Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 521: Thanks for the Meal! (Double-Length)
"370cm!!!"
A full ten centimetres higher than Ushijima Wakatoshi's peak spike height!
This marked the first time in the history of Japan's men's volleyball that such a spike height had ever been recorded—enough to rival the very best in the world.
Once again, Kaedehara Taichi had broken the record he himself had set.
Among all currently active male professional players worldwide, only five had ever achieved a spike height of 370 cm or more:
—Wilfredo León, Outside Hitter of Lublin Volleyball Club (Poland), 202 cm tall, spike reach: 385 cm.
—Yoandy Leal, Outside Hitter of São Paulo Volleyball Club (Brazil), 202 cm tall, spike reach: 371 cm.
—Ivan Zaytsev, Middle Blocker of Trentino Volleyball Club (Italy), 205 cm tall, spike reach: 370 cm.
—Viktor Bohl, Outside Hitter of Nizhnev Volleyball Club (Russia), 196 cm tall, spike reach: 370 cm.
—Igor Kulikov, Middle Blocker of the same Russian club, 209 cm tall, spike reach: 370 cm.
Each of these names represented the highest standard of their respective volleyball leagues. Even the youngest among them—the Russian "Twin Stars"—had already completed five full seasons of league play.
And Kaedehara Taichi? He was still fifteen days away from hitting the one-year mark of his professional debut.
Yet none of this mattered to the players on the court. Even the AD team, shaken as they were, had only one thought in their minds:
Defeat DH. Defeat Kaedehara Taichi!
-----
DH to serve. Kaedehara Taichi stepped up, spinning the ball casually in one hand.
Spotlights poured down like golden silk, flooding the centre of the court. In this moment, all eyes were on him.
"This is bad...It feels like I can do anything right now."
He could feel it clearly—his blood roaring through his veins, power welling from every limb into the centre of his palm like a volcano on the verge of eruption. Fiery, immense, and poised to explode.
Yet his gaze remained cold, locked steadily on the players of AD.
"Tweet!—" The whistle blew.
Taichi tossed the ball, took off running, leapt—and struck.
BOOOM!!!
"I've got it!" Heiwajima Toshirō braced himself—he was finally getting used to the velocity of these serves.
SMACK!!!
"W-What the hell is that power?!"
His receive form shattered in less than a second—the impact completely blew apart his technique. One idiom popped into his mind from his school days:
"A mantis trying to stop a chariot."
THUD!!!
The ball slammed into AD's court with a seismic force, the surrounding players still reeling from the shockwave.
Service ace—Kaedehara Taichi.
[DH 4 – 2 AD]
"Oops, I might've gotten a little too excited," Taichi said with a soft chuckle, looking toward the kneeling Heiwajima. "But you still managed to touch it—amazing, senpai~"
Heiwajima frowned. As Japan's top libero, and with five men receiving on court, just touching the serve shouldn't have been a compliment.
What Taichi had just said? It was nothing short of mockery.
"Toshirō," Tsunotate Kazuki reached out to pull him up, "Don't mind that guy."
"Yeah, I know." Heiwajima nodded. He was a pro. He wouldn't let himself be rattled by his opponent's words.
"Ara~?" Taichi's lips curled into an unreadable smile. "Then...let's go again!"
DH continued to serve. Taichi launched his second serve.
BOOOOM!!!
The ball flew between Heiwajima and Tsunotate.
Tsunotate reached out instinctively—and in that instant, he understood what Heiwajima had experienced just moments ago. A titanic force surged toward him.
He did his best to absorb the impact with textbook form, but—
He was blown off the ground.
Both feet lifted. His balance evaporated.
CRASH!
He hit the floor hard. The volleyball soared high—landing in the second-floor bleachers.
Another service ace.
[DH 5 – 2 AD]
"...Gulp." Someone in the stands audibly swallowed. "Were his serves always this brutal?"
Shirabu Kenjirō and Goshiki Tsutomu exchanged a glance—both could see the heavy weight in each other's eyes.
Ushijima Wakatoshi had always looked forward to playing against Taichi. Every time they faced off, a strange mix of excitement and tension stirred deep within him—though his face remained unreadable.
Kaedehara Taichi radiated a ferocity that tore through obstacles. He forced Ushijima to focus with total intensity, squeezing out every ounce of ability just to keep up.
That was exactly what Ushijima needed—these blazing matches were the only way he could break his limits and reach higher ground.
Taichi felt the same way. In fact, he hated letting others even come close. The moment he sensed someone catching up, his own progress would only accelerate.
