Chapter 36: I am Here Too

In the batting zone, Yuuki Masashi pulled his stance wide, clearly intending to swing with all his might.

"Swinging so hard at outside pitches!"

Seeing the opponent's actions, Toujou on the pitcher's mound quickly generated several pitching strategies in his mind.

Unfortunately, these brilliant strategies were destined to be useless; he was already limited in where he could pitch before the swing.

'Outside corner!'

Whoosh!

The small white ball shot forward like a bullet.

Facing this sharp pitch, Yuuki showed no hesitation.

He stepped out decisively, swinging his bat while his entire body turned.

PAANG!

Once the white ball was hit, it soared high into the air.

It flew right over the outfield wall!

"Home run!"

With a firm swing on the very first pitch, Yuuki scored a home run.

His outstanding performance instantly captured the attention of the entire field.

Even Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai turned their eyes toward him repeatedly.

'What a thrill!'

'The fluidity of his swing, the unparalleled force behind it—'

'It was a sight to behold.'

Coupled with the ball that flew out of the park, Yuuki seemed to radiate a dazzling light.

Sawamura and Miyuki exchanged surprised glances.

Although they thought highly of these new Kohais, they still underestimated them.

Just look at the strength Yuuki showcased during this at-bat, combined with his previous batting test results.

Though still somewhat arbitrary, this guy's hitting ability clearly reached the level of a first-string main player.

He was not just a member of the first string; he was a leading player.

This meant his batting strength was more than enough to compete for a spot at Seidou High School.

But it wasn't over yet.

Next up, the not-so-tall Yui Kaoru easily sent the ball deep into the outfield.

This hit was at least 100 meters away.

Though slightly less impressive than Yuuki's, his performance was still shocking.

Following him was Okumura.

Okumura was well aware that he and Yui Kaoru were in competition.

Seidou High School's current first-string catchers, Miyuki and Ono, were both third-year players.

In other words, by the end of this summer tournament, both catchers would retire.

In this context, it was only natural for Yui and Okumura to step up.

However, there was only one starting catcher position, and they would inevitably compete against each other.

Okumura was determined not to lose to Yui.

Ping!

The white ball flew smoothly into the outfield.

While not as far as Yuuki or Yui's hits, the placement was clever.

It was a clean double!

Their stellar performances left the four upperclassmen dumbfounded.

Initially, they feared dampening the Kohais' momentum, but that worry now seemed ridiculous.

Not only did they fail to attack the opponent's momentum, they were now being suppressed and could hardly lift their heads.

The freshmen outperformed them all.

The upperclassmen exchanged glances, lowering their heads.

The only one currently outperforming the newcomers was Miyuki, who had hit a home run earlier.

Miyuki looked up at Toujou and asked, "How much strength did you use for that last pitch?"

"Around eighty percent!"

"Then let's go all out after this round; it's time for a serious duel."

The scene before him was truly shocking, and Miyuki decided it was time to change gears.

Otherwise, they wouldn't know where to hide their faces.

Kagami, who was third from last to bat, also got a hit into the outfield.

Takuma, the penultimate player to bat, cleanly sent the ball behind the first baseman.

"This guy's hitting is quite clever!"

Takuma focused on the strengths of Kuramochi and Kominato. While neither had reached their peak, their combined abilities were still formidable.

The last to bat was Nishiyama.

The two most pressured positions were first and last.

Not having grabbed the first chance, Nishiyama willingly took on the important task of closing.

As Nishiyama Kibo stepped into the Batter's Box, everyone around turned their attention to him.

As time passed, more and more people learned who Nishiyama is.

Everyone was naturally eager to see what kind of strength this world runner-up pitcher possessed.

At first glance, Nishiyama showed signs of having faced big crowds. Even under the scrutiny of the audience, he remained focused on the pitcher.

A massive pressure lingered over Toujou.

At this moment, he unconsciously exerted more of his strength.

Whoosh!

The white ball was noticeably faster than before.

This change in speed was difficult to detect with the naked eye.

But if Nishiyama had previously judged the pitch based on its rhythm, he would struggle to hit the suddenly increased speed.

