Pitching Speed: 140 to 145 km/h!
Control Ability: Four corners control.
Breaking Ball Ability: Excellent!
Mentality: Outstanding!
Overall Evaluation: A pitcher with great potential at the national level.
This was Watanabe's evaluation of Taiga before the game.
Looking purely at the data, the opponent's strength didn't seem all that impressive.
These stats were enough to make him a decent pitcher, but only at the regional level—nowhere near the national standard.
However, in reality, based on the opponent's previous games, this pitcher named Taiga, though unremarkable, was likely much stronger than he seemed.
Across three games, he had only allowed a single hit and had never given up a run.
As for the few runs their team conceded in the second and third rounds, those were the fault of the relief pitchers and had nothing to do with him.
Whenever he was on the mound, he never allowed a single run.
A strong performance in one game could be chalked up to good form, and two games could be considered a coincidence. But if someone could deliver such performances for three consecutive games, it would be inappropriate to dismiss it as mere luck.
That's why Watanabe gave him such a high evaluation!
Taiga likely possessed national-level skills, which was why he had caught the attention of professional scouts.
But just how good was he? How strong was he exactly?
Unless they faced him head-on, the Seidou High School baseball team wouldn't be able to find out for sure.
That said, some things could be deduced even without direct confrontation.
One thing was certain—Taiga's pitching must have some special qualities beyond what the data revealed.
Without such qualities, there was no way he could have created his impressive record.
'So what exactly was this special quality?'
Kuramochi, standing in the Batter's Box, had no idea.
Right now, his main goal was to observe Taiga's pitching firsthand.
Before this game, the Seidou High School baseball team members had been feeling a bit frustrated.
The media had been showering them with praise on the surface, but deep down, everyone knew what people were really thinking. The Seidou players were self-aware enough to not blindly believe in the media's flattery.
They knew how poorly they had performed in the first-round match, whether due to underestimating their opponents or failing to adjust their mindset properly.
It had been an embarrassing display.
Yet despite that, the media still hyped them up. Even the most oblivious players could sense something off.
On the surface, everyone was calling Seidou the top contender for the championship. But behind the scenes, who knew how many people were just waiting for them to slip up?
The higher the praise, the harder the fall.
If Seidou ever stumbled, those media reporters wouldn't hesitate to drag them through the mud and stomp on them.
Plenty of people were waiting to see Seidou fail.
And the media? They thrived on stirring up drama—they weren't afraid of blowing things out of proportion. If anything, they feared things wouldn't escalate enough to make a juicy story.
'Those suckers!'
Coach Kataoka's furious outburst had snapped the Seidou players out of their daze.
In this game, they were determined to prove themselves through their actions.
But Kuramochi knew something very well—
The more eager he was to perform, the calmer he needed to be.
After all, impatience never led to success.
Some things needed to be approached at the right pace to achieve the best results.
Just like this showdown with Taiga.
After reviewing footage of his previous games, the Seidou players had already reached a conclusion—
This pitcher wouldn't be easy to deal with. Not at all.
To say he could completely overpower Seidou's lineup would be an exaggeration.
But to say he could put up a fierce fight against Seidou's batters? That was absolutely possible.
Against such an opponent, they had to be cautious.
Their first goal: Figure out the truth behind his pitching.
Their second goal: Start hitting the ball!
Kuramochi remained composed, showing no signs of impatience.
'Come on, throw your pitch. Let me see what kind of tricks you've got hidden in there.'
Whoosh!
After what felt like an eternity, the first pitch finally came.
The velocity wasn't particularly fast. The angle was slightly tricky, but nothing impossible to deal with...
Kuramochi saw it clearly.
For a moment, he even had the urge to swing.
If nothing unexpected happened, he was confident he could hit this ball.
But he waited.
Kuramochi kept his eyes locked on the pitch, trying to see if there was anything unusual about it.
The ball approached at a steady pace.
Even as it entered the strike zone, nothing about it seemed particularly strange.
Kuramochi frowned.
'Huh?'
To be honest, he couldn't quite understand it.
From his perspective, this pitch wasn't easy to hit, but it definitely wasn't hard either.
If he swung, he had an 80-90% chance of making solid contact and controlling the ball's direction.
For a brief moment, his instincts screamed at him to swing and send the ball flying.
But in the end, reason prevailed over impulse.
No way it was this simple…
The stats, the previous games, and the opponent's aura—Taiga's pitching shouldn't be this ordinary.
There had to be something hidden within his pitch that Kuramochi hadn't noticed yet.
He reminded himself over and over: "Don't act rashly. See more, understand more!"
"STRIKE!"
He let a perfect strike pass, allowing the count to fall behind.
"YEAH!"
"Nice Taiga!"
"Take Him Down Like That!"
In the Fukuoka High dugout, the players were ecstatic, as if they had accomplished something amazing.
Understandable—after all, they were up against the powerhouse Seidou, and the batter was the well-known Kuramochi.
For ordinary players, this felt like facing a celebrity.
Seeing their teammate perform well against such a big name naturally excited them.
