Seidou High School Baseball Team's offense struck like lightning, quickly scoring a run.
First, the second batter, Kominato Haruichi, got on base. Then, the third batter, Shiratsu, delivered a clean and timely hit.
This series of brilliant plays left the crowd in awe.
"So cool!"
"Amazing!!"
Although conceding a run in the top of the fifth inning was somewhat regrettable, it even made some sensitive fans feel a hint of unease.
After all, in the previous game, Seidou had suffered due to a similar situation, which made the spectators uneasy.
If today's game also dragged on until the ninth inning, the Seidou players would truly disappoint their supporters.
Other powerhouse teams had all advanced early so far. If Seidou had to play the full nine innings every match, even if they won by a large margin, it would still feel underwhelming.
It wouldn't resemble the dominant style expected of Seidou High School's baseball team.
Fans, especially Seidou's die-hard supporters, would feel especially let down. They often boasted online, claiming that Seidou was unparalleled.
Not only did they believe there was no team in West Tokyo capable of matching Seidou, but even on a national level, Seidou's strength was seen as unique and unrivaled.
However, if every other team secured early wins while Seidou had to grind through nine innings, even the most thick-skinned fans would struggle to defend them.
They had their pride and feared embarrassment too.
Fortunately, the "King" Seidou had never let their supporters down.
Shortly after conceding a run in the top of the fifth inning, Seidou's second and third batters quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning, teaching their opponents a lesson.
They made it clear—Seidou's reputation as the "King" was not baseless.
Fukuoka High School was simply not on their level.
Although the audience still doubted that Seidou could end the game by the fifth inning, their mood lightened considerably.
As long as the players performed well, even if the outcome wasn't as overwhelming as they hoped, they could accept it.
Besides, given the current momentum, there was still a significant chance that Seidou could end the game early.
No Outs, a runner on first base.
Including the run just scored, the score was now 7:1, with Seidou leading by six.
Although a fifth-inning mercy rule win seemed unlikely, ending it by the seventh inning appeared almost certain.
While a seven-inning win didn't sound as impressive as a five-inning one, it was still acceptable.
Seidou's fans remained optimistic.
Moreover, Seidou's offensive push was far from over. Their formidable cleanup hitter, Miyuki, was now up to bat.
The cleanup hitter of a King's team!
If they could, Fukuoka's players, including their Ace pitcher Taiga, would have preferred to walk Miyuki intentionally.
But unfortunately, with a runner on first and no Outs, that wasn't a viable option.
It was an awkward situation—walking Miyuki wouldn't ease the crisis.
Furthermore, showing fear in such a critical moment would only encourage Seidou to press harder.
In short, this was the time for Taiga, their ace pitcher, to prove his worth. He had to face the challenge head-on.
Backing down was not an option.
If he cowered now, it would lead to a complete collapse!
Taiga understood this perfectly. He took a deep breath and focused all his attention on Miyuki.
To be honest, facing Seidou's cleanup hitter, Miyuki Kazuya—hailed as the nation's top catcher—Taiga had zero confidence.
However, he had mentally let go of his fears. There were no distractions. He only needed to give his all.
With this open mindset, Taiga's pitch quality actually improved despite the growing pitch count.
Whoosh!
The baseball shot toward the plate, reaching Miyuki in a flash.
Miyuki didn't hesitate. He didn't opt to observe or wait; he decisively swung his bat.
PAAK!
The bat made solid contact, but the ball popped up high and landed behind the catcher.
Miyuki's face darkened slightly.
'As expected, any team that made it to the final 16 was no pushover.'
Fukuoka was a tough opponent in every aspect. When they performed at their peak, they could be a troubling opponent.
The reason they were trailing by six runs after five innings was partly because Taiga hadn't found his rhythm early on, allowing Seidou to capitalize.
But the bigger reason was that Seidou's team was simply far stronger than their peers.
This one-sided situation wasn't because Fukuoka was weak. Their opponent was just too powerful.
'Still, underestimating any opponent due to one's own strength would be a grave mistake.'
Miyuki's mind raced like a high-speed machine.
From his first swing, he had already set a trap for Taiga.
After seeing his Foul ball, Miyuki knew Taiga would instinctively throw an inside pitch next.
'It is a typical psychological reaction—a pitcher asserting his dominance after being challenged.'
