Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 201: A Perfectly Calculated Shot
Kiryū Wakatsu: "???"
Wait, wasn't I just expressing admiration for Taichi?
And I even praised his teammate Oikawa Tōru—so why does it seem like Taichi is mad?
Kiryū Wakatsu's fragile heart took a hit. He had thought that after their last match, they had all become friends...
"Don't worry about it, Waka-chan!" As a setter, Oikawa Tōru always made sure to look after his spikers. "Taichi is just being petty—it has nothing to do with you."
"Huh?" Kiryū Wakatsu didn't quite understand what "petty" meant in this context, but he could feel Oikawa's goodwill.
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Right now, the match was more important.
Kaedehara Taichi raised an eyebrow. There was no way he was letting Oikawa's words slide.
Petty? Him? Absolutely—not possible!
"Oikawa-senpai, you finally get to win matches with Ushijima-senpai now. That's great!" Taichi said with a bright, seemingly sincere smile.
Ushijima Wakatoshi nodded silently. If only Oikawa had realized this sooner and come to Shiratorizawa…
"TAICHI!!!" Oikawa yelled.
"Hmph." Kaedehara Taichi smirked triumphantly, turning away from Oikawa. He knew that once they got back, Iwaizumi-senpai would take care of him anyway.
The Youth National Team's serve.
Keisuke Unnan's powerful jump serve might have looked threatening, but to the other side, it was hardly a problem.
Smack!
Komori Motoya received the ball effortlessly, directing it toward the left wing.
Sakusa Kiyoomi leapt into the air, preparing for a spike. Bokuto Kōtarō and Kiryū Wakatsu immediately stepped up to block.
"Will he set it instead?" Washio Tatsuki focused intently on Sakusa's movements.
Boom!
The ball shot past the left side of Bokuto's block, landing perfectly on the backline of the Youth National Team's court.
A razor-sharp line shot!
Middle blocker Keisuke Unnan didn't even have time to react.
Sakusa Kiyoomi scores.
[Reserve Team 2 – 2 Youth National Team]
Chigaya Eikichi rotated into position, feeling dazed.
What's happening?
He hadn't even done anything, and somehow, the score was tied again?
Wait…maybe our Youth Reserve Team isn't so bad after all?
Maybe we're actually going crazy out here with our skills?!!
Kaedehara Taichi stepped up to serve. Instantly, the atmosphere on the opposing side shifted.
Aside from the two Fukurōdani players and Iizuna Tsukasa, everyone else had already experienced Taichi's unpredictable serves firsthand.
Taichi said nothing. He simply raised his index finger and pointed forward.
Right in front of him, standing calmly at the baseline, was Oikawa Tōru.
"Heh, you really picked the wrong target." Oikawa remained unfazed.
Taichi's jump float serves? I'm the one who taught him those.
Not only that, but Oikawa had privately watched countless videos of Taichi's serves.
No one in this gym was more familiar with Kaedehara Taichi's serving than he was.
Taichi tossed the ball into the air.
Boom!
As expected, it was a jump float serve aimed straight ahead.
Oikawa's eyes flickered. He's actually going for it!
The ball dropped sharply after crossing the net—
To the front row.
"Tatsuki!" Oikawa shouted urgently.
Washio Tatsuki hadn't even processed what was happening before the ball was suddenly right in front of his face.
That small, lightweight ball—
Right now, it looked absolutely massive.
Smack!
The ball smashed into Washio's face, bouncing straight out of bounds in front of everyone's stunned gazes.
Service ace—Kaedehara Taichi.
[Reserve Team 3 – 2 Youth National Team]
It was the first service ace of the match, but the scene itself was a little…awkward.
"Huh?" Even Taichi was momentarily taken aback.
Washio Tatsuki had been standing right in front of Oikawa, and Taichi had indeed aimed for him. But he hadn't expected Washio to just...stand there.
"Washio-senpai, I'm sorry!" Since this wasn't an official match, Taichi figured he should at least show some courtesy.
Also…this big owl-looking guy did look kind of intimidating.
