Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 397: Elimination and Advancement
Ginjima Hitoshi launched the second serve.
Futakuchi Kenji received it cleanly. Koganegawa Kanji set the ball toward the far left. Fukiage Jingo jumped into action.
Suna Rintarō and Miya Osamu rushed to the net and bent their knees—but neither of them jumped.
"They read us?" Futakuchi frowned.
Whoosh!—
Fukiage swung through the air—only to fake the spike. From the back row, Kimura Ryōta struck the ball.
"Double block!"
Only then did Suna and Osamu leap.
Boom!!—
—Smack!
The ball hit Suna's arm and dropped back onto Date Tech's court.
Inarizaki scored with a block.
[Inarizaki 15 – 13 Date Tech]
—"Looks like Date Tech tried to pull off a combination attack, but Suna and Miya shut them down right away!"
—"Inarizaki racks up three straight points! It's their second time pulling ahead in the final set!"
"Heh. Kid, you're too green," Osamu said, pride curling in his tone. "That kind of step-ladder attack? Every player on Inarizaki can sniff it out in a second."
Inarizaki kept up the pressure—Ginjima sent out the third serve. ƒreewebɳovel.com
"If we don't score now, we're in trouble!"
Coach Oiwake stood at the edge of the court, ready to call a timeout.
Smack!
Futakuchi received the ball.
"Sakunami!"
"No problem!"
Sakunami Kōsuke instantly understood the signal Futakuchi had given.
Everyone surged forward!
Fwip—!
Sakunami jumped from the back row to toss the ball.
A multi-angle, five-player attack—Date Tech's signature manoeuvre!
BOOM!!!
Koganegawa hammered the ball like a cannon.
The spike flew just above Riseki Heisuke's outstretched arms, slicing through toward Inarizaki's back row.
Smack!
Miya Atsumu received it smoothly.
"Told ya—y'all are too naive!"
"Fall back!!" Futakuchi shouted.
But the price of their full-press offence was a wide-open defence.
Osamu filled the gap quickly, sending the ball to the left wing—Suna Rintarō jumped for the spike.
"Double block!"
It had to be said—Date Tech was incredible. Even in this situation, Fukiage Jingo and Obara Yutaka reacted fast enough to get up for the block.
Boom!!—
The spike flew past Obara's right arm.
Futakuchi reached out—
But didn't make it!
Smack!
From the back row, Sakunami dove and dug the ball!
"Koganegawa!!!"
Since their first year, those two had always moved in sync. Koganegawa's spikes always came from Sakunami's passes.
BOOM!!!
Koganegawa leapt again and fired a second, brutal spike.
Smack!
The ball struck Sakurai Shōta's arm and flew out of bounds.
A second-touch kill by Koganegawa Kanji!
[Inarizaki 15 – 14 Date Tech]
"I'm sorry!" Sakurai muttered with his head bowed.
"Don't sweat it! We'll get the next one!" Ginjima shouted.
[Sakurai Shōta—Libero: Overall Rating: 85; Height: 189 cm, Strength: 85, Jump: 80, Stamina: 85, Speed: 88; Key Attributes: Receive: 88.]
"An 180-centimeter libero, huh? Reminds me of Komori-senpai…" murmured Taichi.
"Inarizaki went and got themselves a jumbo-sized libero. But judging by his movements, he looks more like a scrambling-type than a standard receiver."
Serve possession switched sides—Koganegawa walked to the service line.
Date Tech was still in its vulnerable rotation.
And with Koganegawa now in the back row, Date Tech's front-line block was at its weakest.
All the pressure fell on Kimura Ryōta, now rotated to the front. Unless they scored fast and broke rotation, Date Tech wouldn't be able to keep up.
Koganegawa tossed the ball, took a running start, jumped, and hit it.
BOOM!!!
Smack!
Miya Atsumu felt a jolt in his arm as the ball flew off diagonally behind him.
"Damn these guys from Miyagi!" Atsumu grinned with a hint of menace. "They really are tough!"
Thud!
Sakurai Shōta dove and managed to save the ball just in time.
Atsumu sent the ball back across the net without attacking.
