Haikyuu - Chapter 308 (Patreon)

The sharp crack of the hit echoed across the court. The force behind the serve made it seem as though Tsutomu Goshiki were trying to launch the volleyball out of a cannon.

Up in the stands, Hoshiumi pursed his lips as he watched Tsutomu Goshiki jump. He had thought his own jumping ability was already far above most people's, but Tsutomu Goshiki's leap wasn't bad at all.

It seemed that the closer the IH tournament got to its conclusion, the more talented the players taking the court became. Hoshiumi was starting to feel as though even his own jumping ability and explosiveness no longer stood out that much here.

Even Hirugami couldn't help commenting,

“Shiratorizawa's first-years really are naturally gifted when it comes to jumping. That's some incredible talent.”

He wasn't wrong. Although they hadn't seen the other first-year, Yunohama, jump, Tsutomu Goshiki and Ryosuke were both exceptionally good jumpers. Their spike reaches were around three meters without even seeming to require much effort.

These days, three-meter reaches were starting to seem almost commonplace. Even Hoshiumi's was only around 3.2 meters.

Back on the court, Komori saw the volleyball leave Tsutomu Goshiki's hand and took several steps back in preparation to receive it.

The ball spun rapidly toward the right, almost as though it were deliberately trying to avoid Komori.

And that was exactly what Tsutomu Goshiki had intended.

Before serving, he'd specifically checked Komori's position. Tsutomu Goshiki might be reckless and prone to getting carried away, but he wasn't completely without common sense.

He had no intention of challenging the authority of the top libero head-on.

Komori backed up a few steps, expecting the volleyball to come toward him. To his surprise, once it crossed the net, it veered in the opposite direction instead.

Komori raised an eyebrow and immediately sprinted after it.

The ball was moving so quickly that he nearly failed to catch up.

Just as it was about to hit the floor, Komori accelerated, threw himself into a dive, and slid a considerable distance across the court.

He planted one hand against the floor to support himself while swinging the other arm sharply backward.

His raised hand barely caught the falling volleyball.

“Bang!”

The ball ricocheted backward off Komori's hand.

He had managed to keep it alive, but the first pass was clearly forced, wobbling awkwardly through the air.

The moment Iizuna saw Komori get the ball up, he started running toward it.

As he ran, one thought kept going through his mind.

Compared to him, just what kind of blessed life was Shiratorizawa's setter living?!

All Shirabu had to do was stand there, and the ball practically flew straight into his hands.

It was like eating. The second he opened his mouth, the food was already being brought right to it.

Iizuna couldn't deny it.

He was genuinely jealous.

He hurried to the area near Komori, positioning himself beneath where the volleyball was about to descend.

Iizuna looked up, ready to set.

The rest of Itachiyama saw that Komori had managed to save the first pass and that Iizuna was preparing to set, so they all sprang into motion.

Sakusa rushed to the front to prepare for the attack, with Doichiro staying near him to support the offense.

Nishio and Kishimoto split up to keep an eye on Tsutomu Goshiki and Ushijima.

At a glance, Itachiyama had both its offense and defense covered.

Taking this point shouldn't have been difficult.

Still, nobody dared relax.

Shiratorizawa wasn't an opponent they could take lightly.

As Sakusa ran toward the net, he noticed Ryosuke's eyes locking onto him and immediately felt a headache coming on.

Normally, if Ryosuke kept staring at him like that, Sakusa would've been perfectly happy about it.

Right now, though, the moment he felt Ryosuke watching him, he became uncomfortable. It gave him the distinct impression that the instant he tried to spike, Ryosuke would turn his attack into a dud.

So when Sakusa noticed Ryosuke's running path, he deliberately avoided him.

He quickly changed course, slipping around Ryosuke's route and running past Iizuna.

Seeing Sakusa pass directly in front of him, Iizuna put a little force into his arms and immediately sent the set out.

Sakusa glanced back while running and saw the volleyball still traveling through the air.

He estimated how long it would take to reach the net, then accelerated.

He reached the net in no time.

Ryosuke had intended to stick to Sakusa, but he hadn't expected Sakusa to simply go around him.

A hint of confusion appeared in Ryosuke's eyes.

Why was Sakusa avoiding him?

Didn't Sakusa usually like taking challenges head-on?

Could it be that Ryosuke still wasn't putting enough pressure on him?

With that thought, Ryosuke watched Sakusa sprint away, changed direction, and stubbornly chased after him again.

Ryosuke's reasoning was simple.

As long as he was good enough, Sakusa would eventually have no choice but to face him directly.

