Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty
Chapter 558: Nothing Has Changed (Triple-Length)

"Yaku, has this guy always been this cocky?"

Mikhail couldn't help asking.

"Pretty much," Yaku replied helplessly, spreading his hands. "Honestly, I've never seen anyone more 'confident' than him."

"And the scary thing is…almost everything he says actually happens."

"That's…terrifying."

Mikhail's gaze locked onto Kaedehara Taichi.

In reality, this deadlock was a tug-of-war between Taichi and them. The third set had been a constant seesaw battle—it was all about who could stay calm and hold control to the very end.

Taichi's words sounded threatening, but to them, it felt more like he was throwing a tantrum because he couldn't shake Nizhnev off.

Even with Taichi in the front row, the score merely oscillated back and forth without a big gap; now that he was in the back row—what could he possibly do?

"Tweet!—"

Serve change. San Juan to serve.

Loser's powerful jump serve flew fiercely toward Nizhnev's baseline.

BOOM!!!

Ivan managed to receive it, but the first pass was poor.

Kobzar forcibly pushed the ball straight to the right wing in the air, coordinating with Igor for a quick attack!

BOOM!!!

Conte went up alone to block.

Oikawa's coverage was just a step too late, and the ball slipped over his head.

Smack!

Taichi dug it up!

Bruno stepped up as emergency setter, passing to Ramos on the left!

"Triple block!" Kobzar, Viktor, and Igor all jumped.

Just from this rally, it was clear that Nizhnev's blocking reaction speed was faster than San Juan's.

Ramos had no space to swing, forced to tip the ball into Nizhnev's back row.

"Mine!"

Yaku moved in and made a perfect first pass.

Kobzar reorganised the attack.

The ball flew high to the middle. Viktor soared up for the spike!

"Double block!" Ramos and Conte jumped together.

BOOM!!!—

The ball bounced off Ramos's arms, crashing into San Juan's court.

Bruno scrambled to dig!

"Beautiful dig!"

Oikawa rushed in and pushed the ball back to the left wing.

"No one can stop you now."

"Fly!"

Thud!

Taichi launched himself from the back row.

"Triple block!"

BOOM!!!—

The ball smashed into Kobzar's arm, forcefully squeezing through a tiny gap, dropping almost vertically in front of the net.

Off the block and down!

Yaku, who had been ready to cover behind, could only watch as the ball hit the floor.

Point for Taichi!

[San Juan 17 – 16 Nizhnev]

"Beautiful spike!" Ramos praised.

As someone over two meters tall who struggled to break that block from the front, it felt bitter to see Taichi scoring from the back row so easily.

Sometimes, it really stung.

San Juan continued serving.

Loser's second serve!

"Mine!"

Yaku darted forward, shielding Ivan as he took the receive—perfect pass.

Kobzar jumped for a setter dump attack.

"Double block!"

Learning from the previous point where Kobzar had slipped through, Oikawa joined the block this time, barely closing off part of the angle.

Whoosh—!

The ball was instead pushed to the right wing.

When pulling one blocker, attack; when pulling two, switch the attack—Kobzar played it smart.

Viktor leapt in the middle for the spike!

Conte went up solo to block.

—BOOM!!!

A direct over-the-block hammer!

The ball crashed straight toward San Juan's deep baseline.

Smack!!!

Santiago couldn't receive it properly.

"Bruno—!"

Smack!

Bruno dove in a rush; the ball flew off his arm and out of bounds.

Taichi instantly chased!

"Free ball!" Ivan yelled, ready for a counterattack.

BAM!!!

The ball curved through the air and zipped low over the net!

"——?!"

Nizhnev's block had no time to react. Who would have expected that, with one touch left, Taichi would boldly choose a full-on spike from beyond the baseline?!

"Ivan!"

Yaku shouted.

The ball came faster than anyone imagined. Ivan panicked, hurriedly lifting his arms.

Smack!!

The ball popped high but luckily stayed in play.

