Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty - Chapter 612: The Pinnacle of the World (Triple-Length)
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- Chapter 612: The Pinnacle of the World (Triple-Length)
“Do you want to be the best in the world?” León’s eyes burned with growing excitement.
At some point, all his peers had fallen behind, chasing after him as their goal.
Day after day of victory, the same scenery over and over again.
Any team León joined meant victory. León himself meant the strongest!
“But you’ve never thought that way, have you!” León’s gaze pierced through the net and locked onto Taichi. “Come on, show me a whole new view!”
“Heh.” Taichi chuckled softly, the gleam in his eyes growing even brighter. “That depends—can you keep up?”
“I’ll gladly try!”
—–
San Juan to serve again.
Taichi tossed the ball, took a running start, leapt—and spiked!
BOOOOM!!!—
Rather than aiming for the front row with only the middle blocker left, Taichi’s spike shot straight toward the centre of Lublin’s back row!
SMACK!!!—
León’s movement stalled for a second. The ball slammed into his arm and bounced high.
“Tensen—!”
Christenson rushed to cover. Hearing León’s shout, both Jakub and Akutsu froze instinctively.
It was a pass meant only for the ace!
Fwoosh—!
Christenson adjusted the rhythm and sent a perfect high set to the left wing.
Thump!
By the time León reached the front row, he had stabilised and soared upward!
“Triple block!”
Even Bruno joined Ramos and Conte in the air. It wasn’t something he should’ve done—but fear compelled him to act.
It just wasn’t enough!
León’s spike cleared the block by nearly half an arm and smashed the ball down!
—BOOM!!!
Over-the-block spike!
The ball shot toward Taichi!
SMACK!
“He got it!”
“No—not yet!”
The ball bounced high and started falling out past the end line. Two figures sprinted after it.
“It’s him—!”
“This match doesn’t belong to just the two of you!”
Oikawa Tōru leapt forward, vaulting over the advertising board, and caught the ball cleanly with both hands.
—“Beautiful!”
All the setters present—Kageyama Tobio, Miya Atsumu, Izuna Tsukasa—watched Oikawa’s movement without blinking.
It was a save, yet he had jumped into midair with such speed.
And still, Oikawa’s upper body remained as steady as if on flat ground!
At the moment of contact, he gently added spin with his fingertips, making the ball’s flight perfectly stable.
A backwards set from beyond the baseline—!
And it floated precisely in the air above San Juan’s right wing!
Not even a millimetre off!
“Your potential—I’ll be the one to unlock it!”
BOOOM!!!
Conte spiked against Lublin’s triple block with everything he had!
The ball landed just inside the right sideline—score!
[San Juan 22 – 21 Lublin]
“A flawless counterattack! San Juan takes the point!”
“I won’t let you fight alone anymore.” Oikawa climbed up from behind the advertising board, eyes on Taichi’s back. “From the day we reunited, I made my decision.”
“I am San Juan’s command tower—The world’s best setter—”
“I am Oikawa Tōru!”
San Juan to serve again. Taichi served his fourth ball!
BOOOOM!!!
The serve flew toward Lublin’s back left corner.
WHAM!!!
Paweł moved to receive, rolling twice to absorb the force.
“Nice dig!”
Christenson chased the ball immediately, feeling a rush of excitement. Oikawa really was the setter he’d been waiting for. Though they’d only just met, this match was already making his heart soar!
“Let’s see who’s truly the world’s best setter!”
Fwoosh!—
The ball soared back to the middle of Lublin’s court. León jumped to spike!
“Double block!” Ramos and Conte leapt to stop him.
—BOOOM!!!
The ball cleared the net and smashed into San Juan’s court—score!
[San Juan 22 – 22 Lublin]
“380cm!!!”
“He did it again!”
“León’s condition is still climbing—he doesn’t even look like someone playing the fourth set!”
“Tensen, we’ll take care of the attacks next.” León said calmly. “Let’s see how strong you really are when you focus solely on setting.”
“Perfect! That’s what I wanted!”
Service change—Lublin to serve. León stepped up.
“Come at me!!!”
San Juan’s five back-row players spread out in a straight line, ready to receive.
“Tweet!—” The whistle blew.
