Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 535: Promotion to the First Team (Double-Length)

"So this is Brazil's legendary opposite, huh…" Kaedehara Taichi thought to himself. Wallace Souza was, without question, the strongest player he had ever faced.

"The World Championships…I really can't wait!"

Taichi stepped up to the service line. He took a deep breath, calming his excitement.

"Let's start here. I'll take down every opponent standing in front of me!"

"Tweet!—" The serve whistle blew.

Taichi's gaze turned razor-sharp as he tossed the ball high into the air and took his approach.

In an official match, the smartest move would be to target the weakest passer on the opposing team. But this was only a practice game. Wouldn't it be a shame not to try something fun?

He soared upward, stretching his body to its fullest in midair. His incredible height made the players on the right instinctively tense and prepare for impact.

BOOM!!!—

The volleyball flashed across the court like a streak of white lightning.

SMACK!!!

A split-second later, a deafening crack echoed—only then did people realise the ball had already slammed into Wallace Souza's arm.

"Bruno! Save it!"

The ball flew toward the sideline, but luckily, it was high enough for Bruno Redson to scramble and recover.

Whoosh—!

The ball was returned to the court.

Alan Souza and Wallace Souza both surged forward to attack.

"He wasn't disrupted by that serve?" Oikawa Tōru was a little surprised. Very few players could still launch an attack after receiving a serve from Taichi.

But the attacker was obvious.

Alan Souza's arms tightened as he leapt and slammed the ball with full force.

Taichi jumped for a solo block. (Since this was a 3v3 scrimmage, there were no positional restrictions—even the server could participate in blocking.)

BOOM!!!

The ball zipped past Taichi's side.

Wallace had already tested Taichi's block—Alan had no intention of meeting it head-on.

Smack!

Hinata Shōyō received the ball.

"What reflexes!" Luca Reilly couldn't help but gasp. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Hinata's receiving skills were already first-team level—no, better than half the current starters.

Oikawa positioned himself beneath the ball, his hands steady as he lifted it up.

Whoosh!—

Taichi backed up for a run, then leapt from the right for a spike.

"Double block!" Wallace and Alan Souza jumped together.

Taichi had judged correctly—this kind of double block was enough to shut down most angles, leaving only a narrow diagonal or a razor-thin line shot.

In a formal match, a three-man block could have sealed everything off—unless you could hit over the top.

BOOM!!!

The ball grazed Wallace Souza's right side, landing hard on the sideline and bouncing out.

Kaedehara Taichi scores!

[Hinata Team 2 - 2 Redson Team]

"Almost got stuffed," Oikawa muttered. He had clearly seen Wallace lower his arms diagonally at the last second—he came within a hair's breadth of blocking that shot.

"And it's no wonder…this is the guy who once shut down the 'Lion King' Wilfredo León with a solo block at the World Championships."

"Don't expect to get lucky again, kid." Wallace Souza grinned.

Opting not to go for the diagonal shot (since Redson was defending that line) and instead daring to challenge Wallace's block—Wallace hadn't expected to meet a young player like this today. It seemed that now that he was back, there were more interesting people than just León and Zaytsev.

"That's not luck. It's called skill," Taichi replied calmly.

Hinata's team continued to serve.

Taichi launched his second serve—once again targeting Wallace Souza.

"Nice one!"

Smack!!

The ball shot up again, but this time it stayed within the right court's airspace.

"Cover!"

Bruno Redson quickly moved into position and passed.

Now that Wallace was on the court, the division of roles among the other two had become crystal clear—the game required less thinking and more instinct.

Again, both Alan and Wallace moved to attack—but this time, Oikawa couldn't read who would actually strike.

Hinata was forced to move up for a block. He and Taichi each focused on one attacker, marking them 1-on-1.

Whoosh!—

The set went to the right. Wallace leapt to spike.

BOOM!!!

The ball flew past Taichi's right side, crashing onto the sideline.

There was no way Oikawa alone could cover the entire back row.

It was nearly a carbon copy of the last line shot—perfectly aimed.

Wallace Souza scores!

[Hinata Team 2 - 3 Redson Team]

"Hey, kid—"

Wallace raised an eyebrow provocatively, but before he could speak, Taichi had already turned away.

