"The Road to the Final Boss" (Japanese: ラスボスへの
Contents
Overview
Karasuno struggles against Shiratorizawa and loses the first set. While they attempt to find their footing against Ushijima, a new troublesome adversary emerges as Tendō stops Hinata's spike and thwarts Karasuno's efforts to contain Ushijima.
Plot
Ushijima receives Hinata's spike and immediately calls for a toss from Shirabu. He slams the ball toward Hinata with enough force to crush Karasuno's triple block directly. Afterwards, Tendō notes how unusual it is for Ushijima to go after another player. Shiratorizawa maintains their lead and eventually wins the first set 25 - 16.
During the break, Tendō questions Ushijima about Hinata and learns of their encounter prior. Ushijima declares that he hates Hinata and is irritated by his baseless self confidence. Meanwhile, Coach Ukai reminds Karasuno that attacks against Shiratorizawa do have an effect and will magnify over time.
The players return to the court for the second set. While the game progresses, Takeda asks Coach Ukai about Shiratorizawa's blocking proficiency. Ukai explains that Date Tech is by far the best in the prefecture for their solid and flexible blocking system. Just then, Kageyama deflects Reon's spike and earns Karasuno a free ball. Hinata moves in and jumps diagonally while Kageyama sends him a toss. To their surprise, Tendō appears and shuts down Hinata's spike completely. Ukai remarks that at this level, blockers can still be really good even without a proper blocking system in place as long as they possess the experience and intuition. After the successful block, Tendō declares that Karasuno must go through him first if they want to defeat Ushijima.
Appearances
- Shōyō Hinata
- Wakatoshi Ushijima
- Taichi Kawanishi
- Tsutomu Goshiki
- Hitoka Yachi
- Saeko Tanaka
- Kenjirō Shirabu
- Ryūnosuke Tanaka
- Daichi Sawamura
- Kei Tsukishima
- Kōshi Sugawara
- Satori Tendō
- Asahi Azumane
- Yū Nishinoya
- Tadashi Yamaguchi
- Tobio Kageyama
- Hayato Yamagata
- Keishin Ukai
- Ittetsu Takeda
- Reon Ōhira
- Makoto Shimada
- Yūsuke Takinoue
- Akiteru Tsukishima
- Kiyoko Shimizu
- Keishin Ukai
- Yui Michimiya
- Chikara Ennoshita
- Kazuhito Narita
- Hisashi Kinoshita
Chapter notes
Character revelations
- Ushijima explains more fully why he hates Hinata (due to his baseless self confidence.)
- Tendō is shown to be a highly proficient blocker, despite the fact that much of his blocking relies on intuition and guesswork.
- Sugawara finds out about Hinata's prior run-in with Ushijima from Yamaguchi.
