The ga between Seido High School Baseball Team and Ichidai San High School Baseball Team entered the top of the fourth inning.
Seido was on offense.
All of Ichidai San's players had taken the field, their eyes burning with intensity as they prepared for defense.
Despite the overwhelmingly unfavorable situation—
They had not given up.
Their tenacity was undeniable.
In fact, it exceeded Seido's expectations.
"If five runs aren't enough,"
soone muttered in the Seido dugout,
"then let's score a few more."
Seido High School Baseball Team began adjusting their offensive strategy.
anwhile, the stands were still buzzing about what had just happened.
"Nine straight strikeouts…"
"Even Ichidai Sanko, a national powerhouse, got toyed with."
"They didn't even have the slightest ability to resist. How are they supposed to fight Zhou Hao?"
In the eyes of Seido's supporters, the ga already felt decided.
Of course—
Ichidai San would never accept that.
But whether they accepted it or not—
What could they actually do?
"The result is already set. It's just a matter of when Seido completely crushes Ichidai Sanko."
With that mindset, Seido's fans leaned back, eager to watch the show.
They wanted to see what tricks Ichidai San still had up their sleeves.
Soon enough—
They saw it.
Amahisa took the mound for the second ti, his montum clearly rising.
With calm efficiency, he retired Seido's lower-order batters one after another.
Three batters.
Three outs.
No runs allowed.
The top of the fourth inning ended—
The scoreboard still read:
5–0.
Judging from the process, Amahisa's outs were nowhere near as absolute as Zhou Hao's.
But no one was foolish enough to compare the two on equal footing.
The fact that Amahisa could hold Seido scoreless at all—
Was already surprising.
As the inning ended, even Seido's players felt a faint pressure creeping in.
As Seido's long-ti rivals, Ichidai San clearly had no intention of surrendering.
They were still looking to entangle Seido in a prolonged fight.
Bottom of the fourth inning.
Ichidai San High School Baseball Team was on offense.
According to Seido's original plan—
This was the ti to rotate pitchers.
On one hand, it would give Ace Zhou Hao a chance to rest.
On the other, it would allow other pitchers to gain experience.
Baseball was cruel.
If Seido wanted to stay at the top, they had to seize every opportunity to temper their combat strength.
They couldn't wait until a crisis arrived to scramble for solutions.
If soone failed to perform at a critical mont—
That failure could cost everything.
And that was sothing Seido would never accept.
From a tactical standpoint, a substitution was the correct choice.
But—
Once Zhou Hao left the mound, Ichidai San would undoubtedly attack like madn.
They would take desperate risks.
Before the decision was made, all eyes in the Seido dugout turned toward Coach Kataoka.
His expression remained calm.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward.
"Seido High School Baseball Team requests a pitcher change."
Zhou Hao didn't leave the field entirely.
Like Manaka earlier, he shifted to the outfield.
anwhile, Tanba—who had been waiting in the dugout—walked toward the mound.
"Seido changed pitchers?"
The crowd stirred.
Surprise was written clearly across the faces of the spectators.
Even with a five-run lead, this was far from a guaranteed victory.
And Ichidai San had not stopped resisting.
"Isn't this… risky?"
Unlike the hesitant fans—
Ichidai San's bench erupted with excitent.
They had dread of this mont.
They hadn't expected fate to actually grant them such an opportunity.
"This is our last chance!"
"Everyone, focus!"
Coach Tahara shouted as his players stepped up to bat.
To be honest—
He didn't want this.
Being able to score only after Zhou Hao voluntarily left the mound—
For a national powerhouse like Ichidai San, that was humiliation.
But at this point, pride was a luxury.
Neither the players nor the supporters could afford it.
Against Zhou Hao, they had found no weaknesses.
None.
On the surface, Ichidai San still looked fired up.
That fighting spirit was ingrained in their bones.
But Tahara knew the truth.
Zhou Hao's pitching had already conquered them ntally.
Continuing like that would only shatter their confidence further.
Seido's voluntary pitcher change—
Was, in a sense, a lifeline.
If they failed to grasp it—
Then their crushing defeat today would be entirely their own doing.
Tanba stepped onto the mound and took a deep breath.
He forced himself to calm down.
Back when he joined Seido, he had dread of becoming the Ace—
Not a substitute.
But now, he no longer dared to hold onto such extravagant hopes.
Facing Zhou Hao—
Who could even imagine replacing him?
From that perspective, regret inevitably surfaced in Tanba's heart.
Yet at the sa ti—
Because he had joined Seido, he had stood on the Koshien stage and conquered the nation.
People often say it's better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.
But in reality—
The tail of a phoenix shines far brighter.
With that thought, Tanba felt at ease.
Standing on the mound, his mind settled completely.
When he delivered the pitch—
He fully unleashed his own style.
Whoosh!
Ichidai San's leadoff batter visibly froze.
