Seeing that Furuya's expression remained calm, Miyuki casually tossed the ball back to him. Furuya raised his glove—
—and the ball clipped the edge and rolled onto the ground.
"Hahahaha!"
Coach Chiba Junichi, who had been on the verge of despair, suddenly burst out laughing. "Look at that first-year! He can't even catch the ball properly!"
He turned around, clapping his hands loudly as if he'd seen hope itself.
"See? Seido's pitcher is just a rookie! Sure, we're down by six runs, but it's not hopeless! As long as we score off this kid, we still have a chance!"
"Cheer up!" he shouted toward his team. "Make Seido pay for underestimating us!"
Whoosh!
Almost the moment his words fell, Furuya Satoru released his first pitch.
The Nihon Shono leadoff batter's eyes widened. His body reacted on instinct, and he swung his bat desperately.
Clap!
"Strike!"
The batter froze.
His hands trembled slightly, and a trace of fear crept onto his face.
Too fast.
The ball had screamed straight toward his face, forcing him to swing just to protect himself.
On the sidelines, Coach Chiba Junichi's mouth hung open.
"…How is this possible?"
"147 kilometers!"
"Is this really a first-year?"
Just moments ago, Nihon Shono had glimpsed hope—only for it to be shattered in an instant.
The spectators were equally stirred.
When they learned Seido had sent out a first-year pitcher, most fans thought nothing of it. After all, it was only the third round, and Nihon Shono was an unknown school. Using this game to train rookies was completely reasonable.
They'd expected something decent.
But not this.
Could this be another prodigy like Kanzaki Ryou?
Was Seido's luck really this absurd—to recruit top-tier fastball pitchers two years in a row?
With just one pitch, Furuya had seized everyone's attention.
His expression remained blank, cold and indifferent. Combined with his sharp features, it immediately triggered excited screams from the stands.
"Strike!"
Miyuki returned the ball. The pitch had been a little sweet, but the batter was already completely intimidated—and that was enough.
From there, Furuya only got better.
His pitching grew smoother, cleaner, more ruthless.
Nine pitches later—
Strikeout.
Three batters.
Three outs.
Nihon Shono went down in order.
Back in the dugout, Seido's players swarmed Furuya, ruffling his hair and congratulating him.
Watching from the side, Sawamura clenched his teeth in pure envy.
I want to pitch too…
"Don't worry," Kanzaki Ryou said calmly. "It'll be your turn soon."
"Aniki~" Sawamura turned with pleading eyes.
Kanzaki instantly recoiled. "Haruichi, get him away from me. I can't handle this."
"Okay!" Kominato Haruichi grabbed Sawamura by the collar and dragged him aside.
Just then, Chris quietly appeared behind them.
"Sawamura," he said, "come with me to the bullpen. Start warming up."
Soon, as the top of the second inning began, the steady sound of pitching echoed from the bullpen.
"Yahahaha! How is it, Master?" Sawamura shouted after a pitch, swinging his arm wildly. "I'm in perfect condition! I probably only get this 'in-form' buff once every four years!"
"I can pitch anytime!"
...
Chris, who was catching, and Coach Kataoka, who was watching the game, both fell silent.
Black lines practically formed on their faces.
So embarrassing…
"At least his energy is good," Ochiai Hiromitsu muttered, nodding.
Just then—
Crack!
Yuki Tetsuya sent a scorching hit into the outfield. The ball shot past the defender, and Isashiki Jun sprinted all the way from first to third.
Runners on first and third.
Batter: Kanzaki Ryou.
"This is our chance," Kominato Ryosuke said.
Nanpei Mamoru was still on the mound.
His uniform was soaked with sweat.
With a runner on third, walking Kanzaki was no longer an option.
He could intentionally give up a run—but the next batter was Miyuki Kazuya, who had already taken him deep once.
That was even worse.
"Don't hesitate," Nanpei whispered to himself. "Hesitation leads to defeat!"
He gathered his courage and threw.
Bang!
As if venting his frustration from the previous walk, Kanzaki swung the instant the ball entered the zone.
The bat met the ball squarely.
The baseball soared high into the sky.
"No way…"
"Another home run?!"
"Hahahaha!"
"This is insane—three home runs already, and the second inning isn't even over!"
"That pitcher won't dare to pitch again for the rest of his life."
Three more runs.
9–0. Seido.
Finally, Nihon Shono High School signaled for a substitution.
Nanpei Mamoru staggered off the mound, eyes unfocused, walking like a hollow shell.
"Don't give up!"
A sudden shout rang out from the stands.
"Show some fighting spirit!"
"The game isn't over yet!"
More and more voices joined in, cheering desperately for Nihon Shono.
Kanzaki Ryou clicked his tongue and glanced around after returning to the dugout.
"…Wow. Feels like half the neutral fans are rooting for them now."
He smiled wryly. "Why do I feel like we're the villains here?"
"Isn't that good?" Kuramochi laughed. "Villains are cool."
"Only the strong are qualified to be villains," Kominato Ryosuke added with a grin.
Kanzaki felt a chill run down his spine at those words.
"Then let's crush them," Yuki said flatly.
In the top of the second inning, Nihon Shono finally brought in their long-time ace—a left-handed pitcher.
It didn't help.
Miyuki hit a single.
Masuko Toru was retired.
Shirasu followed with another single.
And Furuya Satoru of all people recorded the first hit of his high school career.
Two outs.
Bases loaded.
Kuramochi Yoichi stepped up.
Catching an outside curveball, he roared, "Yah ha!" and slapped it into center field.
Miyuki scored.
Shirasu advanced to third.
Furuya reached second.
Kuramochi stood safely on first.
Kominato Ryosuke followed with contact, but Nihon Shono's shortstop fielded cleanly and fired to third, forcing Furuya out.
Three outs.
The top of the second inning ended.
Score: 10–0. Seido leads.