Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 592: The Monsters Feast! (Double-Length)

"Sorry." As he walked back to the bench, Kunimi whispered softly.

Iizuna paused, then gave a helpless smile. "It's fine. After all, that's Taichi we're talking about."

The reason the final ball of the second set had been set to the left wing was because Kunimi had actively called for it.

Regardless of whether Kunimi or Aran attacked in the end, one thing was clear to all of Ryujin's players—if they failed to score and gave San Juan a chance to counter, Taichi absolutely wouldn't let them have that point back.

Kunimi's eyes had unconsciously flicked to the ball soaring left, and he pretended to move forward slowly, then suddenly accelerated and leapt.

Of course, there was no way this could fool Taichi.

Taichi went up for a solo block, but he deliberately left Kunimi an open straight-line angle to the left.

Behind him, Oikawa stood waiting in perfect readiness.

Kunimi's attack speed wasn't enough to escape Taichi's block, and with all his paths shut down, he could only try to tool the block out.

Unfortunately, he miscalculated by just that tiny margin.

The ball was blocked straight back and landed precisely on Ryujin's right sideline.

And that small distance was exactly why Taichi had leaned his block to the left and left that "open" line.

Oikawa, too, had been nothing but bait.

"These two guys are just too much of bullies!" Iwaizumi grumbled unhappily.

Both Taichi and Kunimi were his juniors; seeing one get cornered like this only made him more determined in his support.

"Sigh, I wish I had worries like that…" Kuroo thought to himself.

Of course, he couldn't say it aloud—after all, Nekoma's only representative had already been eliminated.

Thud!

Yaku kicked Kuroo from behind.

"What?!" Kuroo turned back.

"I felt like you were thinking something rude."

-----

Ryujin had now lost two sets in a row—they had nowhere left to retreat.

"San Juan is largely in control of the match, but we can see Ryujin steadily improving little by little."

"They'll need more patience, more aggression, and ultimately, the opportunity to seize their moment!"

"Lim, do you think they have a chance to win?" David asked. "I mean, at least the third set."

"Oh, I don't think they'll ever give up," Lim answered without directly replying. "I believe they'll fight until the very end."

-----

"Beeeep—!"

Interval break ended, and the third set began.

CA San Juan's lineup:

Front row—Setter Oikawa Tōru, Middle Blocker Agustín Loser, Outside Hitter Kaedehara Taichi.

Back row—Outside Hitter Facundo Conte, Middle Blocker Martín Ramos (Libero: Santiago Santiago) and Opposite Hitter Bruno Lima.

Ryujin NIPPON's lineup:

Front row—Outside Hitter Bokuto Kōtarō, Middle Blocker Meian Shūgo, Opposite Hitter Hoshiumi Kōrai.

Back row—Setter Iizuna Tsukasa, Middle Blocker Nitta Asahiro (Libero: Komori Motoya) and Outside Hitter Sakusa Kiyoomi.

"Players have stepped onto the court. We can see Ryujin has once again made significant lineup adjustments," David explained. "But this time, they've kept half of the second-set players into the third set."

"This is probably because they performed better in the second set," Lim added. "Judging by the score, Ryujin only narrowly lost that one. I imagine they'll make full use of that experience in this third set."

"Compared to Ryujin's well-structured rotations, San Juan has stuck with their regular lineup. With two sets' worth of physical exertion, will fatigue finally start to show?"

"That might be one of Ryujin's breakthrough opportunities."

"Perhaps. But San Juan hasn't played a fifth set so far in this Club World Championship. And judging by their group stage performance, even in a fourth set, they maintained a strong competitive state."

Ryujin served first.

Sakusa Kiyoomi stepped onto the service line.

The question of who should be matched against Taichi—Bokuto or Sakusa—had troubled Coach Suzaku for a long time.

In the end, it was Sakusa who actively chose position 1.

He wasn't avoiding going head-to-head with Taichi—on the contrary, every Ryujin member knew exactly how deep Sakusa's obsession with defeating Taichi ran.

Sakusa had only one goal in doing this: to win the match!

The reason he was better suited than Bokuto to stand at position 1 was his more stable defence and his more threatening serve.

"Tweet!—"

The whistle sounded.

Sakusa tossed the ball, sprinted, leapt, and struck!

BOOM!!!—

The ball spun fiercely with heavy sidespin, flying toward San Juan's back row.

"I got it!"

Taichi, who had rotated to the back, actively stepped up to receive.

Smack!

The ball flew diagonally toward the net.

Bruno moved in to set, and Loser jumped in the middle for a quick spike!

"Double block!" Bokuto and Meian jumped together!

—BOOM!!!

A super-high reach spike!

The ball flew above the block and slammed down hard.

