Before long, the night passed, and the day of the finals finally arrived.
The buses carrying both Seido and Inashiro soon pulled up outside Jingu Stadium.
"Hey, you bastards, hurry up! The game's about to start!"
"Azuma, is it really as exaggerated as you said? Our alma mater produced a monster pitcher?"
"You'll see soon enough! That kid's an absolute prodigy."
"Haha~ I've actually heard a little about him already. The scouts mentioned Seido has a terrifying first-year pitcher, but I've been busy with my own games and never had the chance to watch."
"They say his fastball reaches 158 kilometers per hour? Even in pro baseball, that's rare."
Azuma Kiyokuni led a group of former Seido players into the stands.
On the other side, Yuki's parents — who were also Ushijima Wakatoshi's uncle and aunt — arrived together with Ushijima's parents.
"Over there. That should be the Seido cheering section."
"Let's go this way."
"Wow… there are so many people today."
Outside Jingu Stadium, massive crowds flooded toward the entrance.
Many spectators had arrived hours early just to secure good seats.
Although the game wouldn't begin until 1 PM, the summer heat was already intense.
Inside the player tunnel, both teams prepared to enter the field.
"Let's go!!"
Yuki, leading the team from the front, shouted loudly.
"OOOH!!!"
The Seido players behind him roared in response.
One by one, the Seido players stepped out of the tunnel carrying their gear bags.
The moment the Seido High School Baseball Team appeared, the entire stadium erupted.
"OOOOHHHHH!!"
"They're here! Seido's here!"
"SEIDO!!! YUKI!!! USHIJIMA!!!"
At that moment, loud music echoed throughout Jingu Stadium.
The song playing was "Go Time," an insert track from League of Legends, and its intense rhythm instantly ignited the atmosphere.
"USHIJIMA!!!"
"Go, Ushijima!!!"
"USHIJIMA!!!"
Nearly half the crowd was shouting Ushijima Wakatoshi's name.
The thunderous cheers shocked even the former Seido players watching from the stands.
Back in their era, Seido had never possessed a pitcher this overwhelmingly popular.
All around the stadium, fans continuously chanted Ushijima's name.
After all, anyone who had watched Seido's recent games knew just how terrifying his pitching was.
"Wow… these cheers are even louder than ours were back then."
"Seriously. I never thought Seido would produce a pitcher this popular."
"Let's see how strong this junior really is."
"Haha~ You guys are definitely going to be shocked later."
"Azuma, you're talking big again. Did you forget what happened to your front teeth?"
"Hahaha!"
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the stadium, Inashiro's supporters were just as fired up.
"Narumiya! Crush that international student!"
"Inashiro is the strongest! Harada!!!"
"Drive that Chinese guy back home!"
The Inashiro players stood proudly on the field, staring directly at Seido with arrogant confidence.
At the same time, Seido's players glared back just as fiercely.
Narumiya Mei stood with his hands on his hips.
Across from him, Ushijima Wakatoshi loosened his wrists calmly.
The instant their eyes met, sparks seemed to fly between them.
The tension between the two teams exploded before the game had even started.
Feeling that overwhelming pressure, the crowd's excitement only intensified.
"King Seido… today I'll crush every last one of you," Narumiya Mei declared confidently.
"King Inashiro… today I'll drag you down from your throne," Ushijima replied calmly.
The stadium atmosphere instantly reached its peak.
"OHHHH! The clash between West Tokyo's left-handed king and right-handed king!!"
"That's right! Narumiya Mei on the left, Ushijima Wakatoshi on the right! It's like Mars colliding with Earth!"
The audience could barely contain their excitement anymore.
Just then—
"Wakatoshi!"
A familiar voice from the stands caught Ushijima's attention.
"Oh?"
Looking up, Ushijima saw his parents waving toward him from the Seido cheering section.
"You really came?"
"Of course," his mother replied with a smile. "This is your first major high school final. There's no way we'd miss it."
"Do your best! And you too, Tetsuya."
Yuki Tetsuya nodded calmly with his usual composed expression.
However, when he noticed his younger brother among the crowd, a faint smile appeared on his face.
After watching Seido's previous match, Yuki Masashi had already decided he wanted to enter Seido in the future.
Soon, both teams headed into their locker rooms.
The coaches began announcing the starting lineups.
"Now announcing Seido's starting lineup."
"First batter, Pitcher — Ushijima Wakatoshi."
"Second batter, Shortstop — Kuramochi."
"Third batter, Center Fielder — Isashiki."
"Fourth batter, First Baseman — Yuki."
"Fifth batter, Third Baseman — Masuko."
"Sixth batter, Catcher — Miyuki."
"Seventh batter, Right Fielder — Shirasu."
"Eighth batter, Second Baseman — Kominato."
"Ninth batter, Left Fielder — Furuya."
Because Kominato Ryosuke's injury had been discovered the previous day, Seido had changed their original plan of placing Ushijima in the third batting spot.
Instead, Ushijima was moved to lead-off hitter.
The reason was simple.
With Kominato injured, putting Ushijima first would maximize the number of at-bats for Seido's strongest offensive weapon.
At the same time, moving Kuramochi to second and Kominato down to eighth would reduce the strain on Kominato's injured foot.
Meanwhile, Inashiro also announced their lineup.
"First batter, Center Fielder — Carlos."
"Second batter, Shortstop — Shirakawa."
"Third batter, Third Baseman — Yoshizawa."
"Fourth batter, Catcher — Harada."
"Fifth batter, Pitcher — Narumiya Mei."
"Sixth batter, First Baseman — Yamaoka."
"Seventh batter, Second Baseman — Hirai."
"Eighth batter, Left Fielder — Fan."
"Ninth batter, Right Fielder — Fujikawa."
After both lineups were finalized, the two teams entered the field to exchange lineup cards.
The moment Inashiro received Seido's batting order, Coach Kunimoto's expression darkened immediately.
This lineup was completely different from Seido's usual order.
"They actually moved Ushijima — the player with the highest batting average, fastest running speed, and best stolen-base success rate — into the lead-off spot?"
"And they dropped Kominato, their precision second batter, all the way down to eighth?"
Coach Kunimoto quickly realized Seido's intentions.
"They're planning to use Ushijima and Kuramochi to constantly pressure us on the bases…"
The Inashiro players were equally surprised.
No one had expected Seido to make such a bold adjustment right before the finals.