The next day, news of Yakushi High School's victory over the seemingly invincible Ichidaisan High School spread like wildfire.
Those who hadn't witnessed the game firsthand found it hard to believe. For years, the three powerhouses had taken turns dominating West Tokyo. Although Seido High School had failed to reach Koshien for five consecutive years, its reputation remained untouchable. After all, Seido consistently sent a steady stream of talent into professional baseball through the draft.
Even among traditional contenders, Sensen Academy—despite regularly placing in the top four of West Tokyo—had never managed to dethrone any of them.
That's why Yakushi High School's sudden rise felt so sensational. A previously obscure team had accomplished what others could not.
Overnight, Yakushi became the center of attention in West Tokyo.
That day, many unfamiliar faces gathered around the baseball field. Most were clearly scouts—or rather, spies—from other schools, eager to gather intelligence on Yakushi.
This development greatly irritated Todoroki Raizo.
The match against Seido High School was fast approaching. He had planned a targeted training session for that very opponent, but now, it seemed impossible.
"Hey! Kitamura, where are you going?" Todoroki Raizo called out as he noticed Kitamura Kou and Akashi Osamu, already dressed in catcher's gear, heading toward the bullpen.
Kitamura casually pointed in that direction. "Going to practice pitching with Akaishi."
Veins bulged on Todoroki Raizo's forehead.
"Didn't you notice all those people outside the field?" he said in a low, restrained voice. "Your identity as a pitcher must remain hidden for now. If Seido finds out ahead of time, our chances of winning will drop significantly. Do you understand?"
He jabbed a finger toward the batting area.
"Go do some dry swings. Simulate facing Seido's pitchers instead."
"Ugh, what a hassle…" Kitamura muttered, completely ignoring his coach's darkening expression as he turned to leave.
"Coach Todoroki, you seem busy."
At the sound of the voice, Todoroki Raizo's expression instantly changed.
"Ah—Principal! What brings you here today?"
A balding middle-aged man, about ten years older than Todoroki, approached with two familiar faces behind him.
"It's nothing serious," the principal said with a smile. "First, we heard about yesterday's victory over Ichidaisan and came to see if the school could offer any support. Your match against Seido is only a few days away, after all."
He gestured behind him.
"Second, these two reporters from Baseball Kingdom wanted to interview you, so I brought them along."
"That's a huge help," Todoroki Raizo replied quickly. "There have been too many unfamiliar faces around today. I was worried they were spies from other schools—it's already affecting our preparations."
"A minor issue," the principal waved it off. "I'll have security handle it. Over the next few days, I'll also coordinate with the student council and various clubs to organize support for the team."
He nodded politely to the reporters.
"I'll leave the interview to you."
With that, the principal departed.
Led by Todoroki Raizo, Akiko Owada and Fujio Mine observed Yakushi's training, remaining at the field until dusk.
"A 'money tree'…? How heavy is this bat?" Akiko Owada muttered as she tried to lift the specially made bat. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Is this for strength training? No… it's even heavier than that."
"That was my training bat back when I was a player," Todoroki Raizo said with a chuckle.
"Raichi uses something this heavy every day?" Akiko asked, astonished.
Todoroki scratched his head.
"Do you think I had the money to send him to Little League? Or even a proper junior team? The middle school he attended didn't even have a baseball club."
His tone remained casual, but there was unmistakable pride beneath it.
"All I could give him… was this bat—and the strongest pitchers in his imagination."
He grinned.
"The human imagination has no limits. What he's been doing is the ultimate form of image training."
"A 160 km/h fastball. Sliders that break right in front of the plate. Cutters. Even unpredictable knuckleballs… He imagines all kinds of monster pitchers and swings against them every single day."
Todoroki's eyes gleamed.
"His hunger for baseball is on a completely different level from those kids outside."
He crossed his arms, smirking.
"That kid is going to make a fortune someday. He's nothing like me. With just a bat, he'll earn hundreds of millions."
Akiko Owada and Fujio Mine were both left speechless.
Boom!
A sudden explosive sound snapped them out of their daze.
They turned toward its source.
About thirty meters away stood a tall figure—over 1.8 meters, well-built, perfectly balanced. His eyes were closed, his stance steady, as if waiting for an invisible pitch.
Even from that distance, an overwhelming pressure radiated from him.
The bat in his hands was identical to the one Akiko had just tried to lift—except it lacked the words "money tree."
Time seemed to stretch.
Then—
He swung.
The motion was so fast that they couldn't even follow it.
Boom!
Only after the swing had finished did the terrifying sound arrive.
"What incredible swing speed…" Akiko whispered, once again stunned. She had already lost count of how many times Yakushi had shocked her that day.
"That's Kitamura Kou, right?" she asked. "Is he doing the image training you mentioned?"
"That's right," Todoroki nodded. "I'd say he was just facing a 160 km/h pitcher."
Fujio Mine hesitated before asking, "Was Kitamura also someone you trained from a young age, Coach Todoroki?"
Todoroki shook his head.
"To be honest, I've never had much luck in life."
He glanced toward the field.
"Other than my son, Raichi… the thing I'm most proud of is meeting that kid last summer and convincing him to come to Yakushi."
He chuckled softly.
"From what I heard, he didn't play organized baseball during all three years of junior high for… certain reasons."
"But by pure chance, I saw him playing a casual sandlot game and I immediately recognized his talent."
His voice lowered, but the confidence in it was absolute.
"Even Raichi falls slightly behind him."
Akiko and Fujio froze.
"Just watch," Todoroki continued. "He'll become the brightest star in Japanese baseball."
A brief pause.
"Whether Japan can dominate the world again… might just depend on him."
Silence.
The two reporters were completely stunned.
Nothing they had heard that day compared to this.
"World domination."
Those words, spoken so casually, carried a crushing weight.
For a moment, they even wondered if they had misheard.
Neither dared to ask another question.
Afraid that Todoroki might say something even more outrageous, they hurriedly wrapped up the interview and left.