Smack!

Komori received it cleanly!

The ball popped high—a half-decent pass!

Iizuna jumped to set, and the ball flew to the right wing, high up!

Thud!

Hoshiumi soared for the spike!

"Double block!" Loser and Taichi closed in to block him.

BOOM!!!

The ball flew past Loser's hand—Hoshiumi launched a high super reach spike!

"Unbelievable height! Unbelievable sharp angle!" David exclaimed.

The ball dropped rapidly toward San Juan's right back corner!

Smack!

Conte jumped up and bumped the ball forward with both hands.

Oikawa quickly moved in to set, sending the ball high to the right wing—Taichi leapt for the spike!

"Triple block!" Bokuto, Meian, and Hoshiumi all jumped together.

He could go over, but they absolutely had to limit Taichi's options!

—BOOM!!!

The ball flew above the block and slammed toward Ryujin's back line.

Smack!

Sakusa received it!

"This is different! Ryujin's defence is as solid as iron!!"

Iizuna quickly got into position and slowed the tempo.

Whoosh!— 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The ball flew high toward the left wing. Bokuto widened his approach and soared.

"Double block!" Loser and Taichi jumped to close him down.

In midair, Bokuto's back muscles tensed in an instant. His right arm pulled back to the limit, paused for a split second—then snapped forward!

BOOM!!!—

THUD!

The ball pierced past Taichi and crashed inside San Juan's right-side three-meter line, one meter from the sideline!

A super sharp cross shot!

Bokuto scored!

[San Juan 0 - 1 Ryujin]

Ryujin took the lead for the first time against San Juan!

"Hey! Hey!! Hey!!!"

As Bokuto's fiery roar echoed across the world stage, the members of Fukurōdani volleyball club on the other side of the planet shouted at their screens, cheering for him!

"Go for it, Bokuto!!"

-----

Ryujin continued serving.

Sakusa stepped up for his second serve!

BOOM!!!

The ball fell right along San Juan's sideline.

"Out?"

"Bruno! Receive—!" Oikawa shouted loudly.

With Sakusa's serve control, you absolutely couldn't trust that it would go out!

Smack!

Bruno, startled by the call, instinctively stepped forward to receive.

As the ball dropped, it curved sharply inward into San Juan's court!

"Damn it!"

The ball slipped past Bruno's hand.

Thud!

The ball hit the floor, right on the line!

Sakusa scored a service ace!

[San Juan 0 - 2 Ryujin]

"Taichi, I will carefully, with all my strength, defeat you!"

"This guy…"

Taichi turned and looked at the spot where the ball landed. The key wasn't just the curve at the end—it was how the ball, which had clearly swerved in, actually bounced outward after hitting the floor.

"With such intense spin, if you judge the direction wrong even once, it's over."

"Tweet!—"

The whistle sounded for the next serve.

Sakusa sent out his third serve!

BOOM!!!

"I got it!"

Taichi actively stepped up again.

If Sakusa's plan was to target him, then now, he had succeeded.

Smack!!

The ball flew diagonally forward—Taichi's pass was off!

Bruno rushed forward to set, sending the ball high to the middle.

Loser leapt up to spike!

BOOM!!!

"Double block!"

SMACK!!!

"One touch!" The ball deflected off Meian's palm and popped up.

"Chance ball!"

Komori calmly received the ball; Iizuna jumped to set.

Whoosh!—

The ball flew to the right wing. Hoshiumi soared up!

"Double block!" Loser and Taichi jumped together.

"Air battles aren't your exclusive domain!"

BOOM!!—

SMACK!

The ball precisely hit the seam between the two blockers. It didn't go over, nor did it bounce back!

Thud!

The ball dropped just in front of them.

Tooling the block down!

Hoshiumi scored!

[San Juan 0 - 3 Ryujin]

"Small body, huge skill!"

"A spike as precise as a surgeon's scalpel, slicing right through San Juan's defence to score!"

"Japan's little giant finally shows his terrifying side!"

"What's happening? Ryujin looks like a completely different team—they've taken three points straight off the bat!"

Coach José looked serious. He decided to wait for one more point. If they still couldn't stop Ryujin's momentum, he'd call a timeout immediately.

Ryujin continued to serve.

Sakusa served the fourth ball.

"I got it!"

Bruno shouted loudly. They couldn't let Taichi receive—they needed him for offence!

Smack!!

The ball hit Bruno's arm and flew out of bounds.

But Santiago was already prepared; he sprinted out quickly.

Smack!

He sent the ball back to San Juan's front row. Taichi jumped to spike!

"Triple block!" Bokuto, Meian, and Hoshiumi all rose in front of him.

BOOM!!!—

The ball pierced through the three-man block and shot toward Ryujin's left side.

