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Chapter 367: Unexpected (Double-Length)
🕑 Added 2025-04-11 16:02:01 +0000 UTC"Damn it, just when I was starting to find my rhythm, I'm getting subbed out again…" Hinata Shōyō reluctantly traded places with Nishinoya Yū and dragged his feet back to the bench. With every step he took, the weight of disappointment seemed to grow heavier.
"If only I weren't a middle blocker, but a wing spiker instead…"
Hinata wasn't thinking this out of a desire for the title of 'Ace'—he simply wanted to stay on the court longer.
"This can't go on."
With his head down, Hinata remained trapped in his thoughts, images from earlier on the court flashing repeatedly through his mind.
BOOM!!!
A loud impact jolted him back to reality. When he looked up, Hinata realised with a start that in the thirty seconds he'd been off the court, the entire atmosphere had completely changed—
Kaedehara Taichi had scored with a spike.
[Aoba Johsai 9 - 4 Karasuno]
"That's right—Taichi just rotated back to the front row," Hinata suddenly realised, and a terrifying thought hit him: "So even with Taichi in the back row, Aoba Johsai still pulled that far ahead of us?!"
He clenched his fists, frustration burning in his eyes.
Aoba Johsai served. Kyōtani Kentarō launched a powerful jump serve.
Boom!!!—
Kita Seio received the ball. Kageyama Tobio moved in and set it to the right side. Tanaka Ryūnosuke leapt up for the spike.
"Three-man block!" Kaedehara Taichi, Kunimi Akira, and Kindaichi Yūtarō all jumped.
Tanaka Ryūnosuke: "—!?"
The block…was different?!!
Kunimi and Kindaichi closed off the line. Taichi covered the cross.
No room to swing!
Tap!
Tanaka lightly pushed the ball over the block, dropping it behind their arms.
"Chance ball!" Kyōtani easily received it and delivered a perfect pass.
Yahaba Shigeru set it high to the left.
Kaedehara Taichi sprinted and jumped into the air.
"Block him!!"
"Three-man block!"
With sheer grit, Tanaka Ryūnosuke dashed left right after his spike and joined Ennoshita Chikara and Tsukishima Kei to form a triple block.
BOOM!!!—
The ball slammed into the court inside Karasuno's right-side 3-meter line.
An extreme inside-angle shot!
Kaedehara Taichi scored with a spike.
[Aoba Johsai 10 - 4 Karasuno]
"What's the matter? Weren't you trying to spike like that just now?" Kaedehara Taichi teased. "Don't run away—you guys do want to win, don't you?"
"Tanaka!" Ennoshita called out, worried.
"I'll show you, you little punk!" Tanaka Ryūnosuke glared hard at Taichi. "Karasuno's gonna beat you!"
"Well, that's good. Let's keep going then," Kaedehara Taichi said with a cheerful smile. "It is a suspenseful semifinal, after all."
Aoba Johsai continued their serve. Kyōtani Kentarō launched his second ball.
Boom!!!—
Smack!
Such strong sidespin!
"Get it!" Kageyama Tobio shouted.
"This is bad." Ukai Keishin's expression darkened. This guy on Aoba Johsai—who looked just as single-minded as Tanaka—was getting more agile by the minute. Not only did they force the setter to take the first contact, but that sudden spin completely disrupted Karasuno's offensive rhythm.
"I got it!" Nishinoya Yū reacted swiftly and dug the ball back into play.
Kita Seio spiked it from the back row toward Aoba Johsai's court.
"Chance ball!" Nakamori Daiki made a perfect pass.
"Kunimi!"
Kaedehara Taichi jumped on the left. "Hurry and get a feel for this kind of set with your body!"
"Here we go again." Kunimi's heart tensed as he looked up helplessly at the soaring figure on the left. He had no idea whether that set was a blessing or a curse.
Whoosh—!
"Crap!"
Maybe because he got distracted, the ball came in low, and the timing was off—Taichi's right hand completely missed it.