León tossed the ball, ran up, leapt—and spiked!
“Ah, this feeling.”
“Heh~”
BOOOOOM!!!
The ball turned into a streak of white lightning, unstoppable!
WHAM!!!!
The ball slammed into Santiago’s arm and shot far out of bounds!
León scores on a direct serve!
[San Juan 22 – 23 Lublin]
“142 km/h!!!”
“León ties the record and takes the lead!!!”
“What a monster! This is insane!”
Santiago was too stunned to speak. When Taichi had served this kind of ball earlier, it already felt absurd—but he’d thought he was at least getting used to it.
Now that he was actually facing it—he realised he could barely react in time at all.
“This is a terrifying existence, unlike any serve before!”
“Santiago, don’t panic.” Taichi said softly and calmly. “When you don’t know what to do—believe in yourself. We won’t fall here.”
“Tweet!—” The whistle blew again.
Lublin to serve. León tossed the ball—second serve!
“You’ve already surpassed yourself so quickly…it’s me who should thank you, Taichi!”
BOOOOOM!!!
The ball lost none of its force, arriving at San Juan’s baseline in an instant!
WHAM!!!!
Oikawa slid to receive—but the ball’s power slammed him into the ground!
“Cover him!”
The ball soared high, and just as Taichi prepared to move—Santiago darted forward.
“Go! Your job is to score!”
Smack!
The ball flew cleanly to the net. Taichi leapt from the back row!
“Triple block!” Ushijima, Jakub, and Akutsu all went up!
“Break through!!”
BOOOM!!!
The ball broke through Jakub’s block and slammed into Lublin’s court!
Taichi scores!
[San Juan 23 – 23 Lublin]
“San Juan holds on—they refuse to back down!”
“They’ve survived the most dangerous phase of the match!”
Service change—San Juan to serve.
Bruno delivered a floating jump serve.
Paweł easily received the ball, perfect first pass.
Christenson jumped to attack from the back row. At the same time, León launched into a rear attack!
Oikawa guarded against a setter dump. Conte blocked León.
Fwoosh!—
BOOM!!!
The ball soared to the left wing—Ushijima spikes and scores!
[San Juan 23 – 24 Lublin]
“A double decoy—no way to guard against it!”
“Ramos alone couldn’t stop Ushijima’s spike.”
“Lublin snatches set point!”
“Sorry!” Bruno shouted.
His serve had been too easy to receive, leaving San Juan with no way to stop Lublin’s next attack.
“Shake it off—next point!” Taichi shouted.
“This is just a minor crisis.”
Service change—Lublin to serve.
Akutsu fired a powerful jump serve!
BOOM!!!
Smack!!
Bruno received it, slightly off-target!
“Nice pass!”
Oikawa jumped in the front row to set. Ramos, Conte, and Taichi (back row) all launched attacks!
“Who’s it going to be?!”
Lublin’s blockers focused mostly on Taichi—but Conte had scored recently and couldn’t be ignored either.
It couldn’t be Ramos, right? Then again—Oikawa might actually pick him…
BOOM!
While Lublin’s front line was still guessing, just before their block settled—
Oikawa attacked himself—a setter dump diagonally!
Jakub jumped to solo block.
“He had that in his pocket too?!”
The ball slipped past the left side of the block and landed on the 3-meter line!
Oikawa scores!
[San Juan 24 – 24 Lublin]
“How did he even dare to pull that off?!!”
“With a poor first pass, Oikawa still chose to attack head-on against a middle blocker 20cm taller!”
“The more critical the moment, the bolder his plays become!”
San Juan ties the score!
Service change—San Juan to serve.
“These next two serves are crucial for San Juan. If Ramos serves like Bruno did last round, San Juan might be in trouble again.”
“Ramos, no pressure!” Conte shouted. “Your serve has improved throughout this whole Club World Championship!”
“Go all out!”
“Got it!”
“Tweet!—” The whistle blew.
Ramos launched a powerful jump serve—perfect contact!
BOOM!!!
Smack!
The ball struck León’s arm and bounced—perfect receive.
“Damn!”
“Don’t mind it! Get ready to defend!” Santiago shouted.
Even just forcing León to pass was already a success.
“Is it, though?” Christenson jumped to set.
