Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 435: Praise and Fury

"What a spike!!!"

"To think he pulled off a sharp cut shot over the hands of a triple block! That's incredible!"

"Miya Atsumu too—giving the ball to Hoshiumi Kōrai at a time like this, both the setter and the spiker showed serious guts!"

"With that, the U.S. team's counterattack has been completely shut down!"

A change of serve. Japan would now serve. Hoshiumi Kōrai stepped up to the line.

"Kōrai! Give us a good one!"

"Let's finish them off in one go!"

Every time he overcame a crisis, Hoshiumi Kōrai grew stronger.

This wasn't the first time—and wouldn't be the last—that he had to face adversity because of his height.

But today, once again, he rose above that wall.

"Tweet!—"

The whistle for the serve blew.

From the ashes, Hoshiumi Kōrai returned ablaze, his eyes burning with fighting spirit!

He tossed the ball high into the air and followed with a quick approach.

Thud!

He jumped, pouring every ounce of strength into his arm—and without hesitation, spiked the ball down hard.

BOOM!!—

The volleyball traced a sharp path through the air, soaring over the net like a shooting star and striking deep into the U.S. court.

—"Mine!" Matt Anderson and Erik Shoji both shouted at once.

The ball shot straight between them. Its vertical drop was too steep—they couldn't follow its trajectory.

Smack!

The ball struck the baseline of the U.S. court with a clean crack.

Hoshiumi Kōrai scored a direct point with his serve!

[Japan 7 - 4 USA]

—"They've got the U.S. pinned down!"

—"What a serve!"

"Yeahhh!!" Hoshiumi let out a full-throated roar. Despite being the smallest player on the court, in that moment, he shone brighter than anyone—like a true star.

"He's really something," said Micah Christenson with a nod, then turned to the teammate beside him.

"Anderson, don't bother trying to match him blow for blow," Christenson said plainly. "Technically, you're not on his level."

"Yeah," Matt Anderson didn't argue. "But having someone like that on the court…makes things interesting."

Japan continued to serve.

Hoshiumi Kōrai launched his second serve.

BOOM!!—

The trajectory was no different from the last—just as aggressive and unrelenting.

"I got it!"

This time, Erik Shoji slid into position without interference. He had read the ball's drop precisely.

Smack!

The ball floated up cleanly. Micah Christenson moved in to set.

Middle blocker Jeff Jendryk and opposite Aaron Russell both surged forward to attack. Now trailing, the U.S. team was finally upping the intensity once again.

Fwoosh!—

The ball shot high toward the centre of the court.

Jeff Jendryk jumped for the spike, only to find Kaehara Taichi right in front of him.

Despite only one blocker making it to the net, Japan's defence formation in the back row was stacked—Sakusa Kiyoomi, Komori Motoya, and Hoshiumi Kōrai all locked in on the ball.

BOOM!!!

The ball narrowly avoided the block and slammed down just inside the 3-meter line on Japan's left side.

Jeff Jendryk scored with a clean spike.

[Japan 7 - 5 USA]

It should've been an ordinary point. But for some reason, the crowd couldn't shake a strange sense of unease from it.

Serve change. The U.S. now had the ball. Micah Christenson rotated to the front row.

Taylor Sander jumped high for a powerful serve.

BOOM!!!

Smack!

Hoshiumi Kōrai made the receive.

Miya Atsumu moved in to set. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the U.S. team had already shifted toward Kaehara Taichi's side on the left.

"Damn it…"

There's nothing more frustrating for a setter—before the ball even leaves your hands, the opponent's defence is already certain where it's going.

Aside from Kaehara Taichi, Japan still had two other attackers in the front row: Miya Atsumu himself, and Hirugami Sachirō.

But due to his height disadvantage, Miya Atsumu wasn't as much of a threat against a team like the U.S. as he had been during high school.

And Hirugami Sachirō's attacks? With Christenson's coverage and the U.S. back row, they probably had that handled too.

Sakusa Kiyoomi and Kaehara Taichi were on the same side. In that sense, the U.S. focusing their defence on Taichi wasn't unreasonable.

"Bastards…that reaction was way too fast."

Whoosh—!

Miya Atsumu sent the ball to the left wing. If Kaehara Taichi could at least draw in a triple block, then even if they didn't score, Japan would still have time to defend the counter.

Thud!

Kaehara Taichi leapt for the spike.

"Triple block!" Jeff Jendryk, Aaron Russell, and Micah Christenson all jumped at once.

The angle was completely shut down—no room to swing.

BOOM!!!

Kaehara Taichi wiped the ball off Jeff Jendryk's arm.

Smack!

The ball ricocheted toward the sideline.

Taylor Sander darted to the far left and managed to receive it cleanly.

"They saw through it…?"

Christenson feinted a spike without taking a single step, jumping straight up on the spot. Kaedehara Taichi timed a second jump to meet him face-to-face.

Fwoosh—!

The ball flew toward the right wing.

There had been no one there—until Matt Anderson leapt up from the back row for a spike.

