Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 384: Try and Block Me!
"A-Akiha-senpai, are you alright…?" Moriyama Makoto asked hesitantly.
"Hmph, I already told you I did that on purpose! Why wouldn't I be fine?" Akiha Kazuma insisted stubbornly. "That guy's serve was soft and fluffy—it didn't even hurt."
"Th-That's good to hear…" Moriyama mumbled awkwardly.
Even though Akiha-senpai's entire face was bright red, at least he wasn't bleeding—so he should be okay, right?
Maybe Akiha-senpai had trained the muscles in his face, too. Moriyama found himself thinking that was totally possible.
"Ahaha…Akiha manages to stop Kaedehara Taichi's serve in a very unique way!"
"This time, Inubishi Higashi held off Kaedehara Taichi's service round with just one ball!"
Service rotation. Inubishi Higashi to serve.
Sanada Shunpei rotated to the front row, and to Terashima's surprise, the court now showed exactly the setup he had been hoping for.
"This set, Inubishi Higashi has to take the lead!"
Shimura Ryo went for a simple jump serve, but the angle was sharp, targeting Tōma Kaoru—the other first-year setter.
"If you're looking for an easy target, you picked the wrong guy," Kaedehara Taichi said calmly, already running to the front row.
Smack!
Tōma smoothly received the ball, delivering a perfect first touch.
"He's in the front row—he can't spike," Akiha muttered, keeping his eyes on Kaedehara. "A backset?"
Whoosh—!
The ball flew smoothly to the left wing. Kunimi Akira leapt for the spike.
Inubishi Higashi's front row breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe Kaedehara was conserving stamina—he hadn't gone for a back-row attack and had instead set the ball for that guy who always tried to outsmart others—
"Three-man block!" Akiha, Naitō, and Sanada jumped up together.
Whoosh!
Kunimi's arm swung through empty air.
"It's not him?!"
BOOM!
The ball shot further left—Kyōtani Kentarō smashed it down for the kill.
[Aoba Johsai 1 - 1 Inubishi Higashi]
"Ohh, what a beautiful set from me!" Taichi said smugly. "Right, Tōma?"
"Yes! Taichi-senpai, that was amazing!" Tōma said sincerely. Even by a setter's standards, that set had been top class.
"Mmhmm, your first touch was excellent too," Taichi replied, beaming as they exchanged compliments.
"Thank you, Taichi-senpai!"
Aoba Johsai reclaimed the serve. Yūki Yōji stepped up with a powerful jump serve.
BOOM!—
Smack!
Shimura Ryo dropped to the floor—his reception flew out of bounds.
Yūki Yōji scored an ace.
[Aoba Johsai 2 - 1 Inubishi Higashi]
"Whoa! That was a savage jump serve!"
"Even though Shimura had read the trajectory, he couldn't withstand the sheer force!"
"Nice serve, Yūki!"
"Let's go, Yūki—give us another one!"
"Tweet!—"
The whistle blew. Yūki tossed the ball high, took a running start, jumped, and struck the ball.
BOOM!
"Kōichi!"
Kumadō Sōichi took one step sideways, then stopped cold.
Thud!
The ball hit the floor.
"OUT!"
Yūki Yōji's serve went out of bounds. Inubishi Higashi scored.
[Aoba Johsai 2 - 2 Inubishi Higashi]
"Great judgment!"
"Kumadō shows his veteran poise—he wasn't fooled by the speed of the ball!"
"Inubishi Higashi is staying remarkably calm under pressure!"
Service rotation. Akiha Kazuma stepped up to serve, and Kai Suzuharu rotated to the front row.
"Trying to overpower us with brute force?"
Akiha held the ball in one hand, the muscles in his arm bulging. Under the gym lights, the contours of his physique were clear—anyone watching could tell the terrifying explosive power behind it.
"Tweet!—"
As the whistle sounded, Akiha tossed the ball high. Each step of his run-up carried an imposing weight.
THUD!
Akiha Kazuma leapt—and the ground seemed to shake.
In Inubishi Higashi's front row, Naitō Tetsut clutched the back of his head in worry. "Please make it over…"
BOOM!!!
The ball blasted forward like a cannonball.
Smack!!
Nakamori Daiki bravely received it, tumbling backwards in two complete rolls.
"That was insane!"
A tingling numbness spread through Nakamori's arms.
Even so, the ball soared right back into Inubishi Higashi's court.
"Chance ball!" Kumadō Sōichi stepped in and made a clean first touch.
Without hesitation, Shimura Ryo sent the ball skyward, straight to the middle.
Inubishi Higashi had its own unstoppable ace!
Thud!
Sanada Shunpei leapt from the middle for a powerful spike.
"Triple block!" Kindaichi Yūtarō, Kyōtani Kentarō, and Kunimi Akira jumped up in unison.
"Daiki!" Kaedehara Taichi shouted.
"I'm good," Nakamori replied, scrambling up and moving forward.
Bang!—
Sanada's spike cut past the left side of Kunimi's hand, slicing toward the back corner of Aoba Johsai's court!
"Too far forward!" Nakamori hadn't expected Sanada to spike at such a sharp angle against a triple block. "Damn, how confident is he in his ball control?!"
Smack!
Sanada's pupils shrank. "When did he—?"
Kaedehara Taichi had launched himself toward the left side and dove forward, saving the ball with a textbook diving receive!
However, Aoba Johsai's formation was now a mess. Taichi had taken the first touch, their setter was still on the right side, and the only one likely to launch the next attack—
Would be that brutal buzzcut guy!
They could definitely stop this one!
"Once more!" Sanada shouted to his teammates.
"Kunimi! Left!"
A calm, commanding voice echoed from Aoba Johsai's back row—it left no room for question. Kaedehara Taichi had already sprung up fluidly from the floor, as if he'd never hit the ground.
"What a troublesome guy," Kunimi muttered as he moved into position. He shot a quick glance at Kai Suzuharu. "Guess he's got his sights set on that kid."
"Poor guy."
Whoosh—!
The ball soared high and clean toward the left wing.
They didn't even need Kai to call it—everyone on Inubishi Higashi knew who this ball was meant for.
THUD!
After a running start from the endline, Kaedehara Taichi leapt just behind the three-meter line.
"Triple block!" Naitō Tetsuto, Sanada Shunpei, and Kai Suzuharu all jumped.
There's no way he's getting through this!
BOOM!!!
SMACK!
"Touch—!"
Kai barely had time to process the sensation in his palm before his balance was thrown off mid-air.
THUD!
He landed hard, dropping onto the floor, scrambling to look behind him—
Where was the ball?
"Tweet!—"
The referee's whistle blew.
Off the block and out of bounds.
Kaedehara Taichi had scored.
[Aoba Johsai 3 - 2 Inubishi Higashi]
That was when Kai finally noticed the commotion coming from the second-floor bleachers.
"Wait…is that spectator holding the same volleyball we just used?" Something felt off.
It was strange. Too strange.
They were all just high schoolers…
"Kai Suzuharu, was it? I didn't expect Inubishi Higashi to have such a good first-year middle blocker."
Kaedehara Taichi approached him with a warm, friendly smile.
"Try and block me."
_________
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