Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 345: A Free Lesson for You
"Fūto, didn't I tell you not to talk to Taichi before the match?"
After settling down Bokuto Kōtarō, Akaashi Keiji spotted Sarukui Fūto chatting with Kaedehara Taichi and quickly jogged over.
"Sorry, Akaashi-senpai," Sarukui Fūto said obediently, his usual arrogance nowhere to be seen. "But I wanted to see for myself what kind of player could defeat both Bokuto-senpai and my brother."
"Taichi, this is Yamato-senpai's younger brother—Fukurodani's first-year ace."
"We already introduced ourselves," Kaedehara Taichi said with a grin. "He's got quite the energy."
Akaashi Keiji's expression remained unreadable, but Taichi could still sense the faint amusement in his eyes—along with a subtle, unspoken pride.
First-year ace, huh…
That title felt all too familiar.
It had only been a little over a month since this year's first-years entered high school. Around this time last year, Taichi himself hadn't even been recognised by his team yet.
"You two didn't say anything weird to each other, did you?" Akaashi asked, narrowing his eyes at Taichi.
"No, no, of course not," Taichi waved his hands dismissively. "He's the one who approached me first."
Akaashi gave him a sceptical look before turning to Sarukui Fūto. After seeing the first-year nod in confirmation, he finally relented.
"Let's focus on warming up. You can talk after the match."
With that, Akaashi pulled Sarukui Fūto away.
"Jeez, Akaashi-senpai acts like a mother hen playing tag with her chicks," Taichi muttered under his breath. "But aren't they supposed to be owls?"
"He's probably just worried you'll corrupt their first-years," Yahaba Shigeru commented from behind him.
"Hah? Corrupt? How does that word even relate to me?!" Taichi protested indignantly. "Besides, I'm way more polite than that kid! He didn't even call me 'senpai'!"
"Your so-called 'politeness' is pretty much all you've got left," Kyōtani Kentarō snorted.
"Mad Dog-senpai!"
Kyōtani shot him a look of pure disdain. "And even then, you don't have much of it."
"Alright, enough nonsense. Get warmed up already," Yahaba interrupted. "The Fukurodani players look serious about this match."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
During warm-ups, Kaedehara Taichi took the time to carefully observe Fukurodani's lineup.
Third-years: Setter Akaashi Keiji.
Second-years: Middle Blocker Onaga Wataru, Outside Hitter Naganohara Yukawa, Outside Hitter Nakamura Tomohisa.
First-years: Outside Hitter Sarukui Fūto, Middle Blocker Takeshima Kanjitsu, Libero Fujimiya Yoshihiro.
Despite having two second-year outside hitters, Fukurodani's designated ace was still Sarukui Fūto. The Aoba Johsai players exchanged glances before shifting their focus to Kaedehara Taichi.
They knew better than anyone just how terrifying a first-year ace could be.
Thirty minutes passed, and the warm-ups came to an end.
"Let's have a good match!"
On the third day of Golden Week, Aoba Johsai faced off against Fukurodani. The match began.
Starting Lineups
Aoba Johsai:
Front row—Outside Hitter Kaedehara Taichi, Middle Blocker Yūki Yōji, Setter Yahaba Shigeru.
Back row—Outside Hitter Kunimi Akira, Middle Blocker Kindaichi Yūtarō (Libero: Nakamori Daiki) and Outside Hitter Kyōtani Kentarō.
Fukurodani:
Front row—Outside Hitter Sarukui Fūto, Setter Akaashi Keiji, Middle Blocker Onaga Wataru.
Back row—Middle Blocker Takeshima Kanjitsu (Libero: Fujimiya Yoshiro), Outside Hitter Nakamura Tomohisa and Outside Hitter Naganohara Yukawa.
Fukurodani had the first serve, with Naganohara Yukawa stepping up to the service line.
Bang!
The first play of the game began with Naganohara's jump float serve.
"Another jump float," Nakamori Daiki noted as he moved into position. "Perfect."
Smack!
Nakamori Daiki received the ball cleanly, sending a precise pass to the setter.
Kaedehara Taichi had already appeared in front of the net, seamlessly transitioning into a quick attack!
Boom!—
Smack!
"???"
