Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty - Chapter 604: Breaking Point (Double-Length)

“José, come on—think of something!” Frey said anxiously.

The situation on the court had become even worse than in the first set. Even with Taichi in the front row, San Juan was still being completely suppressed by Lublin.

And if they lost this second set, there would be no way back for San Juan.

Coach José stood by the sidelines, his expression grave, silently watching the court.

On the opposite side, Coach Nikola happened to glance at San Juan’s bench, the corner of his lips curling into a subtle, knowing smile.

“San Juan has always relied on that player—Kaedehara Taichi. Even if their overall strength doesn’t quite match up to the other Group A teams, as long as they have a finisher like him, they can still consistently win.”

“But what happens when this overpowered weapon is neutralised?”

“Right now, the strongest player in the world—undeniably—is León.”

“If León can shut down the unstable factor that is Taichi, then the difference in raw strength between the rest of the players will become painfully obvious.”

“Victory is already within reach.”

—–

BOOM!!!

Loser smashed the ball with a thunderous spike—point!

[San Juan 12 – 16 Lublin]

The serve rotated. San Juan’s turn.

“Stay calm! Make it a good serve!” Oikawa Tōru shouted from the court.

“Take it slow—we’ll claw it back one point at a time!” Conte added, raising his voice to rally the team. “They only barely took the first set. We’re not losing to them!”

“Tweet!—”

The whistle for serve echoed.

Loser launched into a powerful jump serve.

BOOM!!!

“Damn!”

The ball flew toward Lublin’s back line, teetering dangerously on the boundary.

Smack!

“We’re not gambling on that kind of uncertainty.”

Paweł stepped in and received the ball cleanly.

Both sides exhaled in unison.

The ball floated toward the net. Christensen adjusted his position and set it up. Bieniek leapt in from the right wing to spike.

“He’s pulling us in again.”

Taichi exchanged quick glances with Kurek and Ushijima on the left side.

Bieniek faced Ramos one-on-one at the net.

BOOM!!!

The ball sliced past the block and crashed towards San Juan’s back-left corner.

Smack!!!

The ball struck Loser’s arm and ricocheted out of bounds. Oikawa’s cover came just a moment too late.

Bieniek scores again!

[San Juan 12 – 17 Lublin]

“We’ve seen this play over and over in this set—Lublin repeatedly opening up side attacks with their middle blockers and converting them into points!”

“The gap widens once more to 5!”

“Damn it!”

Loser left the court reluctantly.

“Keep a close eye on their spikers,” Santiago said as he returned to the court. “They’ll come for you again.”

“Yes!”

“Even if it’s slow, San Juan is starting to read Lublin’s offensive tempo,” said Lim, observing from the bench. “But the clock is ticking…and they’re running out of time.”

The serve changed hands—Lublin again.

Bieniek stepped up for a power jump serve.

BOOM!!!

Smack!

Oikawa Tōru received the ball cleanly.

It floated to the front line. Bruno adjusted his set and lobbed it high to the left wing.

Taichi soared into the air.

“San Juan’s only hope to break through now lies with Taichi. Lublin still marks him with maximum caution. Their defensive shape shifts instantly the moment he moves to attack.”

“Triple block!” Jakub, Kurek, and Ushijima rose together.

BOOM!!!

The ball smashed into the edge of the sideline and bounced out of bounds.

Off-the-hands, line shot!

Kaedehara Taichi scores!

[San Juan 13 – 17 Lublin]

“…Incredible,” murmured Coach Nikola.

“No matter what we try, this guy just can’t be shut down.”

“He and León…they’re the same breed. Titans at the pinnacle of volleyball.”

“Absolutely brilliant.”

The serve switched again. San Juan.

Taichi stepped up to the baseline. Lublin’s four-man back row braced for the reception.

“Tweet!—”

First serve.

BANG!!!

Taichi unleashed a left-handed jump float serve.

The ball dipped hard between Jakub and Kurek in the front row—an aggressive drop just over the net.

“I got it!”

Though they hadn’t expected a float serve at that moment, Lublin still kept their discipline.

Smack!

Kurek bump-passed underhand, the ball hitting the top of the net and bouncing down.

Jakub lunged forward and kicked it back into the air. Ushijima adjusted for a surprise counterattack.

BOOM!!!

Ushijima’s spike slammed into Conti’s block and bounced high.

Santiago stepped in to receive.

Taichi launched himself from the back row, attacking at full speed.

