aoba Johsai wins the game with that point^[22].

Hinata stays on the floor in shock until Daichi comes over, and the former starts apologizing; Daichi stops him, stating that his spike wasn’t a mistake. The teams line up silently before getting off the court. Hinata tries to say something to Kageyama but is cut off by a team running onto the court.

Hinata and Kageyama go outside to cool off. As they’re washing their faces, Kageyama suddenly apologizes, angering Hinata. He grabs the setter and yells at him to not make it sound like he shouldn’t have tossed to him. As Hinata’s holding Kageyama down on the grass, Takeda approaches them. Smiling gently, he states that the two first years did an incredible job today, but Hinata responds sullenly that they still lost. Takeda replies that it’s true, but the defeat will help them move forward because it’s like a trial to overcome. Only the weak will remain on their knees like Hinata and Kageyama are right now; this inspires the two to get back up on their feet.

Loss and Decisions

The Karasuno team soon leaves the gym and goes out to eat. Ukai tells the team to eat up so they can recover and get stronger. Hinata starts eating and slowly, his emotions overcome him, and he starts to cry.
His loss still affects Hinata greatly the next day^[23]. He can’t pay attention in class and as soon as lunchtime comes, he runs out of his classroom without eating and heads for the gym. By the time he arrives, Kageyama’s already inside, spiking angrily at the wall. Hinata doesn’t say anything and just stands there, but Kageyama understands him instantly. He passes a ball to Hinata and they pass it back and forth silently. Eventually, Hinata messes up and Kageyama states expressionlessly that Hinata’s balance is off. Hinata doesn’t reply and instead, points out that the final match’s starting soon. All of a sudden, everything that happened during the Interhigh comes to him and in a fit of frustration, Hinata starts jumping all over the gym, Kageyama joining him shortly.

The two eventually stop when they run out of breath, and Hinata says angrily that he wants to win. Kageyama replies that he won’t apologize anymore because he has to throw the sort of toss that he won’t have to apologize for. Hinata agrees, adding that there was no time to waste and they have to continue training. At that moment, Kiyoko comes in, lightly scolding the two for being too loud. Hinata asks her anxiously if the third years are staying in the club to go on to the Spring High and his happiness, Kiyoko replies affirmatively.

Hinata then goes back to his classroom to eat lunch with his friend. The two discuss their losses and Hinata’s friend brings up the fact that the third years on his team are retiring because the teachers won’t let them play. This shocks Hinata and he slams his hands down on the table loudly, shouting that he still has a lot to learn from the third years so he still wants to play volleyball with them.

He then runs off to the faculty office to find Takeda. Anxiously, Hinata exclaims that he wants to keep playing with the third years, but Takeda replies calmly that the third years need to choose a path that they won’t end up regretting. Hinata adds that he would regret never being able to play volleyball again more than anything else, but that’s only for him. Takeda suddenly receives a phone call so Hinata excuses himself and leaves.

In the hallways, Hinata’s walking back to his class when Sugawara comes up behind him. Hinata gets scared as he thinks over what to say to Sugawara because simply asking him to stay in the club is too selfish a request. Before Hinata can say anything though, Takeda calls Sugawara away.

Later, the second- and first-years go to the gym, despite there not being any practice, and waits for the third-years to come. Just as they are all about to give up hope, the third-years arrive and announce, to everyone’s happiness, that they are going to the Spring High.

Ukai soon arrives in the gym as well and holds a meeting. He tells Karasuno that they lost in a match of strength to Aoba Johsai but Shiratorizawa is the overall winner, shocking Hinata, and Kageyama. Daichi announces that Karasuno has only gone to Nationals once, so he intends to get the team back on that court. Hinata’s overwhelmed by what he hears; he thinks of how the Spring High will be the third years’ final matches and if he goes, he’ll be standing on the same court the Small Giant had once stood on. However, he acknowledges that his team won’t be able to win in its current state.

Suddenly, Takeda bursts in and immediately announce that they’re going to Tokyo.

Tokyo Expedition Arc

Hinata excitedly asks Takeda if, by Tokyo, he means Nekoma, and Takeda confirms that they have another practice match against that school, but Nekoma isn’t going to be the only team there^[3]. The entire Fukurōdani Academy Group, composed of Nekoma and several other schools in Kanto, often holds joint practice matches; this time, thanks to Nekomata, Karasuno will be able to join the Group.

Remembering how Inuoka and Yaku stopped his quick-strike during the practice match, Hinata gets super excited and yells that this time, he will slam the ball past Nekoma. Takeda asks Karasuno what they think of the match, and everyone answers enthusiastically that they’re going.

The next day, Hinata’s in class when he hears the students in the hallways talking about someone. He pokes his head out to see and finds Kiyoko in his hallway. She asks him if he knows any first years who aren’t in any clubs, confusing him.

That evening, in a team meeting, Takeda announces the training schedule for Karasuno before the summer camp begins. The players are excited until Takeda reminds them of the final exams that are coming up soon. If the players can’t pass, they have to take supplementary lessons and will not be able to go on the Tokyo trip. Suddenly remembering the tests, Hinata begins to shake in terror. He desperately asks if they can just beg the vice-principal to let them go but Takeda replies forlornly that no matter what they do, supplementary lessons are higher priorities. Hinata, Kageyama, Nishinoya, and Tanaka begin freaking out but Daichi quickly cuts in, stating that they still have time before exams begin.

Daichi rounds up the “four idiots” that night to lecture them on how to study. Hinata whispers to Kageyama if he wants to ask Tsukishima to tutor them, but Kageyama automatically refuses. Hinata retorts that they don’t have a choice because if they fail, they won’t be able to go to Tokyo.

The two then run after Tsukishima and requests for him to teach them^[24]. Tsukishima initially refused but Hinata continues asking him; Tsukishima then interrupts him, pointing out that Kageyama isn’t doing anything and is making Hinata do all the asking. Annoyedly, Kageyama bows and requests loudly for Tsukishima to teach them.

A while later, Kiyoko returns to Hinata’s hallway to look for recruits, and Hinata gives her a list of first years that aren’t in any clubs. As she thanks him, Hinata asks curiously if the manager job’s that difficult that Kiyoko has to recruit another one. Kiyoko replies that the third years won’t be here anymore after the Spring High ends, so she needs to prepare for her retirement by finding a replacement for herself as soon as possible. Hinata volunteers eagerly to help her but she kindly rejects him, stating that he has to focus on his studies and training because everyone has high hopes for the strongest decoy.

The next day, during practice, Kiyoko suddenly comes in and introduces Hitoka Yachi as a potential new manager. Hinata happily greets her before continuing with the practice. The following day, Hinata and Kageyama try to ask Tsukishima to tutor them during a break, but he refuses. Yamaguchi then tells them to ask Yachi instead since she’s also in a college prep class. The duo finds Yachi in her classroom and introduces themselves before asking her to teach them. Yachi agrees and goes over the problems with the two, Hinata complimenting her on her notes now and then. Yachi asks Hinata if he likes studying, and Hinata replies sheepishly that it’s tough for him to sit still for a long time. Because he wants to play against Tokyo’s champions, he has to do everything he can to pass the exams and go on the trip. Yachi asks him if he’s a manager because he’s short, and Hinata exclaims that he’s a regular player. He adds proudly that he’s short but he can jump. His opponents are always so tall and strong, but the fact that he can still fight against guys like those sends shivers down his spine.

After practice one day, Hinata suddenly smacks himself. A shocked Yachi looks at him and he responds that he won’t lose. Yachi then asks him curiously why he’s working so hard to go on a trip to play in matches that aren’t even official and why he wants to win. Hinata responds calmly, “Do you need a reason to not want to lose?” His aura when he says that intimidates Yachi for a moment.

A few days later, Yachi tells him about what her mother said to her about being a manager, and Hinata asks her if she’s bothered by it. Hinata tries to reassure her by bringing up his past mistakes, but Yachi remains worried. Hinata then decides to help Yachi out by bringing her to her mother and convincing her to say her thoughts. Yachi, inspired by Hinata’s words, yells out to her mother that villager B can fight too and announces her goals. As soon as she’s done, Yachi turns to Hinata who gives her a huge grin and a thumb up.

With this, Yachi’s finally convinced to become the manager of the club. The next day, during practice, she’s given her team jacket and the entire team poses as they welcome Yachi. Daichi announces to the team that they don’t have a lot of time left before the training camp begins. All that was left were the exams. Hinata quickly turned to Yachi nervously and she reassured him that it would be fine, though she did invite Hinata and Kageyama to study at her house the next morning.

The next day, the three finished studying early and as they were leaving, Kageyama states that Yachi lives near Shiratorizawa. Hinata asks him if, by Shiratorizawa, he means Ushijima and coincidentally, Ushijima’s just passing by when Hinata mentions him. He stops and asks the duo if they have some business with him, surprising the two^[25]. Hinata and Kageyama don’t answer Ushijima at first, so he starts leaving.

Reacting quickly, Kageyama introduces himself and Hinata and asks Ushijima to allow them to watch Shiratorizawa practice. Ushijima recognizes Karasuno as the team that uses a strange quick strike before agreeing to Kageyama’s request; he states that no matter how strong the two are, they will see that Shiratorizawa never weakens. Kageyama and Hinata reply nonchalantly that they’re going to beat Shiratorizawa anyway, so they may as well see what their opponents will be like.

The three starts running together and Hinata jumps around in excitement, surprising Ushijima who notes that Hinata’s able to catch up with him. The minute the three arrive in Shiratorizawa, Hinata runs all over the school, looking around at the huge size and other features it has. The duo soon gets lost and stumbles around before finding the gym. The two look inside to check out the team and are surprised to find that Shiratorizawa’s practice match opponents are college students.

Ushijima then comes by, stating that it took the two long enough to find him. Kageyama reintroduces himself and Ushijima recognizes him from Kitagawa Daiichi. After Kageyama adds that he tried to get into Shiratorizawa but failed, Ushijima replies that his team doesn’t need a setter that can’t devote himself to the ace. Hinata cuts in, laughing at his teammate because it’s true that Kageyama doesn’t seem like that type of person. Hinata adds that Oikawa’s the same yet he’s the strongest setter in the prefecture. Ushijima remarks that Oikawa is an excellent player and should’ve gone to Shiratorizawa and Kageyama asks him if Oikawa will be devoted to the ace. Ushijima replies that Oikawa is a setter that draws out the maximum potential of whatever team he’s on; however, his team’s too weak for him and can’t utilize all of his abilities. Hinata thinks of the players in Aoba Johsai and responds calmly, with an intimidating aura, that if Aoba Johsai’s barren land, then Karasuno would be concrete.

A stray ball suddenly comes at the three and Ushijima reaches for it; Hinata jumps up in front of him and grabs the ball, exclaiming that he sprouts from that concrete and will take Ushijima down to get to nationals. Before any of them can say anything, a teacher walks by and kicks Hinata and Kageyama out of the school. As the two are leaving, Kageyama states that they weren’t able to defeat Aoba Johsai so they have to do that first before reaching Shiratorizawa. Hinata replies determinedly that if they defeat both schools, there won’t be any trouble. They have to go to Tokyo to get stronger.

A few days later, test results come out. Hinata and Kageyama fail, despite all the studying they did. However, they’re still planning on going, even if they have to bike there. Tanaka then approaches the two with a solution; his sister Saeko will drive them to Tokyo once they finish their make-up exams.

Like Tanaka’s proposal, as soon as the lessons ends, Kageyama and Hinata bolt out of Karasuno and runs outside. Saeko’s waiting for them there and they soon start driving to Tokyo. In the car, Hinata glares at the road ahead and Saeko pinches his cheeks, telling him to relax. She asks him why he’s playing volleyball and before he can finish his sentence, Saeko interrupts and asks if it’s because he saw the Small Giant. Hinata excitedly asks her if she knows him and she answers that he’s her former classmate. She adds that she once watched one of Karasuno’s practice matches and the Small Giant wasn’t doing so well during that game. He was switched out midway and started trashing the hallway around before turning to Saeko with an intense look. It felt like his entire body gave off a sense of sheer pride and confidence from being the team’s ace. Hinata thought of Ushijima, comparing his aura to the Small Giant’s.

The two soon arrive in Tokyo and enter the gym^[26], where their team’s waiting for them. For the rest of the day, Karasuno plays several practice matches; each time, the opponents are perplexed by Hinata and Kageyama’s quick strike. As Karasuno’s taking a break, Hinata looks over at Nekoma and notices that Inuoka’s benched but there’s a new player that seems to have a whip-like spike.

After practice ends, Hinata walks around with Kenma and Inuoka who reveals to him the new guy’s name—Lev Haiba, a half-Russian, half-Japanese. They discussed his skills and Kenma stated that Lev just started volleyball in high school so his basic skills are terrible, even worse than Hinata’s.

Hinata then leaves to go to the bathroom and just as he enters^[27], he nearly bumps into Lev. Hinata’s shocked that Lev knows Japanese and quickly introduces himself before asking Lev’s height. Lev points out how Hinata’s even shorter up close, angering the latter, but quickly adds that he means if Hinata jumped, he won’t be able to reach as high as Lev can. Hinata decides to prove him wrong by jumping up, though he ends up hitting his head on the ceiling. After recovering, he exclaims confidently that he will jump even higher than the Russian can to beat him. Although, Hinata does admit that Lev’s spikes are incredible because they blow right past the blockers. Lev replies with a confident smile that he’s Nekoma’s ace, after all. Hinata counters that Lev’s a middle blocker so he can’t be the ace, but Lev replies that position has nothing to do with it. An ace is the one that makes off with the most points. This affects Hinata’s way of thinking, and he looks down at his hand as he thinks of all the points he usually scores for his team.

The next day, during a timeout in his practice match, Hinata looks over at Nekoma’s game again. He watches Lev’s successful spikes, remembering his words on being the ace. A while later, Karasuno and Nekoma play against each other, and right from the start, Hinata surprises Lev with a quick strike. However, Lev quickly blocks his next attacks and challenges Hinata to try to beat him.

As the game progresses, Hinata slowly gets distracted by Nekoma’s strength and starts thinking of Ushijima and the Small Giant. In the next move, Hinata’s so absorbed in his thoughts that he spikes the ball spontaneously, not realizing it’s meant for Asahi. As a result, the two crash into each other. Hinata apologizes frantically right afterward.

Hinata gets back into the game but gets a new idea. He approaches Kageyama and tells him he’s going to stop closing his eyes during the quick strikes, shocking his teammates. Hinata explains that he can’t have Kageyama enabling him to hit that quick all the time, but Kageyama rejects him and walks away, stating that he has no intention of tossing to someone who he knows will miss.

The game continues but the tension from Hinata and Asahi’s collision is still there among the players. By the end of the day, Hinata hasn’t given up his decision to start spiking with his eyes open. He asks Kageyama again, with Sugawara backing him up this time, but Kageyama won’t change his mind. Hinata explains that he wants to fight on his own in the air and reminds Kageyama of their loss to Aoba Johsai. Kageyama replies that the quick strike is Hinata’s greatest weapon, but there is no need for him to think on his own in it. He then walks away. Sugawara tells Hinata that he agrees with Kageyama now that he has heard his viewpoint and before Hinata can reply, Ukai comes out and says the same thing.

Hinata responds quietly that when he’s in good form^[28], he can see everything on the other side of the net. At first, Ukai assumes Hinata only thinks he sees everything until he looks into the latter’s eyes and realizes he’s serious. Before Ukai can react, Hinata walks away, but Ukai seems to have a change of heart. As soon as they all enter the gym, Ukai approaches Hinata and tells him that he’s right; the quick strike can still evolve, and he wants Hinata to try.

After practice, Hinata tells Kageyama to toss to him. The two and Yachi use an empty gym to practice with Hinata’s idea, but they keep failing. In the end, Kageyama gets angry and yells at Hinata that there are a ton of things he should be fixing instead of wasting his time on an attack he can’t do. Hinata argues back that he has to get better and Kageyama shoves him, shouting that he will destroy the team’s balance with his selfishness. Hinata loses it and grabs Kageyama who throws him over. The two continue fighting until Yachi calls Tanaka in to stop it.

A bandaged Hinata ends up walking home with Yachi. Hinata apologizes to Yachi for earlier and tells her his past with Kageyama. Hinata says that he knew he and Kageyama wouldn’t be friends at first, but they could be partners.

The next day, Hinata approaches Ukai and asks him for tips on how to practice. Instead, Ukai decides to take him to someone else: the original Coach Ikkei Ukai. Hinata asks Ikkei to teach him to fight on his own and jokingly, the coach points out his height. However, Hinata says that he wants to fight on his own because of his height. Ikkei says that he’s right in thinking that way because, in a quick strike, the spiker is the definite moving force. To better explain that notion, Ikkei tells Hinata to try blocking his students’ spikes.

Ikkei sets up a few different tempos that Hinata stops easily until the First Tempo^[29]. Ikkei asks him about the differences between the tempos and Hinata replies that timing’s different. The coach adds that the run-up for the quick begins before the setter’s toss, so the setter has to match the toss to the spiker. In other words, the quick strike is an attack led by the spiker. Ikkei’s words seem to affect Ukai who runs off suddenly, leaving Hinata alone with Ikkei.

Hinata, while gripping a volleyball, tells Ikkei that all this time, he has been moving on his own until he got to the top. The older man asks if from now on, Hinata wants to fight even at the top but to do that, Kageyama will have to improve too. Hinata states that Kageyama is already incredible so he’ll probably be fine, but Hinata needs to learn how to fight at the top so he won’t fall behind.

The following Tuesday, Hinata apologizes to Tanaka before practice begins. Ukai arranges for the players to have a practice match between themselves, with Hinata on the opposite team to Kageyama’s. Yachi approaches Hinata and asks him if things between him and Kageyama are ok. Hinata replies with a calm smile that they’re fine.

For the next few weeks, Hinata visits Ikkei several times to practice until the summer training camp resumes. Karasuno goes back to Tokyo^[30]. The first practice match is against Fukurōdani and Kageyama and Hinata try their quick-strike again, but Kageyama’s toss is too short and it fails. Hinata seems surprised but doesn’t say anything initially.

The second time almost fails, but Hinata manages to switch hands midair. As he lands, he stares at Kageyama silently, nothing to himself that Kageyama has changed.

That night, Hinata’s walking by when he hears Bokuto ask Tsukishima to train with him. After Tsukishima rejects the Fukurōdani ace, Hinata bombards Tsukishima with questions, but the latter ignores them. Irritated, Hinata complains to Yamaguchi who is shocked that Tsukishima would reject a champion school’s ace like that. Yamaguchi then interrupts Hinata’s rant to ask him what he would say to Tsukishima the way he is now. Hinata replies that he wouldn’t say anything because he doesn’t even know if Tsukishima even wants to play volleyball. Yamaguchi replies sadly that Tsukishima probably likes volleyball because if he didn’t, he wouldn’t have come to Karasuno. Hinata, noticing Yamaguchi’s worry for his friend, asks him what he would say^[31].

Yamaguchi, inspired by Hinata’s words, then leaves and runs to Tsukishima, surprising Yachi who comes in to ask Hinata about it. Hinata states wistfully that Tsukishima would never do anything uncool so he thinks he’ll be fine because if one compares being good at volleyball to being bad, it’s obvious which one’s cooler.

Sometime later, Yamaguchi comes back into the gym and Hinata asks him what happened to Tsukishima. After Yamaguchi replies that Tsukishima went to train with Kuroo and Bokuto, Hinata gets jealous. Yamaguchi then asks him if he sees Tsukishima as a rival. Hinata replies affirmatively, stating that Tsukishima is also a middle blocker and has all the things Hinata doesn’t, but he definitely won’t lose to him.

As the summer passes by, Kageyama and Hinata’s quick-strike barely improves. In a practice match against Nekoma, Karasuno gets worn out and begins to make mistakes. Irritated by his blunders, Hinata starts to lose his temper and stresses about how everyone, even Tsukishima, is improving tremendously. So far, Hinata’s the only person that hasn’t shown any real progress.

He finally snaps when Kageyama makes a mistake with his toss^[32]. While everyone commends Hinata for his quick recovery, Hinata turns on Kageyama and yells at him for doing a bad job, angering the setter. Kageyama threatens the spiker, but Hinata replies that the toss just now wasn’t their usual falling toss. Before Hinata can say anymore, Tanaka drags him away.

After practice, Kageyama tells Hinata that he won’t be practicing with him anymore because he keeps screwing up the toss. Hinata is stunned because Kageyama is being considerate for once and questions him, to which Kageyama replies angrily. Yachi then interrupts and says that she wants to see the new quick-strike, motivating the duo to start practicing right away. Hinata rushes outside and forces Kenma to practice with him, though he only manages to get five tosses out of the setter before he runs away.

