Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty

EJP Raijin's lineup was as follows:

Front row—Setter Sengoku Chisato, Middle Blocker Washio Tatsuki, Outside Hitter Akutsu Ao.

Back row—Outside hitter Evan Krauss, Middle Blocker Suna Rintarō (Libero: Komori Motoya) and Opposite Hitter Kitō Yūkan.

Schweiden Adlers's lineup was:

Front row—Opposite Hitter Ushijima Wakatoshi, Middle Blocker Hirugami Fukurō, Outside Hitter Tsunotate Kazuki.

Back row—Outside Hitter Hoshiumi Kōrai, Middle Blocker Tatsuto Sokolov (Libero: Heiwajima Toshirō) and setter Matia Bottono.

"The match between EJP and AD will officially begin with a serve from Matia!"

"BEEP—!"

"Tweet—!"

Matia Bottono stopped spinning the volleyball in his hands and tossed it steadily into the air.

BOOM!!!

Smack!

EJP's newly recruited libero, Komori Motoya, received the serve cleanly on the very first play! He had once earned the title of Best Libero in high school, and now it seemed that the professional stage was no hurdle for him. But receiving the first ball was only the beginning of a libero's responsibilities.

Setter Sengoku Chisato jumped to set the ball at the front row. On the other side of the net, Ushijima Wakatoshi followed closely.

"Whoa, that's scary~"

Whoosh—!

With a light chuckle, Sengoku sent the ball to the far right. Akutsu Ao took a running start and leapt high.

THUD!

"Tch, that bastard."

Hirugami Fukurō and Tsunotate Kazuki both jumped to block.

BOOM!!!—

A straight spike blasted right above the double block, landing cleanly between Hoshiumi Kōrai and libero Heiwajima Toshirō.

"—!?"

"What was that?"

"Haha, knew it was coming—Akutsu's monster spike!"

The roar that followed and the ball bouncing high off the floor left no doubt about what had just occurred:

Akutsu Ao scored with a powerful spike!

[EJP 1 - 0 AD]

The crowd erupted. Those who had never seen Akutsu's spikes in person felt goosebumps rise on their skin.

The big screen above the court immediately began replaying the play. Without it, most of the audience wouldn't have even been able to follow the lightning-fast ball trajectory of that monster spike.

"OOOOOOOOHHHH!!!"

"Akutsu! Akutsu!"

—"On the very first play, Akutsu shows us his unstoppable power spike!!"

"Man, that guy jumps so high…"

"Ugh, that made me break out in a cold sweat," muttered Nitta Asahiro.

Last year, DH had been eliminated by Black Jackals in the quarterfinals and hadn't faced EJP in the playoffs. As for the regular season, DH had cleanly lost both home and away matches. But even back then, Akutsu Ao hadn't seemed this terrifying.

Kubo Wataru shot him a glare.

"Aren't you the team captain and national team middle blocker? You'd better find a way to shut him down!"

"Ahem." Nitta clasped his hands together.

"I'm betting he'll spike right over me, so I'll leave the blocking to you, Uncle Kubo."

"You little punk."

-----

"Sorry, I couldn't react in time," said Hoshiumi Kōrai.

"It's fine. Trying to dig a ball like that on the first attempt is asking too much," Heiwajima Toshirō replied with a smile.

"Aren't you just trying to excuse yourself by pushing the blame onto the rookie?" laughed Tsunotate Kazuki.

Heiwajima pouted.

"Hey, then blame your weak block."

"Bastard. You should be blaming Fukurō for that one."

"Wait, why am I getting dragged into this?" Hirugami Fukurō pointed at himself with wide eyes.

"Haha, alright, alright—no more jokes." Tsunotate patted his teammates.

"Let's shut him down next ball!"

"Yeah!"

With that, the serve rotated—EJP to serve.

After the position shift, EJP's setter stepped up to serve.

BOOM!!

Sengoku Chisato delivered a powerful jump serve—not the strongest, but clearly loaded with fierce sidespin.

"Mine!"

Heiwajima Toshirō and Matia Bottono crisscrossed as they sprinted for the ball flying toward the back corner. Heiwajima steadied himself and received it cleanly.

"Nice receive!"

Matia Bottono leapt and set the ball. On the left was Ushijima Wakatoshi, and on the right, Tsunotate Kazuki—both launched their attacks simultaneously.

"Which one will it be?!"

Aside from Washio Tatsuki, who held his ground in front of Ushijima, none of the EJP players made a move.

Whoosh—!

It was neither left nor right—Matia Bottono chose the middle! A quick set—hand-to-hand—for Hirugami Fukurō!

BOOM!!!

Akutsu Ao's block was just a beat too slow. The ball skimmed past his fingertips—

Smack!

—and ricocheted off Evan Krauss's arm, flying out of bounds.

Hirugami Fukurō scored with a quick attack!

[EJP 1 - 1 AD]

"Tch." Evan Krauss clicked his tongue in frustration.

The AD Club regained serve.

Tsunotate Kazuki leapt and fired a powerful jump serve. The ball curved sharply along the right sideline and dropped hard toward the back corner.

Smack!

Komori Motoya received the serve.

"Sorry, cover me!"

He managed to dig it, but the receive wasn't ideal. The serve's sharp trajectory made it impossible for Komori to get the ball directly to Sengoku Chisato.

"I got it!"

Kitō Yūkan stepped across and leapt from the right-side three-meter line to set the ball.

"Ao!"

Thud!

No shout was even needed—Akutsu Ao was already in midair, perfectly poised.

"Triple block!"

Hoshiumi Kōrai, Ushijima Wakatoshi, and Hirugami Fukurō all rose together to shut him down.

The path was completely sealed, not a sliver of space left open.

BOOM!!!—

The ball powered through Hoshiumi Kōrai's block and came crashing down.

Smack!

Heiwajima Toshirō stepped up just in time—the ball slammed into his chest and rebounded into EJP's side.

"Gah—! That stings!"

Clutching his chest, Heiwajima quickly scrambled to his feet.

"Chance ball!" Komori shouted, delivering a perfect pass.

Sengoku Chisato leapt to set—Akutsu Ao once again sprinted and launched into the air.

Having just been struck by the spike, Hoshiumi quickly adjusted his footing and unhesitatingly joined the block again.

"Double block!"

Now, only Hoshiumi and Ushijima stood in front of Akutsu Ao. Hirugami remained opposite Kitō.

BOOM!!!

The ball threaded cleanly past the right side of Ushijima's block—Akutsu Ao didn't miss the opening.

Smack!

It ricocheted off Tsunotate Kazuki's arm and flew out of bounds.

"Save it!"

Hirugami chased it beyond the court and flung his arm out, managing to save it back into play.

Ushijima leapt and swung.

"That perfect form…it's still just as terrifying."

"Double block!" Washio and Akutsu both jumped.

BOOM!!!

Smack!

A flawless diagonal shot landed hard on Komori's arm and bounced out of bounds.

Kitō Yūkan couldn't save it in time.

The ball hit the floor—Ushijima Wakatoshi scored!

[EJP 1 - 2 AD]

Back-to-back points for AD Club!

—"Looks like Adlers' defence is a notch higher! They've actually been able to dig those monster spikes!"

—"But their offence isn't anything to scoff at either. That left-handed cannon is terrifying!"

"Akutsu," Ushijima said calmly, "This time, we'll be the ones winning this match."

_________

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