Haikyuu: Rise of Sengoku

"Ah... I'm so tired!"

"We didn't even train that hard today, why do I feel this exhausted?"

"I'm starving. When I get home tonight, I'm definitely eating three bowls of rice."

...

As dusk settled, the players of the Aoba Johsai volleyball team slowly filtered out of the gym. Many members of the second team were groaning and complaining, no one could quite figure out why today's training felt so intense.

The main players slumped onto the gym floor, too worn out to even speak.

Sweat soaked their shirts, leaving wet marks on the floor beneath their thighs.

"Am I losing my mind? Why am I competing against these two maniacs?"

A few of the main players began doubting their sanity. At first, the intensified training was only between Iwaizumi and Asuka, who had slightly upped the pace.

But as time went on, things escalated.

What started as just a faster spike rhythm turned into a power contest, nobody was quite sure who made the first move, but the force behind each spike steadily increased. Gradually, the whole team's training intensity was ramped up even more...

"Hey, do you think that guy is still practicing?"

Someone noticed Asuka pushing a basket full of volleyballs to the back line of the court and nervously asked.

"No way! Even with his stamina, he can't still be going…"

Bang!

Before Matsukawa could finish his sentence, a muffled thud came from the court, the sound of Asuka practicing serves.

Matsukawa froze, his mouth suddenly dry. "Hey... is this for real? Is this guy seriously some kind of monster?"

...

Asuka was exhausted.

Hungry, too.

But there was no helping it. The Aoba Johsai players pushed themselves too hard.

Despite giving it his all, Asuka's average training intensity today was only about 10-20% higher than the others. He hadn't even reached the basic level of what the system called a "low-tier overachiever."

In other words, today's "King of Overachievers" points? Zero.

Asuka knew his limits. He didn't deny his effort, but he also knew his current level was heavily supported by the system.

The system ranked the single strongest player within a team.

Back in Junior High, all the players were the same grade, so physical differences were minimal even without system help.

But in high school, players like Hanamaki, Matsukawa, and others had trained two years longer than Asuka. Without extraordinary talent, competing with them on training efficiency alone was nearly impossible.

So his only chance was to out-train them in sheer time spent.

Aoba Johsai's best server was Tooru Oikawa, but he'd been called away by the coach recently. That gave Asuka a window to practice more serves while he could.

...

"Iwaizumi, Oikawa, next week I'm planning a few practice matches against other schools. It'll help our new players get used to the high school competition environment and prepare us for the league ahead. Do you have any suggestions?"

Coach Nobuteru Irihata asked.

"Coach, have any schools contacted us yet?" Iwaizumi pondered.

"Yeah, quite a few have reached out recently..." Irihata rifled through some papers on his desk and pulled out a list.

"Strong teams like Karasuno High, Date Tech and Shiratorizawa Academy are gearing up for the upcoming league. Also... Shiratorizawa has invited us for a practice match next week."

The moment the name Shiratorizawa was mentioned, Oikawa and Iwaizumi expressions stiffened simultaneously.

After all, Aoba Johsai and Shiratorizawa were old rivals.

Though Aoba Johsai was officially among the top four in the prefecture, their repeated failures to advance in the past two years were all because of Shiratorizawa.

So just hearing the name stirred an uncontrollable fire within every Aoba Johsai player.

"Let's accept Shiratorizawa's invitation." Iwaizumi said first, and both Oikawa and Irihata agreed.

It wasn't just the players.

Irihata, having been coach for two years and always overshadowed by Shiratorizawa, certainly harbored some grudges.

"The invites from Karasuno and Date Tech are fine too. Their schedules won't interfere with our daily training. Plus, more matches will help our newcomers adapt faster." Oikawa added thoughtfully.

Irihata nodded in agreement.

"Also..."

Oikawa was about to say more when his eyes caught an unexpected name on the list.

"Coach, can we arrange a match with Karasuno?"

"Karasuno?"

Irihata blinked in surprise.

Not that he hadn't heard of them, though recently Karasuno was called a "fallen powerhouse, a crow that can't fly." That was mostly student talk.

For a coach like Irihata, a few years was nothing. He still remembered very clearly the glory days of Karasuno.

"A few years ago, Karasuno was really strong. But lately their results have been so-so. Why the sudden interest in playing them?"

"Well, a pretty interesting underclassman apparently joined Karasuno this year."

"Oh, are you talking about Kageyama?"

Irihata's memory of Kageyama was sharp. After graduating Junior High, Aoba Johsai had tried to recruit Kageyama, but like Asuka, he had declined the special offer.

"That's right. I'm curious how strong this 'king' underclassman of mine has become at Karasuno." Oikawa said, a slight smile curling his lips.

After a moment's thought, Irihata said, "Alright, then add Karasuno to our list of potential opponents."

It wasn't a big deal. Though Karasuno's current strength was average, their recent results weren't too shabby. As practice opponents, they were more than enough.

Irihata then discussed lineup assignments for the upcoming matches with Iwaizumi and Oikawa, before letting them go.

Back at the gym,

Asuka had finished his extra 100 serves and was packing up with Ryuhei Sanashita, ready to leave the court...

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