The stadium was packed with spectators today, and for good reason—on one side was Yakushi High, who had just skyrocketed to stardom after defeating Ichidaisan High, and on the other was Seidou High, eager to make their long-awaited return to Koshien after six years.
"What is this starting lineup? Are you kidding me?! It's totally different from the one they used against Ichidaisan!" Isashiki was furious, veins bulging from his forehead.
Rinichi glanced at the starting order in Isashiki's hand.
What surprised him was that the leadoff batter was now Raichi Todoroki.
That meant, at minimum, Raichi would get one more at-bat.
He returned to his seat with a calm expression, lost in thought.
"You're awfully calm. Being too calm can be a bad thing," Miyuki said, walking over.
Rinichi lifted his gaze briefly before answering, "As long as your pitch calls aren't wrong, even Raichi won't be able to hit my pitches."
The implication was clear—if Raichi did hit his pitch, then it would be Miyuki's fault for calling it.
Miyuki's smile froze. "…This guy… When did he start hating me?"
It probably started during that game against Akikawa… and he still hadn't let it go.
Just as Miyuki was about to respond, Rinichi cut in first. "If you can't handle it, then I'll call the pitches. You just need to do your best to catch them."
His gaze was calm, yet it carried the weight of a tidal wave ready to engulf everything in its path.
"All I need is a catcher who can catch my pitches."
That was the true meaning behind the first question Rinichi ever asked Miyuki: "Can you catch my pitches?"
Miyuki's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing.
It was arrogant and audacious—but for some reason, no one felt Rinichi's words were unreasonable.
Causing drama even before the game had started… No one expected the usually obedient Rinichi to say something like that.
Was he getting too full of himself?
Kuramochi stepped between them. "The game's about to start, you know."
After that, no one else said anything. They all knew this was something Rinichi and Miyuki had to work out themselves. It was clear from the Akikawa game that outside interference wouldn't help.
"Let's have a good game!"
Everyone on Seidou, except Rinichi, glared daggers at Raichi Todoroki.
Standing on the mound, Rinichi scraped his cleats against the dirt.
Beneath the brim of his cap, his eyes were calm—but like the icy stillness of a winter lake.
Raizou looked confidently at his son Raichi in the batter's box, then shifted his gaze to Rinichi.
With pitchers , if they give up a hit or a homer right at the start, they're likely to fall apart mentally—especially a first-year with no big-game experience.
Still… this first-year's pitches were nothing like your average rookie.
If they couldn't break his mental game, this match would be much harder than expected.
His grin twisted into something menacing.
The first pitch landed cleanly in Miyuki's glove.
The entire Yakushi dugout's expression changed.
"What the—his pitching style is totally different from before!"
It was a sharply dropping low inside seam fastball, barely grazing the strike zone.
Raizou's face tensed.
The second pitch—Raichi swung and missed with a forced grin.
He missed it completely.
Rinichi hadn't used this pitch once in the tournament so far.
Most people thought he only had a fastball and a forkball.
But in truth, he had more weapons he hadn't shown yet.
Just one more strike to go to sit Raichi down.
The third pitch—a devastating forkball with a steep drop, just barely catching the zone.
Raichi burst out laughing, eyes shining with excitement despite the stiff smile. "Aha… awesome!"
It was clear Rinichi's pitch had fired him up.
Even Yakushi's dugout fell silent.
The freshman ace pitcher… had just struck out Raichi in three pitches.
Raizou glanced at his players and said grimly, "I told you already—Seidou's first-year pitcher wearing the ace number isn't someone you can take lightly."
He had deliberately placed Raichi as the leadoff batter to avoid this pitcher getting off to a dominant start with a three-pitch strikeout.
And yet, Raichi—first batter—struck out in three pitches.
There was no doubt about it. That was like handing Seidou a massive morale boost… This ace pitcher who thrives on overwhelming opponents with three-pitch strikeouts? He was terrifying.
Now the momentum was completely on Seidou's side.
"Nice pitch, Kamishiro!"
The upperclassmen on defense each offered their praise.
Even Seidou's cheering squad was chanting "Kamishiro!" in unison.
Back in the dugout, Raichi was laughing wildly as he swung his bat around.
He swung at the very first pitch.
It was a high-rising fastball.
He clenched his teeth.
That pitch had come in quietly, but as it neared, the power behind it exploded—it forced a swing out of sheer instinct.
Seeing it from the batter's box was nothing like watching it on tape.
It felt faster than 155 km/h.
Of course, he knew it wasn't. The fast spin created the illusion of greater speed.
From Rinichi's overall motion, it had seemed like another high fastball or maybe a forkball.
The ball came out of his hand just as quickly.
The third pitch was an inside ball.
He instinctively started to pull back, but the thought of striking out in three pitches again—boosting the opponent's morale—made him grit his teeth.
He had to swing, no matter what!
And he did connect. But just as he started to smile, the ball landed directly in Rinichi's glove.
If it hadn't been an inside pitch, just a normal high fastball, he might've actually gotten on base.
"That's incredible… He completely shut down Yakushi's momentum," Akiko muttered in surprise.
In every previous game, Yakushi had dominated the flow of the game.
"It all started when he struck out Raichi in three pitches," Mine Fujio said, eyes fixed on Rinichi standing on the mound.
And now, before anyone realized it, the umpire's voice rang out again: "Strike! Batter's out!"
Yakushi hadn't gotten a single man on base.
"It's just that Kamishiro's new pitch and new delivery caught them off guard."
"If the game keeps going … it's hard to say what'll happen."
"The key is whether Raichi can bring the momentum back."
"But if this pace keeps up, Raichi won't get another turn until the fourth inning…"
Akiko nodded. "Then their strategy will likely shift to just stalling until they can get back to Raichi's turn. No matter what, someone has to get on base."
"But stopping Kamishiro Rinichi… that's easier said than done."
"When Kamishiro hits his stride… what he crushes is morale. Getting struck out in three pitches again and again will make any batter start doubting themselves. Even though Akikawa's lineup was weak, they probably ended up thinking 'we can't hit him'—and Yakushi might fall into that same mindset."
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.