Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 387: What the Hell Is Up with Miyagi?

"Taichi! Date Tech advanced too!"

"So?" Kaedehara Taichi grumbled, pushing away the excited Kindaichi Yūtarō, who had leaned in too close.

"Wasn't that kind of expected? What's there to get so hyped about?"

They still had a match later that afternoon. Better to save up some energy while they could.

"But that means," Kindaichi went on excitedly, "two of the teams in the national Top 8 are from Miyagi! Isn't that kind of awesome?!"

"Mm...so what?"

"Huh?"

Did there need to be a so what? Kindaichi hadn't really thought it through that far.

"Kindaichi," Taichi narrowed his eyes, "there's only one championship. Whether Miyagi has two teams or ten doesn't matter."

"Oh…right…"

"But if Date Tech wins their afternoon match," Taichi continued, his tone suddenly shifting, "we'll end up meeting them in the semifinals. That…doesn't sound so bad."

Kindaichi: "..."

That's literally what I was trying to say.

Bzzt—

Taichi's phone buzzed suddenly. He glanced at the screen, then gave a knowing smirk.

"Kindaichi, check this out—Nekoma made it through, too. That means Tokyo's got three teams in the Top 8."

"Whoa, no kidding! Big cities are something else!" Kindaichi said with awe.

Taichi flicked his forehead. "Didn't I just say this a second ago?"

"Even if they've got three teams in the Top 8, if none of them win the title…doesn't that make it more entertaining?"

Nearby, Yūki Yōji—Tokyo native—glanced over his shoulder at Taichi.

Suddenly, he understood exactly what his former Rakunan teammate meant during Golden Week when he messaged him:

"It's scary how Kaedehara-senpai looks like a literal demon when he plays."

Nekoma's match had been the last one to finish that morning—

And with that, the Top 8 teams of this year's Inter-High Nationals had officially been decided.

As the infamous "Demonic Third Day" continued into the afternoon, the quarterfinal matchups were soon announced:

[Aoba Johsai vs. Ichibayashi]

[Date Tech vs. Inarizaki]

[Kamomedai vs. Fukurodani]

[Itachiyama vs. Nekoma]

Just like Kindaichi had said, five of the eight remaining teams hailed from Miyagi and Tokyo—

A fact that quickly drew the attention and chatter of both on-site spectators and online fans alike.

Tokyo, prideful as ever, took it in stride. In their eyes, this was just their rightful place on the national stage.

But Miyagi's representatives? They were already halfway to throwing a party.

"Wait, wasn't Ushijima Wakatoshi from Miyagi too?"

"Yeah, but his team got knocked out by Aoba Johsai last year, right? They didn't even qualify for Nationals."

"Hold on—didn't Aoba Johsai win Nationals last year?"

"So then… Miyagi had two slots this year, and even with that, Shiratorizawa still didn't make it?"

"Seriously—what the hell is that place?!"

Nekoma's players overheard the crowd's buzzing commentary and couldn't help but sigh.

"Too bad Karasuno didn't make it here."

Just a year ago, Nekoma had a win rate of over 90% against Karasuno.

Now, in their recent practice matches, it was more losses than wins.

There was no doubt—Karasuno had national-level strength.

"Miyagi's really no joke," Shibayama Yūki said.

"Guess that's why every team that manages to climb out of that hell is so insanely strong."

-----

At 2:00 p.m. sharp, both teams for the quarterfinal match stepped onto Court A.

"Well, well, Matsuo-senpai. We meet again."

Kaedehara Taichi smiled as he walked up to the other captain. "Sorry to say, but your team's journey ends here."

"Not at all," Matsuo Satoshi returned the smile with equal sharpness. "If anything, I'm glad we get to settle the score early."

The two shook hands tightly—like old friends reunited after years apart.

"TWEET!"

"Both teams may begin warmups. The match will begin in 30 minutes."

"Got it!"

Aoba Johsai and Ichibayashi had already played each other once during Golden Week.

Although Aoba Johsai had taken the match with a clean 2–0, it had been anything but easy.

And more interestingly—

Rumour had it that even Itachiyama had suffered a string of losses against Ichibayashi in practice matches.

That definitely caught Kaedehara Taichi's attention.

(Note: When Taichi tried to get information out of Sakusa Kiyoomi, for some reason, the guy completely ignored his messages. In the end, Taichi had to get the scoop from Komori Motoya.)

[Araki Kōsei—Outside Hitter: Overall Rating: 89; Height: 189 cm, Strength: 95, Jump: 80, Stamina: 90, Speed: 85; Key Attributes: Block: 90, Receive: 88, Spike: 95.]

[Matsuo Satoshi—Setter: Overall Rating: 88; Height: 185 cm, Strength: 88, Jump: 85, Stamina: 92, Speed: 85; Key Attributes: Serve: 88, Receive: 88, Set: 88.]

[Yasui Junichi—Outside Hitter: Overall Rating: 88; Height: 182 cm, Strength: 82, Jump: 90, Stamina: 88, Speed: 88; Key Attributes: Receive: 88, Spike: 92.]

[Uchizawa Iori—Middle Blocker: Overall Rating: 87; Height: 188.5 cm, Strength: 88, Jump: 80, Stamina: 88, Speed: 88; Key Attributes: Block: 90, Spike: 85.]

[Matsukawa Takuya—Outside Hitter: Overall Rating: 88; Height: 184 cm, Strength: 86, Jump: 90, Stamina: 88, Speed: 88; Key Attributes: Receive: 88, Spike: 88.]

[Shiramine Sōji—Middle Blocker: Overall Rating: 85; Height: 190 cm, Strength: 88, Jump: 78, Stamina: 88, Speed: 82; Key Attributes: Block: 92, Spike: 85.]

[Hanyū Kōmitsu—Libero: Overall Rating: 84; Height: 170 cm, Strength: 75, Jump: 80, Stamina: 85, Speed: 90; Key Attributes: Receive: 88.]

Kaedehara Taichi furrowed his brows.

None of Ichibayashi's players stood out on their own—they were all, at best, just decent.

But when you looked at them as a unit...

That was when things started to look different.

To put it simply, they were the most cohesive team Taichi had seen all tournament.

Once they stepped onto the court, it was like every seemingly ordinary part clicked into place.

Together, they formed something far greater than the sum of their stats.

Even Irihata Nobuteru found himself sneaking glances toward Ichibayashi's bench, where Coach Tamagawa stood.

Finding the right player for each role...That was no easy feat.

"You all understand, don't you?" Coach Tamagawa addressed his team, his unshaven face looking as stern as ever.

"They're last year's national champions."

"If we're talking pure individual ability, all of you—every last one of you who got passed over by top-tier schools—you won't beat them. No chance."

"Kaedehara Taichi. Kyōtani Kentarō. Kunimi Akira. Even that first-year libero. Every one of them's the type of player who could go pro if they wanted to."

"But in the end, none of that matters—because this, right here in high school, is your last chance to beat players like that."

"Throw away your pride. Every single ball—fight like hell for it."

"And then—beat Aoba Johsai!"

"YES, COACH!!!"

_________

[T/N] -What is this team? Nakama-power merchants? BTW, these guys were the original Spring High Champions. Turns out, average teams DO win the championship.

And, If you guys want to read 50 Chapters in advance of the current story, you can support me on my Patreon. Trust me, it's awesome!

Link - (P)atreon.com/Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]