"Wow, Seido? The Seido that used to make Koshien all the time? I remember their previous manager had a different name." As the saying went, one could tell the real deal as soon as they made a move. How had a team like this not been seen at Koshien in recent years?
"Tokyo really is a brutal battleground. Ichizen is no match for them at all. Five innings, and they've only managed one hit."
"Last year's West Tokyo representative was Inashiro, right? Ah, Narumiya Mei—the one called the best left-handed pitcher in Kanto?" The news the audience watched every day had always been scattered bits and pieces. Only now, chatting like this, did they piece everything together.
"Wow, that double play was amazing."
Seido's ironclad middle infield had drawn the entire stadium's attention. Kuramochi and Kominato tapped gloves, unable to suppress the smiles at the corners of their mouths. Oh no, am I smiling too obviously? Will this make it into Nekketsu Koshien's highlight reel?
Then he turned back to the pitcher. "Hey, Kawakami, don't worry. Let them hit it. I'll defend it!"
"Two outs!"
Kawakami's movements, which had initially looked stiff, gradually improved as well.
In the top of the eighth, just as Kataoka Manager had planned, Furuya took the mound. His very first pitch stunned the whole stadium with its speed, and he stepped down after throwing only nine pitches.
Since he had thrown nothing but changeups in the Bullpen, his arm was fully relaxed. All nine pitches were kept down well, concealing his tendency to leave pitches high. It was an excellent smokescreen.
In the top of the ninth, Seido's number one loudmouth finally took the mound. By then, the gap in score had become absurdly large. Eijun had just taken a deep breath and had not