He hadn't expected Tanba's pitching motion to be so large.
They had faced each other before.
Which made the shock even greater.
When that high-breaking curveball appeared—
The astonishnt in his eyes was impossible to hide.
Zhou Hao being terrifying was one thing.
Ever since Seido dominated the nation—
And Zhou Hao beca the undisputed number one—
Everyone had accepted it.
Zhou Hao was invincible.
But now—
Even Seido's substitute pitcher displayed such presence.
Ichidai San's players could no longer remain calm.
With opponents like this—
Could they really seize this chance?
Just thinking about it made the batter's hands tremble slightly.
Crouching behind ho plate, Miyuki Kazuya's eyes glead.
He had noticed it instantly.
This batter—
Had already been shaken by Tanba's pitch.
Not because Tanba Koichiro was overwhelmingly strong—
The most critical factor was still psychological.
When facing Zhou Hao, the players of Ichidai San High School Baseball Team had completely lost their solutions.
Now that Seido High School Baseball Team had finally made a pitching change, Ichidai San saw this as an opportunity they absolutely could not miss.
They had to pour everything they had into this inning—hits, runs, montum.
Otherwise, once Seido's pitching rotation stabilized again, what kind of desperate situation would await them?
They didn't even dare to imagine it.
Under such pressure, every batter stepped into the box carrying a crushing psychological burden.
Unfortunately, pressure alone ant nothing on the field.
In fact, it only beca shackles that bound them tighter.
Just like now—even Tanba-senpai's normal pitching was enough to make opponents hesitate.
"This rhythm is perfect. Keep it up!"
Miyuki imdiately sent the signal from behind the plate.
Tanba did not hesitate.
He lifted his arm and decisively unleashed another high-breaking curveball.
"Whoosh!"
The baseball dropped sharply from top to bottom.
The first batter of Ichidai San gritted his teeth and swung.
He knew the odds were slim—but he couldn't allow himself to hesitate.
Earlier, Zhou Hao had suppressed them so completely that they hadn't even been able to touch the ball.
Under those circumstances, swinging had beco instinct.
Even if it was reckless—even if it was forced—they needed to make contact.
That was their team's attitude.
It was also the only way they could resist.
"Ping!"
The white baseball soared high into the air.
Kominato Ryosuke, stationed at second base, had already moved into position.
As the ball descended, he calmly raised his glove.
"Pop!"
"Out!"
One out.
Bases empty.
In an instant, the players and supporters of Ichidai San High School Baseball Team were shaken to their core.
It wasn't just one or two people who believed Tanba was their chance—it was nearly everyone.
Even the fans in the stands had thought the sa.
Compared to Zhou Hao, Seido's undisputed ace, Tanba—who had just entered as a substitute—was seen as the "soft persimmon."
You squeeze the soft one when you can't touch the hard one.
But this "soft persimmon" had just slapped them across the face.
Hard.
Including the coach, the entire Ichidai San High School Baseball Team fell into silence.
The ga had reached the bottom of the fourth inning.
Nearly halfway through.
The score remained 5–0.
Objectively speaking, it wasn't an insurmountable gap.
Yet every mber of Ichidai San felt an overwhelming sense of despair.
Facing this Seido High School Baseball Team, they couldn't see a single path forward.
"Can't even break through Tanba…?"
They refused to accept it.
But aside from acceptance, they had no other choice.
The situation felt completely deadlocked.
At that mont, the second batter of Ichidai San stepped into the box.
In the stands, Seido's first-year players were buzzing with excitent.
"Tanba-senpai's condition today is insanely good!"
What they didn't know was that Tanba himself was staring at Manaka, seated in Ichidai San's dugout—his gaze distant.
Standing on the mound, Tanba knew he shouldn't be distracted.
He should focus entirely on the batter in front of him.
But mories are rarely obedient.
Scenes of the past surfaced uncontrollably—of standing shoulder to shoulder with Manaka, of fighting as partners, of watching Manaka being pulled from the mound in humiliation.
Once comrades.
Now, one reduced to a substitute.
The other in even worse shape.
The ga pressed on.
Tanba steadied himself, lifted his leg, and pitched with all his strength.
Tall and imposing, he released another high-breaking curveball—
The baseball fell like a teor.
The second batter pressed his lips together.
Why had the previous batter failed?
He understood it all too well.
The truth was painful.
After Seido's transformation, even Tanba had evolved into soone they could no longer exploit.
There was no advantage to be found.
No weakness to seize.
Reality forced them to accept it.
"Pop!"
The ball tore through the strike zone and buried itself in Miyuki Kazuya's mitt.
"Strike!"
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
Two consecutive strikes.
With his opponent driven into a corner, Tanba looked almost unrestrained—pitching like soone possessed.
Even the core lineup of Ichidai Sanko, a nationally renowned powerhouse, had no answers for him.
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