"That's enough. Switch," Coach Kataoka said.
Kanzaki Ryou nodded and stepped out of the batter's box as Yuki Tetsuya walked in, bat in hand.
The moment the batter changed to Yuki, Sawamura's nerves tightened.
Yuki didn't say a single word. He simply stood there, quiet and still—but the pressure he exuded was overwhelming. Compared to Kanzaki Ryou's terrifying precision and pitch recognition, Yuki's batting was defined by one thing alone:
Explosive power.
That terrifying swing speed, the kind that didn't need perfect timing to do damage.
Sawamura knew very well that Yuki was another mountain entirely—one he had no realistic way of conquering in his current state.
Even so, Sawamura poured everything he had into the pitch.
The result?
Another long drive.
After Sawamura finished his turn, Kanzaki Ryou returned to the batter's box—and the pitcher was replaced by Furuya Satoru.
The tall, expressionless boy wasted no time.
Whoosh!
An ultra-fast Fastball screamed toward home plate.
Clang!
Kanzaki Ryou swung powerfully, sending the ball flying deep into the field.
Furuya froze for a split second.
His Fastball… hit on the very first pitch?
That had never happened before.
"Hey, Furuya," Kanzaki Ryou called out, rolling his shoulders.
"You don't seriously think a straight Fastball like that can get me out, right?"
The pitch was fast undeniably fast but its trajectory was too clean, too honest.
Without a catcher calling pitches, both Furuya and Sawamura were still far too direct.
Kanzaki's words lit a fire in Furuya's eyes.
The second pitch came even faster.
The ball screamed in, spinning violently but it floated high.
Standing in the batter's box, Kanzaki Ryou could clearly feel the sheer force behind it.
But a high Fastball like that
It was batting practice.
Clang!
The metal bat cracked loudly, and the ball shot out like a meteor, disappearing beyond the outfield fence.
"Hiss, so far!"
"Home run!"
"That's insane… keeping up with that speed so easily!"
The dugout buzzed with shock.
Even though the pitch was high, it was still blisteringly fast. Most of them couldn't even guarantee contact let alone send it out of the stadium.
Kanzaki Ryou lowered his bat, frowning slightly as he looked at Furuya.
He'd already told him countless times: keep it low, don't overthrow.
Yet these two pitches were straight out of Furuya's early days.
Others noticed it too. More than a few players glanced at Furuya with concern. If he kept pitching like this, it wouldn't leave a good impression on the coaching staff.
Furuya, however, was unaware of any of it.
In his mind, a plan was forming.
Two reckless fastballs to disrupt timing…
Then pitch properly.
Unlike Sawamura, Furuya had devoted himself almost entirely to control training since joining Seido. He hadn't learned new pitches—but with his velocity, he didn't need them.
As long as he could hit the inside and outside corners accurately, even pure Fastballs were enough to dominate.
The proof was Kokushikan.
Now, facing Kanzaki Ryou a batter he instinctively understood was national top-tier Furuya made a rare adjustment.
For the third pitch, he calmed himself.
Outside. Low.
Thump!
Kanzaki Ryou's swing was just a fraction late.
The bat still made contact, but the ball didn't fly far. It bounced sharply between second and third base, skipping into the outfield on pure speed.
"Oh?" Kanzaki chuckled, pulling the bat back.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
Furuya didn't respond but a faint glimmer of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.
He'd succeeded.
Hit or not, his plan had worked.
After that, Furuya mixed in two inside Fastballs, one high, one low, before returning to the outside edge.
This time, Kanzaki's swing produced only a foul.
Soon after, Yuki Tetsuya stepped in, and the pitching session came to an end.
Both Sawamura's resilience and Furuya's adjustment earned silent approval from Coach Kataoka.
"Heh," Miyuki said, leaning toward Kanzaki as soon as he sat down.
"Looks like both of them have a real shot this summer."
"Who knows?" Kanzaki replied. "That depends on how the Coach arranges it."
Still, even he couldn't help feeling a bit excited.
There were more than two months left until the Summer Tournament, with the Kanto Tournament in between. That was more than enough time for Sawamura and Furuya to grow again.
If both made the first string…
Five pitchers.
Just thinking about it felt extravagant.
Time advanced quickly to just before the Kanto Tournament.
With competition approaching, the first string focused on maintaining condition rather than pushing limits.
After a week's rest, Kanzaki Ryou returned to the bullpen.
"Alright," Miyuki said as he squatted behind the plate.
"Two Fastballs first. Just get a feel."
"Not yet," Kanzaki replied, bending down.
"Let me loosen up a bit more."
A few minutes passed.
Finally, Huang Qianyang tossed him the ball.
"Alright—give me a strike."
"Mm."
Whoosh—
Kanzaki exhaled softly and released.
Thwack!
The ball smacked into the mitt.
Miyuki's eyes widened.
…What was that?
"Ryou, again!" Miyuki shouted, tossing the ball back.
Kanzaki didn't notice anything unusual. He caught it and threw again.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
This time, Miyuki was certain.
It wasn't his imagination.
"Senpai," Miyuki said quickly to Fujiwara Takako, who was recording nearby.
"Can you get the speed gun?"
"Okay."
She retrieved it from the corner.
"Kazuya?" Kanzaki asked, confused.
"What's wrong?"
"One more pitch," Miyuki said.
Still puzzled, Kanzaki complied.
Whoosh—
The ball slammed into the glove.
Fujiwara Takako glanced at the display.
"…149 kilometers."
The bullpen fell silent.