The chapter opens with a description of the crowd at the opening of the tournament. It's clear that there's a lot of interest in the tournament, which is a good thing because it's the first time that high school baseball has been played in Japan since the end of World War II. The crowd seems to have calmed down a bit since the tournament is over, but it still seems to be full of reporters. Ezaki tells us that the crowd is still there, and that the tournament will be even more intense than it was the last time it was played. He says that he expects the tournament to be even tougher this time around, since the top schools in the country will be playing against each other again. He also says that the pitching rotation that held Teito's bats to only two runs will make it even more difficult for him to catch the ball. He tells us to stick with him and that he'll do his best to make sure that he doesn't let this happen.