Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The whistle, like a signal flare signaling the start of a war, sharply pierced the noise inside the stadium.

"Tsukishima serves!"

Sawamura Daichi's voice was always so reassuring, but at this moment, there was a hint of tension in it. Tsukishima Hotaru stood at the baseline, spinning the ball in her hand, her face expressionless, only her eyes narrowed slightly behind her glasses.

There was no aggressive running start; it was just a normal jump float.

The ball crossed the net, its trajectory unpredictable.

Kadokawa's backcourt opposite hitter was clearly not used to this kind of ball trajectory, his footwork faltered for a moment, but he still managed to get the ball up. The ball flew very high with a large arc. In a match between strong teams, this kind of serve reception would basically be a free point, but today, against this team with a "physical cheat code," this is called—a tactical pass.

"Baize!"

Kadokawa's setter doesn't even need to adjust any precise angles; he only needs to do one thing: throw the ball high. The higher the better, as high as the clouds, as high as the head of that giant named "Hyakusawa Yudai".

The behemoth wearing the number 7 jersey began to move.

Boom, boom, boom.

Each step he took felt like a heavy tank advancing. There was no smooth run-up or textbook arm swing; he just clumsily and awkwardly jumped.

At the net, Karasuno's three-man blocker was already on high alert.

Ryunosuke Tanaka, Tobio Kageyama, and Shoyo Hinata.

This is the highest level of anti-air defense that Karasuno can currently offer. Three pairs of arms formed a wall in front of the net, and Hyuga almost broke the floor with his kick, leaping to the highest point as if he were on a spring.

But in that instant, everyone felt a sense of oppression stemming from their biological instincts.

That was the helplessness of herbivores when facing Tyrannosaurus Rex.

shadow.

A huge shadow fell, blocking out the lights from the stadium roof. Bai Ze's massive arm swung down, at an absurd height, like an adult teasing a kindergarten child through a fence.

There were no tricky routes or any special techniques involved.

Just smash it.

The volleyball sailed past Hinata's fingertips, which were straining with all their might—it was even more than half an arm's length above them—and slammed heavily into the three-meter line of Karasuno Stadium with a whistling sound.

Boom!

The sound of the floor trembling was dull and unsettling.

0: 1.

Hyuga landed, staggered slightly, and looked up at the giant who hadn't even been out of breath. His Adam's apple bobbed. For a moment, he felt like he was trying to stop a Boeing 747 taking off.

"Don't worry about it! Next ball!" Tanaka shouted, trying to dispel the atmosphere of "fear," but his voice clearly lacked its usual arrogance.

Lu Ren stood in the back row with his hands in his pockets. His gaze did not linger on the volleyball that had landed, but was fixed on Bai Zexiong's large shoulders and wrists.

"Stiff movements, scattered power points, and monotonous arm swing trajectory..." Lu Ren muttered to himself, as if he were writing a catalog for a newly encountered monster. "Apart from the model being a bit large, the texture accuracy and motion module are simply products of the last century."

This isn't a BOSS at all; it's clearly an elite monster with an incredibly long health bar but terrible AI.

The whistle blows, time to change players.

Nishitani Yuu, holding the substitution card, skipped onto the field and replaced Tsukishima.

"Xi, I'm leaving it to you." As Lu Ren brushed past Xi Gu, he lowered his voice slightly. "That guy is just a big, dumb oaf who only knows how to use basic attacks. His strength isn't as exaggerated as you think. He's mainly good at landing high. Don't be intimidated by that huge model. His attack range is actually quite narrow."

Nishitani paused for a moment, then grinned and gave a thumbs up: "Got it! Guys who only bully others because of their height are the most infuriating!"

The game continues.

Kadokawa serves again. The ball goes straight, and Sawamura Daichi receives it steadily, making a perfect first pass.

"Kageyama!"

At the moment of contact, Tobio Kageyama adjusted his fingers, and the ball flew like a precise guided missile toward Tanaka on the left wing.

"Watch this—!!"

Tanaka roared and jumped, swinging his arm in a wide arc, delivering a powerful straight smash.

Snapped!

Kadokawa's libero, though his technique wasn't perfect, had excellent positioning; the ball bounced off his forearm. Although he missed the catch, the ball didn't land, but instead flew erratically towards the net.

"An opportunity ball!"

Kadokawa's setter didn't even look at anyone else, and once again lifted the ball high.

There is only one goal: to make Bai Ze Xiong Da (a powerful and prosperous person).

