"Home run! Another home run!!!"
"Seido is too strong!!"
The reporters at the stadium and the fans filling the stands were all bursting with excitement.
Even if this wasn't going to be a fierce back-and-forth showdown—
The spectacle before them was just as exhilarating.
The Seido High School Baseball Team was displaying overwhelming dominance, proving one undeniable truth:
It wasn't that Seido had been lacking in strength before—
it was simply that every opponent they had encountered along the way had been extremely powerful.
"Looking at it now, aside from this semi-final, Seido's entire journey has been a hellish bracket."
"The very first round was against Osaka Kiryu! If that's not a hell bracket, I don't know what is."
"Stop talking, Seido's offense isn't finished yet!"
Would Seido finally ease up now?
There was no mercy rule here—the game had to go all nine innings.
In this situation, thinking ahead to the finals…
Seido's players would naturally have to conserve stamina and mental energy.
The real question was—
when would that point come?
"No. At least right now, Seido definitely won't stop," declared Fujio, senior reporter of Baseball Kingdom Magazine, with full certainty.
"Why?"
"In the previous few games, Seido's other batters were heavily suppressed. Even if their opponents weren't the three ace giants, they were still top-level national pitchers. As a result, many Seido players barely had chances to shine at the plate."
In other words…
Right now, Seido's lineup was like a pack of hungry wolves.
Finally unleashed.
Finally allowed to feed.
Would they stop now?
From a human perspective—
such restraint was nearly impossible.
They wouldn't stop until they were satisfied.
No outs, no one on base.
Fourth Batter, Azuma Kiyokuni, stepped in.
Rokkaku High School's Ace and fielders stood frozen in numb disbelief.
The fourth inning wasn't even finished, and they were already trailing by eight runs.
As a newcomer team to Koshien, they had never experienced anything like this.
The players were visibly shaken.
Azuma, standing tall in the batter's box, clearly sensed it—
But he had no plans to show mercy.
It was not yet time to let up.
Even if the opponent had no chance of coming back—
They hadn't fully given up, only lost their senses.
And besides, one thing mattered greatly—
Seido's middle and lower-order batters still weren't satisfied.
Including Azuma himself.
He had already blasted more than fifty home runs, and now his fighting spirit burned even hotter.
Every additional homer improved his personal record.
And with the professional draft coming after graduation—
He needed a résumé that shined as brightly as possible.
Reaching Koshien.
Advancing to the national semi-finals.
Already an impressive achievement—
But Azuma clearly wanted more.
"Sorry, kid. I can't stop now."
"Whoosh!"
Mitai delivered the pitch. Azuma unleashed a full-power swing.
"Boom!"
The moment the bat moved, it felt like a storm tore across the field.
Rokkaku's catcher stiffened, his whole body going cold.
"So terrifying…"
He knew he would never forget this feeling.
"Ping!"
The ball rocketed off the bat and flew deep toward the outfield.
Fans and players of Rokkaku High School watched with wide eyes as the baseball soared across most of the field—
and finally dropped just short of the stands.
"Just a little short!!"
Azuma clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
His swing was still slightly affected by Mitai's pitch.
Even though he crushed it with brute force—
the deviation made the ball land twenty meters short of a home run.
If Rokkaku's players and supporters could hear Azuma's thoughts,
they would strangle him on the spot.
They had seen arrogance before—
but never arrogance like this.
He wasn't even treating them like humans.
"Monster…! He's a monster!!"
No outs, runner on second.
Seido's offense continued without pause.
Rokkaku's players and supporters sat in stunned disbelief.
They never imagined the match would turn into this.
And now that it had—
They had no idea what to do.
"What should we do now?!"
The supporters begged for answers.
But none came.
Fifth Batter, Shimoi Teru, stepped up.
Earlier, Rokkaku's players had dismissed him.
Compared to Seido's top three batters, Shimoi seemed far inferior.
But now—
no one dared underestimate him.
He had already displayed frightening performance earlier.
Mitai inhaled deeply, enduring exhaustion, and threw with all his remaining strength.
"Whoosh!"
Shimoi swung without hesitation.
"Ping!"
The ball flew out once again.
The players and supporters of Rokkaku were numb.
They had already expected it.
"Thud!"
The ball dropped and bounced away.
Azuma sprinted past third and crossed home plate.
"Score!!"
"Congratulations to Seido for securing their ninth run of the game!"
The rally may have been winding—
But Seido's players and fans were thrilled.
"As expected of you, Azuma!"
Their chests burned with excitement.
This sensation was impossible to put into words.
Especially for Seido's die-hard fans—
Nothing satisfied them more than seeing their team crush their opponent.
"This is what a king looks like!!"
In the past few years, Seido had been dormant.
Now—
it was their turn to reign above all others.
"Seido! Seido!!"
Thunderous cheers pounded like war drums.
