Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

Shion Ohira stood outside the baseline. He spun the volleyball in his hand twice.

The referee blows the whistle. A flat toss, a run-up, and a jump. A standard jump serve, lacking the unreasonable destructive power of Ushijima's style, but its strength lies in its tricky landing point.

The volleyball flew over the net and headed straight for the open space on the left side of Karasuno's back row.

Nishitani Yu was already waiting there. She moved her feet, lowered her center of gravity, and crossed her arms. The volleyball hit her forearm with a crisp sound and bounced steadily towards the net.

"Pass it in place!" Nishiya shouted.

Kageyama Tobio quickly cut to the setter position. He stopped, raising his hands above his head. His gaze swept rapidly across Shiratorizawa's net defense.

Satoru Tendo. The red-haired middle blocker.

Kageyama's mind raced. Tendo's blocking was illogical, relying entirely on intuition and reading instructions. Conventional tactical deception had little effect on him. To get around him, the passing speed had to exceed the limits of his intuitive reaction, or a more complex run would create a delay in his judgment.

At the net, Hinata Shoyo has already started.

Without any unnecessary feints, he sprints in a straight line and jumps. His entire body soars into the air, his torso extending backward.

Kageyama caught a glimpse of Hinata out of the corner of his eye. Those eyes were fixed on the ball in his hand, conveying an extremely strong message.

Give me.

It was an undeniable demand. The attacker's pressure on the setter.

Kageyama's fingers touched the ball. His original plan to pass it to Tanaka on the left wing was abruptly cut short. With a flick of his wrist, the volleyball shot out in a very short straight line, directly in front of Hyuga's swinging arm.

The weirdo's fast attack.

Extremely fast. Hyuga swings his arm.

Just a fraction of a second before Hinata's hand was about to strike the volleyball, a high wall rose up from the ground without warning.

Tendou Kaku.

He didn't even look at Kageyama's passing motion; he simply followed Hyuga's jump rhythm and ascended into the air in sync. His hands were spread wide in the air, fingers outstretched, blocking all angles from which Hyuga could spike the ball.

boom.

The volleyball slammed solidly into Tendo's palm and bounced back.

Hyuga could only watch helplessly as the volleyball flew back in front of him and crashed into the three-meter line in Karasuno's half of the court.

The floor is shaking.

The referee blows the whistle.

Karasuno 22:24 Shiratorizawa.

Shiratorizawa reached match point.

Hinata landed. The soles of his shoes made a short, sharp sound as they scraped against the floor. He looked down at the floor, which was stained with sweat, his fingers unconsciously clenching.

"I'm sorry." The voice was very low.

Kageyama stood still, not even glancing at Hinata. He turned and walked back to his defensive position. There was no blame, no comfort, only a crisp, decisive back view. The meaning couldn't be clearer: get the next ball back.

On the other side of the net, Tendou Satoru landed lightly.

He put his hands on his hips, tilted his head to look at Hinata, and grinned in an exaggerated way.

"Oh dear, little guy, you've got caught again." Tendo drawled, his tone full of mockery. "What's the use of running fast if your route is too predictable? This is match point, you know. If you lose one more point, the match is over."

Hinata looked up and glared at Tendo.

Tendo didn't mind at all, and Okihito waved his hand.

On the sidelines, Lu Ren sat on the bench, holding a towel in his hand, his fingers unconsciously stroking the edge of the fabric.

Players like Tendo Satoru, who rely purely on intuition, are practically the bane of any tactical system. You try to reason with him about logic, and he'll just spout some mystical art. In that last play, Kageyama's pass choice was correct, and Hyuga's timing for his jump was impeccable. But Tendo just happened to be there a step ahead of him.

"Troublesome guy," Lu Ren muttered under his breath.

The serve is still in Shiratori's hands.

Shion Ohira once again stood firm on the bottom line.

The air in the entire Sendai Gymnasium tightened. Set point. Just one more point and Shiratorizawa could tie the series.

Flat serve.

This time, the ball went slightly to the right. Daichi Sawamura stepped forward and steadily cushioned the shot.

"Kageyama!" Daichi shouted.

The pass was completed in one and a half seconds. Kageyama moved quickly, adjusting his position while running.

Hyuga jumped again, attempting to draw the net.

Tendo Satoru glanced at Hinata, but didn't move. His intuition told him that the ball wouldn't be given to Hinata.