Afterward, Hinata hurries to one of the gyms where Tsukishima, Bokuto, Akaashi, and Kuroo are. Just as he asks if he could join their practice, Lev arrives next to him and asks the same thing. With enough people there now, Kuroo proposes a 3-on-3. To his excitement, Hinata ends up on Team Owls with Bokuto and Akaashi. However, just as the game reaches the second set, Bokuto pauses it for dinner.

A while later, the game is restarted. Bokuto performs a “tipping into the block” which amazes Hinata. After asking the third year about it, Bokuto explains the steps and tells Hinata spiking isn’t just about slamming the ball to the floor. If he keeps his cool, he would be able to see what actions to take. Hinata stares as the ace’s back in deep thought.

Taking into account what Bokuto proposed, Hinata then aims for the tip of Lev’s finger when he and the other two blockers gang up on Hinata. The ball bounces off Lev’s finger and goes out, scoring a point for the Owls. Although, Hinata does confess afterward that his success was just a fluke. Bokuto gets excited and rubs Hinata’s head while complimenting him and offers to teach him a special finishing move (a type of feint), thrilling the first year. The next day, Karasuno goes against Fukurōdani for the last time this summer camp. Before the game starts, Daichi tells his team about the secret BBQ the coaches planned, boosting all of their morale’s.

Just as the game begins, Bokuto performs a perfect block=out. Hinata watches him and tries to think of a way to retaliate before remembering the special move Bokuto taught him. He successfully pulls off the feint, shocking his teammates and opponents. As the opponents are scrambling to save the ball, Hinata thinks back to Bokuto’s words on how the feeling he gets from a successful feint is the best.

Daichi states that this trip has been one loss after another but at the very least, they should snatch a win from Fukurōdani, the strongest among the training camp’s members, before leaving. Motivated, the players get ready for a comeback.

However, the score continues to be in Fukurōdani’s favor and Karasuno doesn’t show any improvement until Hinata initiates the new quick attack with Kageyama by starting his run-up early. The ball flies past Akaashi and hits the floor, stunning everyone. Hinata and Kageyama look at each other knowingly before celebrating loudly. Hinata’s so overjoyed, he exclaims that Kageyama is incredible before excitedly calling for another try. Kageyama doesn’t know what to make of that and ends up stuttering out his thanks.

The second time fails though, but the duo isn’t worried at all. Bokuto ends up slowly making more mistakes until he finally snaps. Depressed, he tells Akaashi to not send the ball to him anymore and Karasuno takes advantage of the ace’s dilemma. Karasuno slowly gains back their points in the meantime, each member showing off his new skills. However, at the last minute, Bokuto makes a sudden comeback, and Fukurōdani wins^[33]. Asahi apologizes to the team but Ukai replies that it’s good he realized his fault on his own. In his situation, it’s understandable that Asahi would get scared. Even though the team lost today, their attacks got through against a nationals level opponent. Takeda adds that right now, the players can’t beat the other teams in serves or combination moves because they’ve been at it longer than the players have. That doesn’t mean they should stop there though. When colors mix, they become muddy and messy but when they all blend, the final result is the color that wins against all others: black. To finish his speech off, Takeda asks the players to become a team of black like the crows they represent.

After penalties, Kageyama states to Hinata that if their quicks were more successful, they probably could’ve taken a set from Fukurōdani. However, with their quick, they can fight now. Even if the opponents read what they’re going to do and chase after them, they can still fight.

At the BBQ, Hinata exclaims to Bokuto that he won’t lose in a real match and Bokuto agrees to the challenge. As they begin eating, Bokuto brags loudly that he’s one of the top five aces in the country, but Kuroo points out how Ushijima is one of the top three. Lev asks who the other two are and Kuroo reveals their names: Kyushu’s “Kiryū” and Kanto’s “Sakusa”. However, this year, Sakusa’s school is the favorite to win the championships. Lev and Hinata simultaneously ask if they beat Sakusa, they’ll be the top in Japan. Kuroo points out how those two are saying this despite being the top two in crappiness.

As Karasuno finally heads home, Hinata says to Kageyama that he doesn’t like being weak but the fact that there are a lot of people who are “above” it makes him happy, puzzling the setter^[34].

Spring High Preliminary Arc

Now back in Karasuno High, the members are busy preparing for the upcoming Spring High. Hinata and Kageyama practice into the night with the former Coach Ukai, who advises them to take a break since their quick hasn’t been succeeding. However, as soon as he says that, Kageyama and Hinata finally pull it off, surprising Ukai and everyone else near the court.

August 11, the first day of the Spring High begins. In the hallway, passersby are surprised by Hinata’s haggard appearance. He reveals that he feels a lot better now since he threw up on the bus; this memory adds to the other members’ anxiety and causes them to get sick as well. Tanaka congratulates Hinata for managing to hold in his puke until after the bus stopped instead of hurling in anyone’s lap, embarrassing the first year.

Hinata then heads to the bathroom and bumps into Yoshiki Towada. The stranger yells at him and Hinata apologizes hastily. He stops when he notices that the guy’s from Ohgiminami High, the school he’s going up against. Before Hinata can say anything though, the guy pats his head and apologizes for shouting at him, assuming that he’s the younger brother of a player. Hinata quickly shouts that he’s a first-year at Karasuno and announces that he’ll win and go to nationals. Seemingly annoyed, the guy coldly states that Hinata shouldn’t talk about winning the nationals so easily. He’s initially unnerved by the confident gaze Hinata gives him but says that in the end, everyone will lose to Shiratorizawa.

Karasuno vs Ohgiminami

Karasuno enters the stadium and warms up. The match begins and before long, Karasuno is leading by five points and is nearing the 20s of the first set. Since the Ohgiminami players don’t put much effort into their play, Karasuno’s able to clinch the first set easily with Hinata and Kageyama’s infamous quick scoring the final point.

As the members are celebrating, they hear one of their opponents announce that he’ll take down Karasuno and beat Shiratorizawa. Confidently, they accept their opponent’s challenge. The second set begins and Karasuno dominates its way to the 20s again. The now motivated Ohgiminami players try to save the ball, but Karasuno wins the match with a quick strike from Hinata and Kageyama (2:0 / 25-16, 25-13).

Done with their match, the Karasuno members celebrate and head off the court. As they’re walking by, they see a match between Nishita and Kakugawa, their next opponent. Hinata appears unnerved by the 2m tall player in Kakugawa and notes that he has to beat him or he won’t be able to advance to the representative battle.

Karasuno vs Kakugawa

As Daichi is encouraging the team for its next match, Hinata turns around to see the 2m player towering over him. When Yamaguchi compares their heights, Hinata gets offended and yells that he’s 163 cm if they round up. Tsukishima comments that Hinata and Yūdai Hyakuzawa have a 40cm height difference, and Yachi tries to defend Hinata by adding that Kitty-chan is also 40cm so it’s not such a big difference. This leads to a conversation about the types of things that can be placed on Hinata’s head so he can match the player in height. Hinata states that he wants to combine with a Lucifer Dogfish because he’ll then be 2m tall. Kageyama hears this and blatantly asks if Hinata’s scared.

The match between Kakugawa and Karasuno soon begins. Hinata’s shown hiding behind Tanaka as he eyes the two-meter player. Tsukishima serves first, but it’s received easily by Kakugawa. The ball’s then sent to Hyakuzawa, who spikes right over Hinata’s head.

Counterattacking, Hinata and Kageyama try their infamous quick. While spiking, Hinata notices that he’ll be blocked at that angle, so he quickly switches to a feint. However, Hyakuzawa easily moves his arms over and completely blocks the ball^[35]. This continues until Kakugawa is leading by three points, and Hinata begins to get frustrated. Even his diagonal jumps aren’t working in throwing Hyakuzawa off. On the other hand, Kageyama seems unaffected, even unusually optimistic. He suddenly asks to use the new quick-strike, to Hinata’s surprise, but this boosts the middle blocker’s morale immediately.

In the next move, Kageyama sets the ball to Hinata at the perfect angle and Hinata spikes it down so quickly that none of the opponents, including Hyakuzawa, can react. The quick strikes continue succeeding until Karasuno is nearing its set point. Hinata and Kageyama then use a minus tempo to score, taking the first set for Karasuno.

The second set begins and Karasuno uses a first tempo synchronized attack right off the bat. The members score easily, and the score gap increases gradually until Karasuno is at its match point. Despite this, Hinata is wary of Hyakuzawa, knowing that if he lets his guard down, the opponent will reach him in no time. To counter Hyakuzawa’s height, Daichi tells Hinata and Tanaka to give up trying to block the opponent completely and instead look for a different technique. When Hyakuzawa spikes again, Daichi, Tanaka, and Hinata use a soft block to decrease the momentum of the ball so it can be received easily. The ball is sent towards Hinata, who suddenly remembers his time in Tokyo, and performs a block-out off Hyakuzawa’s fingers. The ball then goes out and Karasuno wins the match (2:0 / 25-22, 25-19).

Hinata closes his hand, proud of himself for scoring a point with something other than a quick. The Karasuno members praise him, with Asahi holding Hinata up to the team. With this match, Karasuno has passed through the Miyagi Prefecture’s first Spring High Preliminary and will advance to the Representative Playoffs^[36].

Karasuno vs Johzenji

The Karasuno members soon head home. Kiyoko goes back to the gym to check for forgotten items and the team goes ahead. Hinata remarks that with this match, they’re finally going to be in the same arena as Oikawa and Ushijima. Suddenly, he remembers his lunchbox that he forgot in the stadium. As he heads back to get it, he sees two guys harassing Kiyoko for her number. Despite being afraid of their intimidating appearances, Hinata jumps in between them and Kiyoko and tries to get the manager away. However, the guys easily brush Hinata aside and continue with their advances. Hinata gets between them again, jumping high over one of the guys, who notices Hinata’s Karasuno shirt. He recognizes Hinata as a member of the team which had defeated the “2m team”. He then states frivolously that he wanted to have some fun against that team too, surprising Hinata. The first year asks the guy if he made it through the preliminary and the guy reveals that his team was in the top four in the Interhigh Preliminaries. He then starts to leave and pats Hinata’s head, stating that if they face off in the representative playoffs, they should get some fun out of it.

A confused Hinata watches the guys walk away as he thinks of how the stranger had called volleyball fun. Kiyoko then gives him his lunchbox and comments on the cute cat wrapping, embarrassing Hinata who quickly asserts that it’s his sister’s. Sometime before the qualifiers begin, Hinata asks Tsukishima if he could block Ushijima as he was already planning the finals. When Tsukishima asks him about that, Hinata answers that as middle blockers, they’ll have to face Ushijima and Shiratorizawa eventually. After he is rejected, Hinata complains and claims that he’ll find his own way to defeat Ushijima. That night, Kageyama comes back from Aoba Johsai and when learning that he had lost confidence in trying to defeat Oikawa, Hinata gets provoked at the fact that the setter had given up. Despite admitting that he’s afraid of Oikawa, Kageyama then expresses his determination to defeat Aoba Johsai, and Hinata joins in.

A few days later, Hinata talks to Kenma and starts to get cold. Despite Hinata not bringing up nationals much, Kenma tells his friend that he wishes to take part in a match that would be instantly over once either of their teams loses. At this, Hinata immediately accepts. ^[37].

October 25th comes around soon. Karasuno goes to Sendai City Gymnasium again for the Representative Playoffs. Remembering his loss against Aoba Johsai, Hinata states that they are going to have their revenge. He then runs inside and bumps into the guy who was harassing Kiyoko—Yūji Terushima. Hinata finds out that he’s from Johzenji before Terushima pushes him away and waves to Kiyoko. This enrages Tanaka and Nishinoya, who rush at Terushima, but Johzenji’s manager intercepts and apologizes. Terushima ignores the two and walks away after saying that he’ll see Karasuno in the first round.

After Johzenji leaves, Hinata notes that all the teams are in this stadium right now. Motivated, he and Kageyama run down the hallway, exclaiming that they’ll beat everyone. After the team’s settled in, Hinata goes to the bathroom. With a grave expression, he faces the door and remembers all the times he’d bumped into “dangerous types” there. As he’s telling himself to be careful, Oikawa and Iwaizumi approach him. Iwaizumi tries to compliment Hinata for defeating the 2m guy, but the latter’s unnerved and ends up replying incoherently.

Oikawa teasingly threatens to bury the middle blocker and Hinata quickly escapes. However, he ends up crashing into Ushijima who instantly recognizes him. Ushijima then greets Oikawa and Iwaizumi and wishes them luck for their last high school tournament, unknowingly insulting them due to his implication that they won’t get into nationals. Hinata tries to interrupt, exclaiming that Karasuno will triumph, but gets cut off by menacing glares from the other three. As he’s backing away fearfully, he bumps into Aone. Ushijima then leaves after stating that Shiratorizawa will accept all challenges. Relieved now that the tension’s gone, Hinata goes inside the bathroom while reaffirming that it is indeed a scary place.

Afterward, he goes back to the court and watches the other teams set up. Sugawara points out that the “Queens” are on Court C. He introduces them as Niiyama Joshi, the team which had been representing the girls’ side for years. Unnerved, Hinata remarks that they look strong. Tanaka suddenly calls out to someone on the team but stops when all the girls glare at him. As they walk away, Hinata excitedly asks Tanaka about it and Tanaka replies proudly that he raised Niiyama Joshi’s up-and-coming ace. Sugawara and Daichi quickly respond that Tanaka was just on the same junior sports team as that person.

Soon, it’s time for Karasuno to go against Johzenji for their first round. Karasuno serves first and Johzenji has trouble receiving it. However, Karasuno’s soon surprised when Terushima spikes the ball back while jumping and turning around midair. Johzenji’s wild, random playing style throws Karasuno off. A ball suddenly goes towards the bleachers and Hinata jumps after it, catches it midair, turns, and propels himself off the wall and back onto the court. Nishinoya swipes the ball over the net back to Johzenji’s side, demonstrating that Karasuno can be just as unpredictable.

Hinata and Kageyama bring out their infamous quick for the first time in this match, shocking everyone in the stadium. Johzenji’s unable to stop the next few quicks until Kageyama gets hit in the face with a ball. With a nosebleed, he’s forcibly taken off the court. Hinata reassures him that the team will take care of everything while he’s gone. Hinata is then switched out as well because, without Kageyama, he knows there’s no purpose for him to be on the court. However, Hinata remains optimistic.

The game continues with neither side yielding. Before long, Kageyama comes back. Karasuno wins the first set due to a mistake Johzenji made. The duo is switched back into the game for the second set^[38]. Hinata’s greeted by Terushima who teasingly remarks that things are dull without Hinata there and announces that he’s going to win this set. Hinata yells back that he can’t beat him one-on-one yet, but his team as a whole will beat Johzenji.

Kageyama and Hinata try a quick strike, but Hinata’s excitement causes him to miss his spike. However, Daichi hits the ball just as it was about to strike the ground. Terushima spikes it back over but Daichi sends it to Kageyama and Hinata, who scores. The duo apologizes to the captain for their mistake, but Daichi simply replies that he was already prepared for it since he knew they would let their overexcitement get to them.

Karasuno soon has a five-point advantage over Johzenji. However, after a pep talk from its manager, Johzenji devises a new tactic to counter Hinata’s quick-strike by leaving him open and falling back so they can receive it easily. This infuriates Hinata, who notes that even though he hates getting blocked, it’s even more annoying when blockers ignore him. He asks for another quick to intimidate Johzenji and succeeds when he spikes the ball to the very corner of the opposing court.

Karasuno wins when Johzenji’s ball goes out (2:0 / 25-21, 25-20). The players celebrate happily and leave the court. As he’s pushing the volleyball trolley out, Hinata sees Aone looming over him. He states that tomorrow, he’ll beat Hinata. Eagerly, the latter accepts the challenge and starts shouting in excitement.

Karasuno vs Wakutani Minami

Karasuno goes to Court B to see who its next opponent would be. Wakutani Minami had just won its match and Kageyama reminds Hinata that Ukai had warned them about this team before the Interhigh. Hinata exclaims that before they can get to Date Tech, they have to beat these guys.

The team soon goes back to Karasuno High to prepare for the next match tomorrow. Ukai explains Wakutani’s prowess and techniques and warns the members to not get impatient, especially Hinata, Kageyama, Tanaka, and Nishinoya. Daichi reassures everyone that he and the defensive specialists of the team would back up the wing spikers. The team then huddles and vows to win tomorrow.

The next day, the teams gather up at the Sendai City Gymnasium again. As he’s warming up on the court, Hinata sees the Nakashima family cheering for Takeru and gets jealous. The game soon begins and Hinata scores the first point right away with a quick^[39]. To motivate Hinata, Daichi points out that Wakutani Minami is studying him carefully after noticing how on guard it is against the middle blocker; this works effectively.

The game flows smoothly until Takeru tries to spike against three blockers–Hinata, Tanaka, and Daichi. Takeru chooses to perform a block-out off Hinata’s hand. This playing style instantly reminds Hinata of the Small Giant’s.

Both sides are neck-to-neck until Tsukishima blocks a spike and Asahi spikes through the blockers. Karasuno begins leading by two points. However, this is cut short when Daichi collides into Tanaka as they were both trying to receive the same ball. He’s taken off the court to recover and Ennoshita replaces him. Karasuno has a little trouble adapting at first, but gets back on its feet before long and wins the first set.

Without Daichi, Karasuno ends up losing the second set to Wakutani. In the break, Hinata asks Ukai about Takeru’s playing style to confirm if it’s really like the Small Giant’s. Ukai replies that it’s the closest in the prefecture, causing Hinata to get jealous of Takeru. Kageyama tells Hinata to not try to compete since the other team’s mid-air techniques are way better than his, annoying the middle blocker.

When the game resumes, Hinata attempts a block-out but fails. He’s unnerved by the smug look Takeru gives him afterward. However, when Takeru tries a block-out off Hinata and Tanaka, Hinata runs after the ball, hits it back up into the air, and easily flips over with technique he perfected from doing so many flying falls during the summer^[40]. He and Kageyama counter with a quick strike before crashing into each other.

Hinata’s soon up against three blockers, but he isn’t discouraged. As he assesses them, he realizes that he’ll get blocked and with quick thinking, he bounces the ball off their hands so Karasuno could try another attack.

The third set goes by quickly, but the exhausted players on both sides are starting to make more mistakes. Soon, Karasuno’s at match point. Takeru goes to spike against Hinata and Kageyama and Hinata moves his hand in an attempt to stop the ball. However, it bounces off him instead and flies towards the back. Acting quickly, Ennoshita jumps and hits it back towards Kageyama, who performs another quick with Hinata. The ball goes towards Shunki, but he fails to receive it properly and it ends up going out. Karasuno wins the match (2:1 / 25-20, 20-25, 25-23)^[41].

Despite his victory, Hinata feels insecure about his ability in comparison with Takeru’s. He states to Kageyama that he wasn’t able to win a head-to-head battle against the third year and admits that Takeru was more of a “Small Giant” than he is. Kageyama simply responds that Hinata’s just too young.

Now that the match has ended, both teams exit the court. Hinata goes upstairs with the first years, confident about his next match. Suddenly, Yamaguchi runs to the bathroom, and Hinata comments on how fired up the former is about it. Kageyama wonders if Yamaguchi’s going to shit and Hinata calls him out for using vulgar language.

Aoba Johsai vs Date Tech

While watching the match, Daichi tells Hinata not to stuff himself, among with a few other teammates, as they devour their food. When Date Tech’s third years are commenting about the match, Hinata watches them. As he watches Koganegawa set perfectly to Aone, Hinata doesn’t say anything but he is shown being shacky to play. Aoba Johsai soon wins and Karasuno heads down. On the way, Hinata passes by Aone, and both silently vow to beat each other next time.

Karasuno vs Aoba Johsai

The warmups are filled with tension as each member remembers the loss in Interhigh. Hinata casually asks Kageyama if he’s nervous and instead of the usual indignant response, Kageyama admits that he is because Oikawa’s strong. He remembers something Iwaizumi once said during junior high about how with a full team, the strong will get even stronger. He states that he didn’t understand it back then but with Karasuno, he realizes the true meaning. It’s not a matter of adding up the players’ abilities, but rather multiplying them. Oikawa will draw out more of the spikers’ power than Kageyama can, no matter what team the third year is on. Hinata replies that Karasuno’s an exception then, surprising Kageyama.

As the team finally heads onto the court, Hinata remarks that they’re going to get their revenge this time. The match begins and Karasuno shows off its improvements from the summer training camp. While the other players have utilized all their new techniques, Hinata still hasn’t hit the ball yet and he starts to get jittery. His desire to hit a quick stems from when his spike was blocked at the match point in the Interhigh match against Aoba Johsai.

