Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty - Chapter 610: Anxiety and Trust (Double-Length)

“It’s Kaedehara Taichi!”

“He finishes off that marathon rally!”

“What a dazzling attack—both teams are switching from defence to offence at lightning speed!”

“Both sides are showing incredible resilience. Especially in that last rally, Taichi and León both played full court—receiving their own attacks and spiking again!”

—–

Serve change. San Juan to serve.

Bruno targeted the front row with a jump float serve.

The ball dropped between Jakub and Akutsu Ao.

“Tch.”

Akutsu raised his arms reluctantly and bumped the ball upward—a shaky receive.

Christenson leapt to set—León charged in for a back-row attack!

BOOM!!!

The ball slammed into Conte’s arm and rebounded out of bounds along Lublin’s right sideline.

Off-the-block!

León scores with a spike!

[San Juan 6 – 6 Lublin]

“León immediately answers back—tying the score again!”

“Neither team is giving an inch! This set is still neck and neck!”

Serve change. Lublin to serve.

Akutsu Ao launched a powerful jump serve!

BOOOOM!!!

“This guy?!” Santiago shuffled sideways to receive—

THUD!!!

The ball struck the endline behind Santiago and bounced up violently.

Despite San Juan’s four-man receive formation, they couldn’t stop Akutsu’s serving onslaught!

No contact!

Service ace for Akutsu Ao!

[San Juan 6 – 7 Lublin]

“133 km/h!!!”

“Yes!!” Akutsu growled low under his breath.

The line between an out serve and a perfect ace was razor thin—but he didn’t show even a flicker of doubt, undeterred by his earlier serving error.

Lublin takes the lead!

“Stay sharp!” Oikawa shouted loudly.

Any lapse in focus would give the opponents a window to break away—Lublin was exactly that kind of troublesome team.

“Tweet!—” The whistle blew.

Akutsu sent off his second serve!

BOOM!!!

Oikawa stepped in and received it, though the ball veered diagonally toward the net.

“Uh—”

Conte was forced to step in as the secondary setter, sending the ball to the left side—Ramos jumped to spike!

BOOM!!!

The ball rebounded high off the triple block, flying far out of bounds—

“Great swing!”

“Wait, what?!”

Akutsu had already moved beneath the ball, leaping from beyond the endline and smacking it back into play!

“That guy’s so fast!”

“When did he even get there?!”

“This kind of obsession with victory often shows most in the small saves,” Coach Nikola nodded with satisfaction.

Smack!

Christenson calmly bumped the ball upward—Ushijima took off from the middle.

“Double block!” Ramos and Conte leapt up together!

BOOOM!!!

SMACK!!!

The ball hit Ramos’ arm and flew out of bounds—Bruno chased after it but could only watch as it crashed into the seats.

“This guy’s insane…”

Off-the-block again! Ushijima scores!

[San Juan 6 – 8 Lublin]

“That spin was monstrous! He really is Japan’s left-handed heavy cannon—Ushijima Wakatoshi!”

“Judging by San Juan’s defensive rotations, they clearly prepared countermeasures for him, but all they can do is watch in disbelief!”

“Beep!—”

Technical timeout. Both teams returned to their benches.

“Who would’ve thought San Juan, who led at the start, would be trailing by the first technical timeout…”

“Conte just rotated to the front row, but offensively, he hasn’t made much impact this set.”

“True, and in contrast, Lublin has so many attack options. Even that new guy, number 33—Akutsu Ao—is ridiculously strong.”

“Feels like this one’s going to a fifth set. I doubt Lublin is letting this one go.”

—–

“A good attack relies on a good first touch!” Coach José tapped his clipboard. “Don’t stiffen up when receiving—stay loose!”

“From now on, unless it’s León’s serve, you don’t need to help with reception.”

“Huh? Won’t that be—” Oikawa looked a bit uneasy.

“Increasing the number of receivers doesn’t mean you get to relax,” José said firmly.

“Oikawa, your focus now is on running the offence. Taichi and León will cancel each other out—that’s the perfect time for you to activate the rest of the hitters.”

“Just like in the third set—Lublin’s strength is in blocking, but their weakness is in receiving. You need to help your attackers punch holes in that wall!”

“Yes, sir!!”

—–

The technical timeout ended. The match resumed.

Lublin continued to serve.

“San Juan made a slight adjustment to their reception formation. It’s still a four-man receive, but Oikawa is now positioned in the front row, while Conte has dropped into the back row to assist with reception.”

“Tweet!—” The whistle sounded.

Akutsu Ao launched his third serve!

