Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty

Boom!

Kindaichi Yūtarō's serve was particularly fierce this time, but Komori Motoya still received it cleanly!

Iizuna Tsukasa quickly moved into position and set the ball to the left wing. Sakusa Kiyoomi faced a triple block and scored off the blockers' hands.

[Aoba Johsai 19 – 16 Itachiyama]

"Damn it!" Kindaichi Yūtarō shouted in frustration.

Even with all his strength, his serve posed no threat to the top high school libero.

"Kindaichi!" Iwaizumi Hajime called out.

"Sorry, Iwaizumi-senpai!"

"That was a good serve, but next year, you need to get even stronger," Iwaizumi said with a grin.

The entire Aoba Johsai team recognized Kindaichi's efforts.

Among the nation's first-year players, Kindaichi Yūtarō was already one of the best. However, having teammates like Kaedehara Taichi and Kunimi Akira—both absurdly talented—made him constantly aware of his shortcomings.

For someone like Kindaichi, Aoba Johsai's upperclassmen mostly offered encouragement. Compared to his two eccentric teammates, Kindaichi's honest and straightforward personality made him the most well-liked first-year among the seniors.

"Yes!" Kindaichi answered firmly. He believed that as long as he continued improving, next year, he would become one of Aoba Johsai's pillars.

With the serve switching sides, Itachiyama took the opportunity to counterattack.

Iizuna's serves signaled the start of Itachiyama's offensive push. Although he didn't score directly, his team quickly shifted into aggressive mode.

Now, Sakusa Kiyoomi stepped onto the service line.

"Sakusa! Get three points in a row and tie the score!"

"Sakusa! Take five and turn it around in one go!"

"Be more realistic," Sakusa muttered, his brows furrowing. "With that kind of mindset, there's no way we're scoring against Aoba Johsai…"

He tossed the ball up and, with an effortless approach, struck it.

Boom!—

Even without factoring in the ball's spin, Sakusa's serve trajectory was already incredibly sharp.

The ball arced through the air, dropping between Iwaizumi Hajime and Watari Shinji.

"I got it!" Iwaizumi stepped forward. Given the serve's trajectory, he was in the best position to receive it.

Smack!

Thanks to his experience handling Bokuto Kōtarō's serves, Iwaizumi accurately tracked the ball's path.

Compared to Bokuto's serve, Sakusa's didn't have as much of a visible curve. However, the moment it touched his arms, Iwaizumi realized—

—He miscalculated.

Smack!

The ball deflected off Iwaizumi's forearms, ricocheted off his shoulder, and flew out of bounds.

Sakusa Kiyoomi scored an ace.

[Aoba Johsai 19 – 17 Itachiyama]

"Sakusa! Sakusa! That was amazing!"

"Sakusa! Sakusa! Your technique is insane!"

Sakusa listened to the cheers without any visible reaction, as if they had nothing to do with him.

"It's just one point. Anyone could manage that," he thought, feeling a bit fatigued. "But I can't let them adjust too quickly…"

Bang!—

Sakusa launched his second serve.

A jump float! This was something Aoba Johsai hadn't prepared for at all!

And his control—!

The ball wobbled unpredictably midair. Even after clearing the net, it showed no signs of dropping—

—but no one on Aoba Johsai assumed it was going out.

Iwaizumi quickly retreated, eyes locked onto the ball.

Sure enough, just as the ball reached the backline, it suddenly lost speed and plummeted.

Iwaizumi brought his arms together, rushing forward to receive it.

!!!

The ball shifted left mid-fall, slipping past his hands and landing untouched.

T-tap…tap…

A no-touch ace! The ball landed cleanly inside Aoba Johsai's court.

Sakusa Kiyoomi scored another ace!

[Aoba Johsai 19 – 18 Itachiyama]

"Another direct point! That's two in a row!!!"

"Itachiyama is only one point behind Aoba Johsai!!!"

"It's not surprising that Sakusa knows how to serve a jump float, but they probably weren't expecting it to be just as lethal as his topspin serve," Komori Motoya said, laughing cheerfully. "Most of the time, his spin serve is enough to handle any situation, and since he doesn't like showing off, he rarely uses his float serve in matches."

"But what's really surprising is that despite rarely using this technique, Sakusa still practices it daily, never slacking off."

"If you only start training for something when you realize you need it, isn't that already too late?" Sakusa had answered nonchalantly when Komori once asked him about it.

Sakusa stepped onto the service line again.

This match had been defined by serves creating gaps between the teams—now, he was going to erase that gap.

Aoba Johsai adjusted their formation, with Kaedehara Taichi retreating to the back row for the first time to receive.