"This guy…"
The ball shot past the front of Kaedehara Taichi. On the opposite side of the net, Tsukishima Kei had already jumped, arms extended in front of him, ready to block.
Tap!
Kaedehara Taichi lightly tipped the ball over the net with his left hand, salvaging what could've been a failed play.
"Nice one!" Kunimi Akira called out awkwardly.
"Chance ball!" Nishinoya Yū stepped up and passed it perfectly.
Kageyama Tobio sent the ball to the far right. Tanaka Ryūnosuke leapt along the sideline.
"Double block!" Kunimi and Kindaichi sealed off the line again.
Tanaka twisted his wrist and went cross!
"I will show you!"
THUMP!
So fast!
Kaedehara Taichi sprinted sideways, leapt, and raised both arms diagonally across the net, cutting off the left-side cross angle.
"This guy—!" He's matching Shōyō in speed!
Tanaka desperately tried to shift his spike angle.
Boom!—
The ball flew past the left edge of Taichi's palm—
Smack!
—and landed out of bounds on Aoba Johsai's left sideline.
"Out!"
Tanaka Ryūnosuke's spike went out. Aoba Johsai scored again.
[Aoba Johsai 11 - 4 Karasuno]
"Damn it…" Tanaka Ryūnosuke muttered under his breath.
The point gap grew to 7.
"Tweet!—"
"Karasuno calls a timeout"
"No—this isn't how it's supposed to be." Yamaguchi Tadashi stared helplessly at the court. "We did so well in the first set, didn't we? We were just this close to winning…"
"How did it turn out like this…" Hinata murmured.
Futakuchi Kenji let out a long sigh and slumped into his seat. "Karasuno's finished." Whether it was offense or defense, Karasuno's current formation had no answers for Aoba Johsai.
So in Miyagi Prefecture, only Aoba Johsai truly stood apart—Futakuchi admitted it to himself. But what about Date Tech? What could they do now?
He'd thought that after winning the Prefectural Tournament, they'd have at least some psychological edge going into a match with Aoba Johsai—but watching this match, surely the whole team would be crushed…
"What do we even do now, Futakuchi-senpai?" Kimura Ryōta turned to him, the pressure of Aoba Johsai's dominance heavy even up in the stands. "Feels like we've seen something we weren't supposed to before the final showdown."
Aone Takanobu was equally silent, his face grim.
"Taichi is seriously amazing!" Koganegawa Kanji blurted out with genuine admiration. "We actually beat this version of Seijoh? Doesn't that mean we're, like, super strong too?!"
"Koganegawa, you…" Obara Yutaka sighed. "Seijoh just swapped one lineup, and they completely crushed a Karasuno that nearly won the first set. Do you get how strong they are?"
"I do get it, but hey, we've got the Iron Wall, right?" Koganegawa said blankly. "It's a good thing we're seeing how strong Seijoh is now, right? Futakuchi-senpai, you guys are smart—you've gotta be collecting tons of intel! Talk about lucky."
"Mm!" Aone Takanobu gave Futakuchi a hard pat on the shoulder, clearly agreeing with Koganegawa.
Futakuchi groaned and held his head. Life really was simpler for single-cell brains…
"Kimura," Futakuchi suddenly called.
"Yeah?"
"Are you scared of Seijoh?"
"...A little?" Kimura Ryōta blinked.
"Then let me ask you—as our Ace, can you score against them?"
Kimura froze. That was the first time Futakuchi had called him "Date Tech's Ace" out loud.
"...I have to, don't I?" Kimura's gaze turned resolute.
"Then I'm counting on you for the offence," Futakuchi grinned. "As for defence—Date's Iron Wall has never feared anyone."
-----
Timeout ended. The match resumed.
"Tsukishima, I'm counting on you—block Taichi!"
Tsukishima Kei recalled Coach Ukai's words.
"Jeez, don't pin all your hopes on me."
Kyōtani Kentarō executed a powerful jump serve.
Boom!!!
Smack!
Nishinoya Yū received the serve.
