The next day—
Seido High School.
Inside the classroom, Kanzaki Ryou had just finished class and was about to collapse onto his desk for a nap when he noticed Miyuki Kazuya suddenly glance toward the door.
Then Miyuki pointed outside.
Standing there were several familiar third-year seniors.
Isashiki Jun leaned casually against the doorframe, pretending to look cool while secretly trying to attract the girls' attention.
On the opposite side stood Kominato Ryosuke with his arms crossed.
Meanwhile, Yuki Tetsuya stood directly at the entrance with his hands in his pockets, while Masuko Toru quietly stayed behind him like a personal bodyguard.
"Why are the seniors here?" Kanzaki asked lazily.
"How would I know? But they're probably here for us. Let's go take a look," Miyuki replied as he stood up.
Kanzaki followed behind him, casually smacking the back of Kuramochi Yoichi's head on the way.
Kuramochi, who had been sleeping since class started, immediately jerked awake.
"Hahaha! Kanzaki, you completely crushed Teito!"
The moment they approached, Isashiki Jun loudly slapped Kanzaki on the shoulder.
Unlike rivals such as Inashiro or Ichidai Third, Seido rarely crossed paths with Teito High School.
Even though Seido was now recognized as the king of West Tokyo, Teito—the overlords of East Tokyo—had always been unconvinced.
Especially their fans.
So this clean 10–0 victory had shut up quite a few people.
"…Wasn't that normal, Jun-senpai? Why are you so excited?" Kanzaki replied while casually cleaning his ear with his pinky finger, looking utterly unconcerned.
"You brat, still arrogant as ever."
Laughing, Isashiki punched him lightly in the chest before turning toward Miyuki.
"You did great too, Miyuki. That stolen base was seriously awesome."
"Haha, I just got a little lucky," Miyuki replied modestly.
"Heh. Hope you stay that lucky forever."
Isashiki chuckled.
Although Miyuki's steal had involved a bit of fortune, the fact that he recognized the opening and immediately acted on it was also proof of his skill.
"Kanzaki. Miyuki. Kuramochi. Good job."
As always, Yuki Tetsuya's praise was brief and direct.
The Autumn Tournament had already passed through several rounds, but the seniors hadn't paid much attention to the earlier games.
However, the match against Teito was different.
That game was the true test of the new Seido lineup.
And the results had not disappointed them.
Kanzaki, as captain, together with vice-captains Miyuki and Kuramochi, had led the team extremely well.
Looking at Kanzaki standing before him now, Yuki felt deeply satisfied.
This was the captain he had personally recommended.
Seido's ace.
Seido's cleanup hitter.
"Seniors, when are you coming to watch a game live?" Kanzaki asked.
"We'll go together for the finals," Yuki answered calmly.
At that moment, Kominato Ryosuke—who had been silent the entire time—suddenly smiled faintly while looking at Kuramochi.
"Even if you've become vice-captain, don't get too cocky, alright?"
"Yahaha! Ryosuke-senpai, I'm super reliable now!" Kuramochi laughed loudly.
Even though Ryosuke sounded like he was praising him, Kuramochi still had the strange feeling that he was about to be lectured.
"Mm. Help Haruichi adjust more during games," Ryosuke added.
Hearing that, Kuramochi froze.
"…Ryo-senpai, you can actually say gentle things like that?"
"You never treated me this nicely before!"
"Is it just because I'm not your little brother?!"
Kuramochi instantly looked wronged, tears practically forming in his eyes.
"…Try saying that again."
"Ah~ What nice weather today!"
Kuramochi changed expressions instantly.
"Hahaha! Uga!"
Masuko Toru clapped his hands behind them, laughing happily to himself.
"Masuko-senpai, you seem to have gained weight again."
Kanzaki stepped forward and poked Masuko's stomach.
"Uga! No!"
Masuko immediately sucked in his stomach with all his strength.
After joking around for a while, the seniors finally prepared to leave.
Before departing, Yuki raised his fist and lightly tapped Kanzaki in the chest.
"From now on, it's your job to lead the team forward."
"The second-years are fine, but you'll have to spend more effort on the first-years. Especially Furuya and Sawamura."
"We will!"
Kanzaki, Miyuki, and Kuramochi answered at the same time.
In the blink of an eye, it was already time for the third round of the Autumn Tournament.
In the second round, Seido had faced Ugumori High School, a relatively weak team.
Coach Kataoka Tesshin allowed Furuya Satoru to start that game, and Seido ended it early in five innings with a crushing 19–2 victory.
Meanwhile, a certain someone once again broke his own home run record—
raising the total to a ridiculous sixty-nine.
Saturday.
Fuchu Citizen Stadium.
By 9 a.m., the crowd gathered outside the stadium was already far larger than in the previous two rounds.
Part of the reason was simple:
Seido was playing today.
The other reason was that the tournament had finally entered the third round, where the overall level of competition improved significantly.
"Ugumori is definitely this tournament's dark horse."
"They just beat Nio Gakusha, and their ace looks really promising."
"Tsk. Talented rookies keep appearing one after another, but in the end they all get crushed by Seido's brutal batting lineup."
"Whoa, when you put it like that, Seido sounds like the final boss of a video game."
Even before the game started, the atmosphere around the stadium had already become incredibly lively.
Everyone was curious.
What kind of performance would Ugumori High School produce against the reigning king, Seido?
Would they collapse instantly?
Or could they at least struggle for a few innings?
That's right—
a few innings.
In the audience's eyes, as long as Ugumori avoided being mercy-ruled in five innings, their performance would already be considered impressive.
As both teams arrived and began warming up, the excitement in the stadium only intensified.
In the press section, reporters from numerous major media outlets had already set up cameras.
"Senpai, there are so many people here today. It's almost comparable to Seido versus Teito," said Takigawa Akiko.
Now a fully fledged reporter herself, Akiko was once again paired with veteran journalist Mine Fujio.
Originally, she hadn't expected this game to attract much attention.
Yet the crowd was enormous.
"The clash between a dark horse and a king always creates hype," Fujio explained while adjusting his camera equipment.
"Ugumori defeated Nio Gakusha, so naturally they've become the hope of people who love underdog stories and want to see giants fall."
"And their opponent is Seido."
"It's not strange at all for this matchup to attract attention."
"Although I doubt Kanzaki Ryou will pitch today, Seido's other pitchers are still worth watching—especially their two first-years. Plenty of people are supporting them now."
After listening, Akiko nodded thoughtfully.
"If Kanzaki-senpai doesn't pitch, then Ugumori probably won't lose too badly."
"Maybe they'll manage to score a few runs," Fujio admitted.
"But how can Ugumori possibly compare to Seido's scoring power?"
He shook his head slightly.
Right now, every team facing Seido had the same problem.
Even if Kanzaki Ryou didn't pitch—
they still had to survive Seido's terrifying batting lineup.
And if they couldn't stop that lineup—
victory was nothing more than a fantasy.
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