Even against a triple block, Taichi's sharp cross shot went through without fail!

Smack!

Iizuna received it!

"Taichi, I know exactly what you're thinking!"

"These guys!"

Komori jumped from the back row, pushing the ball toward the right wing.

Sakusa leapt from the back row for a spike!

"Triple block!" Oikawa, Loser, and Taichi all jumped together.

San Juan wanted to shut him down directly!

Sakusa focused intensely, whipping his right arm forward from behind.

BANG!!!—

"A back-row sharp cross shot?!"

SMACK!

The ball struck Oikawa's arm.

"Not enough angle? Blocked!"

Wait!

"Save it!!!" Oikawa yelled.

The ball deflected off the block, flying toward the left sideline and out of bounds.

"It was actually a tool-out to the other side!"

"These guys aren't weak at all," Leon chuckled in a corner of the stands. "Otherwise, how could they have taken a set off us?"

The ball soared out, about to hit the floor.

A figure arrived just in time.

Smack!

Conte dove and knocked the ball up with one hand!

"Don't get cocky, brats!"

"Beautiful save—!"

After landing, Oikawa sprinted to where the ball was falling, lowered his centre of gravity, bent his knees, and leaned back to push the ball up with both hands!

Whoosh!—

The ball flew high above the middle.

Taichi widened his approach, accelerated, and leapt!

"Triple block!"

BOOOM!!!

The ball blasted straight through Hoshiumi's block and smashed just beyond Ryujin's right sideline.

"Don't get carried away, you bunch of losers!"

Taichi scored!

[San Juan 1 - 3 Ryujin]

"San Juan finally breaks the streak!"

Coach José, who had started to rise, calmly patted his clothes and sat back down as if nothing had happened.

Service rotation—San Juan to serve.

"You finally got serious?"

Hoshiumi, who had just been beaten through, didn't show any emotion. He just stared intently at Taichi.

"I've always been serious." Taichi's voice returned to calm.

"Oh really?" Hoshiumi didn't comment further.

"Tweet!—"

Whistle for the serve.

Oikawa tossed the ball high, sprinted, leapt, and struck!

BOOM!!!—

The ball carried heavy sidespin, streaking across the court like a shooting star.

Smack!!

Iizuna received it—a half-decent pass!

"Damn it!"

Sakusa was about to step in to help set, but Komori had already jumped from the back row.

"I got it!"

Sakusa immediately switched routes, sprinting toward the front row.

Ryujin's four hitters all launched into offence simultaneously!

Taichi's eyes locked tightly on Komori. "Impressive…but not enough!"

"Loser! Left wing!"

"Yes!"

Whoosh—!

The ball flew high toward the left wing. Bokuto jumped to spike!

"Double block!" Loser and Taichi jumped together.

BOOM!!!—

"Another sharp cross shot!"

The ball again pierced right past the double block. But this time, Bruno was positioned at the right side, three-meter line.

SMACK!

The ball hit his arm and flew out of bounds.

Conte: "..."

Bokuto scored!

[San Juan 1 - 4 Ryujin]

"Pfft—hahaha…" Commentator Lim couldn't hold back his laughter.

Just then, the broadcast had cut to Conte rolling his eyes in exasperation after Bruno's miss.

"Anyway, Ryujin is riding a strong wave of momentum and retakes the serve!"

Bruno looked at Conte with a pitiful expression. Conte could only pretend nothing had happened and look away.

-----

Service rotation—Ryujin to serve.

As Hoshiumi tossed the ball, he started his approach. His steps were fast, each landing gathering explosive power. In that final push-off step, he abruptly lowered his centre of gravity, bent his knees slightly, his calf muscles swelling like coiled springs. His shoes screeched against the floor.

Thud!

The tightly drawn bowstring released in an instant. Hoshiumi shot up like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, his core snapping tight, his body tracing a dynamic arc in midair.

"He's flying—!" gasped spectators all around the court.

—BOOM!!!

The smallest attacker on the court, yet his serve trajectory was higher than anyone else's!

The ball turned into a blur, streaking straight toward San Juan's baseline.

Smack!!!

Conte received it!

The ball popped high and bounced out beyond the baseline.

Oikawa rushed over and pushed it back toward the net.

"Great set."

Taichi muttered softly as he approached steadily for his run-up.

Thud!

Taichi leaped.

Iizuna, Bokuto, and Meian all jumped to block.

"Still not enough."

—BOOOM!!!

The ball soared over the block and hammered into Ryujin's right back corner.

"I got it—!"

Hoshiumi's reception form only held for an instant before being shattered directly.

The ball hit the floor.

Taichi scored!

[San Juan 2 - 4 Ryujin]

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