In the batter's box, Tanaka calmly sized up his opponent.
At the same time, information he had reviewed before the game surfaced in his mind.
Although rumors outside had been exaggerated, Seido High School Baseball Team had a clear internal assessment. Coach Kataoka and Takashima Rei unanimously believed that the opponent's actions were unintentional.
This matched the official ruling.
Nioh Gakusha's ace had extremely wild pitching and only average control. Worse still, his condition was heavily affected by stamina. Early in the game, he could still maintain a semblance of stability, but once the innings dragged on, his physical decline became obvious.
At that point, even he couldn't guarantee where the ball would go.
The hit-by-pitches he'd caused were largely the result of this.
Still, intentional or not, Seido couldn't let their guard down.
There was no room for mistakes in the Summer Tournament.
Even with one foot already in Koshien, a single misstep would send them packing immediately.
So they had to be careful.
As he stayed alert, Tanaka couldn't help muttering inwardly.
With this level of control, the pitcher would barely make the roster on most teams.
Let alone Seido. Even average schools would hesitate to accept someone like this as their ace. On paper, all that stood out were shortcomings. There were almost no visible strengths.
So why had Nioh Gakusha chosen him as their ace?
That was the most baffling part for Seido's players.
What was even more frightening was that it was working.
The results didn't lie.
No matter how unwilling they were to admit it, Nioh had pushed through every obstacle and reached the finals. The early-round opponents might not have been impressive, but in the quarterfinals and semifinals, the teams Nioh defeated were far from weak.
If Seido had faced those teams, they wouldn't have won easily either.
And yet, Nioh had beaten them.
With room to spare.
Facts like that couldn't be argued away.
"Whew…"
Tanaka let out a quiet breath, eyes locked on the mound.
The game hadn't truly begun, yet the pressure pressing down on him was immense.
This was clearly not an easy opponent.
What made it even worse was that Seido still hadn't figured out where Nioh's real strength lay.
They had watched countless game recordings. But the more they watched, the stranger it felt. Nioh's opponents seemed to collapse without explanation.
At the time, even Seido had been baffled.
Still, they believed they would win.
Not because they had found a weakness in Nioh, but because of confidence.
True strength was forged through battle.
After defeating Ichidai Third High School and Inashiro Industrial back to back, Seido had unconsciously developed the aura of a king.
Yet even kings felt uneasy when facing the unknown.
The moment Tanaka truly saw Kawauchi's pitch, he understood why those teams had lost.
"Swish—"
The white ball cut through the air.
Tanaka's pupils shrank instantly.
How could a pitch feel like this?
"Thwack!"
"Strike!"
Tanaka didn't swing at the first pitch.
In Seido's dugout, whispers spread.
"Why didn't senpai swing? That pitch looked perfect."
"Wasn't it almost right down the middle?"
That was how most players saw it.
But those with sharper eyes had already frowned.
Yuuki. Zhang Han.
Some things couldn't be understood just from recordings.
"Haha… interesting."
Azuma Kiyokuni scratched his head, grinning.
He'd planned to experience elite pitchers from across the nation at Koshien.
He hadn't expected to encounter something this intriguing without even leaving West Tokyo.
"Ping!"
After letting the first pitch go, Tanaka couldn't afford to hesitate again.
He swung hard.
The bat met the ball, but it chopped downward. The ball bounced on the infield, was fielded cleanly by Nioh's first baseman, and thrown to the bag. The second baseman's cover was flawless.
"Thwack!"
"Out!"
One out. Bases empty.
A collective sigh rose from Seido's dugout.
What a shame.
If the angle had been just a little higher, that ball might have reached the outfield—or even gone over the fence.
An inch made all the difference.
While Seido felt regret, Nioh's catcher was secretly shaken.
So many games had passed.
Tanaka was the first batter to make solid contact immediately.
The catcher stiffened, but Nioh's director remained calm. Many people believed Kawauchi was a strikeout pitcher because of his numbers.
In truth, that was a misconception.
Kawauchi was a contact-inducing pitcher.
He relied on his defense to get outs.
It was just that Nioh's previous opponents had been eliminated before they could force him to reveal that side.
Seido was different.
As expected of a team that had defeated two powerhouses, they drew out Kawauchi's real form from the very first inning.
Facing opponents like this was beneficial—not just for Nioh, but for Kawauchi himself.
And discovering that potential had been the director's greatest fortune.
Two full years of training.
Results that only appeared in the third year.
But it had all been worth it.
Hadn't they reached the finals?
And he trusted Kawauchi.
As long as they could defeat Seido, advance to Koshien, and stand on that stage, none of those years would have been wasted.
"Ping!"
"Thwack!"
"Out!!"
"Out!!!"
A grounder to third.
A pop fly to second.
Seido's second batter, Hidezawa, and third batter, Yamada, were retired in quick succession.
Three up. Three down.
The unfavored Nioh Gakusha shut down Seido in the opening inning, stunning the entire stadium.
But Seido hadn't come away empty-handed. From those three at-bats, they finally caught something they hadn't seen on tape.
They had found a clue. Kawauchi's pitching was no longer a complete mystery.
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