Haikyuu: Zero To Almighty-Chapter 541: The Entwining of Two Aces

"BEEEEP—!"

The long whistle blew as São Paulo's block went out of bounds, signalling the end of the match.

[CA San Juan 25 – 20 ASAS São Paulo]

[CA San Juan 25 – 16 ASAS São Paulo]

[CA San Juan 26 – 24 ASAS São Paulo]

San Juan had shut out São Paulo in straight sets.

Had they not witnessed it with their own eyes, the players of São Paulo would have found it hard to believe that they had lost a practice match without taking a single set.

And all of it—nearly every bit of it—was because of that one guy: Kaedehara Taichi.

San Juan had claimed the second set with overwhelming dominance. And what was truly rare was that São Paulo's players didn't collapse. They stood their ground despite the brutal pressure.

Still, in the third set, Coach Bernardo continued to give Wallace offensive control. Wallace had been gradually regaining form, but even so, they were swept once again by San Juan's relentless assault.

"Bernardo, if we lose this badly, it's going to crush the players' confidence!" Coach Darlan fumed with dissatisfaction.

No matter how you sliced it, as champions of the Brazilian League, São Paulo couldn't accept this kind of result.

"When that guy opened up a ten-point lead in the second set, the psychological damage had already been dealt," said Bernardo. "The silver lining is that our boys didn't fall apart right away—they put up a solid fight in the third set."

"Which is exactly why we should've won it!"

"No. What we need to think about now isn't how to soothe their fragile egos, but how to maximise the benefit of this defeat."

"This is the result you wanted?!" Darlan asked angrily.

"It's not what I wanted—it's what happened," Bernardo replied, locking eyes with him. "We've been winning too much, for too long. You've seen the complacency in our squad."

"Hinata Shōyō? He's a great catalyst. But he's not enough."

"Didn't you bring Wallace back too?"

"I did. I thought that would be enough. Until I saw them," Bernardo said gravely. "Darlan, we've been standing still—or worse, falling behind. But Argentina is evolving."

"You know this: the South American Championship, the Club World Championship—this time, we have to win."

"Alright, alright…" Darlan sighed, clearly on the verge of being convinced.

"But was it necessary to lose all three sets?"

"I already told you. It wasn't that I let them lose. It's that they simply couldn't win."

"But you clearly could've shifted the offence to Leal! Wallace just returned to the team—you know it would've gone better that way!"

"Temporarily better," Bernardo emphasised. "No one in São Paulo can keep Wallace in check. But don't we want Leal to become our ace?"

"You were targeting Wallace?" Darlan asked, shocked. He had thought the entire point of this match was to sacrifice the team's outcome to help Wallace regain form.

"No. I only want to make São Paulo stronger—stronger than it's ever been."

Bernardo raised a hand, gazing past his open palm as if the entire team of São Paulo were nestled within it.

"Leal as the team's ace. Wallace as the strongest opposite. Two world-class players working in perfect harmony—don't you want to see how powerful São Paulo could become then?"

"..." Darlan looked toward the court, silent for a moment.

"I understand now."

"Then I'll leave it to you to explain it to them," said Bernardo Rezende. "Wallace chose to take a year off. So now, instead of building the team around him, we need him to re-integrate with us."

-----

Kaedehara Taichi was immediately swarmed by his excited teammates. Loser was practically hanging off his back, and Bruno had both hands in his hair, ruffling it wildly—only to get slapped away by Oikawa with a glare:

"I haven't messed it up yet!"

"…Unbelievable."

Conte murmured to himself. He had to admit, he never imagined that one day, he could beat a team like São Paulo this easily.

In the second set, Taichi had completely entered berserk mode, single-handedly racking up 18 points.

A performance like that would already be outrageous in the A1 League—but this?

"Really lost to that guy, huh…" Conte gave a helpless smile.

He knew Coach José had arranged this match to test the team's true ace against a powerful opponent. And truth be told—after today, the answer was more than obvious.

"So fast though…at least let me enjoy being the ace for one more year..."

-----

On the opposite side of the net, Wallace Souza was hunched over, hands on knees, gasping for air.

Sweat dripped steadily from the tip of his nose, hitting the court in near silence.

Even during his year of retirement, Wallace had still played volleyball on and off.

But most of that time had been spent trying out new things, exploring life outside the court.

"More than skill…it's my stamina that's taken the biggest hit…"

"You alright?"

Yoandy Leal approached him. He was also drenched in sweat, but his breathing remained steady.

Wallace took a deep breath, steadied himself, and stood tall again.

"Why didn't you ask for more sets from Fernand?"

"Coach's orders. I was supposed to support you in this match," Leal replied with a calm face.

"Even if it meant losing?" Wallace asked, displeased.

"…I didn't think we'd lose like that," Leal said seriously.

"The first set was normal—both sides testing each other, and Conte was in better form. The second set…I didn't realise what was happening. That guy, Taichi—he took control of the entire match in the blink of an eye..."

"...By the time I figured it out, there was nothing I could do."

"In the third set, you were playing really well. We were holding our own. I couldn't have done any better than you," Leal paused, then added, "But Taichi—his ability to finish a match is far stronger than I expected. Stronger than Conte, even."

Wallace's eyes reflected the figure of Kaedehara Taichi.

So…the newest generation already had someone this strong?

"I know what the coaching staff is thinking," Wallace said. "But I want to see for myself…what my current limits are."

"Huh?" Leal blinked, confused.

"You really are an idiot," Wallace said bluntly.

"But Leal, all you need to do is keep playing, and keep getting stronger."

"I understand."

"São Paulo is your team now. Next time—protect your ace position properly."

With that, Wallace turned and started walking toward San Juan's side.

"Wallace!" Leal called out, "There are six people on each side of the net. The team belongs to all of us!"

"Heh~"

Wallace chuckled under his breath, didn't turn around, just waved his hand lazily.

"Whatever you say."

-----

"Taichi, next time we meet, it'll be in an official match."

Wallace extended a hand.

"Let's have a real battle then."

"Of course!" Kaedehara Taichi smiled, shaking his hand. "I'm looking forward to seeing an even stronger version of you, old man."

They were both thirty, but even so—Kitajima Kippei never gave off the same terrifying presence as Wallace.

Taichi genuinely admired him.

"…Huh?"

Wallace was briefly stunned. He'd expected something cockier.

Instead, the guy who had just destroyed them was actually less arrogant off the court?

What a weirdo.

"Taichi!!"

Hinata Shōyō came running over, face still glowing with excitement—as if the match hadn't ended at all.

Anyone watching might've mistaken him for Kaedehara Taichi's #1 fan.

"You were incredible! The Great Demon King was amazing too! Your whole team was just insane!!"

"Hahaha…"

Hearing Hinata's bright, sunny praise, Taichi couldn't help but ruffle that orange hair.

"Shōyō, hang in there! If things go well, we'll see each other again on the world stage real soon. I'm looking forward to it."

"Yes!!"

Hinata replied with firm resolve.

_________

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