Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 369: Here for Revenge (Double-Length)

But Kimura Ryōta didn't hear his upperclassman's words. In truth, he hadn't even processed what had just happened. As he stumbled back toward the Date Tech bench, a part of him actually felt relieved.

All he had wanted was to escape the court—to get away from that suffocating pressure.

"That idiot! I told him to mentally prepare himself!" Futakuchi Kenji cursed under his breath, then shot a sharp glare toward the back of Aoba Johsai's side of the court.

"You really don't hold back, do you, Taichi?!"

"First-years need to be humbled properly," Kaedehara Taichi replied with a smile. "I taught the Aoba Johsai first-years the same way, y'know. I thought you'd be thanking me for the favor, Futakuchi-senpai."

"Hmph. Bring it on," Futakuchi Kenji said with conviction. "If we could beat you once, we can beat you again."

"Oh? Is that so?" Kaedehara Taichi's expression darkened. "Then you better be ready."

"Tweet!—"

The whistle for serve blew.

Kaedehara Taichi stepped up for his third serve.

BOOM!!!

Onagawa Tarō, who had just subbed in, received the ball head-on—but the sheer power behind it knocked him over, sending him tumbling backwards with a full somersault.

"Yūki!" Yahaba Shigeru shouted.

The ball flew back over the net and rose into the air above Aoba Johsai's side.

Yūki Yōji jumped up, ready to spike it down.

"…Huh?"

A hand appeared between his palm and the ball.

Koganegawa Kanji had leapt up and, with one hand, redirected the ball toward the left side.

Boom!

Aone Takanobu spiked it cleanly for the point.

[Aoba Johsai 2 – 1 Date Tech]

"Woooah! That's our Koganegawa!"

"Our giant setter's got it handled!"

Yahaba Shigeru hadn't even reacted in time. But even if he had jumped to block, he'd probably have just been smacked with a monster spike over his hands.

Serve switched—Date Tech to serve.

Futakuchi Kenji's jump serve exploded across the net, but Kunimi Akira received it cleanly.

Aoba Johsai's serve-receive formation left no opening for Date Tech to exploit.

Yahaba Shigeru repositioned. Seeing that Kaedehara Taichi had no intention of attacking, he sent the ball high toward the left wing.

Kyōtani Kentarō sprinted in from the side and jumped to strike.

"Three-man block!" Aone Takanobu, Koganegawa Kanji, and Obara Yutaka leapt together.

"Whoa! Kyōtani-senpai is completely boxed in!" Tōma Kaoru exclaimed from the sidelines.

Since their first-years joined the team, Date Tech hadn't had a chance to play Aoba Johsai in a practice match.

So this was the first time Aoba Johsai's underclassmen were seeing Date Tech's famous Iron Wall in action on court.

The straight shot path was completely sealed off by Aone Takanobu's block.

The pressure from Date Tech's block was nothing like Karasuno's—Kyōtani Kentarō was reminded of that stifling feeling he had experienced back during the prefectural tournament.

Boom!!!—

The ball flew toward the right side of Date Tech's court.

Obara Yutaka had the cross angle completely shut down, leaving only a narrow sliver of space.

The ball slipped through that narrow gap, but—

Smack!

Sakunami Kōsuke made the receive, and it was perfectly on target.

"Nice one!"

As Koganegawa Kanji landed from his block, he jumped again right on the spot.

Futakuchi Kenji charged in from the back row for a quick attack.

"It's a second attack!"

Yahaba Shigeru noticed Koganegawa's quick glance downward and jumped to intercept.

As straightforward as Koganegawa Kanji was, he never relied on tricks or decoys—but—

Bang!

The spike soared clean over Yahaba's hands.

His contact point was far above the block!

The ball slammed into Aoba Johsai's court.

Smack!

"Nice block, Yahaba-senpai," Kunimi Akira said, calmly receiving the ball. "But there's nothing scary about a second attack when it's that easy to read."

"Mad Dog-senpai!"

Nakamori Daiki jumped in from the back row and set the ball to the left wing once more.

Hearing that call, Kyōtani Kentarō's brow twitched. He instinctively started his run-up.

"Three-man block!" Date Tech's Iron Wall rose once again.

"I've been waiting for this moment!"

Kyōtani Kentarō leaned back, gathered all his power, and whipped his arm forward.

BOOM!!!—

The ball cut through the left side of the block.

Aone Takanobu reacted instantly. The already narrow gap was sealed shut as he swung his arm down to block—

But Kyōtani's spike was faster!