However, when he finally hits a quick, it’s blocked by Kindaichi. The ball’s saved by Tsukishima, but Kageyama worries about Hinata’s ability to play due to his overexcitement. To calm down the middle blocker, Kageyama kicks him hard in the butt, annoying the latter. Hinata tries the new quick again, thinking back to his fight with Kageyama during the summer. It succeeds^[42], slamming right past Kindaichi.

Aoba Johsai switches in Kyōtani, who steals Kindaichi’s ball right off the bat. Karasuno’s shocked by the new player’s attitude and Hinata wonders who he is while he’s impressed by the wing spiker’s “Mad Dog” nickname. Kyōtani then spikes right across the court, scoring a point easily. Karasuno can’t stop Kyōtani initially because of his brute strength and Oikawa’s tactics. Despite being overwhelmed, Hinata exclaims that Kyōtani’s spikes are cool.

To mitigate the score gap, Kageyama tries a back attack with Hinata, but it gets completely blocked by Oikawa. The third-year reveals that he had been expecting that. With the score gap increasing steadily every second and the players in chaos against Kyōtani’s reckless playing style, Ukai sends in Sugawara to change the match dynamics. Sugawara uses a synchronized attack with Kageyama spiking to gain back a point. However, Aoba Johsai still has a huge advantage over Karasuno. With no other choice, Ukai sends in Yamaguchi. Hinata tells Yamaguchi to score ten points and cheers him on with Nishinoya, Sugawara, and Ennoshita.

Yamaguchi pulls off two jump float serves^[43] before getting stopped by Hanamaki. His success boosts Karasuno’s morale tenfold and helps the team take back a few points. On the side, Hinata cheers on his teammates. Aoba Johsai soon wins the second set. Yamaguchi comments on how amazing Oikawa’s serve is and Hinata assures him that his jump float is just as great. Despite this, Yamaguchi remains unsure of himself until Tanaka comes over.

The third set begins, but there is noticeable tension on both sides because this will be the last match for the teams with these members. Karasuno plays fiercely to pull itself ahead and Oikawa begins to make mistakes with his serves. However, Aoba Johsai easily catches up but due to problems with Kyōtani, Coach Irihata switches him out. Karasuno uses this opportunity to take a few points until Kyōtani comes back.

Both teams are keeping up by now, but Hinata can see Kageyama getting distressed over his and Oikawa’s differences in setting style. To reassure his setter, Hinata blatantly remarks that Oikawa is strong but with Hinata here, Kageyama is invincible. His words impress both his team and Aoba Johsai^[44].

The duo performs a quick but this time, Hinata accidentally jumps too far. Despite Hinata being too close to the net, Kageyama still sets to him and inadvertently creates a new version of the quick strike. When Hinata slams the ball down, no one can receive it. He and Kageyama celebrate excitedly afterward.

Despite some members showing clear exhaustion, Hinata remains active and continues running across the court or performing risky moves that send him flying backward. Soon Aoba Johsai is at set point and Sugawara is switched in. Hinata’s eyes are glazed over now, his concentration fully on the game. When Kyōtani spikes, the middle blocker crashes into Kageyama to create a two-man block, successfully stopping the second year. Hinata apologizes uneasily for it, afraid of retaliation from the setter.

The tides have turned so that Karasuno is at match point. Both teams are playing vigorously, with each player taking dangerous risks to ensure that the ball doesn’t drop. Kageyama tosses to Hinata, who slams the ball past Kindaichi’s hand. Oikawa fails to receive it properly and Karasuno wins the match (2:1 / 25-23, 26-28, 26-24). Hinata stares down at his fist as he remembers his blocked quick during Interhigh. The team huddles in happiness before exiting the court.

Karasuno vs Shiratorizawa

On his way to the bus, Hinata remembers Ushijima’s words about Aoba Johsai being barren land. He tells Kageyama that they will show Ushijima the strength they grew from the concrete. When they get back to Karasuno High, they celebrate loudly and Daichi announces that their goal is to win nationals. Ukai then gathers the players around him to discuss their next opponent–Shiratorizawa.

The next day, the team goes back to the Sendai City Gymnasium for their finals^[45]. Someone calls Hinata and he turns to see Izumi and Kōji. Excitedly, he introduces the two to Tanaka until Kōji suddenly notices Kageyama. Hinata explains teasingly that Kageyama’s different now and the latter yells at him for being slow. Hinata runs back to his team after bidding his friends goodbye.

As the members enter the court, they’re overwhelmed by the number of people in the bleachers and Hinata clutches his stomach as he heads to the bathroom again. When he comes back, the team warms up. Hinata and Kageyama use the new near-the-net quick, shocking the spectators. At some point, Hinata sends a ball over to Shiratorizawa by accident and runs over to get it from one of the players. When he takes it, he’s surprised by the player’s resemblance to Benkei.

The match begins and the players line up. Hinata’s so nervous that he forgets to bow to Shiratorizawa. The rest of the team is just as anxious, allowing Shiratorizawa to gain two points over them. Hinata can’t block the opponents completely and Nishinoya has trouble receiving Ushijima’s spikes. A huge eight-point score gap is soon established. However, after a few moves, Nishinoya can adapt to Ushijima’s left-handed spikes and finally receives a ball. An excited Hinata cheers on his teammate.

When Hinata’s switched in, he has trouble blocking Shiratorizawa because of his opponents’ techniques. Up to this point, Ushijima hasn’t received at all and instead, leaves it to his teammates. Hinata thinks back to the challenge he gave to the ace the first time they met and slams the ball down, forcing Ushijima to finally receive. The latter retaliates with a spike, which Hinata tries to block. It slams off his hands and Hinata immediately shakes them around to alleviate the pain.

With overwhelming power, Shiratorizawa soon takes the first set^[46]. Hinata’s completely motivated now to beat Ushijima but has trouble against Tendō as well. He blocks Hinata several times, but it angers Kageyama more. The next move, the setter gets revenge by hiding his movements so Tendō can’t guess who he’ll be tossing to. Kageyama then shoots the ball to Hinata, who slams it straight down before anyone in Shiratorizawa can react.

Karasuno has gotten used to Shiratorizawa’s tactics by now and can keep up, even if the players can’t stop Ushijima. The players are switched out multiple times to try attacks that may be able to mitigate the score gap, but none provide very successful results. On his way back to the court, Hinata notices Sugawara encouraging him. The first year holds his thumb up before crashing into Tsukishima. The blond tells him a new strategy and Hinata tries it the next move. He can one-touch Tendō’s spike, allowing Kageyama to pull off a dump shot. Hinata runs to Tsukishima to give him a high five, but Tsukishima simply side-steps the attempt.

Hinata soon appears to perform a feint, but it’s only a ruse to distract the blockers from Tanaka. This pulls Karasuno to match point, but Shiratorizawa keeps up. Ushijima spikes the ball off Tsukishima’s hand and Hinata runs after it. He jumps off the borders used to separate the court and manages to keep the ball in the air.

The second set’s going to the thirties and neither side is giving in. Shirabu makes a mistake in his set to Ushijima, allowing Tsukishima to block the ace. This allows Karasuno to finally win the second set^[47]. Hinata congratulates Tsukishima and tells him that one point is just as good as a hundred. Tsukishima responds with a condescending thanks, annoying Hinata.

Shiratorizawa takes back the third set and the court changes. As Hinata passes by Ushijima, the ace tells him that he’d thought the first year would be more skilled. However, Hinata’s skills are actually at an infantile level. This shocks and infuriates the middle blocker. When the first year goes back to his team, Kageyama criticizes him for walking slowly and Hinata comments on his similarity with Ushijima. Oblivious to the true meaning of that, Kageyama agrees and states that he’ll eventually be able to hit the same spikes as the ace. Depressed, Hinata falls and mutters that Kageyama misunderstood.

Before the next set starts, Hinata approaches Ukai and asks him for blocking tips. Ukai remarks that since Hinata lacks height, he’ll have to rely on timing. The coach tells Hinata to immediately switch to soft blocking if he messes up his timing.

The fourth set begins, with both sides taking dangerous risks to ensure their victory. The players are starting to get irritated, especially Hinata who yearns to defeat Ushijima after his earlier insult. Hinata thinks angrily that he’s jealous of tall people as he runs to the net. He swings his arms back as if he’s attacking before jumping high up. He blocks Ushijima completely and smiles in a thrill. As he falls back, he crashes into Tanaka. The second time he tries blocking, he ends up crashing into the net.

Now that Karasuno’s keeping pace with Shiratorizawa, Ukai switches Hinata out so he can rest. Once he’s better, Hinata’s switched back in and heads to Kageyama^[48]. He tells him that he’ll hit any toss, even if it’s crappy, and Kageyama angrily retaliates that he never sets crappy tosses.

Right away, Hinata and Kageyama attempt a quick. It gets blocked but ends up going out, giving Karasuno the point. The next move, Kageyama’s toss is short but Hinata, thinking back to something Ukai said, switches to his left hand and slams the ball down. Karasuno wins the fourth set. Excitedly, Hinata runs around Kageyama until the setter grabs him. He stutters out a compliment and Hinata shows his happiness at being able to play another set.

Shiratorizawa establishes a three-point score gap in the fifth set. Tsukishima suddenly gets injured and has to be taken off the court. Hinata exclaims to the blond that they’ll win nationals by the time he gets back so he doesn’t have to worry. The match continues, with Karasuno playing more vigorously to pull itself ahead. When Asahi gets blocked, Hinata uses his cheek to save the ball. He claims afterward that he did so because he didn’t have time to use his hands and didn’t want to injure his nose. If his nose had started bleeding, he would be taken off the court. His words impress his teammates and unsettle his opponents, especially Ushijima^[49], who glares at Hinata. The first year notices and jumps backward with caution.

When Kageyama’s switched back in, he and Hinata perform their near-the-net quick strike. Hinata’s surprised at the huge risk Kageyama took in that move. Hinata’s concentration starts to improve now that the game’s nearing the end. When Ushijima spikes, the middle blocker’s able to calculate the path of the ball and jump back away from the net to catch it. He sends it flying back over to Shiratorizawa’s side and scores.

Shiratorizawa soon reaches the match point at the same time as Tsukishima returns to the court. The middle blocker sits down on the bench and Hinata tells him that he and Yamaguchi bought him time. Tsukishima thanks Hinata genuinely.

With one of its main blockers back in play, Karasuno’s able to get ahead and reach match point. Hinata is quieter than usual by now and doesn’t make any usual exclaims, his concentration fully on the game. However, his fatigue begins to show when he fails to jump high enough to block Goshiki. Angrily, Hinata punches his legs. Despite this, he continues to push himself. Kageyama sends him the ball and using his remaining strength, Hinata slams it down. Yamagata fails to receive it properly and it goes out. Karasuno wins the finals (3:2 / 16-25, 31-29, 20-25, 29-27, 21-19)^[50].

The players hug one another and even burst into tears. Hinata feels the strain on his legs and has to be helped by Nishinoya and Kageyama to stand up. Karasuno heads off the court to rest and Hinata’s congratulated by Izumi and Kōji. Ushijima then comes and interrupts them with a vow to defeat Hinata next time. The first year loudly proclaims that he’ll make it to the same stage as Ushijima again.

Aftermath

Karasuno heads back to the restaurant it went to when it lost to Aoba Johsai in the Interhigh. The players are exhausted and many, including Hinata, have fallen asleep on the table.

A few days later, in school, Hinata’s thrilled to hear his classmates compliment his team and excitedly talks about the upcoming nationals. He gets annoyed when his classmates reveal that they think he’s only an errand boy on the team.

At the end of the day, he heads to the club room and asks the upperclassmen about the Spring High in Tokyo. Tanaka reveals that Nekoma and Fukurōdani have made it to the top four and will be battling it out shortly. Hinata loudly proclaims that Karasuno will defeat Nekoma.

A few hours after Nekoma’s match ends, Kenma texts Hinata, announcing his team’s advance to nationals^[51]. As soon as Natsu notifies Hinata about this, he runs to his phone and cheers loudly. Excited, he goes out for a run to train for his long-anticipated match against Nekoma.

Tokyo Nationals Arc

Preparation for Nationals

In mid-November, Karasuno begins preparing for nationals^[52]. Hinata walks with a friend from the music club before morning practice. Acchan states how much Hinata has changed volleyball-wise while reminiscing on when Hinata would ambush him in the hallways to ask him to practice with him. They’re interrupted when Kiyoko calls out to Hinata that he and the other first years will need to meet after classes to take measurements for a pamphlet for the Spring Tournament; the conversation earning Hinata the envy of several male students for talking to Kiyoko. Kageyama suddenly appears behind Hinata and challenges him to a vertical reach competition. Feeling confident, Hinata decides to turn this into a competition and offers the bet of the one with the lower point buying the winner three curry buns.

The team later meets at the gym to have their new measurements taken. Hinata proudly announces that he has grown 1.4 cm. Although satisfied that he grew more than Kageyama, Hinata becomes annoyed at finding out many of his teammates grew more than he did; especially when Tsukishima is revealed to have reached 190.1 cm. The members then begin to take the vertical reach measurements. Students from the basketball clubs are watching as the volleyball team measure their apex points. Several of the bystanders are surprised at seeing how high the volleyball players reach. While some had mocked Hinata for his shorter height, they become surprised at seeing that he has one of the highest jumps. Yachi announces that Hinata has a reach of 333cm, matching with Asahi, and measuring just 4 cm under Kageyama; thereby making Hinata the loser of their contest. After the team has their blocking height and Hinata continues to try to engage Kageyama in more competitions, Takeda appears in the gym. He announces that Kageyama has been invited to attend the All-Japan Youth Camp. Hinata and the team are stunned to hear this information. Hinata becomes even more upset when Tsukishima is announced to have been invited to a First Year Training Camp at Shiratorizawa Academy. However, upon hearing that he himself wasn’t invited to either camp, Hinata becomes enraged when Kageyama brags that he will be moving further ahead than his partner.

First Year Selective Training Camp

That night, Hinata goes to Sakanoshita Shop and is looking over a selection of toothbrush kits when he overhears Yamaguchi mention how he would like to see what the All-Japan Youth Camp is like and Tsukishima playfully suggest that he crash the camp. A few days later, to everyone’s surprise, Hinata shows up at the First Year Training Camp. The spontaneous act angers Tsukishima so much that he fully yells at his teammate for not thinking things through.

Coach Anabara takes Hinata into the office to speak with Ukai and Takeda. Hinata gets yelled at over the phone by Ukai and, while he apologizes, sticks to his initial reasoning of wanting to become stronger as his reason for crashing the camp. Coach Washijō then comes in and takes the phone from Hinata. He states that he doesn’t mind Hinata staying so long as he carries out the position and duties of a ball boy. After a quick discussion with Ukai and Takeda, Washijō turns to Hinata and states that he does not see much worth in him without Kageyama as his setter. He offers Hinata the chance to leave at any time if he does not want to be the ball boy.

Hinata does not take long to come to a conclusion before running after Washijō into the gym. He faces the other players and apologizes for the disturbance he caused. Then, to everyone’s surprise, he loudly announces that he will be a ball boy for the camp. As the camp proceeds, Hinata meets Shiratorizawa first years Kai Akakura and Yūshō Sagae who are each part of the camp as extra ball boys. For part of the practice, Hinata easily carries out ball boy duties but almost mistakenly joins in the spiking practice until Washijō reminds him that he cannot take part in practices. Hinata attempts to catch all of the spiked balls. He narrowly saved one that almost tripped Kindaichi and receives further scolding from Washijō about not being fast enough and causing Sagae to believe that Hinata is getting more attention from Washijō than the invited players. Once the first day of practice ends and most of the players are leaving, Hinata stays behind to practice by himself. As he does, he attempts and fails at trying a jump serve. At this time, Hinata realizes that this is the first time he has actually been a ball boy as other teams that have practiced with him would ask for his help for their own practice first.

As Hinata begins to see that he does not want to be left behind everyone else, Tsukishima arrives to collect him so they can return home. Hinata begins to apologize to the taller middle blocker for the trouble he’s caused but Tsukishima promptly stops him before he can while stating that Hinata’s impulsive actions are nothing new. He goes on to mock and question Hinata if he is upset that he cannot actually be part of the practices since he is a ball boy and wonders if he will quit and leave the camp.

The next day, Hinata goes to Ukai’s shop during lunch. Ukai questions Hinata if he had believed that no one at the camp would question his sudden appearance and be fine with him wanting to join without a formal invitation. Although Ukai understands that Hinata is doing this in order to become stronger, he still chastises Hinata for not thinking things through and the trouble that resulted from this. Knowing that Hinata willingly agreed to be the ball boy for the camp, Ukai urges Hinata to learn as much as he can while finding something that only he can do; adding that he should not underestimate what it takes to be a ball boy. Hinata returns to the school and now must speak with Takeda. Instead of getting a fearful lecture, Takeda instead gets Hinata to realize that he must first start from the bottom and work his way up to be where he wants; stating that there are no short-cuts through life. After this meeting, Hinata is located by Tanaka who quickly teases him for getting repeated lectures. When questioned if Daichi had talked to him yet, Hinata answers that their captain was the first one to talk to him that morning and gave him a stern talking to; although Sugawara would voice his support for Hinata’s actions^[53]. Tanaka lightly pokes fun at Hinata’s current lack of skills but also gives his support and confidence that his junior will be able to use this opportunity to become better.

Hinata returns to Shiratorizawa later that day for the second day of the camp. Shortly after several drills, Hinata is surprised to see the retired third years arrive for a practice match. Hinata is quickly spotted by Ushijima and Tendō who immediately vows that he will crush Hinata but he and Ushijima are soon confused and surprised to see Hinata not take part of the practice match. After the match, Hinata is quickly questioned by Tendō on why he is not playing. Hinata hesitantly admits that he was not actually invited to the camp and instead crashed it. Tendō immediately breaks out in laughter and shares this information with Ushijima. The Shiratorizawa ace asks Hinata what he is doing while there.

During a break, Hinata goes to a storage room and angrily stuffs his head under several gym mats and asks himself what he’s doing while at the camp. He thinks back to all the advice and insults he’d heard from Tsukishima, Tanaka, Washijō, Goshiki, and Ukai and tells himself to think hard and find the thing that will help him grow stronger. He is able to come to realize what it is he needs to do and returns to the gym with a new sense of determination. During another match, Hinata is on the second floor of the gym hanging practice bibs and now sees the court form a new perspective. As he watches, he notices the players making movements he hadn’t noticed before and how Yamagata is moving in sync with the blockers. This reminds him of how Nishinoya once told him that truly talented defenders, like Daichi and Yaku, are able to predict the course of the ball by watching the spikers form. After his task is done, Hinata returns to the ground floor and begins watching libero Junji Kuroishi. In doing so, Hinata spots Kuroishi do a small hop when Semi serves and then launches himself into the right location to receive the serve. When Kuroishi repeats the movement a second time, Hinata recalls why the move seems so familiar.

He remembers a day back in middle school when he asked a friend from the tennis club, Junpei Tamayama, to practice with him. Junpei accepted so long as Hinata helped him with his own practice first. During the tennis practice, Hinata repeatedly misses returning the ball and admits that he tenses up a lot. Junpei offered advice by telling Hinata of a basic tennis trick where he needs to disconnect his feet from the ground in order to reset his form. Remembering how Junpei described the Split Step technique, Hinata watches Ushijima as he serves. At the moment of contact, Hinata performs the Split Step and propels himself into the location where the ball goes after ricocheting off Kuroishi’s arm. Although Hinata caught the ball and gained a small nose bleed, he is pleased to have been in the right place at the right time and unknowingly impressing several others who witnessed his actions. Now keeping score, Hinata continues to watch the players and realizes that there is much more that he could be learning and doing.

At the end of the day, Hinata is excitedly ranting to Sagae and Akakura about how amazing Shiratorizawa’s laundry equipment when Washijō appears and informs Hinata that, because he wasn’t invited to the camp, he will not be allowed to stay overnight or receive any food. The statement immediately catches the attention of all those around them, including Tendō and Ushijima. However, Hinata accepts the situation without any fuss. A short time later, Hinata is helping clean the gym when he hears Koganegawa asking for partners for extra practice. As he gets several practice partners, Hinata offers his assistance. It’s then that he spots Goshiki heading for the exit but he is able to catch the wing spiker before he leaves. Hinata questions Goshiki if he plans to join the practice.

When Goshiki tried to refuse joining them, he is quickly overwhelmed by Hinata’s flattery and admiration of his straight shot and wanting to see it up close. With Goshiki now joining the practice, Hinata begins attempting trying to figure out how to use the split step technique and fails on the timing several times. He realizes that he shouldn’t be worrying about the jump itself but should actually concentrate on where he needs to position himself.