Thud!
León leapt from the back row!
“No way!?”
Conte and Loser jumped to block.
BOOM!!!
The ball slammed off Conti’s arm and flew out of bounds. Ramos couldn’t chase it down.
Off the block! León scores!
[San Juan 24 – 25 Lublin]
“One-point break! Lublin regains serve!”
“Come on, Taichi—attack me!” León laughed wildly. “You’re not ending it here, are you?!”
“This guy—he’s provoking Taichi,” Oikawa muttered, brows lifting slightly.
“Oikawa.”
Taichi’s voice came from behind.
—”Give me the ball.”
—”I know, I know~”
They spoke at the same time. Taichi’s voice was heavy with emotion. Oikawa’s was helplessly light.
“Crush him—head-on.”
Service change—Lublin to serve.
Jakub fired a thunderous jump serve!
BOOM!!!
The ball flew toward Santiago and Bruno!
Smack!
Santiago moved sideways and received it—perfect first pass.
“Watch Taichi!”
“No quick attack?!”
Oikawa jumped to set, a smirk on his lips.
“Taichi doesn’t need speed anymore to get past you.”
Whoosh!—
The ball flew cleanly into the air on the right wing. Taichi jumped from the back row!
“Triple block!” Bieniek, Christenson, and Ushijima leapt to meet him.
“So high—!”
—BOOM!!!
The ball soared over the block and smashed into Jakub’s arm in the back row, flying out of bounds!
Taichi scores!
[San Juan 25 – 25 Lublin]
“376cm!!!”
“Is that even possible for a back-row attack?!”
San Juan ties the score again!
Service change—San Juan to serve. Taichi returns to the front row.
“Uh-oh…the momentum is swinging toward San Juan…”
Even Lublin fans could see it: every time Taichi rotated to the front row (with Conte serving), the whole game tilted in San Juan’s favour.
“Tweet!—”
Conte tossed the ball, approached, jumped, and struck!
BOOOM!!!
The volleyball spun with tremendous force, slicing through the air in an arc and smashing toward Lublin’s back row!
SMACK!
Paweł received it, the first pass flying forward at an angle.
“Cover!”
“Tensen!” León shouted.
An unquestionable call for the ball!
Christenson quickly got into position. In this match, the duel between these two superstar Aces was supported by a setter genius who could keep up with their pace!
Fwoosh!—
The volleyball sailed high to the left wing.
Christenson deliberately avoided facing Taichi head-on.
León jumped from the back row for the spike!
“Triple block!” Even Oikawa couldn’t help but jump; Taichi and Loser switched positions and blocked the centre.
—BOOOM!!!—
Super cross-court spike!
The volleyball landed precisely on San Juan’s end line and bounced up.
León scored!
[San Juan 25 – 26 Lublin]
“377cm!!!”
“León answers back just as fiercely!”
“Tensen,” León said calmly. “No need to avoid Taichi.”
“Right now, neither of us can block the other.”
“Yeah.”
Christenson didn’t say much more. León’s form was visibly on fire. Besides—
Lublin got the serve. León rotated to the front row.
Paweł couldn’t help but grimace, looking annoyed: “You two can’t block each other—what about us poor receivers…?”
“Tweet!—” Whistle for service.
Ushijima Wakatoshi with a powerful jump serve!
BOOM!!!
The ball flew straight toward San Juan’s back line.
Smack!!
It slammed into Conte’s arm and deflected to the front sideline.
“Move!”
Loser shifted aside, and Oikawa quickly got into position and jumped to set.
“Even more stable! Higher!”
Whoosh!—
The ball soared high in the centre. Taichi jumped from the front row!
“Triple block!” León, Bieniek, and Christenson all leapt simultaneously.
—BOOOM!!!
The ball hit Lublin’s end line and bounced.
Super spike—right on the line!
Kaedehara Taichi scored!
[San Juan 26 – 26 Lublin]
“383cm!!!”
“He broke his own record again!”
“A new highest spike record in this Club World Championship!”
“Again!” Taichi hooked a finger, eyes blazing with fighting spirit!
San Juan got the serve.
“Oikawa!” Iwaizumi yelled.
“Serve a great one!!!” The arena burst into unified cheers.
