Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 394: Foxes vs. Iron Wall

[Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, Court B—Inter-High Nationals Quarterfinals]

Inarizaki (Hyōgo) vs. Date Tech (Miyagi)

[Inarizaki 18 – 20 Date Tech]

Smack!

"One touch!" Miya Atsumu shouted toward the back, "Osamu! Chance ball!"

Second-year libero Sakurai Shōta easily received the ball, and Miya Osamu quickly moved into position to set.

Here it comes again!

Unlike how they positioned against Aoba Johsai, the Date Tech blockers didn't huddle close together at the net—they spread out instead.

Inarizaki launched a three-point synchronised attack from the front row!

The kind of precise set that Date Tech's setter Koganegawa Kanji couldn't pull off even if he tried—was nothing for Miya Osamu.

Whoosh—!

The ball flew toward the left wing. Second-year wing spiker Riseki Heisuke leapt up for a spike.

"Double block!" Futakuchi Kenji shifted over from the right, closing in on Aone Takanobu. The two jumped together.

They're so fast. Weren't they only supposed to have one blocker on the left? Riseki thought to himself.

Boom!—

The volleyball landed on Date Tech's right sideline and bounced out.

[Inarizaki 19 – 20 Date Tech]

—"This time, Riseki scores cleanly with a short diagonal spike!"

"Nice hit, Heisuke!"

"Thanks, Osamu-senpai!" Riseki patted his chest. "Even this late in the set, their blocking still gave me a fright."

Inarizaki continued to serve.

Miya Osamu sent off a powerful jump serve, which Sakunami Kōsuke calmly received.

"Koganegawa!"

Koganegawa jumped in the middle to set the ball, and Aone launched into the air for a spike.

"Triple block!" Riseki, middle blocker Nojima Nobunaga, and Miya Atsumu all jumped together.

BOOM!!

A high-contact spike!

The ball slammed into Sakurai Shōta's arm and flew out of bounds.

Point for Aone Takanobu.

[Inarizaki 19 – 21 Date Tech]

"Huh?! Seriously?!" Miya Atsumu groaned in frustration. "How does he even manage a quick attack from that height?!"

"It's infuriating, Atsumu," Miya Osamu agreed, clearly irritated. "All these guys from Miyagi are just plain annoying!"

Serve change—Date Tech now serving.

Kimura Ryōta launched a powerful jump serve that landed between Sakurai Shōta and Ginshima Hitoshi.

"I got it!" Ginshima called out, sliding left.

"—!?"

Smack!

The ball hit the floor—Kimura's serve scored directly.

[Inarizaki 19 – 22 Date Tech]

"Shōta! Didn't we say we're supposed to call out loudly when receiving?!" Ginshima said in a low voice.

Just as he'd moved left to cover the ball, he noticed Sakurai Shōta had also stepped in—then their eyes met, and in that instant of hesitation, the ball dropped.

"S-Sorry, Hitoshi-senpai! I-I did call out…" Sakurai mumbled.

"I can vouch for him," Miya Atsumu turned around. "It's just that Hitoshi's voice was too loud. Couldn't hear a thing."

"Atsumu!" Ginshima glared at him, cutting off his nonsense. "The point is to be loud enough for everyone else to hear, got it?!"

"Y-Yes, sir!" Sakurai replied in a small voice.

Ginshima sighed in resignation.

If Date Tech's serves were already this tricky, then their next opponent—Aoba Johsai—would be straight-up terrifying. As for Date Tech or Ichibayashi making it past this round, Ginshima hadn't even considered it.

No, no. Focus on the match in front of you.

"Hah!" Ginshima exhaled with force.

"Um, Hitoshi-senpai…are you okay?" Sakurai asked nervously.

"Yeah, yeah. He just overthinks things, that's all," Miya Osamu said with a chuckle. "Let's play seriously now."

"Yes, Osamu-senpai!"

Date Tech continued serving. Kimura Ryōta sent off his second serve.

"I got it!" Miya Osamu received it solidly.