"Tsukishima, jump!"
Kageyama Tobio set the ball high toward the middle.
Boom!
Smack!
"One touch!"
Kindaichi Yūtarō, using his height advantage, managed to get his fingers on the ball.
Yahaba Shigeru easily picked up the first touch. Kunimi Akira sent the ball to the left wing. Kaedehara Taichi leapt for a spike.
"Watch the cross!" Tsukishima called out loudly. He would leave the line shot to Noya-senpai. Trying to cover everything would only end in blocking nothing.
"Triple block!"
Ennoshita Chikara, Tanaka Ryūnosuke, and Tsukishima Kei all jumped.
Taichi's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Your positioning's off."
BOOM!!!
A spike that came down almost vertically!
It was a line shot—but it landed well inside the three-meter line.
Kaedehara Taichi scored.
[Aoba Johsai 12 - 4 Karasuno]
"Damn it..." Tsukishima realised that their current blocking setup was too ineffective. At the very least, they had to put more pressure on both sides to threaten Taichi's attacks.
Kyōtani continued serving.
"I got it!" Kita Seio gave Nishinoya a quick look and stepped forward to receive the ball.
Smack!
From the back row, Nishinoya jumped and set the ball.
They couldn't let Aoba Johsai attack again!
Karasuno launched a simultaneous, multi-position attack—a five-man combo!
Boom!—
Kageyama Tobio spiked from the back row and scored!
[Aoba Johsai 12 - 5 Karasuno]
"Now this is interesting. Only Karasuno would abandon defence entirely just to go all-out on offence," someone muttered.
Karasuno finally regained the serve. Kageyama rotated back to the front row.
Tsukishima pulled Kageyama aside and gave him a quick rundown of their blocking strategy.
Ennoshita served a jump float.
"Mine!" Yahaba received it cleanly.
"Give it to me!"
Kaedehara Taichi's gaze was sharp. He knew exactly what Karasuno was aiming for.
"Guess I'll treat this like a rehearsal for Date Tech."
Kunimi passed the ball to the left wing without hesitation. How many times had it been now? He'd lost count. But if Taichi asked for it, there was no reason not to set it to him.
BAM!
Taichi jumped on the left.
"Triple block!"
Tsukishima, Tanaka, and Kageyama all jumped.
After swapping positions with Tanaka, Tsukishima and Kageyama now covered both line and cross shots—each guarding one direction.
BOOM!!!
The ball tore past Tanaka's reach.
A wipe shot—aimed at the inside of the block!
The ball deflected off Kita Seio's hand and flew out of bounds.
Taichi scored.
[Aoba Johsai 13 - 5 Karasuno]
"Not enough. One more."
Taichi smirked as he directed the taunt at Tsukishima.
Aoba Johsai took back the serve effortlessly. Kindaichi stepped up to the service line.
Boom!!
Kindaichi's powerful jump serve was received by Nishinoya.
Kageyama leapt and set the ball from the front row—Karasuno launched a three-point attack.
Kunimi stuck close to Kageyama, while Tanaka and Tsukishima each pinned down Yūki and Taichi in the front row. Kita Seio flew up from behind Kageyama.
BOOM!!!
Kita Seio scored with a back-row spike!
[Aoba Johsai 13 - 6 Karasuno]
"Nice hit!"
With Kageyama back in the front row, the game was no longer completely one-sided. Now that Kita was also on the front line, Karasuno's blocking setup was finally at its strongest.
"Keep it up," Taichi said with a grin.
What a rotten guy. Kunimi knew full well—Taichi wasn't done attacking yet.
The serve switched sides. Tanaka launched a powerful jump serve.
Boom!!!
Smack!
"Whoa!"
Nakamori Daiki fell backwards near the baseline. That shaved-head dude's serve was getting sharper and sharper.
Yahaba adjusted and passed from outside the baseline toward the middle.
"This is it!"
Tsukishima had been waiting for this moment. Thanks to Tanaka's serve, Aoba Johsai's rhythm was thrown off.
