At the top of the third inning, Seiko Academy was on the offensive.
The players of the Seidou High School baseball team were still catching their breath before heading back onto the field for defense.
Yamamoto, the new pitcher, had a bizarre presence on the mound.
Judging by his size, he was twice as large as a gorilla.
Just standing there, towering over the pitcher's mound, made all the Seidou players tense up unconsciously.
They were prepared to face a powerhouse pitcher—brute force incarnate.
That was the image Seiko Academy's ace projected.
And he was indeed powerful. If the players of Seidou weren't highly skilled, they could easily get thrown off by him during their at-bats.
So even though Seidou had racked up six runs early on, they never once underestimated Seiko's ace.
He wasn't truly weak—he was just unlucky.
After all, he had the misfortune of going up against Seidou, one of the top teams in the country in terms of batting strength.
Given that, his early exit wasn't surprising.
Then, the next pitcher stepped onto the mound—Yamamoto Nojuchi.
He stood ten centimeters taller than Seiko's ace and looked even more muscular.
Even from 18 meters away, the batters of Seidou felt dwarfed by his massive frame.
They couldn't quite imagine how terrifying a pitch from this human tank would be.
But when Yamamoto actually threw the ball, the Seidou batters were stunned.
It was nothing like they expected.
Their read wasn't wrong—Yamamoto's pitching was indeed difficult to hit.
But he wasn't a power pitcher at all.
His fastball ranged between 120 and 130 kilometers per hour.
That was average at best. In powerhouse schools, that velocity didn't even make the cut.
In an ultra-competitive region like West Tokyo, most decent aces threw well above 130 km/h.
That's precisely why West Tokyo was known as the fiercest battlefield in the country.
You could hardly blame them. With three of the nation's top teams and a bunch of other contenders fighting for dominance, it was natural for the competition to be brutal.
In that context, Yamamoto's pitching wasn't even worth mentioning.
Yet it gave Seidou a ton of trouble.
Even their core batters couldn't manage a solid hit?
That was just strange.
"There must be something off about the ball's rotation. We're making contact, but it's not flying the way we expect," Yuuki commented.
"Maybe you're just not strong enough? Try switching to a heavier bat?" someone joked.
"No, his pitches… they're clearly crafted with intent."
As the players discussed countermeasures, Coach Kataoka suddenly called out.
"Let's make a change—"
At the top of the third, Seidou's ace, Yoshida, had already regained his form.
Yoshida was now performing at a level comparable to the top pitchers in the country.
But despite that, Coach Kataoka made a decisive substitution.
All eyes turned to Zhou Hao in disbelief.
Was this the moment their ace was going to hand over the reins?
"Tanba, you're up!"
Everyone on Seidou's bench was stunned.
They hadn't found any noticeable flaws in the pitcher who had just taken the mound.
And now Coach Kataoka was sending in Tanba?
This wasn't exactly the time for experimental training!
"The opponent's tricky, no doubt. But just stick to your usual approach—you can handle him. I believe in you," Kataoka said seriously to Tanba.
"But my tolerance ends at a tie game. If they start catching up, I'm making another change."
Even though Seiko's performance had exceeded expectations, Coach Kataoka didn't abandon the strategy he'd planned in advance.
He only instructed Zhou Hao to get ready in the bullpen.
"If they tie the score, you're up."
Training the players was important, but winning the game still came first.
If anything unexpected happened, Seidou wouldn't be qualified to stand alongside the other two giants.
Tanba stepped onto the mound at the top of the third.
Right off the bat, he delivered a sharp, high-drop curveball that startled the Seiko hitters.
The batter struggled to make contact, but couldn't manage more than a whiff.
With one out in the bag, Tanba faced Seiko's leadoff hitter again.
This time, the batter barely managed to get the ball in play.
But Seidou's fielders were no slouches—they caught it with ease.
Tanba had racked up two outs in quick succession.
Suddenly, the Seidou players began rethinking their earlier judgment.
Maybe their pitchers weren't so unreliable after all.
Despite giving up two home runs early, Yoshida had the mental strength to adjust and recover mid-game.
That alone put him ahead of most pitchers.
Many so-called prodigies lose their nerve after one bad inning.
But Yoshida was different.
Now, with the addition of Zhou Hao—who was known for his calm and stable demeanor—Seidou felt more confident than ever.
Even if they had to rely solely on Yoshida, they could still put up a good fight against the other top schools.
Win or lose, they'd play a worthy game.
And now even Tanba, their original backup pitcher, was performing well.
He'd struggled when he was the team's ace.
But as a reliever, even the Seidou players had to admit—Tanba had talent.
His high-drop curveball could fool just about anyone.
Just as everyone was relaxing and praising Tanba's return—
BOOM!
Ping!
BOOM!
PING!!
BOOM!
PING!!!
It was like a repeat of the first inning.
Seiko Academy's second, third, and fourth batters—
Blasted the ball into the stands.
Three home runs in a row!
They racked up three runs in an instant!
The scoreboard shifted from 6–2 to 6–5.
Only one run separated the two teams now.
The players on the field and those in Seidou's dugout stood frozen in disbelief.
At that moment, they had no choice but to admit it:
The players from Seiko Academy may have chosen the wrong skill tree…
But they'd maxed out their power-hitting stats.
There was nothing wrong with Tanba's pitching.
His control, form, and curveball were all solid.
But his pitches still got blasted into the stands.
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POWER STONE!!!
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