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

Ryunosuke Tanaka took a long running start and leaped high into the air.

"Don't underestimate me!" Tanaka roared, swinging his right arm in a wide arc and slamming it down hard on Shiratorizawa's defenses.

The volleyball flew over the block and headed straight for the back corner.

Hayato Yamagata was already waiting there. With an extremely graceful leap, he glided along the floor and used one arm to lift the ball.

"Well done!" shouted Kenjiro Shirabu.

The ball was pushed high towards the net.

Shiratorizawa's counterattack.

No need for cover, no need for positioning. Bai Bu runs to the ball, lifts it with both hands, and sends the volleyball steadily and high to the right wing.

There, Shiratorizawa's ace is already in place.

Ushijima Wakatoshi took a running start. His final step landed heavily on the floor with a dull thud. He was launched into the air, suspended in mid-air.

Hotaru Tsukishima jumped in sync with the ball at the net, extending her arms to try and block Ushijima's straight spike.

Ushijima completed the pose in mid-air. His left arm was pulled back, revealing bulging muscles.

Lu Ren squinted his eyes from the sidelines.

Not right.

Throughout the entire set, the Karasuno team focused on wearing down Ushijima's stamina. Normally, by the end of the set, the attackers' stamina should have reached its limit, and their jumping height and arm swing speed would decrease.

At this point, Ushima's takeoff height not only did not decrease, but was actually half a hand higher than at the start.

He looked at Ushio Island in the sky, and an absurd thought flashed through his mind.

Was this guy just warming up during that entire game?

Ushima waves his arm.

The volleyball hit Tsukishima Hotaru's fingertips.

"One touch!" Tsukishima shouted, his voice lacking some confidence.

The moment he touched the ball, Tsukishima felt a sharp pain in his fingers. The force was outrageous, completely unlike a shot played after a long game.

The volleyball changed its trajectory, spinning wildly with extreme sidespin, and hurtled straight towards Karasuno's back row.

Nishitani Yu stood near the baseline.

His eyes were fixed on the volleyball flying towards him. The ball was moving too fast and spinning too much.

Nishitani spread his legs apart, lowered his center of gravity to the lowest point, and brought his arms together, heading towards the volleyball.

boom.

The volleyball hit Nishiya's forearm.

There was no expected rebound. The kinetic energy from the volleyball directly tore through Nishinoya's defensive move. His arm was forcefully knocked away.

The volleyball hit my arm, bounced high, flew out of bounds, and crashed into the railing of the stands.

Outside the boundary.

The referee blew his whistle and pointed towards Shiratorizawa's half of the field.

The second game is over.

Karasuno 22:25 Shiratorizawa.

The score is tied at 1-1.

A cheer erupted throughout the venue. Shiratorizawa's support group pounded on their inflatable batons, creating wave after wave of sound.

The Karasuno players silently walked off the field.

Halftime break.

Xilan Yu walked to the bench, but didn't grab a water bottle or a towel. He kept his head down, his face frighteningly dark.

The air around us felt somewhat oppressive.

"I'm sorry," Nishiya said, his voice muffled.

He looked up at his forearm. It was a large red patch, faintly turning purple.

"I missed the last ball."

Sawamura Daichi walked over, put his arm around Nishiya's shoulder, and patted him hard twice.

"What's there to apologize for? It wouldn't have mattered who played that ball," Daichi said calmly. "Everyone did their best."

Nishitani gritted his teeth and remained silent.

This was the first time in his life he had encountered a player like this.

In regular matches, even the most formidable ace will experience a decline in stamina towards the end of a set, diminishing the power of their spikes. Ushijima Wakatoshi is a complete anomaly.

Despite playing the entire set and enduring various targeted defenses from Karasuno, the intensity of his spikes not only didn't decrease, but the power and angle actually increased.

Lu Ren walked over and draped a clean towel over west Gu's head.

"Alright, stop playing the tragic hero." Lu Ren unscrewed a bottle of water and took a big gulp.

Nishitani pulled off the towel and glared at Lu Ren.

Lu Ren sat down on the bench, stretching out his long legs.

"Volleyball isn't a one-man sport." Lu Ren looked at the lights on the ceiling of the stadium. "If it were a one-on-one match based on stats, Ushijima would win without even playing a match. He's a top-three team in the country, after all. You expect him to be worn down in one set? That's underestimating the national level."

Nishitani was stunned.

