"What's wrong? Weren't all of you acting invincible just a moment ago?" Todoroki Raizo glanced around at the silent players. "Why do you all look so deflated now?"
His sharp gaze swept across the room.
"You don't have the luck of a powerhouse team, yet somehow you've already developed the bad habits of one."
As someone who had experienced countless victories and defeats himself, Todoroki Raizo immediately sensed the arrogance quietly growing inside many of Yakushi High School's players.
If this attitude continued, there was no way they would survive until the end of Summer Koshien.
Still, he also understood that pushing them too hard would only crush their confidence.
After a brief pause, his tone softened slightly.
"Alright, enough with the gloomy faces."
"I never taught you cowards to panic before the game even starts."
"Come on, let's talk about the match. Who wants to go first?"
The players looked at one another awkwardly.
Most of them were still embarrassed by their earlier overconfidence, and no one wanted to be the first to speak.
In the end, Kitamura Kou slowly stood up.
"For me," Kou said calmly, "the result of the match isn't the most important thing."
"What matters is having the courage to challenge strong opponents… and enjoying the process of fighting against powerful enemies."
"Of course, winning would still be the best outcome."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"But haven't we always come this far the same way?"
"We've already faced opponents stronger than Hakuryu High School."
"And now, every single one of them has fallen before us."
Kou looked directly at his teammates.
"Besides, Hakuryu High School isn't unbeatable."
"They have weaknesses too."
"As long as we stay calm, find those weaknesses, and strike decisively…"
"Victory will definitely belong to us."
Kou clenched his fist lightly.
"So let's enjoy this game just like always…"
"And win in the end."
After hearing Kou's words, the players felt even more ashamed of their earlier arrogance.
But thanks to Kou taking the lead, the atmosphere gradually recovered.
One after another, the players began sharing their own thoughts about the upcoming game.
Some of their ideas were immature.
Some were overly optimistic.
Some were completely wrong.
But that was fine.
Only by thinking for themselves and testing their ideas in actual competition could they truly grow.
As the discussion continued, time quietly passed.
Soon—
It was finally time for Yakushi High School to face Hakuryu High School.
Because Yakushi had just defeated the heavily favored Seihou High School, an enormous number of spectators flooded into the stadium specifically to watch their next game.
More accurately—
They came to watch Kitamura Kou.
Especially after his overwhelming domination of Seihou's batting lineup, countless fans were curious about the pitches that had repeatedly struck out monster slugger Sano Shuzo.
It was fair to say that most of the audience had come purely for Kou.
But the moment Yakushi High School's starting lineup was announced—
The stadium erupted.
"Huh?!"
"I came all this way to watch Kitamura Kou's 155 km/h fastballs, and THIS is what we get?!"
"Does Yakushi's coach have a death wish?!"
"Put Kitamura Kou on the mound already!"
"We're not here to watch Sanada Shunpei pitch!"
"A speed team versus a flame-throwing ace would've been incredible! Damn you, Coach Todoroki!"
"Crush Sanada already, Hakuryu! Force that idiot coach to put Kou in!"
The crowd's dissatisfaction instantly reached explosive levels.
Even before the game officially began, the atmosphere inside Koshien Stadium had already become incredibly heated.
Compared to the furious audience, however, Hakuryu High School's players looked completely unsurprised.
"I knew it," several of them thought simultaneously.
"Coach," one player reported calmly, "Yakushi High School's starting pitcher is indeed second-year Sanada Shunpei. Everything happened exactly as predicted."
Hakuryu's coach, Kotaro Sasaki, casually adjusted the stopwatch in his hand.
"Then we proceed according to plan."
His tone remained extremely calm.
"Modern baseball is a battle of information."
"We've already gathered plenty of data on Yakushi High School."
"If they think defeating Seihou means they can relax…"
A cold smile appeared on his face.
"Then we'll teach them a lesson with our mobility."
Meanwhile, inside Yakushi's dugout—
Kou lightly elbowed Sanada Shunpei and grinned teasingly.
"So, Sanada-senpai… how are you feeling?"
Sanada wasn't angry, but he certainly wasn't willing to lose verbally either.
"How about I ask Coach to let you pitch every remaining game instead, Ace?"
Kou instantly surrendered.
"Alright, alright, you win."
Then his expression became more serious.
"Still… I didn't expect Hakuryu to attack immediately."
"You'd better be careful out there, Sanada-senpai."
Instead of feeling nervous, Sanada Shunpei's face lit up with excitement.
This would be his first true battle against a top-tier Koshien batting lineup.
Although Seihou High School had been strong, he never had the chance to pitch against them personally.
But that was fine.
Not only had he gained valuable rest, but the fatigue in his arm had mostly disappeared as well.
Sanada tightened his glove firmly.
"Then let me use this game to prove something."
"Yakushi High School doesn't only have Kitamura Kou."
"In the top of the first inning, Hakuryu High School comes to bat!"
"The leadoff hitter is center fielder—Mima Soichiro!"
That's right.
Hakuryu immediately sent out their fastest and most dangerous player first.
Mima Soichiro wasn't just fast—
He also possessed incredible bat control and could intentionally place the ball almost anywhere on the field.
An extremely troublesome opponent.
Clearly, Hakuryu intended to strike first and overwhelm Yakushi with their signature style of baseball.
Standing on the mound, Sanada Shunpei stared at the tall, well-built, handsome batter in the box.
His blood began to boil.
His fighting spirit surged wildly.
The pressure radiating from Mima Soichiro was overwhelming.
It had been a long time since Sanada felt such an aggressive aura from an opposing batter.
The last person who gave him this feeling was Yuki Tetsuya from Seido High School.
At this moment, Sanada couldn't wait to challenge him.
Meanwhile, Mima's expression remained perfectly calm.
Although he personally wanted to face Kitamura Kou's 155 km/h fastballs, for the sake of the team's victory, he didn't mind entertaining himself with Yakushi's current pitcher first.
He would simply treat this as a warm-up before facing Kou.
"Play ball!"
The home plate umpire's loud shout officially began the quarterfinal battle.
Without hesitation, Sanada fired his first pitch with full force.
"Ball!"
Mima watched everything carefully.
From Sanada beginning his motion…
To the moment the baseball left his fingertips…
To the instant it reached the catcher's mitt—
His eyes never wavered.
"Smack!"
"Ball!"
As Hakuryu's leadoff batter, Mima had no intention of recklessly swinging at the first pitch.
The inside fastball nearly brushed against his body before settling into Watanabe Tatsuya's glove.
Yet Mima's expression remained completely calm.
There wasn't even the slightest hint of fear.
As he adjusted his grip on the bat, Mima quietly analyzed the previous pitch.
"About 145 km/h…"
"Control is still unclear."
"But according to our scouting report, he likes attacking inside aggressively."
"In that case…"
"What I need to target are the strikes."
"The fastballs."
"And especially that cutter aimed directly at my chest."
Despite already formulating his plan, Mima revealed absolutely nothing.
His expression remained unchanged.
His stance remained unchanged.
Even the way he held the bat remained perfectly steady.