Yaku quickly adjusted and pushed the ball back to the net from beyond the baseline.

Viktor adjusted and attacked!

"Double block!" Ramos and Conte both jumped.

This time, they finally covered the ball with their block.

BOOM!!!

The ball ricocheted off Ramos's arms, flying high.

"One touch!"

"Chance ball!"

Santiago calmly received and passed the ball perfectly.

"——???"

"He's there again! When did he move?!"

Taichi's silhouette appeared in mid-air above the left front.

Whoosh!—

The ball arrived right on time.

"Double block!" Kobzar and Viktor forced themselves up but were clearly a step too late.

—BOOM!!!

The ball smashed down at Nizhnev's three-meter line, bouncing high.

Point for Taichi!

[San Juan 18 – 16 Nizhnev]

Rather than being shocked by the reappearance of his "ultra quick attack," what Kobzar couldn't figure out was—how did Taichi even get there?!

San Juan pulled ahead by two points while Taichi was still in the back row…

"Tweet!—"

No time to recover. Loser's third serve flew out!

This time, it dropped between Ivan and Mikhail, avoiding Yaku.

Whoever took the ball would at least occupy one of Nizhnev's back-row attackers.

Smack!

Mikhail moved over and steadied the receive.

One of Nizhnev's biggest headaches now was their inability to score. Apart from trusting his spikers, Kobzar had no better option.

Whoosh!—

The ball flew to the middle. Viktor jumped again.

San Juan's front row was tightly marking Viktor and Igor, leaving Ramos alone to block Viktor.

But in the back row, Taichi, Bruno, and Santiago stood in a tight line, staring down Viktor's attack.

BOOM!!!

Viktor avoided the block and pounded it down hard.

Smack!

The ball flew to San Juan's right deep corner, bouncing off Santiago's arm and out of bounds.

Point for Viktor!

[San Juan 18 – 17 Nizhnev]

"Great spike!"

Kobzar shouted.

Viktor's thunderous spike lifted morale, finally halting San Juan's run.

Serve change. Nizhnev to serve. Mikhail rotated to the front, and Nizhnev entered their strongest rotation.

"Tweet!—"

Kobzar's jump serve thundered over!

Taichi watched the oncoming ball, a slight smirk at the corner of his lips.

Smack!

He took it easily, charging forward, adjusting his body as he ran.

Thud!

Taichi jumped from the back row!

Kobzar's serve hadn't hindered him in the slightest!

Oikawa quickly covered and jumped to set.

"Triple block!" Viktor, Igor, and Mikhail all jumped up.

Seeing Taichi so arrogantly attack again, they aimed to crush him outright!

Whoosh!—

"Hmm?"

BOOM!!!

The ball flew right to the right wing—Conte faced an open net and smashed it home!

Point for Conte!

[San Juan 19 – 17 Nizhnev]

"Damn it—!"

Igor roared, frustrated.

As a middle blocker, Ramos understood their frustration deeply.

When an attacker is constantly bouncing around in front of you, all you want is to block them into the floor.

In this entire match, they hadn't shut down Taichi even once. They didn't want to miss such a "golden chance"…

Unfortunately, that mindset was perfectly manipulated by their vile setter.

"All of you crowding in front of Taichi really gave me a shock~"

Oikawa faked a surprised face, but the smirk at his lips was infuriating.

Serve change. San Juan to serve. Taichi rotated to the front row.

"Tweet!—"

Conte, riding the momentum from his last point, fired a powerful jump serve!

BOOM!!!

Smack!!!

The ball blasted off Kobzar's arm, soaring high and out beyond the baseline.

Yaku sprinted out and underhanded the ball back to the net.

Mikhail leapt, adjusting for the attack!

"Double block!" Taichi and Ramos both jumped.

SMACK!!!—

Mikhail barely avoided the block, tipping a delicate sharp cross.

Oikawa covered it. Santiago jumped from the back row to set—Conte launched for a back-row attack!

