"Haha, not bad! He struck that guy out right away."
"Hmm, it barely counts as revenge."
"Speaking of Nanjo, I feel like his Slider is even sharper than before."
"Yeah, yeah! Did you see that pitch? It vanished in an instant!"
In the stands, the audience cheered loudly for Nanjo Taishi's performance. His fans were especially thrilled by how much he had grown.
But behind home plate, Miyuki Kazuya didn't feel relieved at all. They had dealt with Ichidai Third High's third batter—the one who injured Kanzaki Ryou—but the dangerous part wasn't over. The fourth and fifth batters were coming up. One mistake could turn into a crisis.
When Ichidai Third High's fourth batter stepped into the box, Miyuki immediately signaled:
Low pitches only. Absolutely no high ones.
A batter with power like this could muscle the ball into the outfield even without a perfect hit. Nanjo didn't have the power pitching of Kanzaki Ryou, so they couldn't confront this guy head-on. Instead, they needed cunning—pitching to difficult spots and letting the defense work.
Whoosh!
Nanjo exhaled sharply and threw with all his focus.
The white ball spun through the air. The batter stepped forward, bat slicing fiercely.
Thwack!
Just before the ball met the bat, it shifted sharply—Nanjo's cutter moving away from the sweet spot.
"Strike!"
The umpire's voice rang out.
The batter's expression stiffened. It landed just on the edge. A borderline pitch—one he couldn't afford to ignore, but also couldn't hit well.
Pitched on the edge… yet still a strike.
He sucked in a breath. He played me.
But as a cleanup hitter for Ichidai Third High, he couldn't let frustration shake his rhythm. He reset his stance.
Miyuki tossed the ball back, expression calm.
As expected of Ichidai's cleanup hitter. Not easy to rattle.
Then let's test your patience again…
He squatted and signaled for another borderline pitch—this time a high-speed Slider.
Nanjo blinked for a moment, a little helpless.
This guy really wants to mess with the batter's head…
But he nodded.
Whoosh!
The Slider carved a fierce arc through the air.
Outside corner again!
The cleanup hitter reacted instantly, swinging with precision—
Bang!
He barely clipped it.
"Foul ball!"
Two strikes. Miyuki's confidence grew.
Two borderline outside pitches. The batter would definitely expect another one. In fact, he'd now be waiting for it.
In the box, the cleanup hitter narrowed his eyes.
Miyuki Kazuya… he's the type who loves doing the unexpected.
But three consecutive outside pitches isn't impossible.
Fine. I'll attack the outside corner!
Whoosh!
As the white ball approached, he shifted slightly inward, ready to punish the low outside pitch—
—and froze.
Too far!
He swung at a pitch nowhere near the zone.
"Strike!"
Strikeout.
Miyuki smirked.
Thanks for falling for it.
Two outside borderline pitches, followed by one thrown even farther outside—not a walk, not even close. Just pure psychological warfare.
"Too cunning."
"This guy's completely messing with them."
"That batter must be fuming."
In the batter's box, the cleanup hitter clenched his jaw. Tricked in the simplest way. He should've trusted his eyes, not tried to predict Miyuki.
Two outs. With their rhythm flowing, Nanjo and Miyuki combined to swiftly retire the fifth batter, ending the top of the seventh.
Ichidai Third High's prodigy, Amahisa Kousei, stepped onto the mound.
Even his warm-up pitches were electric—146 km/h and likely not his maximum.
When the game resumed…
Araki Keita—strikeout.
Yoshikawa Junpei—strikeout.
Shida Shota—strikeout.
Three batters. Three strikeouts. All blown away by a combination of Straight balls, Sliders, and Curveballs that completely ruined their timing.
The most terrifying pitch?
His Slider.
Huge horizontal break. Wildly unpredictable. Yet somehow always within a hittable range—just not actually hittable.
"If Kanzaki Ryou's early Slider was wasted movement…"
"This guy's Slider is the strongest version of that idea!"
"Why are all the geniuses showing up this year? And why all in West Tokyo!?"
"Narumiya Mei, Amahisa Kousei, Kanzaki Ryou… this is insane."
"Golden generation… that's the only way to describe it."
Seido's bench buzzed with tension. Scoring more runs against Amahisa in these last two innings wouldn't be easy.
They would have to protect their lead at all costs.
Top of the Eighth
Ichidai Third High's lower order refused to give up. They swung aggressively, determined to break through.
But Miyuki and Nanjo's defense held firm.
Even though the eighth batter managed a single, Ichidai Third High still failed to score.