He Who Would Climb a Ladder Must Begin at the Bottom

He Who Would Climb a Ladder Must Begin at the Bottom
Japanese Title	遠きに行くは必ず邇きよりす
Romanized Title	Tōki ni Iku wa Kanarazu Chikaki Yorisu
Chapter Information
Chapter Number	398
Arc	Final Arc
Volume	Challengers
Release Date	June 22nd, 2020
Chapter Guide
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"He Who Would Climb a Ladder Must Begin at the Bottom" (Japanese: 遠 (とお) きに行 (い) くは必 (かなら) ず邇 (ちか) きよりす, Tōki ni Iku wa Kanarazu Chikaki Yorisu) is the three hundred ninety-eighth chapter of the Haikyū!! series written and illustrated by Haruichi Furudate. It was published in the 29^th issue of Weekly Shōnen Jump's 2020 series.

Overview

Hinata challenges Ushijima head-on as he tries to deal with the latter's powerful spikes. Applying everything he has learned and experienced, Hinata finally succeeds in making a perfect receive.

Plot

Upon making contact with Ushijima's spike, Hinata struggles to cancel out the fierce spin of the ball and is forced to send the ball directly back to the Adlers. The Adlers waste no time and mobilizes for a synchronized attack. Ushijima is especially fired up at wanting to defeat Hinata and emits a dangerous aura calling for the ball once more. Kageyama obliges, and Hinata is suddenly faced with a formidable force coming at him as if he's pushed to the edge of a cliff. In the heat of the moment, Hinata quickly reminds himself of everything he has learned and suddenly envisions himself back to playing volleyball on the beach in Brazil. Ushijima breaks through the Jackals' double block. Hinata positions himself directly in the path of the spike and aptly shifts the weight of his body to fully negate the spike's power and spin. To the surprise of his teammates and spectators, Hinata pulls off a clean receive while remaining upright.

Tanaka immediately realizes that Hinata did not rely on any luck to make the perfect pass happen. Ukai and the former Karasuno third-years note that Hinata aims to receive without leaving his feet. Takeda is reminded of his advice to Hinata when the latter fell sick and was forced to exit the match during his first-year. The current Hinata is a culmination of everything he went through from middle school to his training in Brazil, and the perfect receive is a reflection of all his efforts throughout the years.

Appearances

• Date Tech High (Former)
  • Kōsuke Sakunami

• Karasuno High (Former)
  • Asahi Azumane
  • Hisashi Kinoshita
  • Yū Nishinoya (Flashback)
  • Daichi Sawamura
  • Kōshi Sugawara
  • Ittetsu Takeda
  • Ryūnosuke Tanaka
  • Keishin Ukai
  • Hitoka Yachi
  • Tadashi Yamaguchi

• MSBY Black Jackals
  • Kōtarō Bokuto
  • Shōyō Hinata
  • Shion Inunaki
  • Atsumu Miya
  • Kiyoomi Sakusa
  • Adriah Tomas

• Schweiden Adlers
  • Toshirō Heiwajima
  • Fukurō Hirugami
  • Kōrai Hoshiumi
  • Tobio Kageyama
  • Nicollas Romero
  • Tatsuto Sokolov
  • Wakatoshi Ushijima

• Sendai Frogs
  • Kanji Koganegawa
  • Kei Tsukishima

• Shiratorizawa Academy (Former)
  • Kenjirō Shirabu

• Others
  • Nice Rodrigues
  • Heitor Santana

Chapter notes

Trivia

• The Japanese chapter title, "遠きに行くは必ず邇きよりす", is the same idiom that appeared in Takeda's speech in Volume 24 Chapter 211 and on Hinata's wall decoration in Volume 42 Chapter 370. In the English version, the idiom was translated differently in Chapter 370.
  • Chapters 211 and 398: "He who would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom."
  • Chapter 370: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."