"Line up!"
"Bow!"
"Please guide us!"
First-base side — Seido High School, batting first.
Third-base side — Tokyo Metropolitan Mino High School, fielding first.
From the very beginning of the game, Seido's offense exploded like a storm, completely overwhelming Mino High School.
In the top of the first inning alone, Miyuki Kazuya and Kanzaki Ryou launched back-to-back home runs.
By the end of the inning—
The score was already 7–0.
Seido's terrifying batting lineup tore through Mino's defense as if it were paper.
Meanwhile, in the bottom of the first inning, Furuya Satoru's overpowering pitching pushed Mino High School into complete despair.
An average fastball velocity exceeding 150 km/h was simply impossible for an ordinary metropolitan team to handle.
Just like the previous match, the game ended early in five innings.
Final score:
28–0.
An even more outrageous massacre than the last game.
Through all three preliminary rounds, Seido advanced with unstoppable momentum, crushing every opponent in their path.
Unfortunately, those opponents were far too weak to truly test the strength of the newly formed team.
September 26th.
Saturday afternoon.
Kanzaki Ryou and Miyuki Kazuya left school together.
"Captain," Miyuki said while chewing bubblegum, "you'd better draw a decent bracket later."
Kanzaki Ryou shrugged casually.
"A decent bracket? You mean drawing Inashiro or Ichidai Third in the first round?"
"…You really don't know what 'decent' means, huh?"
The two chatted as they boarded the bus outside the school gates, heading toward the Autumn Tournament main bracket drawing ceremony.
Half an hour later, they arrived at the venue.
By then, the hall was already bustling with noise.
All sixty-four teams that had qualified for the Tokyo Autumn Tournament had sent representatives, alongside countless reporters and staff members.
The moment Kanzaki and Miyuki entered—
The entire venue's attention shifted toward them.
The Twin Stars of Seido.
The Ace Battery.
The publicly recognized strongest pitcher and strongest catcher in Tokyo.
"They're here!"
"They made everyone wait so long."
"Well, they are the kings."
"Look at that composure…"
"Yeah. That's confidence born from strength."
The discussion throughout the venue lasted for quite a while before Kanzaki and Miyuki finally found their seats.
Once seated, Kanzaki began glancing around the hall.
Teito High School captain — Inui Kengo.
Inashiro Industrial captain — Fukui Kento.
Ichidai Third captain — Hoshida Mamoru.
Yakushi's Sanada Shunpei.
Seikou's Masu Shinichiro.
…
There were many familiar faces.
And many unfamiliar ones too.
But they all shared one thing in common—
The eyes directed toward Kanzaki and Miyuki were filled with hostility and caution.
"Tsk," Kanzaki muttered jokingly, "the two of us really feel like final bosses in a shonen manga."
Miyuki laughed lightly.
"Just pretend you don't notice."
"Why?" Kanzaki grinned. "I think glaring back is way cooler."
"Then go ahead."
Soon, all representatives had arrived.
After the organizers finished their routine speeches, the draw ceremony officially began.
One by one, teams stepped forward and revealed their brackets.
"Sensen High School — Block B."
"Yakushi High School — Block C."
"Ichidai Third High School — Block D."
"Seikou High School — Block A."
"Inashiro Industrial High School — Block B."
"Teito High School — Block A."
…
"Next, Seido High School. Please send your representative forward."
As the staff member called out, Kanzaki Ryou stood up, adjusted his uniform, and calmly walked toward the stage.
Draw.
Reveal.
The instant Kanzaki displayed Seido's result—
The entire venue erupted.
Gasps filled the hall.
Camera shutters exploded nonstop.
Seido High School—
Block A.
Their very first opponent would be another Summer Koshien representative team.
The ruler of East Tokyo.
The undefeated legion—
Teito High School.
The moment this matchup appeared, not only Kanzaki and Miyuki were stunned.
Even Teito captain Inui Kengo widened his eyes.
The two captains exchanged glances across the hall.
And within Inui's eyes, Kanzaki clearly saw intense fighting spirit.
Of course.
Teito High School, which had dominated East Tokyo for years, would never show fear simply because their opponent was Seido.
As the draw ceremony concluded, the tournament brackets were immediately published online.
The news that Seido High School and Teito High School would clash in the very first round instantly shook the entire Tokyo high school baseball scene.
The King of West Tokyo.
The Emperor of East Tokyo.
Two Koshien-level teams.
Yet one of them was guaranteed to suffer a humiliating first-round elimination.
Naturally, most people still favored Seido to win.
However, for teams like Inashiro Industrial, Ichidai Third, Yakushi, and others—
This draw was excellent news.
Even if Teito ultimately failed to defeat Seido, with Teito's strength, there was no way Seido would emerge unscathed.
Everyone believed this match would expose many weaknesses within Seido's newly rebuilt team.
That evening, after Kanzaki and Miyuki returned to school, they were immediately surrounded by their teammates.
And every single one of them wore strange expressions.
"Captain Kanzaki…"
"Your luck is unbelievably terrible."
"Did you forget to wash your hands before the draw?"
"Maybe you should've visited the shrine first."
After seeing the bracket, nearly everyone looked at Kanzaki with complicated expressions.
"Teito in the first round…"
"The undefeated legion of East Tokyo…"
The second-years mainly teased Kanzaki about his terrible luck.
But the first-years like Tojo and Kanemaru looked genuinely worried.
Unlike Sawamura and Furuya, those two baseball idiots, players like Tojo and Kanemaru came from strong organized baseball systems and fully understood just how terrifying Teito High School was.
"What's with those faces?" Sawamura asked curiously. "Is Teito really that strong?"
"Very strong," Tojo answered seriously.
"Stronger than Big Brother Kanzaki and Bastard Miyuki?"
"…"
Tojo instantly fell silent.
So did everyone else.
"But baseball is a team sport," Kanemaru said seriously. "Our new team has only been together for a short time. Even after practice games and three official matches, our coordination still isn't complete."
"In contrast, Teito was eliminated early at Koshien. That means they've had far more time to rebuild and develop chemistry."
After hearing Kanemaru's analysis, many players shared the same concerns.
Although Seido had dominated the preliminary rounds, their defensive coordination had never truly been tested.
"What are those expressions for?"
Suddenly, Kanzaki Ryou spoke loudly.
"So what if our first opponent is Teito?"
He grinned confidently.
"Don't forget—"
"We're the Koshien champions."
"And they're just the unfortunate guys who got eliminated in the first round."
The second-years immediately burst into laughter.
Kanzaki continued calmly:
"To be honest, I also want to know how strong this new team really is."
"If our opponent is Teito, then they're the perfect benchmark."
His eyes sharpened.
"It doesn't matter whether our opponent is weak or strong. Our goal has always been the championship."
"As long as that goal never changes…"
"Then what difference does the opponent make?!"
The room instantly quieted.
Then—
The second-years smiled confidently.
Even the nervous first-years gradually relaxed.
That's right.
With the Ace standing there—
What exactly did they have to fear?