Everyone was gathered in the cafeteria watching the recording of Yakushi's game.
Starting from the fifth inning, a right-handed pitcher named Shunpei Sanada came on, wearing jersey number 18.
Chris stood at the front, explaining.
"From here on, this pitcher threw until the seventh inning, and the game ended early with a 12-3 win."
"After defeating Ichidaisan, Yakushi advanced rapidly through the bracket, unsurprisingly beating their opponents one after another to reach the top eight."
"This right-handed pitcher who came on in relief threw two innings against Ichidaisan. He primarily targets the inside corner aggressively and uses a pitch that cuts into a right-handed batter's chest — a 'rising fastball.' Realistically, this guy is probably their true ace."
A pitch that cuts into the chest of a right-handed batter…
Rinichi tapped his fingers rhythmically on the table, deep in thought.
"A rising fastball? You don't see that often," Tetsuya Yuuki remarked.
"Why didn't that guy start the game?" Jun Isashiki asked with his usual scowl. "Was he injured or something?"
"We're not sure," Chris said. "But if you consider saving your ace pitcher or suddenly replacing the heart of your batting order — those are the kind of bold strategies that suggest they may pull something unexpected when we play them."
"What we should really pay attention to is their batting lineup," Chris continued. "Batters three through five — Mishima, Raichi, and Akiba — contributed seven hits and eight RBIs. They're all just first-years, but they absolutely can't be underestimated."
Coach Kataoka's eyes turned sharp as he looked at Chris. "They stole seven bases as a team, correct?"
"Yes. They don't go for bunts, but they're very aggressive on the base paths."
"The pitcher needs to keep a close eye on the runners while also dealing with a powerful batting lineup…" A sharp gleam appeared in Kataoka's eyes. "Yakushi High is going to be more difficult than we imagined."
After the meeting dispersed, Rinichi approached Chris. "Can I watch the footage again?"
Chris smiled and didn't refuse.
In the end, everyone left, and only Rinichi remained in the cafeteria.
He rewatched Raichi's swings and Yakushi's base-stealing timing again and again. By the time he returned to the dorms, lights-out had already passed.
He tiptoed in and flopped onto his bed, eyes open and staring at the ceiling.
A slugger like that, huh…
That thought circled in his mind, and he couldn't sleep. The next day, he looked completely out of it.
As he was changing, Kuramochi glanced at Rinichi, whose messy hair and drowsy face gave him away. "You came back pretty late last night. Don't stay up so late tonight — the game's the day after tomorrow."
The Raichi impact was showing. Everything had gone so smoothly for Rinichi until now. Facing someone like Raichi must've hit him hard.
It was rare to see Rinichi so visibly affected by anything.
Kuramochi and Masuko were already dressed and standing by the door, watching Rinichi slowly get ready.
Is this guy really gonna be okay? Kuramochi wondered, pushing the door open. "Hurry up, or you'll be doing extra laps for being late."
Rinichi was the last one to arrive — just barely on time.
As usual, the three first-years trailed behind during warm-up laps.
After that, the pitchers were called over to the bullpen.
Since the game was two days away, they probably wouldn't pitch tomorrow — or if they did, it wouldn't be for long.
Perfect chance to test out a new pitching form.
Rinichi exhaled slowly, shifted slightly to the right, lifted his right leg, and swept it out as he stepped forward.
When Miyuki caught the pitch, a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes. The ball blasted into his mitt with force.
Rinichi had shortened his arm motion, making his form tighter. His arm whip was faster, and everything — velocity, power, and control — had improved.
From a batter's point of view, it was now harder to time a swing against him.
Miyuki stood up and tossed the ball back. "Nice pitch."
Rei Takashima adjusted her glasses with a helpless smile. "Rinichi really is something else…"
Although Coach Kataoka didn't say anything, behind his sunglasses, his eyes revealed a trace of approval, and the corners of his mouth even lifted slightly.
After throwing a few more pitches, Miyuki noticed that Rinichi seemed to be deliberately disrupting his own pitching rhythm.
Every pitcher has a unique pitching rhythm—that is, the interval between their set-up and the actual pitch.
Miyuki just hoped he wouldn't end up confusing himself.
When there's no clear rhythm to follow, batters will have a hard time timing their swings. On the flip side, it could become a fatal weakness if opponents start to figure out the timing and patterns of what type of pitch is coming when.
Still, against Yakushi, it could prove to be a nice surprise.
Rinichi's pitch speed, power, and control were all remarkably stable, showing noticeable improvement compared to before.
The other three pitchers watching from the sidelines felt an inexplicable pressure from just observing.
Rinichi's pitching was genuinely intimidating.
So this is Rinichi Kamishiro's true ability…
It hadn't even been that long, and he'd already improved this much. All they could say was that his talent was terrifying.
Even though he had been clearly unfamiliar with any position outside of pitcher and batter, once he gave something a try, he got good at it quickly.
He had even volunteered to try playing shortstop, and after just a few rounds of practice, he moved with impressive ease.
It was as if he had been born for baseball.
At this point, the only position he hadn't tried was catcher.
But odds were… he'd probably be good at that too.
After finishing his bullpen session, Rinichi walked over to watch Tanba-senpai pitch.
You could see from Tanba's delivery how eager he was to get back on the mound in an actual game.
The night before the game, the upperclassmen were helping Tanba run mock game simulations.
Isashiki Jun kept hitting his pitches.
By that point, Tanba had already thrown a ton of pitches and was drenched in sweat.
"What's the matter, Tanba?! Throw me something nastier!" Isashiki roared.
"Well, some of them weren't too bad," Ryousuke Kominato chimed in, then added deliberately, "Kamishiro's here watching too."
Rinichi, trying hard to stay invisible: "…" Wasn't it you guys who dragged me here?
Otherwise, he'd have been in the bath by now.
"Hey, that last one wasn't bad—Tetsuya didn't even swing at it!"
Isashiki took the opportunity to shower Tanba with praise.
"That was a ball though, right?" Masuko said.
"No it wasn't, it was totally a strike!"
Rinichi silently sided with Masuko.
No matter how you looked at it… that was definitely a ball.
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.