Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

Ogawa stood at the baseline, spinning the ball twice in his hand. This first-year owl was probably still shaken by the previous few shots; his serve was a little stiff.

The ball floated gracefully over the net.

"I'll do it!"

Sawamura Daichi held his position like a rock, knees slightly bent, arms steadily sending the ball forward. The volleyball obediently bounced up, its arc as perfect as a textbook illustration.

Kageyama Tobio didn't even need to move his feet; he simply spread his hands in front of his forehead.

In the front row, Tsukishima Hotaru has already jumped.

Fubuki's reaction was ridiculously fast; almost the instant Tsukishima's feet left the ground, the three people opposite him stood up like a wall. Bokuto, Washio, and Sariushime—these three mountains completely blocked both the straight and diagonal lines.

Fight head-on? That's something only a reckless person would do.

Tsukishima's eyes behind his glasses didn't move at all, and the swing of his arm suddenly lost its force the moment it touched the ball. What was originally a powerful spike turned into a light, floating drop shot, which just cleared the fingertips of the block and fell into the empty space.

"You're too naive, Glasses-kun."

Kyoji Akaashi's voice wasn't loud, but he seemed to have anticipated the ball's trajectory, kneeling down on one knee and getting up before it hit the ground.

The ball is not dead.

The volleyball flew high into the backcourt, and Yamato Saruhisa quickly covered and adjusted, pushing the ball to the left wing.

"Akaashi! Well said!"

Kotaro the Wooden Rabbit starts his run-up from three meters away, his golden pupils focused solely on the white ball. He arches his body in mid-air, the feeling of suspended in the air making one wonder if gravity is somehow favoring him.

boom!

This powerful dunk went straight for the open space in Karasuno's back row.

That place should have been a dead end.

But just as the wooden rabbit swung its arm, a dark shadow slid across the floor.

Lu Ren was like a fish out of water, his chest and abdomen slamming onto the floor with a dull thud, and the back of his right hand was forcefully inserted into the few centimeters of gap between the ball and the floor.

The ball bounced up.

Although it wasn't high or rotating, it didn't land.

Lu Ren looked up and met the gaze of the wooden rabbit as it landed.

There were no dazzling special effects, no empty words of mutual respect. Their eyes held only a pure, unadulterated wildness—the ferocity of predators vying for the last piece of roasted meat.

*Want to score? Have you even asked my stomach?*

"Kageyama!"

Without Lu Ren needing to shout, Kageyama had already moved. He chased after the ball, which was halfway in place, and forced a jump to pass it while moving.

At the other end of the net, a splash of orange is tearing through the air at an unreasonable speed.

"I want to eat meat too!!"

Hinata Shoyo jumped up with a strange cry, and before the Akatsuki net could close in, he swung his arm and smashed the ball.

thump.

The volleyball bounced off the ground in Owl Valley and towards the ceiling.

4: 2.

"Nice catch! Lu Ren!"

Lu Ren got up from the ground, rubbed his chest which was sore from being hit by the floor, grinned at the wooden rabbit, gave it a thumbs up, and then slowly turned upside down.

Bokuto yelled angrily, grabbing Akashi's sleeve and complaining, "Akaashi! That guy provoked me! He's definitely provoking me!"

Akaashi pulled his sleeve back expressionlessly: "Bokuto-senpai, please turn this anger into motivation to score points."

Rotation.

Tobio Kageyama has reached the bottom line.

Although he scored on that last basket, his expression wasn't relaxed. Lu Ren's receiving position was too tricky, forcing him to pass the ball under such circumstances. Although Hinata enjoyed the spike, as a setter, the feeling of being "controlled" by the receiver was still there.

He channeled all his frustration into his palms.

Throw the ball, take a running start, and jump.

Bang!

This jump serve was clearly driven by personal grudges and felt as heavy as a brick.

"Out of bounds... no, inside the bounds!"

Yamato Saruhisa initially wanted to dodge, but at the last moment, he gritted his teeth and used his arm to cushion the ball. The ball was too heavy, completely disrupting his first pass and sending it flying out of bounds.

"Sorry! Let me fix it!"

Akaashi rushed out of bounds, with his back to the net, and hooked the ball back to the net with an extremely difficult back pass.

"Konoha!"

Konoha Akiki jumped, facing Tsukishima's block. Instead of going head-to-head, he cleverly timed his attack, flicking his wrist to spike the crosscourt line.

"One Touch!"

Tsukishima's finger brushed against the ball.

The volleyball changed direction but didn't slow down much, heading straight for the back row.

Kageyama was in that position, so he had to crouch down and use a standard overhand catch to raise the ball.

When the setter receives the first pass, it means the offensive organization is disrupted.

"Senior Lu Ren!"

Kageyama shouted.

Lu Ren stood near the three-meter line, glanced at the ball still floating in mid-air, and suddenly made a gesture with his right hand in a very subtle way.

That was a code that only he and Hinata could understand—"Full Speed".

Hinata Shoyo sprang into action like a sprinter seeing the starting gun fire. He didn't look at the ball or the block; he just stared intently at the predetermined hitting point, propelled himself into the air like a spring.

Lu Ren raised his hands above his head to meet the falling volleyball.

Fukutani's blocking was disrupted by Hyuga's movement, and Washio hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to follow the player or the ball.

At that very moment, Lu Ren touched the ball.

Instead of using his fingers to push the ball forward like a typical setter, he used the flexibility of his wrist to give the ball a strong spin.

The volleyball flew out at a slow speed, but it strangely "stopped" for a moment when it reached Hinata.

