"Hiss, still so arrogant at Koshien—that's just like him."
A fan familiar with Kanzaki Ryou's style joked from the stands.
"Kanzaki! Strike them out!"
"Don't give them any opening!"
The momentary silence was shattered as the game began, and the fans roared with explosive energy.
Come on… the first pitch at Koshien. Show them your power right away!
Miyuki's eyes gleamed with excitement.
As long as Kanzaki Ryou unleashed his ball speed and hit the Strike zone, he would instantly overwhelm the opposing team.
On this Koshien stage, their first battery collaboration had to be overwhelming—something unforgettable.
Understanding Miyuki's intention, Kanzaki exhaled slowly. He gave the opposing batter a single glance, then shut everything else out.
Right now, he only had one mission:
Maximize his ball speed—
and fire the pitch straight into Miyuki's mitt.
Hoo…
Taking several deep breaths, Kanzaki focused deeply.
It had been a while since he last pitched on a real field.
Throwing at maximum power while keeping control required everything he had.
Especially because his current top speed was not something he could fully control yet.
It needed focus—
…and a bit of luck.
If he could nail it…
then every team from here on out would misjudge him.
"Why do I feel like this kid is cooking up something insane…?"
Kusunoki Fumiya muttered, staring at Kanzaki's expression—an expression no one had seen in months.
"He just came back from injury. Probably nervous," Sakai Ichiro said.
"No," Tanba interrupted, eyes wide. "Watch carefully. It's coming."
Everyone in the Seidou dugout held their breath.
Whoosh!
Kanzaki held his breath, stepped forward, and whipped his arm down sharply.
The white baseball cut through the air like a laser.
At the plate, Kawaji's second batter had prepared to swing the moment Kanzaki lifted his leg.
But the moment the ball flew past—
His mind went blank.
Pop!
Only after the ball hit Miyuki's mitt did the batter's body react, swinging much too late—like his connection lagged.
"Strike!"
Silence fell for a second.
Then everyone turned to the speed gun.
157
"157!!!"
"So fast?!"
"That's a FIRST-YEAR?!"
"Monster pitcher!"
"LIGHT-SPEED BALL!"
The stadium erupted.
On Koshien's pitching speed records, the top belonged to a current major-league star who threw 160 km/h in his third year.
But Kanzaki Ryou, a first-year, had just thrown 157 km/h.
Even outside Koshien, 157 km/h ranked among the top five fastest pitches in Japanese high school history.
A new monster pitcher had been born.
"I knew it! He was definitely cooking up something!"
Kusunoki shouted, pointing at Kanzaki like he discovered a rare beast.
"157, huh… A level I'll never reach in my life," Nanjo sighed.
The audience went wild—practically turning into gorillas in the stands.
Coach Kataoka, outside the dugout, stared at the number, his fingers trembling.
He never expected this.
After recovering from injury…
Kanzaki's ball speed had increased again.
Excitement mixed with fear.
A first-year throwing 157 was already insane.
At this rate, he might hit 160 km/h by the Autumn Tournament.
Terrifying.
But too dangerous.
Kataoka clenched his fist.
He had to find a way to stop Kanzaki from pushing too far.
If a pitcher with this kind of potential ruined his arm due to uncontrolled growth, it would be unforgivable.
Behind the plate, Miyuki's eyes sparkled.
It went in—even if the location was a little off, it still entered the Strike zone.
This single pitch would make the opposing batters hesitate.
And hesitation was death at Koshien.
Miyuki stood up and fired the ball back hard.
It smacked into Kanzaki's glove, filled with pure excitement.
Kanzaki gave him a look.
"Don't get too excited. That was partly luck."
"Yeah, yeah—I know."
Miyuki crouched again, looked at the stunned batter, and smirked.
Finish him.
Straight fastballs.
End his spirit.
Whoosh—Pop!
"Strike!"
Pop!
"Strike!"
Two simple four-seam fastballs.
Both around 150 km/h.
Nothing fancy.
But the batter swung like an AI stuck on autopilot.
"Strikeout!!"
"Woooooo!!!"
"Seidou! Kanzaki!"
"Monster!"
Cheers shook the stadium.
Kawaji's second batter walked off in a daze.
He didn't even understand what happened.
Back in the dugout, Kawaji Coach Suzuki patted him on the shoulder.
"It's normal to miss a pitch at that speed. But your next two swings? Those were terrible!"
The batter grimaced.
He didn't want to swing like that either.
But after seeing 157 km/h, every pitch looked like 157 km/h in his eyes.
The impression was too strong.
Coach Suzuki sighed.
He knew Seidou's first-year ace had terrifying ball speed, but the scouting report said:
Control speed: below 153
Max speed: 155 during the finals against Ichidai Third
This alone had already made Kawaji extremely cautious.
But today—
Kanzaki Ryou opened with 157 km/h…
and it went RIGHT into the strike zone.
If he could throw this consistently—
There was no point playing.
They might as well surrender.