"His increased strength means his body's engine has only just warmed up." Lu Ren turned to look at west Gu. "A monster, after all, has to maintain its monster-like appearance. But it doesn't matter; no matter how high the stats are, they're still limited by the mechanics. As long as he's still human, his stamina has a limit."

Sugawara Koji handed Nishitani a bottle of water: "Lu Ren is right. We've pushed him to this point; the score in the second game was very close. This shows that our tactics are effective."

Nishitani took the water bottle and tilted his head back to drink half of it. His dark expression finally softened a little.

Coach Wuyang sat cross-legged on the bench, holding a tactical board in his hand.

He tapped the board twice with a marker, making a clicking sound.

The team members gathered around.

"What do we do if we encounter this kind of monster?" Coach Ukai scanned the group.

No one spoke.

"Listen up, everyone," Coach Wuyang raised his voice. "We knew before the match that our opponents were incredibly strong. Now that we've experienced it firsthand, don't be discouraged."

He pointed to the six circles on the tactics board that represented Karasuno.

"On the volleyball court, there are six people standing on each side. If you encounter an opponent you can't handle, trust your teammates."

Coach Ukai looked at Nishitani.

"It's okay if you can't receive the pass. If the first pass isn't accurate, the setter will cover for it. If the setter doesn't pass well, the attackers will make up for it. That's what teamwork is all about."

He turned to look at Lu Ren and Yue Dao.

"On the defensive end, continue with the attrition tactic. Tsukishima, your blocking doesn't need to be desperate; just get a touch on the ball and slow it down. Leave the backcourt defense to them."

Tsukishima adjusted his glasses and nodded.

"On the offensive end," Coach Ukai said, looking at Kageyama and Hyuga. "In the third set, speed up the pace a bit. Shiratorizawa's attention is entirely on Ushijima right now, and their defensive system is actually quite loose. Play more fast breaks, move around more, and break their block."

Kageyama Tobio took a sip of water and swallowed. "Understood."

Hinata Shoyo nodded vigorously, his fighting spirit rekindled in his eyes.

"Listen up." Coach Ukai stood up, looked around at the group of boys, and said, "We're not just fighting Ushijima Wakatoshi alone, but the entire Shiratorizawa team. We'll use our system to counter their individual abilities. We'll drag the game into our own rhythm."

"Yes!" the entire Karasuno group responded in unison.

The whistle blew to signal the end of the break.

The third game is about to begin.

Lu Ren stood up and threw the towel on the chair.

He glanced at the opposite half of the field. Ushijima Wakatoshi was drinking water, his expression remaining as calm as ever.

"Top three in the country!" Lu Ren flexed his wrists.

The next stage of the competition truly marks the beginning of the deep waters.

Both teams returned to the field.

In front of the net.

Hinata Shoyo and Tendou Satoru faced each other across the net once again.

Tendo Satoru smiled broadly, his red hair swaying with his movements.

Hinata took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on Tendo.

Game start.

In the third game, Karasuno serves.

Kageyama Tobio stood at the bottom line.

He looked at the volleyball in his hand. In the first two sets, he had been trying to find a weakness in Shiratorizawa's back row with his serves, but with little success.

We must increase the destructive power of our serves in this game.

Throw the ball, take a running start.

Kageyama leaped high and slammed his right arm into the volleyball.

A powerful jump serve.

The volleyball, spinning intensely, hurtled towards the corner of Shiratorizawa's half of the court.

Hayato Yamagata moved quickly and used both hands to cushion the ball.

The ball was too fast, and Yamagata's first pass flew directly over the net.

"Chance ball!" Daichi Sawamura shouted.

The volleyball soared high over the net and landed in Karasuno's half of the court.

Kageyama Tobio quickly ran to the net and jumped.

Tendo Satoru jumped up on the opposite side, preparing to block.

Kageyama neither spiked the ball nor passed it to Hyuga. Instead, he twisted his hands in mid-air and pushed the ball to Rikuren, who was making a run into the back row.

Lu Ren jumped from outside the three-meter line.

Back row attack.

Shiratorizawa's net didn't react at all.

Lu Ren swung his arm, and the volleyball hit an open space in Shiratorizawa's half of the court.

Karasuno 1:0 Shiratorizawa.

To seize the initiative from the outset.

Lu Ren landed, and Tian Tong Jue on the other side of the net made a gesture.

Tendou Satoru pursed his lips.