Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 372: The First Representative (Double-Length)

Coach Oiwake held the tactic board as he gave instructions to each player for the next set.

"Sakunami, trying to block Taichi directly at the net is still too difficult for us. We'll be counting on you again in the next set."

"Yes, sir!"

"Aone, focus on blocking Kyōtani Kentarō's cross shots this set. Leave a gap on the line."

"Okay!"

Kimura looked at his seniors. By all accounts, they should understand Taichi-senpai's strength better than he did. Yet on their faces, there was frustration, determination—but not a trace of retreat.

"Kimura, you back with us?"

He realised Coach Oiwake was now addressing him. Despite looking stern most of the time, the coach seemed to focus more on comfort than scolding during matches.

"Yes! Sorry for worrying everyone!"

Oiwake Takurō gave a slight nod. Facing a player like this for the first time, and being targeted specifically, Kimura's ability to perform at all was already impressive in the coach's eyes.

"There's no need to rush. You don't have to force yourself to do something beyond your ability."

"Just receive the ball and launch the attack. Play the match the way you do in practice."

"Thanks to Seijoh, even if we lose this match, our Inter-High isn't over yet. So just relax—you all can do better."

"Yes, sir!!"

-----

The teams switched courts, and the second set began.

Aoba Johsai's lineup:

Front row—Middle Blocker Kindaichi Yūtarō, Setter Yahaba Shigeru, Outside Hitter Kaedehara Taichi.

Back row—Outside Hitter Kyōtani Kentarō, Outside Hitter Kunimi Akira and Middle Blocker Yūki Yōji (Libero: Nakamori Dai).

Date Tech's lineup:

Front row—Middle Blocker Aone Takanobu, Setter Koganegawa Kanji, Outside Hitter Kimura Ryōta.

Back row—Outside Hitter Futakuchi Kenji, Outside Hitter Obara Yutaka and Middle Blocker Fukiage Jingo (Libero: Sakunami Kōsuke).

"Oh?" As both teams stepped onto the court, Irihata Nobuteru glanced toward Oiwake Takurō on the Date Tech sideline. "That's bold—not sticking with the arrangement you used in the prefectural tournament."

Oiwake responded with a polite smile to his senior. Truthfully, by the end of the first set, he had a rough idea: the current Date Tech wasn't on the same level as Seijoh. Managing to steal a setback during the prefectural tournament when Seijoh's roster had been incomplete was already more than enough good fortune.

But if they were going to lose anyway, Oiwake wanted his players to show their fighting spirit—not dragging out the match by avoiding Kaedehara Taichi, but going head-on against one of the top three aces in the country.

After all, Date Tech had made it to Nationals. Their real goal was to go even further on that stage.

"Tweet!—"The whistle signalled the serve.

Date Tech served first, with Fukiage Jingo walking to the line.

Boom!

Smack!

Even after two more months of intense training, Fukiage's powerful jump serve was still easily received by Nakamori Daiki.

Kaedehara Taichi leapt from the front row for the spike.

So fast?! Kimura Ryōta sprang up, caught off guard. Their receive had just started, and he was already launching a quick attack.

"Double block!"

Koganegawa Kanji, who had reacted in time along with Kimura, went up to block Taichi.

Taichi's eyes flicked to the right. Yahaba Shigeru wasn't yet ready to attack. Kindaichi Yūtarō was being tightly shadowed by Aone Takanobu.

Boom!—

Smack!

Taichi swung his arm with what looked like casual ease. The ball struck Kimura's hand and flew out of bounds.

Off the block.

Kaedehara Taichi scored.

[Aoba Johsai 1 – 0 Date Tech]

"Huh? He really spiked that?" Kimura was stunned. "When did he read our block and decide on his angle?"

Date Tech's block had actually been solid—yet Kaedehara Taichi had scored like it meant nothing.

Service switched to Seijoh.

Kindaichi Yūtarō stepped up with a powerful jump serve.

Boom!!!

Smack!

Sakunami Kōsuke received it cleanly. Koganegawa jumped to set at the net.

Kaedehara Taichi leapt in front of him to block.

Whizz!

BOOM!!

It was Date Tech's most familiar pattern—Aone Takanobu slammed down the ball from above.

Smack!

Yahaba Shigeru received it.

"Something's off!" Futakuchi suddenly realised—Yahaba had dropped to the back row while Taichi was blocking. In other words, Seijoh had four men preparing to receive, completely giving up on contesting Aone's attack.

Kunimi filled in and sent the ball to the right side. Taichi leapt.

"Not that easy!"

