"154 kilometers per hour."
The speed flashed brightly across the giant electronic scoreboard for everyone in the stadium to see.
The Seido supporters immediately erupted into cheers.
"His velocity got even faster!"
"That's what happens when you train alongside Zhou Hao."
"Out of all the high school pitchers in Japan who can throw over 150 kilometers per hour, Seido has nearly half of them."
"I bet Mishimen's batters are about to cry."
No one thought that was an exaggeration.
At this moment, the expressions of the Mishimen High players were absolutely dreadful.
Especially Coach Chiba.
At the start of the game, he had been feeling quite pleased with himself.
According to his calculations, their hidden Ace should have caused significant trouble for Seido.
Not only on the scoreboard, but mentally as well.
And for a moment, it seemed to be working.
In the top of the first inning, Seido's offense had been completely disrupted.
Their first five batters had failed to produce a run.
Sure, Mishimen had surrendered two walks in the process, but that was a price worth paying.
If Seido's batting rhythm was shaken, their overall momentum would inevitably suffer.
That had been Mishimen's opportunity.
The bottom of the first inning was supposed to mark the beginning of their counterattack.
Yet reality delivered Coach Chiba a merciless slap to the face.
And the one responsible was a first-year rookie.
Furuya Satoru.
Even though he had thrown only a single pitch, the terrifying velocity of 154 kilometers per hour was enough to leave Coach Chiba speechless.
Against that kind of speed, the players under his command simply stood no chance.
To put it bluntly—
They couldn't hit it.
Not at all.
In the batter's box, Mishimen's leadoff hitter subconsciously swallowed.
He desperately wanted to attack.
He wanted to drive the ball into the outfield and prove that they weren't intimidated.
But deep down, he understood the truth.
The odds were practically nonexistent.
Just as frustration began to build inside him—
Whoosh!
The white baseball screamed past him.
It gave him absolutely no time to react.
Boom!
Even after seeing one pitch already, he was still caught completely off guard.
The ball was simply too fast.
It looked like a flash of light cutting across his vision.
Instinctively, he swung the bat.
Unfortunately, by the time the bat entered the zone, the baseball was already gone.
Pop!
"Strike!"
The batter's face darkened.
Before he could fully process what had happened, another pitch arrived.
Boom!
Pop!
"Strike two!"
A third pitch followed immediately after.
Boom!
Pop!
"Strike three!"
"Strikeout!"
One out.
Bases empty.
Mishimen's second batter stepped into the box.
Even he seemed to understand what kind of fate awaited him.
His heartbeat quickened uncontrollably.
Then the pitch came.
Whoosh!
A white blur flashed before his eyes.
So fast.
Those were the only words left in his mind.
He knew exactly what that velocity meant.
It meant he couldn't react in time.
It meant he couldn't square up the ball.
It meant he couldn't hit it.
Of course, as a key player on the team, he couldn't simply stand there and watch.
When the next pitch arrived, he forced himself to swing.
Even though he already knew the outcome.
Whoosh!
The bat cut through empty air.
Pop!
The ball crashed into Miyuki Kazuya's glove.
"Strike!"
Behind home plate, Miyuki looked completely relaxed.
It wasn't that Furuya's pitches weren't impressive.
On the contrary, they were terrifying.
The problem was that Miyuki had already experienced something even more outrageous.
Zhou Hao.
He had caught faster pitches countless times.
Compared to those experiences, handling Furuya's 154-kilometer-per-hour fastball felt relatively comfortable.
Unfortunately for Mishimen's hitters, this was their first encounter with such velocity.
And the pitcher overwhelming them wasn't even Seido's ace.
It was merely a first-year rookie.
That realization dealt another heavy blow to their confidence.
Unable to devise any effective countermeasure, they could only continue struggling.
Soon enough, the second batter joined the first on the bench.
Strikeout.
Two outs.
Next came Mishimen's cleanup hitter.
Their third batter.
Unlike the previous two, he possessed a much more imposing physique.
Simply standing in the batter's box made him look dangerous.
His determination was obvious.
He looked like a man who wouldn't rest until he blasted one of Furuya's pitches into the outfield.
But determination alone wasn't enough.
The moment Furuya delivered his next pitch—
Boom!
The baseball exploded from his hand.
The cleanup hitter's eyes widened.
Too fast!
That was the exact same thought his teammates had experienced moments earlier.
The ball reached home plate almost instantly.
Before he could fully adjust—
The second pitch was already on its way.
Boom!
Pop!
"Strike!"
The third batter gritted his teeth.
Then came the next one.
Boom!
Pop!
"Strike two!"
The pressure mounted relentlessly.
The entire at-bat felt like a losing battle against a machine.
Then Furuya unleashed one final fastball.
Boom!
The batter swung with everything he had.
But the bat sliced through nothing but air.
Pop!
"Strike three!"
"Strikeout!"
Three up.
Three down.
Three consecutive strikeouts.
The bottom of the first inning ended in complete domination.
And for the first time since the game began, the players of Mishimen High School truly understood something.
The monster they had been trying so hard to avoid...
Wasn't the only monster on Seido's roster.
In just nine pitches, Furuya Satoru had recorded three consecutive strikeouts.
The Mishimen High players, both on the field and in the dugout, were completely stunned.
It wasn't as if they had neglected to study Seido's scouting reports.
They knew about Furuya.
They knew the first-year pitcher possessed extraordinary velocity.
The problem was that most of their attention had been focused on one person.
Zhou Hao.