Taichi's eyes widened slightly as he saw the triumphant smirk on Sarukui Fūto's face.
"One touch!" Sarukui called out as he deflected the ball back toward his teammates.
The Aoba Johsai players all stared in shock.
"Taichi's quick attack got blocked?!"
Fukurodani's libero, Fujimiya Yoshihiro, swiftly received the ball, sending a perfect pass to Akaashi.
Akaashi set the ball to the right side.
Boom!
A high-reach spike!
Onaga Wataru bypassed Yahaba Shūhei's block, scoring cleanly.
[Aoba Johsai 0 – 1 Fukurodani]
"Ooohhh!"
"Nice spike, Onaga! You've really grown into a fantastic middle blocker!"
From the sidelines, Bokuto Kōtarō couldn't contain his excitement, radiating enthusiasm as he cheered for his teammate.
[Onaga Wataru—Middle Blocker: Overall Rating: 85.6; Height: 193 cm, Strength: 88, Jump: 78, Stamina: 90, Speed: 85; Key Attributes: Block: 85, Spike: 88.]
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
With his stats and height, Onaga Wataru was indeed a powerful weapon. Kaedehara Taichi silently acknowledged this. However, this lost point was his fault. He had jumped slightly ahead of Sarukui Fūto, yet the first-year's explosiveness had allowed him to barely touch the ball.
"Sorry about that. I'll take the next point back," Taichi said nonchalantly.
"Hmph, you can act calm for now," Fūto scoffed. "But the real surprises are just getting started!"
"Oh?" Taichi narrowed his eyes.
"Well, with that level of skill, it's no wonder he talks big." Taichi thought to himself. "I might as well give him a free lesson sooner rather than later."
Fukurōdani continued serving.
Naganohara Yukawa stepped up for his second serve.
Bang!—
The ball wobbled slightly more than before—seems like his first serve had been more of a test.
Smack!
Nakamori Daiki received it effortlessly. The libero had been focusing on jump float serves during training these past few days, and it was clearly paying off.
"I got this!"
Kaedehara Taichi leapt from the left wing.
"Three-man block!"
Sarukui Fūto, Akaashi Keiji, and Onaga Wataru jumped together.
Boom!—
The ball slipped past Fūto's left side.
"Damn it, I was a step too slow!" Fūto cursed as his arm swiped at empty air.
But—
Libero Fujimiya Yoshio was already in position along the sideline.
Fukurōdani was way too familiar with Kaedehara Taichi!
Akaashi Keiji had rewatched every single one of Taichi's Spring Nationals performances multiple times. Then, he had broken down the information and drilled it into his teammates.
Smack!
He got the dig! But the ball veered out of bounds.
Akaashi immediately sprinted toward the sideline.
If they wanted to defeat Aoba Johsai—if they wanted to defeat Kaedehara Taichi—then every ball had to be saved at all costs!
Whoosh!—
A back-set from outside the court!
"Beautiful set!!!" Bokuto Kōtarō practically jumped out of his seat on the sidelines. "That's my setter for you!"
Akaashi smirked at Bokuto's words before turning his gaze to the left wing—toward Sarukui Fūto.
Show Aoba Johsai who you are.
BAM!
Sarukui Fūto exploded into the air.
Fukurōdani had turned what should have been a defensive play into a surprise quick attack!
Boom!—
Fūto's right hand slammed the ball down. He was confident—there was no way anyone could keep up with his speed!
—SMACK!
"?!?!"
A pair of strong hands met the ball mid-flight.
Time seemed to slow for Sarukui Fūto. He could clearly see his spike stopped dead in its tracks by those hands, unable to move forward even an inch.
BOOM!
The ball was sent crashing back onto Fukurōdani's side with even more force.
Aoba Johsai scores with a block!
[Aoba Johsai 1 – 1 Fukurōdani]
"What…?!"
Sarukui Fūto wasn't the only one stunned. Even Yūki Yōji, standing beside Kaedehara Taichi, was just as shocked.
Last year, they had struggled the entire second set before finally managing to block Fūto just once.
"You look surprised, kid." Taichi casually shook out his hand.
"This was the 'big surprise' you wanted to show me?"
"Not much of a shocker, really."
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