"The strategy for handling Sakusa Kiyoomi's serves remains the same—step one, face the ball head-on!"

Sakusa served his third ball.

It landed in the front row!

But Kunimi Akira and Kaedehara Taichi had already anticipated this! The two of them moved in unison toward the right side of the front row.

Smack!—

—Smack!

The ball slipped past Kunimi's hands, but Kaedehara Taichi managed to save it.

Boom!

Iwaizumi Hajime launched a back-row attack.

Even under pressure, they still managed to force a fastball!

Smack!

Komori barely dug the ball up.

Iizuna quickly positioned himself and set it to the left wing—Sakusa Kiyoomi leapt from the back row.

"Triple block!"

Matsukawa Issei, Kunimi Akira, and Kaedehara Taichi formed a wall in front of him.

The sudden appearance of a third blocker completely enveloped Sakusa.

No escape!

After a brief moment of calculation, Sakusa altered his shot, aiming it upward at Matsukawa's hands.

A rebound shot!

No—he had applied extra spin, causing the ball to deflect unpredictably and land out of bounds when it returned to Itachiyama's side.

A block-out!

"Damn, we finally dug that up…" Kaedehara Taichi muttered, eyes flashing with regret.

Suddenly, a figure slipped under the net and sprinted toward Itachiyama's side.

"Taichi!!!"

The ball hadn't hit the ground yet!

Oikawa Tōru, standing outside Itachiyama's left sideline, sent the ball soaring back over the net to Aoba Johsai's side.

"That's even possible?!" Gasps echoed from the audience.

"As expected of Oikawa-senpai!"

Kaedehara Taichi quickly transitioned into his approach and leapt.

Bam!

"Triple block!!!"

Mizushima Yū, Nishimura Hiroyuki, and Takeshita Yūshin leapt in front of him.

—No way they were letting this one through!

Bang!

Smack!

The ball rebounded off Mizushima's hands and back to Aoba Johsai's side.

This time, it really was a rebound shot!

Oikawa had just barely made it back to their court from Itachiyama's side.

"Chance ball!" Watari Shinji set it to Kunimi Akira.

Kaedehara Taichi sprinted along the right sideline.

Boom!

"Huh?!"

Itachiyama's three blockers still had their eyes locked onto Kaedehara Taichi.

Kunimi Akira scored with a surprise second attack.

[Aoba Johsai 20 – 18 Itachiyama]

Kaedehara Taichi wouldn't provoke his opponents for no reason—unless, of course, he wanted to provoke them.

The serve rotated back to Aoba Johsai, and Kaedehara Taichi stepped onto the service line.

"Why is it that guy serving again?!"

Although Kaedehara Taichi had only scored one direct point in the previous rotation, he had already left a deep impression on Itachiyama's players.

"Damn it, we haven't even caught up yet!"

"Why is Aoba Johsai so hard to deal with? I've never even heard of this school before…"

"Where are they from? And what's with that ridiculously arrogant banner?!"

Itachiyama's students murmured in disbelief. As the top representatives of Tokyo, they weren't used to being suppressed in the finals—especially not by an unknown school.

Meanwhile, Kaedehara Taichi fixed his gaze firmly on Nishimura Hiroyuki—the same opponent he had just provoked.

"Don't disappoint me."

He tossed the ball into the air.

Bang!—

A left-handed jump float!

The ball flew toward Itachiyama's front row, landing between Nishimura Hiroyuki and Takeshita Yūshin—just slightly closer to Takeshita.

"I got it!"

A blatant challenge. Nishimura Hiroyuki stepped forward without hesitation, determined to meet it head-on. He positioned himself beneath the ball and braced himself before setting his hands—

…???

The ball veered right again, ending up within Takeshita Yūshin's reach. But Nishimura had already committed to his reception—he wasn't in a position to react a second time.

Takeshita shifted left to cover—

Smack!

The two players collided.

The ball dropped to the floor.

Kaedehara Taichi scored an ace.

[Aoba Johsai 21 – 18 Itachiyama]

"Nishimura!"

"Sorry!"

At the sharp reprimand from their captain, Nishimura Hiroyuki snapped to attention. He had only intended to receive the ball—so how had things turned out like this?

"Because the serve was aimed at me…" Takeshita Yūshin chuckled wryly. He hadn't read it properly either.

"Are you okay, Takeshita-senpai?" Nishimura, who had just knocked his own teammate to the ground, suddenly felt uneasy.

"I'm fine." Takeshita grasped Nishimura's hand and pulled himself up. "Nishimura, calm down."

"Yes! I won't fall for those little tricks again!"

"That's what I was about to say," Takeshita sighed. "The real problem wasn't his mind games—it was Kaedehara Taichi's ball control. Stop getting distracted by the small stuff."