"Tweet!—"
AD to serve. Taichi returned for his third attempt.
—BOOM!!!
"Out!" Hoshiumi Kōrai called loudly.
SMACK!
Heiwajima made the receive.
"A misjudgment?!" Hoshiumi's eyes widened.
"Damn it—I didn't think even Heiwajima-senpai would be affected by Taichi's targeting!"
The ball rebounded high over DH's court.
Tom Wilde was preparing to spike—
"Move," came a cold voice behind him.
"Watch out for a back-row attack—BLOCK HIM!" Tsunotate shouted.
But it was already too late. Reflected in the depths of his pupils—
A figure soared high into the air.
It wasn't Tom Wilde who had gone up for the spike.
It was Kaedehara Taichi, leaping from the back row.
"Double block!" Sokolov Tatsuto and Ushijima leapt in sync—their blocking reaction was practically textbook-perfect.
But—
BOOOM!!!
The ball smashed through Sokolov's hands and slammed into AD's floor.
BANG!!!
It rebounded sky-high.
Spike point—Kaedehara Taichi.
[DH 6 – 2 AD]
"Haaaa—"
Taichi raised his right hand, then leaned forward gracefully, folding his arms in as he began to bow slowly.
When his torso reached a near-perfect thirty-degree angle with the ground, he paused. He lifted his head slightly, eyes clear and sincere, gazing toward the opposing team.
A small smile tugged at his lips.
"Thanks for the meal."
His voice wasn't loud, yet it cut cleanly through the surrounding noise, falling directly into the ears of every single AD player.
"Kadehara…TAICHIII...!"
"Beep! AD calls for a timeout."
Coach Suzaku intervened just in time—Sokolov, who had been about to lose his temper, was pulled back to the bench by his teammates.
"Huh? Why are they angry?" Taichi blinked innocently, voice full of sincerity.
"I…you…" Nitta Asahiro was at a loss for words.
"Didn't you all feel that my bow just now was very gentlemanly and full of goodwill?" Taichi asked cheerfully.
"I thought you looked like a demon," Tom Wilde muttered under his breath. That moment when Taichi told him to step aside—his tone had been downright authoritarian.
Like a tyrant.
"??? Even a kind soul like me has feelings, you know. Misunderstandings hurt." Taichi adopted an exaggeratedly wounded expression.
"Yes yes, our benevolent ace," Kubo Wataru urged the team toward the bench.
"I'm just glad I don't have to face you across the net," Kitajima Kippei sighed. "Might give me a few more years to live."
"...Do my teammates have something against me?" Taichi looked genuinely aggrieved.
"That's because you behave too maliciously," Yoshii Tobuo said bluntly. "We're just being objective."
The DH players gave him a thumbs-up. Exactly that!
Taichi turned to Iizuna Tsukasa with a helpless look. "Iizuna-senpai, I think I'm being bullied by my own team."
Iizuna smiled gently, saying nothing.
That bow of Taichi's just now had reminded him of something he hadn't thought about in a long while—that match against Aoba Johsai at Itachiyama.
He had to admit...sometimes, Taichi could be truly evil.
-----
The timeout ended, and the match resumed.
"Beep! DH requests a substitution."
"Kujō Reiji IN, Kitajima Kippei OUT."
Taichi's consecutive service points had prompted Coach Nick to change tactics early, looking to widen the lead while the momentum was in their favour.
"Tweet!—"
The whistle signalled serve.
Though AD had adjusted quickly, they were still facing none other than Kaedehara Taichi at the service line.
Taichi served his fourth ball.
"I got it!"
BOOM!!!
Ushijima Wakatoshi received the serve. The pass was slightly off, but still playable.
"Nice receive!"
"Nice one!"
Matia Bottono quickly moved into position and set the ball high to the right. Hoshiumi leapt for a spike!
"Double block!" Tom Wilde and Kujō Reiji went up together.
BOOM!!—
Hoshiumi launched a sharp cross-court spike that sliced past the block on the left.
Kaedehara Taichi picked it up with a solid receive, though the ball only went halfway.
Iizuna Tsukasa stepped in, calmly setting it to the right. Kujō Reiji leapt for the attack!
"Double block!" Sokolov Tatsuto and Ushijima jumped up.
BOOM!!
Kujō's powerful spike ricocheted high off Sokolov's arms.
"One touch!"
This time, Sokolov had successfully blocked DH's attack.
