Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty

The serve changes hands as Oikawa Tōru steps up to the service line.

Aoba Johsai wasn't particularly surprised by Miya Atsumu's improvements.

It was only natural—when your teammate was Kaedehara Taichi, you'd start to believe that no amount of change was beyond expectation.

"Let's go, Seijoh!"

"Victory! Victory! Victory, Seijoh!"

Oikawa pointed directly at Ojiro Aran and tossed the ball into the air.

Have you ever seen a serve that comes with its own BGM? Last time, Oikawa had wanted to let Miya Atsumu witness it firsthand…

"OHH—HEYYY!"

BANG!

The roaring chant made the Inarizaki players tense up, and the ball shot straight toward Ojiro Aran's face.

"You've got to be kidding me! He's actually aiming at me?!!"

"Weren't we teammates just a few days ago?! And besides, shouldn't he be going after Atsumu instead?!!!"

Countless thoughts flashed through Aran's mind in an instant, but his hands moved automatically to receive the ball.

!!!?!

The volleyball suddenly dove sharply to the right!

What kind of movement is this?!

SMACK!

The ball clipped the right sideline—a line shot!

Oikawa Tōru had scored an ace!

[Aoba Johsai 2 – 1 Inarizaki]

As if to counterbalance Miya Atsumu's powerful jump serves, Oikawa Tōru had chosen to score using Atsumu's own speciality—the jump float serve!

"You're not the only one who's improved~" Oikawa smirked.

"As expected! When talking about Aoba Johsai and Inarizaki, we have to focus on the setters!" The commentator, Otomo, analyzed with composure.

"Two of the best high school setters in the country are fighting for control of the match right from the first few serves!"

"Even from the commentary booth, I can feel the explosive tension on the court!"

Oikawa tossed the ball up again.

"OHH—HEYYY!"

The intense chant once again rattled the Inarizaki players.

BOOM!

This time, it was a powerful jump serve!

POP!

And the target was still Miya Atsumu!

"Damn it!"

The ball struck Atsumu's arm and bounced high into the air.

"Cover it!"

The moment Atsumu called out, Miya Osamu had already sprinted into position beneath the ball.

WHOOSH—

The ball soared to the middle, where Suna Rintarō was already approaching for his attack.

"Double block!"

Kindaichi Yūtarō and Kaedehara Taichi leapt into position in front of him.

Suna found himself tightly locked in by both blockers. The height of their reach and the tension in their arms clearly conveyed a message—spiking in this direction was a guaranteed kill.

"What a hassle…"

Suna adjusted his posture mid-air. His lower body remained stable as his waist twisted sharply to the right.

Smack!

Using the flexibility of his waist, he narrowly avoided the block while applying intense spin to the ball. The volleyball shot straight toward the back row of Aoba Johsai's court.

Pop!

Kunimi Akira received it cleanly, sending the first touch directly to the middle.

Kindaichi Yūtarō jumped up instantly, while Suna was still recovering from his landing.

Bang!

With no blockers in front of him, Kindaichi easily scored the point.

[Aoba Johsai 3 – 1 Inarizaki]

"Suna's spike got shut down so easily?"

"Who is that kid? I don't even remember him at all…"

"He's just a first-year from Seijoh, but I don't think he did anything special last match. Why is he playing like this now?"

Inarizaki's cheering section buzzed with confusion, surprised by Kunimi Akira's defensive play. A seemingly unremarkable player had just successfully dug Suna's spike.

"Nice receive, Kunimi!" Oikawa gave him a thumbs-up.

With Kindaichi and Taichi's double block sealing off Suna's angle, digging that ball hadn't been overly difficult. Aoba Johsai had specifically planned for this in their tactical meeting the night before.

However, what even Oikawa hadn't expected was how Kunimi had set the ball straight to the middle to coordinate a counterattack with Kindaichi.

To be able to do that—besides the fact that they had been teammates for four years, meaning their coordination was on another level—Kunimi's technical ability also couldn't be overlooked.

No wonder, after returning from the Japan Youth Camp, Coach Irihata had laughed and said, "In terms of improvement alone, Kunimi was actually our best performer."

Even Shiratorizawa's legendary Coach Washijō had declared Kunimi the most well-rounded player at the First-Year Training Camp.

"It's nothing special. I just want to finish this match quickly." Kunimi muttered under his breath.

Aoba Johsai continued serving as Oikawa prepared his third attempt.

BOOM!!

Another powerful jump serve—so the first jump float had only been a setup to plant doubt in Inarizaki's mind.

Smack!

Libero Akagi Michinari barely managed to receive it.

It wasn't a clean pass, but this time, Atsumu was free to set up an attack.

He swiftly positioned himself, and the moment his fingers made contact with the ball, it was like watching the result of thousands of training reps in perfect execution.

WHOOSH!—

The ball sailed toward the right wing.

Miya Osamu dashed in and launched into his spike.

"Double block!"

Kaedehara Taichi and Kindaichi Yūtarō were already in front of him.

