Chapter 486: Dominating Both Offence and Defence (Double-Length)

Trying to shut down the Black Jackals from scoring—the league’s number one offensive team—was unrealistic.

Kaedehara Taichi was targeting Meian Shūgo’s spiking habits and Miya Atsumu’s shaken mindset.

When the timeout ended, the Black Jackals made their adjustments. They began to shift their offensive focus, relying on the combination of Sakusa and Bokuto Kōtarō to break through. At last, the tides on court began to shift.

—BOOM!!!

The volleyball arced high across the court, drawing a sharp parabola through the air before landing precisely in the back-right corner of DH’s side and bouncing up.

Bokuto Kōtarō had scored with a powerful spike.

[DH 15 – 14 Black Jackals]

Despite having consciously worked on his receiving skills over the past two months, Nitta Asahiro was still often targeted when he rotated into the back row.

“Don’t mind it! Next one!” Kubo Wataru shouted loudly.

The Black Jackals were gradually closing the score gap, but it didn’t feel like the second set. This time, things weren’t going easy for them.

Rotation changed—Bokuto Kōtarō served with force.

Kubo Wataru received it, and Iizuna Tsukasa quickly moved in to set the ball.

—BOOM!!!

BANG!!!

Being unable to stop Kaedehara Taichi’s spikes had become something of a norm for the Black Jackals.

The volleyball smashed into the ground right in front of Miya Atsumu and bounced up—another point scored by Kaedehara Taichi.

[DH 16 – 14 Black Jackals]

“Sigh…” Oliver Barnes let out a long exhale. There really was nothing they could do against that guy.

“Don’t panic. Just one more rotation, and he’ll be in the back row.” Meian Shūgo said gravely. That would be the Black Jackals’ final opportunity.

Serve rotation changed again—DH’s serve.

Yoshii Hiyu leapt up and launched a powerful jump serve. Bokuto Kōtarō received it with ease—clean, accurate, on point.

“Atsumu!”

The Black Jackals had Sakusa Kiyoomi, Oliver Barnes, and Meian Shūgo in the front row. Under these conditions, there was no need to have Sakusa support Miya Atsumu’s set—otherwise, the setter would lose his value on court.

Yoshii Hiyu’s serve posed little threat, and Bokuto’s first touch was almost flawless.

Yet as Miya Atsumu went in for the set, he hesitated—just for a moment.

Kaedehara Taichi was stationed on the left side. To avoid his block, Atsumu should have set the ball to the right.

But the moment he locked eyes with Meian Shūgo, the memory of his spikes getting stuffed—twice in a row—flooded back to him.

“ATSUMU!” Sakusa’s tone turned harsh.

Swoosh!—

The ball flew toward the left side. Sakusa Kiyoomi jumped for the spike.

“Double block!” Kaedehara Taichi and Tom Wilde rose up together.

“Damn it—!” Sakusa cursed inwardly. Atsumu’s set had been complete garbage—the timing was way off.

There was no way Sakusa could spike over both Taichi and Tom with his current height. And standing just inside of Tom Wilde was Iizuna Tsukasa, eyes sharp and ready. Sakusa had no doubt—if he tried to tool the block, that former upperclassman would absolutely seize the chance for a second-touch counter.

He had to gamble.

BOOM!!—

Sakusa drove the ball down the line toward Taichi’s left.

It was a sharply spinning line shot. In Sakusa’s mind, it would land right on the left sideline of DH’s court. He didn’t even worry about whether Yoshii in the back row could save it—once the ball ricocheted out of bounds, no one could chase it.

—Smack!

Kaedehara Taichi’s hand snapped down at a diagonal, just enough to get in the path of the ball.

“Out!” Sakusa watched the flight of the ball and muttered under his breath.

THUD!

The volleyball bounced violently off the floor.

From Sakusa’s position, he couldn’t tell exactly where it landed. He quickly looked up toward the line judge.

“IN!” The line judge’s flag pointed down. The ball had landed inside the Black Jackals’ court.

Kaedehara Taichi had scored with a block!

[DH 17 – 14 Black Jackals]

“Another block?!!”

“Isn’t he a bit too strong?!”

“That was the setter’s fault, wasn’t it? Didn’t you notice? Miya hasn’t been in the right mindset at all.”

“Now that you mention it…No wonder they kept making Sakusa take the sets earlier. Has Atsumu been mentally shaken by the blocks?”

That’s how it was for setters. When they performed well, it was taken for granted—audiences focused on the dazzling spikers instead.

But once a setter slipped up—once they stopped contributing—they became the first target for criticism.

“Sakusa, if you’ve got something to say, say it.” Miya said irritably.

“There’s nothing to say,” Sakusa replied, his full attention still fixed on Taichi.

Yes, Miya’s set had been questionable—hesitant, lacking confidence.

But even then, it had still been incredibly accurate. If they didn’t score, it was the spiker’s fault.

“Damn it!” Miya clenched his fists. In his view, there were only two types of sets: the best and the worst.

If it wasn’t the best, then it was indirectly responsible for the team losing points.

