"11th Up to Bat" is the eleventh chapter of the Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens manga and the fifth chapter in volume 2.
Synopsis[]
Zenji Banba visits a ramen stand called Gen-chan, where the owner, Genzo Gohda, informs him that the Kakyuu Association is out for his head, and they have decided to hire the Niwaka Samurai to kill him. Banba is unfazed by the news and tells Genzo to go ahead and introduce the legendary killer to the mafia.
After his meal, Banba visits Saeki's Cosmetic Surgery Clinic and bumps into Jiro Tanaka. When he spots the body of Shota Yamazaki, brought by Jiro to be disposed of, Banba offers to buy it. As the two are conversing, Banba mentions having to avenge the sister of his acquaintance, who was raped and murdered by the mayor's son. Jiro connects his story to the unlucky circumstances surrounding Kazuki Saitoh, who woke up in a hotel next to the woman's corpse and has been blamed for her murder. The pair agree that the situation is a mess.
In Nakasu, meanwhile, Reiko Asakura and Ryuuji Munakata have found Enokida after tracing Hisashi Ivanov's cellphone, and when they inquire about Banba, Enokida asks for money for his knowledge of Banba's plans.
Banba and Xianming Lin meet up in Tenjin, both of them dressed up for their mission. Banba, dressed as a mafia member, gives Lin a small spider on a necklace that will serve as his communication device, and Lin, dressed like a woman and posing as a trafficked Chinese girl, is handed over to the mayor's hitmen in a suitcase.
When the suitcase is opened, Lin is greeted by his former employer, Zhang. He is tied at gunpoint, and the Niwaka Samurai enters the room carrying Banba's severed head.