Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The whistle fell silent, and the Karasuno players gathered around the coach's bench. The air felt heavy; the series of points they had just lost felt like a damp rag stuck in everyone's chest.

Ukai Shishin didn't yell or shout. He crossed his arms and glanced at the somewhat flustered boys. "Listen up, when it comes to receiving serves, don't always try to get it right the first time."

He pointed to the court, "The opposing setter's serve is really strong; it's difficult to get the ball directly to the setter. So, all we need to do is catch the ball. Even if it flies out of bounds, even if it bounces wildly in the air, as long as the ball hasn't landed and is still in the air, we always have a way to recover. Don't take all the blame on the moment you catch the ball."

Tanaka Ryunosuke, panting heavily, nodded vigorously: "Yes!"

Ukai turned his head and stared sharply at Kageyama Tobio, who was drinking water.

"Back to the topic, Kageyama."

Kageyama's hand holding the water bottle froze, and he lowered his head: "...Yes."

"What was that second attack just now?" Wu Yang's voice wasn't loud, but it was incredibly intimidating.

Kageyama lowered his head even further, his bangs covering his eyes: "I'm very sorry, I was too hasty."

That last shot was too obvious; it was a reactive response to being provoked by Oikawa Toru.

Ukai sighed and ruffled Kageyama's thick black hair. "It's good that you know you were wrong. I'm not saying second-chance attacks are bad. Making the opponent realize 'this guy might attack at any moment' and thus controlling the block is part of the strategy. But—"

The coach tapped the tactics board with his finger, "Once this intention is figured out by the opponent, a second attack is just giving them points. It's very risky, so you need to choose your timing carefully."

"Yes."

"Furthermore," Ukai withdrew his hand, his tone becoming serious, "don't forget who you're fighting. Your opponent isn't just Oikawa Toru, but the entire 'Aoba Castle West' team. Similarly, it's not just you, Kageyama Tobio, standing on the field, but the entire 'Kasuno' team."

Kageyama gripped the water bottle tightly, his knuckles turning white, and replied heavily, "Yes!"

After finishing training one side, Wu Yang turned to look at Lu Ren, who had been staring at him the whole time.

Lu Ren blinked, his face saying, "Coach, I want a buff too."

Wu Yang opened his mouth, but then got stuck.

There's no textbook on how to guide this oddball who's always spouting gaming jargon and playing unpredictably. Going too deep might overthink things and overload his system, while going too shallow might lead him to slack off on the field.

"Um..." Wu Yang hesitated for a while, then finally waved his hand, "You need to seize the opportunity yourself. Don't cause any trouble, pay attention to your teamwork, and don't let everyone lose track of your train of thought."

Lu Ren shrugged: "Understood, I'll keep an eye on compatibility."

The timeout is over, and everyone is on the court.

Despite trailing in the score, the situation remains dire.

Aoba Johsai has the serve. Oikawa Tetsu stands at the baseline, the volleyball spinning nimbly between his fingers. He narrows his eyes, his gaze sweeping across Karasuno's formation like radar, finally locking onto the left side of the back row.

That bald guy.

"Once we find the crack, we must smash it completely." A cold smile played on Oikawa Tetsu's lips.

Throw the ball, jump.

The volleyball, whistling through the air, flew like a missile exploding at a fixed point, heading straight for Tanaka Ryunosuke's left blind spot.

"They're here!"

Tanaka's nerves were on edge, and his body reacted faster than his brain, leaping sideways.

"Bang!"

The ball hit his forearm. But because the ball had a strong sidespin, and Tanaka was off-balance while moving, the volleyball didn't fly obediently to the setter's position, but bounced directly back to Aoba Johsai's court.

"An opportunity ball!"

Kindaichi Yutaro in the front row reacted extremely quickly. Before Tanaka could even get up from the ground, he had already leaped high into the air.

At this moment, only Hinata Shoyo was blocking at the net. The height difference was glaringly obvious.

Without any hesitation, Kindaichi slammed his fingers down hard on top of Hinata's fingers.

"Thump!"

Direct score.

"Yay!!!" The Aoba Josai support group in the stands erupted in deafening cheers, their unified chants crashing down like waves.

Tanaka knelt on the floor, watching the volleyball roll away, his chest heaving violently.

"Sorry..." The voice was very soft and was drowned out by the cheers of the opponents.

A broad, thick hand patted his shoulder.

Sawamura Daichi stood behind him, his voice steady and strong: "Don't worry about it! That ball had a lot of spin; it's already pretty good that you even touched it. You've caught it, Tanaka! You can do it next time!"