“Give me the next one too,” Sakusa suddenly said. “If both I and Meian-senpai have been blocked already, then you have no reason to hesitate anymore.”

“And a setter who doesn’t trust his spikers—should probably be subbed out.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” Miya muttered through gritted teeth.

DH continued to serve—Yoshii Hiyu launched another powerful jump serve.

Inunaki Shion received the ball stably, passing it cleanly into the air above Sakusa Kiyoomi.

His teammates didn’t agree with each other, so Inunaki gave Miya no chance to touch the ball.

Sakusa made a fake second-touch attack to draw Taichi’s block, then immediately sent the ball far right. Meian Shūgo leapt and spiked.

“Double block!” Tom Wilde and Iizuna Tsukasa jumped in sync.

BOOM!!!—

Meian vented his frustration through sheer power. Though he could’ve gone over the block, he chose to smash directly into Iizuna’s hands.

SMACK!!!

The volleyball broke through the block and slammed onto DH’s side of the court.

Meian Shūgo had scored.

[DH 17 – 15 Black Jackals]

“Let’s gooooooo!!” Meian let out a roar of excitement. It was his first point in the third set.

Kaedehara Taichi lowered his head—his expression unreadable.

—–

Rotation changed—Black Jackals to serve.

The match continued with both sides holding nothing back, diving into intense, full-force exchanges.

Meian rotated to the back and served.

Nitta was forced to receive—his pass off-target.

At the net, Iizuna leapt to set.

BOOM!

Catching Oliver Barnes off guard, Iizuna flicked the ball to the sideline. A desperate second-touch attack—and he scored.

[DH 18 – 15 Black Jackals]

—–

Kaedehara Taichi rotated to the back row.

One serve scored directly; the next disrupted the Black Jackals’ rhythm and set up a counterattack.

Yoshii Hiyu organised the offence, and Taichi feinted a second-touch spike before sending the ball to the right side.

Nishikawa Tadahisa jumped and smashed the ball down.

[DH 20 – 15 Black Jackals]

It was now DH’s biggest lead over the Black Jackals of the entire night.

On the third rally, Inunaki received the ball cleanly. Miya set it to the right, where Oliver Barnes hit a fast quick set and went over the block.

For the Black Jackals, it wasn’t so much about DH’s offence weakening with Taichi in the back row—it was that their oppressive block finally stopped being a threat.

Oliver Barnes clawed a point back.

[DH 20 – 16 Black Jackals]

“Beep! Black Jackals calls for a Timeout.”

After scoring a point, Black Jackals surprisingly called a timeout. There was only one reason: they wanted to overtake DH on the scoreboard before Kaedehara Taichi rotated back to the front row—ideally, to end the set right then and there.

On the Black Jackals bench, tension and focus hung thick in the air.

Coach Samson stood at the centre of the huddle, leaning slightly forward, eyes sharp as he scanned each player. His tactical board was filled with densely packed symbols and arrows.

The players surrounded him tightly, fully focused, ears straining to catch every word he uttered. Determination and resolve burned in their eyes.

No one thought, “Well, it’s a best-of-five match. Even if we’re up 2–0, losing a set doesn’t matter.”

Under Kaedehara Taichi’s leadership, DH was no longer an ordinary team. Any hint of underestimation or carelessness could cause the entire match to flip on its head.

If they met DH again in this season’s playoffs, it definitely wouldn’t be as easy as last year. That’s why they needed to establish a strong psychological advantage now, in the regular season.

—–

After the timeout ended, Black Jackals returned to the court in the same dominant form as at the beginning of the match.

Miya Atsumu, despite the score gap, looked calmer than before—he’d become familiar with this kind of pressure. With Kaedehara Taichi temporarily out of the front row, DH’s offence began to diversify again.

That said, DH still held a 4-point lead. The two sides battled back and forth, neither giving an inch.

The score came to: [DH 23 – 22 Black Jackals]

Black Jackals had cut the gap to just one point before DH could reach set point.

Sakusa Kiyoomi continued serving. His touch this set had been exceptional—he’d already scored twice with his serves.

—BOOM!!

Smack!

Kaedehara Taichi received the serve cleanly.

“Screen!” someone shouted.

Sakusa quickly returned to the court. His purpose was already fulfilled—just disrupting Taichi’s movement slightly would be enough to prevent him from jumping at full extension for a back-row attack.

Iizuna Tsukasa stepped in to cover and set. DH’s front row—Nishikawa Tadahisa and Nitta Asahiro—and back-row ace Kaedehara Taichi all launched into a synchronised offensive.

Black Jackals’ current formation had a flaw in its blocking setup. Meian Shugo and Miya Atsumu had switched positions, leaving Miya blocking across from Nishikawa Tadahisa, and Meian facing Kaedehara Taichi directly.

Fwoosh—!

The ball went to the middle. Nitta Asahiro jumped and spiked.

“I got it!” Bokuto Kōtarō leapt up to block.

BOOM!!!

The ball whizzed past Bokuto’s right side and slammed down along Black Jackals’ right sideline.

Smack!

