WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 18 of Haikyuu!!, now streaming on Crunchyroll.
In Episode 18 of Haikyuu!! To The Top, Nekoma closes out their match against Sarukawa Tech in spectacular fashion by winning the second and final set, 32-30. The match turns to be an excruciating test of willpower for Nekoma setter, Kenma Kozume, who is targeted throughout. However, a moment at the very end of the episode provides hypes up speculation as to what's to come, as Nekoma sets their sights on who could be their next opponent.
These last couple of episodes have focused heavily on Nekoma, diverting from Karasuno's challenge against Inarizaki. Now, it's finally connected back to the main event, providing seamless transition and elevation of the stakes. Following the completion of Nekoma-Sarukawa, we get a look at the full bracket that reveals Nekoma will face the victors of Karasuno-Inarizaki. This is huge. Both Karasuno and Nekoma have been looking for the chance to renew their rivalry on the grandest stage in front of a packed arena at Nationals. The Battle at the Garbage Dump -- named for their mascots being animals found near garbage -- may have found a continuation at nationals.
Coach Nekomata made the initial declaration for such a battle in Season 1. At the start of the series, both teams were declining former powerhouses, participating in their first practice match against each other in years when Nekomata told the Karasuno players, "Let's meet at Nationals." Since then, both teams have maintained a relationship with each other and evolved their personnel, skills and teamwork. The schools share a storied past close to Nekomata's heart and his team has held up their end of the promise. His players have a lot riding on this opportunity, too. Kenma, in particular, is pushed by a fascination and friendly rivalry with Hinata.
It hasn't been easy for Nekoma to make it this far. In fact, Kenma is pushed beyond his limits. After noticing that Sarukawa is targeting the core of Nekoma's team by extending plays, Kenma strategizes that the best way out is to play into Sarukawa's plan and bait them. Sarukawa intentionally does not look to score but instead, force sloppy receives. This forces Kenma to move around a lot more to handle the passes, cause fatigue, and force his play to be unpolished. Kenma's plan is to essentially deconstruct the backbone of Nekoma's offense, telling his team to demonstrate sloppy receives.
He lulls his opponents into a false sense of confidence but not without putting a strain on his own barriers. Kenma doesn't normally exert a lot of effort; instead, using his brain to compensate on the court. To help this, Nekoma is well-trained in defense and receiving -- a feature of their team carefully demonstrated in their first meeting with Karasuno, and each one after.
Long rally after long rally, the test of endurance fuses with a battle of wit. The desire for victory whelms Kenma into producing a perfect set with everything he has. From that pass, Fukunaga delivers a powerful spike that finally ends the match. Nekoma has to let go of the foundation of their team's identity in order to fulfill their side of destiny. Now, they cast their sights on Karasuno, providing even more ammunition for Hinata and his team to deliver.
But a quick look at the scoreboard in the Karasuno-Inarizaki match shows that Karasuno is currently down in the second set, 7-13. Karasuno looks to be in trouble and will have to dig a bit deeper to complete Nekomata's declared prophecy. If Karasuno does win, there will be a firestorm of emotions roaring through the next round of Nationals for everyone involved.
