Haikyuu - Chapter 343 (Patreon)

"When did little Shirabu get this good?"

Tendo suddenly appeared behind Shirabu and draped himself over him with a laugh, startling Shirabu so badly that he flinched and immediately swung a hand back at him.

Tendo dodged just in time, then stared at Shirabu's palm with lingering fear. He had actually heard the whoosh of air from that swing. A fraction slower and his face might have been ruined.

When Shirabu turned around and saw that it was Tendo, his expression became a little awkward before he huffed, "Tendo-senpai, you can't scare people like that!"

Tendo chuckled, but he clearly didn't want to risk another slap from the little hothead. He immediately slipped away and moved beside Ryosuke to whisper with him instead.

Ushijima and Reon walked over together. When Shirabu looked at them in confusion, Reon gave him a thumbs-up. Ushijima nodded and said simply, "Shirabu, nice work."

Ushijima didn't really understand why Reon had specifically told him to praise Shirabu, but it didn't matter.

Shirabu's eyes slowly lit up, as though little flowers were blooming all around his head.

Ushijima-senpai praised me. Ushijima-senpai praised me. Ushijima-senpai praised me...

The words kept echoing in Shirabu's mind until he felt like he was about to float away from happiness. His face turned red as he gave Ushijima a shy smile.

"Thank you, Ushijima-senpai."

Ushijima nodded, then returned to position, leaving Shirabu standing there with his face still flushed.

"Shirabu really is getting bolder," Iizuna remarked. "He never used to go for setter attacks during matches. Now he sends one over from that far away without hesitation."

Sakusa glanced at him. "No one stays the same forever."

Iizuna nodded in agreement.

Then Sakusa stuck out one foot and kicked Komori.

"Stop fooling around. Ushijima's serving next. End his service turn within two rallies. If you can't, prepare for light fasting and extra practice when we get back."

Komori had just been about to turn around and demand to know who had kicked him, but the moment he heard Sakusa mention light fasting and extra practice, his face fell.

"Don't worry. Leave it to me. You just focus on attacking."

That was enough to reassure Sakusa. Komori always followed through on his promises and never boasted about something he had no confidence in.

Everyone returned to position, and the next rally began.

"Kageyama, Kageyama! Ushijima's about to serve! Look!"

Shoyo Hinata excitedly grabbed Kageyama's arm again, only for Kageyama to shake him off in annoyance.

"I know. I'm not blind."

The two immediately quieted down.

"Beep————!"

The service whistle sounded.

Kageyama and Shoyo Hinata both sat up straighter, their eyes fixed on Ushijima.

Ushijima took a deep breath, searching for the right feel, then tossed the volleyball into the air. He accelerated into his approach and jumped with overwhelming force.

Once the ball reached the right height, Ushijima swung his left arm and hammered it down.

"Bang!"

The sound of impact echoed through the entire arena, briefly drowning everything else out.

Hirugami sucked in a breath.

That wasn't even a serve anymore.

Ushijima had practically fired a cannon.

Komori had been watching Ushijima from the moment he started moving. The instant the serve left Ushijima's hand, Komori regretted his earlier confidence.

Looking at that ball, he wasn't so sure two rallies would be enough.

Still, he'd already made the promise.

Even if he couldn't do it, he had to.

Once Komori read the trajectory, he sprinted in the opposite direction.

By now, he was getting better at reading Ushijima's serves.

Predicting where they would go wasn't the hardest part.

The hard part was actually receiving them.

As the volleyball closed in, Komori's muscle memory took over. His body moved through the necessary adjustments, and he raised his forearms.

"Bang!"

The ball smashed into Komori's arms.

Before he could properly absorb the force, the impact drove through his forearms and sent the volleyball flying away.

His arms went numb instantly, barely feeling like they belonged to him.

"Beep————!"

The moment the ball hit the floor, the referee blew the whistle.

Point to Shiratorizawa.

Komori held his arm and stared miserably at the ball on the ground.

Then he looked up at Ushijima.

"You're seriously strong."

Ushijima nodded.

That sounded like a compliment.

"Thank you."

Komori's expression became complicated.

