"That was a beautiful pitch, Sakuraba-kun."
Sato Toshiya's eyes remained fixed on the mound, his gaze filled with unwavering confidence.
"Now finish him off."
"Use your best wide-breaking curveball and put this troublesome batter away."
On the mound, Sakuraba's fighting spirit surged.
This pitch...
It has to be even sharper.
Even nastier.
I won't let another first-year blast one of my pitches out of the park!
His eyes locked onto Sato's mitt.
Every ounce of hesitation disappeared.
The aura surrounding him intensified like a volcano on the verge of erupting, building momentum with every passing second.
Once his rhythm reached its peak—
He fired.
Whoosh!
The baseball exploded from his fingertips, screaming through the air toward Todoroki Raichi's head.
The crowd gasped.
The pitch kept rising.
It showed no sign of breaking.
No sign of stopping.
It continued hurtling directly toward Raichi's face.
Yet Raichi never moved.
He remained rooted in the batter's box, perfectly still.
Almost as if he had been frozen in place.
The terrifying sight sent a chill through the entire stadium.
Many spectators instinctively covered their eyes, unable to bear the thought of what might happen next.
"Watch out!"
Even Sato Toshiya's confidence wavered.
Wait...
Did Sakuraba actually lose control?
For the first time since the game began, uneasiness flashed across his face.
His heart climbed into his throat.
Then—
Whoosh!
Less than thirty centimeters from Raichi's head, the baseball suddenly dropped.
Violently.
Sharply.
It carved a breathtaking arc toward the lower outside corner.
"Kahahahaha!"
Raichi's eyes gleamed crimson.
"Now that's interesting!"
The veins bulged across his forearms as he tightened his grip.
Then he attacked.
Voom!
The bat roared through the air.
Its speed was so frightening that it seemed to erase the distance between itself and the ball in an instant.
Sato's pupils contracted.
What?!
He still caught up to it?!
A bad feeling surfaced in his chest.
This game...
It won't be nearly as easy as I thought.
Ping!
Raichi managed to make contact—
But only barely.
The ball bounced weakly off the end of the bat before skipping toward the mound.
Sakuraba reacted immediately.
Years of experience took over.
He charged forward without hesitation.
The ball rolled cleanly into his glove.
In one smooth motion, he gathered himself and fired to first.
No wasted movement.
No hesitation.
Everything flowed together like a perfectly rehearsed routine.
Snap!
"OUT!"
"THREE OUTS!"
"CHANGE SIDES!"
"ROOOAAAR!!"
Sakuraba threw his head back and roared toward the Koshien sky.
His face was flushed red with excitement.
The pressure that had weighed on him since Kitamura Kou's home run had finally been released.
One after another, Kaidou's fielders rushed toward the mound, surrounding Sakuraba in celebration.
The commentator's excited voice echoed throughout the stadium.
"Kaidou High School withstands Yakushi's fierce opening attack!"
"After surrendering a solo home run to Kitamura Kou, they retire Akiba Kazuma, Mishima Yuta, and finally Todoroki Raichi in succession, limiting the damage to just one run!"
"Now it's Kaidou High School's turn to bat!"
"Can they carry this overwhelming momentum into their offense and launch a relentless counterattack?"
"And can Kitamura Kou continue the incredible performance we've seen so far?"
"Don't go anywhere—more exciting baseball awaits after the commercial break!"
The momentum had completely shifted.
The players of Kaidou High School strode toward their dugout with blazing determination in their eyes.
It felt as though an unstoppable fire had ignited within every member of the team.
Even the spectators were swept up by the momentum.
Wave after wave of cheers rolled across Hanshin Koshien Stadium, growing louder and louder with each passing moment.
Kaidou High School had weathered Yakushi's opening storm.
Now, it was their turn to strike back.
If Yakushi High School failed to find a way to halt Kaidou's momentum soon, Kaidou would seize complete control of the game.
Once that happened, the pace of the match would belong entirely to them, making any comeback incredibly difficult.
"Tsk... they're not an easy team to beat."
Todoroki Raizo clicked his tongue.
"But the game has only just begun. There will be plenty of chances to widen the lead."
A sinister grin slowly spread across his face.
"Besides..."
"Our ace is more fired up than ever."
"Kaidou..."
"Let me show you the overwhelming dominance of our ace."
"Hehehe..."
His thoughts drifted back to the previous night.
10:00 p.m.
Long after the rest of the team had gone to bed, Todoroki Raizo was still alone in the video room, replaying Kaidou High School's game footage over and over again.
He searched relentlessly for a weakness.
Anything.
Even the slightest flaw.
But no matter how many times he watched, the result was always the same.
"Arghhh!!"
"This is basically a professionally trained team!"
"There aren't any obvious weaknesses at all!"
"How is a team like this playing high school baseball?!"
In frustration, Raizo buried both hands in his already disheveled hair.
Several strands gave way under the abuse, drifting gently onto the floor.
If someone looked carefully, they would notice more loose hairs scattered around his chair.
This clearly wasn't the first time he'd pulled at his hair that night.
At this rate, facing a few more opponents like Kaidou High School would probably leave him completely bald.
Knock. Knock.
The sound at the door interrupted his thoughts.
Already irritated, Raizo shouted without even turning around.
"Who is it?!"
"It's already this late! The game's tomorrow! If this isn't important, don't blame me if I bench you—"
His voice came to an abrupt halt.
Standing at the doorway was Kitamura Kou.
The cornerstone of Yakushi High School.
Raizo's expression changed instantly.
After all, this was the one player he absolutely couldn't afford to offend.
He quickly cleared his throat and forced a warm smile onto his face.
"Oh... it's you, Kitamura."
"What brings you here?"
Kitamura walked inside with a relaxed smile.
"Coach..."
"If you keep pulling your hair like that, you're going to go bald."
Raizo simply rolled his eyes.
He knew Kitamura hadn't come here just to tease him.
With a helpless wave of his hand, he motioned for him to come in.
"All right, all right."
"Stop standing there."
"What do you need?"
"And make it quick. You're the centerpiece of tomorrow's game."
"If you lose sleep and it affects your performance, that'll be a huge loss for us."
The teasing smile disappeared from Kitamura's face.
His expression became completely serious.
"Coach."
"I want to start on the mound tomorrow."
Raizo didn't reject the request immediately.
Nor did he interrupt.
Instead, he quietly nodded, signaling Kitamura to continue.
After spending so much time together, he knew Kitamura well.
He wasn't the type to make unreasonable requests on a whim.
If he was asking to start the game himself...
Then he undoubtedly had a compelling reason.