Washio Tatsuki instinctively touched his nose. Fortunately, since it was a jump float serve, the impact wasn't too strong, and he wasn't bleeding.
"It's fine."
That's what he said, but deep down, Washio was thinking—
This first-year is seriously sneaky.
He had pointed straight at Oikawa—
Wait.
So…
Did he actually mean to hit me all along?!
So this guy is even more devious than I thought.
Taichi flashed an innocent, harmless smile—so much so that Washio Tatsuki's eyelid twitched again.
This time, Taichi didn't make any strange gestures. He simply tossed the ball up, took a few steps forward, and struck.
Boom!
The speed—much faster than the previous serve!
His target? The far corner, where Iizuna Tsukasa was positioned.
He really knows how to pick the weakest target!
Iizuna knew he was the only one in the back row who had never received one of Taichi's serves before.
Just from his teammates' stances, he could tell this ball wouldn't be easy to handle—so he had instinctively positioned himself at the farthest corner.
This guy…does he have no intention of challenging the stronger players at all?
Smack!
The one who stepped in to receive the serve wasn't Iizuna—it was Ushijima Wakatoshi!
Knowing that Iizuna definitely wouldn't be able to handle a jump serve with leftward spin, Ushijima took on more responsibility.
"Cover it!"
The ball veered to the left. Iizuna took a big step forward and jumped—the ball settled securely in his hands.
"Bokuto!"
The ball was set high to the left wing.
Though Iizuna's setting wasn't as precise as the other elite setters on the court, his passes were highly stable.
And for top-tier wing spikers like Bokuto, that was more than enough.
Boom!
Facing a triple block in the front row, Bokuto Kōtarō executed a super tight net shot.
The ball grazed the sideline and bounced out of bounds.
[Reserve Team 3 – 3 Youth National Team]
"Hey! Hey!! Hey!!!" Bokuto Kōtarō threw both arms up toward the sky, celebrating.
Finally—it was his turn to attack!
And up next—
It was time for Bokuto Kōtarō's serving show!
Boom!
No unnecessary tricks.
Just pure speed and power—combined with precise ball control, the serve shot straight toward Kaedehara Taichi.
Pop!
Taichi barely managed to receive it.
"That was a terrible pass!" Hoshiumi Kōrai rushed in to cover and set the ball.
The hell?! Just getting that ball up is already impressive!
Taichi glanced at the 1.7-meter-tall all-rounder.
The ball arced directly above the net.
Sakusa Kiyoomi took his approach and jumped.
"Triple block!"
Confirming that this would be the third touch, Kiryū Wakatsu, Washio Tatsuki, and Oikawa Tōru all leaped up in front of him.
"Tch—"
All of his attack angles were basically sealed off.
And the defensive formation behind the block looked impenetrable.
Sakusa narrowed his focus and aimed directly at the blockers in front of him—then hammered the ball downward.
Smack!
Washio Tatsuki instinctively tried to retract his hands, but the ball still struck him cleanly.
It dropped straight down.
Pop!
Kiryū Wakatsu landed—and kicked the ball back up.
Ushijima Wakatoshi stepped in from the back row and sent the ball over on a no-approach attack.
"Chance ball!" Komori Motoya called out.
His pass went directly to Miya Atsumu.
Atsumu jumped.
"Set it to me!!!"
From seemingly out of nowhere, Kaedehara Taichi was already airborne at the right wing.
He was forcing the setter's decision.
The players watching from the sideline had no idea what Taichi was about to do.
But those who had faced him before—
They knew exactly what this meant.
Even with Oikawa Tōru nowhere near him—
Taichi still jumped like that.
He didn't even look at Atsumu.
His eyes were locked solely on the opposing defensive setup.
But Atsumu could feel the unspoken words—
You're not about to say you can't do this, right?
Give me the ball.
Set it here.
I'm going to spike it.
—Fwoosh!
The next moment, the ball was in front of Taichi—perfectly placed.
Not a centimetre off.
Boom!
Before the blockers could even react, the ball had already slammed onto the three-meter line.
Kaedehara Taichi—scored with a back-row attack.
[Reserve Team 4 – 3 Youth National Team]
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