Nishimura's eyes sharpened. "Understood!!"

Kaedehara Taichi returned to the service line.

Originally, he had just wanted to shake them up a little. He hadn't expected them to fumble the reception so badly.

Fortunately, Itachiyama's infamous "Spring High injury curse" hadn't kicked in. Beating them at their full strength was far more satisfying.

BOOM!!!

The second serve came much faster.

A right-handed power jump serve!

SMACK!

Sakusa Kiyoomi barely managed to receive it, his entire frame wobbling from the impact.

Iizuna Tsukasa covered, setting the ball high to the left side. Mizushima Yū jumped for the spike.

Smack!

Iwaizumi Hajime dug the ball out.

Oikawa Tōru sent a smooth, high set to the right side.

Kaedehara Taichi soared.

"Triple block!!"

Itachiyama's front-row trio rose to meet him.

BOOM!!!

Kaedehara Taichi delivered on his promise.

The ball smashed straight through Nishimura Hiroyuki's block and slammed into Itachiyama's court.

[Aoba Johsai 22 – 18 Itachiyama]

"I didn't lie, Nishimura-senpai," Kaedehara Taichi said calmly.

Nishimura shut his eyes. I'm not listening. I'm not listening.

Kaedehara Taichi: "…"

———

Itachiyama launched a full-team assault. Mizushima Yū spiked from the left and finally broke through.

[Aoba Johsai 22 – 19 Itachiyama]

Kaedehara Taichi fired a left-handed cannonball straight at Mizushima, now in the back row. The ball deflected off his arm and flew out.

[Aoba Johsai 23 – 19 Itachiyama]

Sakusa Kiyoomi executed a sharp back-row drop shot.

[Aoba Johsai 23 – 20 Itachiyama]

———

BOOM!!

"Another powerful hit! Even attacking from the back row, Kaedehara Taichi's spikes are absolutely brutal!"

"The ball is flying high—!"

Mizushima Yū sprinted after it but failed to make the save.

"Damn it—!" Mizushima gritted his teeth as he watched the ball land. "Is this guy really a first-year?!"

Kaedehara Taichi's strength had completely exceeded expectations. Itachiyama's scouting reports had described him as a versatile

[Aoba Johsai 24 – 20 Itachiyama]

Aoba Johsai reached 24 points. With four set points in hand!

The serve rotated. Aoba Johsai to serve.

Kunimi Akira took a deep breath and sent a jump float over the net.

The ball dropped between Nishimura Yūshin and Takeshita Hironobu.

"I got it!" Takeshita received the ball high.

Komori Motoya stepped in, setting a pinpoint pass to the right side.

Sakano Sawaji initiated a quick attack—Matsukawa Issei closed in.

Bang!

The ball skimmed past the block, flying down the right sideline.

Smack!

Kaedehara Taichi dug it up perfectly.

Oikawa Tōru leaped, ready to set—

"Watch out—!" Iizuna Tsukasa shouted.

Oikawa feinted a set but instead spiked the ball over.

Smack!

Sakusa barely managed to dig it up.

"Nice one, Sakusa!"

Iizuna jumped for the set—Itachiyama launched a synchronized attack!

Bam!

Using multiple attackers to spread the blockers, the real spike came from Sakusa Kiyoomi, bursting in from the back row.

Oikawa went for a solo block, but Sakusa easily adjusted his wrist to tip the ball away.

TAP!

Smack!

He saved it.

Kaedehara Taichi controlled the dig.

"Kunimi, right wing!"

Sakusa's attack wasn't particularly powerful—Kaedehara stabilized quickly and rushed to the front row.

Kunimi adjusted, sending up a high set.

BAM!

Kaedehara Taichi launched from the back row.

"Triple block!"

Itachiyama's reaction time was getting faster—their hands pressed even tighter together.

Iizuna Tsukasa instinctively stepped forward, wary of a feint or a tool shot.

The cross shot was sealed. But maybe—

Or should he tip it to the baseline? Would Iizuna catch that?

Or just tool the block? If he hit from the right side, the back row wouldn't have time to react.

Kaedehara Taichi suddenly found himself spoiled for choice.

Still, for this first set—he decided to let Sakusa fully experience it.

BANG!!!—

The ball ricocheted off Sakano Sawaji's arms and soared.

"Touch!" Sakano shouted.

Sakusa chased it down—

And froze as the ball landed in the second-floor stands.

Tool shot.

Kaedehara Taichi scored.

[Aoba Johsai 25 – 20 Itachiyama]

"Tweet—!"

A long whistle blew.

Set over.

Winner: Aoba Johsai.

_________

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