"CLANG!"
Although Todoroki Raichi failed to hit the ball cleanly—the pitch had simply been too far outside—his monstrous strength still sent the baseball screaming into the outfield.
"Hahaha!"
Raichi tossed away the bat and sprinted toward first base with a huge grin on his face.
The baseball shot past the defensive range of both the second baseman and shortstop, tearing through the infield toward center field.
"At that speed… I won't make it in time."
Mima Soichiro remained calm.
Instead of recklessly charging forward, he patiently waited for the ball to pass before turning to chase it down.
"THUMP!"
The baseball slammed violently against the center-field wall like a horizontally fired cannonball before rebounding back onto the field.
Mima reached it only a step late.
Meanwhile, Todoroki Raichi had already rounded first and was charging toward second base at full speed.
The moment Mima picked up the ball, he instantly glanced toward the infield and launched a throw to second base without hesitation.
"Throw!"
"Hahaha—eh?!"
Seeing the incoming throw, Raichi hurriedly leaped into a headfirst slide toward second base.
And that was where his lack of experience became painfully obvious.
His decision to slide wasn't wrong—
But he started the slide far too early.
By the time his momentum stopped, his hand was still nearly ten centimeters away from the base.
"SMACK!"
Hakuryu's second baseman calmly received the ball and immediately applied the tag before Raichi could touch the bag.
"OUT!"
"Three outs! Change sides!"
Yakushi High School's offense ended just like that.
For a brief second, the entire stadium fell silent.
Then—
"PFFT—HAHAHAHA!"
Laughter suddenly erupted from one section of Koshien Stadium.
Like a contagious disease, it spread rapidly throughout the crowd until the entire stadium became a sea of laughter.
"HAHAHAHA!"
The spectators who had been fiercely arguing moments earlier were now united in pure joy.
After all, such a basic baserunning mistake was unbelievably rare at Koshien.
Teams capable of reaching this stage were usually elite schools.
A mistake like this was simply too hilarious.
Unfortunately—
The people of Yakushi High School were not laughing at all.
Raichi's face was redder than a monkey's backside.
It almost looked like steam was rising from his head.
He remained sprawled on the ground with his face buried between his arms, pretending not to exist.
The Yakushi players simultaneously covered their faces and turned away.
It was too embarrassing.
They genuinely wanted to pretend they had never met the idiot lying on the field.
Even Kitamura Kou started questioning his life choices.
"Was joining Yakushi really the correct decision…?"
The mere thought of spending at least two more years on the same team as this idiot made him feel overwhelming regret.
"At least at Seishuu Academy, Azuma Yuhei was reliable…"
"Kou… although you were annoying and constantly forced me into extra training during vacations…"
"If I could go back in time…"
"I'd probably choose to fight alongside you again without hesitation."
Finally, Todoroki Raizo completely lost his patience.
"RAICHI!"
His furious roar exploded from the dugout.
"How long are you planning to keep embarrassing yourself?!"
"The inning's already over, idiot!"
"Get back here NOW!"
Raichi instantly jumped to his feet.
His face was still burning red as he lowered his head and shuffled miserably back toward the dugout.
He looked exactly like a scolded wife returning home after being yelled at by her husband.
The crowd burst into even louder laughter upon seeing his expression.
"HAHAHAHA!"
After the brief chaos, the game resumed.
Hakuryu High School's fifth batter stepped into the box—
Kitaoji.
"A Cutter pitcher, huh?"
Kitaoji narrowed his eyes.
"This is my first time facing someone who can throw a Cutter this sharp in an official game."
"Let's see whose Cutter is nastier—yours or mine."
As a right-handed batter, Kitaoji was actually an ideal target for Sanada Shunpei's inside Cutter.
Without hesitation, Sanada fired the first pitch.
"Strike!"
The baseball screamed toward Kitaoji's chest.
But he calmly watched it enter Watanabe Tatsuya's mitt without swinging.
"Nice pitch!"
Then came the second pitch.
"Ball!"
Another inside Cutter.
This time, the pitch broke from the strike zone into the ball zone at the last second.
Still, Kitaoji didn't swing.
Watanabe frowned slightly behind the plate.
"He didn't chase either pitch…"
"Did he see through our strategy?"
"Or is he planning something else?"
Unable to determine the answer immediately, Watanabe decided to probe further.
"Let's test him with a low outside pitch."
After exchanging signs, Sanada quickly delivered the third ball.
This time, Kitaoji finally swung.
"PING!"
As the baseball approached the plate, it shifted slightly toward the outside corner.
Kitaoji failed to make clean contact.
The ball rolled weakly between second and third base.
Keisuke Kobayashi rushed over desperately to field it, but by the time he picked up the ball, Kitaoji was already flying down the baseline.
Without time to hesitate, Kobayashi fired toward first.
"Throw!"
"SAFE!"
Just barely too late.
Kitaoji successfully reached first base.
The following sequence unfolded almost identically to the first inning.
Kitaoji immediately stole second base.
Then Hakuryu's sixth batter used a short bunt to advance the runner to third.
One out.
Runner on third.
Yakushi High School once again faced a scoring crisis.
And just like before—
They failed to stop it.
Hakuryu calmly executed another sacrifice bunt, sending Kitaoji home safely and extending the lead to 2–0.
However, Hakuryu's offense finally ended there.
The eighth batter chopped Sanada's low outside fastball directly back toward the mound.
Sanada reacted instantly, charging forward to stop the ball before quickly throwing to first base.
"OUT!"
This time, there were no mistakes.
The ball safely reached Mishima Yuta's glove before the batter could beat the throw.
The inning ended cleanly.
Through two innings, Hakuryu High School had scored only two runs.
Not an overwhelming amount.
But terrifyingly stable.
They capitalized on every opportunity they created.
No wasted chances.
No unnecessary mistakes.
Every run they were supposed to score—
They scored.