“Ha!” Oikawa tossed the ball.
“Ohhh—HEEYYYI!”
BOOOM!!!
A powerful jump serve!
SMACK!
It struck León’s arm and bounced high—an off-target first pass!
“Offensive rhythm is broken!”
Christenson quickly recovered and jumped to set.
León hadn’t caught up yet. Bieniek from the front and Ushijima from the back both leapt to attack!
Taichi and Loser jumped to block.
Whoosh!—
The ball flew to the right.
BOOM!!!
Ushijima slammed the ball into Loser’s arm.
Deflection!
“That was a brilliant adjustment by Ushijima!”
Christenson made a direct one-touch set to the high left—León jumped to spike!
Taichi and Loser jumped again.
—BOOOM!!!
The ball smashed into the centre of San Juan’s court.
León scored!
[San Juan 26 – 27 Lublin]
“385cm!!!”
“León! León! It’s gotta be León!!!”
As the crowd erupted, the atmosphere reached a fever pitch.
“That is the world’s number one! Once again, he recreated an unreachable height!”
“Let’s go!” León raised an eyebrow at Taichi.
Serve rotated to Lublin.
Christenson jump served!
BOOM!!!
Santiago received it perfectly!
“Oh my god.” Santiago stared at his hands in disbelief. “What just happened?!”
Even if given another chance, he doubted he could’ve received that cleanly again!
Oikawa jumped to set, Taichi jumped mid-centre to spike!
“Triple block!” Akutsu, León, and Bieniek all leapt!
—BOOOM!!!
Near the end line, Paweł dived desperately—his fingers barely touched the ball as it hit the floor!
“Damn it!” Paweł cursed. “Are you kidding me?!”
Kaedehara Taichi scored with a super spike!
[San Juan 27 – 27 Lublin]
“386cm!!!”
Commentator David’s voice was hoarse.
“The jackpot keeps climbing—no, I mean the record keeps rising!”
“Fascinating! Absolutely fascinating!”
León felt every fiber of his body was alive—this was the match of his dreams. The pure joy of playing volleyball!
San Juan served.
Loser jump served!
Paweł received cleanly and passed perfectly.
Christenson set high centre—León jumped to spike!
Taichi and Ramos jumped to block.
—BOOOM!!!
The ball flew past the block, heading for San Juan’s end line.
Just then—a flash of motion! Oikawa leapt in front of the ball!
BANG!!!
He raised his arms in a desperate block but lasted less than a second.
The ball tore through his hands and smashed into the floor!
León scored!
[San Juan 27 – 28 Lublin]
“388cm!!!”
The stadium fell dead silent—wave after wave of unbelievable plays had unfolded.
Taichi and León stood tall at the front lines of their teams, facing each other across the net.
An invisible aura of pressure surrounded them. Their eyes were sharp as hawks; lean muscle lines rippled subtly under their jerseys. Just standing at the net, they seemed like immovable mountains, suppressing everyone else’s breath.
Lublin served.
Bieniek jump served!
BOOM!!!
SMACK!
“Oh no!”
Santiago’s hands were trembling—the pass flew!
The balance was broken!
The ball veered far from Oikawa. Conte chased it and set toward the net.
Thud!
Taichi jumped to spike!
“Triple block!” Jakub, Akutsu, and León leapt together!
“Is the spike too low?!”
“This point might—”
—”Stay calm. Read your surroundings. Make sure you can adapt in the very last second.”
Time slowed.
Even with his eyes closed, Taichi could sense every player’s position.
Now, his gaze scanned the blockers again and again.
“A way to absolutely score!”
Taichi and the blockers began descending. Just as the ball began to fall past him—
Taichi twisted his body mid-air and spiked with his left hand!
BOOM!!!
A sharp diagonal to the right!
But León got a hand on it—
SMACK!
“One touch!!!”
The ball flew far out of bounds. Bieniek gave chase but was too late.
“Please land—!” San Juan fans prayed silently.
Smack!
Christenson caught up and dived, forcefully tossing the ball back to the front row!
León stepped back, reset, and jumped to spike!
“It’s over.”
BOOOM!!!—
León’s eyes flashed with regret—even if there were a fifth set, it would be hard to recreate this moment.
