Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 428: Complete Defeat (Double-Length)

Thomas Jaeschke launched a powerful jump serve.

BOOM!!!

Team USA's newly substituted outside hitter was clearly a strong, sidespin server.

Smack!

Hoshiumi received the ball with ease—serve receive had always been Team Japan's domain.

Miya Atsumu quickly moved into position to set. In the front row were Hirugami and Taichi; in the back—Sakusa.

All three initiated their attacks at once!

"Taichi's being marked."

Miya hesitated for just a split second before sending the ball to the left wing.

Hirugami jumped to fake, drawing Aaron Russell into an early block.

From the back, Sakusa leapt for the spike—

Aaron Russell jumped a second time to catch him.

BOOM!—

Smack!

The ball crashed into Russell's arms and deflected out of bounds.

Sakusa Kiyoomi scored!

[Japan 1 - USA 0]

"Nice hit, Kiyoomi!"

Miya's outlook for this second set was grim—the team's offence and defence were both being heavily restricted by the United States. On offence, they were relying on Taichi; on defence, it was all about serve receive.

Miya's goal was to solve that offensive problem.

"Shoji."

Micah Christenson leaned toward libero Erik Shoji and whispered a few words.

Serve rotates—Japan's ball.

Hirugami jumped into a powerful serve, matching Jaeschke's sidespin with his own deadly rotation.

Shoji struggled with the receive, but that was enough for Christenson.

Whoosh—!

A precise set flew to the left wing.

Aaron Russell launched into the air for the hit.

Team Japan's defence scrambled into position.

Atsumu dropped back to cover the sideline, while Kaedehara and Aone crossed over quickly to the left and went up for the block.

"Double block!"

BOOM!!!

An over-the-block spike.

The ball shot past Kaedehara's fingers—

Whack!

Atsumu barely got his hands up before the ball crashed into his arms and ricocheted forward.

"Keep it alive!"

Sakusa dove to save it, sending the ball up for Hoshiumi's attack.

Boom!!!—

—Smack!

The U.S. front row formed a towering 2-meter wall—

Jeff Jendryk easily shut down the hit, sending it down to Japan's side.

"Taichi!!!"

Kaedehara Taichi immediately dropped back, his upper body twisting in a sharp lean—nearly parallel to the floor.

Whoosh!

Landing on his rear, he nonetheless got the ball up cleanly.

Aone Takanobu leapt for the counterattack.

BOOM!!!—

"Double block!" DeFalco and Jendryk rose together.

—Smack!

Another block.

It took nothing more than an easy hop for them to form an insurmountable wall.

Jeff Jendryk scored on a block.

[Japan 1 - USA 1]

—"So close!"

—"Taichi's clutch save led to a quick transition, but the U.S. block reacted in time!"

—"Japan's two attack attempts couldn't break through the American iron wall!"

Serve rotates—USA's ball.

DeFalco's jump serve roared over the net; Hoshiumi handled it cleanly.

"Right wing!"

Whoosh!—

Atsumu set the ball up; Taichi jumped for the hit.

"Double block!" Aaron Russell and Jeff Jendryk went up together.

BOOM!!!—

Christenson, guarding the sharp cross-court angle, saw the ball flying toward him—but…

Thud!

The ball hammered into midcourt, ricocheting out from the U.S. side.

Taichi scored.

[Japan 2 - USA 1]

This was a familiar angle—one typically used by U.S. hitters.

Instead of going for an extreme tight cross along the net, it split the difference between a waistline shot and a wide cross.

And yet, what surprised Christenson wasn't the angle itself—but the vertical drop.

For an American attacker, a hit with this kind of contact point would normally land deeper in the backcourt…

"Hey, commander. You sure you don't need a triple block?" Taichi stared straight at Christenson. "Your double only has the height going for it."

"Good suggestion."

For the first time, Christenson directly addressed a Japanese player.

"But we won't need it—yet."

Serve rotates—Japan's ball.

Miya Atsumu stood at the service line, taking a deep breath.

With Christenson in play, Team Japan's advantages were shrinking rapidly. If this continued…

He tossed the ball up, took his approach, soared, and crushed it.

—BOOM!!!—

The ball raced toward the U.S.'s baseline.

There was no time to waste.

He had to find their weak points—fast!

Torey DeFalco frowned, backpedalled, and lowered his stance.