After practice ends and Hinata begins making his way off the campus, he notices how hungry he is and wonders what the food at Shiratorizawa is like. Not looking forward to how long he has to wait until he gets home to eat, Hinata suddenly remembers how Ukai is always telling the Karasuno players to eat proper meals. When remembering how his coach once told them how eating a proper meal can help heal and strengthen their bodies, Hinata realizes he doesn’t know much about what his body needs in order to properly grow and calls Ukai in order to find out what types of foods he should eat to give his body proper nourishment. Hinata happily accepts all of the information Ukai gives him and soon makes his way back home^[54].

On the third day of camp, Hinata is noted by Kunimi to be so focused on his ball boy tasks that he looks like he’s single-handedly playing a game. As drills are carried out, Hinata is noticeably catching the balls more easily but he still does not feel satisfied as he feels that he now needs to master moving into his next movement with ease. As Hyakuzawa prepares to spike, Hinata is able to use the split step properly and catches the spike. However, Hinata becomes distracted when receiving praise from Sagae that he doesn’t notice Kindaichi spiking and the ball hits him directly in the crotch. Hinata falls over in pain, the others shocked to see what happened, and Washijō once more yells at Hinata for not paying attention. After recovering, Hinata watches Kindaichi and Koganegawa during a set. He sees the set was slightly too high which will result in Kindaichi not being able to do a direct downward spike. Hinata is happy that he correctly analyzed what would happen. When the players are taking a break, Kindaichi questions Hinata about why he feels so desperate to prove himself. Hinata answers that he wants to be strong enough to defeat Kageyama but is annoyed that the setter is at the All-Japan Youth Camp. Understanding Hinata’s desire, Kindaichi tries to assure the middle blocker that Kageyama surely must be having a hard time at his own camp.

Sometime later, Hinata’s cleaning up after practice when Tsukishima approaches him and asks him to accompany him somewhere. Shocked, Hinata does a double-take and Tsukishima coldly explains that he wants to do blocking practice. Since it’s free practice, Hinata should be able to join without getting in trouble. Happily, Hinata goes over to the others and announces that Tsukishima will be joining them. The practice begins and Hinata scores past Tsukishima right away; impressing and intimidating those are watching. Kindaichi suddenly enters himself into the block, reasoning that he wants to shut down Hinata. Koganegawa joins as well, bringing the blockers against Hinata up to three. However, Goshiki makes it clear that he will be the next spiker. After Goshiki was able to trick the blockers, Hinata asks Tsukishima if he wanted to do the match because he thought Hinata wanted to practice. However, Tsukishima lies and blatantly shoots him down. As the camp continues, Hinata is now fully capable of carrying out his numerous tasks and helping the other players. He finds one of his favorite things now is being able to watch the matches from the balcony area. One thing that he notices is that Kunimi appears to move as little as possible and not putting much effort into saving a ball. Koganegawa shares these same discoveries to Hinata during a break. Hinata admits that he’s noticed the same thing about Kunimi since Karasuno’s first match against Aoba Johsai and believes that Kunimi is actually conserving his energy. He begins to study Kunimi’s plays which causes Kunimi unease when he notices Hinata staring at him.

Hinata is soon passing out water bottles to other players. When he hands Hyakuzawa a bottle, the taller middle blocker inadvertently lets slip how he thinks Hinata should have been the one invited to the camp instead of him. Hinata corrects Hyakuzawa by saying they should both have been invited to the camp. When Hyakuzawa tries to insist that his only good quality is his height, Hinata is stunned at how little Hyakuzawa thinks of his natural gift. He goes on to say that Hyakuzawa rightfully should be at this camp as he possesses the ultimate talent that is his great height.

Hinata confesses that if he were given the choice of having an amazing serve or being 2 meters tall, he would choose being tall as he could always work on his serve at any time and even goes so far as to admit that he knows he’s not at his best without Kageyama as his setter. When Hyakuzawa questions why Hinata feels the need to help him, Hinata answers that he would like to face Hyakuzawa when he is at his best^[55]. Hinata then asks Hyakuzawa if there is a tactic that he would be willing to try that doesn’t require much technique. During a 2-on-2 match, Hyakuzawa is playing with Kuroishi as his teammate. When it is becoming clear that the two are struggling to keep up, Hinata calls out to Hyakuzawa to relax. Following Hinata’s advice, Hyakuzawa makes his first hit a high toss that allows himself and Kuroishi time to collect themselves. At Hyakuzawa successfully scoring over Kunimi, Hinata excitedly cheers for him and the two share a high-five in celebration. Not long after, Hinata continues studying Kunimi and his plays but, to Kunimi’s displeasure, Koganegawa has joined Hinata in watching him.

On the final day of camp, Hinata watches as Goshiki and Tsukishima play against Hyakuzawa and Kunimi. As Hinata watches Kunimi, he reads his form and is able to correctly predict that he would attempt a setter dump. Hinata would then be surprised when Goshiki did not hold back in scolding Tsukishima for his poor set attempt. The first years soon have one final practice match against the Shiratorizawa team. During the game, Hinata watches Ushijima with such intensity that Tendō points this out to Ushijima. Once the match is over, Hinata surprises everyone again by going to Ushijima and asking what he thinks of when making receives. His bold action causes Kenjirō Shirabu to prompt Goshiki into speaking with Ushijima as well.

Finishing the camp strong, Hinata is getting ready to head home when he approached by Kindaichi. The Seijoh middle blocker stumbles with his words but Hinata is eventually able to get him to question how Kageyama has been since he’s noticed he’s changed his playing style. When Kunimi points out that Kindaichi is still too concerned about what happened in middle school, Hinata tells Kindaichi that having rivalries with others and not wanting to back down is fine; stating that this is why Kageyama is doing well. Kunimi attempts to end the conversation by dragging Kindaichi away and promising that Seijoh will defeat Karasuno the next time they play one another but Kindaichi is able to say good-bye to Hinata before they leave and Koganegawa appears to ask Hinata for his contact information.

Date Tech Practice Match

On December 10th, Hinata and Kageyama reunite after both training camps are over^[56]. Kageyama asks what Hinata’s been doing while he was gone and Hinata replies that he was a ball boy, but Kageyama understands right away that Hinata had been more than that.

Since neither of them has the keys to the club room, they practice tossing outside. As they move around, they discuss the players they encountered at the training camps. Kageyama tells Hinata about Hoshiumi, remarking that Hinata’s going to jump higher now, but Hinata doesn’t understand his meaning.

The other members soon arrive and practice begins. Kageyama goes to serve and it goes out, but Hinata moves quickly right into its trajectory, surprising everyone. After practice, Hinata goes to Kageyama and asks what he meant when he said Hinata was going to jump higher. Kageyama points out that Hinata’s jumps don’t have enough impact; he needs to find another position to start his jump.

The two practice several times and Hinata thinks to himself that he has to focus on the balls of his feet for the momentum. As he finally gets the right move, Daichi interrupts and yells at the two to go home.

Sometime later, Karasuno and Date Tech hold a practice match with each other. Hinata arrives and greets Koganegawa excitedly before bowing to Aone. The match begins and right away, Karasuno realizes Date Tech has improved drastically. To make things worse, Kageyama seems to be troubled by something and finally snaps at Nishinoya and Asahi.

After Karasuno loses the first set, Kageyama yells that he will always bring good tosses so his teammates have to be more decisive. Immediately after, he realizes how much like his junior high self he acted and apologizes, but Hinata cuts him off. Hinata asks why the nickname “King” is a bad thing and no matter what reason, he doesn’t care. If he doesn’t like Kageyama’s words, he’ll just tune him out. The other members agree and Hinata adds that it doesn’t matter what kind of reputation is associated with Kageyama.

After Kageyama gets back into the game, Hinata tells him that no matter how much Kageyama pretends to be a goody-two-shoes, he’ll still be a King to Hinata. With this said, Hinata takes his towel and folds it into a crown before setting it on Kageyama’s head. He announces that with this, the new King of the Court is born. Kageyama smiles, having finally gotten over what had happened during junior high^[57]. In the end, Karasuno and Date Tech tie with four sets each.

Arriving in Tokyo

Nationals has finally come and Karasuno heads to Tokyo where they would finally see the Tokyo Skytree^[58]. After practicing during the day, the members go back to their hotel where Ukai would present the team with a video that Takinoue made for them of their best moments from their previous matches as a method of helping the team stay calm and see how amazing they are. Hinata and Kageyama try to go for a run afterwards, but Ennoshita attempts to stop them since he was concerned of them being alone in an area they were not familiar with and has Tsukishima join the two to ensure their safe return to the hotel without being out too late.

The first day of the tournament arrives and Karasuno makes their way to the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium for the opening ceremony. Just before the opening ceremony begins, Karasuno is joined by the Nekoma team. While in the crowd, Hinata is bumped into which causes him to bump into Nishinoya. The act nearly causes Nishinoya to crash into Tanaka’s childhood friend Kanoka Amanai. Afterwards, Hinata would reunite with Bokuto and the two vowed not to go easy on one another should they face each other in a game. After the ceremony, Karasuno would head to a gym to warm-up for their first match. When they had to leave early due to the match before them ending sooner than expected, the team briefly stops at a waiting area where Hinata would take the chance to run to the bathroom. Upon arriving at the stadium, Hinata notices that his sneakers are missing and Yamaguchi guesses that Hinata’s bag carrying his shoes must have mistakenly been taken during Hinata’s run to the bathroom. Hinata begins to panic about not having his shoes until Kiyoko volunteers to retrieve them. Since he did not have his shoes, Hinata was unable to join in the official warm-ups and just acted as a ball boy until Kiyoko returned with his shoes.

Karasuno vs Tsubakihara

Just before the match is set to begin, Hinata notices that his sneakers are missing. Yamaguchi admits that there was a brief moment that he looked away from the team’s luggage when Hinata and Tanaka had run off to the bathroom and guesses this is when the bag containing his shoes was taken. Hinata would try to assure Yamaguchi that he is not at fault but his own panic does little to help. When Kageyama questions where Hinata left his cell phone, the middle blocker remembers that he left it in the bag containing his shoes. This allowed Yamaguchi to call the phone and announce that a young boy had mistakenly taken the bag but was still at the gym where the team had previously practiced at. When no one else was available to get the bag, Kiyoko volunteered to retrieve it while Hinata and Yamaguchi greatly expressed their sorrow for causing the situation.

Since Hinata did not have his shoes, he was unable to take part in the warm-ups and instead acted as the ball boy for the time being. He is overjoyed when Kiyoko returned to the stadium with his shoes just as the teams were about to take the court for the game. However, once the game begins, Hinata and Kageyama have trouble syncing up which resulted from them not being able to warm-up together. As a result, Hinata was unable to hit Kageyama’s set due to the setter’s senses being off from being in a new area. Because of this, there were several attacks that Hinata and the rest of the team would manage to make until Kageyama was able to get back on track. While Kageyama was still adjusting, Hinata would surprise his team when he was in position to receive attacks made by Teradomari and Maruyama; although he would receive with his body on both occasions. Because of these receives and narrowly succeeding in scoring from Kageyama’s off sets, Hinata is briefly ridiculed by the Tsubakihara cheering section. It would be right after this that Hinata would be subbed out for a while in order to allow Yamaguchi to enter the game as the pinch server.

Hinata eventually returns to the court. Once Kageyama finally gathered his senses, Hinata does not hesitate to show how eager he is for one of his sets. Right away, the two were able to perform their super quick attack which stunned everyone watching. Thanks to Kageyama finally being back on track, Hinata is able to use the quick attacks more and his effectiveness as a decoy increases. Thanks to this and the third year’s efforts, Karasuno went on to win the match.

After the match is over, Hinata and Yamaguchi look around the gymnasium to buy shirts. When finding the one Bokuto wore during the training camp, Hinata immediately wants it. Sometime later, Hinata and Yamaguchi find the court where Fukurōdani is holding their game in order for Hinata to show Bokuto the shirt he just bought. Conveniently, it gives Akaashi the idea to tell Bokuto that his disciple is watching as the ace is in one of his moods which helped Bokuto get back on track. When leaving the gymnasium, Hinata encounters Hoshiumi. On first sight, Hinata immediately knows that Hoshiumi is an opponent to be feared.

Upon learning that Hinata plays middle blocker, Hoshiumi gets alarmed but becomes smug when Hinata tells him that his highest reaching point is shorter than his. After watching Hoshiumi’s plays, Karasuno goes heads back to the hotel. On the way, Hinata tells the team that he is glad to be able to attend the national tournament with a smile on his face.

Karasuno vs Inarizaki

Hinata goes into the match against Inarizaki with high hopes and the excitement of playing against the team said to be one of the favorites to win the tournament. When the match starts, Hinata is in awe of the way Atsumu silences the crowd for his serve. When he eventually moves to the front row and starts a quick attack, Hinata is able to use his improved jump and reach a higher spiking point that catches many people by surprise. However, his excitement over the accomplishment causes him to forget to spike the ball^[59].

Hoping that Kageyama would not be too upset and instead would encourage the middle blocker to do better next time, Hinata is faced with an angry setter who threatens to not send him anymore sets for the rest of the game if he dared to repeat his actions again.

After Kageyama purposely spikes the ball into the blockers to give Karasuno another chance to attack, Hinata performs the wide broad attack and leaves everyone speechless at the speed in which he used to do the attack. When Kageyama is preparing to serve, Hinata becomes incredibly excited at the thought of being faced against the Inarizaki team and the entire cheering section when he has his chance to serve. His excitement is quickly drowned when he hears the Inarizaki band and cheering section start to use a gradually increasing rhythm that throws off Kageyama’s timing. When Saeko arrives to the match with her taiko drum group, Hinata and Nishinoya are overwhelmed by her presence. In the next play, Karasuno is able to counter and Hinata scores; leading to him getting a personalized cheer from Saeko’s group. Completely filled with the good atmosphere since Saeko’s arrival, Hinata believes that he will unleash his best serve yet. As the rally plays out, Hinata gets into position to receive Ginjima’s spike but the ball instead bounced off his foot. Hinata becomes embarrassed at this but quickly overcomes this when Nishinoya praises his positioning. In a later rally, Hinata is stunned at seeing Atsumu and Osamu pull off his quick attack on their first try^[60]. Afterwards, Karasuno would attempt a counter attack and Kageyama sent the set to Hinata. Atsumu, having correctly predicted what Kageyama would do with a botched receive, would block Hinata. Hinata is able to get revenge when Atsumu attempted to block him again but he did a block-out against the setter’s hand.

When Tsukishima was able to block Osamu’s spike, Hinata became mildly insulted when Yamaguchi commented how Tsukishima’s blocks were amazing but he wouldn’t always be in the front row. When Hinata is later rotated back into the front row, he becomes angry at hearing Atsumu claim that Karasuno’s block has fallen and becomes more annoyed when Kageyama says that Atsumu was telling the truth.

In a brief flashback, Ukai spoke with Hinata about his blocks still needing work and asks if he might be able to block like Inuoka while commit blocking Osamu. To his delight, Hinata is able to block Osamu when the wing spiker attempted an attack. His next attempt to block Osamu fails which led to Kinoshita’s serves being stopped. At his next attempt to stop Osamu, Hinata fails to beat the Inarizaki second year in a joust and is mocked by Osamu for not being as strong as he appeared. During a time-out, Ukai instructs the team to use the ‘blend and distract’ tactic. Hinata, having forgotten the plan, acts like he remembers and agrees only for Tsukishima to call him out on not knowing what their coach is talking about. Tsukishima believes that Hinata’s forgetfulness is a result of having seen the twins version of the quick attack and Hinata believing that his own quick is much faster. Shortly afterwards, Hinata hears Osamu declare that he is not afraid of Hinata which causes him to become slightly discouraged at hearing that his blocks are not frightening. As the rally plays through, Hinata remembers all the blockers he has faced up to this point and questions whose block he hates most. Remembering one certain player, Hinata is able to cut off Osamu’s path for a cross shot and forces him to hit a straight shot directly to Nishinoya.

After Daichi is able to score, Nishinoya would question Hinata if the way he blocked was on purpose. Hinata confirms this and explains that he blocked like Matsukawa; the person whose blocks Hinata despises the most^[61]. Hinata later makes an emergency set to Asahi that he feels was fairly satisfactory and is unaware of Kageyama’s belief that it was a fluke. After this rally, Hinata is next to serve. He is overjoyed to be serving only to become crestfallen when he sees Yamaguchi is going to be subbed in to serve. After the rally in which Tanaka had tried to help Tsukishima block Suna, Hinata excitedly compliments Tanaka for trying to help, stating that it is comfort to middle blockers to have that extra support since they tend to block alone many times. Hinata would soon find himself getting that extra support from Tanaka when Osamu tried to get past Hinata. Thanks to his upperclassmen’s help, Hinata and Tanaka were able to force Osamu to hit a straight shot where Daichi was positioned to receive.

At the start of the second set, it became apparent that Atsumu was starting to target Nishinoya with his float serves. Hinata labeled this match as the super spiker versus the super receiver. When first year Heisuke Riseki is subbed in, Hinata is able to stop his serve. He is momentarily stunned when he hears the Inarizaki cheer section booing but finds that it is not directed at him but rather Riseki. Immediately after, Kageyama is able to score a no-touch service ace and Hinata states that Kageyama has entered the state he refers to as «Calm-geyama«. He explains to Tanaka that this is the state in which Kageyama is playing at his utmost peak condition. During a time-out, Asahi would try to encourage Nishinoya and Hinata would point out Kageyama’s bad timing when he made the request to have high sets if he couldn’t get an a-pass.

In a flashback, Hinata became greatly annoyed by Tsukishima when Ukai had decided to have him attempt to block Osamu as he was the one who would most likely stop the twins quick attack. Tsukishima had wasted no time in rubbing it in Hinata’s face that he has stolen the important role that Hinata had originally been tasked to do. Later on, Tsukishima is baited into trying to block Osamu on the left side of the court only for Osamu to turn his spike into a set to Aran.

With Tsukishima unable to help in the block, Aran spikes past Daichi but Hinata was in place to make a perfect receive that leaves everyone stunned^[62]. Hinata was able to figure out where to position himself from having seen that Osamu’s set was short and Aran was struggling with his approach. Even though Karasuno would eventually lose the rally, Hinata would excitedly ask his team if they had seen his receive. He is surprised when Kageyama claimed he didn’t and say that he heard the setter compliment his receive. He tells Kageyama that he should pay close attention to when he makes another receive. Hinata’s enthusiasm inspires his team and refreshes their fighting spirits.

Late in the third set, Hinata is mostly seen trying to block Inarizaki’s attackers while getting in a few quick attacks. At one point, Kageyama would attempt a one handed set to him but the ball falls short and appears like it will land before it can be saved. However, Hinata would pull off another miracle save when he uses his foot to kick the ball over the net and score. When Kageyama tells him to complain about the set, Hinata instead says he has nothing to complain about and requests the next set as well. When Hinata is able to receive Suna’s spike thanks to Tsukishima directing the ball to be where he would be positioned, Hinata silently admits that he has always been aware of how amazing Tsukishima is when it comes to blocking.

Karasuno would be at match point once again when it became clear that the players were starting to play at a faster pace. Many of them were unable to hear Ukai call out to them to try to get them to slow down. Hinata was able to save his team when he sent his receive high into the air. It gave them time to breath and calm their nerves. Thanks to this, Karasuno is able to steady themselves and get back on track. After the ball is returned to Inarizaki, Hinata and Kageyama would see the Miya twins attempt the quick attack. He and Kageyama were able to be in place to block the twins and therefore get the final point needed for Karasuno to claim victory. Hinata soon found himself being happily embraced by his teammates.

Afterwards, he would claim that he was the one to block Osamu’s spike but Kageyama would say that he did and the two have a brief argument. After the teams shake hands with one another, Hinata suddenly hears Atsumu call out to him though he momentarily forgot which twin was talking to him. Atsumu would make a promise to the middle blocker that he would one day set for him but warned that he would defeat Karasuno at the next Interhigh^[63].

As the team is in the sub-arena preparing to leave the stadium, Hinata is noted to still be fully awake while admiring the bruises on his arms from the receive he had made on Aran’s spike. His behavior is silently described by Tsukishima as having his special moment and falling deeper into volleyball. That night at their hotel, Hinata is with the other first years in the bath when Yamaguchi points out how Hinata still seems to have plenty of energy to spare. Hinata would agree and say that he wanted to play another match right away, his eagerness being commented by Tsukishima as being creepy. After the bath, Hinata would tell Kageyama that he is aware that Kenma would most likely not be too interested in the outcome of their match against one another but would still do all he can to beat his friend.