"Outstanding! Shiratorizawa pulls back another two points! Shirabu's setter attack ended Itachiyama's service turn, and now Ushijima follows with a service ace! He truly lives up to the title of Shiratorizawa's left-handed cannon!"

"Ushijima-senpai really is amazing..."

Off the court, Goshiki watched Ushijima score with that serve while remaining completely calm afterward. His admiration surged inside him.

Someday, he wanted to become an ace like Ushijima-senpai too.

Kawanishi watched Goshiki's starry-eyed expression with a smile.

Having a dream was a good thing.

Work hard enough and maybe it really would come true.

"Whoa... so this is what one of the nation's top five wing spikers looks like?"

Shoyo Hinata stared dazedly at Ushijima's serve.

He had always thought Kageyama's serve was practically a killer serve.

Oikawa's was terrifying too.

But compared with Ushijima's, neither seemed nearly as overwhelming.

Even Kageyama himself suddenly felt that the serve he'd always been so proud of wasn't much to boast about in front of Shiratorizawa.

Watching this match was practically a reality check for all of Karasuno.

It finally gave them a real benchmark for just how strong Shiratorizawa was.

Daichi frowned, worry showing on his face.

At this level, even if Karasuno managed to beat Aobajosai, Shiratorizawa would still be an enormous obstacle.

Daichi was already worrying himself sick over Karasuno's future.

"You'll receive the next one, right?"

Sakusa said flatly to Komori.

To Komori, it sounded like a demon whispering in his ear.

He wanted to cry.

If he'd known this would happen, he never would've promised Sakusa he'd stop Ushijima within two rallies.

He had dug his own grave.

After a moment, Komori looked at Sakusa with a serious expression.

"I'll do my best. How about three rallies?"

Sakusa glanced coldly at him.

Komori understood immediately.

No negotiation.

There was nothing else he could do.

If he wanted to avoid extra practice after the match, he'd have to give everything he had.

Ushijima returned to position without speaking.

Nobody disturbed him.

At a moment like this, it was better to let Ushijima stay immersed in his own rhythm. Interrupting him now might affect his focus.

Once the referee confirmed both teams were ready, he blew the whistle again.

"Beep————!"

The instant it sounded, every player on both sides entered full battle mode.

The tension in the arena became even heavier than it had been during Doichiro's serve.

Ushijima tossed the volleyball and began his approach.

Every eye followed him.

When the ball reached the right point, he raised his left hand and struck it like thunder.

"Bang!"

Komori stared at a serve that looked every bit as vicious as the previous one.

His arms hurt just looking at it.

But after the experience of that last serve, combined with everything he'd learned from the earlier ones, he reacted much faster this time.

He got into position.

His receiving posture was already set when the ball arrived.

Too close.

That was Komori's first thought.

The serve was coming straight at his chest.

Komori adjusted with quick steps, retreated, and dropped his center of gravity.

He lifted his arms.

The familiar impact crashed into them.

"Bang!"

The instant he felt the force, Komori absorbed it.

One reason he'd failed on the previous serve was that he'd tried to cushion it too late.

This time, his preparation was right.

His timing was right.

If he still couldn't receive it, Komori would have been ashamed of himself.

A dull impact rang out.

Komori rolled smoothly across the floor, and the volleyball flew upward from his arms.

In the stands, Hirugami's eyelid twitched.

He genuinely couldn't decide which was more ridiculous.

Ushijima, who served like a monster, or Komori, who actually received it.

If Kamomedai were the team down there right now, Hirugami felt like he'd be complaining that the opposing volleyballs were beating them up personally.

Komori had received the serve solidly.

The first pass was a little high, but that wouldn't stop Iizuna from setting.

Ushijima and Reon began moving across Shiratorizawa's side in preparation for the next attack.

Yamagata waited in the backcourt.

Tendo and Ryosuke stayed alert at the net, keeping Sakusa in their sights and preparing to block.

Ryosuke noticed that Tendo was already focused on Sakusa, so he shifted some of his attention toward Itachiyama's other players.

He was especially wary of Iizuna.

