Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty - Chapter 597: Wilfredo León (Double-Length)

“BEEEP—!” The final whistle sounded.

[CA San Juan 25 – 15 Ryujin NIPPON]

[CA San Juan 26 – 24 Ryujin NIPPON]

[CA San Juan 25 – 20 Ryujin NIPPON]

San Juan swept Ryujin in the semifinals with overwhelming dominance, advancing powerfully into the finals!

In this match, San Juan’s three core players—Facundo Conte, Kaedehara Taichi, and Oikawa Tōru—each took turns stepping up, becoming the key to their victory.

Although Ryujin quickly adjusted after losing the first set, the overall difference in strength between the two teams remained clear. Taichi’s explosive performance in the third set completely shattered Ryujin’s only realistic chance to take a set.

“Taichi, go win the final,” Kunimi Akira said softly as they shook hands at the end.

“Of course,” Taichi replied with unwavering confidence.

“Kunimi, you played really well,” Oikawa said with a smile. “It’s a shame we didn’t get to see more of you.”

“There’ll be another chance,” Kunimi, rare to show such drive, replied.

In the third set, Coach Suzaku had originally planned to sub in Kunimi Akira and Sakusa Kiyoomi at the crucial last moments, believing San Juan might not have been fully prepared to handle their attacks.

However, with Taichi in an unstoppable state and Oikawa stepping up to serve, they widened the gap in an instant, leaving Ryujin no chance to fight back in those final moments.

“We’ll get stronger,” Hibarida Fuki said, patting the head coach’s shoulder.

In fact, reaching the semifinals was already the best result any Japanese team had achieved in the Club World Championship in recent years.

“Yes. They’re still young,” Suzaku Banjō nodded seriously.

Most of the current Ryujin players had been professionals for less than three years—the generation often referred to by Japanese media as the “Monster Generation.” These players would only get stronger and would surely stand on this stage again.

“Next time, with Hakuba Gao and Hyakuzawa Yūdai joining us, our defence will definitely be more solid,” Hibarida said slowly. “Seeing San Juan perform so well on the world stage actually makes me a bit happy.”

“After all, their players’ heights are only average among world teams, yet they’re still able to defeat those much taller opponents.”

“They’ve gone further down this path, but in terms of pure technique, our boys won’t lose to them.”

“Mhm,” Suzaku Banjō nodded.

“Let the team rest a bit. This afternoon we still have Trentino vs. Lublin to watch. We can’t miss such a good opportunity to learn firsthand.”

“Of course. The showdown between Kageyama Tobio and Ushijima Wakatoshi is also something to look forward to. I’m really starting to think Miyagi might just be a sacred land for volleyball.”

“Perhaps it really is, hahaha…”

—–

In the afternoon, the atmosphere inside the venue was no less intense than in the morning—the energy continued to rise.

On one side was the host team, Trentino Volley from Italy; on the other was the tournament favourite, LUK Lublin from Poland. From the start, anticipation for this match had been even higher than for the morning game.

The stands were jam-packed with fans in colourful jerseys. Cheers and chants echoed non-stop. Many people held banners and glow sticks, waving them passionately for their teams—a giant golden banner reading “Victory to Trentino” stretched across three levels of seats, while the red-and-white flags of Lublin supporters fluttered throughout the crowd.

“Beeep! Both teams, please enter for warm-ups.”

Clap! Clap! Clap clap clap! Victory—!

Clap! Clap! Clap clap clap! Victory—!

“Trentino’s support feels way stronger than when they played us,” Loser said, stunned by the synchronised cheers.

“Italian fans can actually be very arrogant,” Santiago whispered, “Before Trentino made it to the semifinals, they didn’t think it was worth going all out to cheer.”

“Huh? Really?” Loser was surprised. “Group A was the ‘group of death,’ and they only made it through by winning a tiebreaker.”

“Exactly. If they had been eliminated in the group stage, it would’ve shown they weren’t worth supporting—so there was no point in wasting effort on them.”

“That’s intense…” Loser sighed. “Santiago, you sure know a lot!”

“It’s not a big deal.” Santiago crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair proudly with a smug look.

Behind them, Conte watched silently, his expression exasperated. “So this is what you stay up all night reading forums for…?”

—–

“Beeep—!”

The match began. Both teams took their positions.

LUK Lublin’s lineup:

Front row—Setter Micah Christenson, Outside hitter Wilfredo León, Middle Blocker Jakub Kochanowski.

Back row—Middle Blocker Mateusz Bieniek (Libero: Paweł Zatorski), Outside Hitter Ushijima Wakatoshi, Opposite Hitter Bartosz Kurek.