THUMP!

The ball hit the ground—just outside the left sideline on Date Tech's side.

Futakuchi Kenji had been just about to exhale in relief, ready to smile—

But then he saw the referee's call.

"Touch out—Aoba Johsai point."

[Aoba Johsai 3 – 1 Date Tech]

"…Huh?" Futakuchi Kenji stared in disbelief.

"Sorry," Aone Takanobu turned and said. "It brushed my hand."

Futakuchi Kenji: "…"

Fine. Guess Aoba Johsai got lucky.

"Hmph!" Kyōtani Kentarō scowled, even though they'd scored the point.

Clearly, he wasn't satisfied.

It wasn't just him who had grown—Date Tech's blocking had become way more formidable too…

Serve switched.

Yūki Yōji stepped up for a powerful jump serve.

Boom!!!

Smack!

Futakuchi Kenji received the ball with difficulty, gritting his teeth.

"Koganegawa! Cover!"

Koganegawa Kanji quickly repositioned and set the ball to the middle.

"Kindaichi!"

"Got it!"

Koganegawa Kanji's setting technique was average—he could only deliver fast and accurate sets when the spiker was relatively close to him. If the distance was far, or he had to reposition himself for coverage, his only option was—

A slow high ball!

Aone Takanobu jumped up for the spike.

"Triple block!" The front line of Aoba Johsai, centred around Kindaichi Yūtarō, jumped together.

Boom!!!

Smack!

"First touch!" Kindaichi called toward the back line.

"Chance ball!"

Kunimi Akira's pass was right on target—Kaedehara Taichi leapt from the back row for the spike.

"Double block!" Koganegawa had already returned to the front, jumping alongside Obara Yutaka to block Taichi.

"Their blocking quality really is impressive..." Taichi knew he could score here, but the more important thing now was to activate the other players in the offence—he couldn't let things repeat like before.

Whoosh—!

The ball flew to the left wing. Kindaichi Yūtarō, who had just landed from his previous block, didn't hesitate—he jumped immediately for the spike.

Boom!!

Smack!

"What?!"

"First touch!" Aone shouted from the back line—he probably spoke more during a volleyball match than in an entire day off the court.

"Nice block!" Futakuchi Kenji grinned. "You think you can get past Aone with a set like that? Not that easy." Sakunami Kōsuke's receive was accurate, and Koganegawa jumped in the front row without hiding his intent to spike!

"Double block!" Now the only players who could get in front of him were Kyōtani Kentarō and Yahaba Shigeru.

Boom!!!

A spike over the top of their hands!

The ball slammed hard into the court right in front of Yūki Yōji and bounced up.

Koganegawa Kanji scored with a second-touch attack.

[Aoba Johsai 3 – 2 Date Tech]

"Whoa! That was solid…!"

"Nice one, Koganegawa!"

"That's it! Blow through Aoba!"

In the stands, the three Date Tech alumni were once again on their feet—Kamasaki Yasushi was pumping his fist, his sheer enthusiasm rivalling an entire cheer squad.

"Geez, do office workers have this much free time?" Futakuchi muttered, though the corners of his mouth twitched with amusement.

"Futakuchi! What are you mumbling about! We took a full day off just to come cheer for you guys!" Kamasaki bellowed. "You punks better play your hearts out!"

"Yes, yes," Futakuchi replied with a helpless smile. It really did feel like they had a home-court advantage now.

"Koganegawa! We watched the recordings of your previous matches too!" Their former captain, Moniwa Kaname, shouted from the stands. "You've all gotten so strong! Keep it up!"

"Yes, Moniwa-senpai!" Koganegawa's heart swelled with joy at the praise.

Serve rotation—Date Tech to serve.

Aone tossed the ball up, took a running start, jumped, and struck it.

Boom!!!

A plain, no-frills serve—its power and speed alone carried an overwhelming presence!

Smack!

Nakamori Daiki absorbed it with a front-line receive, his body rolling back into two full somersaults to cushion the impact.

The ball floated above Aoba Johsai's side. Yahaba quickly moved into position for the set.

Everyone on Aoba Johsai shared a common goal: In this match, the first attack point at the net couldn't come from Kaedehara Taichi!

The ball arced high toward the left wing. Kyōtani Kentarō sprinted in at a nearly parallel angle to the net.

Thud!

It appeared!

Mid-air, Kyōtani stretched his body to the limit—executing a "Reverse-C" posture that only he, with his incredible flexibility, could pull off!

