Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

The whistle was sharp and piercing.

Hinata Shoyo swept across the net, the sound of his shoes rubbing against the rubber floor creating a continuous cacophony. The diminutive middle blocker's running trajectory was completely unpredictable, covering the left wing, the middle, and the right wing with a full-coverage, interwoven movement.

This unpredictable movement fueled Karasuno's offense with high-octane fuel.

Kenjiro Shirabu's gaze was inevitably drawn to the orange figure. A defender's attention is a limited resource; once it's diverted by the decoy, the main attacker's defensive pressure will plummet.

"Here!" Hinata shouted.

Kageyama Tobio holds the ball with both hands. The volleyball cuts through the air with an extremely low arc, delivering it precisely to Hinata's outstretched palm.

boom.

Tendou's block was a beat too slow. The volleyball landed inside the three-meter line at Shiratorizawa.

4: 4.

The score was very close. After Hinata came on, Karasuno's scoring efficiency skyrocketed. The fast attack system was back in operation, and the multi-pronged chimera attack tactic tore apart Shiratorizawa's blocking defense.

The serve rotates.

Ryunosuke Tanaka serves from the baseline. A powerful jump serve.

Hayato Yamagata lowered his center of gravity and caught the ball steadily with both arms. This third-year libero's fundamentals were incredibly solid, and his first pass accuracy was extremely high.

"Left!" Kenjiro Shirabu shouted.

Ushijima Wakatoshi cut diagonally upwards, jumped, and swung his arm.

Hotaru Tsukishima and Daichi Sawamura form a double block. The volleyball hits Tsukishima's fingers, changing direction and flying towards the backcourt.

Nishitani Yuu leaped to the ground and scooped up the ball with one arm.

"remedy!"

Lu Ren surged forward from the back row, adjusting his position as he ran, and hoisted the ball high with both hands. He adjusted his attack.

Dongfeng Xu took a big step forward and, facing the block of Daiping Shion, forcefully turned into a straight line.

Out of bounds.

Shiratorizawa 5:4 Karasuno.

The tug-of-war continues.

5: 5.

6: 5.

7: 7.

The numbers on the scoreboard flipped alternately. Neither side could score two points in a row.

The atmosphere on the field grew increasingly tense. Every breath required a great deal of physical exertion. Sweat dripped from his chin, hitting the floor and shattering into eight pieces.

8:7. Karasuno leads by one point.

The referee blows the whistle and crosses his hand. The teams switch sides.

The substitutions at halftime of the deciding set.

The team members walked to the sidelines. Lu Ren grabbed a water bottle and poured ice water over his head. Water droplets ran down his hair and into his eyes, the stinging sensation forcing him to stay focused.

"Can your legs still move?" Uoyo Shishin asked, holding the tactical board and watching the facial muscle reactions of his teammates.

"No problem." Daichi Sawamura said, panting heavily.

Lu Ren leaned back on the bench, his thigh muscles spasming uncontrollably. The high-intensity defense and seamless offensive transitions had pushed his stamina to its limit.

Shiratorizawa, on the other side, was also in a bad mood. Tendo Satoru was supporting himself on his knees with both hands, while Shirabu Kenjiro was frantically wiping away sweat.

There was one exception.

Lu Ren narrowed his eyes, his gaze passing through the net and locking onto the man wearing the number 1 jersey.

Ushijima Wakatoshi.

He stood there, his chest rising and falling with an unusually steady rhythm. Sweat soaked through his jersey, but the oppressive aura emanating from him not only didn't diminish, but was actually intensifying in a way that defied common sense.

"Watch out for that guy," Lu Ren said in a hoarse voice.

The timeout has ended. Both teams have returned to the court.

Shiratorizawa serves. Goshiki Kou's jump float shot goes into the net.

Karasuno 9:7 Shiratorizawa.

A two-point lead. Just six more points and the game is over.

However, an unexpected change occurred.

Kageyama Tobio serves. A powerful jump serve aimed straight for the corner.

Hayato Yamagata barely managed to get the ball across, and the pass was completed in one and a half steps.

Kenjiro Shirabu delivers a high clear while running. Target: left wing.

Ushijima Wakatoshi was launched.

Lu Ren's pupils suddenly contracted.

wrong.

The stride length of the approach run has increased. The explosive power during the take-off is even more exaggerated than in the first game.

boom!

Ushijima rose from the ground. His upper body stretched out completely in the air, and the angle at which his left arm extended backward exceeded the conventional limits of human joints.

Hotaru Tsukishima, Ryunosuke Tanaka, and Shoyo Hinata. A three-man block is formed.

Ushijima did not flinch, and fired his heavy cannon at the sight of three outstretched arms.

The volleyball hit Tsukishima's palm.

Click.

Tsukishima cried out in pain, his entire body thrown backward by the tremendous impact. The volleyball pierced through the iron wall, crashed within the three-meter line, and bounced high into the air.

Shiratorizawa 8:9 Karasuno.

The entire room fell silent instantly.

This is not the kind of smash that should occur when physical fitness is declining.

The essence of competitive sports is the conversion and consumption of energy. Tactical systems exist to improve energy utilization. However, when the absolute values ​​exceed the system's capacity limit, even the most ingenious mechanisms become useless.

"This guy..." Tanaka Ryunosuke looked at his swollen arm and swallowed hard.

Lu Ren gritted his teeth. In the game, when a boss's health drops below the red line, it will trigger a berserk mechanic. All its stats will double, and its attack pattern will change.

