Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 389: In a Disarray

—"What a shame—it was so close! Hanyū dove in for the save without a second of hesitation, but still couldn't reach it…"

—"That looked like a nasty fall! But even so, there was not a trace of hesitation in Hanyū's motion as he hurled himself toward the ball!"

In just a few rallies, the players of Ichibayashi had already moved the audience. People admired the strong and gravitated toward elite teams—but the sheer hunger for victory, the fearless grit of these underdogs, was just as worthy of respect.

Coach Tamagawa watched the court with a stern expression.

"Some might think, 'It's just the start of the match, there's no need to go all out yet.'"

"But for you guys, every single point is crucial. There's no such thing as 'just the beginning' or 'almost the end'."

"We don't have the same leeway as our opponents to take things slow. So wherever we fall short in individual ability, we'll make up for it with everything we've got."

"You okay, Hanyū?" Yasui Junichi asked with concern.

"I'm fine." Hanyū Kōmitsu grabbed his teammate's hand and pulled himself up. "So close...If I had taken off just a second earlier, I might've gotten to it."

"It's alright! Next point!"

"Yeah!"

Service switched—Seijoh to serve.

Yahaba Shigeru served a floating jump serve. Yasui Junichi stepped up to receive—

Smack!

—The ball drifted backwards?!

It barely grazed Yasui Junichi's fingertips and tumbled behind him.

Smack!

Hanyū Kōmitsu scrambled and managed to save the ball just in time.

With little room to manoeuvre, Yasui Junichi jumped in place and sent the ball from the back row toward Seijoh's court.

"Chance ball!"

Nakamori Daiki received the ball cleanly and made a first touch that floated perfectly to the left wing. Kunimi Akira leapt up to spike.

"This is bad!" The players of Ichibayashi could tell—this was one of Seijoh's most practised setups.

Araki Kōsei jumped to meet Kunimi Akira at the net.

Whoosh!—

But the ball sliced past Kindaichi Yūtarō's side and veered far right—Kyōtani Kentarō jumped in to strike.

"Double block!" Uchizawa Iori and Matsuo Satoshi went up together.

BOOM!

The spike shot past Matsuo Satoshi's right side and slammed hard in front of Yasui Junichi.

Kyōtani Kentarō scored!

[Aoba Johsai 4 - 2 Ichibayashi]

"Sorry!" Yasui Junichi shouted in frustration.

From the initial receiving error to the final point landing right in front of him, he felt every moment of that sequence was his fault. He replayed the entire rally in his head.

"Next ball."

Araki Kōsei's calm voice cut through the tension.

Yahaba Shigeru served again.

"I got it!" Hanyū Kōmitsu called out as he received the ball overhead.

Matsuo Satoshi stepped in to set it to the left. Araki Kōsei leapt for the spike.

"Triple block!" Kunimi Akira, Kindaichi Yūtarō, and Kyōtani Kentarō all went up.

BOOM!

Smack!

"Touched once!" Kindaichi Yūtarō shouted. No way we're letting them keep spiking so comfortably!

The ball flew toward the back of Seijoh's court.

And once again, when it came to digging the ball out, Nakamori Daiki was far more composed than Hanyū Kōmitsu, having read the direction of the spike in advance.

Smack!

He returned the ball cleanly to the net. Yahaba Shigeru jumped to set.

Kyōtani Kentarō sprinted in from outside the right sideline and leapt in one step.

"Triple block!"

All three of Ichibayashi's front row players jumped, focusing more on covering Kyōtani's cross-court angle.

"Hmph."

Kyōtani let out a scoff. He had already noticed Ichibayashi's libero, whose eyes were fixed on him with intense focus.

So what?!

BOOM!

Kyōtani feinted cross and slammed the ball straight down the line instead.

Smack!

Hanyū Kōmitsu met the spike head-on, the sheer force of it driving him to his knees.

The ball shot straight back into the air above Aoba Johsai's side of the court.

"Put it down!" Yahaba Shigeru shouted.

Kindaichi Yūtarō jumped and slammed the ball again before Ichibayashi's front row could react in time.

Hanyū Kōmitsu stubbornly lifted his head. Images of his usual training routines flashed through his mind:

—"Hanyū! On your feet, now!"

—"Hey, what's wrong? We haven't even hit 50 balls yet!"

—"The opponent's spike is coming! Are you still lying there taking a break?!"

—"Do you want to keep losing?!"

"Bring it on!!!"

Hanyū shoved both hands against the floor and pushed himself upright. The moment he felt the slightest mobility in his legs, he launched off the ground with all his strength. He was still off-balance when he hurled himself forward again—his movements clumsy and desperate, like a giant frog leaping for survival.

BOOM!

The ball pounded against the floor.

Smack!

It struck the back of Hanyū Kōmitsu's hand and bounced high into the air.

"Come at me all you want! I'll receive every single one of them!!!"

Ignoring the pain shooting through his right hand, Hanyū scrambled to his feet again.

The ball hadn't hit the ground yet. There was no time to breathe easy!

Matsuo Satoshi moved into position and set the ball to the left wing. Facing a ball saved by the sheer will of his teammate, Araki Kōsei didn't waste time with emotion.

Because every single one of Ichibayashi's points—they fought for them just like this.

BOOM!!

"Triple block!"

The ball skimmed past the fingertips of Kyōtani Kentarō and slammed down near Aoba Johsai's right-side three-meter line.

Araki Kōsei scored!

[Aoba Johsai 4 - 3 Ichibayashi]

"Yeaaahhhhhhh!!!" Ichibayashi's cheering squad erupted with a thunderous roar.

—"Every Ichibayashi match just makes you want to shout for them! They've taken back the serve!"

Araki Kōsei stepped up to the service line.

"Honestly, I was hoping we'd face Itachiyama first," Araki whispered to the ball in his hands. "Get revenge first...then take on the final boss."

"What a pity…"

"What doesn't kill us will only make us stronger." freeweɓnøvel.com

He tossed the ball into the air, took a running start, jumped, and struck it cleanly—

BOOM!!!

The serve was laser-focused toward the left side of Kaedehara Taichi.

"Going for the sideline, or targeting me?" Taichi thought. "Whichever it is—gotta admit, bold move."

Smack!

Kaedehara Taichi cleanly received the ball.

It was heavy. This guy's serve…

Kunimi Akira moved into place and set the ball high to the left wing.

"Go on, Mad Dog-senpai."

Kyōtani Kentarō jumped. His body arched in the air like a bow, and his right arm whipped forward from behind him.

"Triple block!" Uchizawa Iori, Matsuo Satoshi, and Yasui Junichi all jumped together.

Compared to the last round, this block was noticeably lower now that Yasui had replaced Araki Kōsei in the front.

Hanyū Kōmitsu knew this spike would come down even harder—so he lowered his centre of gravity as much as he could.

Tap.

With a setup that intense, Kyōtani's actual strike was…just a soft tap.

A tip!

The ball floated gently above the triple block and landed right inside Ichibayashi's three-meter line.

Tap, tap, tap—

Hanyū Kōmitsu's body collapsed to the floor as the ball rolled beside him. That helpless feeling…the stark contrast between their desperation and the ease with which the opponent moved—it was a brutal reminder of the gap in talent.

Kyōtani Kentarō scored.

[Aoba Johsai 5 - 3 Ichibayashi]

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