Two outs, runner on second base.
At this mont, Seidou High School's cleanup hitter—the fourth batter—stepped up to the plate.
At first, there were still so players in the Seidou dugout who were worried.
Would their opponents be intimidated by the reputation of Azuma Kiyokuni and refuse to face this monster head-on?
In baseball, this kind of behavior isn't exactly disgraceful—it's a common, tactical move.
But they quickly realized their concern was completely unnecessary.
Facing Azuma Kiyokuni, the pitcher from Gogen High School showed not even a trace of hesitation.
On the contrary, he was brimming with fighting spirit.
"This guy's got guts!"
The Seidou players couldn't help but admire him inwardly.
After all, not everyone has the courage to go head-to-head like this.
The third batter who had just returned to the dugout furrowed his brow as he listened to the discussions around him.
"That guy's pitch... it's not simple. There's sothing strange about the ball's spin..."
No one doubted his words.
Among Seidou's main roster, aside from Zhou Hao who needed ga ti to adjust to the atmosphere, the rest were all selected through intense competition.
So any insights they provided were valuable.
Still, despite that, they all had complete confidence in their cleanup hitter.
On the other side, Gogen High School's mood wasn't much different.
Once their ace got serious and showed his real skills, the players all seed to believe they could give Seidou a big surprise.
On the pitcher's mound, Ikegami got into his stance and decisively threw the ball.
He didn't hesitate at all just because his opponent was Azuma Kiyokuni.
Instead, he cleanly and sharply displayed his pitching style.
In the Seidou dugout, Zhou Hao activated his Sharingan to observe Ikegami's pitch.
Even though the distance between them was quite far, Zhou Hao could still clearly see every detail of Ikegami's pitching motion.
"The spin on the ball has slowed... and it's a low-angle slider…"
That thought flashed through Zhou Hao's mind.
Then he saw the baseball pass through the strike zone and land firmly in the catcher's mitt.
"Pop!"
"Strike!!"
Zhou Hao instinctively tightened his grip on the back of the bench.
He had faced off against Azuma Kiyokuni before.
And his impression of this famous upperclassman wasn't exactly great.
Not that Azuma Kiyokuni was a bad person or that their relationship was poor—it was purely about strength.
Zhou Hao had gone up against him twice. One ti, he managed to take him out. The other ti, he gave up a ho run.
But during that ho run, Zhou Hao was already nearly exhausted.
Under those conditions, getting hit off his spiral pitch wasn't all that surprising.
And afterward, Azuma Kiyokuni had to face Sawamura.
Zhou Hao could imagine just how powerful Sawamura must've been at that point.
And even so, Azuma Kiyokuni had struck out against Sawamura.
Now, facing Ikegami, this was their first showdown.
Zhou Hao suddenly had the feeling that Seidou's offense in this inning might be coming to an end.
Ikegami, now with one strike in his favor, looked full of energy.
As soon as he received the return throw from the catcher, he imdiately pitched the second ball.
Once again, he aid for the lower edge of the strike zone.
A ball in this location, if not hit well, would easily result in a weak grounder.
Already down one strike, Azuma Kiyokuni didn't seem to have much choice now.
If he didn't swing, the pitcher would keep pressuring him.
And once you're cornered by a pitcher, you have no idea what kind of pitch will co next.
"He's lost the initiative…"
Not just Zhou Hao—other Seidou players in the dugout also muttered this under their breath.
That was their honest judgnt.
But in this seemingly grim situation, the massive figure standing in the batter's box suddenly sprang into action.
No matter what others said, when Azuma Kiyokuni locked onto the pitch and swung his bat—
The sheer aura radiating from him was enough to crush everything in its path.
It was like a towering mountain—terrifying and overwhelming.
The catcher from Gogen High was stunned by the pressure Azuma Kiyokuni emitted when he moved.
They had never seen a top-tier national batter before, so they didn't know what one was like—
But there was no doubt: this guy in front of them was one of them.
Azuma Kiyokuni felt like a demon—terrifying and fearso.
But strangely, for Gogen, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Ikegami's specialty was his low-angle slider.
Even before he improved the pitch, he had already helped Gogen High start winning gas.
Their current strength and recognition were largely thanks to their coach—a forr pro who retired to take over the team.
Although his training thods were grueling, their skill had clearly improved.
It was a growth they could all feel themselves—and it was that very growth that led them to start winning gas.
And with each win, they experienced the joy of baseball more and more.
That sweet taste of victory was unforgettable.
From that point on, everyone on the team had been training hard.
Ikegami included.
With the coach's help, he learned to throw his current version of the slider.
Once he used that pitch, even Inashiro Industrial's cleanup hitter couldn't get a hit.
It was because of that secret weapon that they were able to keep the score under control and avoid getting crushed by Inashiro.
"Get ready to block the ball."
Gogen's catcher could already picture what was going to happen next.
They were about to record the third out—and take down the monster known as Azuma Kiyokuni in the process.
The team's morale would skyrocket.
"Boom!"
Just as the catcher was getting carried away in his imagination—
A thunderous crack exploded in his ears, like a muffled thunderclap.
Then he saw the bat strike the ball perfectly.
Even though the ball's spin had clearly slowed, even if it was hit, it should've just gone foul.
At least, that's what the catcher thought.
But his eyes widened in disbelief as the sheer power behind the swing launched the ball.
The ball should've gone foul.
But Azuma Kiyokuni's power was too much.
The ball was forcibly redirected—flying straight into the sky.
There weren't many spectators, maybe just over a hundred.
But in front of those hundred-so fans, the baseball soared over 100 ters—
Landing right in the stands.
And then bouncing off the seats.
"It's outta here!"
"HORUN!!!"
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POWER STONE!?
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