Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty - Chapter 600: San Juan vs. Lublin (Double Length)

“Haha! Ramos, nice serve!”

“Luck’s on our side now!”

“Take it slow! The match is still long!” Conte shouted loudly.

Although the last point looked like pure luck, it wasn’t entirely so. Because Ramos had been serving so well in recent matches, Lublin had already been on guard, retreating deeper to receive.

That unexpected serve from Ramos didn’t just bring the score back to even—it also eased the tension on court a bit.

San Juan continued to serve.

Ramos stepped up for his third serve—again, an unwavering powerful jump serve!

BOOM!!!

León received it, but it was only a half-perfect pass.

“Nice!”

Christenson covered and set the ball. Jakub leapt from the left for the spike!

Loser and Taichi jumped together for the block.

BOOM!!!

The ball cleared the block and was picked up by Conte!

“Beautiful block! It was almost like Jakub handed the ball straight to Conte!”

Smack!

It was a half-perfect first touch. San Juan organised a counterattack.

Oikawa pushed the ball high—Taichi took one wide step, then leapt!

“Triple block!” Jakub, Kurek, and Ushijima all jumped together!

—BOOOM!!!

A super high swing!

The ball flew past the net—hitting Paweł in the back row.

SMACK!!!

“What insane power!” Paweł toppled over onto the floor.

The ball popped high and came back above San Juan’s court.

“Free ball!”

Santiago shouted, easily picking it up.

Whoosh!—

Taichi’s silhouette suddenly appeared in front of the net, hovering above.

“That move!” León shouted excitedly.

“Triple block!”

Lublin’s three front-row blockers were all right there in front of Taichi!

A sharp glint flashed through Oikawa’s eyes.

Whoosh—!

The ball shot to the left wing—Loser had an open net!

BOOM!!!

“We fell for it—!” León’s mouth hung open.

THUD!!!

The ball slammed onto Lublin’s sideline and bounced high.

Loser scores!

[San Juan 5 – 4 Lublin]

“That guy’s reaction speed is insane…” Kuroo Tetsurō said grimly.

As a Nekoma player, he understood clearly how difficult that movement had been.

León had instantly shifted his focus to the left wing the moment he realised Taichi was just bait. Loser’s open-net spike had nearly been touched by León’s outstretched single hand.

“To think Ushijima could follow Taichi that close is one thing…but the other two actually tracked that ultra-quick fake, too…” Yaku Morisuke had always thought Nizhnev’s block was in a league of its own, but now he realised Lublin’s wasn’t any weaker!

“It’s not just reaction speed,” Kenma Kozume watched intently. “It also shows that they’re focusing all their attention on Taichi. From the very start of the match, they’ve been going all out to target him.”

This was similar to what Nekoma had done back then—but Lublin’s overall level was far beyond.

—–

San Juan scored again. Ramos went up for his fourth serve!

BOOM!!!

Christenson received it steadily—perfect pass.

“They pinned the setter back!”

“But it’s meaningless! Paweł steps in as a secondary setter and perfectly delivers the ball to the middle!”

Kurek leapt for the spike!

“Double block!” Loser and Taichi went up together.

—BOOM!!!

The ball sailed over them.

Smack!!

“They dug it up again!”

Oikawa barely picked it up; the ball flew out of bounds.

“I’ve got it!” Bruno chased it down and sent it back to the left side.

Conte leapt from the back row for a spike!

BOOM!!!

The ball hit the triple block and dropped down.

Taichi scooped it up one-handed, and Oikawa quickly stepped in to set it to centre.

Loser leapt to attack!

BOOM!!!

Blocked again by Lublin’s triple wall!

Smack!!!

Bruno had just returned to court—he dove and managed to keep the ball alive.

Taichi moved the ball to the right wing high—Ramos launched from the back row for the spike—if he couldn’t help on defence, then he would give it everything on offence!

“One…two…jump!”

“Triple block!”

BOOM!!!—

—SMACK!!!

The ball slammed into Kurek’s arm and bounced back, crashing onto San Juan’s sideline.

Direct block point!

Lublin scores!

[San Juan 5 – 5 Lublin]

“Three consecutive blocks! Lublin shut down all of San Juan’s attacks!”

“Even with León not in the front row, Lublin’s blocking strength is off the charts!”

“I’ll handle the opening attacks,” Taichi said. “I don’t want them thinking this is enough to stop me.”

