Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 593: The Monsters Feast! · 2 (Double-Length)
Despite starting the set at a slight disadvantage, Taichi only needed one play for everyone to regain their calm and confidence.
"The opponent might be strong, but we are absolutely stronger."
"Don't mind it! Keep strengthening the defence!" Coach Suzaku clapped his hands loudly from the sidelines.
A point like that wouldn't shake Ryujin's defensive focus. The players had performed well at the start; now they just needed to maintain that momentum.
Service rotation—San Juan to serve.
Loser stepped up for a powerful jump serve!
BOOM!!!
The serve was fierce; Loser's serving had improved significantly during this Club World Championship.
However, against Japan's solid receive formation, a direct ace was no easy feat.
Smack!
The ball struck Sakusa's arm and popped up high—a perfect pass.
Iizuna quickly moved to set. At the net, Bokuto and Meian prepared to attack, while Hoshiumi approached from the back row.
The ball flew high to the right wing. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦
BOOM!!!—
—SMACK!!!
Meian's spike was blocked straight back by Ramos!
"Too careless!"
Even against a single block, Ryujin's hitters couldn't afford to let their guard down.
Sakusa flashed in to save the ball. Hoshiumi, after landing, quickly stepped up to take the second touch and set it high to the right wing.
Bokuto jumped for the spike!
Taichi leapt for a single block.
Bruno was covering the cross-court shot, while Loser guarded the line.
Bokuto's eyes flashed, and he swung for Taichi's left side!
"A line shot?!" the commentator cried in surprise; David had assumed Bokuto would go for his signature sharp cross.
Taichi's arm quickly pressed down to the left front.
SMACK!
"Blocked it!"
"No…Something's off!" Now it was Taichi's turn to be surprised.
The ball rebounded lightly off his arm and dropped back toward Ryujin's side.
A soft deflection!
Bokuto had faked it!
"Chance ball!"
Komori bumped it toward the net. Sakusa jumped from the back row to spike!
Bruno went up for a single block, while Taichi quickly moved in to help cover.
Whoosh!—
The ball shifted once more to the right wing. Hoshiumi soared up from the back row!
Ramos went up alone to block.
BOOM!!!
The ball sliced across the court, slipping through the gap between Oikawa and Loser, crashing down just inside San Juan's left baseline and bouncing out.
Hoshiumi's back-row attack scored!
[San Juan 2 - 5 Ryujin]
"What a smooth attack…"
"Is this even the same team we saw just days ago?"
"Continuous jumps, coordinated attacks, high-level counterattacks and transition offence—San Juan's block has become chaotic. You can't stop this just by height alone."
"Ryujin leads by three points; their tactics are working brilliantly," Lim exclaimed. "However, if they keep burning this much energy, they probably won't last even one full set."
Service rotation—Ryujin to serve.
Meian stepped up for a powerful jump serve!
BOOM!!!
Smack!!!
Santiago gritted his teeth and received it—an imperfect pass.
Not just in attack and defence, Ryujin's lead was also heavily built on their serves. Sakusa, Hoshiumi, and Meian had formed a terrifying trio of strong servers!
Oikawa calmly repositioned, setting the ball high to the left wing.
"Beautiful set!"
"A top-class setter can always restore a team's rhythm even when it seems chaotic!"
Taichi sprinted along the sideline and took off!
"Triple block!" Nitta, Iizuna, and Bokuto all rose up.
—BOOM!!!
A high-reaching spike, blasting straight through the seam between Hoshiumi and Meian, and smashing onto Ryujin's baseline.
Taichi scored!
[San Juan 3 - 5 Ryujin]
"You guys have never been able to stop me." Taichi's voice was light and airy.
Nitta gave a bitter smile. "Seriously? Even an old teammate gets trash talk?"
Service rotation—San Juan to serve.
Taichi stepped to the line, casually spinning and tossing the ball in his hand before stopping it firmly in his palm.
"Stay sharp! Stop him in one!"
Ryujin's back row lined up from left to right: Sakusa, Hoshiumi, Komori, and Bokuto, all wearing focused expressions.
"Tweet!—"The whistle blew.
Taichi tossed the ball high, sprinted forward, leapt, and struck!
BOOOOM!!!
In the blink of an eye, the ball rocketed straight at Hoshiumi. He dropped his centre of gravity quickly, arms up to receive.