Hirugami Sachirō reacted swiftly and went up for a block.

BOOM!!!

The ball bypassed the blockers and slammed hard into the three-meter line on the right side of Team Japan's court.

Matt Anderson scored with a back-row attack.

[Japan 7 – 6 USA]

In the back row, Sakusa Kiyoomi, Komori Motoya, and Hoshiumi Kōrai stood frozen.

"Tweet!—"

"Japan calls a timeout."

Hibarida Fuki had finally picked up on the subtle change—Team USA's hitters had simultaneously shifted their offensive strategy.

Originally, they had relied purely on height to blast the ball past the blockers with high-contact hits. While that approach was already tough to defend against, Japan had gradually adapted over the first two sets, managing to receive those spikes.

After all, even if their block couldn't stop the ball, it could still restrict the attack trajectory.

But now, in recent plays—whether targeting the block head-on or avoiding it altogether—Team USA's intention was clear: they were deliberately avoiding Japan's receivers.

"To be able to pull something like that off..."

"If we push the back-row defenders forward to compensate, they'll just go back to spiking over the top again."

"In the end, it all comes back to the hole in our block..."

The players returned to the bench, gathering around the coaching staff for tactical adjustments, quickly hydrating and catching their breath.

"...That's why, with an expanded defensive range, we're bound to give up points. During this stretch, we need to steady the pace with aggressive offence. Once we catch onto the tendencies in their spiking, that'll be our signal to strike back."

"Yes, sir!!!"

-----

Timeout over. The match resumed, and the players returned to the court.

"Atsumu-senpai, please don't hesitate with your sets next time," Kaedehara Taichi said as he passed Miya Atsumu. "It's written all over your toss."

"Huh?!?"

Miya glared at him, but Taichi calmly walked to his position.

"Damn brat, getting into his own teammates' heads now...!"

Even so, Miya knew deep down that his hesitation during the last play had only given Team USA more room to adjust.

Can't afford to let my guard down with this guy around. A feral grin crept across his face. Fine by me. I'm the same kind of player.

Team USA resumed their serve.

Taylor Sander tossed up the second ball.

BOOM!!!

Smack!

This time, the serve flew straight. Komori received it cleanly, the first touch perfectly on point.

Kaedehara Taichi was already airborne on the left wing. Miya Atsumu jumped and tossed.

Whoosh!—

"Double block!" Jeff Jendryk and Aaron Russell both leapt to shut it down.

Taichi's brow furrowed. They're this fast?

That kind of tempo attack would normally arrive before most blockers could react—but somehow, the Americans had both caught up. Worse yet, Atsumu's quick sets had a key difference from Kageyama Tobio's: Atsumu's tosses didn't hang in front of the attacker for even a split second.

That meant Taichi had no time to adjust midair.

BOOM!!!—

Smack!—

The ball grazed the tips of Jeff Jendryk's fingers and shot far into the distance. Taylor Sander couldn't save it—the ball dropped outside the backline.

Kaedehara Taichi scored with a spike.

[Japan 8 – 6 USA]

"Next time won't be so lucky," Jeff Jendryk muttered, eyes locked on Taichi.

He had felt it. As he came down from the block, the ball had just barely brushed past his fingertips. Taichi had timed the hit to perfection—any earlier, and it would've been shut down; any later, and it would've flown out.

Jendryk didn't believe it was deliberate.

"Then go ahead and try again," Kaedehara Taichi fired back without backing down.

Serve rotation—Team Japan now had the serve.

Hirugami Sachirō launched a powerful jump serve. Matt Anderson had to receive it himself.

Micah Christenson closed in to cover and delivered a quick toss. Jeff Jendryk and Aaron Russell launched a synchronised attack.

Fwoosh!—

BOOM!!!

The ball cleanly bypassed Hyakuzawa Yūdai's block and slammed down on the left sideline of Team Japan's court.

Jeff Jendryk scored.

[Japan 8 – 7 USA]

Serve rotation—USA serve.

Jeff Jendryk sent out a blistering jump serve. Sakusa received it cleanly.

Miya Atsumu jumped to set. Up front: Hyakuzawa Yūdai and Kaedehara Taichi. From the back row, Hoshiumi Kōrai also charged in.

USA's front-row blockers marked Taichi with two men, and one stayed on Hyakuzawa. As for Hoshiumi—despite his solid offensive performance, he was in the back row, and USA didn't consider him a serious threat.

Boom!

Atsumu tipped the ball over himself—second-touch attack.

Point scored.

[Japan 9 – 7 USA]

This guy? Again?!!

So far, Miya Atsumu hadn't been playing particularly well. His sets had been passable but unremarkable; his serves, aside from one error, hadn't landed any aces. As a setter, he had tried attacking a few times, with about a 50% success rate.

This version of Miya Atsumu didn't feel like the real him at all.

"If I score—then praise me as loud as you can. If I mess up and cost us points—then scream at me with everything you've got."

"No consolation prizes, thanks…"

"I only want to live in one of two kinds of voices: applause or scolding."

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