“Got it.” Oikawa nodded.

If Taichi’s offence didn’t exert enough threat, San Juan’s entire attack would get stuck.

Serve rotation—Lublin to serve.

Jakub jumped in for a powerful serve!

Smack!!

Conte received it—only a half-perfect pass.

Oikawa stepped in to cover, set the ball high to the right wing.

Thump!

Taichi took off!

“Triple block!” Kurek, Ushijima, and Bieniek all jumped together.

—BOOM!!!

The ball turned into a blur as it flew over Ushijima and slammed in front of Jakub, bouncing away.

A super sharp cross diagonal!

Kaedehara Taichi scores!

[San Juan 6 – 5 Lublin]

“Kaedehara Taichi’s state is completely unaffected!”

“Even facing Bieniek at 210 cm, his ball control remains impeccable!”

“Seems Lublin still can’t completely shut down San Juan’s offence.”

Serve rotation—San Juan to serve.

Taichi stepped up to the line!

Ushijima retreated to the back row, and Lublin lined up with a four-man receive formation.

“Huh?” Commentator David looked puzzled. “Only four players receiving against Taichi? He’s the player with the most aces in this Club World Championship.”

“No, it’s not that they don’t want more players,” commentator Lim explained. “Lublin’s middle blockers are extremely specialised—focused on offence and blocking, but lacking in defence.”

“They can’t just leave a middle blocker alone to handle defence when facing someone like Taichi, whose serves are both precise and capable of float variations.”

“I see!”

“But even so, with Paweł, Ushijima, León, and Christenson holding the line, scoring directly off a serve won’t be easy.”

“Tweet!—” Serve whistle!

Taichi tossed the ball, then smashed it with his left hand—full jump serve!

BOOM!!!

The ball hit Ushijima’s arm and flew way out of bounds!

“Shanked pass!”

“Christenson rushes to save it—but that’s clearly not his strong suit!”

Smack!

The ball flew back toward the net. Kurek jumped for a spike!

“Too close!”

BOOM!!!

Conte and Loser jumped to block—the ball rebounded off Loser’s arms and dropped back into Lublin’s court.

SMACK!

Paweł kept it alive.

Ushijima quickly repositioned, set the ball to the right side—Bieniek jumped to attack!

“So high! That 210 cm height is no joke!”

BOOM!!!—

Conte and Loser shifted quickly and jumped.

—SMACK!!!

Blocked again!

The ball bounced back into Lublin’s court again!

Christenson just got back in position, lifted the ball with both hands, and sent it toward the net.

León launched from the back row for a spike!

“Double block!”

Conte and Loser jumped up for the block for the third time!

“What Lublin can do with their blocks, San Juan can do too!”

León’s eyes lit up. Originally, he had planned to feint and shift the ball away—

But—

“How interesting!”

BOOOM!!!

León smashed the ball down with full power!

The ball shot straight through the gap between Conte and Loser’s block!

“As expected, they couldn’t quite hold it. San Juan’s blockers couldn’t maintain their hand shape!”

“Just for show.” Bieniek’s eyes carried open disdain.

SMACK!

Taichi received the ball!

“Nice block!” Taichi quickly adjusted and sprinted forward. “Give it to me!”

Oikawa immediately understood and set the ball steadily high to the right wing.

Thump!

Taichi took off!

“Triple block!” Kurek, Ushijima, and Bieniek all leapt together!

BOOOM!!!

The ball ricocheted off Bieniek’s arm and slammed down on Lublin’s sideline.

Kaedehara Taichi scores!

[San Juan 7 – 5 Lublin]

“This guy…” Bieniek turned to look at where the ball landed. The power was already terrifying, but on top of that, there was an unpredictable spin that he simply couldn’t handle.

Same back-row attack, same triple block—yet Taichi and León each dealt with it in their own distinct way.

“I thought your blocking was so impressive,” Taichi slightly tilted his chin up, his tone dripping with contempt. “Turns out…it’s nothing special at all.”

San Juan to serve again.

Taichi stepped up for his second serve!

BOOOM!!!—

Right-handed, full-power jump serve!

“I’ve got it!”

SMACK!!!

Paweł actively received—but the ball slammed into him and sent him sprawling outside the line.

“Nice receive!”

Yet the ball still flew perfectly to the front row—a perfect pass!

