Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 422: Team Japan, Assemble! (Double-Length)

On the night of July 21st, after training had ended, Coach Hibarida and Coach Kobayashi gathered all the players together.

Tomorrow would mark the official match against Team USA. After watching the recording of their match against Kyoto University, everyone at the training camp had taken on a noticeably more serious attitude over the past two days.

And now, it was time to finalise the 14-player roster.

In this heavy atmosphere, most of the players looked visibly tense—only a few seemed relaxed.

"I will now announce the roster for the Japan-USA Exchange Match," Hibarida Fuki said slowly.

"Number 1, Outside Hitter, Kaedehara Taichi."

"Number 2, Setter, Miya Atsumu."

"Number 3, Opposite Hitter, Hoshiumi Kōrai."

"Number 4, Middle Blocker, Hirugami Sachirō."

"Number 5, Outside Hitter, Sakusa Kiyoomi."

"Number 6, Libero, Komori Motoya."

"Number 7, Outside Hitter, Hakuba Gao."

"Number 8, Opposite Hitter, Miya Osamu."

"Number 9, Middle Blocker, Aone Takanobu."

"Number 10, Setter, Kageyama Tobio."

"Number 11, Middle Blocker, Hyakuzawa Yūdai."

"Number 12, Libero, Nakamori Daiki."

"Number 13, Outside Hitter, Sarukui Fūto."

"Number 14, Middle Blocker, Kai Suzuharu."

"That concludes the player list for the upcoming Japan-USA Exchange Match. Everyone must be ready to go on at a moment's notice."

"Yes, sir!"

Some positions on this final roster had undergone slight adjustments. Hyakuzawa Yūdai, whose main strength was currently in offence, had been placed as a middle blocker. Special emphasis was also given to the "opposite" position.

At the high school level, the tactical systems used tend to be less complex than those in professional or elite-level play. Due to limitations in both the players' technical skills and tactical understanding, high school teams often prioritise straightforward strategies.

More often than not, high school setters simply toss to the front-row outside or middle hitters for basic attacks—scoring largely relies on the outside hitter's power hits or the middle's quicks.

By contrast, the opposite position—which demands more versatile offensive plays and tighter coordination with the setter—is used far less often.

However, schools like Aoba Johsai, which regularly utilised Kunimi Akira as a quasi-opposite hitter and secondary setter, had already begun to reflect the essence of this role.

Still, being an opposite requires a much broader skill set—strong offence, decent setting ability, and solid defence. Kunimi Akira, for instance, still had some shortcomings in his attacking game.

Compared to most high schoolers—who may have decent offensive instincts but lack finesse in setting or defence—Kunimi was already considered exceptional. That's why he was included in the candidate pool for this training camp.

However, at present, Hoshiumi Kōrai and Miya Osamu were clearly the most suited for the role. They alone had proven capable of rapidly switching between offence, setting, and defence during this period.

(PS: Taichi and Sakusa are perfectly capable too, of course—but as outside hitters and core offensive options, there's no reason to burden them with opposite duties. Doing so would only dilute the team's offensive firepower.)

Now that the final roster had been revealed, joy for some naturally came with disappointment for others.

Among the four first-years at the training camp, three had made the cut. The only one left out was the setter Shirakawa Kaito—who now sat off to the side, wearing a dejected expression.

Similarly, Chigaya Eikichi and Suna Rintarō were passed over in favour of Hyakuzawa Yūdai, who wasn't even a natural middle blocker. That stung a bit. But the fact that even someone like Kunimi Akira—part of the championship team—wasn't selected showed the coaching staff's impartiality. They weren't playing favourites; they were purely focused on assembling the right team.

"Kunimi!" Kaedehara Taichi had held high hopes for him. It was unfortunate...

"Looks like you're going ahead without me this time." Kunimi Akira's gaze was downcast. "Next time, no matter where it is, I'll be standing on the court with you."

Taichi was taken aback. He hadn't expected that.

Kunimi hadn't missed a single practice session during the entire training camp. And since the exchange match wasn't an official tournament, Taichi had figured Kunimi wouldn't care either way. He had even suspected Kunimi might be secretly pleased to have an excuse to slack off...

Taichi had only planned to offer a token word of comfort—but he hadn't expected such sincerity in return.

"What the hell are you looking so shocked for?" Kunimi barked when he saw Taichi's startled face.

Still, even Kunimi himself found it a little strange. Wanting to become a professional athlete? That had never seemed like something he'd care about.

After all, one of his most hated words was "effort."

Originally, volleyball was just a high school club activity. He had talent, sure—but he'd just played casually, following the rules, making some good memories. He figured he'd go to a decent university, graduate normally, then find a steady but ordinary job...

But somewhere along the way, Kunimi Akira had started enjoying the feeling of becoming stronger.

Winning felt good. He wanted to keep winning.