"Double block!" Igor and Mikhail jumped.

BOOM!!!

The ball squeezed past the left side of the block, falling into Nizhnev's deep corner.

Smack!

Yaku saved it, though the pass was only half-accurate.

Kobzar adjusted, setting it high to the left wing. Viktor jumped to spike!

BOOM!!!

SMACK!!!

The ball ricocheted off Taichi's arm and popped up.

"One touch!"

Viktor and Taichi stared at each other over the net, neither satisfied.

"Chance ball!"

Santiago passed steadily. Oikawa slowed the tempo.

Taichi pulled back for a big approach.

"Triple block!"

Mikhail waited, stepping across just after Oikawa's hands left the ball, timing it perfectly.

—BOOM!!!

The ball tore over the block, smashing Ivan's hand in the deep corner and flying out.

A monstrous cross-court, over-the-block spike!

Point for Taichi!

[San Juan 20 – 17 Nizhnev]

"I'm sorry!" Ivan shouted.

Why couldn't he dig that? He had clearly tracked the ball's trajectory!

Ivan had never regretted neglecting his receiving practice as much as he did now. He had always believed that their towering blocks could resolve everything—and even if a ball slipped through, Yaku-san would cover it.

But…how could he always rely on others? If he thought receiving looked cool, he should've worked harder on it...

"Damn it!"

Ivan clenched his fists tightly.

"Ivan, don't chase after the ball. Keep your centre of gravity lower when receiving," Yaku said calmly, not even glancing at him. "All you need to think about is lifting the ball high enough. Leave the rest to us."

"Yaku-san, but—"

"During a match, focus only on what you can do," Yaku cut in firmly. "If you want to change who you are as a player, do it in daily training."

"Yes!!!"

San Juan continued to serve.

Conte's second serve!

BOOM!!!

"Mine!"

Viktor, who had rotated to the back row, screened for Kobzar to receive. The ball flew sharply toward the front row.

Kobzar quickly bumped it up. Igor sprinted down the left sideline and jumped for the spike!

"Double block!" Taichi and Ramos both jumped.

A gap appeared between them; Ramos's position was further right, better blocking the cross shot.

But cross shots weren't Igor's forte to begin with.

"Not high enough to fully clear the block, and leaving a bait gap like that…"

Igor's arm tensed, muscles swelling as he drove the ball straight into Taichi's block!

Bruno in the back row retreated, not worried about Taichi's block being penetrated, but ready in case of a touch out.

"Now!"

The moment Taichi's arms stiffened to block, Igor suddenly pulled back, gently tapping the ball and twisting his wrist.

BANG!!

Taichi's arms couldn't retract in time. Just as Igor was about to brush the ball against his block—

Swish!

THUD!

The ball hit the floor just outside San Juan's left sideline and bounced away.

Igor's spike out!

[San Juan 21 – 17 Nizhnev]

"Why?!"

Igor's eyes widened. In his mind, it should have been a touch out. He had never underestimated Taichi, which was why he waited until Taichi's blocking form stiffened to tip it.

However, Taichi, though unable to retract his arms, pressed them down and forward at the last second, narrowly avoiding Igor's tip.

On the surface, it looked like a mutual blunder—Taichi misjudging the block direction, Igor simply missing wide.

---

"So strong!"

Hinata Shōyō watched from the stands, eyes sparkling with admiration.

Even with that kind of height, they had to fight so desperately at the net!

Hinata's heart surged. How fortunate he was to stand on the world stage with players like these.

---

San Juan scored three straight points, breaking away decisively as they neared set point!

Nizhnev called a timeout. After a brief adjustment, the match resumed.

"Tweet!—"

Conte's third serve!

BOOOM!!!

But it wasn't just the opponent's momentum rising.

The ball zipped between Kobzar and Viktor, landing precisely on Nizhnev's baseline and bouncing out.

"122 km/h!"

Conte's service ace!

[San Juan 22 – 17 Nizhnev]

San Juan continued serving.