This is like encountering a rogue tactic in a game where, regardless of the consequences, all resources are simply poured into that numerical monster.

"here we go again!"

Hinata gritted her teeth and jumped again.

Bai Zexiong still looked like he hadn't woken up yet, slowly taking a running start, slowly jumping, and then—swinging his arm.

The ball went over the block.

But just as the ball was falling, an orange figure slid across the ground like lightning.

west Guxi!

"Hey!"

With his arms clasped together and his center of gravity extremely low, Nishiya managed to prop up the ball just a second before it was about to hit the ground.

The ball went slightly off course and flew towards the three-meter line.

"Nice catch!"

Lu Ren didn't just stand there watching; he started moving the instant Xigu touched the ball. As a qualified "pro player," anticipating a teammate's mistake and making amends is a basic skill.

He took a few steps to the ball's landing point, and instead of using a conventional overhand pass, he turned sideways and used a seemingly casual underhand pass to send the ball to the net.

"Hinata!"

That was a perfect shot, with just the right height and speed.

Hinata Shoyo's eyes lit up, the kind of light that comes from seeing meat and bones. He took a running start, jumped, and the whole movement was fluid and graceful.

Kadokawa's three-man net also jumped up.

Three large hands covered the sky in front of the net.

Hyuga, suspended in mid-air, stared at the impenetrable wall, and the nerve in her mind that called "fighting head-on" suddenly snapped. It was too high, too thick; there was no way to break through it.

This instinctive fear made him subconsciously reduce his strength.

A drop shot?

With just a light touch, across their fingertips...

Hinata's fingers gently touched the volleyball, attempting a clever move.

However, he overlooked one thing.

If it were an ordinary high school student, this shot might have been successful. But he was facing Yudai Hyakusawa, a monster who could touch the rim while standing.

Bai Ze didn't even fully straighten his arm; he just instinctively stretched out his long arm, and his huge hand landed directly on the volleyball like a Venus flytrap.

Snapped.

The sound was so faint it was almost despairing.

The volleyball, which had just left his hand and hadn't even flown more than ten centimeters, was pushed back and slammed vertically at Hyuga's feet.

0: 2.

Hyuga landed, staring blankly at the ball rolling to the sidelines. The sense of defeat—being completely seen through and the absolute gap in skill—surged up like a tidal wave.

"Oops... I messed up."

The atmosphere within the team visibly sombered. Scoring two consecutive points against opponents due to their height advantage was incredibly frustrating; the feeling of "no matter how hard I try, I can't reach them" was incredibly disheartening.

"Don't worry about it! That was a good idea!" Daichi Sawamura clapped his hands and shouted, "As long as we disrupt their rhythm, we have a chance! We'll catch up on the next ball!"

Although the captain was trying to boost morale, everyone's facial expressions were somewhat stiff.

Only Lu Ren remained listless. He even yawned, his eyes darting back and forth over Bai Zexiong, as if observing a newly purchased lab rat.

"What's wrong with giving away a couple of kills early on?" Lu Ren was completely unfazed. "How can we figure out the BOSS's attack mechanics if we don't give away some kills? That's called necessary tactical attrition."

The number of spectators in the stands is increasing.

After all, the gimmick of "a 2-meter giant on the field" was too much, and many teams that had just finished their matches or were still waiting to enter the field gathered around, pointing and commenting on the scene.

"That must be Kadokawa's Momozawa, right? He's so tall..."

"Kasuno is so pitiful, it's like an adult beating a child."

"How can we win like this? They're not even in the same league."

The buzzing of voices filled the air.

Kageyama Tobio stood in front of the net, head down, his hands making strange movements in front of him. His ten fingers moved rapidly, as if playing some unseen instrument, the joints making a slight clicking sound.

"Kageyama, what are you doing?" Hinata leaned closer, looking disgusted. "Your expression is so lewd, like some weird old man plotting something."

"Huh?" A vein throbbed on Kageyama's forehead. He raised his hand, staring at his fingertips with a fanatical glint in his eyes. "Shut up, you idiot. The feel of my fingers today... is frighteningly good. I can feel the air flowing through my fingertips."

"I don't understand what you're saying..." Hinata shrank back.

The whistle blows. Kadokawa serves.

The serve was a bit off, heading straight for the back corner.

"I'll do it."

Lu Ren simply took a step to the right, a movement as simple as casually kicking a pebble while taking a walk. He turned sideways, his arms steadily lifting the ball, which, with a slight spin, obediently flew towards Kageyama's position.

The pass was delivered perfectly.

Kageyama jumps.