However, Nishiyama was different.

He waited until the baseball was firmly in his grasp before swinging.

PAAAANG!!!

After hitting the ball, it soared high.

It kept flying until it cleared the fence.

Another home run!

The first home run was Yuuki's, and the last was Nishiyama's.

The performances of both left their friends in awe.

"What the hell?!"

Not just the newcomers and players from the second and third teams; even the main players of the first string felt the pressure at that moment.

Kanemaru murmured as he watched the emerging freshmen.

Although he had known all along that this year was a bumper harvest for Seidou High School, seeing the strength of these newcomers firsthand was still overwhelming.

"These guys are incredible!"

Nishiyama no longer resembled a rookie.

"Kariba, you go call the pitches for Toujou. Tell all the freshmen that the rules have changed; let them face Toujou seriously."

The freshmen's outstanding performances immediately caught the attention of Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai.

They disregarded the surrounding gazes and initiated another round.

At this moment, Sawamura, Miyuki, and the others became supporting characters instead.

No one paid attention to their performance.

This treatment was quite new for Sawamura and Miyuki, who had always been the core of the team, with everyone revolving around them.

Now, they finally got a taste of being in the background.

However, the two of them were focused on watching the six freshmen in their second round of the hitting.

Toujou, giving it his all, may not have been incredibly strong, but he was definitely not weak.

The freshmen still needed to be cautious when facing a Toujou like this.

Toujou himself was filled with fighting spirit.

He couldn't wait to have a solid exchange with these freshmen.

The first up was Yuuki again!

Whoosh!

When he saw Toujou's first pitch come in, Yuuki was momentarily stunned.

'Quite fast!'

This pitch was at least five kilometers faster than what he had seen before.

Toujou, truly launching into a rush, was intimidating just with the ball speed.

But it was still manageable.

He let the first pitch pass without swinging.

Yuuki's performance caught Kariba a bit off guard.

Based on what he had observed earlier, he had thought Yuuki was the type to swing wildly.

Unexpectedly, he didn't swing at the first Strike.

With that, came the second pitch.

Ping!

He didn't swing at the first pitch, but the second one went foul.

Yuuki, who had hit a home run on the first pitch, suddenly found himself in a two-strike count.

"Nice pitch!"

Kariba excitedly signaled Toujou!

In his eyes, taking down Yuuki was just around the corner.

Whoosh!

For the third pitch, Toujou introduced a breaking ball.

This pitch would be hard to hit cleanly, even if contacted.

Ping!

As expected, the ball hit fell foul.

"FOUL!"

'Breaking ball!'

Yuuki stared deeply at Toujou on the mound; no one knew what thoughts were swirling in his mind.

Waiting until Toujou's next pitch flew in.

Whoosh!

'Another breaking ball.'

Yuuki saw this one clearly.

He swung with no reservations!

Ping!

The white ball didn't hit the sweet spot, but it still soared out.

The power and momentum of the swing were so great that they forced the small white ball to fly away.

The baseball landed far into the outfield.

This scene shocked the audience.

Unlike weighing the strengths of the freshmen before, this was a genuine duel.

He hit Toujou's ball in their first confrontation!

Yuuki's strength was beyond doubt.

Even among the current main force of Seidou High School, few could rival his hitting strength.

"It's a testament to the excellent genes from the family!" Miyuki smiled wryly.

Before Yuuki graduated, he had mentioned his little brother.

According to Yuuki, his little brother was different from him.

His own hard work had made him a pillar at Seidou High School.

And even without High School polish, his little brother already possessed terrifying strength that couldn't be underestimated.

"This guy joining the first string is a done deal."

It was unlikely anyone at the scene would disagree.

After all, the powerful strength of others was evident.

PAAAANG!!!!!

In another training cage, someone hit a home run too.

And me!

As if deliberately trying to assert his presence, the player who hit the home run glared over at Yuuki.

That person was naturally Hirota, Sawamura's direct student!

It's fine to say anything else, but when it comes to batting strength, he won't lose to anyone.

"That player should be paid attention to a bit too!"

…