Ushijima Wakatoshi is currently in a berserk state.

These three rounds became Ujima's personal performance show.

The third attack. Ignoring the double block, it smashed through the defense.

A powerful attack from position four. The ball goes out of bounds and flies into the stands.

A powerful jump serve. A cannonball with a speed exceeding 120 kilometers per hour, which Nishitani Yuu catches but misses.

11: 9.

Shiratorizawa scored four consecutive points, taking the lead.

U-Yang gave up his last timeout.

The atmosphere was so heavy it was suffocating.

The Karasuno team members huddled together, their heavy breathing the only sound.

A sense of despair was spreading. The mountain, named Ushijima Wakatoshi, suddenly rose another thousand meters as they climbed to its summit with all their might.

"We can't stop him." Hotaru Tsukishima pushed up her sports glasses, revealing exhaustion behind the lenses. "His power is still increasing."

"Put the ball up high," Nishitani Yuu said confidently. "I'm sure I can catch it!"

Lu Ren lowered his head, a towel covering his face.

My vision went black. There was a loud, booming sound in my ears. My lungs burned, and every breath felt like inhaling shards of glass.

I'm exhausted.

This body's limit is right here. Even after undergoing the hellish training of the provincial youth team, it still falls short when facing this unreasonable numerical monster.

"Feed." Kageyama Tobio kicked Riku Ren's sneakers.

Lu Ren lifted the towel.

"Can you still run?" Kageyama looked down at him.

"I have to run even if I can't." Lu Ren threw the towel on the chair and stood up. His legs felt like they weighed a ton.

The whistle blows. Pause ends.

Back on the court. Wakatoshi Ushijima serves.

He stood outside the baseline, twirling the volleyball in his left hand. His eyes were cold, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

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

Violent aesthetics.

The volleyball, with its strong backspin, tore through the air and headed straight for Lu Ren's defensive area.

Lu Ren stared intently at the trajectory of the ball.

The brain frantically issued commands, but the legs reacted a beat too slow.

That's too late.

He could only barely extend his arm.

boom.

The volleyball hit the edge of the forearm and flew directly into the stands.

Out of bounds. Serve to score.

12:9. Shiratorizawa leads by three points.

Victory is just three points away.

"Mine," Lu Ren said, raising his hand. His arm was trembling.

Coach Washi crossed his arms on the sidelines. Karasuno's defense had collapsed. That number 13, completely exhausted, had become a liability on the field.

"Throw all the balls at him," the eagle hunter ordered.

The players in Shiratorizawa understood perfectly.

Ushijima serves again.

They were still looking for Lu Ren.

Heavy artillery with extremely high speed.

Lu Ren bit his lip until it bled, the taste of blood filling his mouth.

Get moving! Get moving!

The volleyball's shadow grew larger and larger in my field of vision. All the surrounding sounds disappeared—the cheers, the whistles, the swishing of shoes—all faded away.

Only that rapidly spinning volleyball.

Just a millisecond before the volleyball was about to hit him.

A remarkable physiological response occurred.

The muscles that were tense to the point of breaking suddenly relaxed. The blocked lungs opened up, and a large amount of oxygen rushed into the blood, which was then delivered to the limbs and bones with the powerful pumping of the heart.

The feeling of stiffness disappeared.

Vision became clearer than ever before. The dopamine release threshold was forcibly raised.

Second wind.

A term in exercise physiology. After reaching the point of extreme fatigue, the body, through regulation by the nervous and endocrine systems, re-establishes a balance between oxygen supply and demand, significantly reducing fatigue and restoring athletic performance.

System reset complete.

Lu Ren grinned.

He took a step to the side, lowering his center of gravity considerably. He clasped his hands together and pressed his wrists down.

A perfect passing posture.

boom!

The volleyball slammed heavily into his forearm. The terrifying kinetic energy traveled through his bones, but Lu Ren didn't stumble back an inch. He perfectly neutralized the force by bending his knees.

The volleyball bounced high, flying steadily towards the net in a very high parabola.

"The first pass was perfectly placed!"

The entire audience erupted in uproar.

The Eagle Carpenter coach suddenly stood up.

That number 13, who could barely walk, actually took the full force of Ushijima's attack.

"Well done!" Daichi Sawamura roared.

Tobio Kageyama is in position.

At the net, Hinata Shoyo and Tanaka Ryunosuke simultaneously launched their attacks.

Flying on both wings.

Shiratorizawa's net was instantly pulled.

"To the right!" Tendo Satoru shouted, lunging towards Tanaka.

Kageyama touches the ball with both hands.

He didn't pass it to Hinata, nor to Tanaka.

The volleyball was pushed to the backcourt.

Attack from the back row in the middle.

Lu Ren jumped from outside the three-meter line.

There was no sluggishness, no fatigue. His jumping height even surpassed his peak performance in the first game.

The body glides through the air.

The net in front of Shiratorizawa was completely empty.

No one blocked the net.

Lu Ren swung his right arm in a wide arc, his palm striking the volleyball solidly.

"Bang!"

The volleyball hit the center of Shiratorizawa's half of the court, bounced, and flew up to the second floor.

12: 10.

Karasuno pulled one back.

Lu Ren landed on his feet and shook his reddened arms.

He looked at Ushijima Wakatoshi, whose expression was stiff on the other side of the net, and let out a long breath.

"The BOSS's berserk phase is over," Lu Ren said to the air.

The game is only just beginning.