Even Rokkaku's supporters swallowed nervously.
It was terrifying.
Only by facing Seido could one understand how overwhelming they were.
"No wonder they took down Osaka Kiryu and Seisho High…"
Those were the national No.1 and No.3 seeds—
Defeated back to back.
Some had questioned whether those seeds were truly strong.
Now—
there was no doubt.
They were strong.
But Seido was stronger.
The game continued, and next up was the sixth batter—Chris.
Chris received far more attention than the previous hitters.
The moment he stepped into the batter's box, a wave of cheers erupted.
"Go all out and blast that ball out!"
"Chris, you're so handsome!!!"
He hadn't even swung yet, and people were already praising his looks.
It clearly had nothing to do with his performance on the field.
It was simply because of his striking, mixed-race features.
A group of young girls were completely captivated, shouting his name with excitement.
The players of the Rokkaku High School Baseball Team, who had been suffocated under Seidou's dominance, suddenly felt themselves rekindle with a different kind of fire.
Anyone else might have been fine.
But this handsome mixed-race boy standing before them? There was no way they would allow him to get a hit.
They wanted to defeat him.
Even Mitai, standing on the pitcher's mound, felt the same.
These days, girls looking for boyfriends seemed to prefer those with high looks, gentle personalities, and soft demeanors.
Mitai, with his rugged face and shaved head, had confessed many times—yet no one had ever accepted him.
He believed that despite his fierce appearance, he was actually gentle. But those girls never stuck around long enough to find out, turning away the moment they saw him.
"I will never lose to you!"
Mitai gathered all his remaining strength and unleashed the pitch.
Chris was slightly surprised.
To be honest, he hadn't expected Mitai to still throw with such force after so many pitches at this point in the game.
But Chris composed himself quickly.
An excellent catcher must always be able to adapt.
If the opponent changed, then he had to adjust immediately.
The moment he saw the pitch trajectory, Chris decisively swung.
Ping!
The bat connected squarely, sending the ball sharply into the field.
The fielders of Rokkaku High School scrambled desperately to stop it.
Thud!
The moment the glove touched the ball, it bounced out and rolled aside.
"It bounced out?"
"As expected of Chris—his hitting power is incredible!"
The Rokkaku fielders were caught completely off guard.
By the time they recovered and threw the ball back, it was already too late.
Chris sprinted safely to first base, and Shimo also rounded third and returned home.
"Safe!"
"Congratulations to the Seidou High School Baseball Team for scoring their tenth run of the game!"
"10–0!"
Double-digit scores weren't unheard of in baseball—but this was the Koshien semifinals.
To score ten runs while the opponent still had a glaring zero…
The shock was on an entirely different level.
The spectators were stunned.
Especially the reporters—
They raised their cameras and equipment, frantically capturing the scene.
For them, there was no moment more newsworthy.
"It's already the bottom of the fourth inning, and Seidou still hasn't recorded an out."
People realized that Seidou would likely start taking things easy—not intentionally holding back, but clearly relaxing.
If even then Rokkaku still couldn't defend and the score continued widening…
There was nothing Seidou could do about it.
At that point, the blame could only fall on Rokkaku High School for being unable to stop the bleeding.
Rokkaku made a pitching change.
Their ace, Mitai, was removed from the mound.
Bottom of the fourth, no outs, runner on first—
And they pulled their ace.
"Are they planning to completely give up the game? Even if they were going to lose, shouldn't they at least let Mitai pitch for the sake of his development?"
Some fans voiced their frustration.
To them, the move looked amateurish.
If Mitai had real potential, then enduring this situation would help him grow.
If they pulled him now, how would he gain experience?
"Are you an idiot?"
The fan next to him snapped back immediately.
"Do you even understand baseball?"
"Don't think you know the sport just because you watched two days of anime! Haven't you paid attention to how many pitches Mitai has already thrown?"
Seidou's batting order was about to complete its third rotation.
Even though the game was only in the bottom of the fourth, Mitai's pitch count was enormous.
And at this point, he was completely spent.
Even if Seidou relaxed, he would still be crushed.
After the substitution, the effect was immediate.
The new pitcher secured three outs quickly, finally ending the fourth inning.
The scoreboard showed 10–0, and the game moved to the top of the fifth.
Rokkaku went on offense.
Their fourth batter stepped into the box—and immediately delivered their first hit of the game.
Ping!
When the white ball flew off the bat, everyone finally remembered—
Rokkaku High School was also a national-level powerhouse.
They couldn't compare to Seidou, but their yearly recruits weren't weak.
They could read Yoshida's pitches.
Especially their cleanup hitter—his batting power was frightening.
"He got a hit!"
"Score a run! Score a run!!!"
At this point in the game, Rokkaku's wish was simple.
They no longer dreamed of turning things around.
They just wanted one run.