From this point on, there weren't many twists left in the story.
Ogawa Tsunematsu—objectively speaking—was a very gifted and talented pitcher. In the original storyline, aside from one batter, he shut down the rest completely.
Taking the mound in the seventh inning, facing Sensen High's aggressive offense, he gave up a walk to the first batter…
…but that was it.
From there, Sensen couldn't do a thing.
Against this first-year lefty from Seiko High, who threw fastballs topping 145 km/h, they were left utterly helpless.
Not only was Ogawa's velocity high, but his pitches had rare weight and heaviness behind them. His control wasn't exactly sharp, but that only made his pitches feel more forceful and wild.
Sensen's lineup felt crushed—like they were being bludgeoned at the plate.
While his control was far from precise, he could still hit the strike zone consistently enough. That alone made him hard to handle.
In the original tiline, this damn fat guy from Seiko—
aside from being forced to walk Miyuki—
completely shut down every other batter.
As annoying as he was, they had to admit: he really was a strong pitcher.
And with Ogawa's steady performance, that brutal fastball and his sudden spiral breaking ball as a finisher, Sensen couldn't score a single run in the last three innings.
They only managed two hits total.
In contrast, in cleanup hitter Nagata's fourth at-bat, Seiko launched another assault on Sensen's ace—Maki the Giant.
With a combination of hits, steals, aggressive base running, and bunts, they scored two more runs off Sensen's star pitcher.
By the end of the eighth inning, the lead widened to four runs.
And at that point, the ga was all but decided.
Finally, in the bottom of the ninth inning—
with pitch calls from the Seiko catcher team,
Ogawa fired an outside fastball, struck the batter out, and brought the curtain down on the quarterfinal match.
...
"Line up."
"Bow!"
"Thank you for the ga!!"
Final score: 7–3.
Seiko High, with a four-run lead, advanced smoothly to the Final Four.
They would et Seidou High at Jingu Stadium.
Just like in the original story—two teams built around power hitting, set to clash for the one and only ticket to the championship ga.
...
"In the end, it's them, huh? Well, fine then."
Eijun's sharp gaze swept across the field, landing squarely on Ogawa—surrounded by teammates atop the mound.
"That fat bastard… let show you what real baseball is."
With a decisive glint in his eyes, Eijun stood up and followed Miyuki and the others off the field.
All those emotional knots from the original tiline…
All those regrets and lingering frustrations…
In this life—
He would settle them all with his own hands.
With unwavering resolve, Seidou's Ace of the Diamond vowed to give it everything he had in the semifinals.
...
anwhile—
As Seidou wrapped up their ga against Ouya High, and Seiko defeated Sensen…
News ca in from the other stadium as well:
The remaining two quarterfinal matches had concluded.
Back at Seidou High, in the Freshman Dorm,
just as Eijun, Miyuki, Kuramochi, and the others returned from the ga and stepped off the bus—
They received the full results of the day's matches.
Yakushi High ended their ga early in seven innings with an eight-run lead, crushing their opponent and claiming the top spot in Group C to advance to the Final Four.
anwhile, the forr king of West Tokyo, Inashiro Industrial, led by their ace—the Prince of Tokyo, Narumiya i—secured their own quarterfinal victory with a dominating shutout.
Not a single hit. Not a single runner reached base.
A perfect ga.
Although Inashiro's batting lineup struggled with coordination early on, they erupted in the latter innings. Despite the opposing ace's solid performance, he ultimately couldn't hold out—crumbling in the eighth inning after Carlos launched a decisive ho run.
Final score: 6–0.
With that, Narumiya's powerhouse Inashiro Industrial advanced to Jingu Stadium and would face Yakushi High in the semifinals.
One more thing worth noting—
So far in this tournant, including the three regional qualifiers and the current four gas:
7 gas total.
Narumiya i has allowed only three hits, two walks, and zero runs.
As the No. 4 batter, he's also delivered three ho runs, 13 hits, and 12 runs scored.
Flawless. Terrifying.
With these overwhelming stats, the Prince made a bold statent to Tokyo, Kanto, and all of Japan—
The King has returned.
Narumiya's stunning performance left everyone in awe—
and struck fear in the hearts of his future opponents.
That dominant presence from the Golden Left Arm,
the strongest lefty of his generation—
Narumiya i, Ace of Inashiro Industrial.
And here's the kicker—
Even those three hits and two walks?
Anyone with a trained eye could see—
They happened because his catcher couldn't keep up with his pace.
There were tis Narumiya had to adjust himself to the catcher's rhythm, which led to those slight blemishes.
If he had a proper battery partner?
Narumiya's performance would've been even sharper, even more terrifying.
...
The semifinals were now set.
Whether it was Eijun and Miyuki leading the reigning champion Seidou High against the powerhouse lineup of Seiko High, or Narumiya i leading Inashiro Industrial against the rising juggernaut Yakushi High—
The matchups had fans hyped before the gas even began.
Everyone was counting the days, already fired up for the thrilling weekend ahead.
...
"That guy… i's gotten even scarier," Miyuki muttered, shaking his head as he stepped off the bus and heard the results.
Anyone could see it.
Even with a weak catcher dragging him down, Narumiya was still putting on a masterclass. If that catcher grows next year? The Inashiro battery will be practically unstoppable.
"Tch… lucky we're on the other side of the bracket. Let Yakushi and Inashiro duke it out in a slugfest. Makes our job easier in the final," Kuramochi grinned.
"Our own opponent's not exactly a walk in the park either, you know?"
"Uh… yeah…"
Truth be told, all four teams had their strengths.
It wasn't easy to say who was strongest.
Any of them winning would co as no surprise.
It was safe to say:
Seidou, Inashiro, Yakushi, and Seiko were all worthy adversaries.
...
Eijun's eyes narrowed.
His arrival in this world had changed Seidou's fate—they were now sumr champions.
But it had also changed the paths of the teams they faced along the way.
"Narumiya-senpai, huh? I'm looking forward to round two. This ti… I'll prove who the real strongest lefty is."
Clenching his fists, Eijun made a silent vow.
Still, before that…
Saturday's semifinal was the priority.
Seiko High wasn't to be underestimated.
No exaggeration—they were a team with first-tier strength.
If they didn't run into a freakishly strong opponent early, they'd make the Top 8 at Koshien easily.
Seidou could definitely lose here.
Even more worrying…
Eijun didn't match up well against Seiko's lineup.
And that could lower Seidou's ceiling in a crucial match.
Seiko, Yakushi, and the reigning king Inashiro…
Just two more wins until the fall championship.
No matter who we face—
I'll beat them all.
Eijun's blue eyes glead with resolve—
a golden light flashing through his unwavering determination.
---------------------
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