Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty

DESEO Hornets hosted EJP Raijin at their home court.
Interestingly, due to regular season rankings, the Final Four had lined up into quite a curious pairing: Black Jackals vs. AD, DH vs. EJP—both of which had seen the first team
the second during the regular season.
But AD's victory over Black Jackals two days earlier had reignited hope among EJP fans.
Right
Even though EJP, last season's champion, had embarrassingly lost home-court advantage, their fans still flooded Toyota Arena en masse to show their support.
For the first time, a DH home game saw a packed stadium.
"Let's give it everything we've got out there!" Coach Nick beamed.
"No pressure—we're a
strong team."
-----
The warm-ups ended, and both teams walked onto the court.
:
.
.
:
.
.
—DH to serve first.
Kaedehara Taichi stepped up to the service line, eyes scanning the EJP back row.
the opponents had already set up a five-man receive formation.
Komori Motoya—Receive
Kitō Yūkan—Receive
Sengoku Chisato—Receive
Akutsu Ao—Receive
"Not bad," Taichi mused to himself. "Let's treat this like a dress rehearsal for facing AD."
A sly smile curved on his lips. At the whistle, he tossed the ball lightly into the air.
He went full power from the very first serve!
The ball rocketed straight at Komori Motoya!
Motoya was blasted backwards, rolling to absorb the impact as the ball shot high into the air!
"Save it—!"
Evan Krauss chased the ball toward the sideline, managing to hook it up with one hand just before crashing into the sponsor board.
"Damn it!"
But the ball veered behind the advertising board—out of bounds.
"As expected of you, Motoya," Taichi chuckled, "but do your best with the next one too, okay~?"
Komori's heart sank.
The second serve whistle blew.
Taichi served again.
The moment the ball made contact, Komori's body locked up. He dropped backwards onto the floor.
The ball bounced straight past him toward the baseline—no chance for a save…
"Damn it!"
Komori pounded the floor in frustration. He'd
the trajectory,
he could reach it—but he just couldn't manage the
Taichi packed into each ball.
"Fufufu~"
Kaedehara Taichi gazed at him with keen amusement.
Taichi tossed the ball high—
Then leapt and slammed it down.
A blur flashed across the court.
The entire arena fell silent.
"A—C—E—!!!"
The ball landed right on the baseline behind Komori, then bounced out.
Third consecutive service point!
"
"
"???"
The EJP coach and manager stared at each other in disbelief.
Kaedehara Taichi stood at the line, switching the ball between his palms, slapping it rhythmically.
He caught the ball and tossed it again. Approach, leap, swing—impact!
"Move, move—!"
Komori saw the ball coming toward his front left, but his feet felt like they'd been nailed to the floor.
But didn't even come close to touching the ball.
Point four. Scored by DH.
Coach Otani couldn't hold back any longer—he had to stop the bleeding.
Yes, calling a timeout this early could crush morale—
His only hope was that the timeout might just cool down Kaedehara Taichi's blazing-hot service streak.
-----
"Taichi, your serve is just...
insane!"
Tom Wilde came charging toward Kaedehara Taichi in excitement.
Taichi sidestepped him without a word and walked to a corner of the bench in the resting area, quietly sitting down.
"Tom, give him some space for now," Iizuna Tsukasa called out. "He doesn't look like he's done having fun."
-----
The timeout ended quickly, and both teams returned to the court.
Kaedehara Taichi stood once more at the service line. His left arm extended forward, palm flat beneath the ball, eyes scanning the EJP back row over the top of it.
The entire EJP lineup stared back at him with unflinching focus.
"As expected of professionals… Their mental fortitude is solid."
Taichi tossed the ball up again—his fifth serve.
The ball struck Evan Krauss' wrist and deflected violently.
It flew under the net and into DH's court.
Kaedehara Taichi scores again!
Sixth serve.
The ball slammed into the sideline on EJP's right and bounced out.
Kaedehara Taichi's serve scores again!
Seventh serve.
The ball smacked off Kitō Yūkan's shoulder and flew out of bounds.
Another point from Taichi's serve!
Eighth serve.
The ball crashed near Akutsu Ao's feet and bounced back up into the air.
Another serve point!
"Wait, am I dreaming right now?"
That was the reaction not only from the fans in the arena, but viewers across the country watching the live broadcast.
"Is this…really a
match?"
"The reigning champs EJP are being toyed with like this?"
And yet—this was a team that had strengthened its reception lineup this season by bringing in Komori Motoya.
He was unanimously voted
by the official league site, with not a single dissenting vote.
Even beyond that, EJP still had Kitō Yūkan, a national-team player, and their ultimate ace and last season's MVP, Akutsu Ao...
—they couldn't even receive a single one of Kaedehara Taichi's serves after five full minutes of play!
The serve whistle sounded again—
In the ears of EJP fans, it rang like a death knell.
Kaedehara Taichi launched his ninth serve.
Sengoku Chisato braced to meet it head-on, but the ball drove his arms straight downward.
"—?!"
The ball barely lost any height
then dropped to the floor.
Another service point.
"What else is there to say?! Kaedehara Taichi is the literal
of serving!"
The commentator could barely keep his throat from going hoarse.
Taichi glanced at the digital scoreboard and let out a small laugh.
It seemed
was the time.
Taichi unleashed his tenth serve!
The ball thundered through EJP's backcourt and rocketed back into the air.
"
"
Kaedehara Taichi has destroyed the match with his serve.