Because of Hanami's intrusion, the second day of the Kyoto Sister-School Exchange Event changed completely.
The planned one-on-one battles were canceled.
Instead—
Under the enthusiastic suggestion of Satoru Gojo, the schools held a baseball match.
"Why Baseball?!"
Holding a bat, Nobara Kugisaki looked extremely dissatisfied.
"What kind of stupid decision is this?"
"We should take advantage of yesterday's victory and crush Kyoto completely!"
She swung the bat violently.
"I was even ready to use Mai's face as a baseball!"
From the Kyoto bench—
Mai Zenin shouted back.
"Try it and I'll shoot you!"
Standing beside the field—
Wearing sunglasses and somehow dressed in a professional referee uniform—
Gojo raised both hands dramatically.
"Because youth equals baseball!"
"And because we need to reduce the tension between the schools."
He glanced toward the dugout.
"After all…"
"…someone almost wiped out the entire Kyoto team yesterday."
"If another fight breaks out…"
"…they might all need long-term hospitalization."
His gaze landed on Yagami Sora.
Sora sat lazily on the bench.
A baseball cap covered half his face.
He casually tossed a baseball into the air.
Catching it again and again.
The noisy atmosphere around him seemed irrelevant.
His mind was still calculating something.
Specifically—
The energy conversion efficiency of yesterday's plasma attack.
"…Maybe the compression ratio could be improved."
He muttered quietly.
"Yagami!"
From behind home plate—
Yuji Itadori shouted excitedly.
Wearing oversized catcher gear—
He looked like a clumsy brown bear.
"It's your turn to pitch!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Sora slowly stood up.
He walked to the pitcher's mound.
His movements looked relaxed—
Almost lazy.
Standing at bat was Kokichi Muta controlling another mechanical puppet.
Although his main puppet had been destroyed—
He had prepared a spare.
This one looked slightly rougher.
Its head resembled a metal bucket.
The mechanical eyes flashed red.
Inside the cockpit—
Trajectory calculations ran at full speed.
"Hmph."
"Even if I lost the fight yesterday…"
"I won't lose at baseball!"
"My visual sensors and swing speed are precisely calculated!"
"Every possible pitch trajectory is in my database!"
Sora smiled faintly.
"Then let's test your calculations."
He casually threw the ball.
The pitch wasn't fast.
About 120 km/h.
A completely ordinary fastball.
"Too slow!"
Mechamaru instantly swung.
His processors had already predicted the trajectory.
"This is an easy home run!"
But—
Just before the bat connected—
The baseball suddenly stopped in midair.
For exactly 0.1 seconds.
Then—
It made a perfect right-angle turn.
Passing beside the bat.
Sliding cleanly into Yuji's glove.
"STRIKE!"
Gojo shouted happily.
"What?!"
Mechamaru's processor nearly crashed.
"That violates aerodynamic principles!"
"What about inertia?!"
"What about gravity?!"
"Newton would be furious!"
Sora threw another ball.
Halfway through the flight—
The ball suddenly accelerated.
Breaking the sound barrier.
BOOM.
A sonic boom burst through the air.
The ball shot past Yuji—
Then curved upward in a perfect U-shaped arc.
Landing neatly in his glove.
"STRIKE TWO!"
Yuji shouted excitedly.
From the Kyoto bench—
Mai slammed her fan against the railing.
"That's cheating!"
"What kind of baseball flies like that?!"
"Are you using cursed techniques or physics experiments?!"
Sora adjusted his cap.
"Alright."
"This time I'll be serious."
The third pitch looked completely ordinary.
Almost slow.
Mechamaru swung with full power.
"No matter what trick you use—"
"If I hit it hard enough—"
"—I win!"
CRACK.
The bat hit the ball.
For a moment—
Mechamaru thought he succeeded.
But the next second—
The bat disintegrated.
The baseball remained completely intact.
The ball continued moving forward—
Like a tank.
The impact slammed directly into Mechamaru's chest.
It was a gravity-enhanced pitch.
Several tons of force compressed into the ball.
BOOM.
Mechamaru flew backward.
Rolling across the ground.
His spare puppet broke apart into scattered pieces.
"STRIKE THREE! OUT!"
Gojo shouted cheerfully.
The entire field went quiet.
Everyone stared at Sora.
Even Noritoshi Kamo swallowed nervously.
"This…"
"…is supposed to be baseball?"
If that pitch hit a normal person—
It would cause multiple fractures instantly.
Sora spun the ball on his finger.
"I told you."
"The ball can follow any trajectory I want."
His gaze shifted to the next batter.
Aoi Todo.
Todo stepped forward eagerly.
Muscles trembling with excitement.
"My best friend!"
"Show me your strongest pitch!"
"Only a ball like that is worthy of me!"
Sora smirked.
"Alright."
"I'll send this one into orbit."
The air around the baseball began to distort slightly.
That day—
Kyoto School experienced the same fear again.
The fear of Yagami Sora.
Every batter who stepped onto the field questioned their life choices.
The final score:
Tokyo School — 100
Kyoto School — 0
Sora personally handled nearly every strikeout and home run.
The result was so overwhelming—
That the victory felt almost boring.
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