Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 536: Inevitability (Double-Length)
"Oikawa, are you saying you guys went to provoke them yesterday?" asked Bruno Lima.
"It wasn't a provocation," Oikawa Tōru waggled his finger, "just a delightful exchange of ideas."
"It's really hard for us to imagine you and Taichi having a friendly exchange with your opponents," Martín Ramos said, clearly unconvinced.
"Oh, that's just your prejudice!" Oikawa exclaimed dramatically. "Sure, maybe Taichi is a bit of a jerk—"
"A bit?" Bruno Lima muttered.
"—but me, your beloved setter and conductor of this symphony, am always gentle, polite, and kind to others!"
Bruno Lima: "...…"
Martín Ramos: "Please shut up. If you keep talking like that, I might throw up my breakfast all over this van."
[Bruno Lima—Opposite Hitter:Height: 198 cm
Serve: 92 | Receive: 94 | Dig: 95 | Set: 94 | Spike: 94| Block: 90
Spike Reach: 355 cm /Block Reach: 330 cm.]
[Martín Ramos—Middle Blocker:Height: 197 cm
Serve: 92 | Receive: 86 | Dig: 88 | Set: 86 | Spike: 96| Block: 96
Spike Reach: 360 cm /Block Reach: 340 cm.]
Kaedehara Taichi gave his teammates a quick glance, then turned his attention back to the Final Fantasy: Type-0 game in his hands.
"Taichi, what did it feel like playing against Wallace?" asked Agustín Loser, clearly curious.
Agustín Loser, 20 years old, had joined San Juan a year before Taichi. He was heralded in Argentine media as a once-in-a-century middle blocker prodigy. This would be his first time playing in an international tournament.
[Agustín Loser—Middle Blocker:Height: 203 cm
Serve: 94 | Receive: 85 | Dig: 85 | Set: 82 | Spike: 96| Block: 98
Spike Reach: 365 cm /Block Reach: 342 cm.]
Taichi sighed, knowing full well he probably wouldn't get any uninterrupted game time today.
"Wallace is incredibly strong," Taichi replied. "Normally, a single blocker isn't enough to pose a threat to him. To receive his spikes properly, you need at least two blockers to limit his attack lanes. As for shutting him down at the net—it depends on their offensive tempo."
"Is he really that strong?" Loser asked in surprise. "Stronger than Conte?"
In the row ahead, Facundo Conte's ears perked up at the mention of his name. He leaned back against his seat, suddenly alert. He'd played against Wallace Souza five years ago, but back then, Conte had yet to reach his peak, while Wallace already stood at the top.
Now, though, he couldn't help but wonder—if he faced Wallace in his current form, who would come out on top?
"Yeah, stronger than Conte," Taichi said coolly.
Whoosh—Conte shot to his feet, startling Santiago Danani beside him.
"What's wrong, Conte?"
"Ah—n-nothing." Conte quickly covered up, pretending he just needed to stretch his legs.
"Hey, Conte!" Loser called out with a grin. "Taichi says Wallace is stronger than you! No wonder he's a Brazilian legend—I can't wait to see him in action!"
"Oh, is that so?" Conte turned around slowly, replying with calm dignity, "Well, we'll only know the truth once we actually play."
"Wooo, the captain's aura just went full throttle!" Loser cheered.
Conte nodded slightly and returned to his seat with composure.
Taichi's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.
[Facundo Conte—Outside Hitter:Height: 198 cm
Serve: 96 | Receive: 92 | Dig: 92 | Set: 94 | Spike: 99| Block: 97
Spike Reach: 370 cm /Block Reach: 344 cm.]
[Santiago Danani—Libero:Height: 176 cm
Serve: 62 | Receive: 98 | Dig: 97 | Set: 95 | Spike: 65| Block: 62.]
On the world stage, every volleyball player is a paragon of their nation's talent—refined through countless trials, the best of the best.
At this level, the difference between most players is as thin as a strand of hair—almost imperceptible. And yet, it's that almost invisible margin that separates the kings from the mortals.
The title of "strongest" can only ever belong to one team…and one person.
-----
"José, it's been a long time." At the entrance of the venue, São Paulo's head coach, Bernardo Rezende, came out to greet the members of the CA San Juan.
"Thanks for having us. We look forward to today," said José Blanco, stepping forward to shake his hand.
"Hahaha, you were one of my favourite setters when you were still playing. The way you connected your team and brought out the full potential of every player—it was truly remarkable."