The ball dipped sharply as it crossed the net, and by the time it reached DeFalco's zone, it was already near waist-height.

DeFalco dropped into a single-knee receive.

And then—

"——?!"

The ball veered unpredictably at the last second, shooting past his right side.

Thud!

The ball landed out of bounds.

"OUT!"

Miya's serve misfired for an unforced error—point for Team USA.

[Japan 2 - USA 2]

"Ahhhh—!!" Atsumu clutched his head and yelled. "Dammit, still not working?!"

"Miya, don't tell me you're trying that not-yet-successful move here?" Hoshiumi shot him a deadpan look.

"I'm this close! Didn't you see? It was just a tiny bit off!"

"See what? It missed the line by a whole palm!"

Team USA had earned an easy point, but DeFalco was still rattled.

"What the hell was that serve…? How could it tail off like that at the end?"

Even though he'd positioned himself near the right sideline—it had still been a good 40 centimetres inside.

How could the ball just suddenly swerve so hard at the end?!

-----

Serve rotates—USA's ball.

Jeff Jendryk drilled another power serve. Nakamori Daiki received it stably.

"Up!"

Thud!

Taichi was already in the air at the left-side high point.

"What the hell?!" Taylor Averill scrambled to jump after him.

BOOM!!!—

BANG!

The ball slammed behind Tayler Averill, hitting the line and flying out of bounds.

Kaedehara Taichi scored.

[Japan 3 - USA 2]

"Averill. I specifically told you to stay on him, didn't I?" Christenson looked his way, expression unreadable.

"…Sorry!"

Averill had tried to mark Taichi—

But in just a split second, he'd completely lost track of his movements.

"If watching an entire set from the bench wasn't enough for you to learn, you can spend another watching today."

"…Understood."

The desire to argue never even crossed Averill's mind. After all, the authority given to Christenson on the court was absolute.

-----

Serve rotates—Japan's ball.

Taichi headed to the service line.

For Team Japan, Taichi's service rotation would be the last of the "good" times—once it ended, the lineup cycles would enter a gruelling stretch.

Taichi jumped and unleashed a thunderous serve—

BOOM!!!

Smack!

It collided with Thomas Jaeschke's arm and flew out of bounds.

Kaedehara Taichi scored on a service ace!

[Japan 4 - USA 2]

"Sorry!"

"Next point." Micah Christenson retreated to the back row as Team USA shifted into a four-man serve receive formation.

Kaedehara Taichi served again.

BOOM!!!

The ball targeted Thomas Jaeschke once more.

"I got it!"

Smack!

Micah Christenson lunged sideways and barely managed to receive it.

Thomas Jaeschke covered the spot and bumped the ball to the right wing. Aaron Russell jumped for the spike.

"Triple block!" Aone Takanobu, Hoshiumi Kōrai, and Sakusa Kiyoomi leapt in unison.

BOOM!!!—

Smack!

The spike struck Sakusa's forearm hard and dropped between him and the net.

A tool out.

"If you aim for a height that doesn't belong to you…the gaps in front of you only grow wider."

Aaron Russell scored with the spike.

[Japan 4 – 3 USA]

The serve switched. Team USA to serve.

Aaron Russell executed a powerful jump serve.

BOOM!!!

Thud!

The ball slammed into the ground near Miya Atsumu's feet.

A service ace for Aaron Russell.

[Japan 4 – 4 USA]

Team USA continued serving.

Aaron Russell served his second ball.

BOOM!!!

Smack!

Miya Atsumu barely kept the ball alive, but it soared behind the end line.

Nakamori Daiki dashed out of bounds and miraculously brought it back into play. Sakusa launched a right-wing attack.

"Double block!" Taylor Averill and Micah Christenson leapt up.

BOOM!—

Sakusa aimed and smashed the ball into Christenson's arm.

Smack!

A clean hit!

The ball flew sharply toward the sideline.

Smack!

"Tooling the block isn't some magic trick that works every time…"

Aaron Russell appeared just beyond the right sideline and saved the ball!

Micah Christenson was already in motion, visualising the next move. He swiftly repositioned and set the ball to the middle.

Middle blocker Taylor Averill went for a quick attack!

BOOM!!!

Smack!

"One touch!" Aone Takanobu shouted.