Trentino Volley’s lineup:

Front row—Opposite Hitter Luca Boro, Outside Hitter Alexander Delloro, Middle Blocker Ivan Zaytsev.

Back row—Middle Blocker Ryan Mosca (Libero: Fabio Balaso), Outside Hitter Yuri Romano and Setter Kageyama Tobio.

Trentino to serve first. Kageyama Tobio stepped up to the service line.

“Tweet!—”

BOOM!!!

“The match opens with a serve from Kageyama Tobio, though his power seems a bit off.”

“Trentino struggled after losing to San Juan in the group stage, but in yesterday’s playoff, they managed to prove themselves again.”

“Facing Lublin today, let’s hope they show us something exciting.”

Smack!

Ushijima received it steadily. Perfect pass.

Christenson jumped in the front row to set—León soared from the middle!

BOOM!!!

SMACK!

“Lublin’s first attack is already a second-tempo pipe attack! Zaytsev reacts amazingly, managing to keep the ball up!”

Yuri shifted over to cover the ball; Kageyama jumped to set it high to the middle—

Alexander leapt up to spike!

“Heh.”

“Double block!” León and Kochanowski jumped together.

In an instant—a wall that blotted out the sky!

BOOM!!!—

—SMACK!!!

The ball slammed off León’s arm and ricocheted back into Trentino’s court.

Smack!!

Fabio kept the ball in play with a half-decent pass!

Kageyama quickly moved to set. The ball flew high to the right wing—Zaytsev leapt to attack!

“Triple block!” Lublin added Christenson to the block!

TAP!

Instead of powering through the triple block, Zaytsev deftly tipped the ball over, dropping it behind the blockers.

Kurek easily picked it up; Ushijima slowed the pace, calmly pushing the ball out.

Swoosh!—

“Great set!” León called out with a big laugh.

He pulled back for a slow, measured run-up, then took a step and leapt.

“So high—!”

“Triple block!” Boro, Alexander, and Zaytsev all jumped together.

—BOOM!!!

The ball shot straight past the block and crashed hard on Trentino’s end line before bouncing out.

Super high contact, line shot!

León scored!

[Lublin 1 – 0 Trentino]

“——382 cm!!!”

“León’s first spike already surpassed Taichi’s highest spike height at this Club World Championship!”

The camera quickly cut to San Juan’s bench, then zoomed in on Taichi’s face.

Taichi just smiled faintly, seemingly unfazed. Instead, León noticed the camera and grinned, waving playfully to the stands.

“Fun fact: the highest spike ever recorded in the professional world is still Wifredo León’s 385 cm!”

“And besides him, Kaedehara Taichi is the only other player to break the 380 cm mark.”

Service rotation. Lublin to serve.

Christenson looked calm, unaffected by the cheers or by having his quick attack blocked earlier.

“Tweet!—”

Christenson tossed the ball, sprinted, jumped, and smashed it!

BOOM!!!

A blistering serve with violent spin hurtled toward Trentino’s baseline.

Smack!!!

Kageyama mispassed on the reception!

The ball shot forward at an angle; Zaytsev sprinted up from the front row, Alexander slipped in behind to keep the ball up.

“Triple block!” León, Kochanowski, and Kurek all leaped!

BOOM!!!

The ball slammed off Kurek’s arm, rebounded toward Trentino’s side, and landed out of bounds.

Block out!

Zaytsev scored!

[Lublin 1 – 1 Trentino]

“You’re not old at all, Ivan!” León called out with his usual easy familiarity.

“I can still manage for now,” Zaytsev replied casually.

“Alexander’s set adjustment was absolutely spot-on, and Zaytsev’s ability to precisely handle a ball coming diagonally from behind his body is unbelievable!”

“Against Lublin’s towering block, targeting their blocking seams might be their only option.”

Service rotation. Trentino to serve.

Zaytsev launched a powerful jump serve!

BOOM!!!

Smack!!!

The ball slammed into Christenson’s arm and soared high.

“Disrupting the setter while breaking the reception! That serve from Zaytsev was perfect!”

However, Lublin showed no hint of panic on the court.

Libero Paweł quickly covered, calmly sending a stable pass to the front row.

Power opposite Kurek leapt for the spike!

“Double block!” Ryan and Alexander both jumped.

BOOOM!!!

The ball squeezed through their arms and struck Boro’s left arm, bouncing out of bounds.

Super sharp inside angle!

Kurek scored!

[Lublin 2 – 1 Trentino]

“That guy’s strong,” Loser murmured. “It’s not just León we need to watch out for…”

“An absolute powerhouse at opposite…” Taichi tapped lightly on the player profile sheet in his hand while his eyes focused on the player.

