At the top of the fourth inning, Seido High School Baseball Team sent a first-year rookie to the mound.
That decision alone was enough to make the insides of Kasuga Ichiko High School Baseball Team churn with rage.
Kasuga Ichiko was no ordinary opponent.
They were a recognized powerhouse in Tokyo—
A team that had once defeated Teito and stood on the stage of Koshien.
Against a national powerhouse like Seido, they could accept defeat.
They could accept being outplayed.
But what they could not accept—
Was being treated as a training target.
Oshima Shin was one thing.
He had been famous since childhood.
A nationally renowned star who chose Seido—
Someone destined to shine from the moment he stepped onto the field.
Players like that were never measured by ordinary standards.
Once they appeared, shocking performances followed naturally.
That much, Kasuga Ichiko could endure.
But—
Who was Furuya Satoru?
A first-year whose name they had never heard before.
A player without reputation.
Without fame.
Without any prior record.
Yet Seido High School Baseball Team treated him the same way they treated Oshima Shin—
Sending him directly onto the field to "gain experience."
What did that mean?
It meant Seido intended to use him in the Summer Tournament.
It meant Seido believed this rookie could shoulder responsibility in decisive games.
And that meant—
Kasuga Ichiko High School was nothing more than a stepping stone.
"They're completely using us as practice!"
"They don't even take Kasuga Ichiko seriously!"
The pride of a Tokyo powerhouse burned fiercely.
Even if they couldn't defeat Seido—
Even if the gap was undeniable—
They refused to be humiliated like this.
If Seido wanted to trample them—
Then Kasuga Ichiko would bite back, no matter the cost.
With that resolve, Kasuga Ichiko's leadoff batter stepped into the box.
His intent was clear.
He wasn't here to observe.
He wasn't here to adapt.
He was here to crush the rookie—
To send the ball over the fence and announce to the stadium:
Kasuga Ichiko High School is not to be trifled with.
Confidence surged through his veins.
Until—
He saw the pitch.
Boom!
The baseball ripped through the air.
The leadoff batter froze, eyes wide, calves trembling as the ball flashed past him.
So fast—
So violent—
So terrifying.
They had never seen anything like it.
If the pitcher had been Zhou Hao, they would have surrendered without hesitation.
Facing the nation's strongest Ace, resistance was meaningless.
But this—
This was supposed to be an unknown first-year.
Not someone like Tojo or Kanemaru, whose names still carried recognition.
No one on Kasuga Ichiko had ever heard of Furuya Satoru.
And yet—
This nameless rookie threw a pitch that overwhelmed them completely.
Akita Stadium lacked speed-measuring equipment.
The news reached them moments later.
"150 kilometers per hour!!!"
The words detonated in everyone's mind.
Among current high school pitchers, only a handful could reach that speed.
Among first-years—
Besides Zhou Hao last year—
There was now only one.
Furuya Satoru.
Kasuga Ichiko's coach felt his thoughts collapse into silence.
If the opponent were merely strong, there might still be a way.
If it were just talent, perhaps tactics could compensate.
But this—
This gap was absolute.
As long as Furuya maintained this speed—
Kasuga Ichiko had no answers.
None.
The stands erupted.
"A first-year throwing 150?!"
"Is Seido a pitcher factory now?!"
"They already have Zhou Hao—where did this monster come from?!"
It had long been said that Seido lacked a reliable Ace.
Now—
It felt as though the heavens themselves had intervened.
As if Seido had stumbled into a nest of monsters—
Producing two Aces in succession.
Zhou Hao was already terrifying.
And this Furuya Satoru—
His potential felt even more dangerous.
Where could Kasuga Ichiko possibly find hope?
Against ordinary national powerhouses, they could still fight.
Even against Seido, perhaps resistance was possible.
But when facing this—
And knowing Zhou Hao hadn't even entered the game—
Despair quietly took root.
Behind the plate, Miyuki Kazuya observed everything through his reflective glasses.
Kasuga Ichiko's players had lost their sharpness.
Their fighting spirit, once blazing, was being crushed under invisible pressure.
They never believed they could defeat Seido—
But they had believed they could prove themselves.
Now even that was slipping away.
"It's unfortunate," Miyuki thought.
Furuya's pitching was still unstable.
His control had flaws.
His mechanics weren't refined.
But the raw power—
That overwhelming force—
It was something no ordinary pitcher could match.
Kasuga Ichiko was strong.
Very strong.
Yet against Furuya Satoru—
They could only surrender.
"Strike!"
"Strikeout!!"
One batter fell.
Then another.
Then another.
Three consecutive strikeouts.
The Kasuga Ichiko dugout sat frozen.
This was a team forged in Tokyo's brutal competition.
A team that had endured countless trials to earn its name.
Yet here they were—
Beaten to numbness.
Three outs.
Side retired.
Bottom of the fourth inning.
Kasuga Ichiko's Ace returned to the mound, desperate to hold on.
But his pitches had lost their edge.
His speed declined.
His confidence wavered.
Even without giving up runs, the reporters shook their heads.
"This pitcher… he's finished."
They rarely made judgments so blunt.
But today—
They were certain.
Kasuga Ichiko was only holding together by inertia.
All it needed—
Was a fuse.
Top of the fifth inning.
Kasuga Ichiko's cleanup hitter stepped in.
Furuya remained expressionless.
He set.
He pitched.
Boom!
The fourth batter stared in disbelief.
He knew Furuya was strong.
He had seen it.
But standing in the box—
The pressure was suffocating.
The pitch wasn't just fast.
It carried weight.
It crushed confidence.
It forced panic.
Swinging became instinct.
And instinct wasn't enough.
"Strike!"
"Strike!!"
"Strike!!!"
"Strikeout!!!"
The Seido dugout felt a chill.
Oshima Shin.
Furuya Satoru.
These two names—
They were no longer just rookies.
They were threats.
Joining the First String was only the beginning.
From there—
Eighteen players competed.
Nine positions existed.
Even geniuses like Miyuki and Chris had to fight.
Only Zhou Hao—
And Yuki—
Were untouchable.
Now—
Two first-years were storming in.
Starting positions.
Core roles.
The balance of power was shifting.
Zhou Hao and Isashiki Jun watched helplessly.
Coach Kataoka had benched them deliberately.
At first, everyone thought the game would be close.
Then—
They realized how unnecessary those concerns were.
One rookie hit a home run.
The other struck out six consecutive batters.
Kasuga Ichiko was powerless.
The absurdity left them speechless.
Bottom of the fifth inning.
Oshima Shin returned to the plate.
Another clean single.
That was the breaking point.
Kasuga Ichiko's Ace finally collapsed.
Seido scored six runs in one inning.
8:0.
They missed ending the game early by just two runs.
The game dragged on.
Seido continued rotating pitchers.
In the seventh inning, Kasuga Ichiko, fighting like cornered beasts, finally scratched out a run off Kawakami.
A small blemish.
Nothing more.
Final score:
12:1.
Yet the impact—
Was enormous.
Without three core starters.
Relying on remaining players—
And two terrifying first-years—
Seido High School Baseball Team crushed a Tokyo powerhouse.
As the news spread—
Seido's reputation soared even higher.
A seed spot secured.
Top eight confirmed.
And the entire high school baseball world began to realize—
Seido was no longer just strong.
They were becoming terrifying.