"Chance ball!" Sakunami Kōsuke received it and passed perfectly.
Koganegawa jumped to set. Even if the play would be obvious, Date Tech still chose to initiate a full three-point front-row attack.
"Even if it just causes a bit of confusion, it's worth it. This is the last set—we don't need to worry about conserving stamina anymore."
Boom!—
Kimura Ryōta leapt and spiked.
"Double block!" Suna Rintarō and Miya Osamu jumped together.
Smack!
A sharp diagonal spike soared from Date Tech's left wing, landing near the three-meter line on Inarizaki's right.
Thud!
Sakurai once again made a diving save!
The ball scraped the top of the net and began to fall—Miya Atsumu rushed forward and popped it back up with the tip of his foot.
"Setters can make such accurate passes even with their feet?!!" Futakuchi Kenji gritted his teeth.
The ball soared toward the right wing. Riseki Heisuke followed through with the spike!
"Triple block!" Kimura Ryōta, Fukiage Jingo, and Obara Yutaka all jumped together.
Boom!!
Smack!
Ishigami's spike was stuffed by the triple block!
"One touch!" Obara shouted. They weren't Aone or Futakuchi, but they were still members of Date Tech's Iron Wall!
"Chance ball!" Sakunami received the deflection.
"I got it!" Futakuchi stepped in and set the ball. "Go, Koganegawa!"
Whoosh!—
The ball flew to the right wing as Inarizaki's front line quickly regrouped.
Thud!
From the back row, Koganegawa leapt and launched his spike.
"Triple block!" Inarizaki's front three rose to meet him. With that height—they could shut him down!
BOOM!!!
Smack!
The ball ricocheted off Ishigami's arms and flew toward Date Tech's court.
But—it landed outside the back line!
"Out!"
A block-out! Koganegawa scored with a back-row attack!
[Inarizaki 15 - 15 Date Tech]
Contrary to expectations, Date Tech had managed to score multiple times in what was supposed to be their weakest rotation, tying the score.
"No way. This team's way too stubborn."
"Is it really this hard to pull ahead?"
-----
While the match on Court B was still neck and neck, Chiba Kaho's phone her phone buzzed on her lap.
"The results for the West Block are in," she said, reading aloud from the text message. "Itachiyama and Kamomedai won."
[Itachiyama 25 - 20 Nekoma]
[Itachiyama 26 - 28 Nekoma]
[Itachiyama 25 - 18 Nekoma]
"Huh? Nekoma actually managed to take a set from Itachiyama?" Kunimi Akira looked surprised.
"Senpai said that Yamamoto Taketora and Haiba Lev were incredible in the second set. Kozume Kenma used them to completely shift the momentum."
"And in the third set, what happened to Kenma...?"
"Kozume Kenma didn't play. Their setter was Tebashiro Tamahiko," Kaho glanced at Kaedehara Taichi beside her. Even without watching the match, he somehow seemed to know what had happened.
"I figured," Taichi chuckled softly, leaning back in his seat. "Making him play all three sets would've been too much. And they had a full match in the morning, too."
As for the other bracket, Aoba Johsai was equally stunned.
[Fukurodani 25 - 27 Kamomedai]
[Fukurodani 20 - 25 Kamomedai]
Kamomedai had swept Fukurodani—a team clearly stronger than Nekoma—with a clean 2-0.
Judging from the scores, it seemed that Fukurodani's offence had gradually been figured out in the first set, and by the second, they had no way to fight back.
"The number one middle schooler in the nation...and now in his high school debut, he's already in the national top 8." Taichi let out a soft sigh—but he was smiling the whole time.
"What a shame. I really wanted to teach that kid a thing or two in a real match."
BOOM!!!
A massive slam resounded through the gym, cutting off Aoba Johsai's idle chatter.
Aone Takanobu launched a cannon shot through Inarizaki's block, the ball slamming violently into the floor and bouncing high.
[Inarizaki 23 - 24 Date Tech]
The entire venue seemed to shake from the impact, falling momentarily silent.
"Looks like...maybe the West Block will eliminate both Tokyo teams, and the East Block will send two Miyagi teams through." Taichi mused, clearly intrigued.
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