When that baseball was blasted out of the stadium, the sky over Tokyo changed.
From that moment, the landscape of high school baseball in West Tokyo, and even all of Tokyo, was shattered.
Although dark horse schools had emerged before, and some strong teams had been gaining presence, the overall pattern in Tokyo had not truly changed.
Ultimately, only the same few schools had always stood out.
But now, it was different.
A school had finally torn open a gap in the encirclement of the major powerhouses.
With a leader like this, more strong schools would rise in the future.
From the Seido High School Baseball Team's perspective, the challenges ahead were only going to increase.
Zhang Han watched the wildly celebrating Yakushi players with a thoughtful expression. Something felt off to him.
Logically, if Yakushi High School had this kind of destructive power, shouldn't they have saved it for the Summer Tournament?
What did their baseball team gain by standing out this early?
If Yakushi High School Baseball Team had remained a dark horse, their chances of making a deep run in the Summer Tournament, though small, would still have existed.
By emerging this prominently now, those chances were probably much smaller.
They had won today partly because their strength was genuinely excellent. But partly also because they had caught their opponent off guard.
Given enough time to prepare, the three major powerhouses would not be so easily surprised again. Yakushi would find it much harder to keep winning.
Zhang Han couldn't work it out entirely, but he wasn't too troubled by it.
Things for the future could be considered later.
What they needed to focus on now was their upcoming game against the Yakushi High School Baseball Team.
Although Yakushi had exposed many problems in this game, particularly the clear weakness in their Third Baseman's defense, they were still the team that had just defeated the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team.
Gathering information, forming a strategy, and winning against them in the coming days.
That was the Seido High School Baseball Team's immediate task.
This world belonged to the victors.
As the winner of today's game, Yakushi High School had become famous in a single battle.
And the former Spring Koshien National Champions could only leave the stadium in defeat.
The reporters, of course, were not going to let Inashiro Industrial go. They chased after them, determined to get interviews.
Coach Kunimoto motioned for the players to board the bus, then stayed behind to face the reporters himself.
The questions were sharp. First, they asked for his assessment of today's opponent. Then they asked who was primarily responsible for Inashiro Industrial's loss.
Each question was more pointed than the last.
Inashiro's team manager nearly got off the bus to come to his coach's aid.
Coach Kunimoto, however, maintained his composure throughout.
"We were also very surprised. The opponent's strength was excellent, and they caught us completely off guard during the game. We were on the defensive throughout, so losing was only natural. I believe that in the future, the Yakushi High School Baseball Team will certainly grow into a very competitive team in Tokyo and even nationwide."
He praised his opponent without a hint of insincerity.
The reporters could hear genuine respect in Kunimoto's words.
If even the coach of Inashiro Industrial was saying this, Yakushi might be even stronger than anyone had imagined.
"As for why we lost? Baseball games, once you step onto the field, there are wins and losses. I don't think there was any problem with our players' performance today. It can only be said that our opponent performed even better."
The reporters had not expected Coach Kunimoto to offer no defense whatsoever.
He had simply acknowledged Yakushi's strength directly.
Yakushi was going to soar.
The next day, the media extensively covered Kunimoto's words.
Yakushi High School.
Seeing those words in the newspaper, the middle-aged coach tossed it aside in frustration.
"Ha. He truly lives up to his reputation, Kunimoto. He devours people without spitting out the bones."
By praising Yakushi so highly and publicly, Kunimoto had raised the stakes for them considerably.
If Yakushi continued to win, there was nothing to say. They would have earned every word.
But if they lost?
All that praise would become a weight around their necks.
"The opponent is pushing us forward too, isn't he? Doesn't that make you feel better?"
Sanada said with a smile to his coach.
"That's a remarkably mature thought. If I didn't know you were only a second-year student, I'd treat you as a peer. Actually, your mental age might be older than mine, Big Brother Sanada."
Facing the middle-aged man's deadpan teasing, Sanada Shunpei had no response. He raised his hands in surrender.
But regardless of what lay ahead, they could fully enjoy the glory of defeating the National Champions for now.
"What did the school leadership want to talk to you about earlier?"
"They asked me why I didn't save all my trump cards for the Summer Tournament."
Appearing as a dark horse then would have increased their chances of making a deep run.
"I'm curious about that too."
Sanada Shunpei was genuinely puzzled.
Their current position was advantageous. All their rivals were in the open while they had been hidden in the dark.
With some luck and the element of surprise, they might actually have made it all the way.
"Don't underestimate the powerhouses.
With our current strength, winning one game by surprise is already very difficult. Continuously defeating all three major powerhouses is impossible. And look at the quality of the opponents we've been getting for practice games. How are we supposed to improve against teams like that?
I reached out to other powerhouses and invited them for practice games, but they were dismissive and never gave us a real chance. In the remaining few months, without suitable practice game opponents, there's no way this team can undergo a real transformation.
So this game was important, but not for the championship. The goal was recognition."
With recognition, powerhouses from other regions would come to Yakushi High School Baseball Team seeking practice games.
He would arrange as many as possible in this period.
He had no doubt the team could undergo a complete transformation in three months.
A quiet intensity flickered in the middle-aged man's eyes.
What bad luck, to be in West Tokyo of all places.
Already filled with powerhouses, and now with Yakushi added to the mix, all of Tokyo was about to enter a period of upheaval.
Todoroki Raizo did not dislike chaotic situations.
If anything, he welcomed them.
In current West Tokyo, the gap between the three major powerhouses and everyone else was simply too large.
Challenging them one by one in a straightforward manner, even after half a year of preparation, was not something Todoroki Raizo felt confident about.
Only when the situation became chaotic could they find their opening.
And on top of that, he was already determined to secure a seeded spot.
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