So fast!

Osamu was stunned for a moment. If it had been only Kindaichi, that would've been expected—but Taichi had been at the centre of the court just a second ago. How did he get here so quickly?!

Bang!

Smack!

As soon as he touched the ball, Kaedehara Taichi called out, "One touch!" and quickly retreated.

Watari Shinji's reception was flawless.

Oikawa Tōru leapt into the air to set, and by the time the ball left his fingertips, Kaedehara Taichi was already sprinting toward the middle and soaring up.

Ridiculous! His speed was undeniably faster than before!

"Double block!" Ginjima Hitoshi and Aran Ojiro jumped to block him in the centre.

Bam!

Instead of Taichi, the ball was sent to the far-left wing.

Iwaizumi Hajime, facing an open net, slammed it down.

Pop!

Miya Atsumu had anticipated the play, but he still couldn't receive it cleanly.

The ball struck his forearm and bounced out of bounds.

[Aoba Johsai 4 – 1 Inarizaki]

-----

"What the hell?! What's going on? Why does it look like Inarizaki is getting completely dominated by Aoba Johsai?" an angry spectator shouted.

"Our attack and defence are both losing out?!" a bewildered fan exclaimed.

"We just need to endure Oikawa Tōru's serves. Right now, his service rotation is disrupting our reception, making it hard to organize our offence," a more composed spectator analyzed.

"Relax! Last time, when we played Aoba Johsai, we started the first set down 0-4, too."

"Oh, really? You should've said that earlier. So we're just giving them a head start!"

"Wait…But didn't we lose that set?"

"Uh…I think we did..."

"Wait a damn minute—!"

-----

On the sidelines, Inarizaki's head coach, Kurosu Norimune, had already made up his mind—if they lost one more point, he would call a timeout.

This Aoba Johsai was on an entirely different level than before. The points they had just scored weren't something that Oikawa and Kaedehara alone could pull off.

From their match footage against Nekoma, Aoba Johsai had still been a team centred around those two. But against Inarizaki…it was like they had transformed.

-----

Oikawa bounced the volleyball in his hands.

Everyone's playing with such intensity…Looks like nobody has let go of that loss to Inarizaki at Nationals.

"Hmm, everyone's holding grudges now, thanks to Taichi," Oikawa muttered to himself with a smirk.

BANG!

Oikawa launched his fourth serve.

"I got it!" Akagi Michinari stepped up and received it head-on. The ball shot high into the air.

"We need to take a point here."

Miya Atsumu moved into position and set the ball, initiating a full-team attack.

Boom!

Aran Ojiro launched a back-row attack, with Kaedehara Taichi leaping up to block.

At the last moment, Aran twisted his wrist, redirecting the ball past the block into a sharp crosscourt shot.

Thud!

The ball barely clipped the sideline before bouncing out.

[Aoba Johsai 4 – 2 Inarizaki]

"Phew—close one!" Aran Ojiro let out a deep breath. That guy's block had actually startled him…No, more importantly—why was he blocking him at all? Atsumu's sets shouldn't be that predictable.

"I guessed~"

Aran froze. Did he just read my mind? No, wait, that's not the point…

Kaedehara Taichi answered the question in his head while keeping his eyes fixed on Miya Atsumu.

"After all, I figured Miya-senpai would think setting to the front row would be too risky." His voice was light, almost teasing.

Atsumu didn't respond.

Ever since their time training together in the Youth National Camp, he had considered Kaedehara Taichi a rival of the same calibre.

During those training sessions, whenever teams were randomly assigned for scrimmages, Taichi had constantly heckled him with sarcastic remarks.

They had all learned back then—engaging in banter with Kaedehara was a mistake. The deeper you got sucked in, the worse it got.

But still—damn, was it infuriating.

-----

With the serve switching over, Inarizaki was up next.

Ginjima Hitoshi launched a powerful jump serve.

Watari Shinji received it effortlessly—perfect pass.

Oikawa set the ball to the right wing.

Kaedehara Taichi sprinted along the sideline before leaping high into the air.

"Triple block!"

Suna Rintarō, Miya Osamu, and Aran Ojiro formed a solid wall in front of him.

This time, they were ready. They wouldn't lose in height to Kaedehara Taichi again. But—@@novelbin@@

Bang!

The ball slipped right through the narrow gap between their hands and the net, slamming into the three-meter line on the left side.

A perfect down-the-line kill.

Kaedehara Taichi was on fire, scoring with another spike!

[Aoba Johsai 5 – 2 Inarizaki]

-----

Ahh, this is so much easier.

Unlike Nekoma, Inarizaki didn't have that relentless defensive playstyle that made every single rally a war of attrition. Every well-struck spike actually resulted in points, giving him instant feedback.

If they were playing against Nekoma, there would probably be a Haiba Lev or a Yamamoto Taketora camping on that crosscourt shot, ready to pick it up.

Kaedehara let out a long sigh.

"Miya-senpai, you guys are way easier to play against than Nekoma…"

_________

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