Jakub and Kurek reacted instantly, jumping up to meet him—right in front of the net.

Whoosh!—

BOOM!!!

But instead of going for the kill, Taichi shifted the ball midair.

The ball sailed toward the middle zone—Ramos launched a fast attack!

Avoiding Ushijima’s block, he spiked!

SMACK!

The ball slammed off Christensen’s arm and shot out of bounds.

Paweł couldn’t reach it in time.

Ramos scores!

[San Juan 14 – 17 Lublin]

“They read that?”

“Kaedehara Taichi’s ultra-fast approach only managed to pull the block—Lublin’s back row stayed alert to the other attackers.”

“Even that move couldn’t guarantee a point…”

San Juan maintained the serve.

Lublin subtly adjusted their reception formation. Though still four in the back row, they had shifted into a staggered pattern—alternating front and back positions.

“A clear adjustment to deal with Taichi’s float serve. Lublin’s adaptation is lightning-fast.”

Taichi studied their formation closely, tossed the ball high, took his steps, and leapt—this time with full power.

BOOOOM!!!—

“He switched it—power jump serve!”

The ball streaked between Christensen and Ushijima, slamming cleanly onto Lublin’s backline.

No touch.

Ace. On the line.

Kaedehara Taichi scores again!

[San Juan 15 – 17 Lublin]

“135 km/h!”

“San Juan narrows the gap to just two points!”

“Taichi! Taichi! Taichi!”

The cheers in the stadium once again turned in favour of San Juan. Taichi’s overwhelming presence had rekindled hope in the hearts of the fans.

“That’s exactly it…” Coach Nikola muttered deeply from the sidelines. “This oppressive aura—this is why San Juan keeps winning. Their opponents can never shake it off.”

“Though…that happens to be one of our specialities too.”

“Tweet!—”

Taichi launched his third serve.

BOOOM!!!

The ball targeted the left back corner of Lublin’s court—right between León and Christensen!

SMACK!

León was forced to receive. The ball veered at an angle toward the front. Christensen moved in for the set.

The ball soared high toward the right side—Ushijima Wakatoshi leapt into his swing!

“Triple block!” Bruno, Ramos, and Conte jumped in unison.

Conte sealed off the line—giving Ushijima no space to drive through.

BOOM!!!

“Ah, so that’s what he’s doing,” Iwaizumi suddenly realised.

The ball ricocheted off Conti’s block and landed out past Lublin’s sideline.

Out off the block!

Ushijima scores!

[San Juan 15 – 18 Lublin]

Ushijima had been hammering the line, deliberately forcing the block to drift further and further toward the antenna. By sticking to a straight path, he didn’t need to adjust angles—just push the block out of bounds.

His role in the offence may have been reduced, but that uncontainable force that was Ushijima Wakatoshi remained unchanged.

“Lublin isn’t just riding on León’s shoulders,” a commentator noted. “It’s the synergy between Christensen and the front-row attackers that makes them so destructive.”

“When they pinned down Taichi with targeted serves, San Juan’s offence completely stalled. But when Taichi tries to do the same to León, Lublin still finds ways to score.”

“What is Coach José thinking? Does he really have no answer?”

The serve rotated—Lublin to serve.

León rotated into the front row. Taichi was now in the back.

“This isn’t looking good…”

For the first time in a long while, a wave of helplessness swept through San Juan’s players.

“Tweet!—”

Ushijima served with his powerful left hand, targeting Taichi in the back row.

BOOM!!!

SMACK!

The ball rocketed up—imperfect reception.

Oikawa hustled in and set the ball. Conte attacked from the right wing!

“Triple block again!” León, Jakub, and Kurek formed Lublin’s strongest defensive wall.

BOOM!!!

Conti’s spike struck Jakub’s fingertips and deflected far away.

Smack!

Paweł chased it down and returned it to the court.

Christensen re-set from the back. The ball arced high toward the right.

León took a horizontal approach and jumped into his swing.

“Triple block!” Bruno, Ramos, and Conte leapt to meet him.

But this block wasn’t even in the same league.

BOOOOM!!!

The ball exploded straight through Bruno’s arms and slammed into San Juan’s 3-meter line.

León scores!

[San Juan 15 — 19 Lublin]

“That guy…!”

The San Juan players felt an involuntary chill.

It was a sensation they had experienced before—like standing across the net from Taichi himself.

“León in the front row really is terrifying.”