"Triple block!" Aone Takanobu, Koganegawa Kanji, and Kimura Ryōta all jumped.

BOOM!!!

The ball slipped past Kimura's left side and landed perfectly in Date Tech's deep corner.

Kaedehara Taichi scored.

[Aoba Johsai 2 – 0 Date Tech]

"Something's weird! Something's off!" Kimura finally noticed that faint, almost imperceptible difference.

That pressure—was it gone?

No—rather than gone, it felt…restrained.

Right now, Kaedehara Taichi gave off the vibe of a calm breeze and clear skies. Yet he still scored with ease, casually swinging his arm like it was no big deal.

When it came to being unstoppable, nothing had changed.

Seijoh continued to serve.

Kindaichi's second jump serve flew over.

Sakunami received it, perfect pass.

Koganegawa leapt and faked a dump—Yūki Yōji went up to meet him.

On the left, Aone Takanobu soared to spike. That kind of Seijoh defence might've worked once, but if Aone saw an open net again, he'd definitely slam it inside the three-meter line.

So this time, Kaedehara Taichi tracked him the entire way and sealed off the angle.

Whizz!

Koganegawa back-set the ball midair. It flew to the right side.

Boom!

Kimura Ryōta spiked and scored.

[Aoba Johsai 2 – 1 Date Tech]

"Nice set, Koganegawa!" From the stands, Moniwa Kaname's eyes welled up with emotion. He never thought he'd see Koganegawa make a play like that. Back in their first year, he couldn't even stand still without accidentally hitting the coach in the face with a set.

"Our first-years are pretty amazing too!" Kamasaki Yasushi said happily.

Koganegawa's back set hadn't been perfect—it was even a bit short. But Kimura adjusted midair and still managed to slam the ball down beautifully.

"Great spike, Kimura!"

If they could sync this play more reliably, it'd become another key weapon for Date Tech.

Serve returned to Date Tech.

Even though they'd just pulled off a morale-boosting play, Seijoh didn't seem fazed at all.

Kimura Ryōta shook off his swirling thoughts. He'd done well last time he served, so he wasn't feeling as nervous stepping up to the line now.

Bang!

He launched a jump float serve.

"Chance ball!" Kunimi shouted, stepping forward to bump it up.

BAM!

Taichi leapt at the net.

Again?!

"Triple block!" Futakuchi, Aone, and Koganegawa all jumped.

Whizz—!

But Taichi's set was lightning-fast. Yūki Yōji jumped from the right and spiked.

BOOM!

The ball hit the floor—Yūki Yōji scored.

[Aoba Johsai 3 – 1 Date Tech]

"Damn it!" Futakuchi cursed under his breath. There'd been zero tell—Taichi's set came out of nowhere.

-----

Boom!!!

Smack!

"Touched once!" Obara Yutaka shouted.

"Chance ball!" Futakuchi Kenji received the ball cleanly and passed it perfectly.

Koganegawa Kanji leapt at the net, and Kindaichi Yūtarō jumped up to block him once again.

Whoosh!—

The ball flew to the left. Kimura Ryōta jumped and spiked.

"Double block!" Kunimi Akira and Kyōtani Kentarō jumped up at the same time.

Boom!—

The ball flew past Kyōtani's right side, landing sharply in the back corner.

Smack!

Kaedehara Taichi received the ball with ease.

"Right wing!"

Yahaba Shigeru moved into position and decisively set the ball to the right.

Kaedehara Taichi jumped from the back row to spike.

There was no time for regrets—Kimura Ryōta rushed to the right side in a hurry.

"Triple block!" Kimura Ryōta, Fukiage Jingo, and Obara Yutaka all leapt together.

BOOM!!!—

Smack!

Fukiage Jingo felt a familiar power and a foreign spin travel up his arm at once.

The ball slid along his arm and dropped between his body and the net.

Off-the-block and into the net!

Kaedehara Taichi scored with a spike.

[Aoba Johsai 15 – 11 Date Tech]

Serve rotation. Aoba Johsai to serve.

Kunimi Akira aimed a jump float serve at Koganegawa Kanji.

"I got it!" Sakunami Kōsuke got under the ball, lifted it up, and quickly stepped aside.

Koganegawa Kanji jumped in the front row and set the ball. With the three front-row players and Futakuchi Kenji in the back, Date Tech launched a full four-point attack.

"Don't rush—"

Whoosh!—

Aoba Johsai's front row was still reading Koganegawa Kanji's move when he suddenly dropped the ball just where he caught it.

A hand-off level short set—this time, it was Fukiage Jingo in the middle who spiked it down.