[Bartosz Kurek—Opposite Hitter:Height: 205 cm

Serve: 95 | Receive: 92 | Dig: 90 | Set: 92 | Spike: 99| Block: 98

Spike Reach: 368 cm /Block Reach: 342 cm.]

“If we meet Lublin in the final, blocking and reception will be absolutely critical.”

Service rotation. Lublin to serve.

“Aw, already?” León chuckled as he walked to the service line. “I came all this way to match up with him, but I haven’t even had a chance to try him yet.”

“Guess it’s my turn now,” Kochanowski said. “No one’s going to steal it from me this time, right?”

“Don’t underestimate them,” Christenson reminded.

“Yeah, yeah. Everyone’s strong,” Kochanowski laughed. “I’ll take it seriously.”

“Tweet!—”The serve whistle sounded.

León tossed the ball gently, ran up, leapt, and swung!

BOOOM!!!

The ball shot like a flash, heading straight toward Fabio.

Smack!!

“Did he do that on purpose?” Fabio received it, though only half-accurately.

Kageyama quickly stepped in, setting the ball to the right wing—Alexander leapt to spike!

“Triple block!” Kochanowski, Kurek, and Ushijima all jumped at once.

—BOOM!!!

The ball slipped over Ushijima’s arm, crashing towards Lublin’s back row.

SMACK!!

Paweł managed to pick it up, but the ball flew out of bounds.

Christenson chased it out, while Lublin’s triple block retreated two steps before charging forward again!

“Damn—”

“Their transition is so fast!”

Whoosh!—

The ball flew high toward the middle; Kurek leapt to spike!

Trentino’s scattered front-row block gathered quickly—double block!

BOOM!!!

SMACK!!!

“Touched!” The ball struck Alexander’s arm, bouncing high.

“Trentino still has blocking height!”

Fabio moved quickly, keeping the ball stable.

Whoosh!—

“Such a fast set!”

The ball flew high to the left wing; Boro leapt to attack!

Lublin had only one blocker following—middle blocker Kochanowski. Alone, he jumped directly in front of Boro.

BOOM!!!—

—SMACK!

Boro tried to avoid the block but got stuffed head-on!

The ball slammed back into Trentino’s side.

Kochanowski scored on the block!

[Lublin 3 – 1 Trentino]

“How’s that!” Kochanowski turned around excitedly.

“Nice!” León gave him a thumbs-up from the back row.

“Hehe.” Kochanowski looked extremely proud.

[Jakub Kochanowski—Middle Blocker:Height: 205 cm

Serve: 92 | Receive: 85 | Dig: 88 | Set: 80 | Spike: 98| Block: 98

Spike Reach: 366 cm /Block Reach: 344 cm.]

“What’s Tobio rushing for?” Oikawa commented. “He wants to use fast sets to create one-on-one opportunities, but he’s overlooking how strong their blocks are.”

“That guy Boro can keep up with Tobio’s tempo, but once in the air, it’s too hard for him to adjust.”

“So you’re not going to remind him? Just going to ‘cheer’ from here?” Taichi shot a glance at him.

“Nope,” Oikawa replied decisively. “Hmhm, this is a valuable learning experience for a setter. Let Tobio-chan grow up at his own pace!”

“Tsk, what a cold-hearted senpai.”

“Cheh, you were more of a bully than anyone else when you were on the court.”

“Oh? Really?” Taichi looked genuinely surprised, as if he hadn’t known.

Conte: “…” Is this guy for real?

—–

Lublin continued to serve.

León’s gaze swept casually across the stands, the corners of his mouth lifting in a slight smirk.

“Hmm, the atmosphere isn’t quite heated enough yet.”

“Tweet!—”

As the whistle sounded, he lightly tossed the ball into the air.

León started slowly, speeding up as he ran, and at the moment the ball fell, he exploded upward, body arching like a drawn bow. In the next instant, his right arm whipped forward violently. The ball visibly distorted under his hand before it shot across the court like lightning.

BOOOOOM!!!

“Hmm?”

“…Huh?”

“W-Where…where’s the ball—?!”

The crowd was completely dumbfounded. The two commentators looked at each other in shock.

On the giant screen, the replay showed the ball slicing between Yuri and Kageyama, slamming hard onto Trentino’s baseline and bouncing out of bounds.

No one even touched it.

León scored on a service ace!

[Lublin 4 – 1 Trentino]

“140 km/h!!!”

“After breaking the spike height record, León now breaks this Club World Championship’s serve speed record as well! At the same time, he surpasses the previous record jointly held by him and Taichi!”

_________

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by readnovel.co