Karasuno vs Nekoma

Hinata appears to be the most excited as the game against Nekoma is about to begin and seems to be the one that Ukai is referring to about the players not needing to do any extra movements that may cause them to burn precious energy. When Lev attempted to counter, Hinata joined Tanaka in trying to block him but Lev was able to get past them. After Hinata failed to beat Lev in a joust, he and Kageyama perform the super quick attack and score the first point of the match when Lev and Kenma were unable to block and receive the ball. At this, Hinata excitedly calls out to Kenma that they’re finally playing a game that would mean an automatic ‘game over’ for the loser. However, Hinata would show annoyance when Lev got his revenge by scoring the next point.

Hinata would attempt to block Kuroo but the senior blocker was able to get by him. Shortly after this, Hinata notices Kenma glancing behind him at Yamamoto and nearly moves in that direction but stops himself before he does as he remembers Kageyama’s warning of how Kenma may do a decoy glance to lure blockers to one side of the court. However, his realization caused him to be delayed and he was not able to properly help Daichi in trying to block Kuroo^[64]. After Tsukishima rotates onto the court, Hinata would be stunned as he watched Nekoma perform a synchronized attack. After this attack, Hinata and the others would witness Kuroo shut down Daichi’s attack. Hinata would actually not be surprised about Kuroo being able to figure out which Karasuno player would be the one to attack as he points out that Kuroo is the mentor of Tsukishima^[65]. Not long after, Hinata would be subbed out so that Yamaguchi would be sent into the match.

Once back in the game, Hinata would find himself faced with Lev’s blocks again and he would attempt to spike past his friend but his spike is received. He and Kageyama soon perform the quick attack again and successfully score. When the score reaches 22-21 with Karasuno narrowly keeping the lead, Hinata makes a receive on Kenma’s spike. He hopes that Kageyama would compliment him on the receive but Kageyama does not say anything. Shortly after Asahi was able to get the ball sucked between the net and the blockers, Hinata realizes that his attacks are getting saved more than normal. At the end of the set, Hinata expresses great shock when Nekoma was able to win when Kenma returned the ball directly in the path that Kageyama would make his forward approach and no one made an attempt to save the ball due to confusion. When the teams are switching sides, Hinata receives praise from Kenma on having improved at his receives to which Hinata explains is a result of his training as a ball boy. Upon rejoining his team as they discuss the events of the first set, Hinata learns that there were times that he had been purposely targeted to make the serve receive and that Nekoma was using the same tactic on him that Karasuno had used on Aran. Even though his making the serve receive would get in the way of doing the super quick, Hinata was still thrilled at the thought of being targeted and being a threat on the same level as one of the top five ace’s^[66].

At the start of the second set, Hinata receives Fukunaga’s serve. As he does this, he mentally goes over where his teammates are on the court and decides his best option to attack is to use the wide broad jump. His plan works as he is able to score and leave Nekoma and their supporters speechless. He once again hopes that Kageyama will compliment him but is once more ignored by the setter. Hinata hears Kenma call out to him and say that he should stay interesting. The behavior of the setter would cause Hinata to jump back in fear^[66]. He would try to make another wide broad attempt but was halted in his actions when Nishinoya cut off his path in order to receive Kenma’s serve. Immediately in the next rally, Hinata and his teammates gather together near the front of the court which caused Lev to serve more towards the back. Lev’s plan would not work as it allowed Nishinoya to receive the serve and Hinata to score.

When the score reached 6-9 with Karasuno in the lead, Hinata tried to help Kageyama stop Yamamoto’s spike but mistakenly touched the net in the process. To Hinata’s annoyance, Yamaguchi is eventually subbed in to serve and while he is on the sidelines he is noted by Sugawara to be doing mental run-throughs of making receives. He eventually returns to the court and once again faces off against Lev. His next attempt at a spike past the Nekoma middle blocker would narrowly land out of bounds that Lev would claim was due to Hinata being too afraid of being blocked by him. Hinata and Kageyama would soon attempt another quick attack but are caught by a triple block. During a time-out, Hinata listens as it’s figured out that Nekoma is purposely trying to cut off his attempts to use the quick attack and keep him contained. This would cause him to not only not be able to jump as much but also cause stress to build which would affect his plays; such as when he touched the net during the block and unintentionally landed his spike out of bounds^[67]. Ukai would attempt to keep Hinata from getting upset at this revelation by saying that being targeted is the fate of every ace before Hinata himself points out that he’s not being forced to stop monstrous serves or face someone of great height and vows that he will continue to attempt a solid approach. He is able to keep this promise when he is made to receive Fukunaga’s serve and right away make an approach for a broad jump. Despite this and Tanaka making a receive of Lev’s serve, Hinata continues to struggle through the rally and is even unable to block Lev. His frustration becomes more obvious that Kiyoko admits to herself that she has never seen Hinata appear so stressed during a match^[68].

As Sugawara is sent into the game, Hinata would attempt to secure his running approach but would be forced to save a ball. Despite this, Hinata is aware that there are times that he will be made to choose one thing over the other but still accepts this as it will mean the chance to not let the ball fall and the game to continue. After having distracted the blockers, Hinata tries to secure a running approach but slips on sweat that was on the floor and is unable to attack or defend. When Nekoma takes the lead at 22-21 with Fukunaga serving, Hinata’s running path is blocked when Tanaka makes the receive. Knowing that his speed and mobility are his greatest weapons, Hinata is able to run behind Tanaka as Kageyama sets him up for an open attack. Now having a proper running approach, Hinata is able to perform his new jump but narrowly manages to get the ball over he blockers with an unplanned tip. Even though he was able to score with this, Hinata still gets light ridicule from Nekoma and Kageyama. As he prepares to do the attack again, Hinata remembers many of the setters who have practiced with him. This time, he is able to spike between Lev and Kenma and score. Hinata right away receives praise from Tanaka about now being able to jump higher and Hinata gives partial credit to Kageyama’s toss although Kageyama would be caught off guard by the compliment. After Kageyama misses his next server, Hinata eagerly welcomes Inuoka into the game although Inuoka would right away be able to stop his spike. Hinata is then able to perform a block-out that puts Karasuno at set point.

Hinata is able to win the set for Karasuno when he makes a receive on Yamamoto’s spike and the ball bounces off Hinata and lands back on Nekoma’s side. Nekoma is left stunned and Karasuno greatly celebrates at having won the set^[69]. At the start of the third set, Hinata is able to help Karasuno gain the first point by surprising Nekoma with a rebound and then acting as a decoy which allowed Tanaka to score. He would then attempt to spike past Lev and Yamamoto but is surprised to see that Yaku was in place to receive. Later on, Hinata attempted to stop Kenma’s setter dump and managed to graze the ball but it caused a moment of panic when Nishinoya would appear to attempt a receive but now would be unable to because the course changed. However, Nishinoya would make a miraculous save when he uses the back of his foot the not only save the ball but return it to Nekoma’s side to score.

Hinata would soon find himself fighting against Kenma more often when Kenma continually attempted to get Hinata to make narrow and almost impossible saves. At the same time, Inuoka is brought back into the game. Hinata was able to get a spike through Inuoka’s block when he mistakenly left his arms too far apart. When another rally continued with both sides not wanting to back down, Hinata is eventually faced against a triple block. Remembering the tips Bokuto taught him during the summer training camp, Hinata tried a feint shot over the block. Kenma was able to see what Hinata was attempting and tried to get to the feint but was only able to graze the ball before it landed out. It would be at this moment that Hinata would hear Kenma finally admit that he was having fun and responded in an excited manner. Eventually, Hinata is able to get Karasuno to match point when he is able to do another block-out against Lev’s hand. Hinata would attempt a direct spike on a receive that Yaku made only to right away be blocked by Lev. Eventually, Karasuno was able to beat Nekoma although the players would all be too weary to fully enjoy their win. After the teams shake hands with one another, Hinata and Kageyama both requested to Kenma that they should meet again at the next Spring Tournament; although Kageyama made the request before Hinata did. Hinata then joins his team and Nekoma as they catch the tail end of Fukurōdani’s match against Matsuyama Nishi Shōgyō. Shortly after the team rests and has lunch, Hinata runs into Hoshiumi and they decide to use their match against one another to decide who is the true Little Giant^[70].

Fukurōdani vs Mujinazaka

Yamaguchi tells Hinata of Fukurōdani’s game against Mujinazaka shortly before it begins. Unironically, Hinata is eager to watch it in order to watch his “master”’s plays. A dozen rallies into the game, Bokuto does an impressive chest receive. Seeing this, Asahi tells himself that nothing less could be expected from Hinata’s teacher, but Hinata corrects him by saying that he hadn’t actually learned much from him. When Kageyama announces Bokuto’s receive a fluke, Hinata tells him to quit being so eloquent in his critics. Sometime later, Hinata expresses aloud what both Akaashi and Onaga were thinking as their combo ends up being too low. When Kageyama scolds him, Hinata gets angry at how even a simple observation gets him yelled at. During the second set, Hinata marvels at Akaashi’s clean rebound.

Karasuno vs Kamomedai

Just before Karasuno’s match against Kamomedai, Hinata and the team gather together for a pre-game meeting. They listen to Ukai as he goes over the Kamomedai team and how they will need to be most cautious of Hoshiumi; stating that Hoshiumi, like Kageyama, had attended the All-Japan Youth Camp and possesses a wide variety of attacks. Although several of his teammates appear nervous at hearing this information, Hinata appears to not be bothered and instead seems rather excited. He becomes more fired up when Daichi points out that Karasuno had earned their way to being one of the top eight teams in Japan and may get the chance to play on center court if they are able to secure the win in their next match. Shortly after the meeting, Hinata is with Kiyoko and Yachi when they see Kageyama writing in a journal. As Yachi believes that this is a way of Kageyama maintaining self-discipline, Hinata points out that, while Kageyama is an incredible player, it had been through hard work and many sacrifices that Kageyama was able to become the brilliant setter he is now; adding that this path is possibly the reason that Kageyama does not have many friends since he devoted much of his time to practicing and improving his skills. Even knowing how talented and hard working Kageyama is, Hinata loudly declares that he refuses to be beaten by him.

As the team begin making their way to the court, Hinata hears Saeko calling out to him and inform him that the Little Giant is near by. Hinata quickly rushes to find Saeko where she introduces him to Tenma Udai, Karasuno’s original Little Giant. Hinata excitedly introduces himself to his idol, stating that he had become interested in volleyball after having seen Udai on tv playing at nationals several years earlier, and asks about Udai’s current volleyball status as he was not able to find any information about him after high school. Hinata and Saeko are both surprised when Udai answers that he stopped playing volleyball after high school as he had other interests he wanted to do as well as not having gotten many offers to join any teams. Kageyama retrieves Hinata as it is time for their match to start. As they make their way back to the team, Hinata surprisingly admits that, while he had always hoped to one day be like Udai, he is not upset by the outcome of meeting him^[71].

Hinata soon overhears Hoshiumi and Hakuba speaking and realizes that Hakuba was the towering figure that had bumped into him on the first day of the tournament. Hinata is then annoyed when Tsukishima states that Hakuba must not have noticed Hinata due to the height difference. As the match starts, Hinata and Hoshiumi are hailed as the two players that everyone should keep their eyes during the match. In Karasuno’s first play of the match, Hinata and Kageyama perform the super quick. Hinata is able to easily get past the triple block, leaving Hoshiumi and Hakuba stunned in the process. However, Hinata would soon be surprised when Hoshiumi was able to spike over Karasuno’s triple block with ease. He and Hoshiumi then stare one another down through the net as Ukai tries to remind them to pay attention to the timing of their blocks.

Hinata would next try to act as a decoy to allow his one of his other teammates to attack but the attempt was unsuccessful as Hirugami did not jump to block Hinata and instead managed to block Tanaka. Hirugami is then quick to mock Hinata and Kageyama that all their decoy attempts will not work on him and they would just be wasting their time trying to fool him.
In the next play, Hinata blends in with the others for a synchronized attack and is certain that Kageyama will set to him only for the setter to instead send the ball to Tanaka. After Tanaka receives Hirugami’s serve, Hinata is seen rushing ahead of his teammates. Kamomedai’s blockers take notice of this and attempt to stop the first year but Hinata his the ball against Bessho’s fingers to score. He would be next to serve as Tsukishima moves to the front row. Hinata’s serve was able to cause Hakuba to be late to attack and give Tsukishima the time he needed to be ready to get a one-touch on Bessho’s spike; Tsukishima noting that a quick attack off a weak serve is a standard play.

After Tsukishima is able to prove himself to be capable of blocking Hoshiumi, Hinata and Udai soon are able to tell that Hoshiumi would perform a block-out. They are proven right when Hoshiumi tooled the block to his advantage; although Udai would get scolded by Saeko for his accurate assumption, Hinata looked on with a nervous expression^[72]. Hinata would later openly admire a high set that Hoshiumi would set to Hakuba; his comment being heard by Ukai, Kageyama, and Hoshiumi. Hinata’s next serve would be received by Hoshiumi. Hinata would attempt to receive the spike but was unable to. Kamomedai eventually reached set point first but Hinata did not appear too concerned about this. He right away goes to attack and throws the blockers off with a diagonal jump. While Hakuba jumped to block Hinata, the set actually went to Asahi; although Hakuba’s incredible height allowed him to jump a second time to block the ace and win the set.

As the second set is about to start, Hinata and Tsukishima are noted to have switched their positions on the court; meaning that Hinata will rotate out first and Tsukishima will stay out on the court. According to the players of Date Tech, Kamomedai most likely shifted their own rotation in order to go against Karasuno’s weakest rotation but because of Hinata and Tsukishima switching positions it now means that Hinata will be faced with Kamomedai’s strongest formation. After several sets take place, Hinata eventually moves to the front row. It would be at this point that he would utilize one of his best attacks, the wide broad attack. He easily outpaces Hoshiumi, Hirugami, and Hakuba and scores with no one able to stop him. As Hoshiumi’s next serve is received by Nishinoya, Hinata is already making his approach into another broad attack only for Kageyama to take advantage and perform a setter dump. Hinata again is able to perform another broad attack and Hirugami is unable to receive the spike.

Hinata and Kageyama later are able to perform a perfect quick attack despite being off balance, once again annoying Kamomedai’s blockers. After Karasuno called a time-out, Hinata eventually is up to serve. Although Hakuba was able to receive Hinata’s serve, it also kept him from partaking in any attacks. As Hinata, Kageyama, and Tsukishima are then praised by the announcers as dependable players which causes Sugawara to try to get Daichi and Asahi to not let themselves be overshadowed by the first years. Later during a time-out, Sugawara was attempting to help Asahi come out of his depression of feeling that he wasn’t being of much help. Hinata expresses his faith in the ace by stating that Asahi is capable of scoring one hundred percent of the time; although Kageyama was quick to point out that such a thing wasn’t possible for anyone to accomplish. Hinata’s faith in Asahi is proven when the ace was able to trick the blockers into thinking he would perform his usual powerful spike but instead switched to a feint shot. When Asahi scores, Hinata and many others express great surprise at seeing this^[73]. At Sugawara’s second serve, Hinata correctly figures out which attacker will receive the set. He is able to get a one-touch on Hirugami’s spike; although Tsukishima would comment that this was possible thanks to Sugawara’s serve.

Hinata would later attempt a center attack but was blocked since Kamomedai’s blockers were use to seeing someone of short stature with incredible jumping abilities. As Tanaka manages to receive Hoshiumi’s second serve, Hinata is already throwing himself into a minus tempo attack as he knows that his best weapons are his speed and his jumping height. Using both, Hinata’s minus tempo reaches a height that allows him the chance to spike past Hirugami and Hakuba; the effects of the attack even causing Aone to react. Hinata immediately showers Kageyama with heavy praise for his incredible set but Kageyama simply pushes him away. Not long after this, Hinata managed to get a one-touch on Hakuba’s spike but right away sees that he will not be able to use the boom jump. Because of this, he decides to try the wide broad attack. His spike ricochets off the libero and puts Karasuno ahead at 23-20. At Hirugami’s second serve, Hinata debates if he should run ahead of the others but decides to blend in with a synchronized attack. Switching to first tempo and using the boom jump, he does a block-out against Hakuba and the ball lands out; putting Karasuno at set point. Hakuba right away promises that he will soon stop Hinata but is confused at seeing Hinata’s eager expression. When Karasuno wins the set thanks to Tsukishima dodging Hoshiumi’s spike, Hinata expresses his joy to Kageyama about getting to play a total of six sets that day. While he admits he’s aware that it’s probably better to win a match in straight sets, he believes it’s more fun to play an extra set; although his words fell on deaf ears as his fellow first years had tuned him out.

As the third set begins to play out, Hinata is determined to gain the attention of Kamomedai’s blockers and continues to blend in the group’s attacks. He does this again later when he again blends in with the team and notices that he has one side of the court to use. Because of this, Kamomedai’s blockers became overwhelmed from not knowing who to block but were eventually able to determine that Hinata would get the set. Even faced with two blockers, Hinata was still able to get a spike through when he hit the ball against Hirugami’s hand. Hinata would continue to surprise the blockers with his incredible speed when he was able to get an attack through when Hakuba and Hirugami were momentarily caught off guard by how fast he was and therefore were unable to complete the block in time. Hinata would then hear Hakuba comment how amazing he is but Hinata corrected him by saying that Kageyama was the amazing one. He says that it was because of Kageyama’s sets that he is able to play the way he can since his own talent is his speed and jumping abilities.

Hinata then is able to correctly guess that Nozawa would be next to attack and is able to block the spike. Because of this, Kamomedai was thrown off balance but Hoshiumi and Hirugami were able to counter. As Nishinoya is able to save Hirugami’s spike, Hinata secures his running distance and makes his approach. His presence catches the attention of the blockers but Hirugami in particular seems most fixated on Hinata. As Hinata jumps to his peak, Hirugami noticeably shifts as if he is going to block Hinata but is able to stop himself from doing so. The split second that Hinata was able to keep the blockers attention allowed Tanaka the time to get his attack through. From this, Hirugami came to the conclusion that he would now have to retire from the nickname ‘The Immovable Hirugami’^[74]. Hinata would then state that he would now like to have the title of the Ultimate Decoy and ‘allows’ Hoshiumi to have the title of the Little Giant. Hoshiumi right away few into a rage at this, stating that he already had the title of the Little Giant and that Hinata had no authority to ‘give’ him the nickname but would laugh immediately afterwards.

After the court change, Hinata is spotted by the blockers and appears like he will try the super quick again only for him to jump diagonally and successfully gets Hakuba and Bessho to attempt to block him. This allows Tanaka to land a straight shot with no one to stop him and Hoshiumi narrowly missing making a save. As Hinata rotates to the back for his serve, he muses how much fun the game is and wishes he did not have to move to the back for fear of being subbed out so Yamaguchi can serve. However, he determines that as long as Karasuno keep getting break points then it will mean that he will not have to leave the court just yet. The ball is returned several times until Hakuba is eventually given the ball. He uses his height to spike over the blockers but Hinata makes another amazing receive of the ball. After making the receive, Hinata right away goes into a minus tempo back attack and gets past the blockers. At the success of his attack, Hinata relishes in the fact that he can stay on the court.

As Tanaka goes to give him praise and help him stand from his kneeling position, Hinata reaches out to grab his hand only to suddenly fall forward. He begins to struggle to find his footing and Kageyama reveals that the middle blocker may have a fever after having noticed how hot his hands felt when he had praised the setter earlier but had attributed it to the fact that Hinata had been more active during the match. Hinata is quickly moved to the bench where his temperature is revealed to be 39.1 °C. Hinata argues that he can still move about since the fever isn’t a physical injury but Takeda eventually is able to make Hinata understand that he needs to take care of his health if he wishes to continue growing stronger^[75]. Hinata then begins to cry and apologize to his teammates as they in turn try to comfort him as much as possible although some would admit that match will be more difficult without him there. As he is about to leave, Kageyama reminds him of when they first met and Hinata had stated that he would be the one to stay on the court longer. Kageyama now claims that he is the one on the court longer and claims it as a win. As Hinata is being escorted off the court, he hears Hoshiumi call out to him and state that he will be waiting for his return. Hinata bows to Hoshiumi in respect and leaves.

In the sub-arena, Yachi instructs Hinata to change into warmer clothes. As she leaves and Hinata begins changing, he suddenly notices that Kenma has followed him to give him his support and to use his tablet so he can watch the outcome of the match. As Yachi and Shimada are taking Hinata to a hospital, Hinata continues to watch the match on Kenma’s tablet. While at the hospital, Hinata sees the results of the game. As the teams bow to one another, Hinata does the same. He later returns to the inn to rest until Ukai brings him a light meal. Hinata listens to Ukai as he explains how Hinata is not at fault for what has occurred as he was beginning to understand how to overcome his limits but now has to focus on nurturing and strengthening his body. After the tournament, the third years graduate high school and return from the team. Hinata is with the rest of the team trying to hold back tears as Ennoshita is made the new captain and thanks the third-years for everything they’ve done.

