The moment Ogawa Tsunematsu released the ball, Kanzaki Ryou knew he had already achieved his goal.
Unfortunately—
The idiot had thrown it completely outside.
"Ball!"
Masu Shinichiro reacted instantly, receiving the pitch before turning to glare at Ogawa.
He was already preparing to calm the pitcher down.
"Tsk. That's not going to work."
The voice was soft enough that Ogawa couldn't hear it.
But Kanzaki's expression said everything.
Masu nearly lost his mind.
What exactly are you trying to do?!
Suppressing his frustration, he quickly gave the next sign.
Ignore him.
Stick to your game.
Focus on pitching.
Ogawa took a deep breath.
He wanted to defeat Kanzaki Ryou head-on.
WHOOSH!
BOOM!
His best Spiral Ball.
His greatest weapon.
Sharp movement.
Heavy spin.
A pitch he trusted completely.
And Kanzaki crushed it.
The sound echoed throughout the stadium.
The baseball shot off the bat like a cannon shell.
Everyone instinctively looked up.
The ball kept flying.
Past center field.
Past the stands.
Past everything.
It disappeared beyond the outfield and landed somewhere on the mountain behind the stadium.
For a moment, the entire venue fell silent.
Then it exploded.
HOME RUN!
An absurdly monstrous home run.
"BEAUTIFUL!"
"KANZAKI!"
"GREAT HIT!"
"OOOOOOHHHHHH!"
"That's what I'm talking about!"
"Teach him a lesson!"
The Seido supporters completely lost control.
Ever since Arima had been sent to the hospital, they had been suppressing their anger.
Now, after witnessing that monstrous home run, they finally had an outlet.
As Kanzaki rounded the bases, he crossed paths with Miyuki at home plate.
Smack!
The two exchanged a loud high-five.
Intentionally loud.
Intentionally directed toward the mound.
"Wahahaha! That was satisfying!"
Kuramochi laughed as he greeted them.
"That hit was ridiculous."
"Ryou-senpai is amazing."
Haruichi's eyes sparkled.
Kanzaki reached over and rubbed his head.
"No, you're the amazing one."
"A home run from you?"
"I definitely didn't see that coming."
Haruichi lowered his head shyly.
Honestly, neither had he.
But hitting his first high school home run felt incredible.
Meanwhile, Seido's fifth batter, Higasa Shoji, stepped into the box.
"Shu... shu..."
He made a strange sound while preparing to bat.
It sounded a little silly.
But his eyes were serious.
Given his actual batting ability, he normally wouldn't be hitting fifth.
The only reason he occupied this spot was because he had replaced Arima.
And because of that, he absolutely couldn't embarrass himself.
He had to contribute.
On the mound, Ogawa had completely stopped thinking.
After giving up consecutive home runs, the only thing left in his heart was anger.
He wanted to destroy everyone standing across from him.
WHOOSH!
The pitch exploded toward the plate.
The ball was heavy.
Higasa's bat was completely overpowered.
The baseball shot into the air.
"FOUL!"
The impact left his palms tingling.
Taking a deep breath, Higasa raised the bat once more.
Although he had been suppressed, his determination to attack remained unchanged.
The next pitch arrived.
To everyone's surprise—
Higasa squared around.
Bunt!
The baseball rolled softly toward third base.
The moment contact was made, Higasa sprinted.
"SAFE!"
The bunt succeeded perfectly.
In a lineup spot that didn't belong to him, Higasa had found his own way to contribute.
No outs.
Runner on first.
Seikou's so-called secret weapon was being torn apart by Seido's offense.
Afterward, Shirasu hit a fly ball and was retired.
Maezono followed with a sharp single to right field, advancing Higasa all the way to third.
Then Aso Takashi delivered a clean hit.
Higasa crossed home plate safely.
Maezono attempted to take second but was thrown out.
Two outs.
Runner on first.
10-0.
"HIGASA-SENPAI!"
"HIGASA!"
Cheers erupted from the stands.
Friends and supporters alike shouted his name.
Standing on first base, Aso blinked.
What about me?
I drove in the run.
Why is nobody cheering for me?
The thought left him feeling strangely wronged.
Soon, it was Toujou Hideaki's turn.
Facing Ogawa's unstable control, batting wasn't easy.
However, on the fourth pitch, he connected with a fastball.
Single.
The lineup had come full circle.
The bottom of the second inning still wasn't over.
Kuramochi stepped into the batter's box once again.
This time, however, fortune wasn't on his side.
Ground ball.
Inning over.
—
Top of the third.
Near the dugout, Miyuki stared blankly after hearing Kanzaki's newest idea.
"No way."
"If we really do that, we're going to start a fight."
"Hmph."
Kanzaki adjusted his glove.
"Then I'll beat that pig senseless."
"Beat him into the dirt."
"And then use the dirt to bury him."
Miyuki's eyelid twitched.
As expected.
There was absolutely no reasoning with this guy.
After saying that, Kanzaki calmly walked toward the mound.
Seikou's first batter of the inning stepped into the box.
Ogawa Tsunematsu.
The crowd immediately became excited.
Everyone remembered what Kanzaki had done to Nagata in the previous inning.
Now it was Ogawa's turn.
On the mound, Kanzaki looked down at him calmly.
Arrogantly.
His chin slightly raised.
Several seconds passed.
Ogawa became visibly uncomfortable.
Kanzaki sneered.
Then he nodded toward Miyuki.
Miyuki sighed helplessly before nodding back.
Not a big problem.
Just put him on base if necessary.
Whoosh!
Kanzaki lifted his leg.
His arm whipped forward.
The baseball exploded from his fingertips.
The spinning white ball looked like a furious beast charging toward its prey.
Based on the previous inning, everyone assumed it would narrowly miss Ogawa's body.
Just like the pitches to Nagata.
Then—
"AAAAAHHHHH!"
A scream echoed through the stadium.
THUD!
The baseball slammed directly into Ogawa's stomach.
The impact folded his massive body in half.
His knees hit the dirt almost immediately.
"OGAWA!"
The Seikou bench erupted.
Meanwhile, Kanzaki casually scratched his cheek.
"Ah~"
"Sorry, sorry~"
"Oops."
"My hand slipped."
The apology came with a completely unapologetic smile.
His chin remained tilted upward.
His expression was overflowing with mockery.
Look.
This is how it's done.
If you hit someone—
You apologize.
The entire Seido dugout froze.
Kuramochi.
Haruichi.
Shirasu.
Maezono.
Sawamura.
Every single one of them stared at Kanzaki in stunned silence.
Even Coach Kataoka, Coach Ochiai, and Takashima Rei were speechless.
It was too explosive.
Everyone knew that pitch had been intentional.
Every single person.
But nobody could say it out loud.
As long as it remained unspoken, they could continue enjoying it in peace.
On the other side, Ogawa was eventually removed from the game.
A 160 km/h fastball to the stomach was no joke.
If not for his size, the injury would have been far worse.
"He did that on purpose!"
Masu Shinichiro finally stood up for his teammate.
"Hmph."
Nagata folded his arms.
"Intentional or not, at least he apologized."
The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.
After all, he had been the one humiliated because of Ogawa's actions.
Masu opened his mouth.
Then closed it again.
He had no response.
Only now did he realize something.
When Arima had been sent to the hospital...
Not a single person from Seikou had apologized.
In the end, all he could do was watch silently as Ogawa Tsunematsu was loaded onto a stretcher and taken away.
A taste of their own medicine.
And Seikou had no answer for it.