"Grown Cat vs. Baby Crow" (Japanese:
Overview[]
Kuroo is switched into the game and immediately proves to be a big problem for Karasuno, especially with his cleverly planned attacks. The players begin running out of tactics but after Ukai encourages them to use their clumsy, brute strength to break through, they start getting back into the game.
Plot[]
Yamamoto suddenly scores a point, pulling Nekoma ahead to 18-15. Takeda starts worrying about the team because of Nekoma's close gap to victory, and things take a turn for the worse when Kuroo gets switched in.
The third-year eyes Hinata before complimenting him on being able to hold his own against someone as tall as Inuoka. Hinata shouts at him for the snide remark, but he walks away and smirks at Kageyama instead. Unnerved, Kageyama pulls Hinata aside and tells him they'll be doing their usual quick strike because Kuroo is in the vanguard.
Right off, Hinata performs the usual quick strike which flies past Kuroo and scores a point back for Karasuno. Kuroo is amazed but calmly tells Kenma that they'll take back that point soon.
Nekoma then performs a back pipe which confuses the Karasuno players because of the seemingly chaos. Hinata receives it with his chest, but ends up sending it back over as a free ball that Nekoma takes advantage of. Nekoma still remains ahead of Karasuno no matter how hard the players try.
As Kenma sends a quick to Kuroo, he thinks back to when they were kids. Kuroo had picked up the "personal time difference attack" from a volleyball match on TV and was trying it out with Kenma. Though Kenma was unimpressed, Kuroo assured him that if they practice a lot, by the time they're in high school, it'll become one of their most magnificent special moves.
Back in the present, Kenma and Kuroo successfully pull off their special attack. Ukai explains to Takeda that it's a pretty uncommon technique nowadays because it requires the player to single handedly deceive the blockers and it's a technique that can only be used a few times. Adding onto that, Kuroo's ability to be able to pull that off right after a perfect quick is amazing. With that said, Ukai begins worrying about Karasuno. Half of the starters are first-years and the lineup had only been formed a while ago. Nekoma is at least ten times stronger than Karasuno. Takeda cheerfully adds that Nekoma is basically an adult cat while Karasuno is a newborn crow chick. However, Ukai states confidently that since Karasuno doesn't have a good defense or set offence yet, they can just recklessly sink their teeth in and win the way they want.
Ukai then yells at the team to use brute force to gain back the points, motivating the players. Right now, their clumsiness can become their best weapon so all they have to do is keep attacking.
Appearances[]
Chapter notes[]
Character revelations[]
- Hinata nicknamed Inuoka as "that tall, headstrong guy" and Kuroo as "rooster head".
- Kuroo used to always pick up volleyball techniques from watching volleyball matches on TV.
- One of Kuroo and Kenma's best moves is the personal time difference that they've been practicing since their childhood.