Matia made the dig and immediately set the ball back to the right. Hoshiumi spiked again!
—BAM!!
The ball hit DH's right sideline and flew out of bounds.
Hoshiumi scored on his second attack.
[DH 6 - 3 AD]
Hoshiumi, when receiving a second ball, could be a threat either as a setter or an attacker. Even the briefest moment of distraction from Wilde and Kujō had given him the window to score.
The serve switched—AD was up.
Ushijima sent a jump serve flying. Kaedehara Taichi received it cleanly.
Iizuna set it to the right side. Kujō Reiji went up again for a spike.
"Double block!" Sokolov Tatsuto and Hoshiumi jumped to intercept.
—BOOM!!
This time, the spike flew right over Hoshiumi's hands.
An overhand spike!
Smack!
Ushijima picked up the ball.
After landing, Hoshiumi quickly coordinated with the setter to get the ball to centre. Sokolov Tatsuto soared upward for a spike!
"Double block!"
BOOM!!
Fueled by frustration, the ball smacked against Tom Wilde's arm and dropped between him and the net.
Off-the-block and down.
Sokolov Tatsuto scored!
[DH 6 - 4 AD]
"YEAHHHHH!!" Sokolov shouted at the top of his lungs.
With AD clawing back two points, it seemed like Nick's substitution had made little difference.
"What are you staring at me for? Even if Kitajima had been on the court, he couldn't have blocked those two either!" Coach Nick huffed, blowing air through his moustache.
"…Nothing."
The team manager looked away, feeling wrongfully accused—he had just glanced the coach's way by accident.
AD kept up the pressure. Ushijima served again.
BOOM!!!
SMACK!
"Coming straight for me, huh?"
Taichi received it again, locking eyes with Ushijima at the service line.
Iizuna leapt from the front row and set the ball.
BAM!!—
A sudden second touch attack!
Smack!
Heiwajima Toshirō dove for it, making the save.
But the ball bounced back into DH's court.
"Chance ball!"
Yoshii Hiyu took it calmly, passing perfectly.
Iizuna jumped once more for the set.
Even with only a 1% chance, AD still had Hoshiumi guarding across from Iizuna, wary of his second attack.
Whoosh—!
The ball soared toward the left wing. Kaedehara Taichi jumped from the back row.
"Double block!" Matia Bottono and Sokolov leapt in tandem.
—BOOM!!
An overhand spike!
The ball sailed over Matia's hands, slamming into AD's left sideline before bouncing out of bounds.
Kaedehara Taichi scored!
[DH 7 - 4 AD]
AD's momentum was interrupted once more. The rhythm of the set still belonged to DH.
DH to serve.
Tom Wilde stepped up for a powerful jump serve.
Heiwajima Toshirō received it well, making a perfect pass.
Matia Bottono set the ball high to the middle. Sokolov Tatsuto jumped for the spike!
"Double block!" Kujō Reiji and Nitta Asahiro jumped together.
BOOM!!—
—Smack!!
The ball crashed into Kujō's arms and bounced toward AD's baseline.
It was blocked!
Heiwajima and Tsunotate Kazuki sprinted back.
Smack!
Heiwajima managed to save it. Tsunotate bumped it toward the net.
Ushijima leapt from the back row for a spike!
"Even with that rough setup, he's still going for a hard attack?"
"Double block!"
DH's blockers didn't hesitate.
BOOM!!!—
SMACK!
Ushijima targeted Kujō's fingertips—off the hands and out!
Smack!
The ball flew far, but Kaedehara Taichi chased it down and leapt high, swatting it back into DH's court.
"Taichi looks like a superhero out there!"
Yoshii passed it from the baseline to the left wing. Kujō Reiji adjusted and launched another spike!
"Triple block!"
The Iron Wall had anticipated this. The spike was blocked cleanly and sent back into DH's side.
The ball dropped fast.
Smack!
Nitta Asahiro used his foot to hook it back into play!
"Iizuna! Save it!"
Iizuna scrambled to recover, but a figure dashed past him at lightning speed.
"Set it higher."
Thump!
Kaedehara Taichi soared once more from the back row!
Whoosh!—
Iizuna's set arced perfectly toward the centre court!
"Triple block!"
—BOOM!!!
An overhand spike!
The ball traced a flawless arc, dropping vertically with deadly speed.
Heiwajima kept backpedalling.
The ball soared over his head and plummeted onto the baseline.
THUD!
The ball landed clean.
Kaedehara Taichi scored!
[DH 21 - 18 AD]
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