Haikyuu!!: The Disaster of Gamers

In April, Miyagi Prefecture is filled with cherry blossoms.

Lu Ren tugged at the second-year tie he had just put on and yawned.

Qingze Yazhi handed over a paper bag. Inside were freshly baked meat buns.

"Still not awake? Did you stay up all night playing games again last night?" Ya-zhi asked, biting her straw.

"This is called preseason data preparation." Lu Ren took the paper bag, took a bite of the bun, and said, "The long off-season is finally over. Today is the big day for the launch of the V2.0 expansion. We need to see what level of newbie gift pack the system has assigned to Karasuno."

The two walked up the slope towards the school. A sign announcing the school as one of the top four high school students in the country stood prominently at the school gate. Red background, white lettering, fluttered loudly in the wind.

Push open the door of the volleyball hall.

The crowd was full of people.

In the usually empty field, three rows of unfamiliar faces stood neatly. They were all of different heights and builds, dressed in the same uninspired junior high school sports uniforms.

Yuan Shili, holding a tactical board, was surrounded by several freshmen who asked him all sorts of questions, his forehead covered in sweat.

Hinata Shoyo was jumping around, showing off his black jersey with the number "10" printed on it to everyone he met. Kageyama Tobio stood at the net, holding the volleyball, intently watching each first-year student who came in, assessing the value of their pass. Tsukishima Kei, wearing headphones, leaned against the wall, completely oblivious to the noisy scene.

"What a bumper harvest!" Lu Ren found a bench with a good view, sat down, and crossed his legs.

"The 'four-strong effect'." Yazhi sat down next to him, flipping through the manager's notebook in her hand. "This year, there were three times more applications than last year. Professor Takeda was laughing so hard in the office this morning that his glasses fell off."

Lu Ren scanned the group of newcomers.

They were all novice NPCs who had never seen anything like it. Most of them even had an unprofessional posture.

In the center of the field, Ryunosuke Tanaka took off his school uniform jacket, revealing a black short-sleeved T-shirt underneath. He put his hands on his hips, raised his chin, and struck what he considered a very intimidating pose.

Entering the third grade gave him an urge to establish himself at the top of the food chain.

"Listen up, you first-year rookies!" Tanaka yelled. "Kanasano isn't a place where you can just coast along! If you want to wear this black uniform, you'll have to get past me first!"

Nishitani Yu clapped her hands vigorously on the side, making strange, monkey-like noises in response.

Yuanxia covered her face and gave up trying to stop her.

"Line up! One by one! Serve or spike, use your best moves! I, Tanaka Ryunosuke, a third-year student, will return all your balls!" Tanaka patted his chest.

The freshmen looked at each other and lined up in a row.

The first player to go up was a short guy. He picked up the ball nervously and served a soft, overhand float serve.

Tanaka barely moved, easily rising up.

"Too light! Didn't you eat?"

The second freshman was a tall, strong, and fat guy who mustered all his strength to throw down a powerful slam. The ball's trajectory was straight and unchanging.

Tanaka glided forward, raised his arms, and sent the volleyball flying high into the air, landing at the setter's position.

"Good strength, but the route is too predictable! Next!"

Tanaka easily neutralized seven or eight opponents in a row. He became more and more excited as he caught the ball, his smile gradually becoming wild, and he even started striking bodybuilding poses after catching it.

"See that! This is the defensive foundation of the top four teams in the country!" Tanaka shouted, pointing at the freshmen.

Lu Ren yawned on the sidelines and quickly finished off the steamed bun in his hand.

"They're all basic characters. There isn't even a single elite monster with skills," he commented.

Just then, two people stepped out from the end of the line.

Neither of them was wearing the uniform of their junior high school volleyball team; instead, they were wearing ordinary white T-shirts.

The person on the left is very tall, probably over 1.85 meters, with short hair and a coldness in his eyes that belies his age. The person on the right is slightly shorter, with slightly long, choppy hair, and a confident smile on his face.

