The opponent waiting in the finals was none other than Inashiro Industrial.
To be honest, neither the Coach nor the players of Seido High were surprised by this outcome.
Over the past month, whether in the Tokyo Spring Tournament or the Kanto Tournament, Seido had faced one powerhouse after another. Many of them were among the strongest teams in the nation.
Using those teams as a benchmark, the Seido players had already gained a clear understanding of their own strength.
Among more than four thousand high school baseball teams across Japan, the number of teams truly capable of challenging the current Seido lineup could be counted on one hand. Even if a few dark horses unexpectedly emerged, at most, only one or two additional teams would deserve their attention.
Against the current star-studded Seido roster, most teams simply could not put up any meaningful resistance.
Even national-level powerhouse schools could easily end up being completely overwhelmed.
This was the current Seido High School Baseball Team.
A true national powerhouse.
And they had earned that title through victory after victory.
Akiha High School, for example, had also reached the semifinals of the Kanto Tournament, proving that they were far from weak.
Yet when they faced Seido, even without Seido's Ace taking the mound, they were still crushed without mercy.
Inashiro Industrial, however, was different.
They were one of the very few teams Seido truly regarded as equals.
Ever since Zhou Hao joined the team, Seido had only suffered a single defeat.
That loss came at the hands of Inashiro Industrial during last autumn's tournament.
How could Seido possibly overlook an opponent like that?
In fact, it was more than just taking them seriously.
Within Seido, Inashiro had long since been marked as their greatest rival.
Now that the two teams would finally meet again in the Kanto Tournament finals, everyone only had one concern.
Should they reveal everything they had?
The Kanto Tournament championship was certainly important, but the West Tokyo Summer Tournament was just around the corner.
And that tournament determined who would earn a ticket to Summer Koshien.
For Seido, the only true obstacles standing in their way were Inashiro Industrial and Ichidai Third High.
Although Ichidai Third had recently discovered a promising new pitcher, the combined threat of Manaka and Amahisa was already dangerous enough.
They would definitely cause Seido some trouble.
Still, the Seido players believed they had enough confidence and strength to overcome Ichidai Third.
Inashiro Industrial was another matter entirely.
Even now, Seido could not confidently claim they had a guaranteed chance of beating them.
So the question naturally arose:
For the sake of the Summer Tournament, should they conserve some of their strength?
Inside the meeting room, Coach Kataoka's expression was unusually serious.
"There's no need."
"We'll go all out and win every single game."
"The defeat we suffered last autumn was humiliating enough. We have no intention of adding another stain to our record."
During the Tokyo Spring Tournament finals, Coach Kataoka had deliberately chosen to conserve strength because that championship held little real value.
But the Kanto Tournament title was different.
This was a genuine honor.
And for the Seido players, it mattered greatly.
The team had already fought this far. How could he ask them to give up a hard-earned championship simply to improve their odds later?
Besides, this decision reflected Coach Kataoka's personality as well.
He believed in overwhelming strength above all else.
No matter how many tactics he devised, his core philosophy had never changed.
Develop stronger players.
Win through strength.
That had always been Seido's way.
Even during the years when Seido failed to reach Koshien, no one ever questioned the team's talent.
At most, people only questioned whether Coach Kataoka truly knew how to lead them.
After all, Seido had never lacked players capable of reaching the professional stage.
"Go all out."
"It's time to show those guys what Seido is made of."
"Otherwise, they might really start believing we rely solely on Zhou Hao."
"Yeah!"
"Let's crush them!"
After finalizing their strategy, the discussion naturally shifted toward Inashiro Industrial's players.
As their greatest rival, Seido knew Inashiro extremely well.
From their habits and tactical tendencies to the characteristics of every individual player, Seido's players had studied them thoroughly.
Combining that knowledge with Inashiro's recent performances, everyone arrived at the same conclusion.
There was no better strategy than facing them head-on.
