At the Koshien stadium.
A match in the national quarter-finals is ongoing with great intensity.
The rookie pitcher Morishita, who had just entered the game, was like an entirely unknown entity to Seihou High School's players.
Even though he was just a first-year student, Seihou's players swore they didn't underestimate him.
Not at all...
In fact, when Osaka Kiryu brought in the rookie at such a critical moment, Seihou's players grew even more vigilant.
They knew well that Osaka Kiryu's pride meant they wouldn't give up the game just like that.
The substitution must have been for a reason, for some hidden strategy.
In the stands.
The members of Seidou High School's baseball team exchanged glances.
They had a friendly relationship with Osaka Kiryu and had even planned to play a practice match with them before the summer tournament. However, due to a training trip to the U.S., it never happened.
But they knew a lot about Osaka Kiryu.
Since the graduation of their star player Tachi Hiromi, Osaka Kiryu has gone through a long period of turmoil.
Without their Ace and cleanup hitter, their overall strength had weakened considerably.
At first, Seidou's baseball team members thought that Osaka Kiryu didn't have much to offer in the past couple of years.
Frankly, they were shocked when they made it to the top eight in Koshien.
The final conclusion was that they had gotten lucky.
Although there was one strong opponent in their group, that team was in a similar situation to Osaka Kiryu—without a reliable Ace pitcher.
Both teams exchanged blows, but Osaka Kiryu ultimately came out on top.
They made it out of the group!
After briefly reviewing the other team's matches, Seidou's players had relaxed their vigilance to the lowest point.
There are many ways the top eight in Koshien can form.
Some teams, like Seidou, crush all their opponents and make it all the way to the end.
Others, with much stronger abilities, move through the tournament with ease.
Of course, there are also teams like Osaka Kiryu, who emerge with both luck and strength.
There's nothing wrong with that.
The problem is, that their luck was better than their strength.
From Seidou's perspective, it seemed unlikely that Osaka Kiryu would have a fair shot at competing for the win in the top eight.
The members of Seidou's team had limited time and energy, and there was no need to waste it on them.
But now it looked like they had underestimated their old friend.
The reason they hadn't shown overwhelming strength was because they hadn't tried their hardest yet.
It turned out that in Osaka Kiryu's team, there was a hidden gem of a player.
This was something Seidou's team members had never anticipated.
"First-years nowadays really can't be underestimated!" Kuramochi remarked with emotion.
When they played the welcoming match for new recruits, he had felt the same way.
This year, Seidou's team had an absolute harvest!
National Junior team's battery, a Final Fantasy protagonist, a real-life Sonic, the second coming of Yuuki Tetsuya, and many more small monsters and freaks.
This had already been a huge surprise to him!
But in reality, teams with outstanding players weren't limited to themselves.
At the same time, teams like Inashiro, Sankou, Yakushi, and other powerhouses had also been producing scary good newcomers lately.
Compared to them, their own team members seemed underwhelming.
Aside from Miyuki, who had the opportunity from the start, no one had been promoted to the substitutes before summer.
"The new generation pushes the old generation forward! Progress never stops, and these new players are definitely better than the previous ones," Sawamura remarked with a deep voice.
He said this because he was reflecting on past discussions about players like Maradona in soccer and Michael Jordan in basketball.
If they were born in the current era, it probably wouldn't have been so easy to become legends.
Even though their stats were off the charts back then!
But it's undeniable that the overall quality of players back then wasn't as refined as it is now with scientific management.
Back then, tactics relied heavily on personal strength, but nowadays, tactics play an increasingly important role.
Maybe they could've still set records.
But in terms of team performance, they probably wouldn't be better than today's top players on the field.
In today's information era, intelligence warfare has become even more important than individual strength.
Why?
Because the gap in skill between professional players has narrowed. It's not as vast as it used to be.
Of course, this isn't because the players have regressed.
In fact, the opposite is true—these players have all improved.
They've reached a very high level.
Which is why intelligence plays an even more crucial role now.
If both sides have roughly equal strength, even if tactics aren't perfect, it doesn't matter much, right?
In this era, if Sawamura wants to become a legend, he'll have to work even harder!
Even if he ties the previous records, people will just compare him with other players.
Sawamura doesn't want to be anyone's substitute.
He wants to become his own legend.
Like Maradona and Jordan, symbols in their own right.
As Eijun thought, the game on the field reached a thrilling moment.
Akashi, who had been performing steadily, suddenly appeared fatigued.
His pitching had gaps and flaws.
Although the Seidou team in the stands couldn't notice the subtle differences, on the field, the hitters could see the change clearly.
Why?
It's simple.
The ball started being hit.
Osaka Kiryu, who hadn't gotten any hits before, now started accumulating them.
Their leadoff batter made a beautiful hit and reached first base.
Is this the end?
Seihou's ace pitcher Akashi, who had been standing at the peak of all pitchers, was showing signs of fatigue after previously looking invincible.
"What happened?"
"Did I miss a page?"
The stands were in chaos, with everyone confused.
This change had come too quickly, and they were caught off guard.
Who can tell them what had happened?
The surprised expressions of the audience in the stands were ignored by Akashi, standing on the pitcher's mound.
This opponent, who Akashi had originally thought would be easy to deal with, had given him a huge surprise.
In the course of the game, a very competent first-year pitcher emerged.
Although he didn't want to admit it, he had to.
First-year students nowadays are truly formidable!
Last summer, he had seen with his own eye a first-year who dominated everyone and everything.
Now, another first-year had appeared before him.
"We won't trip over the same stone twice!"
Despite having just been hit with a base hit, Akashi's momentum didn't change. Even his pitching rhythm remained as strong as ever.
This attitude made the batters very uncomfortable.
Logically, his teammate had just secured a hit, and Akashi shouldn't be full of energy now, they should overwhelm the opponent with a single push.
But that wasn't the case. Why?
The batter sensed a scary feeling from Akashi.
He felt as though he would be struck out.
Not just that — he even felt his teammates would be dragged down because of him.
How could that be?
Even if he couldn't land a hit, it shouldn't result in dragging down his teammates.
Confused, he slowed his swing involuntarily.
He didn't follow through on his full swing.
Ping!
The ball barely flew five meters before it hit the ground and then bounced up.
The batter was left dumbstruck at home plate.
The result was exactly what he least wanted to see.
The baseball bounced and was collected by the third baseman of Seihou High School in his mitt. He quickly threw it to second base, and the second baseman caught it, stepped on the base, and threw it to first base.
Snap!
Snap!
"OUT!"
"OUT!!"
"Double play!"
"Double play again!"
Just as Osaka Kiryu High School's Morishita had managed a double play, Akashi returned the favor.
Being the later team, their action was even more provocative.
In the stands, the audience couldn't stop cheering wildly.
"Trying to compete with Akashi with just a first-year pitcher? Doesn't Osaka Kiryu High School have too little regard for star players?"
Star players, especially those who are top players nationwide, have the ability to change the outcome of a game by themselves.
If Akashi goes all out, can Osaka Kiryu High School withstand it?
It's definitely an intriguing question.
The teammates were happily discussing this topic.
But Sawamura on the stands, had a very serious expression.
While Osaka Kiryu's new first-year pitcher had shown decent skill on the mound, it was clear his pitching wasn't unapproachable.
As long as Seihou High School maintained their rhythm, the game would be very favorable for them.
From this perspective, Akashi didn't need to up his game.
But in reality, he was in a hurry.
'Has Osaka Kiryu's baseball team really put so much pressure on Akashi?'
Sawamura, also one of the top pitchers in high school, was deeply puzzled.
…