After getting tricked on the previous play, Ryosuke was determined not to let it happen again.

Iizuna saw how tense and vigilant Ryosuke looked and nearly laughed.

Had he really managed to traumatize the kid with just one play?

Sakusa was already charging ahead.

Iizuna set the ball to him.

Sakusa had been conserving himself for most of this set.

It was time to remind everyone why he was Itachiyama's ace.

The volleyball flew toward Sakusa.

He had already completed his approach and was fully prepared to attack.

The instant he jumped, the set arrived perfectly at his hitting point.

Ryosuke's attention immediately snapped toward him.

In midair, Sakusa looked at the two blockers across from him.

Ryosuke and Tendo wore almost identical expressions.

Sakusa felt a headache coming on.

He really didn't want to challenge both of them head-on.

But with the atmosphere built up this much, anything less than a spectacular attack would almost feel disrespectful.

Sakusa raised his right hand.

His initial target was Ryosuke's palm.

An explosive line shot.

Ryosuke saw Sakusa's hand move and noticed his eyes aimed toward his block.

This was definitely going down the line.

Then, one instant before contact, Sakusa changed his arm and wrist position.

The line shot transformed into a cross-court swing aimed toward Tendo.

Before either blocker could process the change, Sakusa struck.

A super-sharp cross-court shot, skimming close to the net.

"Bang!"

Yamagata reacted quickly.

Not quickly enough.

The angle was simply too severe.

"Beep————!"

The referee's whistle cut sharply through the arena.

"What a play! After Ushijima scored directly from serve, he serves once again! This time, Itachiyama's Komori manages to receive it, and Iizuna sets to Sakusa!"

"Sakusa attacks against a two-man block from Tendo and Ryosuke!"

"We can see that Sakusa initially shaped for a line shot, but just before contact, he changes his swing and goes cross-court!"

"Tendo can't close the angle in time, and Sakusa scores!"

It was the first time Sakusa had managed to break through a combined block from Ryosuke and Tendo.

For Sakusa himself, that was a significant breakthrough.

After these exchanges, he had finally figured something out.

As long as his movements were fast enough, and his decision-making stayed one step ahead of Tendo and Ryosuke, his chances of scoring would increase dramatically.

The problem was that before every attack, Sakusa now had to run through several possibilities in his head.

It was exhausting in a completely different way.

Ryosuke stood there with his face scrunched up, staring at Sakusa.

What had just happened?

Even a two-man block hadn't stopped him.

Where had they gone wrong?

Ryosuke scratched his head, completely baffled.

Tendo, meanwhile, was grinding his teeth.

At the instant of the block, he had sensed Sakusa's intention.

Sakusa really had intended to hit cross-court.

Tendo had already started positioning his hands to close that route.

Then he saw Sakusa shaping for a line shot toward Ryosuke and hesitated.

After all, his instincts had been unreliable against Sakusa throughout this match.

What if he'd read it wrong again?

And naturally, the ball really had gone cross-court.

Tendo was furious.

His intuition had failed him too many times against Sakusa already.

From now on, he'd have to rely more on deliberate judgment.

Ryosuke didn't have the same instinctive sense Tendo did, which meant he could be fooled even more easily.

Sakusa moved toward position one to serve.

The score was tied again.

His goal was to take two or three points during his service turn and create some breathing room before Ryosuke rotated to serve.

That way, after Ryosuke's service turn, the score would either be tied or Shiratorizawa would only be ahead by one or two points.

At most, two.

A gap that small could be erased at any moment.

Sakusa's eyes kept drifting toward Komori.

Hopefully Komori could somehow play above himself and end Ryosuke's service turn after a single rally later.

But that was just wishful thinking.

Realistically, it was almost impossible.

"Beep————!"

Once both sides were ready, the whistle sounded.

Under the wary eyes of every Shiratorizawa player, Sakusa tossed the volleyball into the air.

He began his approach, jumped, bent his wrist into an unnatural arc, and drove hard through the ball.

"Bang!"

The volleyball shot away like a balloon suddenly released without being tied.

It swerved wildly through the air.

No pattern.

No readable rhythm.