Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty

After the timeout, Sanada Shunpei's rhythm was slightly disrupted. His serve was just a bit more centred than before, allowing Itachiyama's back-row player, Nishimura Hiroyuki, to receive it cleanly.

"The difficulty in receiving Inubushi Higashi's No. 4's serves comes from his precise placement rather than sheer power," Coach Yamazaki explained. "That's why I need you all to increase your reaction speed on serve receive. As long as you can get the ball up, leave the rest to Iizuna and Komori. Can you do that?"

"Yes!" the team responded in unison.

"Aww, I wanted to try receiving that kind of serve too, but he's not serving in my direction at all," Komori Motoya said with feigned disappointment.

The ball was set high towards the right-wing attack zone. Sakusa Kiyoomi leaped for the spike.

"Not happening!"

A wall rose before him.

Sakusa's motion faltered for a fraction of a second. His clear line of sight was suddenly blocked by a pair of muscular arms, forming a solid barrier in front of him.

The shadow cast over his face carried an unspoken sense of oppression.

"This guy's blocking presence is seriously terrifying," Kaedehara Taichi remarked, eyes locked onto Inubushi Higashi's towering middle blocker with interest.

[Akiha Kazuma—Middle Blocker: Overall Rating: 87 Height: 195 cm, Power: 95, Jump: 80, Stamina: 86; Speed: 85; Key Traits: Block: 92, Spike: 85.]

"But against Sakusa Kiyoomi…raw strength and height won't be enough."

Mid-air, Sakusa's right arm suddenly snapped forward. His wrist twisted into an unnatural angle.

Bang!—

The ball easily bypassed the block and dropped into Inubushi Higashi's backcourt.

"I got it!"

First-year libero Moriyama Makoto sprinted into position with a quick shuffle step.

No matter how confident they were, Inubushi Higashi wouldn't assume a single player could block one of the top three aces in the country.

Smack!

The ball struck Moriyama's arm, but before he could even celebrate, it spun sharply and ricocheted out of bounds.

Sakusa Kiyoomi had scored.

[Itachiyama 2 – 4 Inubushi Higashi]

"Sorry!" Moriyama called out loudly.

"So this is Sakusa's spin…" His arms still tingled from the impact. He had never received a spike this difficult to control.

"Don't worry about it. Next one!" Mukai Taiyō reassured him.

"Whoa, that libero is really fast!" Kindaichi Yūtarō exclaimed.

"Yeah. I'd say he could probably receive all of your spikes," Taichi added, deliberately provoking him.

"Huh?" Kindaichi's face twisted in distress. "Every first-year who makes it to Nationals is insane…"

"Kindaichi, are you praising yourself right now? That's not very humble~" Oikawa Tōru teased with a grin.

"N-No! That's not what I meant!" Kindaichi waved his hands frantically. "I was talking about the other teams!"

"Oh, I get it." Taichi nodded thoughtfully. "Kunimi, Kindaichi says you're not impressive enough."

"Wait, wait! That's not what I said! Kunimi and Taichi are both amazing!"

Kunimi Akira sighed and grabbed Kindaichi's arm, stopping his panicked flailing. "You two, stop messing with him already."

"Hehe~" The two Aoba Johsai troublemakers exchanged mischievous smiles.

[Moriyama Makoto—Libero: Overall Rating: 86.2 Height: 165 cm, Power: 80, Jump: 85, Stamina: 86; Speed: 92; Key Traits: Recieve: 88.]

"His speed is no joke. With more experience at Nationals, he could develop into a terrifying libero next year."

-----

With Sanada Shunpei rotating to the back row, Inubushi Higashi's offensive power visibly dropped.

Sanada's back-row attacks were gradually shut down by Itachiyama's blocking, and his spikes were being picked up by Komori Motoya. Meanwhile, Inubushi Higashi was adjusting to Sakusa Kiyoomi's spikes.

The score continued to climb in alternating increments.

Then—Sakusa stepped up to the service line for the second time.