Compared to the nation's undisputed number one player, who had time to worry about anyone else?
At least, that had been Mishimen's mindset before the game.
Now, reality was proving just how foolish that assumption had been.
The pitcher overwhelming them wasn't Zhou Hao.
It was a first-year rookie.
A first-year who was completely suffocating their offense.
The pressure was overwhelming.
Every batter who stepped into the box felt as though the air itself had become heavier.
For those who hadn't experienced it personally, it would have been difficult to imagine.
That pressure inevitably spread to Mishimen's hidden Ace.
Before he took the mound, Coach Chiba had repeatedly reminded him:
"Don't let the current situation affect you."
"Our opponent is Seido."
"If they weren't this strong, that would be the strange thing."
"Your job is simple."
"Stabilize the game and keep the team from collapsing."
The pitcher clenched his teeth and nodded.
He understood perfectly.
At this point, he carried the team's hopes on his shoulders.
If he faltered now, the game could spiral out of control very quickly.
Top of the second inning.
Seido came to bat once again.
Leading off the inning was their sixth batter.
Miyuki Kazuya.
Surprisingly, neither Seido's players nor the fans seemed particularly excited.
Everyone understood Miyuki's tendencies.
With runners on base, his offensive ability could rival even Yuki Tetsuya and Zhou Hao.
Among high school players nationwide, he was unquestionably elite.
But with the bases empty?
His production was considerably more ordinary.
Considering how effectively Mishimen's hidden Ace had handled Seido's top five hitters, few people believed Miyuki would be the one to break through.
That was why the atmosphere remained relatively calm.
Whoosh!
The submarine pitcher immediately went back to work.
The baseball emerged from a low release point and appeared to rise toward the plate.
The moment he saw it, Miyuki's eyes sharpened.
Unlike many others, he wasn't unfamiliar with submarine pitchers.
Among Seido's current first-string players, only four members had experienced the team's earliest rise to national prominence.
Yuki Tetsuya.
Zhou Hao.
Isashiki Jun.
And Miyuki Kazuya.
Back when Chris had been injured, Miyuki had already been Seido's starting catcher.
He had experienced countless high-level games and faced every type of pitcher imaginable.
Including submarine specialists.
Ever since then, he had made a habit of studying submarine deliveries.
Their release points.
Their movement patterns.
Their tendencies.
Combined with everything he had observed from his teammates' at-bats earlier, Miyuki had already pieced together a rough map of the pitcher's strategy.
For unfamiliar hitters, this pitcher preferred using a sinking fastball as his opening weapon.
At first glance, it appeared to rise.
But halfway to the plate, it would suddenly drop.
An unsuspecting batter would usually pound it straight into the dirt.
"This is the one."
The moment the ball left the pitcher's hand, Miyuki stepped forward decisively.
At the same time, his bat exploded through the zone.
Crack!
The baseball shot off the bat and sliced through the infield.
Pop!
The ball bounced safely onto the outfield grass.
For a moment, Seido's dugout fell silent.
Then everyone rubbed their eyes.
"Wait... did I see that correctly?"
"Miyuki got a hit with the bases empty?"
"Our sixth batter is finally evolving."
"Safe!"
Miyuki reached first base safely.
No outs.
Runner on first.
The Seido supporters erupted with cheers.
"I didn't expect Miyuki to be the one who broke through!"
"Even the top of the lineup couldn't solve that pitcher."
"And he did it first!"
Standing on first base, Miyuki narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly.
He hadn't felt this sense of accomplishment in quite some time.
Successfully deciphering a submarine pitcher and driving the ball into the outfield was deeply satisfying.
Next up was Seido's seventh batter.
Masuko.
He connected with the pitch but sent a high fly ball into the outfield.
The ball was caught cleanly.
One out.
Runner on first.
Then came the eighth batter.
Furuya Satoru.
The towering rookie gripped his bat and waited.
The moment he saw a pitch he liked—
He attacked.
Crack!
The ball rocketed off the bat.
Unfortunately, it was fielded cleanly for an out.
Two outs.
However, the play allowed Miyuki to advance safely to second base.
Two outs.
Runner on second.
Only after recording those two outs did Mishimen finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The previous sequence had clearly rattled them.
Fortunately, disaster had not struck.
At least not yet.
There was still one final out standing between them and safety.
If they could retire Seido's ninth batter, they could escape the inning without allowing a run.
"Ninth batter, Number 9, outfielder, Oshima Shin!"
The first-year rookie stepped into the batter's box.
Seeing his pitcher secure two straight outs, Coach Chiba felt a flicker of confidence return.
"We can still do this."
"Finish them off!"
For Mishimen, recording this final out was everything.
Their hidden Ace clearly shared the same determination.
The baseball left his hand with tremendous force.
It carried all of his confidence.
All of his hopes.
And all of his determination to end the inning right here.
But at that moment—
Oshima Shin narrowed his eyes.
A submarine pitcher?
That style felt strangely familiar.
After all, one of his teammates on the National Youth Team specialized in exactly that type of delivery.
He had faced countless pitches just like these.
Whoosh!
The instant the ball left the pitcher's hand, Oshima attacked without hesitation.
Crack!
The sound of contact echoed across the stadium.
The baseball soared high into the air.
Thousands of eyes followed its flight.
Players.
Coaches.
Reporters.
Fans.
Everyone watched as the ball descended toward the outfield.
Then—
It landed.
And bounced.
Past the defenders.
"It got through!"
The outfield erupted into chaos.