"Thank you. And Coach Bernardo, I've always admired your ability to nurture star players," José Blanco smiled. "That said, San Juan now doesn't just have skilled setters. Our aces aren't lacking, either."
"I watched the footage of that 3-on-3 practice match after returning to the club yesterday," Bernardo said with earnest interest. "To show such poise and dominance at that age—San Juan's new generation of players is truly something else."
"Mm, I feel the same," José Blanco nodded seriously.
-----
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, both teams began their warm-ups.
Kaedehara Taichi spotted Hinata Shōyō among the São Paulo reserves, though it was clear he wasn't listed in the starting lineup.
ASAS São Paulo's lineup:
Front row—Middle Blocker Lucas Saatkamp, Outside Hitter Yoandy Leal, Opposite Hitter Wallace Souza.
Back row—Setter Fernand Colin, Outside Hitter Luca Reilly and Middle Blocker Darlan Souza (Libero: Sanhos).
CA San Juan's lineup:
Front row—Outside Hitter Facundo Conte, Middle Blocker Martín Ramos, Setter Oikawa Tōru.
Back row—Opposite Hitter Bruno Lima, Middle Blocker Agustín Loser (Libero: Santiago Danani) and Outside Hitter Kaedehara Taichi.
[Lucas Saatkamp—Middle Blocker:Height: 210 cm
Serve: 94 | Receive: 88 | Dig: 82 | Set: 88 | Spike: 96| Block: 99
Spike Reach: 362 cm /Block Reach: 344 cm.]
[Yoandy Leal—Outside Hitter:Height: 202 cm fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Serve: 98 | Receive: 96 | Dig: 90 | Set: 95 | Spike: 99| Block: 95
Spike Reach: 371 cm /Block Reach: 342 cm.]
[Fernand Colin—Setter:Height: 190 cm
Serve: 95 | Receive: 90 | Dig: 90 | Set: 98 | Spike: 90| Block: 88
Spike Reach: 349 cm /Block Reach: 320 cm.]
[Luca Reilly—Outside Hitter:Height: 201 cm
Serve: 95 | Receive: 95 | Dig: 95 | Set: 92 | Spike: 96| Block: 90
Spike Reach: 358 cm /Block Reach: 340 cm.]
[Darlan Souza—Middle Blocker:Height: 208 cm
Serve: 92 | Receive: 88 | Dig: 85 | Set: 85 | Spike: 98| Block: 96
Spike Reach: 368 cm /Block Reach: 343 cm.]
[Santiago Danani—Libero:Height: 190 cm
Serve: 70 | Receive: 98 | Dig: 98 | Set: 95 | Spike: 76| Block: 68.]
When Taichi had first joined San Juan, he'd been stunned by the team's exceptional technical abilities and high hitting points. No wonder, back in his rookie year, Japan hadn't even qualified for the World Championship.
The previous generation of Japanese players had simply been too far behind the rest of the world. In terms of average player quality, there was a massive gap between Japan and top-tier volleyball nations.
While a few top players from Japan's V1 League could hold their own against starters from Argentina's A1 League, Argentina still had world-class players like Facundo Conte. And when it came to depth, the difference was even starker.
Many starters in Japan's V1 League wouldn't even qualify as benchwarmers in the A1 League (some would be stuck on the second squad).
That's why the so-called "Monster Generation" was so crucial—it represented a group with both the speed and ceiling to let Japan finally catch up to the world.
Players like Ushijima Wakatoshi and Kageyama Tobio had gone overseas carrying not just talent, but the hopes of Japanese volleyball.
And for this World Club Championship, the Japan Volleyball Association had even formed a special team—Ryujin Club—to challenge the world.
(T/N: Technically speaking, such a move would violate regulations. But since this is a fictional world, the author is bending the rules so Japan could field a competitive team.)
Seeing the São Paulo lineup now, Taichi realised something: the Brazilian league was definitely stronger than the Argentine league.
Even just by eye test, the two teams had a clear height gap.
In San Juan's starting lineup, only middle blocker Agustín Loser was above 2 meters. But São Paulo? Except for their libero and setter, every attacker exceeded 2 meters!
It might be just a few centimetres' difference on paper, but when both teams stood on opposite sides of the net, São Paulo's greater height created a distinct pressure—an imposing presence.
"But being too tall isn't necessarily good for receiving…" Taichi muttered as he walked toward the service line.
The match was about to begin. San Juan would serve first.
"It's the same formation from the video," Wallace Souza murmured. "This kid isn't their ace?"
If he were, he'd normally start in Position 4 up front—not in Position 1 at the back.
