Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The referee's whistle pierced the air of Sendai Gymnasium.

Both teams took their positions. Kageyama Tobio stood at the baseline, spinning the volleyball with one hand, his gaze sweeping across Shiratorizawa's half of the court. He tossed the ball, took a run-up, and jumped. The volleyball, spinning intensely, headed straight for Shiratorizawa's defensive blind spot in the back row.

Hayato Yamagata lowered his stance and steadily raised the ball with both arms. "First pass, perfect!"

Kenjiro Shirabu quickly surged forward. Without any unnecessary movements, the moment his hands touched the ball, his gaze locked onto the figure on the right wing.

Ushijima Wakatoshi began his run-up. The floor emitted a dull thud of protest.

At the net, Tsukishima Kei reacted with lightning speed. Ignoring the positioning of other players, he focused intently on Ushijima's movements. He jumped, his hands tilting to the right, once again decisively blocking the cross-court shot.

The central door was wide open. The straight passageway was exposed once again.

Ushijima swung his left arm through the air, bringing it down heavily to meet the volleyball. The volleyball whistled through the deliberately left-open passage.

Lu Ren was already waiting in the corner of the baseline. Watching the ball hurtle towards him with terrifying wind pressure, he cursed inwardly. This monster's power was utterly unreasonable.

With a powerful thrust of his legs, Lu Ren lowered his center of gravity. He crossed his arms and braced himself against the heavy cannonball.

The immense impact traveled up his forearm bones, making his teeth ache. The moment he touched the ball, Lu Ren knew the angle was off. He gritted his teeth, desperately adjusting the angle of his arm, using the backward lean to absorb the force, and forced a second touch.

"It's connected!"

The volleyball bounced high and flew steadily towards the net.

Tobio Kageyama had already sprinted to the bottom of the ball. Karasuno's "Chimera" tactic was activated again. The indiscriminate running from multiple positions made the entire half chaotic.

Hyuga, Higashimine, and Tanaka all started simultaneously.

With a push of both hands, Kageyama sent the volleyball flying to the left wing.

Ryunosuke Tanaka roared, leaped into the air, and swung his right arm to meet the ball.

Just as he was about to hit the ball, a head of red hair suddenly appeared in his field of vision. Relying on his illogical intuition, Tendo Satoru completely ignored Karasuno's positioning and jumped up, his hands blocking Tanaka's smash route like an iron wall.

The volleyball hit Tendo's palm, bounced back to Karasuno's half of the court, and slammed onto the floor.

The referee blows the whistle.

Shiratorizawa 18:16 Karasuno.

After landing, Tendo Satoru twisted his body in celebration, humming an unknown tune.

Lu Ren straightened up and shook his numb arms. He didn't look at Tian Tong, but instead turned his gaze to Shirabu Kenjiro on the other side of the net.

Their eyes met in mid-air.

Lu Ren raised an eyebrow, his facial muscles twitching into a highly sarcastic expression. His eyes clearly conveyed a message: Your ace is indeed a monster, but you, the setter, are pretty mediocre. Besides feeding the ball to Ushijima, what else can you do?

Kenjiro Shirabu paused. His usually calm, almost cold face tightened for once. He looked away, but the frustration in his eyes was barely concealed. The feeling of having his cards laid bare and being mocked to his face ignited a fire within this efficiency-driven executor.

The serve returned to Shiratorizawa.

The five workers stood at the baseline and launched a powerful jump shot.

The volleyball sailed over the net, heading straight for Karasuno's back row. Sawamura Daichi planted a firm stance and set the ball up. "First pass in place!"

Kageyama Tobio made his run into position. Karasuno's front-line attackers then began another series of cross-position runs.

Kageyama didn't pass the ball to the front row. He pushed it back with both hands, sending the volleyball flying in a straight arc towards the three-meter line.

Lu Ren had completed his run-up. He leaped high and swung his right arm towards the ball.

Back row attack!

The volleyball sailed over Shiratorizawa's block and hit the backcourt.

Hayato Yamagata made a diving save, barely managing to raise the ball high. "White cloth!"

Kenjiro Shirabu quickly moved to the bottom of the ball. The mocking look in Riku's eyes flashed through his mind, and anger surged within him. He forcibly suppressed his agitation; reason told him that passing the ball to Ushijima was the safest option.

He held the ball with both hands, his gaze sweeping across the net.

In that instant, Tsukishima Hotaru moved. Her eyes, hidden behind her glasses, had already dissected Bai Bu's subtle expressions and body movements completely.

"He'll pass it on to Ushijima," Tsukishima concluded.

Without any hesitation, Tsukishima moved to the right and jumped.

As expected, Shirabu's pass went to Ushijima Wakatoshi.

Ushijima spread his left arm in mid-air, preparing to smash. In the instant his arm swung, Tsukishima's hands were already blocking his face.

boom!

The volleyball hit Tsukishima's fingertips with a dull thud.

"Touch!" Tsukishima shouted.

Although it was touched, Ushijima's spike was so powerful that the volleyball only changed its trajectory slightly, but its speed was still astonishing, heading straight for Karasuno's back row.

