Chapter 74-Let's go to Tokyo!

"Well, from what I can see, you guys managed to bring Tsukishima back! Am I right?" asked Ukai, glancing at Tsukishima.

"Oh, you're right," the bespectacled boy replied calmly.

"That's great! I'd hate to lose him—it'd be such a waste of talent!" said Ukai.

"Thank you," Tsukishima said.

"Alright! Since everyone's here, I should let you know that practice will start with some receives, and then we'll have a practice match!" Ukai announced, crossing his arms.

"A PRACTICE MATCH?! THAT'S GONNA BE AWESOME, RIGHT, NOYA-SAN?!"

"ABSOLUTELY!" Nishinoya agreed.

"Go stretch!" Ukai ordered.

After stretching, the Karasuno players began their receiving drills, with Ukai hitting the ball over the net for them to receive.

"Alright, it's time to start the practice match! Let's split into teams—the no-vest team will be the white team, and the vest team will be the red team, like we always do," said Ukai, handing red vests to Tsukishima, Tanaka, Yamaguchi, Sugawara, Ennoshita, and Nishinoya.

Meanwhile, the white team, wearing their standard white practice jerseys, consisted of Hinata, Kageyama, Daichi, Asahi, Kinoshita, and Narita.

The practice match was 24-17 in favor of the white team, and Hinata was up to serve.

"BRING IT, HINATA!" Nishinoya shouted.

"Try to stop this one, Nishinoya-san!" Hinata said as he jumped and executed his speed-focused serve, aiming for the back of the court within the boundary line.

"It's mine!" Nishinoya called out, anticipating the ball's trajectory and positioning himself before it could hit the ground.

"Nice receive, Nishinoya!" Sugawara said, positioning himself under the ball to set it up.

"Tanaka!" Sugawara called out as he set the ball to Tanaka, who was in position four.

"Great set, Suga-san!" Tanaka yelled as he jumped, facing a triple block from Kageyama, Daichi, and Narita.

"YOU'RE NOT STOPPING ME!" Tanaka shouted as he spiked the ball firmly, sending it past Narita's arms and toward the white team's court.

"I've got this!" Hinata said, diving forward and stretching his arm out, using the back of his hand to keep the ball from hitting the ground and sending it back up.

"Nice receive!" Kageyama said.

"Asahi-san!" Kageyama called out as he set up a quick attack with Asahi, who jumped only to realize that Tsukishima had read the play perfectly and timed his block perfectly.

Thud! After trying to spike through Tsukishima's block by aiming between his arms, the ball ended up hitting Tsukishima's hands and began falling toward the court.

"This time, it's mine!" Kinoshita said, diving awkwardly and slapping the ball with his palm, sending it back to Kageyama, who noticed Asahi running and preparing to jump again. However, this time, instead of setting the ball, Kageyama executed a dump over the block, ending the practice match.

25-17, White Team.

"Sorry, Asahi-san!" Kageyama said, bowing.

"No, no problem at all! We won!" Asahi replied.

"That was a good game, everyone!" Ukai said as the players went to stretch again.

VRRREEEK! The sound of the gym door opening could be heard, and the figure of Takeda was seen rushing in before promptly falling face-first onto the floor.

"To...kyo..." Takeda mumbled, his face still on the ground.

"What?" Hinata asked, confused.

"Takeda-sensei, get up! Your nose is bleeding!" Kageyama said.

"We're going to Tokyo..." Takeda said slowly as he got up.

"Takeda-sensei, please explain what you mean!" Ukai said, helping him up.

"We've been invited to play practice matches in Tokyo!" Takeda said excitedly.

"IS IT NEKOMA AGAIN?" Tanaka asked.

"This time, it's not just them... It's actually the Fukurodani Academy group, which is a network of schools and their teams in the Kanto region. Nekoma is part of it too, and from what I understand, they always play practice matches among themselves. Thanks to Nekomata-sensei, we've secured a spot!" Takeda explained.

"The Fukurodani Academy group isn't an easy network to connect with. It's the result of relationships built over many years... We owe a lot to Nekomata-sensei for giving us this opportunity and to Takeda-sensei, who must have begged a lot! Hehehe," Ukai said.

"I didn't do much, really. In the past, we used to have these kinds of connections, but they faded over time as our strength and skills deteriorated. But now, we have the chance to prove our worth! After all, we're now a team that made it to the finals of the Miyagi Prefecture!" Takeda said confidently.

"THANK YOU SO MUCH!" everyone said in unison, slightly startling Takeda.

"We'll get to face those cunning cats again!" Hinata said enthusiastically.

"Yeah! I'll get to see their formation again!" Kageyama said, clenching his fists.

"DID YOU GUYS FORGET WE'RE GOING TO TOKYO?! THIS IS GONNA BE AWESOME!" Tanaka shouted, taking off his shirt.

"Oh, I almost forgot! There's one more thing," Takeda said, stroking his chin.

"What is it?" Ukai asked.

"It's about Hinata. The sports magazine Japan Sports Weekly wants to interview him!" Takeda said excitedly.

"Oh, another interview? That's so cool!" Hinata said, crossing his arms.

"WAIT, DID YOU SAY MAGAZINE?" Tanaka asked, shocked.

"OH, ISN'T THAT THE MAGAZINE WE ALWAYS CHECK OUT FOR THE VOLLEYBALL SECTION, RYU?" Nishinoya asked.

"That's the one..." Sugawara replied.

"AH, THAT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S ALWAYS HINATA!" Tanaka complained.

"Hey, this is good! The more spotlight he gets, the more attention our team will receive, and more opportunities like these practice matches will come up! When's the interview?" Ukai asked.

"It's tomorrow at 9 a.m.!" Takeda said.

"Well, tomorrow's Saturday, so that's a good time..." Hinata said.

"And they asked you to wear the Karasuno uniform to their office... I'll give you the address later! I have a meeting now!" Takeda said as he left.

"What do you think they'll ask you?" Tanaka asked Hinata.

"I don't know, but I'll just say whatever comes to mind when I'm there. No need to worry!" Hinata said casually as he gathered his things, getting ready to leave.

"HEY, DON'T SAY ANYTHING THAT'LL EMBARRASS OUR TEAM!" Tanaka shouted.

"I'd be more worried about that if it were you saying something... Hehehe," Tsukishima teased.