Before he realised it, the future he imagined for himself had shifted—he no longer pictured a quiet, unremarkable life. Instead, he saw himself on the court alongside Kindaichi Yūtarō, Kaedehara Taichi, Oikawa Tōru…and even Kageyama Tobio.

"Then you'd better—"

"Don't say it."

"—give it your all to catch up, okay~?" Taichi smirked, very much on purpose.

After the final roster was confirmed, Kaedehara Taichi once again examined his teammates—only to notice that the data panel he'd seen for so long had changed significantly.

"Pro-level stats?" Taichi muttered as he studied the numbers before him. "So now…everyone on Team Japan is being compared directly to professional players, huh?"

[Miya Atsumu—Setter:Height: 184 cm

Serve: 92 | Receive: 80 | Dig: 82 | Set: 93 | Spike: 72| Block: 78

Spike Reach: 335 cm /Block Reach: 312 cm.]

Only the most straightforward physical stat—height—remained unchanged. On-court performance was now measured using a more granular six-dimensional skill chart.

Miya Atsumu's signature skills—his serve and set—were still among the best, comparable even to professionals. But when placed next to real pros in every other category, his stats suddenly seemed…average.

[Hoshiumi Kōrai—Opposite Hitter:Height: 170 cm

Serve: 88 | Receive: 92 | Dig: 90 | Set: 90 | Spike: 90| Block: 78

Spike Reach: 351 cm /Block Reach: 322 cm.]

Hoshiumi continued to showcase all-around excellence. Despite his height, his block reach was higher than Miya's—yet the actual block stat showed both had similar performance.

"There must be other factors at play…reaction time, technique, that kind of stuff," Taichi mused.

[Hirugami Sachirō—Middle Blocker:Height: 192 cm

Serve: 90 | Receive: 80 | Dig: 76 | Set: 70 | Spike: 85| Block: 90

Spike Reach: 345 cm /Block Reach: 328 cm.]

Hirugami's receiving ability was surprisingly solid—for a middle blocker, that was downright impressive.

[Sakusa Kiyoomi—Outside Hitter:Height: 190 cm

Serve: 92 | Receive: 92 | Dig: 85 | Set: 88 | Spike: 92| Block: 82

Spike Reach: 350 cm /Block Reach: 328 cm.]

This guy could already go pro, couldn't he?

Kaedehara Taichi vaguely remembered that in the original timeline, Sakusa Kiyoomi still chose to go to university. Although he had once faced off against Ushijima Wakatoshi, who had already gone pro during the Black Eagle Cup, the difference in team strength was just too overwhelming—and they were utterly crushed in the match.

(PS: For Japan's Black Eagle Cup, the men's division includes the top 8 teams from V1 League, top 4 teams from V2 League, and top 4 university teams.)

[Komori Motoya—Libero:Height: 180 cm

Serve: 70 | Receive: 92 | Dig: 90 | Set: 82 | Spike: 65| Block: 62.]

It was clear just from the stats why Komori had given up on becoming a spiker due to his height. With such low spike and block stats, he couldn't possibly survive long in the front row—not everyone could be like Hoshiumi Kōrai.

[Hakuba Gao—Outside Hitter:Height: 204 cm

Serve: 78 | Receive: 78 | Dig: 66 | Set: 68 | Spike: 88| Block: 90

Spike Reach: 350 cm /Block Reach: 330 cm.]

In the front row, he was arguably more impactful than Hoshiumi Kōrai. But the moment he rotated to the back row, he became the team's weakness. It was unfortunate that the profiles of the American team weren't available. Taichi had a feeling that players like Hakuba Gao and Hyakuzawa Yūdai would be prime targets for exploitation in the actual match.

[Miya Osamu—Opposite Hitter:Height: 184 cm

Serve: 84 | Receive: 84 | Dig: 82 | Set: 84 | Spike: 82| Block: 82

Spike Reach: 340 cm /Block Reach: 315 cm.]

Kaedehara Taichi: "….."

It seemed that neither of the twins had particularly impressive blocking reach. Taichi glanced at Kunimi Akira from the corner of his eye.

Alright, Kunimi's block reach was only 298cm.

[Aone Takanobu—Middle Blocker:Height: 193 cm

Serve: 88 | Receive: 80 | Dig: 78 | Set: 65 | Spike: 85| Block: 90

Spike Reach: 345 cm /Block Reach: 325 cm.]

Miyagi had quite a few talented blockers. To stand out among them, Aone must have had something truly exceptional.

[Kageyama Tobio—Setter:Height: 183 cm

Serve: 90 | Receive: 80 | Dig: 82 | Set: 92 | Spike: 82| Block: 86

Spike Reach: 335 cm /Block Reach: 320 cm.]

Even though Miya Atsumu had a slight edge in his specialities, Kageyama Tobio had the upper hand in overall performance.

[Hyakuzawa Yūdai—Middle Blocker:Height: 203 cm

Serve: 78 | Receive: 68 | Dig: 65 | Set: 60 | Spike: 90| Block: 88

Spike Reach: 348 cm /Block Reach: 328 cm.]