In that instant, his peripheral vision swept across the entire arena. Kadokawa's net was moving, and Hyakusawa's center of gravity was shifting.

to whom?

With a flick of his wrist, Kageyama sent the ball flying to the right wing from an extremely tricky angle, as if by magic.

Tanaka had already taken off.

"nice shot--!!"

Tanaka used all his strength in that slam, arching his body in mid-air like a shrimp.

Bang!

The ball hit the edge of the Kadokawa blocker's hand and changed direction sharply.

"One touch!"

Kadokawa's backcourt reacted quickly, diving to save the ball. The ball bounced high but didn't go out of bounds; instead, it landed straight in the center of the net.

That's an area that both sides can compete for.

"Chance!"

Without a second thought, Hinata jumped up and tried to push the tennis ball down.

At the same time, Baize on the other side of the net also jumped up.

No, to be precise, he just tiptoed and stretched out his hand slightly.

Their hands met in mid-air.

Hinata struggled desperately to press down on his wrist, his face turning red, but faced with absolute height and power, his struggle seemed somewhat ridiculous. Hyakusawa's large hand was like an iron clamp, easily enveloping the volleyball, and then gently pushing it away.

Hyuga was pushed back, ball and all.

The ball landed on Karasuno's field, bounced twice, and then stopped moving.

0: 3.

"Damn it!!" Hinata slammed his fist on the floor in frustration after landing. "So close! I jumped first!"

"That's the cruelty of the laws of physics, little one." Lu Ren watched this scene, a slight smile curving his lips. "However, the long attack wind-up, the predictable landing point, and the slow handling of short balls at the net... the data collection is almost complete."

He brushed the dust off his trousers, straightened up, and said, "It's about time to finish the beginner's tutorial."

Kadokawa continues serving.

The serve was from Kadokawa's middle blocker, who probably wanted to press their advantage, so the serve was served rather hastily.

The ball grazed the net as it flew in, its trajectory very low.

Nishitani Yu stood in the back row, his eyes fixed on the ball's spin. Just as the ball crossed the net, he suddenly took a step back, raised his hands high, and made a "surrender" gesture.

"Out of bounds!"

The sound was crisp and clear, without any hesitation.

That enormous figure and the oppressive score seemed to have no effect on the judgment of this guardian of Karasuno.

boom.

The ball hit about five centimeters outside the baseline.

"good--!!"

The Karasuno group finally breathed a sigh of relief.

1: 3.

Although it was just a point given away by the opponent's mistake, at least they broke that damn zero.

Rotation.

Kageyama Tobio took the ball and walked towards the service area.

His aura had changed. If he was a musician tuning his instrument just moments ago, he was now an executioner drawing his sword. He twirled the ball in his hand twice, feeling the texture of the leather, his eyes as cold as ice.

Throw the ball.

approach.

Take off.

Every movement was textbook perfect, yet it was also full of violent beauty.

boom!

The sound of a hand striking a volleyball echoed through the gymnasium, even louder than the sound of Bai Ze spiking the ball earlier.

The volleyball, like a cannonball fired from a gun, hurtled towards Kadokawa's backcourt with terrifying spin.

Kadokawa's free agent stared wide-eyed, his body instinctively reaching out to catch the ball, but before his brain could process the ball's trajectory, it had already hit his forearm.

It wasn't catching the ball, it was being hit.

The ball was sent flying by the immense force, and the libero slammed heavily onto the floor with a thud.

But the ball wasn't dead because it bounced too high and was still in bounds.

"Make amends!!" Kadokawa's team members shouted.

Kadokawa's middle blocker rushed over in a disheveled manner and awkwardly placed the ball towards the net.

The ball flew very high and very erratically.

But there is a tower there.

Yuta Hyakusawa stood at the net, looking up at the chaotic pass. For an ordinary attacker, this kind of shot would be a disaster, but for him, as long as the ball was high enough, that was enough.

He swung his arm again.

Even if the pass is not accurate, even if there is no run-up, even if Karasuno's three-man block once again blocks all routes.

He simply spiked the ball from the very top of the net—that thin air zone that no one could reach.

thump.

The ball landed in the gap at Karasuno.

1: 4.

"Tsk." Lu Ren looked at the giant, who still looked completely bewildered after scoring, and couldn't help but shake his head. "The game's balance is terrible. But..."

He glanced at Hyuga and Kageyama, who were staring intently at Hyakusawa with burning flames in their eyes.

"Only bosses of this difficulty drop top-tier equipment when you defeat them."