If Sakusa knew what Ryosuke was thinking, he probably would've fallen silent.

His sweet, considerate childhood friend had somehow turned into the exact opposite in the blink of an eye.

Doichiro nearly failed to react when Sakusa suddenly changed direction.

Once he recovered, he immediately followed.

Sakusa reached the net just as the ball arrived.

He jumped.

The very next second, Ryosuke came tearing across the court at full speed and sprang diagonally into position on the opposite side of the net.

Sakusa's eyes widened.

An expression of genuine surprise actually appeared on his normally impassive face.

Doichiro had been completely confident in Sakusa's attack.

As long as Sakusa's childhood friend didn't come over to block him, there was basically nobody on Shiratorizawa who could stop him.

Yet Ryosuke had been on the right side of the court only a second ago, and now he was suddenly directly across from Sakusa.

Sakusa's arm was already committed to the swing.

Unable to stop, he forcibly twisted his wrist and changed the angle of the spike at the last possible moment.

Sakusa reacted incredibly quickly, but Ryosuke wasn't slow either.

Ryosuke's sharp eyes caught the movement of Sakusa's wrist.

In the next instant, he shifted his left hand sideways to intercept the ball.

“Bang!”

Sakusa hammered the volleyball down.

At the same moment, Ryosuke's palm met it.

Their eyes locked across the net.

Neither was willing to give an inch.

Ryosuke put strength into his left hand, trying to press the ball straight down.

But because Sakusa had changed the angle of his spike at the last second, the volleyball struck the front half of Ryosuke's palm.

That brought back the same old problem.

It was difficult to generate force from that part of the hand.

Ryosuke realized he wouldn't be able to stuff the ball, so he tilted his palm upward and let the volleyball deflect over his hand instead.

The ball flew off Ryosuke's palm.

Yamagata was already waiting behind him.

Most teams, when faced with a ball like this, would focus on keeping it from getting past the block.

Shiratorizawa's players simply let it through.

After all, Yamagata was always waiting behind them.

Trying to force the block wouldn't give them much chance of scoring. But if they deliberately let the volleyball continue into their court and reset the rally, their chances changed completely.

The ball flew toward the backcourt.

Yamagata saw it coming, jogged several steps forward, and dropped into position.

He extended both arms and received it.

“Bang!”

The volleyball rebounded off Yamagata's arms and flew high toward the ceiling.

Even after Ryosuke's block had taken some force out of it, followed by Yamagata absorbing even more of its momentum, the ball still flew that high.

Sakusa's power was frightening.

The volleyball rose almost straight upward.

Yamagata shouted,

“Sorry, Shirabu! You'll have to save this one!”

Shirabu had already started moving the moment Yamagata made contact.

As he ran, he called back,

“Got it!”

Shirabu kept his eyes fixed on the volleyball overhead while his feet carried him beneath it.

When he passed Ryosuke, the speed of his run even stirred a cool rush of air.

Ryosuke momentarily lost focus and glanced back at him.

Shirabu usually looked so slim and frail.

Ryosuke hadn't expected him to be able to run that fast.

Shirabu raced beneath the volleyball and prepared to set.

The ball soon began descending.

Shirabu waited for the proper timing.

Once it reached the right height, he pushed off the floor with both feet and jumped.

The moment Yamagata sent the ball flying upward, everyone else had begun moving as well.

Ushijima approached from the backcourt and charged toward the net.

Reon followed behind him to support the attack, while Tsutomu Goshiki came in from the opposite side, drawing some of Itachiyama's attention.

Ryosuke was also waiting near the net, watching closely.

As usual, Nishio and Kishimoto moved to block Ushijima.

Tsutomu Goshiki, meanwhile, was being marked by Doichiro. With the regular blockers occupied, a spiker had to fill in at the block.

Doichiro stood directly in Tsutomu Goshiki's path.

Tsutomu Goshiki wasn't worried.

He tilted his head slightly, listening for the sound of Shirabu's set.

Once he heard it clearly, he backed up and began his approach.

Doichiro immediately went on alert.

Shirabu hadn't originally intended to set the ball to Tsutomu Goshiki.

But one quick glance at the court showed that Tsutomu Goshiki's side currently had the weakest defense.

Shirabu pursed his lips and pushed the ball toward him.

With a sharp whoosh, the volleyball flew from Shirabu's hands toward Tsutomu Goshiki.

Tsutomu Goshiki backed up several steps, approached, and jumped.

Doichiro's eyes stayed locked on his movements.

