"Sixth batter, catcher, Miyuki."

In the waiting area, Rinichi crouched down, watching him closely.

The first pitch was a ball—no swing.

Not bad at reading pitches…

The second pitch—he actually connected.

Rinichi thought with mild surprise.

The ball zipped past third base, landing cleanly in left field.

To the crowd, it looked like a sharp double.

Though honestly… that swing was a bit forced.

As these thoughts passed through his mind, Rinichi rose to his feet and walked to the batter's box.

This was already the lefty pitcher's fourth inning.

His expression calm, Rinichi extended his bat forward in his usual manner.

Although they had only allowed one run so far, that was simply because their coach trusted their ace. In truth, the first two innings had already cost them two runs…

If it were me managing, I would've pulled the ace as soon as he gave up that one run…

The thought drifted lazily in his head, before he reminded himself—not everyone thinks the same way I do.

The first pitch came. Without hesitation, Rinichi swung.

As he expected—the same pattern, the same trajectory.

He lifted his gaze to follow the soaring ball, casually dropping his bat, and jogged around the bases at his own unhurried pace.

Even though this lefty's pitches weren't easy to hit, after seeing him six times, Rinichi had practically solved him.

Hmm… that felt good. If I'd been just a little off, it probably would've been only a double.

"Home run!!"

The announcer's voice thundered through the ballpark.

Now then, Komadai should finally change pitchers, right? Will it be the right-hander… or Hongou? Most likely him.

Crossing home plate, Rinichi retrieved his bat and returned to the dugout with his expression unchanged.

Moments later, the broadcast announced a pitching change.

Hearing the familiar name, Rinichi lowered his head slightly, a mild smile curling his lips—yet his eyes gleamed sharp as blades.

He paused, turned to glance at the scoreboard.

This game is almost over…

On the mound for Hongou stood a freshman with a 150 km/h fastball. The stands buzzed in excitement—

"Another 150 pitcher? That makes three already—and they're all first-years!"

And without doubt, Hongou Masamune struck out the next three batters in order.

Switching sides.

Rinichi adjusted his cap.

Doesn't matter how well you defend. If you can't score against me… it's meaningless.

"Strike! Batter out!"

Once again, he struck out all three batters with ease.

Still—three up, three down.

"Leadoff batter, shortstop, Kuramochi."

150 km/h, huh… feels strangely familiar.

Kuramochi grinned, recalling the feeling of standing in against Rinichi's pitches during training.

The first pitch's sheer force nearly made him swing.

"Ball!"

He barely restrained himself.

Grinning wider, he remembered those times facing Rinichi—and even thought of Furuya.

The second pitch came—its movement caught him by surprise.

Tough to hit, but compared to Rinichi's pitches… it felt a little easier.

He swung.

The ball flew off the bat.

But sheer velocity alone made it hard to drive it far.

Damn… can't get it out there.

Still, his legs didn't slow.

"Safe!"

He reached first.

Ryosuke swung at the very first pitch—

"Foul ball!"

Adjusting his helmet, his expression hardened.

My timing's still a little off…

"Strike!"

"Foul ball!"

Trouble… that last pitch was out of the zone.

He struggled to keep up with the speed.

Fourth pitch—a blazing splitter.

"Strike! Batter out!"

Next up, Isashiki Jun.

"Strike! Batter out!"

Frustration on his face, he returned to the dugout.

"Cleanup, first baseman, Yuuki."

On the mound, Hongou Masamune's mind churned with restless irritation.

Every thought returned to Rinichi. In his memory, Rinichi was always stoic, cold, unshaken…

Except once—in their third year of middle school, when Rinichi had become captain. That was the only time Hongou had seen him smile.

But even then… wasn't that just the burden of leadership?

Yet in high school, Rinichi seemed more at ease, almost carefree—and he trusted his teammates.

Well… they're nothing like his old team, after all.

Slowly, the image resurfaced of not long ago, when Seidou's upperclassmen praised Rinichi to his face—and Rinichi's subtle reaction.

Gritting his teeth, Hongou fired a pitch with all the power he could muster.

Yuuki Tetsuya swung and missed.

"Strike!"

"Strike!"

"Strike! Batter out!"

A three-pitch strikeout.

Switching sides once again.

The batting order for Komadai rotated back to the top again.

"Strike!"

The leadoff hitter gritted his teeth.

Again, another fastball on the edges!

By now, Komadai had realized something—since the beginning of the game, Seidou's catcher had been calling for mostly fastballs to the inside and outside corners, followed by the splitter, and then the high-speed slider.

Changeups? Zero.

The leadoff hitter cursed inwardly.

Come on, just throw it. If it's a straight fastball, I'll definitely hit it!

In his eyes, the reflection of Rinichi's smooth pitching motion flickered.

He swung. His pupils shrank.

"Strike!"

A very low changeup!

"Strike! Batter out!"

Another changeup!

Seeing the catcher's sign for a changeup, Rinichi's eyes darkened slightly.

This was just like that game against Inashiro Industrial…

His thoughts cut off.

The next batter was already standing in the box.

Rinichi exhaled slowly.

Against the second batter, he mixed in a changeup between two fastballs.

Against the third batter, he didn't use a single changeup at all.

And just like that—three up, three down, another scoreless inning.

Rinichi had thought that in this game, Miyuki wouldn't even bother calling for changeups. As long as the fastballs hit the corners, suppressing the hitters wouldn't be a problem.

After all, with his splitter, they couldn't even make contact in the first place.

Rinichi stepped off the mound.

Eighth inning.

Masuko and Miyuki both failed to get on base—one grounded out at first, the other struck out.

Rinichi: "…"

He didn't want the last out of the inning to fall on him.

Troublesome…

Rinichi stepped into the batter's box, bat in hand, and looked at Hongou Masamune's displeased face.

Rinichi: "…"

Why displeased?

Shouldn't he be glaring at me like an enemy?

He thought back to that final summer of his third year in middle school, when he faced Hongou's team and won—and the words he said afterward.

Did he not stir up enough resentment back then?

Only in that kind of state… would Hongou pitch at his absolute best.

If I were still a catcher, forming a battery with him might actually be pretty good… maybe I'd be able to draw out his full power every pitch.

The first pitch came flying.

Seeing its trajectory, Rinichi froze for a second.

Hittable… it didn't even enter the strike zone…

What was that supposed to be?

Rinichi fell silent for a moment. When he looked up again, his eyes beneath the brim of his cap had turned icy cold.

Hongou frowned.

Even after Rinichi tossed his bat and ran the bases out of sight, Hongou didn't move, nor did he even glance at him.

"Home run! That's Kamishiro's second home run in this game!"

The commentator's voice was filled with excitement.

The batter after him, however, was struck out without question.

Returning to the dugout, Rinichi's expression was dark, and nobody dared to speak.

He entered the small locker room and slammed the door shut.

Moments later, the sound of something heavy smashing against the wall echoed out.

Everyone's eyes shifted toward that spot.

Miyuki's expression deepened as he remembered something—back when Rinichi had just joined the First String, during the Red vs. White match against the Second String… he had said he wanted to face Furuya.

Everyone knew Hongou's fastball earlier had been a bit too easy to hit—it was probably a mistake. But whether someone could actually take advantage of it and hit it well was another matter.

Many people didn't understand why Rinichi was so furious—because what might be "just a hittable pitch" to others, was "an absolute meatball" to him.

When Rinichi emerged, he silently switched out his helmet for his glove and returned to the mound.

That inning, he calmly shut Komadai down once again.

And then, in the ninth and final inning, neither side scored.

7–0.

"Congratulations to Seidou for winning the championship!"

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