An orange-haired young man let out a slightly hasty breath from his mouth and nose.
Hoo.
He was clad in a white, short-sleeved shirt, athletic shorts, and a pair of well-worn volleyball shoes.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In rapid succession, the sounds of volleyballs striking palms, the wall, and the ground echoed without interruption.
Over the past two years, even without teammates or sufficient participants for competitions, he had practiced diligently.
Whenever he wanted to improve his spiking, he often struggled to find someone to set the ball for him.
Yet, Hinata Shoyo continued to train by himself.
He practiced receiving the ball with his arms while stationed in one spot, and practiced spiking and serving against the wall solo.
Whenever he could catch one of his three childhood friends free, he would enlist them to set the ball for him to refine his spike.
This usually went on until his friends' arms were sore and red, sometimes even painfully bruised from the ball's impact.
But today marked a slight shift in Hinata Shoyo's otherwise monotonous routine.
A calm yet powerful voice came from behind him.
"Do you like volleyball?"
Hinata Shoyo was taken aback.
He looked the same as he had during the past two years, wearing his usual white short-sleeved shirt and shorts, striking the ball against the wall countless times during after-school activities.
But when he noticed that Hinata appeared slow to respond, perhaps not having heard the question clearly,
Ichinose Kenji playfully tossed the volleyball he had brought along and softened his tone.
"Do you, also like, volleyball?"
The expression on Ichinose Kenji's face held no sign of curiosity—it was one of firm certainty, as if to say,
"Hey, you definitely love volleyball, don't you?"
—
At the Crossfit Gym Bathhouse
"Hey! Kenji!"
Hinata Shoyo, brimming with energy, seemed tireless.
Despite just completing a grueling training session,
which included ATP+ functional training and specific movements aimed at increasing his height, as tailored by Ichinose Kenji, he appeared fully rejuvenated after a brief period of stretching and roller relaxation in the rest area.
Meanwhile, Hyakuzawa Yudai—much taller and bulkier than Hinata—sat quietly on a larger stool, resting.
Having just rinsed off in the cold water, Hinata Shoyo began peppering Ichinose Kenji with questions.
"Are we really skipping the running? Isn't aerobic exercise the best for building endurance?"
He was practically bubbling with curiosity, rinsing himself off while perched on his small stool and happily inquiring about the training methods.
Ichinose Kenji, with his bangs hanging down, took a moment to look at the youthful Hinata with a hint of annoyance and moved a bit further away.
Continuing to wash his hair, he gradually replied, "Exercises with high intensity lasting more than a minute are suited for aerobic training.
But volleyball, like basketball and soccer, consists of intermittent, high-intensity bursts instead of continuous exercise."
He explained the energy systems involved in those high-intensity phases "Energy for high-intensity activities lasting up to ten seconds relies on the phosphagen system, while activities from ten to sixty seconds mainly utilize rapid glycolysis. After a minute, the aerobic system kicks in."
Hinata Shoyo, struggling to keep up, blinked as he absorbed the information—ten seconds, phosphagen system, glycolysis, aerobic system.
Seeing Hinata's eyes glaze over with confusion under a flurry of technical terms, Ichinose Kenji clapped his hands to bring him back to reality.
"Cardiovascular function does benefit from some aerobic exercise. Running three to five kilometers at a moderate pace should suffice."
He tousled Hinata's bright orange hair.
"Make sure to wash up and get to bed early. Remember to eat the nutritional meal I prepared for you before sleep to help you grow."
Mention of height instantly sparked Hinata's interest again, and his eyes lit up enthusiastically.
"Oh! Yes! I'll finish up quickly, and then I'll go home to eat and sleep!"
His passion ignited, resembling an invisible flame surrounding him, he hurried through his rinsing, muttering aloud.
"I want to grow taller! I want to be a giant! I'll climb to the tallest step by step! I want to be the tallest!"
As he watched Hinata get so easily fired up, Ichinose Kenji sighed, thinking to himself.
"Being so earnest must have its perks; it makes him passionate so easily."
He pondered, recalling how, in the original story, Hinata barely reached 172 cm as an adult.
"If I provide him with specialized training and nutritional support now, he could exceed his genetic predisposition and maybe reach 190 cm, or at least grow to between 176 and 180 cm. If luck is on his side, even above 180 cm isn't impossible."