BOOM!!!

Conte's fourth serve!

Smack!!!

Yaku received it, but the pass was only half-accurate.

Kobzar hurried to cover, pushing the ball high to the right wing. Mikhail jumped for the spike!

"Double block!" Taichi and Ramos both jumped.

The ball cleared the block.

Smack!

Santiago dug it!

"Nice dig!" Oikawa shouted, quickly stepping in.

He set the ball to the left wing. Taichi sprinted laterally and leapt!

"Triple block!"

BOOM!!!—

—SMACK!!

The ball ricocheted off the block and fell back on San Juan's side.

THUD!

Just barely—it landed out of bounds.

Block out.

Taichi point!

[San Juan 23 – 17 Nizhnev]

—"On the replay, we can see the ball landed only 5 cm from the sideline. Even luck seems to favour San Juan now!"

"That's not luck," said Zaytsev calmly. "That guy's lateral approach didn't fully turn his body forward—he deliberately forced a touch out."

"But…shouldn't Nizhnev's block have been able to avoid it?" Alexander asked. "Their block isn't that weak."

"They probably couldn't avoid it," Zaytsev replied, looking at his former teammates on court.

"If they shifted away, the ball would have landed directly on Nizhnev's sideline. Igor did the right thing by pressing down fast. But maybe the ball speed or power was just too much; before he could fully adjust, it already hit his arm."

"So…if it were you, would you have stuffed that ball?" Alexander asked eagerly.

"Could I?" Zaytsev murmured to himself, without giving a direct answer.

Maybe he could have handled it slightly better than Igor—but on this court, there was no "better" three-man block than those three.

-----

San Juan continued to serve. Conte's fifth serve!

"It's insane…to think those three blockers were helpless," Conte muttered to himself, feeling that none of his past matches had ever forced Taichi to go all out like this.

BOOM!!!

Smack!

Yaku received it.

"Set me!" Mikhail demanded loudly.

Kobzar didn't hesitate, setting high to the right wing.

"Double block!" Taichi and Ramos jumped together.

—BOOM!!!

Smack!!!

The ball cleared the block, smashing off Santiago's arms and bouncing to the floor.

THUD!

Mikhail point!

[San Juan 23 – 18 Nizhnev]

"370 cm spike!"

—"Mikhail's attack ignored both the block and the libero, crushing it into San Juan's court!"

—"After San Juan's five consecutive points, Nizhnev finally breaks the run. Can they turn the set around now?"

Serve change. Viktor's powerful jump serve.

Smack!!!

Bruno's pass was poor; the ball veered toward the sideline.

Taichi rushed in to cover as the setter. Ramos soared up for a middle attack!

"Double block!" Igor and Mikhail jumped together.

BOOM!!!—

—SMACK!!!

The ball was stuffed by the block and bounced back into San Juan's court.

Santiago dove, saving it with a desperate pancake, but the ball slid under the net to Nizhnev's side.

Unsuccessful save.

Igor block point!

[San Juan 23 – 19 Nizhnev]

"Perfect block!"

"One more!"

Nizhnev's consecutive points reignited hope among the fans.

Nizhnev continued serving. Viktor's second serve.

Smack!

Conte received it; the pass was slightly off.

Oikawa's expression remained completely calm as he set high to the left wing.

Taichi leapt!

"Triple block!" Igor, Mikhail, and Ivan all jumped.

BOOOM!!!

The ball pierced straight through the three-man block, crashing down on Nizhnev's right-side three-meter line.

A deep cross shot.

Taichi point!

[San Juan 24 – 19 Nizhnev]

San Juan was the first to reach 24 points, grabbing set point.

Kaedehara Taichi raised his index finger to his lips, making a "shhh" gesture toward the stands.

"That bastard!"

"Block him! Just stuff him already!"

The match was nearing its end, and yet Nizhnev had not managed to stuff Taichi even once.

"He hit that sharp deep cross again against a triple block," Alexander exclaimed, his voice filled with excitement. "That's the second time, right? I thought only I could do that!"