SMACK!!!
Hoshiumi's feet left the ground, and he fell backwards.
The ball soared high toward the net.
Iizuna jumped at the front, trying to tip it back over.
"Too high!"
BOOM!!!
Just as it crossed the net, Ramos rose in the middle and hammered it straight down!
"What a quick kill!"
Smack!!!
Komori scrambled to save it!
After landing, Iizuna took a big step to stabilise under the falling ball.
Sakusa and Bokuto both launched into their approaches!
"Right wing!" Taichi shouted.
The ball flew right, Bokuto soared up!
"Double block!" Ramos and Conte jumped together.
Bruno guarded the sharp cross, Taichi covered the deep corner, and Oikawa took the line.
BOOM!!!
Bokuto smashed the ball hard!
A deep diagonal!
Smack!
Taichi received it!
"Conte!" Oikawa shouted, quickly stepping in to set.
Conte landed, widened his approach, and attacked from the right side!
"Triple block!" Nitta, Iizuna, and Bokuto all rose together.
—BOOM!!!
"San Juan's other ace! A high-reaching spike!"
Smack!
Hoshiumi picked it up!
"Unbelievable! Hoshiumi's perfect dig!"
Komori set, Sakusa jumped from the back row to spike!
Bruno jumped for a single block, Ramos quickly shifted over from the right side to help.
BANG!!!
The ball hit Bruno's arm and flew far out of bounds.
Tooled the block out!
Sakusa scored!
[San Juan 3 - 6 Ryujin]
Bruno, never a strong blocker, could only grimace after being tooled by Sakusa. He knew exactly what was coming but still couldn't stop it.
"Ryujin is scoring again and again in these intense rallies! They broke Taichi's service rotation in just one play!"
"It was a fantastic spike, but more than that, a testament to the team's collective effort!"
"My god! Hoshiumi's reception speed reached 130 km/h! His two insane digs were on par with any world-class libero!!"
Service rotation—Ryujin to serve.
Ryujin's fourth powerful server—Bokuto—stepped to the line.
---
"Blanco—"
"We can't call a timeout," Assistant Coach Frey started but was immediately cut off by Coach José.
José no longer looked as anxious as at the start of the match. He could tell: Ryujin's current style was unsustainable.
"Ryujin needs the timeout more than we do," José said solemnly. "Their players need a breather. I will not give them that chance voluntarily."
"Frey, it's only a three-point gap. We have to learn patience and trust the players on the court."
-----
"Tweet!—" The whistle for service sounded.
Bokuto tossed the ball up—a powerful jump serve!
BOOM!!!
The ball curved toward the gap between Santiago and Oikawa.
Smack!!!
Santiago lunged to receive, but the ball struck his arm and flew out toward the sideline.
"Cover it!"
Oikawa sprinted after it, leaping to push the ball back toward the net.
Conte jumped to spike!
"Double block!" Sakusa and Nitta both went up.
Conte twisted his wrist, smashing the ball down sharply!
BOOM!!!
The ball slipped past the double block and fell near Ryujin's left three-meter line.
Hoshiumi dove to save it!
"Him again?!!"
"Conte's spike angles are so sharp; his form from the first two sets hasn't dropped at all. But Ryujin's defence has clearly transformed!"
Komori rushed forward to receive, but the ball was too close to the net—he could only bump it up from below.
Sakusa jumped to adjust the attack!
"Double block!" Ramos and Conte went up together.
BANG!!!
The ball deflected off Ramos's arm and flew out of bounds.
Bruno jumped and managed to tip it back into play. Taichi soared from the back row and went for a second-touch attack!
—BOOM!!!
Sakusa and Nitta barely got up to contest it, but the ball flew right over their heads.
"Crap!"
Komori was positioned too far back, and Ryujin's block wasn't high enough—the ball fell toward the centre of the court.
A shadow flashed across.
Smack!!!
Bokuto dove and used his chest to bump the ball up!
"Hahaha! Nobody expected that reception!"
The ball arced high toward the front row. Iizuna jumped and set it one-handed. Hoshiumi charged from the left back row for the attack!
BAM!!!
In that instant when Conte glanced toward the right wing, the ball dropped beside him.
Conte reached out one-handed to save, but the ball deflected off his arm and flew out of bounds.