Final Arc

Brazil

Following graduation, Hinata goes to Brazil to train in beach volleyball for two years. When he first arrived in Rio de Janeiro, he meets with Lucio Katō; a graduate of Shiratorizawa Academy and former student of Washijō who became a beach volleyball coach. Katō would introduce Hinata to his new roommate, Pedro, before offering Hinata the chance to take part in helping with a class. Because of the new environment, Hinata initially struggled to adjust to the shifting winds and playing on the sand. Despite the struggles, Hinata was able to stay patient. He obtains a part-time job in food delivery but because he was still learning proper Portuguese one of his early deliveries ran late and he discovered the new wallet Natsu gave him was missing. When he returned home, Hinata tried to bond with Pedro only for his roommate to remain distant. Hinata briefly became overwhelmed with homesickness before calming himself and heading to the beach. There he would play in a volleyball game with some of the locals who would be impressed at his advanced skills. It would be during this game that Hinata would be spotted by Oikawa^[76].

After Hinata finished his game, he and Oikawa would catch up over dinner where Oikawa would tell Hinata how he had first become interested in being a volleyball setter. After dinner, Hinata invited Oikawa to play a game of beach volleyball with him. He would be amused at seeing how Oikawa also struggled playing on the sand which led to Hinata feeling a sense of superiority over Oikawa. He confesses to Oikawa that he had been depressed earlier but now feels that weight lifted after having spent time with the former Seijoh captain. Hinata and Oikawa would be challenged by the ‘Buy me a beer’ brothers, Gabriel and Gino, to a game but easily lost. Despite their struggle and loss, Hinata still eagerly requested to play more games with Oikawa while he was in Brazil for the week. Upon hearing Oikawa’s concern about Hinata getting use to playing on the sand and returning to a court when his training is done, Hinata admits that he helps with a junior indoor volleyball team in his spare time which helps him stay familiar with the solid court.

After Hinata and Oikawa agree to meet again and exchange contact information, Hinata returned to his apartment where he was finally able to start a friendship with Pedro upon seeing that he was reading One Piece^[77]. The two would chat over their favorite characters and watch other anime series that Pedro has saved on tape. During Hinata and Oikawa’s next game against Gabriel and Gino, the two were much more aware and adapt of playing on the beach. They were able to win their game and the brother’s treated them to dinner. Oikawa would eventually leave but promised Hinata that he would defeat him if they ever faced each other in an official match. Hinata would then become more involved in his training that would soon involve weight training, proper education of nutrition and rest, left-handed spiking, and many other tactics.

Some time later, Hinata’s reputation on the beach has grown and he is now known by the people as Ninja Shoyo. He is approached by Heitor Santana and is asked to become his new partner for an upcoming tournament as Heitor’s latest partner had decided to partner with someone else. Hinata agreed to become Heitor’s partner and the two would quickly win many games together and become good friends. On the final day of the Solcard Cup, Heitor and Hinata lose their last match. Heitor had earlier mentioned that he had wanted to propose to his girlfriend, Nice Rodrigues, if they had won their match but the two are quickly figured out by Nice when she guesses Heitor wanted to propose after winning. She would instead propose to Heitor and Hinata is seen attending their wedding before he returns to Japan^[78].

MSBY Black Jackals vs Schweiden Adlers

Upon his return to Japan, Hinata attends tryouts for any professional team in Japan’s Division 1 Volleyball League and is successfully brought onto the MSBY Black Jackal team as a wing spiker; now being teammates with Bokuto, Atsumu, and Sakusa. Just before the match against the Schweiden Adlers begins, Hinata runs into Kageyama when heading to the bathroom. At the same time, members of the Jackals and Adlers, Ushijima and Hoshiumi, meet in the hallway with each side promising they will be the winner of the match.

As the match is about to start, the starting line-up players for both teams are introduced and Hinata is revealed to be part of the starting line-up in place of Oriver Barnes. Speculation for Hinata playing instead of Barnes is partly due to Coach Samson Foster possibly wanting to put in a player that the Adlers had no information on and would therefore not know how to handle Hinata’s plays. Hinata receives Kageyama’s first serve and stuns everyone with his incredible jump. At scoring the first point of the match, Hinata loudly proclaims that he is now at home and receives welcoming shouts from his former Karasuno teammates that are attending the match^[79]. After scoring, Hinata comments how he is upset that he was not able to stay on his feet when making the receive but receives praise from Bokuto that he was able to dig Kageyama’s serve at all. When Nicollas Romero scores a service ace, Hinata is one of many that are surprised but also in a state of admiration of seeing his serve in person after having previously watched him play on television for several years. In the next rally, Sakusa is able to receive Romero’s serve which allows Hinata and Atsumu to perform their own version of the freak quick attack^[80]. While Kageyama was able to receive the attack, the ball landed out of bounds. When Ushijima next attacks with an improved spiking form, Hinata has a shocked expression from seeing the power behind it and how it had ricocheted off Inunaki. When Sakusa is able to tie the score at 3-3, a minor flashback shows that Hinata and Bokuto were transfixed on Sakusa stretching his particularly flexible wrists and Hinata would notice that Sakusa and Ushijima appeared to square off against one another.

With the score at 4-4, Hinata is next to serve and surprises everyone by performing a jump serve; although the serve narrowly landed out. He notices Kageyama mocking that his serve was poor. Shortly afterwards, Hinata would attempt to contain Romero by forcing him to make the first touch. While he managed to get Romero to make the first receive, Hinata is surprised to see that this was not enough to keep Romero from attacking as the Brazilian was still able to land a spike. Although his plan failed, Hinata was still impressed at seeing Romero in action and is thrilled at the chance of playing against a world renowned ace^[81]. Romero would then attempt to get the better of the Jackals by using a feint shot but Hinata was able to move in place in time to receive it. When Sakusa’s next serve is received and about to be countered by Hoshiumi, Hinata surprises everyone yet again when he is once more in place to receive the attack. When Bokuto successfully scores, it would be at this point that Romero would point out that he recognized Hinata as Ninja Shōyō and how his son had become interested in playing beach volleyball after seeing Hinata play.

Midway into the set with the score 16-16, Hinata is seen running across one side of the court to the opposite end. The Adlers blockers are momentarily distracted by watching him long enough for Shūgo Meian to spike through the block. As the Jackals take the lead, Hinata serves. It is received and Atsumu is forced to make the first touch. However, Hinata once more surprises everyone when he makes a set to Atsumu; proving himself to truly be a well-rounded player skilled in both offence and defense. Hinata then continues to help the Jackals stay in the lead by performing a block-out against the blockers hands. He later attempted to receive Ushijima’s spike but was not able to withstand the brute force behind it and falls over in the process. In the next rally, Atsumu is once more forced to make the first receive when Kageyama’s serve clipped the net. Hinata appears to attempt a direct spike and lures in Fukurō Hirugami and Romero to block only for him to suddenly switch from a spike to a set. He sets to Bokuto who is able to score and thus win the first set for the Jackals at 25-20.

Early in the second set, Hinata is able to receive Ushijima’s serve. He later is surprised when Kageyama suddenly allowed the ball to pass over the net instead of trying to make a set. Atsumu would comment that it was because of Hinata that Kageyama is playing in the condition he is in now. Near the end of the set, Hinata would come to understand what Atsumu meant about Kageyama’s ‘awakening’ when the setter explained how the players of Karasuno helped Kageyama to reach a new level of skill that would allow him to do a wide variety of sets and get away with it. Shortly afterwards, the Adlers would win the set 25-21.

Hinata receives Kageyama’s first serve in the third set but the Adlers would still be able to score. Kageyama then scores a service ace. At one point, Hinata is part of a triple block faced with trying to stop Hoshiumi and had attempted to dodge what he thought was going to be a block-out attempt. However, Hoshiumi got the better of Hinata by using the now open space to land a spike. Hinata later is once more called on to make a set after Atsumu had dived to save Ushijima’s block-out attempt. As Hinata prepares to set and has the Adlers trying to figure out what he will do, Hinata suddenly spikes with his left hand^[82]. This wins the third set for the Jackals at 25-23.

In the fourth set, Hinata is able to block Hoshiumi. Hoshiumi would claim that Hinata succeeded because of shorter height and did not see him appear until it was too late. Hinata would again attempt to receive a spike from Ushijima. He succeeds in digging the ball even though the spin and power behind it were enough to nearly prevent that. Ushijima again tried to deliver a spike that Hinata would not be able to receive but Hinata channeled the training that he had gone through in Brazil and makes a perfect receive. The move allows the Jackals to score and Hinata is showered with praise from Bokuto and Inunaki. On his second serve, Hinata scores a service ace. Each side soon does everything they can to quick rack up points. Hinata and Atsumu again attempt their quick attack that Hinata is able to get past Kageyama. When Romero attempted a feint shot, Hinata was able to receive. When the Jackals are at match point, Hinata attempted to spike but was blocked by Kageyama. However, once more remembering all his beach training, Hinata uses the back of his foot to kick the ball up. He then appears to attempt a wide broad attack and keeps the attention of the blocker just long enough that Bokuto is able to spike and land the spike that wins the game.

As the team shake hands with one another, Kageyama congratulates Hinata for finally making it to the same level. Hinata then states that he now has 1,096 wins and 1,100 losses; a grand total from competitions that he and Kageyama have been keeping track of since high school. When Hinata is later doing his cool down stretches, he is approached by Romero who promises that he will not lose to Hinata the next time they face each other. Hinata eagerly accepts the challenge before Romero introduces Hinata to his son, Rubens. Romero tells Hinata that Rubens is a great fan of Hinata’s and asks if he would be willing to take a photo with him; although Rubens was suddenly struck with a bout of shyness. Shortly after this, Hinata receives word that there is someone from the JVA who is looking for him. To his surprise, Hinata sees that this person is Kuroo who now works for the sports promotion division. Kuroo reveals that he and Kenma are working together on a collaboration video to promote sports and Kuroo asks if Hinata would be interested in being in the video. Hinata happily accepts although he admits that he is not sure what he would be doing. Afterwards, he and Kageyama reunite with Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Yachi.

In 2021, Hinata has become part of the National Japan Team for the Tokyo Olympics. Just before Japan’s match against Argentina, Hinata reunites with Oikawa and the two are seen embracing one another. As the match starts and Oikawa’s monstrous serve is received, Hinata and Kageyama perform their famed quick attack. In 2022, Hinata has now joined the Brazil Super League and currently plays on the Asas São Paulo team. During the FIVB Club World Championship finals, Hinata once more faces off against Kageyama who has now become part of the Italian Serie A professional team Ali Roma. As the match is about to start, Hinata and Kageyama both promise they will be the winner of the match.

Statistics

Hinata is often described as clumsy, yet incredibly athletic. When he first entered Karasuno, he didn’t know much about volleyball and focused only on spiking. However, with the help of his new teammates, he soon learned the fundamentals and basic techniques. Despite his inexperience, Hinata constantly tries to figure out what he can do to help out during a match. He is not afraid of experimenting with new things and can easily improvise when things don’t go according to plan. He is an incredibly fast learner who can improve his skills merely by watching others to copy their movements (although most of the time he fails on the first try). Hinata is also one of the few players with the ability to see the entire width of the court when he reaches the apex of his jump. He has said that when he’s jumping to spike, he can see the movements his opponents make and even the individual expressions on their faces.

Since the Tokyo Expedition Arc, Hinata’s overall skills have improved greatly. His coordination and mobility have increased with his mastery of flying receives, allowing him to make some near-impossible saves. Also, Hinata can now fight in mid-air battle using block-outs and feints. After his 2 years of beach volleyball, Hinata has gained immense balance and increased leg strength. As such, Daichi commented how he now never leaves his feet for a receive and never takes a knee. Hinata’s balance and dexterity is so great that he can now spike with his left hand even while turning in mid air.

Hinata isn’t known as a powerful player, but rather as one who utilizes speed and stamina to his advantage. Above all else, Hinata’s main assets are his fortitude and determination to win.

Height and reach:

• April 2012:
  • Jumping Reach: 327 cm
• November 2012:
  • Fingertip Height: 210 cm
  • Jumping Reach: 333 cm (spike) / 310 cm (no run-up block)
• Post-Timeskip:
  • Jumping Reach: 350 cm ^[83]

Skills

Post-Timeskip Skills Parameter
Serve		8/10
Serve Reception		9/10
Dig		10/10
Setting		9/10
Spike		10/10
Block		7/10

• Stamina and Speed: Hinata is known as the fastest player on his team and has incredible reflexes and mobility. He also has seemingly unlimited stamina, which he builds up by riding his bike thirty minutes through the mountains to commute to school. Hinata can easily go from the left to the right side of the court before his opponents can even react. However, his speed can be a problem if he goes overboard since too much momentum can cause him to crash into the net or another player.

• Jumping: Hinata has incredible jumping power to compensate for his lack of physical height. He has a vertical jump of 1.23m, or almost 50 inches (48.4). Combined with his mobility, he is capable of jumping diagonally to dodge blockers. He can also add a run-up to increase his blocking height. Because of his impressive jumps, his movements are often described as flying according to bystanders. With advice from Kageyama after the Training Camp Arc^[56], and seeing the new «Little Giant»—Kōrai Hoshiumi; Hinata has now learned a new jumping technique. By focusing the momentum of his run-up into the balls of his feet, he makes a much higher jump with increased mid-air stability. It is notably called the «BAM» jump due to it making an audible sound when he takes off from the ground^[84].

• Decoy: Hinata is dubbed as the «Ultimate Decoy» for his ability to attract opponents’ attention to himself, thus allowing the other spikers to score much easier. Kuroo has stated that the reason Hinata is seen as a great threat is due to his unpredictability. Most recently, Hinata has added the blend-and-distract tactics to his repertoire. He can now adjust his tempo either to match the rest for an all-in synchronized attack or charge forward for a minus-tempo quick^[85]. According to Daichi, Hinata has also learned to act as a decoy for himself. Hinata makes obvious movements and hints that he is defending one area to lure spikers to hitting there, only to move to another area and perfectly receive the hit.

• Minus-Tempo Quick Strike: This is Hinata and Kageyama’s signature attack. It involves Kageyama sending a toss to the exact location of Hinata’s spike point. Initially, Hinata spikes with his eyes closed due to his lack of skills. Since then, the quick has undergone plenty of changes and give rise to new attacks. Kageyama now uses a toss that stops near Hinata’s spike point. Hinata, now spiking with his eyes open, gains control over mid-air battle, allowing him to avoid blockers either through feints or block outs. The duo also developed a vertical spike off of the quick strike, in which Kageyama provides a toss close to the net, and Hinata spiking it straight down^[86].

• Block-Out: In a mini-match against Lev, Tsukishima, and Kuroo, Hinata accidentally learned how to «block-out» by himself when he spiked the ball off the tip of Lev’s fingers^[87]. Since then, he has attempted to use this technique to spike through two or three blockers. However, he occasionally still has trouble accurately targeting the blockers’ hands. He has mastered this after his two years of beach volleyball.

• Rebound: A move that Hinata learned from having watched Bokuto during the summer training camp in which a spiker can give their team another chance to attack by purposely hitting the block to have the ball brought back. Hinata is shown very capable of performing the rebound during matches, such as the matches against Wakutani and Shiratorizawa.

• Feint: Fukurōdani Academy’s ace, Bokuto, also taught Hinata how to feint—a useful tactic for surprising blockers. He manages to utilize this against both Johzenji High and Aoba Johsai High, something both teams didn’t expect him to be able to do.

• Back Attack: Hinata and Kageyama rarely use this attack except in crucial situations when they need the point. Although Hinata’s first back attack failed during the match against Aoba Johsai High, he can perfectly execute the attack during the match against Shiratorizawa. Sugawara eventually dubbed this attack as «Back Minus»^[88].

• Receives: Originally, Hinata was known as a weak receiver and usually was seen making a poor receive or using his body to get the ball up. He often receives guidance from Nishinoya or Sugawara about how to best make a receive but still struggled with the execution. During the Tokyo Expedition Arc, Hinata was able to master flying receives. While acting as the ball boy during the First Year Training Camp, he was able to better understand how to position himself to be in place to receive by studying the players, the sets given, and reading a spikers form. Thanks to this and utilizing the Split Step technique, Hinata has made great improvement although he still sometimes has trouble with positioning. He is shown to begin mastering receives during Karasuno’s match against Inarizaki when he is able to make a receive of Aran’s spike and using a high receive to allow his teammates time to settle their nerves. With Hinata now being better at receives, he began to be targeted by Nekoma to be forced to receive in order to be kept from attacking. Post-timeskip, Hinata fully mastered receives while training in Brazil. Thanks to improving his balance and physical strength, Hinata is now capable of making receives of serves and spikes from powerful opponents such as Kageyama and Ushijima.

• Open Spike: With an improved jump, Hinata is more capable of hitting an open spike from a high toss. He almost misses the spike point on his first attempt^[89], but his more recent attempts have proven to be quite formidable when he pulled off a block out against a three-man block^[90].

• Setting: Inspired from being at the First Year Training Camp and wanting to become better at all volleyball skills, Hinata began working on setting skills. Having practiced during his time in Brazil, Hinata is now stated to have setting skills nearly on par with Atsumu and is the back-up setter for the Jackals if Atsumu is unable to make a set. Thanks to this new skill, Hinata is able to effortlessly make a set to one of his teammates or trick the opposing team by either using a direct spike or switching between a setting or spiking form.

• Serves: Originally using regular serves, Hinata at times struggled with power and accuracy; even once hitting Kageyama with a serve when under immense pressure. Over time, Hinata began to have better control of his serves although they were still fairly easy for opponents to receive. Post-timeskip, Hinata now uses jump serves. Thanks to his new physique and power, Hinata’s serves are now very impactful.

• Left-handed Spiking: While in Brazil, Hinata began teaching himself how to use his left arm for spiking^[91]. He would use this new spiking method during the match against the Adlers, which came as a surprise to many^[82].

• Blocking: Despite his height, Hinata plays as a middle blocker on the Karasuno team. While his shorter stature does not always allow him to get stuff blocks, his jumping height and reflexes allow him to be in place in time to get a deflection which allows the Karasuno team to use that as a chance to counter attack. Because of his shorter height, Hinata is usually beaten in a joust at the net against taller players. When Hinata is given the proper guidance and information, he is able to time his blocks to get occasional kill blocks. Recently, Hinata has began using his blocks to direct the path for a spiker to hit a straight shot by cutting off the path for a cross shot; a method he channeled from his most disliked blocker, Matsukawa.

Relationships

Karasuno High/Yukigaoka Junior High

• Tobio Kageyama: Hinata and Kageyama have a frenemy-like relationship. Though they are on the same team and have different positions, they compete with each other often, even over trivial things such as who gets to the gym first; they also keep a tally of their wins (Kageyama-32 wins, Hinata-30 wins).
  They argue with each other often and sometimes have full-blown fights, but they see each other as teammates. Whenever someone brings up Kageyama’s past, Hinata would stand up for Kageyama; whenever Hinata feels down about his height and role as a decoy, Kageyama would encourage him and remind Hinata of his importance to the team. Out of everyone in the club, Kageyama and Hinata seem to understand each other the most and are often called the “freak duo”. They are usually, if not always, with each other when it comes to volleyball-related activities but outside of those, they don’t interact much; Hinata eats lunch with his friends.
  They first met when their junior high schools competed against each other in the first round of a volleyball tournament, but their relationship started badly. Kageyama viewed Hinata as an overly idealistic and weak player while Hinata saw him as an arrogant jerk. However, after seeing Hinata’s incredible stamina, jumping power, and sheer determination during the match, Kageyama seemed to respect him a bit more. In the end, Kitagawa Daiichi won, but Hinata vowed to one day defeat Kageyama.
  When they saw each other again in Karasuno’s gym, they started fighting immediately and ended up getting kicked out of the club until they viewed each other as teammates. After several failed attempts to get back into the club, Kageyama and Hinata grew desperate and asked for a match to prove that they could work together. They were given a week to practice but Kageyama refused to work with Hinata; this changed when one day, Kageyama pushed Hinata to his limits and spiked an impossible ball, but the latter wouldn’t give up and chased after the ball. This inspired Kageyama to finally accept Hinata and toss to him. During the match, they didn’t do well at first but when Tsukishima insulted Kageyama and brought up his past, Hinata stood up for the setter, exclaiming that Kageyama had him now. Kageyama then decided to try adapting his toss to fit Hinata’s skills, and their now-famous quick-set was created. Hinata, who despised Kageyama before, trusted him completely and closed his eyes when he spiked; Kageyama had become his strongest ally and vice versa.
  However, during the Tokyo Expedition Arc, their relationship became strained due to their conflicting ideas. Hinata didn’t want Kageyama doing everything for him anymore so he announced that he would start opening his eyes when he spiked. However, Kageyama was completely against it. After many complaints, he reluctantly decided to give Hinata’s idea a try, but Hinata couldn’t hit any of Kageyama’s tosses with his eyes opened. Despite his failures, Hinata refused to back down and they started fighting, causing Yachi to be frightened by their hostility and calling Tanaka to come over. Afterward, they wouldn’t talk to each other for the majority of the summer until they finally decided on a toss that they both liked. Since then, they have reconciled and even strengthened their relationship.