"Hello, senior. I'm Asano, and this is Sakura. We've been playing basketball together since we were little." The boy with short hair spoke, his voice not loud, but his words were clear.

Tanaka beckoned: "Enough talk, come on!"

Asano didn't rush to get the ball, but instead turned and glanced at Sakura. The two didn't even exchange a word; with just a look, Sakura walked straight to the net and took the position of outside hitter.

Asano walked to the outside of the service line and scooped a volleyball out of the basket.

Instead of serving, he tossed the ball high into the air.

Lu Ren stopped wiping his hands and fixed his gaze on Asano.

The height, spin, and landing point of the ball throw were perfect. More importantly, it was the kid's jumping posture.

Asano stretched his body in mid-air, and at the moment his hands touched the ball, there was an extremely subtle pause in his wrists. This pause deceived Tanaka on the other side of the net, making him mistakenly believe that it was a quick, short shot.

But the volleyball flew from Asano's fingertips, tracing an extremely long and flat arc, and accurately shoved into the edge of the left marker pole.

This pivotal control of the pass, this commanding power that manipulates attackers like puppets on strings.

Lu Ren narrowed his eyes. He looked very familiar.

At the net, Zuo Cang has already jumped.

There are no extra running starts; it's just the simplest two-step pull-up jump. The body is stretched out in mid-air, like a fully drawn bow.

The arm that is being pulled up is not the right hand.

It's the left hand.

The volleyball, with a strong right spin, slammed into Tanaka's defense.

A left-handed player's ball trajectory is completely opposite to a right-handed player's. This difference in spin direction can cause the receiver to make a fatal error in judging the landing point.

Tanaka had already taken his position, arms outstretched. At the very last second before the ball touched his forearms, he noticed the unusual spin.

My body instinctively tried to adjust the angle, but it was too late.

"boom--"

The volleyball hit the edge of Tanaka's forearm, but instead of bouncing into the air, it changed its trajectory and slammed into the wooden floor next to him, making a screeching sound.

The powerful impact disrupted Tanaka's balance. He tumbled backward, landing hard on his backside and sliding half a meter away.

The entire stadium was completely silent.

Nishitani Yu's strange cry got stuck in her throat. Hinata Shoyo's eyes widened. Kageyama Tobio's volleyball fell to the ground and rolled away.

Tanaka sat on the ground, staring blankly at his arms. A large red patch was on the outside of his forearms, and the muscles were trembling slightly uncontrollably.

My hand is numb.

Zuocang landed, expressionlessly flicked his left hand, and walked back to the group. Asano followed behind him, still wearing that confident smile, and even gave Tanaka a slight bow: "Thank you for the courtesy, senior."

Quiet.

An extremely long silence.

Lu Ren crumpled the paper bag containing the buns into a ball and accurately threw it into the trash can three meters away.

"interesting."

Yazhi turned her head and looked at Lu Ren: "Those two first-year students, are they very strong?"

Lu Ren stood up, dusted off his trousers, walked to the edge of the bench, and looked down at the two newcomers who were stealing the show.

"A setter with a complete field vision and the ability to control the rhythm of the game. A left-handed powerhouse who tears apart defenses with sheer strength and reverse spin."

Lu Ren loosened his tie, his voice echoing in the empty gymnasium.

"What does it mean that Karasuno has welcomed Ushijima Wakatoshi and Oikawa Toru as new students?"

This statement caused an uproar in the room.

Kageyama Tobio's face darkened instantly. The name Oikawa Toru was like a switch that could explode at any moment for him. He strode to the net, his eyes fixed on the setter named Asano.

"Hey. Was that pause in your wrist during that pass intentional?" Kageyama asked, his tone extremely unfriendly.

Asano turned his head, scrutinizing Kageyama, his smile widening. "Kageyama-senpai? I've heard so much about you. The pause was intentional, of course. How can you create the most comfortable hitting environment for the attacker if you don't mislead the receiver's center of gravity?"

A classic provocation.