Miya Atsumu moved to set and sent it toward the left—Riseki Heisuke jumped for the spike once more.

"Double block!" Koganegawa and Aone jumped together—faster and higher than the last time!

"These guys…!"

Boom!!

Riseki barely managed to avoid the block and got the spike through.

Smack!

Sakunami Kōsuke received the ball cleanly. Futakuchi stepped in to set.

"…Huh?"

Miya Atsumu noticed Futakuchi's eyes and jumped to block in front of him.

Knew it—I can't shake him off.

Whoosh—!

Futakuchi sent the ball left.

Koganegawa and Aone jumped in perfect sync for a double attack.

"Far left!" Miya Atsumu shouted. That path should've been unreachable for a middle blocker!

Swish!

Aone swung—and missed.

"Double block!" Riseki and Nojima leapt up.

BOOM!!!

"Damn it!"

The ball soared over Inarizaki's block—another high-contact spike!

Smack!

Sakurai Shōta barely managed to keep it in play.

—"Osamu!"

—"Atsumu!"

The twins moved instinctively into position.

Whoosh!—

For elite setters, as long as the ball's still in bounds, any first touch is a good one.

The ball flew cleanly to the left-wing zone. Miya Osamu, soaring from the back row, swung his arm down without hesitation.

Boom!!!

This was an Inarizaki speciality—

The ultra-quick attack—Twin's Edition!

Miya Osamu scored the point!

[Inarizaki 20 – 22 Date Tech]

"Whoo-haah—!" The Miya twins clapped their hands in celebration.

This kind of flashy, highly technical play was their absolute favourite.

Yet the Date Tech players…didn't seem all that surprised.

"Y'all are real calm, huh?" Atsumu asked casually.

Aone: "Yeah."

Koganegawa: "Huh?"

Was that supposed to be a compliment? This senpai's kinda nice, huh…?

"Pfft." Futakuchi couldn't help chuckling.

Atsumu furrowed his brows. What is with these guys from Miyagi? Why are they all so full of themselves?

Serve change—Inarizaki's turn.

Riseki Heisuke stepped up to the service line and took a deep breath.

He'd originally only expected to serve as a closer, but now, he was used to the feeling of fighting through an entire match.

This is awesome!

BOOM!

Riseki fired off a powerful jump serve.

Smack!

The ball shot past Obara Yutaka and bounced high—an ace!

[Inarizaki 21 – 22 Date Tech]

"Sorry!" Obara Yutaka shouted.

After crossing the net, the volleyball seemed to speed up, making the timing hard to control.

"Don't worry about it! Next one!" Futakuchi Kenji called out loudly.

They'd played against Aoba Johsai so many times—none of the other teams at Nationals could really surprise Date Tech anymore.

Riseki Heisuke sent the second serve.

BOOM!

"I've got it!" Sakunami Kōsuke darted into position and received the ball.

"Cover him!"

"Mine!" Futakuchi Kenji quickly stepped in.

Rather than have Koganegawa Kanji set a mediocre ball, it was better to keep him up front where he remained a constant offensive threat!

"Huh?" Miya Atsumu frowned at Date Tech's formation. "That big guy's their setter?"

Date Tech launched a three-point offensive.

Shoo—!

Futakuchi Kenji quickly tipped the ball toward the right side, where Kimura Ryōta awaited.

Thud!

Kimura Ryōta leapt from the back row and spiked.

"Double block!" Miya Atsumu and Ginshima Hitoshi jumped up.

Neither of them had a height advantage against Kimura Ryōta, but thankfully, he was attacking from the back row—he couldn't just blast the ball over their hands.

Boom!—

The ball slipped past Ginshima Hitoshi's right side.

Watching Kimura's familiar movements, Miya Atsumu suddenly realised, "It's HIM"

Smack!

The ball struck Sakurai Shōta's arm and flew out of bounds.

Kimura Ryōta scored with the spike.

[Inarizaki 21 – 23 Date Tech]

"Oi, brat." Miya Atsumu's eyes grew dangerous. "What's your relationship with Taichi?"

