Haikyuu : The Unstoppable Force

"Setter... setter..."

"Who will the setter pass the ball to?"

Kitamura Yuta and the others constantly ran through all the possibilities in their minds!

But...

The moment Kageyama touched the ball with both hands—

Shout!

The volleyball turned into an afterimage, flying across the court in an instant!

Bang!

Before Kitamura Yuta and his teammates could even react—

Quick attack, score!!

"What..."

At that moment, the three of them felt completely lost!

"That kind of spike... What the hell just happened?!"

"Why..."

"Why did they just replace one monster... with another?!"

From the back row, Yusuke mouth hung open as he stared at the spot where the ball had landed, utterly dumbfounded.

He hadn't even seen the ball's trajectory!

"What just happened?!"

"That set from their setter... it was too fast!"

They had originally thought that by coming into the second set, izumitate would find their rhythm again!

That they would figure out a way to counter their opponents!

Launch a strong counterattack! Neutralize Karasuno's offense!

But all those hopes crumbled in the face of Akira's overwhelming strength!

Izumitate had found their rhythm and strengthened their play.

They weren't weak by any means!

But no matter what they did... their opponents were simply stronger!

Even if they had returned to their peak condition, they were still being crushed by Karasuno!

The only difference was that they were being crushed at a slightly slower pace!

But!

The moment they saw Akira rotate into the back row, their extinguished hopes were reignited!

As long as that ridiculously powerful Number 7 wasn't in the front row—

Maybe they had a chance to turn the game around!

And yet... the situation flipped again!

Karasuno's lightning-fast attacks—they had definitely been practicing them for a long time!

Once again, Izumitate was under immense pressure!

In their previous matches, they had relied on the first set to analyze their opponents' attacks!

Only after figuring out all of their opponents' offensive patterns could they counter in the next set and turn the tide!

But this time...

Akira's insane attacks and impenetrable blocks had made it impossible!

Izumitate had only managed to score two points in the first set before losing it!

They hadn't even rotated their positions once before the set had abruptly ended!

They hadn't even gotten a chance to analyze Karasuno's back-row attacks!

How were they supposed to adjust? How could they possibly defend against this?!

So when Shoyo and Kageyama unleashed another unstoppable quick attack—

Izumitate spirits sank to rock bottom!

"Is there still time?"

"Can we still adjust?"

This was already the second set!

In other words, Karasuno was at match point!

If they lost this set...

There would be no third set!

Maruyama Haito felt utterly hopeless.

That Number 7 from earlier—he was beyond ridiculous!

He had single-handedly dominated them for an entire rotation!

Couldn't he at least give his back-row teammates a chance to shine?!

This first set had been completely meaningless for Izumitate !

They had essentially spent 25 points being obliterated by Number 7!

And they still hadn't found a way to counter him!

Did they really have to use the second set just to adjust to Karasuno's quick attack combinations?

But if they did that... there wouldn't be a third set!

It was an impossible situation!

Even Kitamura Yuta, who was always composed and optimistic, let out a deep sigh.

He and Maruyama Haito exchanged glances, seeing the same helplessness in each other's eyes.

Perhaps, in the end, they could only blame one thing—

The fact that Karasuno's Number 7 was simply too strong!

They turned to look at Akira on the other side of the net, eyes filled with resentment.

"Huh?"

Akira, fully focused on the game, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

"What the..."

He followed the source of the ominous feeling—

Only to see the opposing setter and ace attacker glaring at him with pure resentment.

"Those two... don't tell me they've developed some special kind of love for me..."

Akira shivered under their gaze, goosebumps rising on his neck.

"Looks like I'll need to be more careful in the future..."

Tweet!

A whistle blew, cutting off the intense staring match between Kitamura Yuta and the others.

The game continued!

In the following plays, Izumitate remained completely passive!

Faced with the insane quick attacks from Kageyama and Hinata, their defense was completely ineffective!

And if they focused too much on Hinata, Kageyama would simply set to another attacker in the front row!

Against Karasuno's tactics, Izumitate found themselves stretched too thin!

That said, compared to Akira's blocks, Hinata's blocking was still lacking!

Without Akira in the front row, Karasuno's defense was noticeably weaker!

As a result, Izumitate was able to score more easily!

But this led to one inevitable conclusion...

As the teams continued trading points, Akira was quickly rotated to the front row again!

And this time, it was the final straw that broke the camel's back!

With the sound of a sharp whistle, the second set came to an end!

Karasuno 2 – 0 Izumitate !

They had successfully advanced to the semifinals!

"This afternoon's match was nowhere near as intense as the one this morning!"

"That's to be expected. A team like Izumitate just isn't on the same level as Aoba Johsai!"

"Still, it's crazy to think Aoba Johsai was so strong and still lost to Karasuno!"

"Tomorrow's finals are going to be insane! I wonder if Karasuno can actually go all the way!"

"I heard some big names are coming to watch the final tomorrow!"

"Huh? Big names from Miyagi Prefecture?"

"That's the rumor! Apparently, this year's final is going to be really unpredictable!"

"Unpredictable?!"

"Do you seriously think there's a team out there that can beat Shiratorizawa?!"

"Why not?! Karasuno looks really promising this year!"

"Hmph, then you're just being naive!"

"You don't understand just how strong Shiratorizawa is! A king like that doesn't get dethroned easily!"

After the match, the audience began filing out.

Meanwhile, on the court...

"Top four in the prefecture!"

"We... we actually made it this far?!"

Daichi's voice trembled with excitement.

As one of Karasuno's veteran players, he couldn't contain his emotions!

And then...

"Akira, don't leave just yet!"

As everyone was about to exit, Takeda-sensei came rushing over.

"A TV station from Miyagi Prefecture wants to interview you in a bit!"

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Bonus Chapter - 400 Power Stones