Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 393: Advancing to the Final Four

"It's fine! No matter how amazing he is, that's just one point." Matsuo Satoshi said calmly. "Besides, he's already rotated to the back row!"

"Yeah!" The Ichibayashi players, momentarily stunned, quickly regained their focus. Since they had already resolved to fight to the end, there would be no more hesitation!

Kaedehara Taichi walked toward the service line, his focus razor-sharp.

"I'll stay in the back row like you wanted—but first, you'll need to survive my serve."

"Tweet!—"

The whistle blew. Taichi tossed the ball up and launched himself into motion.

BOOM!!!

A blur zipped across the court—the spinning volleyball hurtled toward Matsuo Satoshi in Ichibayashi's back row.

After all, Ichibayashi didn't seem to have many offensive organisers. As long as they could pin down the setter...

Smack!

"Keep it up!"

Hanyū Kōmitsu managed to keep the ball in play. Yasui Junichi returned it over the net with a powerless back-row free ball.

"Chance ball!"

Kaedehara Taichi received it effortlessly. In a flash, Kunimi Akira leapt at the net.

"Damn it!"

Faced with the sudden quick attack, Uchizawa Iori hurriedly jumped to block.

Which side will he set to?

Ichibayashi's eyes darted between Yūki Yōji and Kyōtani Kentarō—but most of their focus ended up on Kyōtani's side.

Thud!

The volleyball slipped past the block and landed inside Ichibayashi's court.

Kunimi Akira scored with a second-touch spike.

[Aoba Johsai 6 - 3 Ichibayashi]

"Huh? He really hit it himself?!"

"Wait, wouldn't setting to the spiker have been better just now?"

"Not necessarily—if it scores, then it was the right play. And he barely ever gets points, you know."

The surrounding murmurs reached Kunimi's ears. He glanced at the crowd, speechless. "What's wrong with scoring? I am technically a wing spiker, too, you know."

Meanwhile, it looked like Kyōtani Kentarō's patience was just about to snap.

Aoba Johsai continued serving.

Kaedehara Taichi launched his second serve.

BOOM!!!

"I got it!"

The ball dropped between Hanyū Kōmitsu and Matsuo Satoshi. Hanyū sprang into action.

Smack!

The receive veered off to the left, but Matsuo quickly shifted over and popped it up. Araki Kōsei leapt for the spike.

"Triple block!" Yūki Yōji, Kunimi Akira, and Kyōtani Kentarō all jumped up.

BOOM!!!

Smack!

The ball slipped past Kentarō's right side and deflected off Nakamori Daiki's arm, flying out of bounds.

Araki Kōsei scored with a spike.

[Aoba Johsai 6 - 4 Ichibayashi]

"They read us?"

Matsuo Satoshi's face grew tense. The worst-case scenario was already becoming a reality—even before Ichibayashi could find a way to counter Kaedehara Taichi's pressure, Aoba Johsai's libero might have already figured out how to defend against Araki Kōsei.

—"And once again, Ichibayashi manages to keep the ball alive!"

—"But the ball flies straight back into Aoba Johsai's court!"

—"Kyōtani—charging in like a ferocious panther—bursts toward the net with astonishing power!"

—"It's received again!!!"

—"The Ichibayashi players are covered in scrapes and bruises, clearly exhausted—but they're still running with everything they've got!"

—"Araki—!"

—"The ball breaks through Aoba Johsai's block and slams into the floor! At last, this long rally ends with a point for Ichibayashi!"

Araki Kōsei scored with a spike!

[Aoba Johsai 18 - 15 Ichibayashi]

"Kunimi, your blocking is way too loose!" Kyōtani Kentarō barked, frowning.

"Y-yeah…" Kunimi Akira muttered, shaking his aching arm.

Still, Kunimi thought, what's really unbelievable is that those guys from Ichibayashi still have the strength to keep moving at all...

They looked like they could collapse at any moment.

Huff—huff—

It was only the second set, and yet the Ichibayashi players already looked completely worn out.

Matsuo Satoshi leaned forward with his hands on his knees, gasping heavily, his chest rising and falling dramatically. Sweat poured down Araki Kōsei's face like a broken string of pearls, soaking through his jersey and sticking it tightly to his body.

But what worried the Ichibayashi cheering section the most—was Hanyū Kōmitsu, standing in the back row, his body trembling faintly as he teetered on the verge of collapse. Every breath he took looked like a battle in itself, as if only by drawing every last bit of air into his lungs could he ease the overwhelming pain.

The Aoba Johsai players looked on in silence. No words, no pity.

They had been in that place before, after all—that moment when no matter how much strength you put in, you just couldn't overcome the wall in front of you.

Cough, cough…

Matsuo Satoshi's eyes revealed a deep weariness. He glanced over his teammates with a helpless expression.

"We're done for…With this kind of intensity, there's no way we'll last until the end of the match."

In every rally, Ichibayashi's movement far outpaced Aoba Johsai's. The technical gap could only be closed by throwing their bodies at the game, over and over.

