One day later, all Round of 16 matches ended. As expected, the two major championship contenders—Osaka Kiryu and Seihou High School—had successfully advanced to the quarterfinals.
On that same day, the eight remaining schools gathered for the quarterfinal draw.
Osaka Kiryu in Seidou's bracket
When the results appeared on the screen, Seidou's dugout immediately exploded.
"Osaka Kiryu is in our bracket!?"
"What kind of cursed luck is this? If only they were paired with Seihou!"
"Seriously! If Seidou wants the championship, we need to beat both of them back-to-back?"
"This is a devil's bracket!"
"We're doomed. We're gonna be dead tired by the final."
Even Coach Kataoka's expression stiffened. The difficulty of winning the championship had just taken a big leap upward.
"Coach, this…" Takashima Rei began, worried that the players would start losing confidence.
"Let's win the next game first," Kataoka said firmly.
Seidou would face Osaka Kiryu only in the semifinals. And if they somehow got past them, the opponent waiting in the finals would undoubtedly be Seihou High School.
A path no easier than defeating Inashiro and Ichidai Third consecutively.
"Kanzaki, this is looking bad," Miyuki said, coming over with his phone in hand.
"I expected it," Kanzaki replied calmly.
In the original timeline, Seihou were the champions this year, Osaka Kiryu the runners-up.
"Can your body keep up?" Miyuki asked quietly. "The next three games will all be slugfests."
Kanzaki nodded.
"I have to, even if I can't. We've come this far—there's no backing down."
Miyuki pushed up his glasses, still not convinced. Not only were two final-tier teams waiting, but even their quarterfinal opponent would be brutal.
Kanagawa's Representative — Sagara High School
"Sagara High… they're monsters," Miyuki muttered.
Sagara, often called Red Sea Sagara, was a nationally recognized powerhouse. Their strength was comparable to any top-tier baseball school in Japan.
"I heard Coach Yamamoto is old and might retire soon," Miyuki smirked. "Think he'll make some… questionable tactical choices because of age?"
Kanzaki rolled his eyes.
Old, yes. Senile? Absolutely not.
Besides, Sagara had someone even more terrifying:
Assistant Coach Ochiai Hiromitsu.
In the original timeline, he was the man who eventually came to Seidou as Kataoka's successor—strict, cold, but undeniably brilliant.
A technician whose player development skill was borderline god-level.
But at Sagara, players feared him, admired him, and hated him. His strictness made him effective, not beloved. And when Director Yamamoto retired and Sagara High hired a new head coach, Ochiai refused to remain an assistant—he left for Seidou instead.
Because Sagara wanted to cut his salary,
and Seidou was willing to pay a premium.
Kanzaki had looked up Ochiai before. The man's ability was terrifyingly valuable.
And then the realization hit him—
"…Wait. That's bad."
Ochiai only came to Seidou in the original story because:
Seidou lost to Inashiro next summer,
Kataoka took responsibility and offered to resign,
Seidou needed a new coach.
But now?
With Kanzaki here, Seidou's strength was skyrocketing. There was almost no chance Kataoka would be forced to resign.
So…
Would Ochiai still come to Seidou?
That thought alone gave Kanzaki a headache.
A team with both Kataoka and Ochiai would be terrifying—stronger than the original storyline by far.
Kataoka excelled at overall direction.
Ochiai excelled at technical precision.
Together, they'd be a powerhouse.
The day before the quarterfinals, Seidou spent the whole day analyzing Sagara's game footage.
Just watching them made Kanzaki feel physically sick.
Two Aces.
A vicious batting lineup.
Near-perfect team discipline.
Their two pitchers:
Ace #1 — Hayato Hinata (3rd year, left-handed)
Top speed: 149 km/h
Pitches:
Four-seam fastball
Fast forkball
Slider
Circle changeup
A seasoned, elite southpaw.
Ace #2 — Kukune Mirai (2nd year, right-handed)
Top speed: 145 km/h
Pitches:
Four-seam fastball
Sinker
High-speed vertical slider
Two completely different pitchers—both dangerous.
A nightmare matchup.
"From the data, Sagara High is a complete team," Kataoka said as the meeting concluded.
"In offense, they use every method—steals, bunts, hit-and-run. If they see an opening, they take it."
"In the infield, stay sharp."
"Yes, sir!"
"And pitchers—your job is to focus on the batters, but if necessary, do not hesitate to pick off runners."
"Yes!"
Kanzaki, Tanba, and Nanjo answered together.
Kataoka turned to Kanzaki.
"Tomorrow's starting pitcher—Kanzaki Ryou!"
"Here!" Kanzaki stood.
"At the beginning of the game, don't give them anything. Crush their momentum."
"Yes, Boss! Mission accepted!"
Tanba would handle middle relief.
Nanjo would close.
Miyuki would catch for Kanzaki and Tanba.
Nanjo would pitch to his usual partner, Tanaka Wataru.
Meanwhile, at Sagara's Hotel
Sagara High was also analyzing Seidou late into the night.
"In tomorrow's offense," Coach Yamamoto said, "if Seidou's third and fourth batters come up with runners on base, you may intentionally walk them depending on the situation. Avoid confronting their power hitters directly."
Assistant Coach Ochiai stroked his trimmed goatee and nodded.
When facing terrifying batters, avoiding them wasn't cowardice—it was strategy.