Narumiya Mei sprinted toward first base with everything he had, pushing his body to the limit.
Some might wonder—didn't he just strike out? Why is he still running?
The answer was simple.
Akaishi Osamu couldn't fully control Kitamura Kou's full-power pitch.
That last throw… had exceeded Kou's current limits.
The ball did land in Akaishi's glove.
But the force behind it was too violent.
Even after entering the mitt, it twisted and struggled, refusing to settle. Despite Akaishi's best effort to secure it, the ball slipped free and dropped to the ground.
A dropped third strike.
Narumiya seized the chance immediately.
But—
He still didn't make it.
The ball hadn't bounced far. Akaishi reacted quickly, scooping it up and firing to first base.
Mishima Yuta caught it cleanly—
And tagged Narumiya out just before he could reach the bag.
Kitamura Kou scratched the back of his head, looking a bit sheepish.
"Sorry, Akaishi… I got carried away."
Akaishi didn't blame him. Instead, he gave a firm thumbs-up.
"That pitch was incredible. Don't hold back. Even if you lose control, I'll stop it."
His words were steady—but the slight twitch in his expression betrayed the pain in his hand.
Still… not enough.
I need to get stronger… so I don't hold him back.
At that moment, the speed display lit up.
156 km/h
For a split second, the stadium froze.
Then—
It exploded.
"156?!"
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"That's past 155… that's insane!"
"A monster… this guy's a real monster!"
"With that speed, pro teams would draft him immediately!"
"This has to be the fastest pitch in high school baseball right now!"
"Yakushi High is going to shake the entire nation!"
In the stands, reactions varied wildly.
Furuya Satoru stood frozen, his face pale.
"…156… faster than me…"
Beside him, Sawamura Eijun's jaw hung open in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Miyuki Kazuya simply covered his mouth, watching the two with amusement.
I knew it…
Even Yang Shunchen lost his usual composure, his eyes burning with excitement.
"Perfect… absolutely perfect," he muttered in Chinese. "Control and overwhelming speed… I have no regrets seeing this."
On the field, Kou showed no signs of slowing down.
Facing the sixth batter, Riku Yamaoka—
Three pitches.
Three fastballs.
Three strikes.
"Strikeout!!!"
"That's six strikeouts already!"
"What a shame about the dropped ball earlier!"
The crowd roared non-stop.
Inashiro's dugout, however, was tense.
Narumiya Mei clicked his tongue in frustration.
"What are you guys doing? I'm the only one who didn't strike out! This is the finals—get it together!"
The others remained silent.
Then Shirakawa Katsuyuki replied dryly,
"Don't act special. You just got lucky."
Masatoshi Harada added bluntly,
"You didn't even reach first base before getting tagged out."
"…Masa-san?!"
Narumiya looked utterly betrayed.
"Are we even teammates?!"
Back in Yakushi's dugout, Kou was welcomed like a hero—but he brushed it off casually.
The game quickly resumed.
Both pitchers were now in perfect rhythm.
And neither side could break through.
Boom!!!
Thump!!!
"Strikeout! Batter out!"
"On this grand stage, against powerhouse Inashiro Industrial, Kitamura Kou shows no sign of being a freshman—he's dominating the field!" the commentator shouted passionately.
By the end of the third inning—
Score: 0 – 0
A complete stalemate.
The crowd remained on its feet.
Sitting down felt pointless—the tension kept forcing them back up again and again.
In the stands, Akiko Owada spoke in amazement,
"I never imagined the game would unfold like this. Both pitchers have been flawless so far… Mine-san, what do you think?"
Fujio Mine nodded thoughtfully.
"To be honest, Kitamura Kou has exceeded all expectations. You wouldn't think he's a first-year at all—his composure is like that of a seasoned ace."
He paused, eyes fixed on the field.
"As I said before, this game will be decided by the pitchers. Now… it's just a matter of who breaks first."
Akiko blinked in surprise.
"You're placing him on the same level as Narumiya Mei…?"
"The fourth inning begins!"
"Yakushi High at bat—first batter, Fukuda!"
Back in the dugout, Todoroki Raizo looked relaxed.
"Sanada, how are the pitch counts?"
Sanada flipped through his notebook.
"Narumiya—40 pitches, 6 strikeouts. Kou—33 pitches. Aside from that one dropped third strike, he's struck out eight."
Raizo grinned.
"Only a seven-pitch difference… not bad."
He leaned back confidently.
"They're starting to adjust to Narumiya. Keep following the plan—his pitch count will explode later."
The real battle…
Was only just beginning.