Boom!

Smack!

"Got it!" Nakamori Daiki barely managed to keep the ball in play.

"Seriously?!!" Even with reinforced defence, Aoba Johsai kept turning what seemed like sure points into lost opportunities for Date Tech.

Kaedehara Taichi jumped from the baseline and set the ball to the front left.

A beautiful cross-court set!

Kyōtani Kentarō spiked from the left wing.

Having just bet everything on their offensive formation, Date Tech barely managed to put up a block.

BOOM!!!—

The ball struck the sideline on Date Tech's left and bounced up.

A clean straight shot.

Kyōtani Kentarō scored with a spike.

[Aoba Johsai 16 – 11 Date Tech]

The Date Tech players felt awful at this point.

Aoba Johsai played the second set in complete silence. Even Kaedehara Taichi didn't say a word of provocation.

And yet, the players of Date Tech felt a suffocating pressure weighing down on them—as if a heavy storm cloud loomed constantly over their heads.

Their bodies were tense, every muscle screaming of desperation and urgency.

And yet, even though they threw themselves into every single point, Aoba Johsai somehow always managed to nullify it. It was as if they were trapped in an invisible cage—no matter how hard they fought, they just couldn't break free.

Coach Oiwake watched the match unfold and let out a faint sigh.

This had nothing to do with whether or not he should call a timeout—Date Tech was playing to their full strength. It was just that Aoba Johsai was doing the same.

The difference in power between the teams had created this helplessness. The pace and rhythm of the match had been entirely in Aoba Johsai's control. Even when Date Tech scored, they couldn't shake them at all.

Kyōtani Kentarō launched a powerful jump serve. Obara Yutaka barely managed to receive it.

Koganegawa Kanji moved in to set. The ball flew toward the right wing, a bit too close to the net.

Kimura Ryōta leapt for the spike.

"Triple block!"

Boom!—

—Smack!

Even though Kimura Ryōta risked hitting out by aiming for Aoba Johsai's sideline, Kaedehara Taichi was there with both hands to block the ball back.

Thud!

The ball hit the ground. Aoba Johsai scored with a block.

[Aoba Johsai 24 – 18 Date Tech]

It was Date Tech who had lost their rhythm first.

Thud, thud, thud...

Kyōtani Kentarō stood at the service line, pounding the ball forcefully. Meanwhile, all that lingered in the minds of the Date Tech players was deep fatigue.

"You guys did really well," Kaedehara Taichi said calmly to Kimura Ryōta, as the match neared its end—or rather, the final point.

BOOM!!!

The serve slammed into Date Tech's back row like a cannonball.

Smack!

"Don't zone out! The match isn't over yet!" Futakuchi Kenji yelled, receiving the ball.

Koganegawa Kanji jumped—second attack!

"No way!" Kindaichi Yūtarō was stunned and immediately leapt to block.

The receive had been noticeably low. No one expected Koganegawa Kanji to take a gamble like this on the "final point."

Bam!

Smack!

—!

To everyone's surprise, Koganegawa Kanji merely tipped the ball lightly onto Kindaichi Yūtarō's arm.

The ball bounced back into Date Tech's court.

"Chance ball!!!" Sakunami Kōsuke felt the force of Koganegawa's determination and shouted.

Smack!

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Sakunami passed perfectly. Koganegawa jumped at the net once more.

Kindaichi stuck close behind.

Koganegawa's gaze swept quickly across both sides of the net—Kaedehara Taichi was facing off against Aone Takanobu, one-on-one.

BOOM!!

Koganegawa chose to spike it himself!

The ball dodged the block and shot toward Aoba Johsai's side.

Smack!

A despair-inducing receive.

Nakamori Daiki passed the ball cleanly.

Yahaba moved into position and set a high ball to the right wing. Kaedehara Taichi took off running along the sideline—

BAM!

Aoba Johsai's ace soared into the air.

"Triple block!" Aone Takanobu, Koganegawa Kanji, and Kimura Ryōta jumped together.

But this time—the air up there belonged to him alone.

Kaedehara Taichi swung his arm and spiked.

BOOM!!!

A shot over the block.

The ball soared past Kimura Ryōta's fingertips and slammed into the centre of Date Tech's court.

Kaedehara Taichi scored with a spike.

[Aoba Johsai 25 – 18 Date Tech]

"Beeep—!"

A long whistle echoed across the court.

The second set ended.

Winner: Aoba Johsai.

With this, the Miyagi Inter-High qualifiers came to an end.

First Representative: Aoba Johsai.

Second Representative: Date Tech.

_________

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