However, he reflected on Hinata's parental genetics, which weren't particularly favorable.
Once they had completed their personal care routines, the three of them exited the Crossfit training facility in a calm manner.
Each held a nutritional supplement in hand, quietly sipping a drink tailored to their individual physical needs as a pre-dinner treat.
"I'm off, take care!"
Mumbling through a straw, Hinata Shoyo pedaled his bicycle home.
"Red Lotus, I'm heading out too," called out Yudai Momozawa briefly.
Ichinose Kenji raised his hand, saying, "Alright, take care! Don't forget to say hi to my parents for me."
After watching Yudai head off, Ichinose Kenji glanced at the time on his phone.
'It's seven o'clock, right on schedule.' He promptly unlocked his phone to make a call.
"Mr. Ayasaki, I'm sorry to bother you. Could you pick me up at CrossFit No. 3?"
"Yes, Young Master Ichinose, I'll be there shortly."
In under eight minutes, a sleek Alpha nanny car pulled up beside Ichinose Kenji, its door swinging open slowly.
Inside, a well-groomed middle-aged man was poised to exit the driver's seat when Ichinose Kenji stopped him.
"No need to get out, Mr. Ayasaki; this car has electric doors. Just place my one bag in the backseat."
"Understood."
Ayasaki Satsu complied, waiting patiently for Ichinose Kenji to enter.
Once inside, Ichinose placed his sports bag casually on the back seat, prompting Ayasaki to quietly press the automatic door button.
With the door closing, he started the car and addressed Ichinose Kenji.
"Mr. Ayasaki, you may head home now."
Relaxing into his seat, Ichinose Kenji informed the driver of his destination.
"Yes."
Ayasaki Satsu glanced at him through the rearview mirror before settling into silence as they drove.
As an awkward quiet enveloped them, Ichinose Kenji's mind wandered back to a distant time.
His thoughts drifted to a period long ago.
This was the decade immediately following the collapse of Japan's bubble economy.
Ichinose Kenji's grandfather's family capitalized on the bubble, amassing wealth through the entertainment and newspaper industries.
Rather than splurging like many new urban elites, the astute but thrifty elder of the Ichinose family opted to invest wisely in cheap farmland back in his hometown and poured his earnings back into shops and real estate.
As a result, Ichinose Ryohei's assets managed to weather the aftermath of the financially volatile bubble era without the burden of debt.
Thanks to his foresight, he successfully embedded himself into the entertainment business, benefiting from the emergent lipstick effect, while his son, Ichinose Hiroshi, ventured into the secondary dimensions sector.
When Ichinose Kenji was born in 2000, at the tender age of four, he created a rudimentary yet captivating sketch of One Piece using brushes bought by his mother.
Emphasizing bold character designs and engaging devil fruit concepts, the work piqued the interest of his brother Ichinose Hiroshi, who proudly showcased it at his company, claiming to have a genius son.
The manga division, initially tasked with executives doodling for side projects while enjoying cushy pensions, soon recognized the potential for a blockbuster hit.
Thus, a revised version of One Piece, with altered plots, came into existence.
Its innovative character design, dramatic storytelling, and the lure of maritime adventures quickly drew in a dedicated fanbase.
With his childlike creativity and rigorous editorial standards, Ichinose Kenji helped ensure that One Piece retained its original charm.
Due to its serialization in Manga Weekly, Ichinose Publishing entered an explosive growth phase.
Later, leveraging the doodles of its genius president's son, they rolled out beloved manga franchises like Naruto, Slam Dunk, Hunter x Hunter, Rurouni Kenshin, Prince of Tennis, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Spirit Detective—all hallmark series.
These titles swept through the nation's secondary dimension scene, with the magazine's robust cash flow supporting Ichinose Animation Production.
Using its parent company's formidable properties and financial resources, a wave of high-quality animations further solidified their market position.
Thus, the Ichinose family ascended to the ranks of major conglomerates.
Thanks to the old man's attachment to his roots, even though Ichinose Group operates primarily from Tokyo, their headquarters remains in Miyagi Prefecture, a place that has nurtured the family for three generations.
For a prodigy like Ichinose Kenji, known for his strong-willed nature, the family mainly provides financial backing without much interference in his pursuits.
That's why Ichinose Kenji continues his studies in Miyagi Prefecture.