Christenson jumped to set, and Kurek launched from the left!

“Double block!”

—BOOM!!!

Kurek’s flawless timing let him completely ignore the block, smashing the ball down hard!

A super high swing!

Smack!

Oikawa dug it up!

“Looking closely, this guy’s shots really are a bit one-dimensional!”

The ball flew high and dropped in the front row.

Bruno stepped in as a secondary setter. Conte and Loser both charged to the net for the attack!

“Middle!”

Bruno’s set was read, and Lublin’s triple block instantly converged at centre, right in front of Loser.

BOOM!!!

SMACK!

The ball slammed into Ushijima’s hand and bounced up.

“Touch!”

León calmly dug it up, perfect pass.

“Give it to me.”

Christenson jumped to set—León soared from the back row!

Self-dig, self-hit!

“Double block!”

—BOOM!!!

The ball sailed past the block and smashed into Santiago’s arm in the back row, ricocheting out of bounds.

León scores!

[San Juan 7 – 6 Lublin]

“He can so easily go over the block from the back row too?”

“Looks like he wants to answer Taichi’s challenge!”

“Their two aces are fighting it out, refusing to give even an inch—even when in the back row!”

Serve rotation—Lublin to serve.

Kurek jumped in for a full-power serve!

BOOM!!!

The ball slammed into Oikawa’s arm and popped up—a half-perfect pass.

“Tch.”

Taichi had to step in as the secondary setter. He sent the ball to the left wing—Conte jumped for the spike!

BOOM!!!

“Double block!”

The ball was blocked and bounced back, but Oikawa protected it.

Taichi set it again to the middle—Loser jumped!

BOOM!!!

The ball hit the block again and bounced out behind San Juan’s baseline.

Block-out point! Loser scores!

[San Juan 8 – 6 Lublin]

“Beep!—” The match entered a technical timeout.

“Say, don’t you feel something’s a bit off?” David asked. “Both San Juan and Lublin are known for their super strong offence, but this is still just the first set, and they both seem to be struggling to attack. On the other hand, their blocks have been performing excellently.”

“Exactly.” Lim nodded. “But I think there are three main reasons.”

“First, both teams are putting great emphasis on defending the opponent’s ace from the very start.”

“Second, the players are probably influenced by the pressure of the final, and both sides’ blocking form has stayed at a very high level.”

“And third—and I think this is the most important—both teams’ offensive organisation is being suppressed by each other’s serves. Until they fully adapt to the serves, I think this state will continue for a while.”

—–

Serve rotation—San Juan to serve.

Bruno aimed a floating serve right at Christenson in the front row!

Smack!

Christenson used an overhand pass to set the ball to the back row—Paweł stepped up as the secondary setter!

Lublin’s “hidden setter!”

Paweł was known as the world’s number one libero not only because of his receiving and digging abilities but also because, during last year’s championship run, he had taken on a large share of the team’s offensive organisation!

In the front row, Ushijima and Bieniek both moved for quick attacks. Paweł jumped behind Bieniek to set.

“No visible flaws…” Conte and Loser could only split their block coverage.

Whoosh—!

The ball flew steadily to the high right wing—León soared from the back row!

Loser sprinted sideways and jumped—solo block!

—BOOM!!!

The ball cleared the block and slammed hard on San Juan’s right sideline.

A sharp straight, right on the line!

León scores!

[San Juan 18 – 17 Lublin]

Serve rotation—Lublin to serve, León returned to the front row.

“I’ve seen it all now.”

León’s aura seemed subtly different from the start of the match.

“Your preferred shots, your weaker angles, your attack and block habits, your little tricks…”

“Oh, and your on-court personalities too.”

León’s gaze swept across all of San Juan’s players, a mix of excitement and anticipation in his tone.

“Next, it’s time to speed things up!”

“Tweet!—” Serve whistle!

Ushijima jumped in and smashed with his left hand—full jump serve!

BOOM!!!

The ball slammed into Bruno’s arm, bounced back high above Lublin’s court.

“Damn it, once you focus on the spin, it’s so hard to absorb the power…”

BOOM!!!

Bruno had just adjusted his posture when the ball crashed down at his feet.

León scores again!

[San Juan 18 – 18 Lublin]

“And that ties it up again.”

León spoke with a faint, easygoing smile.

_________

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by readnovel.co