Tanaka gritted his teeth, propped himself up on his knees, and stood up: "...Yes!"

But his stiff back gave him away.

Lu Ren stood in front of the net, looking at Tanaka's status bar, and sighed inwardly, "Morale is dropping. If this 'fear debuff' isn't removed from being targeted by the BOSS continuously, my performance will suffer."

The game continues.

Oikawa Tetsu serves again.

There was no suspense; the target remained Ryunosuke Tanaka.

"Don't underestimate me!!"

Tanaka roared, forcibly suppressing his panic, and planted his feet firmly on the ground. This time, he judged the landing point accurately, tightened his arms, and steadily caught the ball.

"Nice pass!"

The ball soared high and landed in front of the net.

Lu Ren quickly ran and made a feint, attempting to pull the opponent's block. Kageyama Tobio arrived in position and held the ball with both hands.

At the same time, Tanaka rushed up from the back row.

"Give me!!"

Although he shouted loudly, there seemed to be a hint of anxiety in his unstoppable momentum, as if he was eager to prove himself.

Kageyama passed the ball over.

However, the net in the west of Aoba City had been waiting for a long time.

Iwaizumi, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki formed a formidable barrier, like a high wall of despair, blocking Tanaka's path flawlessly.

Tanaka smashed with an arm swing.

"Snapped!"

The volleyball slammed into the blocking hand, fell vertically, and bounced back onto Karasuno's court.

The whistle blows, the score is valid.

Another point lost.

Tanaka's face turned deathly pale. He stared blankly at his palms. The relentless attacks, the repeated mistakes, the constant blocks—his pride as a "senior" and "key player" was being stripped away bit by bit.

"beep--"

Ugly's heart was determined to request a suspension.

This was Karasuno's last timeout in this game.

The atmosphere was terribly oppressive.

Everyone silently walked back to the sidelines. Hinata looked at Tanaka's gloomy face, feeling somewhat at a loss. He wanted to go over and say something to comfort him, but didn't know what to say. He could only circle Tanaka twice like a puppy, cautiously beginning, "Um... Tanaka-senpai..."

"Smack!!!"

A crisp, loud bang interrupted Hinata's words and silenced the entire stadium for a second.

Everyone stared at Tanaka in astonishment.

Tanaka slapped his cheeks hard with both hands, so hard that his already fierce face instantly swelled up, leaving two clear handprints.

"Dragon?" Nishitani Yu was taken aback.

Tanaka kept his hands patting his face, head down, breathing heavily.

Then, he suddenly straightened up and bowed deeply to everyone.

"terribly sorry!!!"

The roar made Lu Ren's ears ring.

Tanaka raised his head, his eyes slightly red, but the confusion in his eyes had been replaced by an almost insane determination.

"That last shot... in the instant I jumped, I actually thought, 'As long as it's not passed to me.'"

His voice trembled with anger at his own weakness.

"Even though it was a match, and I was the main attacker, I was actually afraid of being blocked! I actually backed down for a split second!"

Nishitani Yu stepped forward and slapped Tanaka on the back: "Ryu! There was no other way! That pass was difficult to begin with, and the other side had a three-man block, even I couldn't keep up to protect him. You didn't have to do that—"

"So verbose!!"

Tanaka roared, interrupting his best friend's attempt to comfort him. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug deep into his flesh.

"No matter the reason, backing down is backing down! This cowardly behavior is utterly disgusting!"

He suddenly raised his head, revealing his signature, ferocious smile on his swollen face.

"Regret? That's pointless. We can regret that after the game! If an ordinary person like me, without extraordinary talent or flashy skills, loses even the desire to 'spike,' then I'll truly have nothing left!"

He pounded his chest hard, as if declaring war on the whole world.

"Next time! Next time I will definitely score! I will never hold everyone back again!"

Wu Yangxi was stunned for a moment, then the corners of his mouth turned up, revealing a gratified smile.

"To be able to say these words at this moment, that is your greatest talent, Tanaka."

The coach stepped forward and patted Tanaka on the shoulder forcefully.

"Now that you're clear-headed, get moving! Relying solely on your arms to catch the ball won't be enough; your legs need to move too! As long as your legs aren't broken, get into position!"

"yes!!!"

The whistle blew to end the timeout.

Lu Ren looked at Tanaka, who had returned to the field. The bald man's back seemed to have grown larger than before.