Likewise, Inashiro would almost certainly make the same choice.
Against teams of this caliber, backup pitchers would hardly have any opportunity to appear.
Once either side seized momentum, runs could pile up within minutes.
In a game where one or two runs might decide everything, who could possibly afford to hold back?
Still, remembering how Zhou Hao had run out of stamina during last year's extra-inning loss to Inashiro, Coach Kataoka turned toward the substitute pitchers.
"Even if the chances are slim, all of you must be prepared to take the mound at any moment."
"Yes, sir!"
The first person to respond, unsurprisingly, was Sawamura Eijun.
Furuya Satoru and Tanba Koichiro reacted a beat slower.
"Good."
Although all three pitchers had answered, everyone's eyes instinctively shifted toward Sawamura.
Especially the substitute players.
The way they looked at him had subtly changed.
There was admiration in their eyes.
No wonder Sawamura Eijun had earned Coach Kataoka's trust so quickly after joining the team.
Compared to him, they still had a long way to go.
Sawamura not only possessed exceptional pitching talent, but he also aggressively fought for every opportunity.
He wanted the ball.
He wanted the spotlight.
He wanted the responsibility.
And most importantly—
He was never afraid to show it.
Even if Coach Kataoka weren't the one making the decision, many of Seido's players knew exactly who they would trust if the team suddenly needed a relief pitcher during a crisis.
Sawamura Eijun.
His ability was already comparable to the other pitchers.
In some aspects, especially his pitching style and adaptability, he was even superior.
More importantly, he possessed the mentality of a true Ace.
The greater the pressure, the better he performed.
In that situation, who wouldn't choose him?
The brave always seize opportunities first.
After realizing this, many players suddenly understood why Sawamura stood out so much.
"I really should learn from Eijun."
"That guy really knows how to fight for opportunities."
At first, some players found Sawamura's straightforwardness difficult to accept.
But now, they had no choice but to admit that his methods worked.
If acting boldly could earn someone a chance to play, then perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing after all.
After all, everyone wanted opportunities.
Sawamura was simply more honest about it than the others.
And what was wrong with that?
No matter what kind of cat it is, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat.
If they could earn a chance to stand on the mound, using a few harmless tricks to stand out wasn't a problem at all.
Without realizing it, many players had already begun learning from Sawamura Eijun.
After the meeting ended, Seido's starting lineup for the finals was officially announced.
The top of the order remained unchanged:
Kuramochi Yoichi.
Kominato Ryosuke.
Zhou Hao.
Yuki Tetsuya.
Isashiki Jun.
Miyuki Kazuya.
Masuko Toru.
Shirasu.
And Oshima Shin.
Among them, the most surprising name was Oshima.
The first-year rookie had officially secured a spot in Seido's starting nine.
As for Sawamura and Furuya Satoru, although their performances had been outstanding, Zhou Hao's overwhelming presence meant they could only remain substitute pitchers for the time being.
Unlike Oshima, who had officially become a true starter for Seido High School.
The first-year rookie had already begun attracting attention from teams all across the country.
Even professional scouts had shown considerable interest in this newly emerging talent.
There was no helping it.
The kid was simply too eye-catching.
So eye-catching that nobody could ignore him.
So eye-catching that many already viewed him as the future pillar of Seido High School Baseball.
No matter how one looked at it, a player like that was someone worth paying attention to early.
After the meeting ended, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.
Not long after, Zhou Hao suddenly received a message on his phone.
Because Seido was preparing for the Kanto Tournament finals, very few people had contacted him recently. Zhou Hao had already informed everyone beforehand that he would be busy during this period.
Most people understood and naturally avoided disturbing him.
So whoever dared message him now immediately piqued Zhou Hao's curiosity.
Picking up his phone, he opened the message.
The moment he saw the sender's avatar, Zhou Hao immediately understood.
Narumiya Mei.
If it was Narumiya, then this kind of thing made perfect sense.
