Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty

"Hey, Wakatoshi, I heard you taught Taichi how to spike with his left hand?" Hoshiumi Kōrai asked. "Did you also teach him how to serve like that?"

"Oh? Is that so?" Hirugami Fukurō leaned in, intrigued. "That little monster's terrifying now—don't you regret it, Wakatoshi?"

Ushijima Wakatoshi's gaze never left the court. At the question from his teammates, he replied calmly, "I never taught him how to serve. As for spiking, I only demonstrated it once during training camp."

"But…" Ushijima's expression shifted ever so slightly, a rare look of recollection crossing his face. "Taichi picks things up fast. Every time I saw him after a while, he was already a completely different player."

"Yeah, I definitely feel the same way about that," Hoshiumi nodded.

Hirugami looked out at the tall, slender figure on the court, unable to hold back a sigh of admiration. At least before the match had begun, no one could have predicted that the final set between the Black Jackals and DH would look like this.

-----

BOOM!!!

The volleyball slammed into the gap between Inunaki Shion and Bokuto Kōtarō and bounced high.

Clearly, even without targeting the Black Jackals' back-right corner, this serve still posed a deadly threat.

Kaedehara Taichi scored directly from the serve!

[DH 5 - 0 Black Jackals]

Kaedehara Taichi had racked up five consecutive points on serve!

—"DH takes a 5-point lead to open the set…"

"The final set is only to 15 points—what is he doing? Is he trying to end the fifth set with just his serve?"

It wasn't just the spectators who were confused—even the commentators were stunned into silence.

"Beep! Black Jackals call a timeout."

Samson Foster could no longer wait for the technical timeout. At this rate, the final set might end before it had even begun.

Less than three minutes had passed since the start of the fifth set, and the Black Jackals had already burned through one substitution and a timeout.

Back in the Black Jackals' bench area, everyone wore serious expressions as they discussed how to respond to Kaedehara Taichi. Inunaki believed that last serve could have been received, but their attention had been too focused on Kurata Nakamitsu's side—Taichi had caught them completely off guard.

Meanwhile, in DH's bench area, while the players were clearly excited, none of them showed it outwardly.

Everyone understood the significance of the Black Jackals' timeout. They had already subbed in a different formation, and the current serve-receive lineup was their most stable and skilled group. Since even that wasn't enough to stop Taichi's serves, their only option was to use the timeout to cool off his blazing momentum.

Kaedehara Taichi sat quietly at the very end of the bench, a towel draped around the back of his neck. The energy drink Iizuna had handed him sat untouched at his feet.

"Taichi, you're amazing—"

Tom Wilde had just started walking toward him when Nitta Asahiro stretched out a hand to stop him.

"Don't disrupt his rhythm."

Taichi's gaze remained locked on the Black Jackals' side of the court. A gust of cold wind from somewhere stirred the sweat-dampened strands of hair across his forehead.

-----

"Tweet!—"

The referee's whistle signalled the end of the timeout. The match would resume. One by one, the players from both sides returned to the court.

Taichi was the last to rise. He yanked off his towel and flung it onto the bench in a motion that resembled a swordsman sheathing his blade. Holding the ball in one hand, he walked toward the service zone with slow, precise steps—each one measured to the centimetre, as though surveying territory that belonged to him.

The noise from the crowd dropped a full degree. Every spectator held their breath, waiting for the storm to continue.

"…Please…" Kurata Nakamitsu couldn't stop the tension from bubbling up inside him. He finally had a chance to play—he wanted to make something of it.

"Hoo—"

Taichi let out a breath and tossed the ball into the air.

As the ball rose, it traced a spiral trajectory. Taichi kept his centre of gravity low during the approach, and on his third step, the force of his takeoff caused the floor to tremble slightly.

Thump!

In midair, his body extended to its full range. His right arm drew a powerful arc from behind him.

"Is this guy completely immune to outside pressure?!"

Kaedehara Taichi's figure looked as though it were suspended by invisible threads, completely motionless in the air—but everyone knew the sheer force about to erupt from that stillness.

BOOOM!!!

A deafening crack. The frozen frame shattered like glass. The volleyball compressed violently against Taichi's palm and, in the very next moment, vanished from sight.

"Bokuto!!!"

BANG!!!

Bokuto Kōtarō and Sakusa Kiyoomi barely moved a step when the ball blew past the space between them. Though there had been clear distance between the two and the ball, the gust of wind it carried still tousled their hair.

"What just happened?!"

"Did he score again?!"

The line judge hadn't moved their flag. Instead, they signalled for a replay.

The arena's overhead screen played back the slow-motion footage. As the ball struck the ground, its body compressed into a flattened disk before bouncing back up at high speed.

Whoosh!