Lu Ren stared intently at the ball's landing point from the baseline. Without hesitation, he lunged forward, gliding across the floor with his arms outstretched to their limit.

Just as the volleyball was about to hit the ground, he placed the back of his hand underneath it.

The volleyball was miraculously saved and soared high into the air.

"Counterattack!"

Tobio Kageyama was already waiting at the net. He seized the opportunity, lifted the ball with both hands, and sent it to the left wing.

Dongfeng Xu strode forward and leaped into the air. Bai Niaoze's blocking net was not yet fully formed due to the previous offensive and defensive transition. Dongfeng met the single block with a heavy swing of his right arm.

The volleyball broke through the defense and landed in Shiratorizawa's half of the court.

The referee blows the whistle.

Shiratorizawa 18:17 Karasuno.

Cheers erupted from the Karasuno bench.

Lu Ren got up from the floor and dusted himself off.

Hotaru Tsukishima, sitting in the front row, turned her head and looked over the net, her gaze landing on Ren Lu.

On the surface, Lu Ren stood there, his expression still nonchalant, no different from usual. Tsukishima keenly noticed that Lu Ren's hands, hanging at his sides, were trembling slightly uncontrollably.

Having withstood Ushijima's heavy artillery fire time and again, the inhuman force had placed an immense strain on his muscles and nerves. It was a physiological reaction to the excruciating pain and instinctive fear.

There was no sign of backing down in Lu Ren's eyes. He raised his head and looked directly at Ushijima Wakatoshi on the other side of the net.

Ushijima was also watching him.

A rare flicker of emotion crossed the eyes of this player, widely recognized as one of the top three ace players in Japanese high school volleyball. He clearly remembered that in previous matches, this number 13 player simply couldn't receive his spikes head-on. Today, after only a few exchanges, his opponent had already managed to steadily save his powerful spikes by adjusting her positioning and deflecting the force.

This terrifying growth rate and adaptability made Ushijima truly see Riku as an opponent.

The two looked at each other across the net.

On the surface, Lu Ren remained as calm as a rock, even managing a slight smirk as he adopted an air of complete composure. In reality, however, he was cursing under his breath.

"What kind of hellish dungeon is this? What did Ushijima eat to grow up like that? The ball he's spiking is like a shot put. I should have known better than to tell Tsukishima I'd 'go all out.' This is inhuman. If I catch a few more, my wrist will be ruined."

Lu Ren mentally complained, but his body honestly readjusted to a defensive stance.

The serve went to Karasuno.

Sawamura Daichi stood at the baseline, took a deep breath, and tossed the ball into the air. A steady overhand floater headed straight for Shiratorizawa's backcourt.

Shion Ohira steadily set up the first pass from the back row. "White cloth!"

Kenjiro Shirabu made a run forward. This time, he didn't pass the ball to Ushijima. The relentless high-intensity attacks had even given Ushijima a moment to catch his breath. Shirabu pushed the ball through the middle with both hands.

Tendou Satoru had already jumped. His fast attack was extremely fast, and his movements were full of deception.

Karasuno's front-row blocker was momentarily stunned. Tendo swung his right arm to meet the ball.

The volleyball was thrown towards Karasuno's half of the court.

Tobio Kageyama positioned himself in the back row and used both hands to cushion the ball. "Got it!"

This first pass wasn't perfect; the ball flew to the right side of the net and wasn't high enough.

Kageyama was still in the back row and unable to organize the setter.

Lu Ren rushed up from outside the three-meter line. He was extremely fast, and reached the net in just a few steps.

Seeing Lu Ren step forward, Karasuno's attackers reacted instinctively. Tanaka Ryunosuke spread out on the left, while Higashimine Asahi cut in from the middle. The two players' positioning was extremely aggressive, poised to smash at any moment.

The blockers at Shiratorizawa were immediately drawn to the two players. Tendo Satoru and Goshiki Kou jumped simultaneously, attempting to block both attack routes.

Lu Ren leaped at the net, raising his hands above his head in a perfectly standard setter's gesture.

Shiratorizawa's defensive focus was completely diverted, leaving a huge gap in front of the net.

Lu Ren's hands touched the volleyball.

Just when everyone thought he would pass the ball to Tanaka or Higashimine, his wrist suddenly changed position.

There was no ball control.

Lu Ren gently flicked the ball from behind with his right hand.

The volleyball traced a short parabola in the air, deftly clearing Shiratorizawa's block and landing in the undefended empty area.

Second attack!

Tendou Satoru stared wide-eyed in mid-air, trying to reach out and grab it, but it was too late.

The volleyball landed with a soft thud.

The referee blew his whistle and pointed to Karasuno's half of the field.

Shiratorizawa 18:18 Karasuno.

The score is now tied.

The entire Sendai Gymnasium fell into a brief silence, followed by deafening cheers.

Lu Ren landed on the floor, turned around, and shrugged at Shirabu Kenjiro, his expression as utterly infuriating as could be.

"See? A setter isn't just someone who can pass the ball."

Bai Bu's face turned completely black.