"Get ready. Wash your neck and wait for me!"
Just imagining Narumiya secretly typing that message under his blanket, terrified that his teammates might discover him, made Zhou Hao want to laugh.
Sending provocative messages before the finals was absolutely forbidden behavior.
Only Narumiya Mei would dare do something so reckless.
Of course, he also trusted Zhou Hao enough not to expose him.
If Coach Kunimoto or the rest of Inashiro found out, Narumiya would probably be skinned alive.
Zhou Hao smiled and replied immediately.
"Same to you."
The batting lineup of Inashiro Industrial was one of the very few capable of genuinely threatening Zhou Hao.
Part of the reason was naturally their strength.
But the bigger reason was familiarity.
As one of Seido's greatest rivals, Inashiro had faced Zhou Hao more than almost any other powerhouse team in the nation.
After seeing his pitching so many times, they had gradually accumulated valuable experience against him.
"I can't wait either…"
From Zhou Hao's perspective, he was genuinely looking forward to this showdown.
There were very few opponents left who could truly pressure him.
Now that he had finally encountered one again, he naturally intended to enjoy it thoroughly.
At the same time, Zhou Hao began carefully planning his pitching strategy for tomorrow's game.
Given the intensity of the matchup, there was a high possibility the game would drag into extra innings.
Because of that, he absolutely could not recklessly rely on the Spiral Ball again.
Last autumn's defeat had already taught him that lesson.
Back then, Zhou Hao continuously used the Spiral Ball in the early innings to completely suppress Inashiro Industrial.
At first, the strategy worked perfectly.
Seido controlled the momentum of the entire game.
But the price was enormous stamina consumption.
By the later innings, once Zhou Hao's physical condition began declining, Seido's situation rapidly worsened as well.
That was the true reason they ultimately lost.
"I need to manage my stamina carefully from the very beginning."
"Use the Spiral Ball as little as possible."
"Even the super-fast Fastball should be limited."
"Breaking Balls will have to be my main weapon…"
Lying in bed, Zhou Hao silently calculated everything in his mind.
Meanwhile, at the hotel where Inashiro Industrial was staying—
Just as Zhou Hao imagined, Narumiya Mei was indeed hiding under his blanket.
The moment he received Zhou Hao's reply, he burst into foolish laughter.
For this game, he had prepared a special surprise.
Not just him, but the entire Inashiro team had.
In order to defeat Zhou Hao fair and square, they had developed countless strategies and practiced various tactics repeatedly.
All of it was for this single game.
They wanted to shock Zhou Hao the moment they stepped onto the field.
As one of West Tokyo's traditional powerhouses and the runner-up of Spring Koshien, Inashiro Industrial absolutely refused to remain forever overshadowed by Seido.
Previously, they simply hadn't found the right opportunity.
But now?
That opportunity was right in front of them.
And this time, they would never let it slip away.
For everyone on the Inashiro roster, defeating Seido had already become an obsession.
More specifically—
Defeating Zhou Hao had become their obsession.
To them, Zhou Hao was a nightmare.
A wall they absolutely had to overcome.
As long as they could defeat him, they would no longer crumble mentally on the grand stage of Koshien.
Even if they failed to win this time, they still needed to engrave this feeling into their hearts.
That way, when they met again in the Summer Tournament finals, they would not lose because of psychological pressure alone.
"We just need one more win…"
"Just one more…"
Meanwhile, the Seido players weren't doing much better.
It wasn't that they stayed awake the entire night, but most of them slept far later than usual.
As a result, when everyone gathered the next morning, nearly all of them looked exhausted.
Dark circles hung heavily beneath their eyes.
"Today is the Kanto Tournament finals!"
"Pull yourselves together!"
As Seido's vice-captain, Isashiki Jun could no longer tolerate everyone's miserable condition and immediately started yelling at the team.
Unfortunately for him, the thick dark circles under his own eyes made his lecture far less convincing than he intended.