This wasn't mere guesswork. Miyuki had studied Taiga's patterns and made a calculated prediction.
Sure enough, the baseball came in, low and inside, just as expected.
From the batter's perspective, it seemed aimed directly at his knees—a tough pitch to handle.
But Miyuki smiled. "Perfect!"
Taiga had followed exactly the pattern Miyuki anticipated.
Miyuki could barely hide his excitement. He swung decisively.
PAAK!
The bat connected solidly, sending the ball past the third baseman.
A beautiful hit!
If not for Fukuoka's quick outfield defense, Miyuki might have stretched it to a double.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Miyuki had to settle for first base.
Meanwhile, Shiratsu advanced to third.
No Outs, runners on first and third—a prime scoring opportunity.
Miyuki was a bit unsatisfied.
'That low pitch was incredibly hard to hit well, even though I was prepared.'
He couldn't help but think of his teammate in the dugout—Sawamura Eijun.
'What if it were Sawamura instead?'
That guy was a monster when it came to these situations. No matter where the ball landed in the strike zone, he had a knack for hitting home runs.
This kind of skill was rare, even among national-level stars.
Of all the players Miyuki had seen, no one quite matched Sawamura's ability in this regard—not even the power hitter Raichi from Yakushi High.
The crowd erupted with excitement over the back-to-back hits.
Fans waved anything they could and chanted "Seidou" in unison, creating a wave of energy that seemed ready to crush their opponents.
On the mound, Taiga's expression grew grim.
Despite shedding his mental burdens, Miyuki's hit still left him shaken.
He felt utterly outmatched.
Once praised by professional scouts, Taiga had once thought his struggles were due to his team holding him back. He believed his talent was genuine.
But this game exposed the truth.
Compared to Seidou's elite players, he was nothing.
His past achievements? Perhaps they were just the result of facing weaker opponents.
Perhaps he would've realized this sooner had he faced Seidou earlier.
As these thoughts clouded his mind, Seidou's fifth batter, Maezono, stepped up to the plate—his fierce expression resembling a wrathful Titan.
Taiga's anxiety intensified.
He lost his nerve entirely.
His first pitch was a Ball.
Second pitch—Ball.
Third pitch—Ball.
Fourth pitch—Ball.
Maezono was Walked!
Miyuki advanced to second base. The bases were now loaded, with no Outs.
The Seidou bench exchanged incredulous glances. If they hadn't seen it themselves, they wouldn't have believed it.
A top-16 pitcher in West Tokyo had Walked Maezono out of fear.
Just earlier, he had fiercely battled Miyuki, only to collapse before Maezono.
What a bizarre turn of events.
Next up was today's sixth hitter, Asou.
'You are not confident in facing him, but you are okay with facing me? Even though I had hit a home run earlier?!' Asou was enraged at this thought.
Although Asou had hit a home run before, he was solved in the next at-bat.
'Then I will show you to never underestimate me!!' Asou swore to destroy the pitcher in front of him.
But Taiga still threw the ball confidently!
First pitch—inside.
Asou swung.
Ping!
After being hit, the ball soared and fell in the center field!
"YOSHIAAA!"
"NICE ASOU!"
"You Are On Fire Today!"
Shiratsu ran back home with his great speed!
And just as Miyuki was nearing the third base…
"DIVE!!!"
Ono, the third base coach, shouted at him to dive!
Miyuki didn't think and dived directly!
SNAP!!
"…SAFE!!"
After making a successful dive, Miyuki raised his head up to see what happened.
It turned out that the center fielder, who caught the ball after its first rebound, threw the ball back to third base instead of home base.
'They now want to trade Runs with Outs?'
Looks like Fukuoka High School wants to end this inning as fast as possible.
The score now is 8:1.
Seidou needed three more Runs to end the game early, but Fukuoka didn't want that and wanted to push the game to the next inning at any cost, even by losing runs!!
However, this didn't mesh well with Seidou's Players.
'Like hell, we will let you!' this was the thought of every player of Seidou right now.
And it was true for the next batter, the skilled hitter Toujou.
Standing on the Batter's Box, Toujou looked at the mound with determined eyes.
With desperation, Taiga pitched the ball with everything he could!
'The bases are full, and they want Outs as fast as possible.'
'In this situation, an easy grounder will be the best thing they can get.'
