Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty

Chapter 106: Talent

Even if they were seniors, once they stood on the opposite side of the net, they became opponents.

Taichi Kaedehara's response made Ichisuke Takahashi's eyelid twitch. As the most mild-mannered member of the university team, even he couldn't help but feel the urge to shut him down after such a cheeky remark.

Aoba Johsai served. This time, Akira Kunimi learned from his previous mistake and avoided targeting the opponent's setter.

The ball landed between Kazuya Sugimoto and Yuri Kobayashi, aiming to create some confusion.

"I've got it!" Yuri Kobayashi shouted immediately, with Kazuya Sugimoto shifting to the side. They had encountered this situation countless times before, and their accumulated experience ensured they acted without hesitation.

The ball was perfectly received and passed to Heiji Morita. Without overthinking, Morita immediately set the ball high above Ichisuke Takahashi—a simple and direct scoring strategy.

Ichisuke Takahashi spiked the ball with a powerful overhead strike, earning a point.

[Aoba Johsai 2 - 2 University Team]

They couldn't block him at all!

Aoba Johsai confirmed this fact once again. Takahashi's clean diagonal spikes, combined with his hitting point, which was even higher than Wakatoshi Ushijima's, made him a formidable force.

When Takahashi was in the front row, the damage he inflicted on Aoba Johsai was massive.

"Well, Takahashi-senpai has rotated to the back row now," Taichi Kaedehara remarked as though he could read everyone's thoughts. "Let's widen the score gap while we can!"

"Taichi, don't underestimate the other seniors!" Takahiro Hanamaki reminded.

"I'm not underestimating them. But we can handle the others, can't we?"

"That's true...but first, we need to deal with Takahashi-senpai's serve."

The university team served. In the last round, Takahashi's serve had rendered Aoba Johsai helpless. But this time—

Smack!

Hajime Iwaizumi braced himself and successfully received the ball.

"Nice receive, Iwa-chan!"

"Well done, Iwaizumi-senpai!"

Tōru Oikawa quickly positioned himself beneath the ball, with Taichi Kaedehara readying himself for the attack.

"The receive wasn't perfect, so they can't launch a quick attack. If Oikawa sets to the first-year, block his left-handed spike." The university team swiftly analyzed and adjusted, locking their eyes on Oikawa's set.

Whoosh!—

Yet, Oikawa still set the ball to Taichi.

Taichi's eyes followed the ball as he began his approach. He leapt, preparing for the spike.

"Double block!" Ryo Sato and Kentaro Matsumoto jumped together, arms extended to form a solid wall. Meanwhile, Heiji Morita, now rotated to the front, stayed back to prepare for organizing the next attack instead of joining the block.

"He's using his right hand?!" Ichisuke Takahashi, watching from the back, noticed that Kaedehara was about to spike with his right hand—a stark contrast to his usual left-handed playstyle he had shown so far.

"What's going on...?"

The double block gave Taichi room to manoeuvre. After a brief thought, he avoided the risky diagonal spike and instead aimed at Sato's fingertips to hit out-of-bounds—a common spiking technique.

At the last moment, Sato read Kaedehara's intention and adjusted his blocking angle slightly.

Smack!

"Touch!"

With little time to react, Sato chose the safest option, letting the ball rebound upward. Ichisuke Takahashi ran off-court and set the ball back toward the net.@@@@

Heiji Morita jumped.

"It's a setter dump!" Oikawa immediately identified the move and took a step forward, successfully receiving Morita's spike.

"Damn it!"

After Oikawa's receive, Shinji Watari stepped in to set in his place.

Another overhead spike from Takahashi.

But this time, Shinji Watari dug the ball in the back row!

The powerful spike sent Watari tumbling, but the ball stayed in play.

Oikawa sent up a high set.

Kaedehara approached from the back row, sprinting forward and leaping with all his might.

"Three-man block!" Ichisuke Takahashi, Ryo Sato, and Kentaro Matsumoto formed an iron wall in front of him.

This time, however, Taichi jumped even higher. He could see the blocking formation more clearly.

His left arm swung back as his body arched in midair, eyes locking onto a small gap to Takahashi's left. With a sudden burst of power, he swung his arm.

"Not happening!" Takahashi, still airborne, forced his blocking arm to the left, sealing the final opening.

I won't make the same mistake twice! Takahashi thought to himself.

But just as he braced for impact, he saw Kaedehara's faint smile.

Tap, tap, tap...

Taichi didn't spike with full force—instead, he gently tipped the ball, sending it through the gap left by Takahashi's shifted arm.

He had gambled on Takahashi committing to the straight shot block!

Taichi Kaedehara's tip scored.

[Aoba Johsai 31 - 29 University Team]

Aoba Johsai fought tooth and nail to claim the first set.

-----

[Aoba Johsai 22 - 25 University Team]

[Aoba Johsai 33 - 31 University Team]

In a gruelling three-set match, Aoba Johsai emerged victorious, 2-1, avenging their previous defeat.

In the final set, Akira Kunimi was subbed out, and replaced by Yūtarō Kindaichi, who exerted immense pressure on Takahashi with his blocking. This substitution proved decisive in securing the win.

Coach Irihata observed Kindaichi's performance thoughtfully, considering potential rotation strategies for future matches.

"Thank you for the match, senpais!" Aoba Johsai's players bowed to their seniors in gratitude.

Over the course of two matches, they had experienced higher-level volleyball and built newfound confidence.

"Good luck at Nationals!" Yuri Kobayashi encouraged the third-years.

"We will!"

"Hey, kid, confident about Nationals?" Heiji Morita teased Taichi Kaedehara.

"Don't worry, senpai. He's the one who declared in an interview that he'd conquer Nationals!" Oikawa interjected with a smirk.

"Oh?" Morita chuckled, finding Kaedehara unexpectedly likeable. "If you make it to the finals, let us know. We'll come to watch!"

"Will do! Thank you, senpai!"

As the seniors prepared to leave, Taichi ran over to Takahashi and whispered, "Takahashi-senpai, did you guys hold back to give us confidence?"

Takahashi paused, then smiled warmly.

"Take a guess."

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