Kominato Haruichi stiffly turned his head and looked toward his older brother.
Kominato Ryosuke was smiling at him—calm, reassuring, just like always.
"Phew…"
Taking a deep breath, Haruichi straightened his back and shouted,
"Yes, Coach!"
Coach Kataoka Tesshin nodded. "Play well."
"Third batter, center fielder—Isashiki Jun!"
"Yes!"
As Seido's connecting batter, Isashiki's explosive swings often turned the tide at critical moments.
"Fourth batter! First baseman—Yuki Tetsuya."
Seido's immovable pillar. Their true cannon.
"Yes!" Yuki replied calmly.
"Fifth batter, left fielder—Kanzaki Ryou."
Just as expected. For the first game, Kanzaki was placed in the outfield to conserve stamina.
"Yes!" Kanzaki raised an eyebrow slightly. This arrangement suited him just fine—an opponent like Naruto High was perfect for padding stats.
"Sixth batter, catcher—Chris."
"Yes."
A faint smile appeared on Chris's face. This was his first time stepping onto the Koshien stage.
"Seventh batter, third baseman—Arima Kazusa."
Like Haruichi, Arima was also getting his first starting opportunity at Koshien.
"Little Arima, do your best," Masuko said, giving him a thumbs-up.
"Yes!" Arima responded, unable to hide his excitement.
"Eighth batter, right fielder—Shirasu."
"Yes, Coach."
As always, Shirasu remained composed.
Then—
Coach Kataoka paused slightly before calling out the final name.
"Ninth batter, pitcher—Sawamura Eijun!"
Boom!
The entire room seemed to tremble.
The starting pitcher for Seido's first Koshien game… was actually Sawamura Eijun.
Tanba and Kawakami turned to look at him. Meanwhile, Furuya Satoru stared intensely, flames practically burning in his eyes.
"Eh?! Me?! Really?!"
Sawamura shot to his feet in disbelief.
"It's you. Play well," Coach Kataoka said flatly, then added, "Don't embarrass yourself."
"YES, BOSS!!"
Sawamura snapped to attention, legs straight as a pole.
Coach Kataoka's expression darkened slightly, but he chose to ignore it.
"Kawakami will relieve. Furuya will close. Be ready."
"Yes, Coach!"
Kawakami looked surprised but quickly stood.
Furuya snapped out of his daze. "No problem."
"Good. Dismissed."
Meanwhile, on Naruto High School's side—
They were also holding their pre-game meeting.
"It's highly likely Seido won't use their Ace, Kanzaki Ryou, in the first round," Coach Tanaka said, pointing at the data on the screen.
"This is our chance."
"If we're going to win, we must attack early—score within the first three innings and seize control of the game."
"Yes, Coach!"
"Their starting pitcher will likely be Tanba Koichiro," he continued. "He relies heavily on his curveball, with a solid sinker and forkball. Against him—swing aggressively, focus on inside pitches, and don't chase outside balls."
"Understood!"
Coach Tanaka nodded and shifted topics.
"As for their batting lineup… their core revolves around Kanzaki and their fourth batter."
His pointer tapped the screen.
"But before that—we must stop their leadoff hitter."
Kuramochi Yoichi's name was circled.
"A fast left-handed batter. If he gets on base, their offense explodes. Shut him down at all costs."
Naruto's ace, Kuroda Shota, nodded seriously. "Understood."
Finally—
Coach Tanaka slammed his palm on the table.
"We all know Seido is strong. Some people even say they've already won the championship."
"That's not wrong."
"But—!"
His voice rose sharply.
"If fate has put them in front of us, then we face them head-on!"
"Create chances! Seize chances!"
"Fight! Compete! Win!"
He raised his fist high.
"Defeat Seido!!"
"DEFEAT SEIDO!!!"
The entire room erupted with determination.
August 7th arrived.
After the morning's grand opening ceremony at Hanshin Koshien Stadium, the tournament officially began.
The opening game?
A brutal massacre.
Osaka Kiryu High School crushed their opponent 13–1.
"That was ruthless…"
"Opening game and they already destroyed them like that?"
"Typical Osaka Kiryu—nothing but muscleheads."
"Muscles instead of brains."
Seido's players commented from the stands.
After one more game—
It was finally their turn.
By noon, the temperature had climbed to 34°C. The team retreated to the locker room, conserving energy.
Soon, as the previous match ended, two teams began emerging from the tunnels.
"They're here! Seido!!"
"They're coming out!"
"King Seido!!"
The crowd hadn't even fully seen them yet, but the cheers had already exploded across the stadium.
Naruto High's players froze.
This… was only the first round?
The atmosphere was even more intense than their prefectural finals.
Then—
Seido stepped onto the field in their blue-and-white uniforms.
Standing at the front, Kanzaki Ryou casually waved to the crowd—
And the stadium erupted.
"WOOOOAHHH!!!"
"Stop showing off and get inside!"
"Yeah, yeah, we know you're popular!"
"Show-off!"
Ignoring his teammates' complaints, Kanzaki continued waving like a celebrity greeting fans.
Only after soaking in the cheers did he finally turn and walk into the dugout.
The stage was set.
Koshien—
Had officially begun for Seido.