[Nakamori Daiki—Libero:Height: 168 cm

Serve: 82 | Receive: 90 | Dig: 90 | Set: 86 | Spike: 82| Block: 70.]

[Miya Osamu—Outside Hitter:Height: 186 cm

Serve: 85 | Receive: 80 | Dig: 80 | Set: 84 | Spike: 88| Block: 75

Spike Reach: 344 cm /Block Reach: 310 cm.]

[Kai Suzuharu—Middle Blocker:Height: 188 cm

Serve: 65 | Receive: 72 | Dig: 72 | Set: 68 | Spike: 82| Block: 90

Spike Reach: 348 cm /Block Reach: 324 cm.]

This guy…was clearly standing here entirely on talent. The guys at Inubishi Higashi were probably going to have a hard time accepting that.

-----

After going through the new stats of all his teammates, Kaedehara Taichi suddenly realised something shocking—Hoshiumi Kōrai actually had the highest spike reach among all of them. It was absolutely mind-boggling.

A guy who's only 170 cm tall jumping as high as someone in the 180s...that just didn't make sense no matter how he looked at it.

"Good thing I'm here. Otherwise, we'd really just be a bunch of clueless tall guys," Kaedehara Taichi thought smugly.

[Kaedehara Taichi—Outside Hitter:Height: 190 cm

Serve: 92 | Receive: 88 | Dig: 90 | Set: 85 | Spike: 95| Block: 92

Spike Reach: 355 cm /Block Reach: 335 cm.]

-----

[July 22nd—Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium]

The official match time was 10 a.m., giving both teams ample time to prepare.

Japan's national youth team was up bright and early to begin warm-ups. The players were maximising the last few moments before the match to rehearse rotations and strategies. In contrast, the American team had indulged themselves the day before, only regrouping at 8 a.m. after a long night's rest.

Although the Japan–USA exhibition was just a friendly match, it still drew a huge crowd of passionate volleyball fans.

When Japan's team arrived at the venue, they were genuinely stunned by the massive swarm of people.

"There's so many people!" Kai Suzuharu exclaimed, eyes wide with disbelief.

But the sight inside the arena really was breathtaking—a sea of people, even more than the National Tournament finals. The Japan team had been training all week at the Ajinomoto Sports Complex and had no idea how much attention the exhibition match had gotten.

In a way, the Japan–USA exhibition was even more rare than Nationals. The opportunity to watch such a match live had even drawn spectators who barely knew anything about volleyball.

"This might be the highest level of high school volleyball out there. No wonder everyone's interested," Hoshiumi Kōrai said, trying to act calm—but his constantly darting eyes betrayed him.

Banners and flags were waving everywhere. The roaring cheers filled the air like a rising tide, and it was through that tide that the players finally stepped onto the court.

"Hey, look over there!"

The crowd suddenly stirred again—everyone's attention was pulled toward the opposite entrance.

"The U.S. team's here!"

"They're so tall!!"

"Are they really high school students?!"

The moment the American team appeared, they brought with them an overwhelming aura that seized the spotlight. Their confident strides, their calm expressions—it all radiated the dominance of top-tier athletes, intimidating to behold.

On the global volleyball stage, the U.S. had long been a traditional powerhouse.

Their high school players might still be rough around the edges technically, but their sheer physicality was enough to scare off most opponents.

"They're finally here!"

As both teams lined up on opposite ends of the court, the height difference between them was absurdly obvious.

Yet standing tall—figuratively, if not literally—were the players of Japan's national youth team, led by the top three aces of the country. Their posture was upright, their eyes burning with fierce determination.

"Pfft, what's that? Did a middle schooler sneak into the lineup?" said opposite hitter Torey DeFalco, pointing and laughing at Hoshiumi Kōrai.

"That's their ace from the national runner-up team. I told you to at least watch some of their matches," said Micah Christenson with a frown.

"There's no need," DeFalco replied with a cruel grin. "Now that I've seen them in person, I'm even more certain—this won't even be a warm-up."

The Japanese players didn't hear the Americans' exchange, but honestly, even if they had, most wouldn't have understood. Still, with their mocking gestures and smug expressions, it wasn't hard to guess what they were saying.

"Daiki, give them a little greeting on behalf of your Hoshiumi-senpai," Kaedehara Taichi grinned. "After all, you could call them your half-neighbours."

Nakamori Daiki shot him a glare. What the hell kind of logic is that—neighbours?!

Still, the little tanned libero made his way toward the American side.

At a height of 168cm, standing before a crowd of near-2-meter-tall giants, Nakamori Daiki smiled and declared in a flawless Hawaiian accent:

"Two sets and you're going home. Bunch of two-meter-tall rookies."

_________

[T/N] - If you guys want to read 50 Chapters in advance of the current story, you can support me on my Patreon. Trust me, it's awesome!

Link - (P)atreon.com/Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]