"You two aren't the only ones," Zaytsev sighed helplessly.

Maybe it would've been better if they'd faced San Juan earlier—at least this so-called "Emperor," who had cruised all the way here, might have had a taste of real struggle.

-----

Serve change, San Juan to serve.

Oikawa Tōru stepped onto the service line.

The entire arena erupted in noise—cheers and boos mixed, no matter if they were San Juan or Nizhnev supporters.

"Ah~ So this time, it really feels like the whole world is cheering for me,"

Oikawa showed no hint of tension. Instead, he thoroughly enjoyed the moment.

"Tweet!—" The whistle blew.

He gently tossed the ball into the air, stepped forward slowly—past high school, past pro leagues, and finally, his last step soared above the world stage.

In midair, the ball seemed to pause at its peak for a split second. Oikawa's body arched into the perfect curve, his arm swung from behind with explosive force, compressing the ball against his palm before it shot across the court like lightning.

BOOOM!!!

"Bring it on, Oikawa Tōru!"

SMACK!!!

The ball smashed off Yaku's forearm, bouncing high and flying back into San Juan's side.

Thud!

Taichi leapt for the spike!

A black wall rose in front of him—Nizhnev's front line reacted immediately.

"Triple block!" Igor, Mikhail, and Ivan all sprang up, arms extended forward and pressed down hard!

Whoosh—!

Taichi twisted at the net, executing a back-set tip!

The ball rolled up from his hands, flying to the back row—Conte charged in for a back-row spike!

BOOM!!!—

Smack!

Yaku dove forward and saved it!

"Cover!"

Kobzar anticipated the ball's drop point, quickly moved to cover, stepped onto Nizhnev's baseline, and jumped to steady the ball with both hands.

Whoosh—!

The ball sailed high to the centre. Mikhail charged forward and leapt with full force!

Thud!

"Double block!" Taichi and Ramos both went up.

"This guy—!" Mikhail stared at those huge hands in front of him, finally feeling a ripple of anxiety.

BOOM!!!

The ball dodged Taichi's block, slipped past Ramos's side, and flew toward San Juan's deep right corner.

Smack!!!

Oikawa lifted his hands in front of his forehead, barely pushing the ball upward!

"Save it—!"

The ball flew out toward the sideline.

Santiago sprinted after it, and right before crashing into the advertising boards, kicked it back onto the court!

The ball flew to San Juan's three-meter line. Taichi stepped back, turned midair, and spiked!

"Is he insane?!"

"Double block!" Mikhail and Ivan both jumped.

The ball soared above the block, falling in a steep vertical arc!

Smack!

Yaku scrambled backwards, pushing the ball up with both hands!

---

"That lunatic…he'd rather risk everything than let Nizhnev have an easy transition…" Zaytsev murmured.

---

Kobzar quickly covered, setting to the high left.

Igor jumped for the spike!

Bruno jumped alone to block!

BOOM!!!

Smack!

The ball flew past the block and hammered toward the centre of San Juan's court—only to be dug by Taichi!

"Why is he there?!!"

At the moment he realised he couldn't get back in time to block, Taichi had already retreated from the three-meter line to the back row.

At that instant, there were four players ready to receive in San Juan's backcourt!

"Oikawa!" Taichi shouted as he sprinted forward, adjusting his approach on the run.

Whoosh—!

Oikawa sent a quick, high near-net toss.

THUD!

Taichi stomped down hard, springing high into the air.

"Triple block!"

Time seemed to freeze as Taichi floated above the court. At the moment the block started to descend, Yaku and Taichi locked eyes.

BOOOM!!!—

The next instant, the ball was right in front of Yaku.

BANG!!!

Yaku fell backwards, sprawling on the floor as the ball sailed far out of bounds.

Three years had passed, and yet…it felt like nothing had changed.

Kaedehara Taichi scored!

[San Juan 25 – 19 Nizhnev]

_________

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