• Kei Tsukishima: Although often picked on by Tsukishima for various things, Hinata has admitted to seeing his teammate as a rival who possesses everything he does not. While they originally had a tense relationship when they first met, Hinata has attempted to smooth things over with Tsukishima and has managed to, unknowingly, obtain his respect as a formidable volleyball player. As a fellow middle blocker, Hinata has witnessed Tsukishima’s blocking abilities and is somewhat fearful of what he is able to accomplish; such as being nervous when he sees Tsukishima try to block the Miya twins attempting their version of a freak quick. Despite their friendly rivalry, Hinata respects Tsukishima’s abilities and views him as one of the best blockers he’s seen.

• Tadashi Yamaguchi: When they first met, Hinata was often picked on by Yamaguchi although not as much as Tsukishima. As time passes through the Interhigh and the Spring Tournament Qualifiers, Hinata and Yamaguchi began to form a better friendship with one another and they can often be seen speaking with each other and encouraging and cheering for one another during matches. Hinata often praises Yamaguchi on his jump float serves and usually requests for him to score numerous points as he believes he is capable of doing so.

• Hitoka Yachi: Next to Kiyoko, Hinata became the first person that was able to make friends with Yachi when she was brought to the team as a potential new manager. However, he was seemingly unaware of her nervous and timid behavior and would unintentionally intimidate her at times with his loud and energetic personality. Despite this, he was able to ask for her help for studying for final exams and was able to help her figure out if she wanted to join the club as a new manager as well as helping her overcome her fear of standing up to her mother. Since then, Hinata and Yachi are often seen talking to one another or studying together, and Hinata will often help Yachi with her manager duties.

• Yū Nishinoya: When Hinata and Nishinoya first met, Hinata felt relieved that there is a person that’s shorter than him, which annoyed Nishinoya. However, Nishinoya soon warmed up to Hinata due to the first-year’s good schmoozing skills. Hinata is one of the few people that understand what a true libero is–someone who is good at receives, not because of their short stature. Because of that, Nishinoya likes Hinata and agreed to teach him how to do receives. Hinata is the only person that gets excited about Nishinoya’s «Rolling Thunder» and the «again version» and has asked Nishinoya many times to teach him. Nishinoya is one of the few people that call Hinata by his first name. In the anime English dub, he does refer to Hinata by last name.

• Ryūnosuke Tanaka: Hinata greatly admires Tanaka as his upperclassman and teammate. Although Hinata is often teased by Tanaka, he still greatly admires how confident and supportive Tanaka is. Hinata will at times rely on Tanaka during matches to help him better understand certain plays or what an opposing player may be attempting and tends to receive heavy praise from Tanaka when he excels in his own plays.

• Daichi Sawamura: Hinata greatly respects Daichi as the team captain and his upperclassman. While Hinata greatly admires Daichi’s capabilities and stable presence, he does become fearful of the captain when he is angered. He often receives encouragement and advice from Daichi during matches that he takes to heart.

• Kōshi Sugawara: When Hinata first joined Karasuno and was trying to join the volleyball club, Hinata received help from Sugawara on how he can see Kageyama as an ally instead of an enemy as well as being given tips to improve his abilities. Hinata often receives great encouragement and support from the third-year setter that he appears to take to heart. In turn, Sugawara is one of the people Hinata trusts most and often goes to him for help, whether it be related to volleyball or not. Despite Sugawara’s supportive nature, Hinata knows not to anger the setter as he can be just as intimidating and fearsome as Daichi if provoked.

• Asahi Azumane: Hinata looks up to Asahi as the ace of the volleyball club. Hinata is one of the people that convinced Asahi to rejoin the team. Initially, Hinata was jealous of Asahi due to his status as the ace, and his incredible height and power. After the practice match against the Neighborhood Association Team, Asahi approached Hinata and encouraged him to accept his position as the decoy. Although hoping to become the ace, Hinata has great confidence in Asahi and his abilities; even stating during the match against Date Tech that Karasuno had no reason to fear how the match would turn out because Asahi was on the court.

• Kiyoko Shimizu: Like many others, Hinata finds Kiyoko very beautiful, and often trips over his words and blushes whenever she speaks to him. When Kiyoko was looking for a new manager, Hinata eagerly agreed to help her search in his free time. Unlike many of her admirers, Hinata does not actively chase after her to gain her attention. Hinata greatly respects Kiyoko as the team manager and admires all of the things she does for them.

• Ikkei Ukai: Hinata was brought to Ukai for help with his training when he wanted to handle mid-air battles on his own. Although Hinata was initially nervous around the older Ukai after remembering his reputation, he eagerly accepted all of his training and advice of how he could improve his overall play. Although he was unaware of it, Hinata would at times remind Ikkei of the Little Giant.

• Yukitaka Izumi and Kōji Sekimukai: Izumi and Kōji are two of Hinata’s longest and closest friends, having known each other for several years before Hinata decided to attend Karasuno. When Hinata first became interested in playing volleyball, he would frequently ask the two to practice with him even though they themselves were part of different sports clubs. Hinata was able to convince his friends to be part of a team so he could participate in a volleyball tournament during middle school and showed great gratitude to them for helping him reach that point. It’s been hinted that Izumi and Kōji were partially responsible for Hinata’s good footwork. Hinata has been stated to have kept in contact with the two after he was accepted into Karasuno but never really spoke of where he currently was with volleyball or that he was now teammates with Kageyama. Hinata would continue to stay close friends with Izumi and Kōji over the years and received their support when he was accepted into the V-League as a new addition to the MSBY Black Jackals.

Nekoma High

• Kenma Kozume: Hinata first met Kenma after getting lost in a neighborhood during a jog shortly before Karasuno’s match against Nekoma High. Hinata was able to quickly become friends with the setter and they are later shown to have exchanged phones numbers to keep in contact. During training camps, Hinata can often be seen spending a lot of time with Kenma even though the setter is well known amongst his team for keeping his distance from others. Hinata wishes to one day make Kenma become more passionate about playing volleyball and the desire to win. During the Spring Tournament, Hinata would see how frightening Kenma and his tactics could be but showed great joy when Kenma would admit that he was finally having fun when playing. The two are shown to have remained close friends over the years and Kenma became Hinata’s sponsor when he traveled to Brazil.

• Sō Inuoka: Hinata and Inuoka are shown to both have cheerful and outgoing personalities. During the Karasuno vs Nekoma practice match, Hinata found a great rival in Inuoka as the Nekoma middle blocker became the first to block Hinata’s quick attack and would continue to block him once he figured out Hinata’s attack patterns; Hinata would later comment that he was blocked so much because: «Inuoka is too awesome!«. The two would afterwards be seen excitedly praising each other’s skills in their own gibberish language. Even after Inuoka was later replaced as a starting regular, Hinata continued to see him as one of his greatest opponents and one of the blockers he would be most cautious of.

• Lev Haiba: Their relationship is both competitive and playful, as the two have similar personalities. They first met during the summer training camp. Hinata was curious when he saw that Lev replaced Inuoka on the court and noticed his whip-like spike. He asked Kenma about him and was awed when he found out Lev’s height and ethnicity. However, they didn’t officially interact until one evening after practice, by the bathroom. Lev challenged Hinata to jump higher than him right away and the latter accepted, although he ended up hitting his head on the door frame. This surprised Lev, who began to see Hinata as a rival and vowed that he would stop Hinata’s quick attack during the practice match between Karasuno and Nekoma. He did so easily the following day, an act that became the final catalyst in Hinata wanting to change the quick attack. The two also practiced with each other during the summer camp with Bokuto, Kuroo, Tsukishima, and Akaashi. During a practice match, Lev, Kuroo, and Tsukishima ganged up on Hinata, only for the latter to turn it around and pull off a block-out by aiming for Lev’s fingers.

• Tetsurō Kuroo: Kuroo and Hinata first came across each other when Kuroo retrieved Kenma after the setter had gotten lost and met Hinata. They face each other in the practice match between Karasuno and Nekoma the next day where Hinata found Kuroo very intimidating and scary. However, during the week long training camp at Shinzen High, Hinata and Kuroo became good friends with Hinata, Tsukishima, and Lev often receiving blocking tips from Kuroo. Hinata clearly thinks highly of Kuroo’s blocking abilities as he is at one point shown with a look of disbelief when Kuroo admits that he does not think he could block one hundred percent of Ushijima’s spikes.^[92] Although their friendship is not explicit, it’s clear the two view one another as good friends and challenging opponents.

Aoba Johsai High

• Tōru Oikawa: During the practice match against Aoba Johsai High, Hinata started calling Oikawa «The Great King» because he’s Kageyama’s former upperclassman and the person Kageyama learned several volleyball techniques from. Hinata greatly admires Oikawa’s skills as a setter and leader of his team as well as being one of the strongest opponents Karasuno had to overcome. Like many others, Hinata becomes overwhelmed at the sight of Oikawa’s powerful serves. Several years later, Hinata and Oikawa would meet in Brazil. They develop a good friendship as they got to know each other better while playing beach volleyball and eating meals several times during Oikawa’s visit. Hinata came to learn how Oikawa became interested in being a setter when he was young as well as getting to see a silly side of the former Seijoh captain. It would be through Hinata that Oikawa would remember how fun volleyball is. When Oikawa eventually left Brazil, he began addressing Hinata by his first name and also promised that he would not go easy on him if they were faced against each other in a real game. When the two reunited during the 2021 Olympics, they were seen embracing one another on live broadcasting.

• Yūtarō Kindaichi: While they first met during the middle school volleyball tournament, Hinata and Kindaichi would officially meet in high school. Over time, Hinata would find himself forming a rivalry with Kindaichi and would come to understand that Kindaichi was still troubled about his past with Kageyama. Throughout the First Year Training Camp, Hinata would not only learn from Kindaichi that he desired to shut down his spikes but would also help Kindaichi start to overcome his troubled relationship with Kageyama. Because of this, Hinata would start to form a friendship with Kindaichi and, although unaware of it, would have his support when playing at nationals.

• Akira Kunimi: Although their relationship is not shown, Hinata and Kunimi went to the First-Year Training Camp. That changed when Hinata and Koganegawa read Kunimi’s plays, much to the latter’s dismay. Nevertheless, they eventually became friends.

Other Schools

• Takanobu Aone: Since the Date Tech vs Karasuno match in the Interhigh, Hinata and Aone are revealed to have formed an unlikely friendship and rivalry. While Aone would defend Hinata from his teammates criticism during the Spring Tournament, Hinata would also acknowledge Aone as a great opponent and one of the best blockers he’s ever faced. Often times Hinata would compare the blocking skills of other blockers to those of Aone; a sign of how highly he thinks of Aone as a blocker. The two hold great respect for each others skills and tend to greet one another with a bow, even though Hinata is younger than Aone.

• Kōtarō Bokuto: Hinata greatly admires Bokuto as the ace of one of Tokyo’s champion schools. The two became close during the summer training camp, and Hinata often flatters Bokuto’s skills and plays which causes the ace to happily teach the middle blocker a variety of new techniques. Because of their close friendship and having been taught many things by him, Hinata began to acknowledge Bokuto as his mentor while Bokuto has called Hinata his number one disciple. While they are good friends, the two have promised that they would not go easy on one another should they ever play against each other in an official match. As of November 2018, Hinata and Bokuto are teammates for the Div. 1 volleyball team the MSBY Black Jackals.

• Kōrai Hoshiumi: Hinata first meets Hoshiumi at the Spring Tournament and the two right away formed a rivalry. Hinata admires and respects Hoshiumi’s skills as a volleyball player, at times learning several things from him as well. Despite being rivals, Hinata appears to be on somewhat friendly terms with Hoshiumi as they are shown to greet each other almost enthusiastically when they first meet again in the V-League.

• Atsumu Miya: Originally, Hinata appeared intimidated by Atsumu when they met at the Spring Tournament and Atsumu subtly implied that Hinata was not skilled in volleyball. However, during their match against one another, Hinata would be both shocked and amazed at Atsumu’s skills as a setter. Years later, the two would be teammates on the MSBY Black Jackals where they now appear to be close friends and a powerful duo able to perform a newer version of the super quick attack.

• Kiyoomi Sakusa: Hinata and Sakusa are currently MSBY Black Jackals players. While Sakusa tends to keep his distance, Hinata admires Sakusa’s abilities.

• MSBY Black Jackals: Hinata works well with the team.

Others/Family

• Heitor Santana: Heitor was Hinata’s beach volleyball partner some time during his last year in Brazil. Heitor had asked Hinata for his help in an upcoming tournament which Hinata eagerly agreed to. The two quickly became close friends, sharing their interests, and history of playing volleyball. Heitor even revealed to Hinata that he wished to propose to his girlfriend, Nice, if they won their final match. Before Hinata left Brazil, he attended Heitor and Nice’s wedding.

• Pedro: Pedro was Hinata’s roommate during his time in Brazil. Pedro was opposite from Hinata in terms of personality and socializing as he tended to keep to himself after Hinata’s arrival and at times appeared to ignore his new roommate attempting to form a friendship with him. Their friendship soon changed for the better when Hinata discovered he and Pedro share an interest in One Piece and other anime series. Since then, Pedro began spending more time with Hinata, helped him improve his Portuguese, and even attended the tournament Hinata participated in with Heitor. As Hinata was about to return to Japan, Pedro tearfully hugged Hinata and later watched his debut match in the Olympics (Japan Men’s National Volleyball Team).

• Natsu Hinata: Shōyō is Natsu’s older brother. While they have a close relationship, with Natsu asking Shōyō to play jump rope with him when they were younger, when Natsu gave Shōyō a new wallet before he moved to Brazil, they are shown to still pick on one another at times; such as when Hinata laughed at Natsu when she was unable to go through a volleyball formation he demonstrated.

Quotes

• «Before my eyes, it blocks my path. A high, high wall; what sort of scene is on the other side? What will I be able to see there? ‘The View from the Top;’ a scenery that I will never see on my own; but, if I’m not alone, then… I might be able to see it.» (To himself, Volume 1 Chapter 1 / Season 1 Episode 1)

• «You can’t assume we’ll lose, as long as we don’t give up-…The six of us… The six of us can finally play volleyball on the court. The first game, second game… We’ll win and keep winning. We’re going to give it our all!» (To Kageyama, Volume 1 Chapter 1 / Season 1 Episode 1)

• «It doesn’t matter if they’re strong or weak. The bottom line is whether we win or lose, and if we lose, we’re off the court for good.» (To Izumi and Kōji, Volume 1 Chapter 1 / Season 1 Episode 1)

• «If you’re the king that rules the court, I’ll have to defeat you, and I’ll be the last one standing!» (To Kageyama, Volume 1 Chapter 1 / Season 1 Episode 1)

• «It’s true that I’m not very tall; however, I can jump/fly!» (To Kageyama, Volume 1 Chapter 1 / Season 1 Episode 1; To Tanaka, Volume 1 Chapter 2 / Season 1 Episode 2; To Yachi, Volume 9 Chapter 74 / Season 2 Episode 2)

• «It’s painful. I want to stop. When I feel that way, I take a step forwards.» (To himself, Volume 1 Chapter 4)

• «I’m not an ace but, I can create a pathway in front of the ace. I’ll be the strongest decoy!» (To Asahi, Volume 3 Chapter 24 / Season 1 Episode 10)

• «Townsperson B has its own kind of awesomeness!» (To Kageyama, Season 2 Episode 3)

• «It wasn’t that he was the first friend I’d made. He was a partner.» (To Yachi, Season 2 Episode 5)

• «Next time, we’re gonna make you play real hard, and make you get really determined, but we’re gonna win. And then, we’re gonna make you say ‘it was really fun’ or ‘it was a hard loss’ or ‘we’re gonna get you next time!’ Something… anything other than ‘it was just okay’!» (To Kenma Kozume, Volume 4 Chapter 34 / Season 1 Episode 13)

• «My name is Shōyō Hinata. I’m from the barren concrete. I’m going to thrash your team and go to Nationals.» (To Wakatoshi Ushijima, Volume 9 Chapter 77 / Season 2 Episode 1)

• «There are tons of really big, really awesome players. But! When I’m out there on the court, I can tell I’m on even ground with them. That we’re competing… it’s super exciting. Just thinking of it gives me the shivers!» (To Hitoka Yachi, Volume 9 Chapter 74 / Season 2 Episode 2)

• «Do you need a reason not to want to lose?» (To Hitoka Yachi, Volume 9 Chapter 75 / Season 2 Episode 3)

• «I don’t want to get blocked, but being ignored by the blockers is even more frustrating. Why?!» (To himself, Season 2 Episode 16)

• «Man, the grand king really is amazing… But even so, as long as I’m here, you’re invincible!» (To Kageyama, Volume 16 Chapter 142 / Season 2 Episode 23)

• «I thought it would be so cool if I could be like them. But you know? Even as I keep learning how to do more new and different things… I think… if someone were to give me a nickname… I’d want to be called… The Greatest Decoy.» (To Tobio Kageyama, Volume 41 Chapter 362)

• «Oh man… this is fun. This is so much fun!» (To himself, during the game against Kamomedai, Volume 41 Chapter 364)

• «Well… y’know? If I’m being honest… I don’t mind leveling up. No matter how hard or easy the skill, getting good at something new is always fun.» (To Tōru Oikawa, Volume 42 Chapter 373)

Trivia

• Favorite Food: Egg-cooked Rice (Japanese: 卵 (たまご) 掛 (か) けご飯 (はん) Tamago Kake Gohan).
• Pre-timeskip Concern: He can’t catch a ball one-handed.
• Post-timeskip Concern: He bought too much sunscreen from Rio and now he doesn’t know what to do with them.
• Star Sign: Unknown. Like Kageyama, since he was born on the cusp, his star sign isn’t clear; if he was born before noon, he is a Gemini, but if he was born after, he is a Cancer.
• Worst Subject: English. His voice actor Ayumu Murase, however, was born in America (Los Angeles) and can speak English fluently.
• He failed in the English exam because he wrote the answers in the wrong place on the answer sheet. It is hinted that if he had placed them in the correct lines he may have received a perfect score, as Yachi has stated that all of his answers were correct.
• Before the final exam in the Tokyo Expedition Arc, Hinata has stated that he has never had a double-digit score on any of his quizzes at school.
• He is the oldest first-year on the team.
• His birthday overlaps with the summer solstice (June 21^st, the longest day and shortest night of the year) which contrasts Kageyama’s birthday which occurs in the winter solstice (December 22^nd, the longest night and shortest day of the year).
• Part of Hinata’s first name and part of Kageyama’s first name when combined will form the word «Hishō» (飛翔), which means «to soar» or «flight».
  • Additionally, the first character of Kageyama’s first name ‘Tobio’ (飛), can also be read as ‘hi‘, like Hinata.
• Hinata’s name has the character for «sun» and Tsukishima’s name has the character for «moon». This is a reference to the fact that they are rivals despite being on the same team as well as the idea that Hinata is bright like the sun in both personality and publicity in contrast to Tsukishima’s being aloof and low-profile.
• English media such as Crunchyroll (anime) and VIZ Media (manga) have his name written as ‘Hinata Shoyo’.
• In One-Shot (Jump Next!), Hinata is not the main character and wears the number 12 jersey. One-Shot (Weekly Shōnen Jump), Hinata’s jersey number was 7, instead of 10.
• In One-Shot (Jump Next!), Hinata is not short and about the same height as Kageyama. He is pulled into volleyball after Kageyama recognize his athletic potential. In One-Shot (Weekly Shōnen Jump), Hinata was not a first-year regular. Hinata and Kageyama had formed their «Oddball Combo» during a match against another school and not in a 3-on-3 against Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Daichi.
• In the first popularity poll, Hinata was ranked 2^nd, after Kageyama with 6,058 votes. In the second popularity poll, he was ranked 1^st with 12,720.
• In a poll conducted by Charapedia, a Japanese anime and manga character database that asked people which anime characters they would choose as the basis for their children’s name, Hinata came in 8^th with 104 votes among female respondents.^[93]
• When Hinata feels scared or threatened, he instinctively hides behind the nearest person.
• Somewhat of a running gag is that he tends to run into current/future opponents when heading to the bathroom.
• His most hated blocking type is Issei Matsukawa’s ^[94].
• Nekomata calls him a demon’s kanabo (iron club).
• Hinata says this at the start of the first three seasons (this was unfortunately absent from the fourth season):

• Hinata (post-timeskip) can speak Portuguese and is also learning Spanish and English by watching Dragon Ball dub.
  • He, Takahiro Hanamaki, Kōrai Hoshiumi, and Akinori Konoha are the only all-rounders in the series.
• Hinata’s favorite character in One Piece is Zoro.
• Hinata worked part-time as a food delivery boy in Rio De Janeiro.
• He, Kōtarō Bokuto, Atsumu Miya, and Kiyoomi Sakusa are currently MSBY Black Jackals players.
  • To date, he is also the only known member of the Brazil league team Asas São Paulo (á-sas sáw páw-lo).
• In regards to Hinata’s character, Furudate states that they are proud of the way Hinata turned out and claimed he was designed to have no similarities whatsoever with his creator.
• Nomenclature:
  • Shōyō (翔陽) can be read as «flying sun«.
    • 翔 — soar, fly
    • 陽 — sun, sunlight
  • His family name Hinata (日向) can be read as «place in the sun» or «sunny place«.
    • Hina (雛) also means a chick or a baby bird, which is alluding to him being a baby crow (Hina Garasu).
    • His last name’s kanji 日 means «day» or «sun» in Japanese.
  • In regards to his name, Furudate wrote, «I gave him this name with the image of ‘sun’ and ‘flying’ in mind.»^[95]
• Game Cameos:
  • He appears in J-Stars Victory VS as a Support Character. He is also known as «The Sportiest Assist» in the game.
• Awards:
  • In 2021, Shōyō Hinata won the «Best Boy» award at the 5^th Crunchyroll Anime Awards.^[96]

References

Кандзи 日向翔陽

Ромадзи Hinata Shōyō

Другие имена: Сильнейшая/Основная приманка

Коротышка номер один (Танака)

Мелочь/Коротышка-чан (Оикава, Куроо и Бокуто)

Малёк/Малой (Укай-старший)

Мини Спайдермен (Юджи)

Придурок (Кагеяма)

Номер 10/10-ый Карасуно (зритель/команда соперника)

Пол: Мужской

Возраст: 16

Дата Рождения: 21 июня

Рост: 162.8 см — Апрель

          164.2 см — Ноябрь

Вес: 51.9 кг

Родственники: Нацу Хината (младшая сестра)

Неназванная мать

Место жительства: Префектура Мияги

Страна: Япония

Цель: •Стать таким же игроком, как Маленький гигант

          •Стать асом Карасуно

          •Усердно работать, чтобы вырасти

          •Тренироваться чтобы принимать любой пас.

