Bottom of the second inning. Seido High School was on offense.
The score stood at 1–0, with Seido temporarily trailing.
This quarterfinal matchup between two powerhouse teams did not disappoint. Just two innings in, the entire stadium was already captivated.
Ichidai San had just pushed across a run, and now it was Seido's turn. The middle of their lineup was stepping up.
This was the kind of confrontation everyone came to see.
"Fourth batter, number five, third baseman Azuma Kiyokuni!"
As the ace of Seido High School's baseball team and the top-ranked batter in Tokyo, Azuma Kiyokuni's appearance was nothing short of a shot in the arm for Seido's supporters.
His name echoed through the stands as fans chanted in unison, desperately hoping he could turn the tide.
If there was anyone in Tokyo capable of hitting Kameshima's terrifying Gyroball, it would be Azuma Kiyokuni.
The Seido supporters stood firmly behind him.
Ichidai Third High School's fans were just as confident in their own ace.
In their previous encounters, Kameshima and Azuma Kiyokuni had always been evenly matched. Although Azuma's strength and reputation had skyrocketed over the past six months, even seeming to surpass Kameshima's, their head-to-head results remained largely balanced.
Now, however, Kameshima had completed his breakthrough and perfected the Gyroball.
From Ichidai Third High School's perspective, there was every reason to believe that the current Kameshima had surpassed Azuma Kiyokuni.
Their cheers were no less fervent than Seido's.
The entire Hachioji Stadium was electric.
At this point, offense and defense no longer mattered. Fans from both sides shouted themselves hoarse, voices clashing in midair as they rooted for their respective teams.
The atmosphere was so heated that it felt like they were about to roll up their sleeves and jump onto the field themselves.
"Azuma Kiyokuni! Azuma Kiyokuni!!!"
"Kameshima! Kameshima!!!"
Cheering words felt insufficient. Simply shouting names was louder and more direct.
If someone were to measure the noise in the stands right now, it would easily exceed 120 decibels.
As the sixth batter, Zhang Han was also preparing to hit. Watching the scene unfold, he felt a deep stir in his chest.
This was what they called an ace-versus-ace showdown.
The opposing ace pitcher, facing Seido's fourth batter.
The outcome of this confrontation would undoubtedly shape the course of the game.
"Azuma-Senpai, you have to do this," Zhang Han thought sincerely.
He desperately hoped Azuma Kiyokuni could get on base.
After months with the team, Zhang Han had fully embraced his identity as a Seido High School player. He understood the team's current predicament better than anyone and wanted nothing more than to help break the deadlock.
And among all of them, the most reliable choice was Azuma Kiyokuni.
There was a reason people called him a monster.
Azuma Kiyokuni possessed the rare ability to change a game with a single swing.
Every time he stepped into the batter's box, he brought overwhelming confidence to both the players and supporters of Seido High School.
This was something Yuuki and Zhang Han, despite their own impressive stats, simply couldn't replicate.
This was the meaning of a team's fourth batter.
"Haha!!"
Azuma Kiyokuni strode into the batter's box, his massive frame looming like a mountain of flesh. His presence alone cast a shadow over Ichidai Third High School's catcher.
The pressure he exerted on Ichidai's pitcher-catcher duo was far greater than that of any other Seido batter.
Even so, they didn't flinch.
Before this game, they had rehearsed the scenario of facing Azuma Kiyokuni head-on countless times.
Unlike lesser teams, Ichidai San understood Seido's tendencies all too well. Seido thrived on momentum. Give them an inch, and they would take a mile.
Any sign of hesitation would embolden Seido's hitters.
Once Seido became unrestrained, Ichidai Third High School would be exposed to tremendous risk.
So retreat was not an option.
They had to meet force with force.
Even if Azuma Kiyokuni managed a hit, Ichidai could not lose the battle of momentum. At worst, it would turn into a slugfest like the Spring Tournament. With that resolve, Kameshima showed no hesitation.
The first pitch was their trump card.
The Gyroball.
"Whoosh!"
The small white ball shot forward, fast and sudden.
"Haha!"
Azuma Kiyokuni had been waiting for it. He never expected to see it on the very first pitch.
Prepared and confident, his eyes gleamed as he tracked the ball. He swung without hesitation.
"Boom!"
The violent swing whipped through the air like a miniature tornado, momentarily draining the space around the batter's box of sound.
In that instant, tens of thousands of people held their breath.
Everyone sensed it.
This moment could decide the game.
The terrifying swing met the imposing Gyroball head-on. Then—
Azuma Kiyokuni's eyes widened in disbelief.
How was this possible?
He had seen it clearly. He was certain of the trajectory.
So how could the ball suddenly deviate?
But reality offered no mercy.
"Thwack!"
"Strike!!!"
Azuma Kiyokuni swung and missed.
For a heartbeat, the stadium fell into dead silence.
Then Ichidai Third High School's supporters erupted.
Cheers exploded through the stands, raw and unrestrained. Their hearts burned with excitement. Tokyo's top batter had been beaten by Kameshima's Gyroball.
Did this mean Kameshima had become the number one pitcher in Tokyo?
It certainly seemed possible.
Inashiro's ace and Hidezawa were both formidable, but their previous evaluations didn't compare to this.
Now that Kameshima had mastered the Gyroball, his strength had skyrocketed.
He had likely already surpassed them.
As for the other famous pitchers across the region, at best, they were only on Hidezawa's level.
Kameshima, who had clearly broken past that threshold, had reached an entirely new tier.
Just thinking about it made Ichidai Third High School's supporters feel sweet and lightheaded, as if drunk on honey.
It felt as though this era was destined to belong to Ichidai Third High School.
Whether it was the rapidly rising Seido or the long-dominant Inashiro, they would all become supporting characters.
Lost in their excitement, Ichidai's fans nearly forgot themselves.
But Kameshima, the man they were already crowning as Tokyo's number one pitcher, remained perfectly calm.
The duel wasn't over.
That was only the first strike.
Two more to go.
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