"Oh my, is it that obvious?" Kimura Ryōta smiled with a squint. "I'm a student of Master Taichi~"

"Ha, ha, ha!"

"I knew it!"

A murderous aura seemed to rise from the entire Inarizaki squad.

"I knew it! That annoying spike and that annoying tone of voice!" Atsumu ground his teeth. "Even more unbearable than Oikawa or Tobio!"

"Eh? Ryōta, he—" Koganegawa Kanji looked puzzled.

"Don't say anything!" Futakuchi Kenji shut him up in a flash, faster than a lightning strike.

This was getting way too fun.

"Brat, I've decided," Atsumu declared seriously. "I'll crush your team first—then beat Taichi until he's begging on the floor!"

"Hah! Big words from someone who lost to Taichi already," Futakuchi said with a wicked grin.

"Hmph." Atsumu fell silent.

Volleyball problems would be solved through volleyball.

"Tweet!—"

The whistle blew for the serve.

Futakuchi Kenji stepped up to the service line.

After a brief moment of thought, he aimed a jump float directly at Atsumu.

Bang!

If it had been a standard float serve, Atsumu would've probably launched a first tempo attack right away. But Futakuchi's float had more movement than expected. Atsumu played it safe, sending the ball up to the back row.

Smack!

After receiving the serve, Atsumu dashed left and jumped.

Trying to shut down Inarizaki's setter with serves was impossible. Because—

Fwoosh!—

From the back row, Miya Osamu's set sailed perfectly to Atsumu's hands!

Super Quick—Twin Version: Modified!

Boom!—

—Smack!

The ball struck Koganegawa Kanji and Aone Takanobu's hands and rocketed back toward Inarizaki's court.

Bang!

Ball down. Date Tech scored with the block!

[Inarizaki 21 – 24 Date Tech]

—"They scored again—!"

—"Date Tech takes another point with their block!"

—"Inarizaki's bizarre twin quick attack gets shut down on its second try! Unbelievable!"

—"Two 190cm walls up front—Date Tech's iron defence is absolutely dismantling Inarizaki's offence!"

"Everyone scream together!" Kanamaki Yasushi waved a massive Date Tech banner in the stands.

"Go Go let's go, let's go Date Tech!!"

"Go Go let's go, let's go Date Tech!!" freewebnσvel.cøm

Against powerhouse Inarizaki, Date Tech had scored 24 points first—holding three set points!

"You've blocked that attack before?!" Atsumu finally realised: Inarizaki had been so fixated on facing Aoba Johsai again, they underestimated the opponent in front of them.

Aone Takanobu: "Yeah."

Koganegawa Kanji: "Yeah! But you guys switching between setting and spiking? That's amazing!"

Atsumu's head spun. He couldn't tell whether that big setter was being genuine—or sarcastic.

But in Miyagi Prefecture? No one was normal anyway!

"Doesn't matter if it's the original version from Karasuno, or the knockoff from Aoba Johsai—we've blocked them all." Futakuchi Kenji's voice held a hint of pride. "And now, we're adding your 'remake' to the list."

Date Tech served again.

Futakuchi Kenji tossed the ball, ran up, jumped—and struck it hard.

Boom!!—

The second serve was a powerful jump serve!

"Heisuke!"

Smack!

Riseki Heisuke barely received it. Atsumu quickly covered and sent the second ball.

Whoosh—!

The ball flew to the middle. Ginshima Hitoshi jumped for the spike.

"Triple block!" Obara Yutaka, Koganegawa Kanji, and Aone Takanobu all jumped together.

No gap to swing!

Boom!

Ginshima aimed for Aone's fingertips—

Whoosh!

—but Aone suddenly withdrew his hands midair.

The ball shot straight out of bounds.

"Out!"

Ginshima's spike was out—Date Tech scores!

[Inarizaki 21 – 25 Date Tech]

"Tweet—!"

The Iron Wall from Miyagi had blocked the "strongest challenger" Inarizaki right at the gate to victory.

Set One: Over.

Winner: Date Tech.

_________

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