Just as Japan had anticipated—without Matt Anderson on court, the two real scoring threats for Team USA were Torey DeFalco and Aaron Russell.

And in this current rotation, neither was in the front row!

They could stop this! freeweɓnovel.cøm

Miya Atsumu quickly set the ball. Kaedehara Taichi launched his approach from near the baseline, while Hoshiumi Kōrai and Sakusa Kiyoomi also jumped simultaneously from the front.

Left, centre, right—three attack points jumped together.

Team USA's blockers had no choice but to spread out.

Whoosh—!

The set went high to the middle—Hoshiumi Kōrai!

Even at 170 cm, he had earned the right to join the aerial battle!

Taylor Averill went up to block.

—Boom!!!

The spike smoothly bypassed the block and dropped sharply toward USA's baseline.

"It's a tricky angle, sure, but at that speed…"

Smack!

Erik Shoji received it cleanly.

Micah Christenson followed up with a jump set. Taylor Averill attacked again.

"Shut him down this time!"

"Double block!" Aone and Sakusa jumped together.

BOOM!!

???

The ball landed precisely on Japan's three-meter line and bounced up.

The scorer was—

Micah Christenson!

A second-touch attack from the three-meter line—point for Team USA!

[Japan 4 – 5 USA]

"No way…"

"That takeoff…that control…"

"You all look surprised." Christenson looked at the stunned members of Team Japan. "You should really keep an eye on setters in the front row. Don't you have one who loves to attack too?"

Miya Atsumu stared at Christenson with a conflicted expression.

He knew—when it came to the setter position, he had been thoroughly outclassed.

A fake set turned spike from the three-meter line. The motion was flawless—it fooled everyone.

But the most terrifying thing of all was the precision. That ball had landed with surgical accuracy—beyond the reach of most outside hitters, let alone a setter.

Team USA continued to serve.

Aaron Russell knew exactly how the Japanese players must be feeling.

After all, the U.S. had never had a setter like this before—one who truly carried a blade.

In the American pro league, there were a handful of players who could potentially replace him—Aaron Russell. But for Micah Christenson?

Not one.

Aaron Russell served his third ball.

BOOM!!!—

Smack!

Nakamori Daiki calmly handled the serve.

"Atsumu!"

Whoosh—!

The ball sailed to the left wing.

"Too obvious."

Aone's dummy run failed to trick anyone. Every player focused their attention on one figure.

Thud!

Kaedehara Taichi jumped from the back row.

"Triple block!" Jaeschke, Averill, and Christenson rose together.

"Didn't they say three blockers weren't necessary for this guy?"

Taichi glanced toward the cross-court—the spot where Aaron Russell had already filled in for Christenson.

BOOM!!!—

Smack!

The ball struck Jaeschke's hands and soared upward.

"One touch!" Jaeschke shouted. It was hard to believe that the outside hitter on the other side—slightly shorter than himself—had nearly overpowered him from the back row.

Erik Shoji bumped the ball from the baseline toward the front.

Micah Christenson jumped to set.

Sakusa jumped to block.

BOOM!!

The ball slammed into the Japanese side's three-meter line.

Another point by Micah Christenson.

[Japan 4 – 6 USA]

"What…?"

"He got past me?!!"

Sakusa's expression was grim as he looked at Micah Christenson. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes—

"It was his left hand!"

Christenson hadn't released the ball while in midair. Just as he began to descend, he first swung his right arm—drawing Sakusa's attention—and then twisted midair and smashed the ball with his left hand.

The ball that had seemed like it was about to be set was instead spiked with deceptive force, brushing just over the net and crashing into Japan's court. The timing and angle were so precise it was as if they'd been measured with instruments. One moment later, and the net would've stopped it.

From his serves earlier, he had clearly shown right-hand dominance. But that move…

He looked like a natural lefty.

"That wasn't some spur-of-the-moment decision. That setter is terrifying…" Hibarida Fuki murmured, stunned that they'd encountered such a monster in the Japan–USA exhibition match.

Micah Christenson turned toward Kaedehara Taichi, looking thoughtful for a moment before speaking as if something had just clicked:

"Ah, I get it now. This is what you meant, right—

Your defence isn't nearly enough."

_________

[T/N] - If you guys want to read 50 Chapters in advance of the current story, you can support me on my Patreon. Trust me, it's awesome!

Link - (P)atreon.com/Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]