"Top of the fourth inning! Yakushi High School fourth batter, center fielder, Kitamura!"
At the announcement, the players from Ichidaisan immediately fell silent, their attention locking onto the figure stepping into the batter's box.
This was the freshman who had crushed their entire year's effort.
They needed to see what he would do next.
"Finally, the super monster steps up!"
"Launch another one!"
"Crush that left-handed pitcher!"
"Kitamura!!!"
The stadium erupted into thunderous cheers.
Amid that overwhelming noise, Miyuki Kazuya suddenly stood up, stepped slightly to the side, and spread his glove wide.
For a brief moment—
The entire stadium froze.
Then came the backlash.
"Hey, Seido! If you're scared, just get off the mound!"
"After all that thinking, this is your decision?!"
"This is pathetic!"
"Is this how a powerhouse team plays?!"
"Yakushi! Tear them apart!"
Boos flooded the stadium, drowning out even Seido's supporters. Many of them fell silent, unable to defend the decision.
Even they felt the sting of embarrassment.
Intentional walk.
"Swoosh!"
"Smack!"
"Ball!"
One after another, the pitches stayed outside the zone.
Tsukishima Wakaba frowned, her usual smile gone.
"How shameless… avoiding Kou like that."
"Yeah! That's just too much!" Tsukishima Momiji added angrily.
Tsukishima Aoba, however, remained calm.
"There's no choice. Seido is behind. Facing Kou head-on right now would be too dangerous. If things go wrong, it could turn into another disaster like earlier."
She paused before continuing:
"Skipping him and dealing with the weaker batters afterward… strategically, it's not wrong."
"…But it will hurt their morale."
"Swoosh!"
"Ball!"
"Swoosh!"
"Ball!"
Kitamura Kou stood in the batter's box, his expression calm but his eyes carried a trace of disappointment.
"So it's come to this already…"
Sawamura Eijun, on the mound, heard every single jeer from the crowd.
His face flushed red. Steam practically rose from his head.
This wasn't his style.
He would never avoid a fight.
But this wasn't just about him it was the team's survival.
Biting back his pride, he forced himself to follow Coach Kataoka's orders.
"Ball four!"
Kitamura tossed aside his bat and calmly walked to first base.
"Sawamura, don't think too much," Miyuki had told him earlier.
"This is for the team's victory. Focus on the next batter. Do your job."
Now, crouching behind the plate, Miyuki quickly gave the next sign.
Inside pitch. Tight and tricky.
Sawamura nodded.
But his eyes… drifted.
Kitamura Kou stood far off first base more than two meters away.
Provocative.
Blatant.
Daring him.
Veins bulged on Sawamura's forehead.
Don't react… don't react…
He forced himself to ignore it and began his motion.
But—
The moment his foot turned—
Kitamura exploded.
He ran.
"Steal!" Tetsuya Yuki shouted.
Sawamura released the ball.
"Swoosh!"
Yamauchi didn't swing. There was no point.
Miyuki received the pitch cleanly and prepared to throw—
But he stopped.
Too late.
Kitamura was already almost at second base.
There was no play.
Miyuki lowered his arm, eyes narrowing as he stared at the runner.
And then—
Kitamura did something even more outrageous.
He took an even bigger lead.
Standing nearly two meters off second base, he looked straight at Miyuki.
As if saying:
I'm stealing again. Try and stop me.
Miyuki's jaw tightened.
No one ignored his arm like this.
Not even Kuramochi.
But this guy…
This guy was different.
A spark of irritation flashed in his eyes.
Fine… you want a fight?
He gave a new sign.
Sawamura didn't hesitate.
The moment he received the signal, he fired.
A quick pitch faster than usual.
"Swoosh!"
The ball was far outside the zone.
Yamauchi couldn't touch it even if he wanted to.
And in that instant—
Kitamura sprinted again.