'Was that really necessary?'
Kuramochi glanced at their dugout in confusion but quickly turned his attention back to the pitcher.
He wasn't like Miyuki, who could think about multiple things at once.
Right now, all his focus was on the pitcher.
Whoosh!
The second pitch came.
It was even easier to hit than the first. No increase in speed, and no sign of a breaking ball.
'Swing or not?'
It was a tough choice.
Kuramochi was convinced that the pitcher had a hidden trick up his sleeve. He wanted to wait for it to appear before making his move.
But Taiga didn't seem to be revealing anything.
Or maybe—he had already used his trick, and Kuramochi just hadn't realized it yet.
'Either way, it was time to act.'
He couldn't afford to fall behind any further in the count.
Since the pitch was clearly within the strike zone, if he didn't swing, he'd be in a disadvantageous position.
No more hesitation—Kuramochi swung.
If he couldn't see through it, he'd test it himself.
Ping!
The bat connected.
A strong, solid hit!
The impact felt clean—he had hit the ball well.
But instead of feeling relieved, Kuramochi became even more wary.
He was certain he wasn't supposed to succeed this easily.
'Had I fallen into a trap?'
He braced himself to be caught out.
But the fielders were too slow!
'Something was wrong!'
The ball landed safely.
Kuramochi stood at first base very smoothly, looking completely stunned.
'None of this made sense.'
'How had this pitcher dominated his previous games?'
'What was going on?!'
Kuramochi was completely baffled.
From all the scouting reports and data they had gathered, Fukuoka High's Ace pitcher was supposed to be a formidable opponent.
But now, it didn't seem that way at all.
'His pitches lacked speed and didn't seem to have any overwhelming power.'
'Even his control was just so-so.'
How had a pitcher like this led his team to three straight wins while only allowing a single hit?
'It didn't make sense.'
'It was completely illogical!'
'Was he deliberately holding back? Or had his previous dominance just been a fluke?'
Kuramochi-kun was at a total loss.
In the plan of the Seidou High School baseball team, Fukuoka High's Ace pitcher, Taiga, was supposed to be an outstanding pitcher.
The Seidou High baseball team wasn't without confidence in being able to beat Taiga.
They were confident in defeating him, even in this game, they wanted to disappoint the media who were just there to watch the spectacle.
They wanted to prove to everyone that King Seidou was truly the King Seidou, a peak that no one could climb.
But this, of course, had to go through a process!
What troubled Kuramochi the most was that the process seemed too smooth.
Too smooth, to the point that he was completely unprepared.
In his expectations, the Ace pitcher from Fukuoka High School should not be so weak.
'Shouldn't he at least try to fight back? It would be reasonable to expect some resistance, right?'
This was what confused Kuramochi the most.
What made it even more unbelievable was that Fukuoka High's Ace appeared to be panicking.
Since Kuramochi got on base, the Taiga kept casting nervous glances toward first base, looking extremely wary of him.
Wasn't that obvious?
He was clearly afraid of him, and it seemed to be affecting the pitcher's performance…
In this situation, if Kuramochi didn't do something, it would feel wrong.
The opponent was being so cautious; if he didn't try to scare him more, would he still be Kuramochi-sama?
So, Kuramochi took action and began to move slowly toward second base.
Sure enough, the pitcher, Taiga, was really nervous, and he threw the pickoff throw to first base.
At this point, Kuramochi hadn't even reached two meters away from first base.
He didn't even need to dive back; he just took two steps back and stepped back onto the base.
"SAFE!"
Such a pickoff throw obviously had no effect.
Kuramochi easily backed off and stepped securely onto the base.
It looked like his nickname "Cheetah" was useful—his opponents were clearly wary.
It was obvious that the pitcher didn't want to give up a run this early.
'Oh, is that so?'
A sly smile appeared on Kuramochi's face.
Back in the day, Kuramochi was never the "good guy." The more his opponents didn't want him to do something, the more he had to do it.
'Sorry, but this wasn't part of my plan; you brought this on yourselves.'
The second time, Kuramochi moved even farther away from first base.
He could clearly feel that the pitcher, Taiga, was extremely tense.
He didn't even have time to plan a pickoff throw and just threw the ball back awkwardly.
Once again, Kuramochi easily returned to first base.
The next time, Kuramochi moved another ten centimeters farther away from the first base.
At this point, the pitcher's eyes were wide open. He probably never imagined that Kuramochi was only reacting more aggressively to his pickoff attempts.
But now, Kuramochi was almost four meters away from first base.
From the pitcher's mound, it looked incredibly far.
In this situation, the pitcher could no longer focus on pitching.
He could only repeatedly throw pickoff attempts.
"SAFE!"
"SAFE!"
Back and forth they went, engaging in this exchange four or five times.
Each time, Kuramochi easily toyed with the pitcher. By the end, even Kuramochi himself felt it was becoming boring.
This time, Kuramochi moved only about 30 centimeters less than the farthest he had gone.
The difference was so noticeable, even from the pitcher's mound.