It's as if a fraction of a second of time has been stolen.

Washio, who was originally ready to jump and block, completely lost his rhythm and jumped half a beat too early, and his body began to fall.

At that moment, Hyuga swung his arm.

A smooth road lies ahead.

"Snapped!"

The crisp sound of a spike.

The volleyball grazed the tip of the swallow's descending finger and slammed heavily near the baseline.

5: 2.

"Whoa! That ball! That ball stopped!" Hinata jumped three feet high with excitement after landing, grabbing Rikuren's shoulders and shaking him wildly. "Rikuren! One more ball! That felt amazing! It was like the ball hit my hand by itself!"

Lu Ren was so dizzy from being shaken that he said, "Let go... I'm going to throw up my breakfast if you shake me any longer..."

Not far away, Kageyama Tobio stared intently at the two celebrating, his face dark.

The feeling is like watching your pet dog suddenly run to your neighbor's house wagging its tail, and the neighbor's dog even tastes better than yours.

"Tsk."

Kageyama turned around, picked up the volleyball, and walked back to the service line. The air pressure around him was so low it could freeze a person to death.

Serve again.

This time, Fukutani's libero, Haruki Omi, had clearly adapted to Kageyama's style of play. He lowered his center of gravity and delivered the powerful serve steadily into Akaashi's hands.

"Quickly, A!"

Akaashi's fingers were like precise surgical scalpels, moving the ball at extremely high speed and with great stability.

Konoha Akiki cut in from the right wing and scored with a clean spike before Karasuno could form a block.

5: 3.

Lu Ren wiped away his sweat and frowned slightly as he looked at the Xiaogu group across from him, who were high-fiving and celebrating.

Is this the foundation of Tokyo's long-established and prestigious schools?

If Shiratorizawa is a heavy cannon that puts all its skill points into attack power, simply and brutally crushing you with numbers; then Furuya is like a precisely operating hydroelectric generator.

Every gear and bearing in their assembly meshes perfectly.

Offense, defense, covering, and linking up play.

Their fluidity is so seamless that it leaves no opening for attack. Even if you occasionally hit a miraculous shot, they can quickly adjust and use the most reasonable tactics to bring you back down to earth.

This feeling of being "cut in the flesh with a soft knife" is even more troublesome than facing the straightforward violence of Ushijima Wakatoshi.

"Hyuga, the serve has changed. You're off, Nishinoya-senpai is on."

Hinata was reluctantly substituted off the field, while Nishitani Yu ran up, patting her chest and declaring, "Leave it to me! I'll protect your back!"

Fukutani serves.

Tatsuo Washio's jump float shot is very threatening; the ball suddenly drops after crossing the net.

"I'll do it!"

With a sliding step, Nishitani Yu brought her hands together and steadily lifted the ball.

"Kageyama!"

The pass was delivered perfectly.

Kageyama's fingers touched the ball, his gaze sweeping across the field. Tsukishima was tightly marked, and Higashimine Asahi was in a bad position.

Then there's only one option...

The volleyball flew backward.

Lu Ren started his run-up from position two.

Before him stood three blockers who had been waiting for a long time: Bokuto, Washio, and Akaashi. The combined height and wingspan of these three were like an iron gate erected in front of the net.

A direct spike will definitely be blocked.

Lu Ren glanced at the several hands raised high in the air, his brain racing.

Since we can't break through it, let's borrow it.

He swung his arm without hesitation, but at the moment of impact, he slashed his wrist sharply to the outside.

The volleyball didn't go towards the floor, but instead slammed hard into the little finger of the outermost wooden rabbit.

boom!

The ball changed direction due to the force and flew towards the right side of the Owl Valley field, outside the boundary.

The fighter is out of bounds!

The ball was at a wide angle and moving very fast; it looked like it was about to fly out of the GG sign.

"Nice Ki..."

The moment Lu Ren landed, he was about to shout out the celebratory words, but the sound got stuck in his throat.

A figure shot out of the arena like an arrow.

It is Haruki Omi, a freelancer from Fukutani.

Just a second before the ball hit the ground, he flew sideways, extending one arm to its limit.

Snapped.

The ball was hooked up.

"Akaashi!!" Koji crashed into a chair on the sidelines with a loud thud, but he ignored it and just yelled his teammate's name.

The ball flew back into play; although it was high and floated, it was still within bounds.

"Still there!!"

With his head tilted back, Akaashi Kyoji made the calmest judgment in that instant.

They can't pass to the fast break; their positioning is too poor.

Only the ace can be given.

"Bokuto-senpai—!!"

That shout was like flipping a switch.

Kotaro the Wooden Rabbit rushed up from the back row.

Faced with this chaotic ball that offered almost no room for maneuver, the guy showed no sign of panic, but rather excitement.

"Leave it to me—!!!"

He jumped from behind the three-meter line, facing Karasuno's hastily organized block, showing no intention of reasoning with them.

Very small diagonal line.

boom!

The volleyball hit Karasuno's three-meter line almost touching the marker pole, a blind spot that Nishitani Yuuto couldn't reach in time to save.

5: 4.

The wooden rabbit landed, raised its hands high, and enjoyed the attention of the entire audience.

Lu Ren looked at the volleyball still rolling on the ground and let out a long sigh.

These owls are really troublesome.

But when he touched his stomach, the hunger pangs there only excited him more.

"It's better if they're tough to beat," Lu Ren licked his slightly chapped lips, his eyes shining even brighter. "If it's too easy to win, this barbecue won't taste good at all."