"…Tch."

Wallace snorted.

The serve rotated—Redson's team to serve.

Bruno Redson tossed up a powerful jump serve. The ball drew a perfect arc, heading straight for Taichi.

All three opponents were skilled receivers, so Bruno didn't aim for an ace—instead, he was trying to interfere with the opponent's attack setup.

Taichi was undeniably the strongest attacker on the other side. As for disrupting the setter—Bruno hated to admit it, but that "shorty's" sets were excellent.

Yes, without anyone realising, Taichi and Oikawa had forced São Paulo's players to acknowledge something crucial:

Even if Hinata Shōyō was short, he was still a massive threat.

"This is Hinata Shōyō's user manual—you all better read it carefully."

Oikawa only just stopped himself from saying that out loud.

Back on court—

Smack!

Taichi smoothly received the serve, perfect pass.

Oikawa jumped in the front row for a set.

"What?!"

Hinata and Taichi both appeared at the net—simultaneously.

Despite just passing, Taichi launched into the air at a shocking pace!

Attackers on both sides. A mere second of hesitation, and the defenders couldn't keep up.

Ultra Quick Attack—Duo Edition!

BOOM!

The ball slammed into the floor near Bruno Redson's feet.

Hinata Shōyō scores!

[Hinata Team 3 - 3 Redson Team]

"…More than one guy can pull off this kind of quick?"

Luca Reilly pressed his fingers to his brow.

Then, a rare sense of relief washed over him.

Thank god…thank god this little guy was on their team.

Hinata Shōyō leapt up for a powerful jump serve.

"Oh, that's a problem," Luka Reilly muttered, "his serve is awful."

Smack!

Alan Souza received the ball with ease. Bruno Redson smoothly set it toward the centre.

Wallace Souza jumped for the spike!

BOOM!!!—

A deadly sharp angle.

The ball slammed right into the junction of the three-meter line and the left sideline.

Wallace Souza scores!

[Hinata Team 3 - 4 Redson Team]

With just a single blocker, there was simply no way to seal off Wallace Souza's attack route.

Not even someone like Kaedehara Taichi could do it.

Neither side could stop the other's offence—but the advantage clearly belonged to Redson's team!

Rotation. Alan Souza stepped up to serve.

"No weaknesses…"

Alan Souza hadn't expected to feel so helpless just standing on the service line.

"You see now why you're still stuck in the second team?" Wallace Souza didn't bother to look back as he bluntly spoke. "São Paulo doesn't field players in a match if they're going to serve up easy balls."

Alan gripped the volleyball with both hands and said nothing.

"Just do your best. Aim for a sharper angle," Wallace instructed. "This is only a practice match. You can train however long you want afterwards—but on the court, there's no time for regret."

"Yes!"

Twenty-two years old. Two metres and eight centimetres tall. And yet Alan Souza still looked like a child, bowing his head. He felt like he'd never catch up to the back of his brother, Wallace Souza.

"Tweet!—"

The serve whistle blew.

Alan Souza jump served with all his might, the ball arcing toward the back corner of the opposing court.

Hinata darted forward and received it cleanly.

Oikawa jumped and set the ball high to the centre. Kaedehara Taichi leapt for the spike!

"Double block!"

BOOM!!!

Smack!!

"They got a hand on that?!" Oikawa was stunned. "He can really go even higher…?"

The ball bounced off the top of Wallace Souza's palm and flew toward the back line.

Bruno Redson, at the three-meter line on the left, couldn't reach in time.

Taichi scores!

[Hinata Team 4 - 4 Redson Team]

Rotation. Hinata Team to serve.

For the deciding point, Oikawa stepped up to serve.

BOOM!!!

The ball screamed with a powerful side-spin toward the right baseline.

Smack!!!

"Damn it!"

Bruno Redson barely managed to dig it. Those two on the other side had terrifying serves—each one getting stronger.

The first pass veered off, the ball arcing awkwardly toward the net.

Who would handle it?

Given the difficulty of the ball, Wallace Souza was the logical choice to act as secondary setter. But—Alan Souza ran forward.