Hinata Shoyo, meanwhile, fixed his gaze on the left-handed guy named Sakura, his eyes gleaming with an alarming intensity: "You jump so high! Your spikes are so powerful! How do you manage to stay in the air for so long?"

Sakura glanced at Hyuga, his tone flat: "Muscle explosiveness. Plus the calculation of the takeoff angle. You're too short, you can't learn it."

Hinata was struck hard and clutched her chest, taking two steps back.

Tanaka, who was on the ground, finally came to his senses. He jumped up, rubbing his numb arm, his face flushed red. Being knocked down in front of everyone by a first-year student was incredibly embarrassing.

"Again! I was careless just now! I didn't realize you're left-handed!" Tanaka roared as he charged back onto the field.

Enshita quickly stepped forward and pulled him back: "Alright, Tanaka, that's enough of the test. Your hands are shaking, don't push yourself."

"I'm not shaking! It's a trembling of excitement!"

Lu Ren walked down from the stands, through the crowd, and came directly to Asano and Sakura.

The two first-year students, seeing the second-year student who wasn't wearing a team uniform and whose tie was loose, put away their previous casualness.

"Setter, Asano. Outside hitter, Sakura. Right?" Lu Ren looked them up and down. "Nice stats. Pretty flashy entrance animations too. But aren't you guys mistaken about something?"

Asano narrowed her eyes slightly: "What do you mean, senpai?"

"This is Karasuno." Lu Ren pointed to the volleyball on the ground. "Here, individual heroism doesn't work. Even if you really are the younger versions of Ushijima and Oikawa, once you enter this instance, you have to abide by my rules."

Zuo Cang coldly stated, "Volleyball is about skill. We can score points, that's the rule."

Lu Ren smiled.

I haven't felt this way in a long time. The last time I felt this urge to dismantle something was when I faced Kiryu Hachi of Kasaka in Spring High School.

"Strength?" Lu Ren turned to look at Kageyama on the other side of the net. "Kageyama, Hinata, come over and teach the newbies what Karasuno's strength is."

Kageyama, unable to contain himself any longer, grabbed the volleyball and headed for the serve. Hyuga dashed to the net like a gust of wind.

"Catch this ball." Lu Ren stepped back to the sidelines, arms crossed.

Kageyama tossed the ball, took a run-up, and jumped. A devastating jump shot aimed straight at Sagura's face.

Zuocang reacted extremely quickly, stepping back, crouching down, and using both hands to underpoke the ball.

The ball was missed.

The force was too great, the spin too strong. The volleyball struck Zuocang's arm and bounced directly towards the stands.

Zuo Cang stood there, stunned, looking at his reddened arm.

"A main attacker who can't even receive the first pass properly doesn't even have the right to play in my tactical system." Lu Ren's voice was as cold as a machine.

Asano's smile vanished, and his expression turned grim.

"Not convinced?" Lu Ren pointed to the net. "I'll give you a week. Next Friday, it'll be an intra-team practice match. You two will form a team, plus a few substitutes. I'll bring Hinata, Kageyama, and Tanaka to play with you."

"If you lose, you'd better start practicing from retrieving the ball. Put away that arrogance you had when you dominated in junior high."

Asano stared intently at Lu Ren for a long while before nodding: "Okay. How should I address you, senior?"

"Lu Ren. The current vice-captain and tactical commander of Karasuno."

Lu Ren turned and walked towards the entrance of the gymnasium, waving to them with his back to them.

"By the way, my favorite thing to do is to send those self-proclaimed geniuses back to the starting village for a fresh start."

Ya Zhi followed behind Lu Ren and muttered under her breath, "That's such a villainous thing to say."

"It's necessary for the plot." Lu Ren stretched. "To put some pressure on the newcomers, otherwise they won't know who's cheating in this game."

The second year in Karasuno.

New characters are added, and the old system is reorganized.

The overgrown season is completely over.

Looking at the brilliant cherry blossoms outside the gymnasium, Lu Ren stretched his knuckles.

"Then, let the game continue."