Even if Date Tech's blocking was top tier, the most prominent among them were Aone Takanobu and Futakuchi Kenji. If you added height pressure, Koganegawa Kanji could just barely be included too.

"So let's start by breaking down this wall!"

Bam!!!

"Triple block!" Koganegawa, Obara, and Fukiage Jingo jumped simultaneously.

All three stood over 185cm tall—compared to them, Kyōtani Kentarō looked small.

Aone and Onagawa Tarō readied themselves in the line and cross directions respectively—this was the best defensive formation Date Tech could muster with this positioning!

But the ball didn't come from the far left, nor the sideline.

BOOM!!!

Smack!

Kyōtani had aimed between Obara and Fukiage's arms!

The volleyball squeezed through the gap and slammed down inside Date Tech's court!

Kyōtani Kentarō scored with a powerful spike!

[Aoba Johsai 4 – 2 Date Tech]

"Huh, Date Tech's Iron Wall isn't as scary as I thought."

Kyōtani tilted his chin up slightly. Even though he wasn't as physically imposing as the three blockers across from him, the energy radiating from his body was just as fierce.

Serve rotation—Aoba Johsai to serve.

Kyōtani's spike had undeniably lifted their spirits. They were here for payback, and each of them was different from before.

Yahaba launched a jump float serve, targeting front-row Koganegawa Kanji!

"I got it!"

Obara dashed sideways for the receive, while Koganegawa quickly moved away from the ball.

Smack!

The first touch wasn't exactly ideal—Obara had simply pushed the ball high—for Date Tech, height was their most direct advantage.

Koganegawa looped around behind Obara. The high ball gave him plenty of time to adjust.

Whoosh—!

He jumped and set it—though his technique wasn't refined enough to fool Aoba Johsai's blockers with a dump, that wasn't even Date Tech's plan.

Aone soared from the back row for the spike.

"Triple block!" Kunimi, Kindaichi, and Kyōtani leapt up together.

Boom!!!

Smack!

The ball crashed into Kunimi's forearm and bounced back up.

"Whoa, this guy's not as weak as he looks…" Futakuchi had thought Aone would break straight through the block.

"Chance ball!"

The ball floated back above Date Tech's side. Futakuchi received it easily—perfect pass.

Koganegawa jumped as if to spike.

It was clearly a feint, but Aoba Johsai still couldn't risk giving him an open net.

Kindaichi jumped to block—Koganegawa set to the right.

Obara leapt up for the spike.

Kyōtani jumped to block, but couldn't apply enough pressure.

Boom!

The ball landed inside Aoba Johsai's court.

Obara Yutaka scored with the spike!

[Aoba Johsai 4 – 3 Date Tech]

Date Tech was holding the score close!

"So that's it…" Nakamori Daiki watched the spot where the ball landed thoughtfully.

Date Tech's offence wasn't one that could ignore the blockers entirely—but in terms of height, they had an overwhelming edge.

Different attack angles meant the common landing points also changed.

Date Tech reclaimed the serve. After rotating, Onagawa Tarō moved to the front row.

He was the only attacker on Date Tech shorter than 185cm. With his arrival to the front, a noticeable hole appeared in the Iron Wall.

Coach Oiwake frowned. Originally, that position should have been filled by Kimura Ryōta (185cm). With him in the lineup, not only would the blocking remain solid, but the offensive strength would also rise significantly.

"But…"

Kimura had only just been subbed out after being targeted by Kaedehara Taichi—and it had barely been five minutes.

"Coach, let me go in." Kimura Ryōta had noticed the coach's gaze and couldn't hold himself back anymore. His teammates had always supported him—if he couldn't help them when it counted most, it would be too shameful.

Oiwake hadn't expected Kimura to volunteer to go back in. In this set, he was positioned to go head-to-head with Taichi again, and that couldn't be changed.

Normally, it would be better to wait until the next set to stagger their matchups—that would be best for both Kimura and the team.

But Oiwake didn't immediately respond. After all, Kimura's voice was still trembling.

He averted his eyes from the boy and refocused on the court—his expression serious and composed.

"Kimura, don't rush." Oiwake spoke calmly. "For now, I want you to put yourself in Onagawa's shoes. Think about what you would do in those situations."

Even though you're the one most anxious right now, Coach...Kimura thought quietly. But as he looked into his coach's unwavering eyes, he found himself slowly settling down again.

"You're an irreplaceable part of this team. The next time you go out there, I want you to show everyone your full potential."

"Yes!"

_________

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