It was clear that Taiga had finally relaxed a little.
He probably thought his pickoff throws had finally forced Kuramochi back.
At this point, he refocused on the Batter's Box.
And over at first base, Kuramochi's eyes had a strange glint.
He looked at the pitcher's mound with a mix of sympathy.
'Could this guy be…an idiot?'
He had been pressuring, pressuring, and suddenly stopped.
'Did he really think I'd just give up?'
If he thought that, then Kuramochi had serious concerns about the pitcher's intelligence.
Why didn't he think?
How could Kuramochi possibly just back off?
The reason Kuramochi hadn't been pressuring as much and gave the pitcher a little breathing room was all part of his plan.
Taiga on the pitcher's mound was now in position to pitch.
Just as he lifted his leg, Kuramochi dashed from first base like a bullet out of a gun!
Kuramochi became a flash of blue light, speeding towards second base.
The catcher from Fukuoka High saw this and nearly had a heart attack.
'So fast!'
To the catcher, Kuramochi looked like a gust of wind as he prepared to steal the base.
Kuramochi was getting closer to second base!
Quickly!
The catcher anxiously glanced at his teammate, hoping Taiga would release the ball as soon as possible.
But unfortunately, Taiga was oblivious and threw the ball slowly, as if on his own usual rhythm.
At this point, Kuramochi had already covered half the distance.
By the time the ball reached the catcher's Mitt and the catcher stood to throw to second base, it would probably be too late!
As they had previously analyzed, if Kuramochi wanted to steal a base, they wouldn't be able to stop him!
Because of this judgment before the game, Taiga had been so nervous after Kuramochi reached first base.
Now, it seemed they wouldn't stop him!
Almost instantly, the catcher felt all his energy drained.
He nearly collapsed!
However, at this moment, a new wave of chaos erupted.
Boss music started playing in his ear…
And bat from hell suddenly appeared in the catcher's line of sight.
The catcher stared in disbelief at the bat, his mind racing with confusion.
'When did the batter decide to swing?!?!'
Why hadn't he noticed?
At this moment, everything seemed to have no connection to the catcher.
Kuramochi had clearly stolen second base with ease.
But the players of Seidou weren't satisfied with just that.
They weren't waiting for this imminent victory; they had set their sights on a more ambitious goal.
Kominato Haruichi, the second batter, swung his bat decisively with eyes glowing with devilish light!
PAAK!
Kuramochi's steal didn't even affect him.
He swung his bat with determination and watched as the ball flew farther and farther away.
"OUTFIELD!"
The catcher's eyes widened, and if his eyelids hadn't been in the way, his eyes might have popped out.
But it didn't matter!
The ball sailed over the first baseman's head, and the Fukuoka first baseman jumped desperately.
In the end, his mitt missed the ball by at least a meter.
The ball bypassed him easily and landed behind him.
That was a clear hit, a long hit.
Though the ball only flew about 60-70 meters, there was no one covering that position.
The ball landed, and it was naturally a hit.
By the time the outfielders ran over to retrieve it, there was plenty of time for the runner to make it to second base.
Haruichi, who hit the ball, casually ran past first base and headed for second base.
His speed wasn't the fastest, but even then he was able to reach second base safely.
At this point, the audience had stopped focusing on him, as their attention had shifted to another figure.
That figure was Kuramochi, who had already passed second base and was nearing third.
"FAST!"
When Kuramochi sprinted, it was as if he was glowing.
When he ran full speed, he seemed to have a natural aura about him, leaving everyone in awe of his unmatched speed.
In just a short span of distance, Haruichi had barely reached first base, while Kuramochi was already close to third.
If you measured the distances both players covered, Kuramochi had clearly outrun Haruichi by at least ten meters.
This speed was insane!
Even with the stolen base and early start, it was undeniable that Kuramochi's speed was extraordinary!
Two base lengths were nothing for him.
And that wasn't all—Kuramochi breezed past third base.
He didn't stop at third; he just passed it and headed straight for home plate!!!
"No Way!"
"This Was Insane!"
By this time, the Fukuoka High outfielder had retrieved the ball.
Seeing Kuramochi stealing another base, he immediately threw the ball to the catcher.
The nearly 70-meter distance was too far to cover in one throw.
While Fukuoka's training was good, they were still far from the level of a top-tier team.
After bouncing, the ball landed right in the catcher's Mitt.
At that moment, the catcher's heart finally settled, though there was still one more challenge.
If he couldn't tag Kuramochi Out, everything would still be up in the air.
The catcher turned to find Kuramochi… but there was no sign of him.
Where had he gone?
Then, the catcher heard a loud shout.
"SAFE!!!!"
What? Safe? When?
The catcher turned back, stunned at the sight before him.
Kuramochi had somehow already reached home plate.
He leisurely stepped on home plate, looking at the pitcher as if he were watching a clown.
1:0!
The game hadn't even lasted ten minutes, and Seidou High had already taken the lead.
From the looks of it, Seidou High's lead would definitely extend beyond just one point.
…