[Itachiyama 16 – 16 Inubushi Higashi]

Sakusa Kiyoomi tossed the ball high into the air.

His approach wasn't particularly fast, nor was his jump particularly explosive. Until the moment he made contact, his serve seemed entirely unremarkable.

But every motion was seamless and natural.

Every action was executed with pinpoint precision, without any unnecessary movement—each detail refined and perfected through countless repetitions.

Bang!—

With a crisp, clean strike, the ball traced a flawless arc through the air, cutting toward Mukai Taiyō's flank at a sharp angle.

The serve was not only fast but also eerily precise. Mukai barely managed to turn his body and lower his stance to receive it.

Smack!

The ball deflected out of bounds without suspense.

Sakusa Kiyoomi had scored an ace.

[Itachiyama 17 – 16 Inubushi Higashi]

The team had already been struggling to adapt to the spin on his serves. Now, with his pinpoint control sharpening further…

Sakusa's serves were reaching a whole new level.

"I don't like taking unnecessary risks. There's no need for me to gamble right now."

Sakusa's expression remained dark, as if he had just lost a point rather than scored one.

Bang!—

His second serve was unleashed.

Sanada Shunpei had already moved to the back row, but all that did was slightly expand Inubushi Higashi's defensive coverage.

Smack!

The ball struck Kumadō Sōichi's arms and shot out of bounds.

Another ace for Sakusa Kiyoomi.

[Itachiyama 18 – 16 Inubushi Higashi]

This wasn't a matter of whether they could receive his serve.

It was a matter of whether they could even get the ball up at all.

Just when Inubushi Higashi thought they were beginning to adjust to the spin, they realized that once the serve trajectory became more unpredictable, the rotation itself became even harder to control.

The Aoba Johsai players in the audience watched in silence, their expressions heavy.

Seeing Sakusa's serves firsthand only made it more daunting.

This kind of rotation wasn't something you could adapt to just by observing. You had to be on the court, experiencing it firsthand.

The key to the match was simple:

How long would it take for Inubushi Higashi (and, by extension, Aoba Johsai) to fully adjust to Sakusa Kiyoomi's attack?

"Let's focus on keeping the ball alive first. We can't afford to lose any more points," Mukai Taiyō called out, stepping back to the baseline. The entire team braced for reception.

Sakusa Kiyoomi launched his third serve.

Bang!—

As soon as Uchihigashi Toru made contact with the ball, he did everything he could to send it high into the air.

Smack!

But the ball flew at a steep 45-degree angle toward the sideline. Mukai Taiyō sprinted after it.

A simple overhand pass back wouldn't be enough.

Right now, Inubushi Higashi wasn't confident they could stop Itachiyama's next attack.

They had to score.

Mukai caught up to the ball and dropped his stance low.

He wasn't a flashy, genius setter.

But he was the setter who fit his ace the best.

"Shunpei!!!"

Mukai's set was slow. The ball sailed high and dropped toward the net.

But Sanada Shunpei didn't need speed.

He only needed precision.

And this ball gave him exactly that.

Sanada took his approach and jumped.

Itachiyama's front-row players were already moving.

"Triple block!"

Mizushima Yū, Nishimura Hiroyuki, and Takeshita Yūshin formed a solid wall in front of him.

But—

Sanada didn't swing immediately.

Both sides were already descending in mid-air.

Boom!—

The moment Itachiyama's blockers adjusted their hand positioning, Sanada found the gap between Mizushima and Nishimura—

—and drove the ball straight through.

Komori Motoya had not expected the ball to come from that angle.

The ball slammed into the floor.

Sanada Shunpei had scored.

[Itachiyama 18 – 17 Inubushi Higashi]

Inubushi Higashi had finally survived Sakusa Kiyoomi's service rotation.

And they had kept the score within reach.

"That's more like it."

Across the net, Sakusa and Sanada locked eyes.

"If you weren't playing at this level, I wouldn't understand how Inubushi Higashi even made it this far."

_________

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