The instant Tsutomu Goshiki jumped in front of the net, Doichiro jumped with him to block.

Tsutomu Goshiki swung his right arm hard.

From the motion, it looked like he was going for a cross-court shot.

Doichiro adjusted his right arm slightly downward and diagonally.

His arm was completely tense, ready for the volleyball to slam into it.

But the expected pain never came.

Just as expected, Tsutomu Goshiki didn't touch Shirabu's set.

Doichiro raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He hadn't spiked it?

Tsutomu Goshiki's sequence of movements had been so smooth and convincing that it had looked exactly like a real attack.

Tsutomu Goshiki and Doichiro landed at the same time.

As Doichiro touched down, he was still trying to figure it out.

If Tsutomu Goshiki wasn't attacking, then was it Ushijima?

He immediately turned toward Ushijima.

Ushijima had indeed jumped.

But there was no volleyball above him.

Something was wrong.

Someone was missing.

Reon.

The thought flashed through Doichiro's mind just as he sensed someone charging toward the net.

He spun around, bent his knees, and immediately jumped again.

Doichiro hadn't even gotten a clear look at the approaching player, but his instincts told him exactly who it was.

Reon.

Sure enough, when Doichiro got his hands into blocking position and looked up, the first thing he saw was Reon's huge palm, followed by the volleyball hurtling toward him.

Only then did he see Reon's face.

At first, Reon really had been running behind Ushijima.

But once Shirabu released the set, Reon realized something.

The position he was running toward was also perfect for attacking.

In fact, it was an even more natural route for him than it was for Tsutomu Goshiki.

So Reon immediately changed course and went after the ball.

Tsutomu Goshiki hadn't noticed anything at first.

That was exactly why his feint had looked so convincing.

He genuinely thought Shirabu had set the ball to him.

He hadn't expected to swing at nothing.

Still, Tsutomu Goshiki accepted it remarkably well.

It wasn't the first time this had happened.

Shirabu frequently used Tsutomu Goshiki as a decoy.

To be fair, Shirabu had done the same thing to everyone on the team.

It just happened far more often to Tsutomu Goshiki.

After all, Tsutomu Goshiki was simply too useful as a decoy.

His emotional journey had gone from surprise and anger, to confusion and helplessness, and finally to complete indifference.

Still determined never to waste a possible chance to spike, Tsutomu Goshiki kept throwing himself into every approach.

By the time he reached his third year, his feints and acting would become so convincing that most people wouldn't be able to tell whether he was really getting the ball or not.

The moment Reon saw Tsutomu Goshiki land and clear the way, he sprinted toward his position.

That route hadn't been Reon's own choice, but he had no complaints.

Quite the opposite.

He was actually pleased.

Shirabu, who normally seemed as rigid as a piece of wood, had finally made a decision of his own.

That wasn't easy.

They absolutely had to score this point.

Reon couldn't let Shirabu's newfound confidence take a hit.

He really carried quite the burden when it came to indulging his juniors.

In midair, Doichiro's eyes met Reon's.

For an instant, Doichiro almost felt unable to breathe.

It was difficult to describe the look in Reon's eyes.

Doichiro felt like a snake crawling along the ground that had suddenly been spotted by a bird of prey.

There was absolute confidence in Reon's gaze.

He was determined to score this point.

Reon swung hard and hammered the volleyball down.

“Bang!”

The ball slammed into Doichiro's arms with a dull impact.

The volleyball spun against his arms like a drill.

In the end, Doichiro couldn't withstand both the force and the spin.

His arms were knocked away from their original position.

The volleyball slipped through the tiny opening and struck the floor.

Doichiro's block had been blown apart.

The ball landed.

Komori saw it falling and wanted to rush in for the save, but he was far too far away.

The ball was near the net.

Komori was at the very back of the court.

Even if he could teleport, he might not have made it in time.

“Fweeeeeet!”

The whistle awarded Shiratorizawa the point.

Standing at the net, Reon turned toward Shirabu and gave him a thumbs-up.

He didn't say anything.

Yet somehow, it felt as though he'd said everything.

Shirabu awkwardly turned his face away.

Being praised by Reon in front of everyone was still a little embarrassing.

Reon knew Shirabu was shy, so in the end, he decided not to praise him out loud.

Reon kept quiet.

Unfortunately, the rest of the team had nowhere near that much tact.

One after another, they immediately began showering Shirabu with praise.

“Shirabu-senpai, that play just now was amazing! Did you plan the whole route beforehand, or did you come up with it on the spot? Either way, that was incredible!”