“Ushijima’s serve is no joke either. The fact that Taichi can still keep the offence organised under that pressure is already impressive.”

“But we’re getting overwhelmed,” Oikawa thought, the memory flashing back of those matches when Taichi wasn’t around at Aoba Johsai—and he had to face Ushijima alone.

“Is there really…no way out of this?”

Lublin continued to serve.

BOOM!!!

Ushijima sent another blistering jump serve.

Taichi received it again—this time, perfectly.

“Even so, the serve is still keeping Taichi pinned in the back row—he can’t move up.”

Oikawa jumped for the set. San Juan launched a three-point synchronised attack from the front row.

Someone had to score.

Whoosh!—

BOOM!!!—

—SMACK!

Bruno’s spike was stuffed—León blocked him single-handedly!

The ball slammed into the sideline and bounced off.

León scores again!

[San Juan 15 – 20 Lublin]

“Unbelievable!”

“Lublin’s blockers initially leaned toward the right side—it looked like a 3-on-2 setup. Oikawa saw the gap and smartly shifted the set to the left wing—what should’ve been an undefended zone.”

“And yet…León was there. Alone. A solo block in a blind spot.”

“Bruno misread the situation!”

“Lublin hits the 20-point mark first. The gap returns to five. For San Juan, the road back just got steeper.”

“Beep! San Juan called for a timeout.”

“Coach José uses his final timeout. Could this be a strategic reset?”

“Hard to say. Might just be a chance to calm the players down. They’re looking more and more rattled out there.”

—

Huff…Huff…

San Juan’s players returned to the bench, chests heaving for breath.

“Wait—this is still the second set?”

Ramos glanced at the scoreboard. No match had ever felt this exhausting.

Bruno clenched and released his fists repeatedly. They had gone slightly numb—his senses dulled.

“Coach, give us something,” Conte said. “What do we do now?”

Coach José tapped his tactical board. In his analysis, the strength gap shouldn’t have led to such a one-sided game.

What San Juan lacked now was…a breakthrough point.

Kaedehara Taichi had already done more than enough.

They needed one more—someone else besides Taichi to break through.

That role should have been Conte’s…but with the team’s current state—

“What’s with those faces?” Taichi asked calmly, finishing his water. “You all look like we’ve already lost.”

“Taichi…”

Oikawa turned to him. The entire team followed his gaze.

“If you can’t do it—then just give me the ball,” Taichi said, eyes scanning his teammates. “Once we tie the score, you’ll all be able to think clearly again.”

“Taichi, we know how strong you are, but they’re going to keep targeting you. You’re still in the back—”

“It doesn’t matter where I am,” Taichi cut Conte off.

“Just give me the ball.”

“I’ll bring the score back.”

“You—stay calm. All of you.”

—–

Timeout over. The match resumed.

Lublin served again.

“San Juan hasn’t tried to ‘hide’ Taichi. Instead, they’ve had Bruno shift closer to him to provide coverage.”

“Given Ushijima’s powerful serve, that’s a smart choice. Taichi’s receiving skills alone provide an anchor for San Juan.”

“Tweet!—”

Ushijima fired off his third serve.

BOOM!!!

It flew precisely toward Taichi’s left flank.

“Ushijima aims for the edge—cutting off any hope of cover!”

SMACK!

A tough reception—the ball soared high and off-line.

“Oikawa!”

Taichi shouted, already sprinting toward the front.

“He’s sacrificing precision on the pass to gain a head start on offence? That’s just like León’s earlier plays!”

“You can pull it off, right?!”

Thump!

From the back row, Taichi launched himself. Oikawa repositioned, sending a backwards set from outside the court, pinpointing it above the left wing.

“Triple block!” León, Jakub, and Kurek jumped together.

León met Taichi face-to-face at the apex.

BOOOM!!!

Taichi didn’t flinch. He drove the spike straight through.

The ball slammed off León’s arm and bounced high, sailing back toward San Juan’s court.

THUD!!!

Out of bounds beyond the baseline!

Touch out!

Kaedehara Taichi scores!

[San Juan 16 – 20 Lublin]

“That hurts…”

León winced, rubbing his arm.

He had tried to press downward, but the force of Taichi’s spike had knocked his hand back—there was no way the ball would’ve rebounded that far otherwise.

“Yo—made you wait long enough.”

Taichi smirked. His arm slowly rose as he pointed directly at León.

“This set…I’m taking it.”

_________

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by readnovel.co