The line judge raised the flag to signal—

"Out of bounds."

Kaedehara Taichi's serve had gone long. The Black Jackals had recovered a point.

[DH 5 - 1 Black Jackals]

But even though they had scored, the Black Jackals couldn't bring themselves to feel any joy.

More than one person in the stands had risen to their feet. Some, mouths still agape in shock, were feeling their tongues go dry.

"131 km/h."

The number was cold and clinical, yet what it represented sent the hearts of volleyball fans racing.

There were fewer than five players in the entire world known to serve at over 130 km/h. Even in official matches, recorded serves of that velocity were extremely rare.

Which meant—

"T-This serve would rank among the world's top ten…" Commentator Daisuke stammered.

They'd already been shocked again and again by Kaedehara Taichi's performance today.

"Ahem, well, not quite," said Watanabe Yū, who had been startled too but managed to stay a bit more grounded. "That one went out—it won't be recorded."

"O-Ohh…" Daisuke snapped back to reality, a hint of disappointment creeping into his voice. Just a little more—just a little—and they might've witnessed another record being born right before their eyes.

After all, feats like this were rare and hard to come by. Among players who could serve faster than 130 km/h, only Poland's world number one outside hitter Wilfredo León and Italy's Ivan Zaytsev had done it more than once.

"I know what you're thinking, but don't be so disheartened," Watanabe said with a chuckle.

"He's only 17."

"Don't you think…he'll break into that tier again?"

Daisuke was momentarily stunned, then replied in a low voice, "Yeah. Even if he did it later this match, I wouldn't be surprised."

"…You'd still be surprised," Watanabe muttered under his breath, glancing at his colleague with a sigh, though he didn't actually say it out loud.

Serve possession switched. The Black Jackals now had the serve, and Miya Atsumu walked to the line.

"Beep! Substitution for the Black Jackals."

"Oliver Barnes IN, Kurata Nakamitsu OUT."

Samson Foster reacted quickly. Now that the serve-receive crisis had passed, he immediately subbed Oliver Barnes back in.

Under normal circumstances, Miya Atsumu's serve alone would've been enough to make opponents sweat—but everyone was still caught up in the sensory overload that had been Kaedehara Taichi's service storm.

"Tweet!—" The whistle sounded.

Atsumu tossed the ball, stepped forward, jumped, and swung his arm.

—BOOM!!!

The ball carved a clean arc through the air, heading straight for DH's end line.

DH's back row, from left to right, consisted of Kubo Wataru, Yoshii Hiyu, and Kaedehara Taichi. At first glance, this defensive formation actually seemed nearly impenetrable.

Smack!

Kaedehara Taichi received the ball.

"Tch, so Atsumu really was affected…" Sakusa Kiyoomi's expression remained dark. He was still brooding over his failure to receive Kaedehara Taichi's serve.

Iizuna Tsukasa leapt at the front right to set the ball, with Oliver Barnes blocking right in front of him.

Whoosh—!

The ball flew accurately to the left wing. Kitajima Kippei jumped for the spike.

"Double block!" Bokuto Kōtarō and the right-side blocker, Meian Shūgo, jumped in unison.

BOOM!

Kitajima brushed the ball off Bokuto Kōtarō's arm.

Smack!

The ball veered toward the left sideline of the Black Jackals' court.

"I got it!"

Miya Atsumu quickly rotated in from the back row and saved it. As Bokuto landed, he sent a quick toss to Meian Shūgo.

"Double block!" Kitajima Kippei and Tom Wilde both leapt up.

BOOM!!!

The ball pierced through above Kitajima Kippei and slammed down hard on DH's left sideline.

Meian Shūgo scored with a spike.

[DH 5 - 2 Black Jackals]

"Stay calm, everyone! Let's turn the game around one point at a time!"

Meian Shūgo swung his arm with determination, signalling the beginning of Black Jackals' counterattack.

It wasn't like DH could win the set just by serving 15 consecutive points. Once Black Jackals scored through a steady offence, their players gradually calmed down. If you ignored how the game had gone so far, it was just a three-point deficit at the start.

Kaedehara Taichi was no longer in the front row—catching up wasn't out of reach for Black Jackals.

"I won't let any chance to beat you slip through my fingers."

Miya Atsumu locked eyes with Kaedehara Taichi, his gaze unwavering. As the whistle blew, he launched his second serve without hesitation.

BOOM!!!—

The ball whipped toward DH's back left corner with a fierce sidespin.

Smack!

Kubo Wataru received it cleanly.

"If we can't win even with a five-point lead at the start, that'd just be pathetic…"

Iizuna Tsukasa feinted a spike while turning his body midair. Meian Shūgo leapt for a solo block.