He didn't believe he could finish the game himself.

Fwoosh—!

Alan bumped the ball up. Wallace ran up and jumped for the spike.

"Shōyō!" Kaedehara Taichi shouted.

Given Wallace Souza's typical attacking trajectory, staying back to receive was pointless—they had to block him!

"Double block!" Taichi leapt. Hinata gathered speed and jumped with all his might.

"Oh?"

Wallace's eyes lit up.

Hinata's blocking height, even with an approach, barely equalled Taichi's standing jump. But even so—he managed to get in Wallace's way.

"Not bad—but still not enough!"

Wallace swung his arm down without hesitation.

BOOOM!!!

Hinata knew perfectly well—this kind of gap couldn't be bridged overnight.

SMACK!!!

The ball struck his hands and flung them wide. His balance broke, and he began falling.

But—

Every point had to be fought for.

Oikawa had already dashed forward to cover.

Hinata stretched his left hand back as far as it would go.

Smack!

Oikawa dove to save the ball!

Hinata crashed to the ground and collided with Oikawa in a heap.

The ball soared high into the air—only one touch so far. But the only one left standing on the left side—

Was Kaedehara Taichi.

He had no choice but to swing.

Thud!

Taichi leapt for a spike.

"Triple block!" Bruno Redson, Wallace Souza, and Alan Souza all jumped together.

At the last second—they threw everything they had into the block!

Not enough height! Not enough space!

Taichi tensed his arm, pouring in his full strength.

BOOOM!!!

The ball slammed into Wallace's arm.

It didn't shake him.

SMACK!!!

But—

The ball bounced off to the left, traced a high arc in the air—and landed out of bounds past the back line.

Block-out! Taichi scores!

[Hinata Team 5 - 4 Redson Team]

Game over!

Hinata's team takes the win in this practice match!

-----

"You guys okay?" Taichi asked, looking at the two still on the floor.

"We're fine—aaah! Sorry, Oikawa-senpai!" Hinata scrambled to his feet.

"…Were you seriously trying to save that ball yourself just now?" Oikawa asked with a weird expression, grabbing Taichi's hand as he stood.

"Ehehe." Hinata laughed sheepishly. "When I play beach volleyball, I try things like that sometimes. I've even pulled it off once or twice!"

"…Sigh." Oikawa let out a silent breath.

He couldn't exactly blame Hinata for being too desperate to save the ball.

"You've got potential, kid." Wallace Souza approached Kaedehara Taichi and struck up a conversation. "If the Brazilian league had more guys like you, I might never have retired."

"Took a year off and now my body's all stiff." He stretched with a lazy yawn. "Still, I'm pretty happy with that warmup."

"Don't tell me you're using this as an excuse?" Taichi chuckled.

In truth, Taichi didn't care much about the win or loss of this so-called practice match. Their goal had already been achieved.

He was sure—Hinata Shōyō would soon catch São Paulo's attention.

"Hah, don't worry. A win is a win, a loss is a loss." Wallace didn't seem bothered. "Come on, I'll take you guys out for drinks tonight!"

"Wallace!" Coach Darlan shouted. "We have a scrimmage with San Juan tomorrow. And you just got back—don't go overboard during match periods!"

"I know, I know." Wallace waved him off. "Just saying."

"You idiot, stop being so reckless," Darlan Zotto muttered, clutching his forehead. "If you don't, Bernardo's going to blow a fuse again."

"That old man's just too uptight."

Wallace ignored the rest and turned back to Taichi. "Kid, you weren't going all out just now, were you?"

"Hmm?" Taichi didn't confirm or deny it.

"If that's the best you've got, you won't win tomorrow." Wallace smiled meaningfully. "Even if these guys made you laugh today, there are a few decent ones in the first team. I think they'll be interested in you."

"I might not be interested in them, though," Taichi replied nonchalantly.

Wallace just grinned and said no more, heading out of the gym.

"Hey, Shorty—you're with São Paulo, right? Come help me with strength training. You're way too weak!"

"Eh? Me?" Hinata blinked in confusion.

"Who else?" Oikawa laughed and gave Hinata a little push. "Go train hard."

_________

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