Top of the fifth inning — Seidou is on offense.
Two outs. Runners on first and third.
Yuki Tetsuya, Seidou's reliable third batter, stands tall in the box.
If he lands a hit here, the scoreboard could jump from 3-0 to 4-0, maybe even 5 or 6.
On the other side, Inashiro was teetering on the edge of a cliff.
One more push, and they'd fall.
The entire stadium — tens of thousands of fans — was completely silent.
Neither Seidou nor Inashiro supporters dared to speak.
It felt like even the faintest whisper might affect the delicate tension on the field.
So they held their breath… and watched.
You could hear a pin drop in Jingu Stadium.
Even Zhou Hao, standing at first base, could hear his own breathing.
"If I were the one on the mound right now… I'd be nervous."
He couldn't help but think it.
After all, in every ga he'd played so far, Seidou had the clear upper hand.
There had never been a situation where one pitch could flip everything.
But Narumiya i — also a first-year — was on the mound for Inashiro now.
Pitching for the first ti at Jingu Stadium. Under the gaze of tens of thousands.
And he wasn't afraid at all.
In fact, he looked thrilled.
There was confidence radiating from him — confidence that he could get the out.
Even if the batter was Yuki Tetsuya.
Whoosh!
The white ball sliced through the air toward ho plate.
Yuki, staring down the pitch, imdiately realized:
This pitcher… isn't backing down.
Boom!
Without hesitation, he swung.
Ping!
The bat t the ball squarely.
The Seidou dugout erupted in cheers. The fans leapt to their feet, expecting a long shot deep into the outfield.
But...
The ball didn't travel far.
Instead, it dipped short — and just before it touched the ground—
The Inashiro shortstop launched himself.
A diving catch!
Snap!
"OUT!"
Three outs. Inning over.
The Seidou dugout slumped in disappointnt.
Just a little more…
That could've been the ga.
anwhile, the Inashiro side breathed a massive sigh of relief.
They had been on the brink of collapse — but held on.
And they had a rookie to thank.
"Nice job!"
"Keep it up — don't let Seidou get another inch!"
Even Inashiro's third-year seniors were praising Narumiya i.
As Yuki returned to the dugout, he shared what he'd felt during the at-bat.
"That fastball… it had more tail at the end than I expected."
It was Yuki's first ti facing Narumiya.
He hadn't been ntally or physically prepared for that kind of movent.
If he had… he might have blasted it.
The Seidou players listened in silence, heads lowered slightly.
"A rookie. In his first ga. Under huge pressure. And still pitching like that?"
They were in awe.
They had all heard the nickna — "Tokyo's Prince," Narumiya i.
But this was the first ti they truly felt it.
This wasn't just so hyped-up kid.
He was the real deal.
Naturally, everyone turned to look at Zhou Hao.
Narumiya had been amazing.
But Zhou Hao's performance today?
It was even more shocking.
The very sa pitch that Yuki couldn't get a clean hit on…
Zhou Hao had crushed it.
"You—?"
One of his teammates blinked, stunned.
Zhou shrugged.
"I couldn't handle his fastball, so I waited for the forkball instead."
Silence.
Everyone stared.
That didn't sound like sothing a human would say.
Couldn't hit the fastball, so I just waited for the forkball instead?
Was this guy even real?
But Coach Kataoka nodded thoughtfully.
"That's a valid approach."
"Narumiya's fastball has heavy tailing action. If you're not confident, targeting his breaking pitches makes sense."
"He only just graduated from junior high — his breaking balls likely aren't fully polished yet."
Even though he wasn't at the plate, Kataoka's eyes were sharp.
If even Yuki struggled with that pitch, others would too.
It made sense to adjust the strategy.
Breaking balls are often less explosive.
And Seidou's batters weren't just good with fastballs — they were also skilled at handling off-speed and movent.
"Yes, sir."
The players nodded, conviction returning to their eyes.
So what if it wasn't flashy?
Scoring runs — that was the goal.
Bottom of the fifth inning — Inashiro now on offense.
Their cleanup hitter stepped into the box.
His eyes burned with hunger — like a predator hunting its prey.
He locked eyes with Yoshida, Seidou's pitcher.
And Yoshida… was in top form.
Two years of grueling training with Seidou had changed him.
What was once inconsistent pitching was now solid and stable.
The Inashiro batters knew it too.
They no longer viewed him as a pushover.
They saw him the sa way they'd seen elite Koshien-level opponents.
And that suited them just fine.
After all, Inashiro didn't fear strong opponents.
They thrived on them.
And if the ga ca down to the wire—
They'd fight tooth and nail, all the way to the end.
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