"Maybe it's for his serve?" Wallace speculated. "Or maybe both."
"Tweet!—" The service whistle blew.
Taichi tossed the ball high, took a running start, leapt, and struck!
BOOM!!!
To show how seriously they were taking his serve, Yoandy Leal dropped back to the back row. São Paulo started off with a rare four-man receive formation.
THUD!!!
"Out!"
Taichi's serve landed out of bounds.
[San Juan 0 – 1 São Paulo]
"Sorry, guess I put a bit too much power into that one," Taichi said flatly.
"Don't worry ab—ah, never mind. It's not like you ever worry about anything," Oikawa muttered.
On the sidelines, Coach José Blanco furrowed his brows slightly. It was rare for Taichi to miss a serve. This looked more like an overcorrection—trying too hard to assert control and letting the pressure get to him.
"Well, it's not necessarily a bad thing," José mused, relaxing a bit. "It's rare to see him show any emotion."
Serve switch. São Paulo to serve.
Lucas Saatkamp's power jump serve!
BOOM!!!
Danani handled the serve cleanly—perfect first touch.
Oikawa moved up and leapt to set the ball. Both Facundo Conte and Martín Ramos launched into attack simultaneously.
"No visible flaws in the setup," murmured one of São Paulo's blockers.
Their blockers split—Conte on the left received the set.
He soared up, met by Yoandy Leal's solo block!
BOOM!!!—
A clean, brutal line shot pierced through Leal's left side, smashing down right at the intersection of the sideline and the 3-meter line.
Facundo Conte scored!
[San Juan 1 – 1 São Paulo]
"Nice spike!" Oikawa Tōru praised.
"Mm." Facundo Conte nodded calmly.
Serve switch. San Juan to serve.
Oikawa stepped up to the service line and glanced briefly at Kaedehara Taichi. This aggressive serving formation always reminded him of their time back at Aoba Johsai.
"Tweet!—"The whistle blew.
Oikawa tossed the ball, took a quick run-up, jumped—and struck!
BOOM!!!
Smack!!!
Right from the start, Oikawa was going all out!
The serve slammed against setter Fernand Colin's forearm and shot high into the air, veering wildly off-court.
A shanked receive!
"I got it!" Libero Sanhos reacted swiftly, chasing down the ball and bumping it back into play.
Luca Reilly jumped from the back row to attack!
"Double block!" Conte and Martín Ramos went up together.
Tap!
A feint! The ball was tipped toward San Juan's backcourt.
Danani handled the first touch cleanly, setting it straight to the front of the net. Bruno Lima jumped for a spike!
Yoandy Leal leapt up for a solo block.
But the ball was redirected to the right wing—Kaedehara Taichi came soaring in from the back row!
"Double block!" Wallace Souza and Darlan Souza leapt to intercept.
BOOM!!!
The ball crashed into Wallace Souza's forearm and popped high into the air.
Sanhos kept the ball in play with a perfect first touch, and Fernand Colin smoothly set it up for a high ball on the left wing.
Yoandy Leal took to the air for a thunderous spike!
"Triple block!" Bruno Lima, Facundo Conte, and Martín Ramos jumped together.
BOOM!!!
The spike smashed into the block, ricocheted back toward São Paulo's side, and flew out of bounds on the right.
Block out!
Yoandy Leal scores!
[San Juan 1 – 2 São Paulo]
Bruno Lima's fake spike and sudden set had tricked the blockers, but Kaedehara Taichi's back-row attack still failed to break through.
In contrast, Yoandy Leal's powerful left-wing spike had crashed into the block and forced a block out—a razor-close point gained.
"Kid, I did tell these guys last night that you were strong," Wallace Souza frowned as he walked past. "But the way you're playing now? Not convincing."
"So they're targeting Taichi," Oikawa thought grimly. "São Paulo's defensive positioning is clearly tilted toward him—even though he's in the back row, they're sticking to him like glue."
"And Brazil's blocking isn't like Japan's at all…"
"Old man, what's with the panic?" Kaedehara Taichi showed no sign of being rattled. His expression remained relaxed and indifferent. "Are you that eager to watch me lose before the match has even begun?"
"Hahaha!" Wallace laughed heartily. "Seems like your sharp tongue is sharper than your swings today. Even with mistakes, you've still got plenty of bite."
"Sharp tongue?" Kaedehara Taichi gave a slight smirk. "Words that can't be made reality—that's just big talk. But what I'm saying now…"
"Is Inevitability."
_________
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