BOOM!!!

The ball flew between Taichi and Conte!

“He’s targeting both of San Juan’s wing spikers at once!”

“I got it!”

Smack!

Taichi shifted laterally and took the receive—slightly off, but still playable.

“Coach José was right—while Conte’s still in the front row, we’ll have to turn him into an attacking threat.”

Oikawa moved in for the second touch. Conte began his approach from the back row and launched into the air at the net!

Thud!

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

They were so high!

“But Lublin’s iron wall isn’t enough to stop Conte!”

—BOOM!!!

The ball soared over the block and slammed towards the middle of Lublin’s court.

“Now!”

SMACK!

“Height alone isn’t enough.”

León calmly received the ball—his first touch just slightly off.

Paweł stepped in for the second ball, and the three front-row attackers scattered in sync for a synchronised offence.

Oikawa was forced to shadow Ushijima—Conte and Ramos had to split their coverage.

“It’s the left wing!” Taichi shouted.

“They’re actually giving it to the setter!”

“Lublin’s right front not only has Jakub up front, but Akutsu Ao in the back row as a second-wave attacker…”

Thud!

Christenson jumped for the spike!

Ramos went up for a solo block—Oikawa, following Taichi’s call, slid into a supporting block position.

SMACK!

“——?!”

But Christenson didn’t swing hard with his trailing right arm—instead, he tipped the ball gently over the net with his left!

A setter tip!

“He still had that kind of rhythm change in him?!”

The ball dropped behind the blockers—Bruno dove with everything he had.

Thud!

The ball hit the floor.

Point, Christenson!

[San Juan 6 – 9 Lublin]

“Wakatoshi, that left hand of yours really comes in handy,” Christenson said with a faint smile.

“Yeah.” Ushijima Wakatoshi gave a small nod.

After Oikawa Tōru, Christenson was the second setter Ushijima truly wanted to team up with. That’s why, after their stint in the U.S., Ushijima was the one who invited Christenson to join the Lublin with him.

And now, he was certain—he’d made the right choice.

“Christenson scores another point with that precise attack! San Juan still can’t pull themselves out of trouble even after the timeout!”

Lublin to serve.

Oikawa stared intently across the net. That faint unease that had crept into his chest at the end of the previous set…had now materialised in full force. Lublin had used those last moments of the third set to find a way to exploit Conei.

“Tweet!—”

The whistle blew.

Akutsu Ao served his fourth ball.

BOOM!!!—

The ball flew straight and true—Conte received it solidly with a perfect first touch.

Oikawa leapt to set, and Taichi charged in from the back row—

“Triple block!”

BOOOM!!!

The ball punched through a gap in the block and slammed down into Lublin’s court.

Kaedehara Taichi scores!

[San Juan 7 – 9 Lublin]

“That’s right.” Coach Nikola watched the court with confidence. “In the end, you’ll always need Taichi to be your closer.”

“Go ahead—score all you want.”

—–

Serve switches—San Juan to serve.

Ramos went for a powerful jump serve.

The ball flew toward Lublin’s right sideline—

Smack!!

Akutsu received it, though it only half-reached its target.

Christenson leapt for the set. Ushijima, Jakub, and León all launched into attack at once!

BOOM!!!

San Juan’s blockers had to split. The ball slammed down inside their court.

Jakub scores!

[San Juan 7 – 10 Lublin]

“Lublin snatches back the serve with ease!”

“Tweet!—”

Jakub to serve.

BOOM!!!

Smack!

Taichi received the ball steadily—perfect first touch.

“Beautiful receive!”

Oikawa jumped to set. Conte and Loser both launched into attack from opposite wings.

“Left? Right? Or a setter dump?”

Not just Lublin’s players—Oikawa himself was asking the same question.

The blockers split. Christenson stood alone in front of Oikawa.

“There’s no better chance than this.”

Oikawa made his decision.

Whoosh!—

The ball flew to the left—Conte went for the spike!

Bieniek jumped alone to block. Christenson was half a beat late in covering the left.

“So it’ll be here!”

Conte swung, avoiding the block. But Paweł was already stationed in the center, anticipating him.

BOOM!!!

At the last second, Conte twisted his wrist, forcing the ball down a new path!

It skimmed past Bieniek’s hand and rocketed toward Lublin’s endline.

“Nice judgment!” Oikawa shouted. They’d avoided the libero’s zone perfectly!

And yet—

León flashed in from the left, cleanly receiving the ball.

“Conte, don’t take it the wrong way. We were never underestimating you.”

SMACK!

