Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 400: Seijoh Vs. Inarizaki, Round Three!

Aoba Johsai's starting lineup:

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

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

Inarizaki's starting lineup:

Front row—Middle Blocker Suna Rintarō, Setter Miya Atsumu, Outside Hitter Riseki Heisuke.

Back row—Outside Hitter Ginjima Hitoshi, Outside Hitter Miya Osamu and Middle Blocker Nojima Nobu (Libero: Sakurai Shōta).

"Haha, just having Shinsuke watching from the sidelines is enough to make these boys tense up," said Coach Ōmi, watching his team warming up with satisfaction.

"Yeah," Coach Kurozu nodded. "If possible, I'd love to bring Kita every time we have a match."

Inarizaki served first. Nojima Nobu stepped up to the service line.

Kaedehara Taichi gave a quick glance at the unfamiliar face.

[Nojima Nobu—Middle Blocker: Overall Rating: 84.5; Height: 190 cm, Strength: 88, Jump: 80, Stamina: 85, Speed: 80; Key Attributes: Block: 88, Spike: 85.]

Other than his height, there wasn't much that stood out.

Boom!!

With a powerful jump serve from Nojima Nobu, the match officially began!

"I got it!"

Smack!

Nakamori Daiki received the ball cleanly, delivering a perfect first touch.

Thump!

Kaedehara Taichi leapt at the net and swung for a spike.

A lightning-fast attack initiated straight off the receive!

"Double block!" Miya Atsumu and Riseki Heisuke jumped up together.

Inarizaki had intentionally matched Suna Rintarō against Kaedehara Taichi in the rotation to restrict him as much as possible. But Aoba Johsai's rapid attack right off the bat caught Suna stuck on the left side.

BOOM!!

Smack!

The volleyball shot past Riseki Heisuke's right side and bounced off Nojima Nobu's arm in the back row.

Kaedehara Taichi scored on the first spike.

[Aoba Johsai 1 – 0 Inarizaki]

—"What an easy point! Taichi looked so relaxed as he spiked it—it didn't even seem like he used his full strength!"

—"Aoba takes the first point with a blindingly fast quick attack!"

"Tch…That guy just keeps getting harder to deal with." Miya Atsumu only ever looked this serious when facing Kaedehara Taichi.

"Don't worry about it—he's doing that on purpose! Let's take the ball back on the next one!"

"Right!!"

Service rotation. Kindaichi Yūtarō stepped up for a powerful jump serve.

BOOM!

Smack!

The serve was right down the middle. Miya Osamu received it cleanly.

Miya Atsumu moved in to set. At both ends of the net, Suna Rintarō and Riseki Heisuke started their approach.

Whoosh!—

Bang!—

Aoba Johsai's front left, Yahaba Shigeru, was targeted as the weak point in the block.

Suna Rintarō smashed a sharp line shot right on the sideline.

[Aoba Johsai 1 – 1 Inarizaki]

"Nice spike, Rintarō!"

"Rintarō's got a good feel today! That first hit was already so precise!"

Suna Rintarō spread his hands in front of his face, his narrow, amber-brown eyes reflecting only one figure—Kaedehara Taichi.

After all, foxes are notoriously vengeful creatures.

Suna Rintarō, who rarely got fired up against other teams, was going all in today.

—"Incredible! Both teams are colliding head-on from the very start with explosive offence!"

Service rotated again. Inarizaki's serve.

Riseki Heisuke, who had racked up serve points against Date Tech, walked to the line. The Aoba Johsai players watched him with wary eyes.

Riseki Heisuke adjusted his breathing, then took a deep breath and tossed the ball high. He held his breath during his run-up and jumped sharply beneath the ball. His arm swung up and down with full-body force.

BOOM!—

The volleyball sliced through the air with a howling sound as it hurtled toward Aoba Johsai's back row. Nakamori Daiki's eyes tracked the ball closely.

Smack!

"Got it!" Nakamori Daiki called out as he received the ball.

To pull off such a flawless cannon shot right at the start of the match—yeah, that was impressive!

Whoosh—!

Yahaba Shigeru quickly moved into position and set the ball high toward the centre.

Only Inarizaki needed to strategise here. For Aoba Johsai, as long as Kaedehara Taichi was in the front row, the team's only job was to get the ball to him.

Thump!

Kaedehara Taichi soared into the air in the middle!

"Triple block!" Ginjima Hitoshi, Suna Rintarō, and Miya Atsumu all jumped up at the same time.

BOOM!!!

A spike over the block!

The volleyball actually flew over the highest point of Suna Rintarō's block.

Smack!

The ball slammed down beside Sakurai Shōta's foot and bounced up.

Kaedehara Taichi scored with a spike!

[Aoba Johsai 2 - 1 Inarizaki]

Was the ball just too fast? Or was his body too stiff? Sakurai Shōta pressed his lips tightly together, his expression tense. At this rate, he wouldn't even be able to touch the next one...

"Shōta! Use your eyes to adjust first—then try going for the ball," came Miya Osamu's voice from the left. "Don't panic. This is only Aoba Johsai's second point."

"R-right!"

"Until you find your rhythm, we'll make sure to keep the score close."

Sakurai suddenly realised—prideful as he was, Osamu-senpai actually used the phrase "keep the score close."

Everyone on Inarizaki, no—more precisely, everyone facing Kaedehara Taichi, was under tremendous pressure.

Serve possession switched.

Yahaba Shigeru delivered a floating jump serve.

This was the moment.

Smack!

Miya Osamu received the ball cleanly, bumping it directly toward the net.

What might pose trouble for most teams—this float serve—was basically a free ball for Osamu.

Thud!

Miya Atsumu leapt at the net, going for a setter dump!

"Double block!" Yūki Yōji and Kunimi Akira sprang up together.

Whoosh—!

Unsurprisingly, the ball flew toward the left. Kaedehara Taichi had already been waiting there.

Thud!

Suna Rintarō and Kaedehara Taichi jumped up at the same time, locking eyes across the net.

Bang!—

Suna twisted at the waist and spiked toward the right; Taichi's block came crashing down diagonally in response.

Smack!

The ball landed cleanly—Suna Rintarō scored with a spike.

[Aoba Johsai 2 - 2 Inarizaki]

"Oh dear, trying to block that kind of spike alone was still a bit too ambitious, huh?" Taichi remarked casually.

"You dummy, Taichi! You promised I'd take that one!" Nakamori Daiki yelled from the back row. "You've been teaching Kindaichi-senpai how to block properly, and here you go flailing your hands like crazy—!"

Taichi: "….."

Kunimi Akira chuckled off to the side. Sometimes being too familiar wasn't such a great thing—after all, Nakamori was the only one in the entire team who didn't treat "Taichi-senpai" with an ounce of seniority.

Suna Rintarō, catching some of Nakamori's words, darkened slightly.

So they thought he was some pushover?

It was bad enough that Kaedehara Taichi thought he could stop him with a solo block—but now even this unfamiliar first-year libero thought he could dig his spikes?

Serve possession switched—Miya Atsumu stepped up to the line.

Inarizaki's intent was crystal clear: they were aiming to take the lead this round!

_________

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