“Cover!” Sakusa dove and barely saved it.

“I got it!” Miya Atsumu quickly moved to set.

Black Jackals had two ready attackers—Oliver Barnes in the back left, and Meian Shugo, who had just shifted to the right. Since their approach paths didn’t overlap, Miya didn’t hesitate: he set the ball to the right side.

Kaedehara Taichi wasn’t in the front row—this was the perfect opportunity!

Fwoosh—!

“Perfect set!”

Meian Shugo charged along the right sideline, leapt into the air, and pulled his right arm back. His chest puffed up as he swung forward with a gust of wind—

BOOM!!!—

—SMACK!!!

—“Nitta-senpai, when Meian-senpai spikes, you should try…”

The ball struck Nitta Asahiro’s arm—and bounced back with even greater speed toward Black Jackals’ court.

THUD!

Sakusa dove in from the back, but couldn’t reach it.

Point for DH! Nitta Asahiro scored on a solo block!

[DH 24 – 22 Black Jackals]

DH reached set point!

Serve change! DH to serve!

Kaedehara Taichi rotated back into the front row!

“OOOOOHHHH!!!—”

In the stands, DH’s fans realised this could be the turning point of the match. They leapt to their feet, waving their glowsticks furiously and screaming Nitta Asahiro’s name at the top of their lungs.

Before Kaedehara Taichi had joined the team, Nitta Asahiro had been their most promising star!

“…Asahiro…?” Meian Shugo stared in disbelief, his eyes darting between his own hands and Nitta Asahiro.

“Senpai, I’ve actually…grown a lot,” Nitta said with a bashful grin.

Meian suddenly turned to Kaedehara Taichi.

To be blocked solo multiple times—that had never happened before today!

“This is your doing, isn’t it? Looks like I’ve been figured out.”

“Hehe.” Taichi gave a mischievous smirk.

Ordinary spikers were easy to read. Their attack routes were limited—they could only swing in the direction of their approach, be it straight or diagonal. A blocker only needed to read their momentum.

At the next level, players like Tanaka Ryūnosuke developed better technique, adjusting their wrists to strike diagonally with a straight body or straight with a diagonal form. Blocking them required watching their palms, not just body orientation.

Above that were near-pros, who could alter their spiking direction midair. These hitters watched the block and adjusted their aim to avoid it in real time. Blockers needed to be agile and predictive—especially if there was no backup in the back row.

And then there were the elite attackers. Their shots would only change direction at the last possible moment, or they’d use feints to mislead defenders.

Against them, it came down to pure net-front mind games.

Meian Shugo was undoubtedly elite. Yet tonight, he had been shut down by solo blocks repeatedly.

That could only mean one thing—his spikes had a flaw.

A tell.

It was subtle—but Kaedehara Taichi had found it.

Right before jumping, Meian’s eyes would scan the opponent’s defence for weak spots. But…his gaze would always linger—just a bit longer—on one area.

And yet, when he jumped, he usually didn’t hit in that direction. He only used it as a fallback, if his original path was blocked.

That’s right—his gaze wasn’t a decoy. It was Plan B.

Taichi had spent two full sets confirming this, and in the third set, he finally made his move!

“…I lost this set,” Meian muttered softly.

He suddenly thought—if he had met Kaedehara Taichi earlier, maybe he could’ve become even stronger.

—

Nishikawa Tadahisa jump-served with full force.

Sakusa easily received it—perfect pass.

“It’s not over yet!”

Miya Atsumu jumped to set at the front. Bokuto Kōtarō and Meian Shugo launched attacks from the left and right respectively.

DH set up man-to-man blocking at the net—even Miya was marked by Yoshii Hiyu to prevent a setter dump.

Fwoosh—!

The ball soared to the left. Bokuto leapt up for the spike.

“Not happening!” Nitta Asahiro jumped solo to block.

BOOM!!!—

The ball sliced past Nitta’s right side. Bokuto had deliberately angled it for a deep straight shot, avoiding the block.

Smack!

Kubo Wataru received it cleanly. Iizuna quickly set to the far right.

“Thanks for waiting!”

Thump!

Kaedehara Taichi soared and spiked.

“Triple block!” Bokuto, Miya, and Meian all jumped together.

Yet…a strange feeling welled up in their chests. As if the outcome was already decided.

BOOM!!!—

The ball slammed down inside Black Jackals’ left sideline and bounced away.

Super tight cross-court shot!

Kaedehara Taichi scores!

[DH 25 – 22 Black Jackals]

“BEEP—!”

A long whistle rang out.

End of Set 3.

Set Winner: DESEO Hornets.

Everyone’s gaze zeroed in on the No. 10 player at centre court—he radiated boundless potential.

In Set 3 alone, Kaedehara Taichi attacked 16 times, scoring 13 points.

He also notched 4 points from blocks and 1 direct ace—a total of 18 points.

With his spike success rate exceeding 80% and a record-breaking number of solo blocks for the season, Kaedehara Taichi dominated on both ends, leading DH to a critical victory and refusing to be swept 0–3 by Black Jackals!

_________

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