Iizuna's second-touch attack scored!
[San Juan 3 - 7 Ryujin]
"He knew Hoshiumi's presence would attract the defence's attention—the timing of that attack was absolutely perfect!"
Ryujin continued to serve.
Bokuto served again!
BOOM!!!
"San Juan is so passive right now. They're being pinned down by the serves and can't build any decisive attacks."
Oikawa received the ball—an imperfect pass.
Conte stepped in to set; the ball soared high in the middle. Ramos jumped to spike!
—BOOM!!!
The ball flew over the block.
"Ryujin's block seems to have grown accustomed to these high-reaching spikes, but that doesn't mean they've given up on defending," Lim shouted. "I even think they're the best defensive team in this entire Club World Championship!"
Smack!
Komori received it—another imperfect pass.
Iizuna jumped at the front and set the ball. Ryujin's four attackers launched into their approaches simultaneously!
"Left wing!"
Sakusa jumped to spike!
Bruno jumped alone to block, Ramos shifted quickly from the right to help.
BANG!
The ball deflected off Bruno's arm and landed out along Ryujin's sideline.
Block out!
Sakusa scored!
[San Juan 3 - 8 Ryujin]
"Oh! I guess he saw Taichi moving up to help and changed his spiking plan at the last second."
The commentator was spot on. A faint smile finally appeared at the corner of Sakusa's mouth.
Since Taichi could recover balls that were tooled off the block, he chose to make the ball drop on his own side of the net.
"Beep!—" The whistle for the technical timeout sounded.
In the first half of this third set, San Juan trailed Ryujin by five points!
-----
"Don't worry, don't get impatient!"
Even though they were behind, Coach José didn't scold a single player.
"This level of defence can't last an entire set. We just need to steady our offence!"
Coach José grabbed the tactic board and signalled everyone to gather.
"If they excel at receiving, then we target their block."
"Use more attacks from the flanks—make them run more."
"Stay aggressive with every ball!"
"Remember, the momentum will soon swing back to us!"
"Yes!"
-----
Ryujin's bench.
Every player took the precious moments to adjust their breathing and condition.
More than ten minutes of constant running and jumping had exhausted them far more than in the first two sets. The match was only a third of the way in, and Sakusa was already visibly struggling to catch his breath.
"Sakusa—"
"I'm fine," Sakusa said. "I won't push myself recklessly, but I can't come off yet."
"Mm."
Coach Suzaku didn't say more. He had his own judgment—he would sub Sakusa out at the right time.
-----
Timeout over. The match resumed.
Ryujin continued to serve.
Bokuto's third serve!
BOOM!!!
The ball flew straight toward San Juan's back row, striking Santiago's arm and popping up high.
"The ball path was too straight."
A shaky pass; Oikawa stepped in and set it quickly.
Taichi and Conte launched in unison from either side!
Whoosh!—
The ball went to the right—Conte jumped to spike!
Iizuna went up to block, and Nitta quickly shifted in from the left to help.
"Double block!"
Ryujin's back row braced for defence.
BOOM!!!
The ball ricocheted off Iizuna's block and flew far out of bounds.
Tooled the block!
Conte scored!
[San Juan 4 - 8 Ryujin]
"Damn it, they adjusted so fast!"
Bokuto felt a hint of frustration that he hadn't been able to score directly with his serve.
Service rotation—San Juan to serve.
Bruno stepped up for a powerful jump serve!
Smack!
Bokuto received it easily—a perfect pass.
"Even his reception is so solid…"
Iizuna jumped at the front to set; Oikawa tried to intercept.
Whoosh!—
The ball flew left.
Ramos was fooled by Sakusa's feint. Hoshiumi soared from the back row to spike!
Conte jumped for a solo block.
BOOM!!!
The ball hit Conte's block and popped up high.
It fell out along Ryujin's sideline.
Block out!
Hoshiumi scored!
[San Juan 4 - 9 Ryujin]
"So many block-out points!"
"Don't let his small stature fool you—Hoshiumi Kōrai is easily one of the best players on this court!"
"This isn't just luck; Hoshiumi has calculated every spiking angle perfectly!"
"Ryujin's offence hasn't slowed down at all!"
"They clearly know exactly how to secure their points now!"
"After the timeout, the gap between the teams remains at five points…"
_________
