Challenger: Part 2

This article is about Chapter 370. You may be looking for Chapter 227 or Chapter 250.

"Challenger"
Japanese Title	挑戦者
Romanized Title	Chōsen-sha
Chapter Information
Chapter Number	370
Arc	Final Arc
Volume	What Will You Become?
Release Date	October 28th, 2019
Chapter Guide
← Previous Chapter	Food Becomes Muscle
Next Chapter →	On the Other Side of the World

"Challenger" (Japanese: 挑戦者 (ちょうせんしゃ) , Chōsen-sha) is the three hundred and seventieth chapter of the Haikyū!! series, written and illustrated by Haruichi Furudate. It was published in the 48th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump’s 2019 series.

Overview

Yachi gives a recap of the notable events that took place during the past five years. The former Karasuno first years have graduated and chose different paths. While Kageyama charges ahead to the pro-league and international scene, Hinata is taking a detour to improve his skills through beach volleyball.

Plot

Fast forward five years to 2017, Yachi is a college junior interning at a design company. She recounts her journey with the Karasuno High School's Volleyball Club and the various events that took place over the past few years.

After losing at the quarterfinals in their first national, the third-years graduated and new blood joined the team. The following summer, Karasuno lost in the Interhigh Qualifier finals to Date Tech, who went on to place top 16 at nationals. During fall, Karasuno participated in the Spring Interhigh for the second year in a row. They encountered Inarizaki once more in round 3 and lost to the Miya twins. Karasuno entered the Spring Interhigh tournament the next year and advanced to the semifinals. They played on center court for the first time but lost to Itachiyama to place 3rd in the nation. Kageyama, highly sought after, chose to skip college in favor of going straight into the V-league. He was part of the 2016 Rio Olympic team and has plans to tackle foreign leagues soon. Meanwhile, Yachi, Tsukishima, and Yamaguchi have all transitioned to college.

Hinata has been playing beach volleyball in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil since early 2016. During his second year in Karasuno, Hinata showed immense interest in beach volleyball to hone his all-around skills. Coach Ukai realized that they need a serious training plan and accompanied Hinata as they contacted various sources for more information. Just when their search reached a dead end, Coach Washijō presented an opportunity to train with Lucio Katō, a Shiratorizawa alum who switched from indoor to beach volleyball, in Brazil. Hinata accepted with no hesitation, and the preparation started. Washijō informed Hinata to take a year to thoroughly prepare and gave him a time limit of two years in Brazil. Later, when questioned about his dedication to help Hinata, Washijō revealed that he has high expectations of Hinata and wanted to help him unlock his full potential.

Back to the present, Hinata is meditating on the beach before his alarm rings. He runs back to his dorm and attempts to wake up his roommate, Pedro, who continues to sleep in. Hinata proceeds to prepare breakfast. The time flashbacks to Hinata and Kageyama's graduation. In a manner juxtaposing their first encounter at the school, Hinata perfectly received Kageyama's serve with dexterity. Afterwards, the two bid each other goodbye until the next time they meet. Back in Brazil, Hinata carries out his daily task of working and practicing.

Debut

• Lucio Katō
• Pedro

Appearances

• Hitoka Yachi
• Kōsuke Sakunami
• Kanji Koganegawa
• Takanobu Aone
• Kenji Futakuchi
• Yasushi Kamasaki
• Kaname Moniwa
• Takehito Sasaya
• Atsumu Miya
• Osamu Miya
• Aran Ojiro
• Shinsuke Kita
• Tobio Kageyama
• Shōyō Hinata
• Kei Tsukishima
• Tadashi Yamaguchi
• Keishin Ukai
• Ikkei Ukai
• Yasufumi Nekomata
• Ittetsu Takeda
• Tanji Washijō

Chapter notes

Character revelations

• Date Tech managed to reach their first nationals in 11 years after they defeated Karasuno in the Interhigh Qualifer.
• Yamaguchi, Kageyama, Tsukishima, and Hinata are shown to be wearing #1, #2, #3, and #5 jersey in their third year respectively. Yamaguchi is inferred to be the captain based on his jersey number.
• Kageyama was wearing #20 while representing Japan in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Trivia

• The idiom that hangs on top of Hinata's bedroom wall "遠きに行くは必ず邇きよりす" was first used by Takeda in Volume 24 Chapter 211. However, it was translated in English differently.
  • Chapter 211: "He who would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom"
  • Chapter 370: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
• In real life, the Japan Men's National Volleyball Team did not qualify for the Rio Olympic in 2016 after placing 7th in the World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Tokyo.