“Watch out—”
“Pass it!”
“——?!”
A pair of large hands appeared in front of León.
—SMACK!!!
“I told you—I will block your spike.”
THUD!!!
The ball slammed back into Lublin’s court.
Kaedehara Taichi scored with a block!
[San Juan 28 – 28 Lublin]
“Huh???”
“HEY!!!”
“Oh my god!!!”
“TAICHI!!!”
“A straight block kill!” The commentator’s voice carried a hint of fear—he never expected to see this scene.
Lublin’s players looked dazed. They saw what happened, but their minds couldn’t process it.
If Taichi were paying attention to their current states, he’d see:
[Kaedehara Taichi (ZONE)—Outside Hitter:Height: 198 cm
Serve: 100 | Receive: 100 | Dig: 99 | Set: 100 | Spike: 100| Block: 100
Spike Reach: ??? cm /Block Reach: 366 cm.]
[Wilfredo León (ZONE)—Outside Hitter:Height: 202 cm
Serve: 100 | Receive: 100 | Dig: 98 | Set: 99 | Spike: 100| Block: 100
Spike Reach: ??? cm /Block Reach: 362 cm.]
But right now, Taichi’s world had shrunk to this court—he was deaf to the thunderous cheers shaking the arena.
“Tweet!—” Whistle for serve.
Taichi tossed the ball. It drew a perfect arc through the air.
As the ball began to drop, Taichi moved—one step, two, three. On the final step, his legs tightened and exploded with force.
THUMP!
He jumped—his body arched midair like a bowstring drawn to its limit, core muscles taut, his right arm pulled all the way back, brimming with energy.
The ball hung in perfect position—frozen in midair.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The ball warped from the sheer power at his palm, forming a spiral shockwave.
BANG!!!!!!
The sound almost overlapped with itself.
No contact. The ball crashed into Lublin’s court.
Kaedehara Taichi scored an ace!
[San Juan 29 – 28 Lublin]
“145 km/h!!!”
Thump, thump, thump-thump…
Even the commentator was speechless. In the massive arena, only the thudding of thousands of hearts remained.
San Juan continued to serve.
Taichi’s silence was terrifying.
The Lublin players found it hard to breathe. Never had they felt defeat was this close.
“Receive this. Please.” León said quietly. “Just give me the ball, and I will score.”
“I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
“Yeah,” Ushijima responded first.
“We’re counting on you once we get the ball up.” Paweł tried to sound calm.
“If you can’t finish it, I’ll take the next one.” Akutsu added gruffly.
“I’ll give you the best set.” Christenson said, locking eyes with León.
“Let’s go!” Jakub shouted.
“Tweet!—” Whistle for serve.
Taichi coldly swept his gaze over the Lublin players. Then tossed the ball, approached, jumped, struck!
BOOOOM!!!
“I didn’t know what you’re all thinking—”
SMACK!!!
“But there’s only one player worthy of being called the world’s number one.”
The ball slammed into Ushijima’s arms and bounced high, returning to San Juan’s court.
Conte calmly passed it. Oikawa jumped and set.
The ball floated perfectly to the high left wing.
Taichi jumped from the back row.
“Triple block!!!”
—Whether you win or lose, no one dies.
—No one will be reborn. No evil empire will rise. The world won’t end.
But on this 9m x 18m court, the volleyball will fall.
—BOOOOOM!!!
Kaedehara Taichi scored!
[San Juan 30 – 28 Lublin]
“390cm!!!”
“A divine smash! For a moment, Kaedehara Taichi was really flying!!”
“BEEEEEEP—!” The final long whistle blew.
Match Over.
Winners: CA San Juan.
—–
“Congratulations to Club Atlético San Juan for winning 3–1 against LUK Lublin, taking the championship of the 2016 Club World Cup!”
“Congratulations on standing at the pinnacle of the world!!!”
(The End)
—–
[A/N]: The end of the book.
What a journey this has been.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for walking this path with me. To those who’ve been here since December, your support and encouragement have been my greatest motivation.
This is my first book. It’s far from perfect, but it holds a special place in my heart.
If you enjoyed this story and wish to support me (and my future works), you can find me on Patreon.
It’s truly been an honour.
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by readnovel.co