"The self-purification buff is incredibly effective." Lu Ren cracked his knuckles. "Now that the tank has drawn aggro, we DPS characters can't just sit idly by."

The game continues.

Oikawa Tetsu stood at the bottom line, looking at the bald man with swollen, red cheeks, and raised an eyebrow: "Oh? You look much more energetic. But reality is cruel."

Toss the ball, jump, and serve with a powerful shot.

This time the ball was faster than before, with a force that seemed to pierce through a person, and it still relentlessly pursued Tanaka.

"Come on!!!"

Tanaka roared, this time he didn't catch it with his hands.

The ball landed in an awkward spot, right at his chest. If he stepped back and used his hand to cushion it, there wouldn't be enough time; if he turned to the side, it would easily fly out of his hand.

Since that's the case—

Instead of retreating, Tanaka advanced, suddenly straightening his chest and charging forward like a wall.

"Thump!"

The volleyball slammed heavily into his chest.

Although the move was awkward and even a bit comical, the ball was indeed blocked. However, due to insufficient cushioning, the ball didn't fly high and instead plummeted straight to the floor.

"It's not over yet!"

An orange figure glided along the ground.

Like a bullet fired from a gun, Hinata Shoyo leaped up with one hand at the last moment before the ball hit the ground.

"Kageyama!"

The ball flies towards the net.

Kageyama Tobio quickly got into position. However, because he had saved the ball, his position wasn't ideal, making it difficult to organize an effective fast break. He could only choose the safest option, pushing the ball with both hands towards the corner of Aoba Johsai's backfield.

"An opportunity ball!"

Oikawa Toru reacted extremely quickly, using a side slide step to propel the ball up.

"Crossing!"

Chikaji Watari, the free agent from west of Aoba Castle, quickly moved forward and smoothly passed the ball to the left wing.

"Hana-maki-senpai!"

Hanamaki Takahiro takes a running start and jumps, facing an opening with only one person blocking the net, and decisively swings his arm.

"Don't even think about it!"

Lu Ren and Hinata jumped almost simultaneously. Although Hinata's height was a disadvantage, Lu Ren, by anticipating the ball's trajectory, managed to block Hanamaki's most comfortable cross-court path.

The flower roll was forced to switch to a straight line.

"Snapped!"

The ball hit the edge of Lu Ren's palm, deflected, and slowed down a bit, but still flew towards the backcourt.

"I'll do it!!!"

Nishitani Yuu's figure appeared at the landing point like a ghost. He didn't need to think; his body reacted instinctively.

A perfect catch.

The volleyball traced an elegant arc and landed steadily on Kageyama Tobio's head.

At this moment, time seemed to slow down.

Kageyama Tobio's fingers touched the ball. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a figure sprinting to his left.

Without hesitation, without delay.

Even though we were blocked just now, even though we made a series of mistakes.

But since you said "you will definitely score next time", then I will believe you!

The volleyball transformed into a streak of light and flew towards the left wing.

There, Ryunosuke Tanaka had already leaped high into the air.

Before him still stood the same three-man blockade from the west of Qingye City, a sight that filled him with despair.

Iwaizumi, Matsukawa Kazushige, Oikawa Tetsu.

"Is it the same script again?" Oikawa Tetsu's eyes were icy.

"Stop looking down on me!"

Tanaka's eyes widened in anger as he swung through the air, unleashing his full strength. He neither chose to brute force as before, nor did he choose to avoid the attack.

He stared at the tiny gap between the blockers, a "weak point" that could only be seen under extreme concentration.

Swing your arm and smash!

This shot wasn't just about power; it carried a do-or-die determination and absolute trust.

"A cross-court shot to the inside corner!"

The volleyball grazed Iwaizumi's fingertips, forcefully squeezing through the block, and like a shooting star, crashed heavily into the three-meter line in the west of Aoba City.

"boom!"

The floor is shaking.

The entire stadium fell silent for a moment, then erupted into cheers even louder than before.

Tanaka landed, maintaining the position he had just taken after spiking the ball, his chest heaving violently.

The next second, he turned around abruptly and let out a heart-wrenching roar.

"Yay!!!!"

The fear, frustration, and self-doubt that had been suppressed for so long were all released in that roar.

Lu Ren walked over, patted Tanaka's bald head, and said with a smile, "Although that chest control shot just now looked like a bug, the critical damage really came through. Well done, MVP."

Tanaka grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, his swollen face covered in sweat and a silly grin.

"Of course! I'm Karasuno's ace reserve!"