Симпатии: •Волейбол

                    •Рис с сырым яйцом

                    •Мясные булочки

                    •Тобио Кагеяма

Не любит: •Свой рост

                   •Учёбу

Команда:Средняя Школа Юкигаока (ранее)

Старшая Карасуно

Номер:1 (ранее)

            10

Позиция: Доигровщик (ранее)

Центральный блокирующий

Род занятий: Ученик старшей школы

Глава:»Завершения и истоки»

Эпизод:»Завершения и истоки»

Cэйю: Мурасэ Аюуму

Шоё Хината (яп. 日向翔陽 Хината Сё:ё:) — главный герой, первокурсник старшей школы Карасуно, играющий на позиции центрального блокирующего.

Мечта Хинаты — стать достаточно сильным, дабы суметь подняться ещё выше и преодолеть огромную «стену», как когда-то это сделал «Маленький Гигант». Поэтому он специализируется на своих уникальных прыжках, чтобы компенсировать недостаточный рост.

Внешность

Рост Хинаты составляет 164 см, что делает его самым низким игроком в команде после Нишинои Юу (хотя это средний рост для японцев, как для старшеклассников, так и для взрослых).

У Хинаты растрёпанные рыжие волосы и карие глаза. Чаще всего он представлен в школьной форме: чёрные пиджак и брюки, под пиджаком он носит бежевую или коричневую толстовку. Находясь на площадке, он одет в форму своей школы. На спине изображён командный номер «10», а также его имя на японском. Он надевает чёрные наколенники и белые волейбольные кроссовки с красными полосками. Часто он носит тренировочную бордово-белую форму и кроссовки с плужной подошвой.

Личность

У Хинаты очень жизнерадостная и энергичная натура. Он легко сходится с людьми, чем изредка пользуются его сокомандники, чтобы заполучить чьё-либо расположение (Нишинои, например). Довольно часто он разговаривает громко; он самый громкий член команды после Нишинои и Танаки. Его дружелюбная натура позволяет ему без усилий сдружиться даже с крайне необщительными людьми.

Однако, вопреки его бодрой натуре, Хината также показан, как человек, имеющий свою точку зрения, особенно когда дело касается волейбола. Его сильная любовь к спорту показана через впечатляющее проявление упорства, которое исходит из постоянного желания улучшать свои навыки.

Как однажды сказал Сугавара, у Хината огромная воля к победе и поэтому он легко не сдаётся во время матча. Поначалу он боится высоких и сильных соперников, но быстро отходит, и затем уверенно противостоит им.

У Хинаты, как и у Кагеямы, в школе всё плохо с тех пор, как он стал слишком серьезно интересоваться волейболом. Однажды он сказал Сугаваре, что с тех пор, как поступил в старшую школу, он ни разу не набирал двухзначное число на любом из тестов. Невзирая на недостаток роста, у него есть врождённые способности к высоким прыжкам, чем он также восхищается в Маленьком Гиганте, так как последний достиг в этом совершенства. Поначалу многие не воспринимают его всерьёз из-за маленького роста, но после того, как они видят Хинату в деле, большинство из них начинает восхищаться им.

Навыки

Сила1/5  

Прыжки   5/5

Выносливость   5/5

Стратегия   1/5

Техника   1/5

Скорость   5/5

Хинату часто называют неуклюжим, но всё же он невероятно спортивен. Перед поступлением в Карасуно, он многого не знал о волейболе. Тем не менее, с помощью своих новых товарищей по команде он вскоре выучил основы и техники. Но даже несмотря на тренировки, нередко подачи Хинаты попадают в сетку или соперники с легкостью принимают мяч. Он известен не как сильный игрок, а как тот, кто использует скорость и выносливость в свою пользу.

Прежде всего, главные достоинства Хинаты – его стойкость и воля к победе. Хината часто пытается извлечь уроки из ошибок, допущенных в прошлых матчах, а также может улучшать свои навыки только лишь наблюдая за своими сокомандниками и противниками и пытаясь скопировать их движения (хотя чаще всего он терпит неудачу).

Хината также является одним из немногих игроков, которые обладают способностью видеть всю площадку. Он признался, что когда он атакует над сеткой, то может видеть все движения противников, которые они совершают, и даже выражения на их лицах.

К середине ноября:

Длина тела (учитывая пальцы): 210 смВысота съема/блока : 333 см/310 см

Интересные факты

•Любимая еда: Тамаго каке гохан (рис с сырым яйцом).

•На данный момент Хината не может держать мяч одной ладонью.

•Знак зодиака — Близнецы.

•Когда Хината напуган, он инстинктивно прячется за спину ближайшего человека.

•Хината старший первогодка в команде.

•В первом опросе популярностиХината занял вторую строчку с 6,058 голосами, следуя за Кагеямой (12,720 голосов). В опросе популярности 2015 года Хината занял первое место с 12,720 голосами.

•В ходе опроса, проведённого в Чарапедии (японской базе данных аниме и манги), имя какого аниме-персонажа родители выбирают для основы имени своего будущего ребёнка, Хината занял восьмое место, набрав 104 голоса среди женщин-респондентов

•Прыгучесть Хинаты схожа с прыгучестью Кагами Тайги (Кагами Тайга — один из главных персонажей аниме «Баскетбол Куроко»). Тем не менее, есть очень большое различие — их рост. Кагами выше Хинаты чуть меньше чем на фут (приблизительно 30 сантиметров) .

•Некоторые соперники сравнивают прыжки Хинаты с полётом ворона.

•Первая часть имени Хинаты и Кагеямы вместе образуют слово «Hishō» (飛翔), что означает «парить» или «полет».

•Худший предмет Хинаты — английский. Но его сейю, Мурасе Аюму, родился в Америке (Лос-Анджелес) и умеет разговаривать на этом языке.

•В Haikyuu!!: Прототип Хината был первогодкой, не вошедшей в основной состав, а на его футболке был номер 7.

•По поводу его имени, Фурудатеписал: «Я давал ему это имя с изображением «солнца» и «полёта» в голове».Харуичи Фурудате говорил, что гордится, каким Хината стал, также он сказал, что его дизайн был разработан так, чтобы с создателем не было никакого сходства.

•Больше всего Хината не любит такой тип блока, как у Иссея Матсукавы.

Терминология:

Shōyō (翔陽) можно прочитать как «парящие небеса».В то же время у «yō» есть несколько понятий: «солнечный свет, мужчина, положительные эмоции, небо, день».

Его фамилия Хината (日向) может обозначать «место под солнцем».

Сёё Хината биография, аниме Волейбол, Старшая Школа Карасуно

Сёё Хината (日 向 翔 陽)

Команда: Старшая Школа Карасуно, Юнигаока Юкигаока (ранее)
Возраст: 16
День рождения: 21 июня
Рост: 162,8 см
Вес: 51,9 кг
Год: 1 курс, 1 класс
Номер: 10
Позиция: средний блокирующий
Любимая еда: тамаго каке гохан (блюдо, состоящее из сырого яйца, смешанного с белым рисом, часто приправленное соевым соусом).
Текущие опасения: невозможность держать мяч одной рукой
Параметры способностей (из 5): Мощность = 1; jump = 5; выносливость = 5; интеллект = 1; техника = 1; скорость = 5

Хината держит мяч

У Хинаты необычайно высокая способность прыгать. С юных лет Хината тренировала ноги, чтобы компенсировать недостаток роста. Он присоединяется к волейбольной команде старшей школы Карусуно и поражает команду своей природной склонностью к спорту. Хотя он абсолютный новичок и никогда не имел опыта игры в волейбольной команде, он быстро растет с каждым матчем.

Хината — веселая и энергичная личность. Он прирожденный болван, и его товарищи по команде иногда использовали его, чтобы завоевать кого-то, например, Нишиною. Хината легко возбуждается и часто громко разговаривает. Он самый громкий участник после Нишинои и Танаки. Он дружелюбен и может легко подружиться с кем угодно, например с Кенмой из школы Некома и Аоне из школы Датек.

Хината смеется, закрыв глаза

Несмотря на свой легкомысленный характер, Хината чрезвычайно конкурентоспособен, особенно когда дело касается волейбола. Как заявил Сугавара, у Хинаты очень большая сила духа, чтобы побеждать, и поэтому он не сдается легко во время матча, независимо от того, тренировочный ли это или настоящий матч. Хината также может показывать очень страшное и устрашающее лицо, когда люди недооценивают его. Несмотря на это, Хината легко пугается, особенно от более крупных и сильных противников. Однако он быстро выздоравливает и затем уверенно бросит вызов противникам.

Многие также смотрят:

Главный герой Сёё никогда раньше не занимался спортом. Все изменилось, когда он увидел волейбольный матч по телевизору, где игрок низкого роста запросто обыгрывал высоких противников. Этого было достаточно для того, чтобы из хилого ученика средней школы Хината превратился в профессионального игрока в волейбол.

Внешность

Рост Сёё – 164 см. Это выше, чем рост среднего японского старшеклассника, но для волейбольной карьеры этого мало. У парня карие глаза и рыжие непослушные волосы. Сёё худощавого телосложения, что вкупе с ростом делает его похожим на ученика младшей школы. В школе Хината носит школьную форму, во время тренировок надевает белую майку, черные шорты и наколенники.

Характер

Сёё – жизнерадостный, позитивный и энергичный подросток. Для привлечения внимания к своей персоне часто кричит и жестикулирует. В целом он спокойный и стабильный, но иногда принимает опрометчивые решения. Во время матча отличается высокой наблюдательностью и вовлеченностью в игровой процесс.

Хината обожает болтать, его рот не затыкается ни на минуту даже во время ответственных игр. Прямолинейность и дружелюбие помогают ему находить общий язык с любыми людьми. Несмотря на свою детскую внешность, он способен брать на себя ответственность и совершать серьезные поступки.

Отношение к игре

Волейбол – самая большая любовь Сёё в жизни. Спорт мотивирует его становиться лучше, благодаря ему юноша движется по жизни упорно и целеустремленно. Как отмечают его товарищи по команде, Хината полностью отдается волейболу и играет с большой силой духа.

Из-за невысокого роста Сёё часто пугается более высоких противников. Чтобы не подавать виду, он прячется за спинами сокомандников. Стоя за стеной из более высоких товарищей, Хината быстро приходит в себя и находит силы для противостояния сильным игрокам.

В начале спортивного пути Сёё постоянно волнуется из-за отсутствия опыта. Он испытывает трудности с кишечником и часто бегает в туалет, позже он учится контролировать волнение. Поначалу тренировки и ответственные матчи выбивают юношу из колеи, но со временем он проникается духом игры, становится более опытным и уверенным игроком.

Спортивные навыки

Хотя Хината невысокого роста, он невероятно ловкий игрок. Тактика на каждый матч обговаривается вначале, но если что-то идет не по плану, парень всегда берет инициативу на себя и импровизирует. В своей команде он известен как самый быстрый, выносливый и стойкий игрок.

Недостаток роста Сёё компенсирует супермощными прыжками. Его вертикальный прыжок достигает 1.23 м. Сочетая прыжки и подвижность, он маневренно передвигается по разным траекториям на игровой площадке. После общения с «маленьким гигантом» парень обучается новой технике прыжков, которая позволяет ему зависать в воздухе и перехватывать сложные подачи.

Все мы любим Хайкью — чудесное аниме про командную работу, дружбу и конкуренцию. Волейбольный клуб школы Карасуно прежде мог похвастаться легендарными достижениями своих игроков, которые вдохновили юного Хинату выбрать эту школу, надеясь присоединиться к волейбольной команде.

Когда новичок Хината встречает Кагеяму, на кону оказывается все. Если они не смогут сработаться, то ни один из них не сможет вступить в команду. Без этого ультиматума мы, возможно, никогда бы не увидели, как Карасуно снова взлетает и становится топовой командой. Хорошо, что в итоге Карасуно смогли стать сбалансированной командой и отличными друзьями!

10. Тренер: Кейшин Укай

Укай — тренер волейбольной команды Карасуно. В аниме он выглядит сперва незаинтересованным и ленивым, но позже он раскрывает свой трудолюбивый характер — особенно, когда дело доходит до волейбола. Укай, сын прошлого легендарного тренера, обладает навыками, которые очень полезны этой команде и делают ее сильнее. На самом деле, самые сильные стороны Укая проявляются, когда он проверяет свои навыки анализа, оценивая области улучшения для нашей любимой волейбольной команды.

9. Капитан: Савамура Даичи

Дайчи — капитан волейбольной команды, выполнявший еще и обязанности тренера до прихода Укая. Его товарищи по команде уважают его за зрелую и заботливую натуру и за то, как он стремится поставить свою команду на первое место. Его ободрение и поддержка дают команде силы, в которых они нуждаются в критические моменты матчей.

Как капитан, Даичи должен научить дисциплине двух новичков — потенциальных членов команды. «Вам нужна командная работа, чтобы достичь своей мечты». Именно это движет Даичи, особенно когда он не пускает в команду Кагеяму с Хинатой из-за того, что они не ладят. Этот капитан знает, что без доверия и поддержки друг друга никакая стратегия не спасет во время игры.

8. Вице-капитан: Сугавара Коуши

Сугавара не только вице-капитан, но и заместитель сеттера, не раз спасающий Карасуно. Его мягкий и спокойный характер настоящая опора, поддерживающая команду. Находясь на площадке, он сияет в качестве сеттера, но понимает, что если они хотят взлететь выше, чем раньше, то ему придется уступить свое место, чтобы использовать силу и способности Кагеямы. Зная это, он наконец вырывает Кагеяму из своей одинокой королевской клетки.

Интеллект Сугавары — еще один важный стратегический инструмент в их арсенале. Он создает сигналы и команды, которые позволяют его товарищам общаться и при необходимости менять тактику в середине игры. Он готов помочь всегда и учит Кагеяму, как важно смотреть со стороны, чтобы оценить игру новым взглядом.

7. Доигровщик: Танака Рюноске 

Рюноске жесток и груб, но это только снаружи. Во всяком случае, его трогает до глубины души, когда новички Кагеяма и Хината называют его сэмпаем. Кроме того, он обладает огромной силой духа и распаляется только сильнее, когда его команда загнана в угол.

Его удары требуют безумной точности, пробивая мяч мимо блокирующих по другую сторону сетки. Он использует сложную технику, и если кто-то может такой пользоваться — то это Танака. Вы не можете не признать, что он звездный игрок, когда даже его товарищи по команде говорят, что у него есть потенциал, чтобы стать асом.

6. Пинч-подающий: Тадаши Ямагучи

Ямагучи — это персонаж, который вырос сильнее всего. Его часто можно было увидеть с Цукишимой, настолько часто, будто он присоединился к волейбольной команде только ради того, чтобы остаться рядом с ним. Тем не менее, это не так. В волейбольном клубе Ямагучи трудолюбив, но ему не хватает уверенности. Это фатальная комбинация, если вы пинч-сервер.

Пинч-серверы вступают в игру в самые напряженные моменты и могут полностью изменить ее ход. Это позиция, которая требует хитрой техники подачи и особых умений. После нескольких месяцев напряженной работы и преданности делу Ямагучи, наконец, находит в себе силы выйти на поле битвы и показать плоды своего труда. 

5. Центральный блокирующий: Цукишима Кей

Цукишима, также известный как Цукки, — грубый, антагонистичный, самодовольный… Трудолюбивый и опасный соперник, который любит играть круто, вести себя высокомерно и раздражать других. На самом деле внутренне он полон противоречий, но он по-настоящему любит соревновательный волейбол. Его ум помогает ему во время матчей, и когда он становится серьезным, его способность читать действия игроков по другую сторону сетки превращается практически в предсказание будущего.

Как центральный блокирующий, он обязан блокировать нападения противника. Он любит иногда насмехаться над соперником или ехидно оскорбить его, чтобы деморализовать. Чем более конкурентоспособен дух Цукки, тем лучше и сильнее он становится во время матча.

4. Доигровщик: Адзуманэ Асахи

Асахи — один из самых нежных персонажей, несмотря на его внешний вид и статус аса команды. Он не уверен в себе, и это заставляет его верить, что он не заслуживает звания аса. Конечно, команда не позволит этому длиться долго.

Волейбольная команда Карасуно не позволит проигрышам Асахи одолеть его. Они сплачиваются, чтобы побудить его превратить свои неудачи в опыт. С такими приемами, которыми владеет Асахи, трудно не считать его искренне настоящим асом.

3. Либеро: Юу Нишиноя

Хранитель Карасуно, Нишиноя, играет в качестве либеро команды. Он даже ниже, чем Хината — сложно представить! Его энергичный настрой позволяет нам простить его любовь к созданию техник со странными названиями вроде «раскатов грома».

Из Нои превосходный либеро, он — лучшая защита, способная свободно удерживать мяч в игре. Но он заходит еще дальше и совершенствует свои навыки, делая себя полезным для нападения. Он надеется усовершенствовать свои методы, чтобы не отставать от остальной команды, поскольку они продолжают развивать свои навыки волейбола и стратегии.

2. Сеттер: Кагеяма Тобио

Кагеяма начинает не слишком хорошо, и вот уже он известен как эгоистичный диктатор волейбольной площадки. Его способности всеми признаны, но это не оправдывает его поведение. И только став частью Карасуно, он узнает, что такое игра в действительности, и учится общаться с другими, работая в команде.

Кагеяма обладает множеством техник. Его наиболее ценным навыком является способность точно определить траекторию полета мяча. Когда он тренируется вместе с командой, Кагеяма находит и другие стратегии, которые он может использовать, чтобы в полной мере использовать способности своих товарищей по команде.

1. Центральный блокирующий и приманка: Хината Шоё

Хината, может, и не вышел ростом, но он компенсирует это своей личностью. Всегда энергичный и неистовый, Хината отдает волейболу все свои силы, используя свою скорость и ловкость. Он мечтает подняться и взлететь выше, у него бесконечная мотивация к тренировкам и приобретению новых навыков.

Несмотря на свой рост, Хината — такой же центральный блокирующий, как и Цукки, и справляется с этой позицией благодаря своим невероятным прыжкам. Как и у Кагеямы, у него есть множество приемов, которые можно использовать на площадке. Вместе с Кагеямой они становятся потрясающим дуэтом, способным выявить лучшие стороны друг друга.