Taichi jumped for a spike from the centre.
"Triple block!"
Tsukishima, Kita, and Kageyama all went up.
Nowhere to run!
The three-man block swallowed up his hitting space from above. The ball's height was too low, and being in the middle left little room for adjusting angles—whether for smashing through the block or aiming for the hands.
"Taichi!"
Nakamori had gotten back on his feet and quickly followed up.
"Just swing! I'll pick it up if you miss!"
Hearing the voice behind him, Taichi changed his hand position mid-air—he pushed the ball out gently with both hands.
???
Wasn't that already the third touch? Where could Taichi possibly send it?
Smack!
The answer was—Karasuno's court.
The ball ricocheted off Kita's hand and fell back into Aoba Johsai's side.
"Chance ball!"
It was even better than expected—a soft rebound, falling right in front of Nakamori.
Smack!
Nakamori passed it perfectly. Kunimi read the situation and sent the ball right back to the centre.
"You won't let it go until you score, huh?"
BAM!
Taichi jumped again.
"Triple block!"
Karasuno's front row went up once more. They weren't going to back down—they were going to shut him down head-on!
In mid-air, Taichi's body extended to its full length. His arm, taut and defined, pulled back and stored up explosive force.
Karasuno's front row tensed, arms positioned to intercept. When they saw Taichi aiming for a full-power spike, all three braced and drove their hands downward.
B-O-O-M ! ! !
SMACK!!!
Two deafening impacts. The ball slammed into Kita Seio's palm—and knocked it back on contact.
Still, the ball bounced back toward Aoba Johsai.
"I've got...!"
Nakamori rushed for it, but stopped after a few steps.
The ball had landed just shy of the stands.
Karasuno's block had gone out of bounds. Taichi scored again.
[Aoba Johsai 14 - 6 Karasuno]
"Jesus, that was terrifying...I thought something exploded."
"Ugh, it felt like my arm would've broken if I touched that block."
"Wait...look at the court...!"
Kita Seio frowned, looking down at his palm. His expression didn't change much—but the cold sweat on his forehead betrayed his pain.
"Are you hurt?"
Kageyama asked with concern.
Coach Ukai called a time-out immediately. The team huddled together as Kita was helped to the bench.
"Middle, index finger and ring fingers of the left hand are fractured," the arena's doctor confirmed.
Finger fractures from blocking weren't uncommon in pro games—but this was still high school…
"Coach, I'm fine," Kita said flatly. "My dominant hand is my right. This won't affect my spiking."
Coach Ukai hesitated. Karasuno did need Kita's power right now.
"Just wrap it up," Kita smiled. "This is just a scratch for me."
"Hsss—!"
Kita glared at Hinata Shōyō, who had sneakily poked his fingers.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Hinata panicked. "I just wanted to see if it really didn't hurt..."
Kita: "..."
"Coach! If we win this match, we're headed to Nationals. I don't want to lose because of me."
Kita looked Ukai dead in the eye.
Seeing the referee already signalling for the match to resume, Ukai sighed.
"Alright. But if it gets worse, you're coming off."
"Yes, sir!"
As they spoke, the doctor had already wrapped and secured Kita's fingers. Thankfully, there was no bleeding—no further treatment needed for now.
"Alright, let's go!"
Kita Seio's return—even injured—pushed Karasuno's morale even higher.
"Tweet!—"
The time-out ended. The match resumed.
"Sorry," Taichi said seriously, "but since you chose to return, I'm not going to hold back."
"We don't need you to," Kita Seio replied, meeting his gaze.
"Bring it on."
-----
[Aoba Johsai 25 - 18 Karasuno]
"Beep—!"
The match ended.
Winner: Aoba Johsai.
Even with unexpected events, the outcome remained unchanged.
-----
[T/N]: 💀💀💀
Comments
Igor Ryan
Obrigada pelo capítulo
Kobe
LITERALLYYY
Khagendra Neupaney
Author must hate the crows