The ball rose high—halfway to its target.

Paweł moved in to set. The ball soared to the right side—Jakub jumped to spike!

Loser rose for a solo block.

Swish!

—BOOOM!!!

“A tandem attack?!”

Akutsu shot in from the back row and smashed the ball down with crushing force!

THUD!!!

It landed dead on San Juan’s 3-meter line.

Akutsu Ao scores!

[San Juan 7 – 11 Lublin]

“San Juan’s failed attack throws their defense into disarray—they couldn’t read Lublin’s tandem play at all!”

“And let’s not forget Paweł’s immaculate set—this is why he’s called the world’s #1 libero. His connection with Akutsu was just like that between a setter and their ace!”

“The score gap widens again!”

“Beep! San Juan calls for a timeout.”

“Coach José is forced to use another timeout. At the current pace, this point deficit could spell serious danger for San Juan!”

—–

“Didn’t San Juan have the lead early on? How did it flip like this?” Haiba Lev leaned over the back of Kenma Kozume’s chair.

“Sit down, Lev!” Yaku yanked him back. “You’re blocking the view, dumbass!”

Lev sank back into his seat but still leaned forward, waiting for an answer.

Kenma sighed quietly. “Think back—when did the momentum start to shift?”

“Huh?” Lev blinked. “Uh…when Taichi rotated to the back row?”

“More precisely,” Kenma said, “after both Taichi and León’s service turns ended. From Akutsu’s serve to this timeout, San Juan has only scored once. Lublin has taken five points.”

“That many?!” Lev gasped.

Because San Juan’s one point came in the middle of Lublin’s streak—interrupting a serve—Lev hadn’t noticed the rhythm shift. But in just a few minutes, Lublin had completely taken over.

“What do we do now?” Iwaizumi asked, concerned.

Nobody wanted to go to a fifth set. And if it did go there, Lublin—riding the momentum—would have the upper hand.

“I don’t know,” Kenma murmured.

Lublin was every bit the championship team. Their bench was deep, their stamina solid. Some of San Juan’s players, on the other hand, were showing signs of fatigue.

In the past, when San Juan hit a wall, they always had Kaedehara Taichi—the game-changer who defied expectations.

But now, Lublin had someone to match him blow for blow.

The world’s best outside hitter.

And volleyball, after all, was a team sport.

If no one else stepped up…

Iwaizumi clenched his fists.

He didn’t want to see Oikawa or Taichi lose on the world stage.

“Let’s go, Taichi!”

A clear voice rang out—Chiba Kaho leapt to her feet, waving toward San Juan’s side.

“You’ve got this!”

Kenma stood and joined her.

“Let’s go, Taichi!”

If there was anything the fans could do now, it was this—

Believe in them.

Believe the players would win.

“Go, Oikawa!!” Iwaizumi shouted.

—–

Timeout ended. The game resumed.

San Juan returned to the court.

Taichi and Oikawa glanced toward a particular corner of the stands. They hadn’t heard the voices—but they knew.

That’s where the people who believed in them were.

Lublin to serve.

Jakub served his second ball.

BOOM!!!

Bruno received it—halfway accurate.

Oikawa moved in to set—Lublin’s front three locked eyes on him.

“Still trying to go to Conte? You know that won’t work!”

“When an attacker fails to score, the pressure falls squarely on the setter.”

Coach Nikola stood with arms crossed.

“We’re not here to break Conte alone.”

“Give me the ball!” Conte shouted, charging down the left sideline with his hand up.

No matter what—he couldn’t back down.

Whoosh!—

“Right side!” Bieniek shouted.

Lublin’s blockers shifted right. Loser jumped for the spike—triple block!

It was a decoy.

But Lublin had already seen through it.

Taichi launched from the back row—

Triple block, second jump!

—BOOM!!!

The ball sailed over the block and struck Jakub’s arm in the back row, flying out of bounds.

Kaedehara Taichi scores again!

[San Juan 8 – 11 Lublin]

“San Juan finally puts a point on the board—but the danger hasn’t passed yet.”

“Conte seemed to call for the ball just now, but neither Oikawa nor Lublin’s blockers paid him much attention…”

“Nice hit!” Conte said, exchanging positions with Taichi.

“Conte, that wasn’t the best moment to give the ball to you,” Oikawa said seriously.

“You don’t need to explain,” Conte said, pausing to meet his gaze.

“You’re the setter. I’m just waiting for the perfect moment you have in mind.”

Serve switches. San Juan to serve.

Kaedehara Taichi rotated to the front row.

_________

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by readnovel.co