I want to rest.

I want to catch my breath.

I just want this match to end already.

"Damn it…If it's just rest we want, there's all the time in the world after elimination!" Matsuo Satoshi growled, pounding his fists against his legs in frustration.

"Damn it…Can't I move at all?"

"We have to move!"

"Body! Legs! Arms!"

It felt as if the players of Ichibayashi were bound by invisible chains. Their bodies had grown so heavy that even the smallest movement seemed to require tremendous effort.

"Tweet!—"

The whistle for serve blew.

Araki Kōsei stood behind the service line, drawing in a deep breath, holding it in.

He tossed the ball up. His legs felt like they were filled with lead—it was hard to believe he even managed to move.

BOOM!!!

Perhaps he hadn't thrown the ball high enough—the serve struck the top of the net. But the sheer force behind it was enough to pop the ball up. Kunimi Akira, who had stepped forward to receive, paused in hesitation as the ball fell behind him.

"That was a bit much…" Kunimi muttered under his breath, clearly displeased.

The ball hit the floor.

Araki Kōsei scored directly from serve.

[Aoba Johsai 18 – 16 Ichibayashi]

"Haha…" Hanyū Kōmitsu chuckled cheerfully. "Looks like Lady Luck doesn't want us to give up yet."

"Let's ride this momentum and win this match!"

Yasui Junichi shouted. "Let's goooo!"

Seeing his teammates suddenly "full of energy" again, Araki Kōsei couldn't help but laugh. Somehow, his body felt lighter. No matter what, this match had been one hell of a fight—and it felt amazing.

BOOM!!!

Araki served again.

Smack!

Kaedehara Taichi received the ball cleanly.

"I've got it!"

Hearing the irritation in Kyōtani Kentarō's voice, Taichi gave a wry smile and stepped back. Fair enough—after all, thanks to Ichibayashi's relentless efforts, even the Mad Dog senpai had been shut down several times today.

Whoosh—!

The ball arced toward the right wing. Kyōtani sprinted along the net and leapt into the air.

"Triple block!" Yasui Junichi, Matsukawa Takuya, and Uchizawa Iori all jumped together.

From Kyōtani's body angle, Ichibayashi had completely sealed off his cross shot. The line shot, on the other hand, was right where Araki Kōsei stood waiting to receive.

BOOM!!!—

SMACK!

Kyōtani stubbornly spiked toward the cross anyway. The ball crashed into the blockers' hands—and punched through them!

Hanyū Kōmitsu lunged toward the falling ball just in time.

Bang!

The ball smashed into Hanyū's raised arms and bounced high.

Boom!!

Just as the ball crossed back over to Aoba Johsai's side, Yūki Yōji jumped and slammed it down.

A clean spike.

Ichibayashi's blockers had just landed from their jump.

The ball thudded into the court beside Hanyū.

Yūki Yōji scored with a spike.

[Aoba Johsai 19 – 16 Ichibayashi]

Hanyū lay on the floor, his breathing shallow and ragged. His vision blurred, and the world around him seemed to fade away.

"Hanyū! Are you okay?!"

"Kōmitsu! Can you hear us?!"

His teammates rushed over as the coach immediately called for a timeout.

Pain and frustration twisted Hanyū's expression. The blow from the ball radiated through his body, but he clenched his teeth, struggling to push himself off the floor.

"You've done enough."

Araki Kōsei knelt beside him, supporting his upper body—but didn't try to lift him up.

"I'm not hurt, I just…don't have any strength left," Hanyū insisted stubbornly. "If I just rest a bit, I can still—"

But Araki could feel it—Hanyū's body was trembling uncontrollably. And yet, his eyes still burned with the fire of defiance.

"That's enough," said Coach Tamagawa calmly. "You've done well, Hanyū."

"It's thanks to you that we managed to keep up with Aoba Johsai in this second set."

"Now, let the rest of the team take it from here."

"Coach, I—" Hanyū choked on his words, unable to finish the sentence.

"Rest up, recover quickly," Matsuo Satoshi said, patting him on the shoulder. "We'll be counting on you in set three!"

"…Yeah."

Hanyū's lips trembled slightly as he fought to contain the swell of emotion inside him.

The timeout ended, and the match resumed.

Ichibayashi's substitute libero, Nakazawa Akita, was a first-year—this was his first time playing on the national stage. But in the end, he couldn't turn the tide.

And truthfully, the remaining players on court weren't doing much better than Hanyū. This was their—match of the day, and at this intensity, hitting their physical limits was only natural.

The game quickly spiralled out of control. The score gap widened in an instant.

-----

[Aoba Johsai 25 – 18 Ichibayashi]

Hanyū Kōmitsu never got the chance to return to the court. No one brought up that well-intentioned lie from earlier.

"Tweet—!" fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

The long whistle sounded.

The second set was over.

Victory: Aoba Johsai.

With a dominant 2-0 win over Ichibayashi, Aoba Johsai became the first team to advance to the Final Four on Day 3 of the National Tournament.

_________

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