News of Yakushi High School defeating Inashiro Industrial High School—the championship favorites—and advancing to Koshien for the first time quickly spread across the country.
Some powerhouse schools that had already secured their spots at Koshien had even sent scouts to watch the match live.
However, their original target hadn't been Yakushi.
It was Inashiro.
After all, as a long-standing powerhouse, Inashiro Industrial High School was widely considered a title contender. Naturally, they were a team every school needed to study carefully.
So when the news broke—
The first reaction across the country was disbelief.
Inashiro… eliminated in the West Tokyo qualifiers?
And not by one of the other traditional powerhouses—
But by an unknown team that seemed to appear out of nowhere?
It sounded absurd.
But once they watched the game footage—
Silence.
Complete silence.
From start to finish, Kitamura Kou had completely suppressed Inashiro's nationally renowned batting lineup.
No matter how many times they replayed it, the result didn't change.
A first-year…
Dominating a national powerhouse like that?
That terrifying velocity.
That stability on the mound.
That swing, strong enough to rival the best hitters in the country.
How had a player like this remained unknown until now?
Was this some kind of joke?
Komadai Fujimaki High School — Hokkaido
Already qualified for Koshien, Komadai Fujimaki continued their usual training.
Their ace, first-year pitcher Hongō Masamune, was already famous for his blazing fastball exceeding 150 km/h, dominating Hokkaido.
Boom!
Thump!
Inside the bullpen, Hongō fired pitch after pitch, his catcher barely keeping up.
"Hey—this has to be fake, right? A 156 km/h fastball? That's insane!"
Hongō's ears twitched.
Without stopping, he threw another pitch—then turned his head toward the source of the voice.
A second-string player was standing nearby, staring at a magazine in shock.
Hongō walked over.
"What did you say? 156 km/h? Are you reading pro baseball news or something?"
Startled, the player nearly dropped the magazine.
"H-Hongō! Don't sneak up on people like that—you'll give me a heart attack!"
Hongō ignored him completely.
His eyes were locked on the magazine that had fallen to the ground.
On the cover—
Kitamura Kou, frozen mid-pitch.
Beside it, bold headlines screamed:
"A Monster Appears in West Tokyo! First-Year Kitamura Kou Throws 156 km/h!"
"Dark Horse Yakushi Defeats Inashiro and Advances to Koshien!"
Hongō fell silent.
First, it had been a pitcher hitting 153 km/h.
Now—
156?
What kind of place is West Tokyo…?
Why were so many monsters appearing there?
But instead of fear—
A fierce excitement rose within him.
I want to face him.
On the same field.
And find out who is truly the strongest pitcher of this generation.
Fortunately—
That chance might come soon.
Yakushi had advanced to Koshien.
As long as neither team fell early…
They would meet.
A chilling aura radiated from Hongō, silencing everyone around him.
Teito High School — East Tokyo
Mukai Taiyo flipped through Baseball Kingdom Monthly, clicking his tongue in disdain.
"So this is the 'Tokyo Prince,' Narumiya Mei? Kanto's number one lefty? Doesn't look like much."
He scoffed.
"Losing to someone who just relies on velocity… Don't these muscle-head pitchers understand that control is the real weapon?"
Kanemori stepped over, frowning.
"Taiyo, don't underestimate them."
He folded his arms.
"Yakushi beat all three major powerhouses in West Tokyo. That's not luck."
His voice grew more serious.
"And that first-year pitcher—Kitamura Kou…"
"When I heard he throws 156 km/h, it felt like I got struck by lightning."
Mukai gave him a deadpan look.
"You get struck by lightning way too often."
Ignoring him, Kanemori grabbed his shoulder.
"Enough talking. Go practice. Koshien's about to start."
He smirked.
"Who knows? Maybe the coach will get struck by lightning and actually let you pitch."
Mukai's lips curled into a sly grin.
"Careful, senpai… I might just report that to the coach."
Ryūō Academy Baseball Team
Takurō Kikkawa walked over to Mishima Keitaro.
"Hey, Mishima—have you heard? There's a guy in West Tokyo throwing 156 km/h. They say he crushed all three powerhouse teams."
Mishima didn't even look up.
"…Doesn't matter to us."
"We already lost to Teito. Koshien's out of reach this year."
Kikkawa clicked his tongue in frustration.
"That's because the coach didn't send us in! If we'd played, the result might've been different!"
Mishima shook his head.
"Forget it. The coach has his reasons."
He paused.
"After this loss… we'll get our chance in the Autumn Tournament."
Kikkawa suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Sorry, I just remembered Shimano's face after we lost!"
He wiped his eyes.
"But you're right—after this, let's see how he keeps you benched."
Mishima finally lifted his head, a spark returning to his eyes.
"…156 km/h, huh?"
A faint smile appeared.
"I hope we meet Yakushi in the fall."
"I want to see… if I can hit a pitch like that."
He picked up his bat—
And walked off to train alone.
Yakushi High School—
Had gone from unknown…
To the center of attention.
And at the heart of it all—
Was one name.
Kitamura Kou.