'To make the batter hit a grounder, the best thing is…'
A tricky ball to the low outside corner.
Ping!
Like he was seeing the future, Toujou hit the ball with precision.
The baseball flew above the second baseman, landing in the right field!
"OOOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!"
"ANOTHER HIT!"
"TOUJOU!!"
"SEIDOU!!!"
"SEIDOU!!"
"TOUJOU!!!"
Miyuki returned home safely, and not even a second after Toujou reached first base, the ball arrived.
Snap!
"SAFE!!"
"TSK!"
The first baseman of Fukuoka clicked his tongue, but he still threw the ball back to the catcher with a practiced movement.
On the plate, the catcher looked at Maezono, who stayed on the third base.
'They still didn't give up!'
Even when they are losing points, even with Seidou opening fire and unleashing hit after hit on them, Fukuoka High School's players were fighting with everything they could.
It was a commanded spirit, really.
But Seidou won't hold back because of it!
The next batter, Nishiyama, also shared this sentiment.
He has just conceded a run this inning, and he wanted a payback.
No better payback for lost runs than to get it back himself.
After letting go of the tricky ball, he aimed at the next breaking ball and swung.
PING!
The ball flew high and was falling toward the left fielder.
It appears like he was going to catch it.
Seidou's runners returned to base, if the ball was caught and they wanted to steal a base, they had to start from the base bag.
However, luck was in favor of Seidou High School, and the left fielder lost track of the ball just a moment before he caught it.
Like that, he missed the ball.
Tak!
Not losing this opportunity, Maezono returned to the home base like an unstoppable boulder falling from the top of the mountain!
"SAFE!!!!"
"WOOOOAAAH!!"
"YEAAH!!!"
"SEIDOU!!!"
"SEIDOU!!!"
"SEIDOU!!!"
The score is now 10:1
Seidou High School was one run away from ending the game.
Even so, they were not greedy, the left fielder picked up the ball he had missed with his hand directly and sent it to third base, so Ono told Asou to stop and not risk it.
Their offense is now going very well, and they haven't lost, and Out yet, so there is no need to take unnecessary risks.
No Out, full bases!
Seidou High School was one Run away from ending the game.
The next batter is the ninth batter of Seidou, Kanemaru Shinji!
If he too can get a hit, Seidou can close the game!
"Kanemaru!"
"Kanee!"
"You can do it Kanemaru!!"
His teammates have high hopes for him to end the game right now.
On the second base, Toujou was looking at his friend Kanemaru with anticipation.
'It is your time to shine, Shinji!'
'You like this atmosphere, right?'
'Go for it!'
"Taiga!!"
"Roar! Taiga!!"
"Take Him Out!"
"One at a time!"
Not to be outdone, or perhaps this was their last hope, Fukuoka players cheered for their Ace.
His pitching was failing, and Seidou's batters were getting hits one after another, but this was their last chance.
On the mound, Taiga has already given up on being scouted.
Seidou's continued bombardment was soul-crushing for him. His partner, the catcher, took a time out to encourage him to pitch.
"We can take this batter Out. He is bad at breaking balls, and we took him out before…"
Taiga nodded at the catcher's words.
'Yes, I can at least do that!'
The catcher, seeing that Taiga still had some fight in him, returned to the plate and the game resumed.
Seeing the sign of his catcher, Taiga threw the ball with everything he could muster.
On the Batter's Box, seeing the ball coming towards him, Kanemaru made his move.
He took a step forward towards the mound, reaching the front edge of the Batter's Box!
'What…?'
The catcher was shocked.
Before the ball could break, Kanemaru planned to hit it!
BUUUUUUZZZZZ!!!!!!
So, with all of his power, Kanemaru swung his bat!
BAAAAAAANNNNGGGG!!!!!!
The ball soared like a rocket—out of the park!
TAK!
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"
"YEAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!"
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
The stands are going crazy!!
A Dramatic End!
A Goodbye Home run!
A Grand Slam!
In the bottom of the fifth inning, the ninth batter of Seidou High School, Kanemaru Shinji, scored his very first homerun in an official game in high school.
And it was a Grand Slam!
The score was now 14:1.
The game ended with the mercy rule in the fifth inning.
Seidou High School had once again proven their dominance with a resounding victory.
…
T/N: Feel free to leave a Comment guys!
And Powerstones are much much welcomed!