Aoyama High School was filled with sorrow.
They had performed well. The score had been narrowed. From every perspective, Aoyama High School had nothing to be criticized for.
And that was precisely what made it most painful.
They no longer had any hope of winning.
Everyone present—including Aoyama High School's own players—understood this clearly. In this game, unless a miracle occurred, they had no chance at all.
As the game reached the bottom of the fourth inning, the situation on the field confirmed everyone's thoughts.
Aoyama's pitcher-catcher duo, despite exerting immense effort, managed to retire Yamada with his distinctive buck teeth.
But then, they ran straight into Azuma Kiyokuni.
And froze.
To break the deadlock, they had no choice but to confront Azuma head-on. This was Aoyama High School's only remaining option.
Imagine it.
If they could successfully get out Seido's ace batter, Azuma Kiyokuni, how would the situation change?
Aoyama's morale would surge. Seido's morale would take a heavy blow. With one rising and the other falling, Aoyama's chance might finally appear.
Just thinking about it felt beautiful. Nishi Kaze Retsu had not given up.
Even though he knew how dangerous this choice was, he still resolutely gave the signal.
A head-on confrontation.
On the mound, Kujo could no longer restrain himself. Deep down, he had long yearned to face Azuma Kiyokuni directly.
And to be honest, from his own perspective, Seido did not feel as invincible as they had imagined.
Up to this point, aside from walking Azuma and surrendering a home run to Zhang Han, Kujo had successfully retired all of Seido's other batters.
Especially the top of the lineup—he had taken them down twice.
In the bottom of the third inning, even though everyone knew Aoyama had little chance of winning, the pitcher's performance had still earned widespread praise.
Even Seido's supporters applauded him.
This kind of atmosphere was dangerously intoxicating.
Kujo was, after all, just an ordinary high school pitcher. He had never experienced such recognition before. Being praised by so many people inevitably made him feel a little lightheaded.
He began to believe that his strength was truly exceptional, that he could compete with Seido's batters head-on.
With his decision made, he acted without hesitation.
All his strength converged at the tips of his fingers as he snapped the ball forward.
The pitch was excellent.
So good that even Nishi Kaze Retsu, catching behind the plate, couldn't find a single flaw.
Despite being suppressed throughout the game, Kujo's condition and the pitch he threw just now were the best he had shown all day.
So good that Nishi Kaze Retsu almost couldn't believe it.
Was the man on the mound really his partner? How could he pitch this well?
But what happened next instantly dragged both the pitcher and catcher back to reality.
"Boom!"
Like a dark cloud descending, Azuma's bat appeared and smashed into the ball with overwhelming force.
"Ping!"
The white ball rocketed away, flying more than a hundred meters into the stands.
"Foul ball!"
It had missed the strike zone by more than ten centimeters.
Just a little more—just that little bit—and it would have been a home run.
A collective sigh of regret swept through the stands.
What a pity.
Cold sweat streamed down the foreheads of Nishi Kaze Retsu and Kujo.
They had studied Azuma Kiyokuni before. They knew very well that the pitch they had just thrown was in Azuma's least favorite location.
And yet, even so, it had nearly been blasted out of the stadium.
They couldn't imagine what would happen if they continued confronting him.
In the end, the two of them lost their nerve and chose to walk Azuma Kiyokuni.
As they did, they comforted themselves internally.
"Walking a strong batter is purely a tactical decision. It doesn't mean we're afraid."
They were acting for the team's benefit.
However, Director Tahara, watching from the stands, saw straight through them.
"Aoyama's boys were scared by Azuma," he said quietly. "They thought they chose the safest path, but they didn't realize that the moment they made that choice, they lost their last chance to turn the tide."
This had been a fight to the death.
If you were afraid of dying, then such tactics could never succeed.
Aoyama's players, trapped within the game itself, couldn't see that far ahead. They didn't know their fate was already sealed and continued to struggle desperately.
One out. Runner on first.
In this situation, they faced Seido's fifth batter, Yuuki Tetsuya.
In the previous inning, they had successfully retired Yuuki. Although they hadn't turned a double play, they believed they understood him well.
After all, Yuuki had been Seido's regular for a long time. There was plenty of information available about him.
Nishi Kaze Retsu and Kujo decided to confront Yuuki head-on. If they could get Yuuki out, the rest would be much easier.
Unfortunately, that was nothing more than wishful thinking.
"Ping!"
The moment the ball entered the strike zone, Yuuki's lightning-fast swing sent it screaming forward.
The ball didn't fly high. It didn't seem to travel far. But it was fast—terrifyingly fast.
Aoyama's infielders didn't even have time to react. They could only watch as the ball tore past them.
"It… it went through…"
Azuma Kiyokuni laughed loudly as he sprinted around the bases. He blew past second and stopped at third. Yuuki reached first and stayed there.
One out. Runners on first and third.
At that moment, a massive uproar erupted in the stands.
"Zhang Han!!"
"Wow, he's so handsome!"
"From this distance, how can you even tell?"
"Haven't you seen Baseball Kingdom? He's on the cover."
"Really? Then yeah, he is handsome."
It was Zhang Han's turn to bat.
On the field, Aoyama's pitcher and catcher exchanged uneasy looks.
Their previous encounter with Zhang Han had already proven one thing: the information they had collected on him was completely insufficient.
In other words, Zhang Han was an unknown quantity. And unknown meant danger. After a brief discussion, they reached a decision.
Confronting Zhang Han head-on was far too risky.
Better to—
"Ball!"
"Ball!"
"Ball!"
"Ball!"
"Walk to first base!"
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