After dealing with Kundi Galka, Nanjo Taishi and Tanaka Wataru faced Takasaki High School's second batter, who hit a single to right field.
Fortunately, they managed to strike out Takasaki High's third batter afterward. Otherwise, if he had gotten on base, they would have faced their fourth batter, Ishihi Yohei, with runners on first and second—a situation Seido absolutely did not want to see.
The game moved to the bottom of the third inning.
Seido's ninth batter, Kanzaki Ryou, stepped into the batter's box.
This was Kanzaki Ryou's first at-bat of the game. After a few light swings of his bat, Kanzaki Ryou smiled and looked at Suzuki Yu.
Suzuki Yu also stared back at Kanzaki Ryou. He had long heard rumors about Seido's genius first-year Ace and had always wanted to face him head-on.
Just a first-year… Suzuki Yu felt inexplicably irritated.
He had trained desperately for two full years at Takasaki High to finally become the Ace this summer, yet this first-year was already standing on the same stage as him. Why?!
Seeing Kanzaki Ryou's relaxed smile, Suzuki Yu sneered, "Keep smiling. Let's see if you can still smile after I strike you out."
Hmm?
Kanzaki Ryou noticed the hostility in his opponent's eyes and felt confused.
But it didn't matter.
Kanzaki Ryou slowly breathed out, slipping into the hyper-focused state he achieved during visualization training.
Takasaki High's players observed him nervously. They had collected his data with extreme caution.
Looking only at his batting stats—from the Spring Metropolitan Tournament to the Kanto Tournament, up through today's summer preliminaries:
14 at-bats
8 hits
1 ground-rule double
6 home runs
1 walk-off home run
His batting average and on-base percentage were terrifying.
Regarding Kanzaki Ryou's hitting ability, Takasaki High's Coach Kudo valued him even more than Azuma Kiyokuni, Seido's own monster slugger.
Intentional walk!
The catcher made the call. With no one on base, intentionally walking a batter with such monstrous stats was not shameful.
But the moment Suzuki Yu saw the signal, he widened his eyes.
Are you kidding me!?! He's just a first-year! An intentional walk?! That's a slap to my face!
Suzuki Yu shook his head violently, burning with anger. He completely rejected the catcher's plan.
The catcher sighed. He knew the moment he saw Suzuki Yu's eyes—forcing an intentional walk wouldn't work. The kid's pride wouldn't allow it.
In the end, the pitcher had the final say.
He gritted his teeth and made the call for a testing pitch instead.
Suzuki Yu smirked.
That's right. He's a first-year. If I back off here, maybe others wouldn't mock me—but I'd never forgive myself.
He lifted his left leg lightly, wound up, and threw.
"Ball!"
Kanzaki Ryou didn't swing. The moment the pitch left Suzuki Yu's hand, he read its trajectory. His dynamic vision was too sharp—judging the ball was effortless.
Second pitch: a vertical Curveball toward the inside corner.
Still no swing.
Too much drop. Hard to turn into an extra-base hit.
Kanzaki Ryou's target was the Fast Forkball.
Once two strikes came, he would swing regardless of what pitch was thrown. But a Fast Forkball would be ideal.
He was certain Takasaki High wouldn't throw three straight breaking balls. The Fast Forkball was Suzuki Yu's best pitch—pitchers always trusted their best pitch when ahead.
Soon, the third pitch came.
Just as expected—a Fast Forkball to the outside corner.
Kanzaki Ryou tightened his grip, lowered his center of gravity, and swung sharply.
Bang!
A crisp, perfect sound exploded.
Kanzaki Ryou tossed his bat aside and sprinted for first.
The ball flew over the first, landing in right field.
He reached first base safely.
"Wooo—!!"
"Kanzaki!!!"
Seido's fans roared, shaking cheering flags.
In contrast, Suzuki Yu was furious. Losing a direct duel to a first-year—talented or not—was humiliating.
So what if he got on base? If he doesn't score, this hit won't matter!
Suzuki Yu turned his gaze to Shida Shota, who had stepped into the batter's box.
But Shida Shota wasn't looking at him. His eyes drifted toward the excited crowd, and he smiled bitterly.
He had been at Seido for two and a half years… yet he'd never received that kind of cheering.
No. He had to hit. He needed to deliver.
Shida Shota centered his focus. Suzuki Yu threw the pitch—Shida swung, but missed.
Second pitch—foul ball. Two strikes.
Third pitch—a vertical Curveball. Shida Shota swung too early and struck out.
He walked back in frustration. He had tried to step up but was shut down instantly.
Next came Kominato Ryosuke.
After another lengthy battle, Kominato Ryosuke swung and missed—out.
Two outs.
Once again, Suzuki Yu faced Yuuki.
Kanzaki Ryou on first base stared intently, hoping Captain Yuuki would hit a long ball.
Yuuki smiled at Kanzaki. A silent understanding between teammates.
Kanzaki Ryou took a subtle lead.
The moment Suzuki Yu pitched—Kanzaki moved.
Yuuki swung.
Bang!
The ball bounced toward third. The third baseman charged forward, scooped it, and fired to second.
But it was late.
Kanzaki Ryou had a good start and reached second safely.
Before the ball touched the second baseman's glove…
Safe.
This fielding delay meant Takasaki High now faced runners on first and second, and next up was:
Azuma Kiyokuni.
Crisis.
The catcher felt despair. Facing Seido's core lineup was always hell. Even a tiny mistake could explode into runs.
Luckily, there were already two outs.
As long as Azuma didn't hit a home run, the worst-case scenario would be bases loaded.
And they were confident they could handle Seido's fifth batter.