Whoosh!—

Iizuna used one hand to set the ball high to the right wing. Tom Wilde jumped for the kill.

"No you don't!"

Oliver Barnes challenged him with a solo block.

BOOM!!!

Smack!

The ball broke through Barnes's right side and deflected off Sakusa Kiyoomi's arm, flying out of bounds.

"...That was heavy." Sakusa's gaze turned solemn.

It was a simple spike path—yet extremely difficult to defend.

Tom Wilde scored with a spike.

[DH 6 - 2 Black Jackals]

-----

Meian Shūgo unleashed a powerful jump serve.

Kitajima Kippei dropped to the back row. Iizuna Tsukasa adjusted his serve-receive position slightly to the right—clearly targeting Meian's serve trajectory.

Smack!

Black Jackals attempted to force Iizuna to receive, aiming to disrupt DH's offensive rhythm. But Kitajima Kippei had already read the serve path and adjusted early.

The moment Kitajima lowered his shoulder to absorb the impact, Iizuna had already begun moving into his setter's run.

Black Jackals' front-row blockers—Oliver Barnes, Sakusa Kiyoomi, and Adria Thomas—formed a formidable wall that even DH would struggle to break through.

Kaedehara Taichi cut in diagonally from position 5 toward the centre, overlapping with Nitta Asahiro, who ran left for a time-difference combo attack.

"Tch…"

Just a moment of hesitation—and Nitta had already started his run from the far left.

Oliver Barnes went for a solo block.

BOOM!!!

The ball landed along Black Jackals' left sideline and bounced out.

Nitta Asahiroro scored with a spike.

[DH 8 - 4 Black Jackals]

"Cross-screen!"

Coach Samson tapped his clipboard.

He used a marker to sketch DH's offensive path—Kaedehara's back-row push always accompanied by Nitta's angled feint run. On top of that, either Yoshii Hiyu or Kitajima Kippei remained on standby as constant threats. It was a textbook example of a three-point dimensional offence.

—"With weak point attackers in the front row, DH cleverly disperses Black Jackals' blocks using tactical movement!"

—"We're already past the halfway point of the final set, and Black Jackals still hasn't closed the score gap!"

"Tweet!—"

DH reached 8 points first. The referee signalled for a technical timeout. After switching sides, the match resumed.

DH had serve. Kaedehara Taichi rotated back into the front row.

———

Nitta Asahiro fired a powerful jump serve, targeting Oliver Barnes in Black Jackals' back row.

"I got it!"

Inunaki Shion covered the reception, using the inside of his forearm to lightly bump the ball. It arced beautifully like a rainbow and dropped right at the three-meter line.

"Nice receive!"

During the back set, Miya Atsumu subtly pressed down with his index finger. Bokuto Kōtarō acted as the decoy from the right wing, drawing a double block—

—but the real finisher was on the left: Adria Thomas.

—BOOM!!!

With tremendous power and weight behind it, the spike easily cleared Yoshii Hiyu's reach and landed sharply in the gap between DH's back-row defenders.

Adria Thomas scored with a spike.

[DH 13 - 10 Black Jackals]

Black Jackals finally broke into double digits before DH could reach set point.

Serve change. Black Jackals now had the serve.

Adria Thomas launched a powerful jump serve. Kitajima Kippei received it.

"Cover!"

Iizuna Tsukasa swiftly moved into position. Only Tom Wilde and Kaedehara Taichi were available as front-row attackers.

Whoosh—!

The ball shot toward the high right wing.

Thud!

Kaedehara Taichi jumped and spiked.

"Triple block!" Miya Atsumu, Bokuto Kōtarō, and Meian Shūgo all jumped up together.

—BOOM!!!

The ball grazed Miya's outstretched palm and fell into Black Jackals' blind spot.

Smack!

The ball hit the court—Kaedehara Taichi scored with a spike.

[DH 14 - 10 Black Jackals]

Let alone catching up, Black Jackals hadn't even narrowed the gap toward the end.

"Even though they didn't serve 15 straight points, that brutal momentum at the start crushed Black Jackals' morale…" Hirugami Fukurō sighed. "From the very beginning, DH took full control."

Serve changed—DH served.

With four match points in hand, the outcome was all but sealed.

No miracle came for Black Jackals' fans.

---

Two minutes later—

[DH 15 - 11 Black Jackals]

"Beeeep—!" The long whistle echoed across the court.

The final set of the 2014–2015 Division 1 Men's All-Star Exhibition Match had come to an end.

Winner: DESEO Hornets.

A match once expected to end in a clean 3–0 win for Black Jackals had instead concluded in a stunning upset—DH took it 3–2.

And on that very day, the entire V League finally realised—

Kaedehara Taichi's arrival…had completely changed the landscape of the league.

_________

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