"Seido! Seido! Seido!"
"Seihou! Seihou! Seihou!"
"Coach Kataoka, win today too!"
"Overlord! Let those guys from Aichi Prefecture know how formidable you are!"
"Coach, we're counting on you today!"
"Kanzaki! Jun! Yuuki!"
"Pomeranian!! Speedster!"
"Go, Seido!"
First-base side—Seihou High School, batting first.
Third-base side—Seido High School, batting last.
"Alright! Thank you for your patience, everyone! The 89th Summer National High School Baseball Championship, quarterfinals, Game 1! The match between West Tokyo representative Seido High School and Aichi Prefecture representative Seihou High School is about to begin!"
"The crowd is absolutely electric right now! In this clash of titans, will the undefeated Overlord lead Seido to continue their legendary run? Or will the monster slugger, Sano Shuzo, guide Seihou to shatter the wall that stands before them?!"
"Let's find out!!!"
"OHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
First-base side, Seihou dugout.
"As expected, Seido's starting pitcher is their Ace—Kanzaki Ryou," the Seihou coach said, standing before his players. "In the first inning, don't aim for long hits. Focus on bunts and controlled contact. Try to force foul balls and wear down his stamina."
"Of course, if you get a good pitch, don't hesitate. Swing decisively. Show them our intent. Apply pressure—and don't let them easily build the count."
"Yes, Coach!"
Third-base side, Seido dugout.
After a few final instructions from Coach Kataoka, Kanzaki Ryou slipped on his glove and stepped onto the field alongside his teammates, welcomed by rhythmic cheers and thunderous applause.
"Here he comes! After three games, the undisputed strongest pitcher of this Koshien is finally taking the mound!"
"Kanzaki Ryou—second-year at Seido High School, 182 cm tall, 80 kg. An aggressive pitcher who thrives in head-on battles! His fastest pitch exceeds 160 kilometers per hour!"
"A true light-speed pitcher! And so far in this Summer Tournament—zero runs allowed!"
"And that's not all! In just three games, he's already hit 9 home runs!"
"What kind of monster is this?! A top-tier two-way player dominating both pitching and batting!"
The commentator's excitement didn't reach Kanzaki Ryou.
By now, he was already standing on the mound.
This was his first appearance as a pitcher in this Koshien. The expectations from the crowd were immense—they wanted to witness that overwhelming, lightning-fast pitching once again.
The mound was still pristine, untouched.
Clean.
Perfect.
Kanzaki Ryou smiled faintly as he looked toward home plate.
Chris was already set.
Their eyes met—and Kanzaki could see it clearly.
A genuine smile.
This was their first battery together on the Koshien stage.
Glancing at the batter, Chris gave a sign—
A pitch call different from his usual opening choice.
Kanzaki paused for a brief moment.
That's not like you, senpai…
But… it's a good one.
Hoo—
A gentle breeze brushed across the mound.
The sun wasn't too harsh.
The temperature was perfect.
His condition—excellent.
Breakfast had long been digested.
His fingertips felt incredibly sensitive against the seams of the ball.
"Yeah… no problem."
He exhaled softly.
Under the watchful eyes of the entire nation, Kanzaki Ryou slowly lifted his left leg. His hands rose, bathed in sunlight.
That single motion alone carried overwhelming pressure—the presence of the strongest pitcher in the country.
Whoosh!!
The white ball tore through the air like a cyclone.
Boom!!
To the spectators, it looked like a streak of white light blasting into home plate with a thunderous roar.
The batter couldn't even react.
Thwack!
"Strike!!!"
Even the umpire's voice trembled with excitement.
"WOAHHHHHHH!!!"
"So fast!!"
"That's insane!"
"Light-speed pitch!!"
"Kanzaki!!!"
"Overlord!!"
"162 kilometers!! As expected of our Ace!"
"This is what I came to see!"
"Is that even real?!"
The stadium erupted.
The batter in the box was already drenched in sweat.
What… was that?
The pitch had charged at him like a beast—like it was trying to tear him apart.
Kanzaki Ryou slightly raised his chin, his gaze shifting toward Sano Shuzo on the first-base side.
This wasn't just dominance.
It was a challenge.
On the home run leaderboard:
Kanzaki Ryou—1st, 9 home runs.
Sano Shuzo—2nd, 5 home runs.
Yuuki Tetsuya—3rd, 4 home runs.
Of course, this didn't mean Yuuki was inferior. His batting style focused more on consistent hits rather than sheer power.
But even so—
Sano Shuzo's strength was undeniable.
The moment their eyes met, Sano's gaze sharpened. He glared back without hesitation.
He wasn't someone who backed down.
"Heh."
Kanzaki turned back to the batter in front of him, who was still shaken.
"Well then… let's continue."
"I hope you can keep up with my rhythm."
Chris fired the ball back.
Kanzaki wasted no time.
"Strike!"
"Strike!"
"Batter out!"
The first batter—gone.
Of the next two batters, only one managed to make contact.
But Kanzaki's overwhelming pitch power completely crushed their swings. The ball barely rolled into the infield before being cleanly fielded for an easy out.
Three up.
Three down.
In the blink of an eye.
Seihou's fans fell silent.
Faced with such terrifying pitching, they couldn't even imagine how their team could score.
In the end—
All hope shifted to one man.
Sano Shuzo.
Bottom of the first inning—Seido's offense.
Kotaro Kuzuyama, once a substitute in their previous encounter and now Seihou's Ace, stepped onto the mound.
Kuramochi led off with an infield hit.
Then, during Kominato Ryosuke's at-bat, Seido executed a hit-and-run. Kuramochi advanced to second, though Ryosuke was thrown out.
Next, Isashiki Jun hit a fly ball—caught.
Two outs.
Then—
Cleanup hitter Yuuki smashed a sharp line drive straight through the infield.
Kuramochi sprinted to third base.
Two outs.
Runners on first and third.
And now—
The batter stepping up to the plate was—
Kanzaki Ryou.
Seihou High School had been pushed into a crisis right from the start of the game.