"Damn it!"
Shirakawa shot a fierce glare at Miyuki Kazuya, the catcher. He knew that it was not Furuya on the mound who tricked him, but rather Miyuki behind the plate.
'No matter how much you glare at me, you can't eat me, can you?' Miyuki looked like he didn't care.
'I will get a comeback on you someday.' Shirakawa vowed silently to himself.
At this moment, he had no idea that, in the not-too-distant future, he would indeed get such an opportunity.
One Out, runner on first.
Inajitsu High School's offense continued, and the next batter to step up was Narumiya Mei, who was currently playing in the outfield.
As Narumiya approached the Batter's Box, he happened to bump into Shirakawa, who had just come off the field.
"He totally played you like a fool!" Narumiya complained, visibly dissatisfied.
Even though their Ace had put in a lot of effort in previous games, Shirakawa still felt an urge to strangle him.
To some extent, this guy was just as annoying as the bastard currently occupying the catcher's position at Seidou High School.
Despite this, Shirakawa didn't miss the chance to share some crucial information.
"Watch out for Furuya's Forkball!"
It means don't aim for Furuya's Forkball.
Although Shirakawa had just struck out, it was entirely due to being outsmarted. Still, after witnessing Furuya's Forkball, he felt an undeniable sense of caution.
That is, absolutely do not aim for Furuya's forkball.
The ball approached at nearly 155 km/h, reaching the top of the plate before suddenly dropping.
Shirakawa felt he had no confidence in hitting such a ball, not at all. Just making contact was already extremely difficult.
"Heh, then let me see if it is really that special."
When Narumiya puffed himself up, it was infuriating.
"Just be careful yourself."
With that, Narumiya stepped into the Batter's Box.
As he entered, he exaggeratedly pulled back his bat.
"Watch me hit a home run!"
This over-the-top display made Miyuki unable to contain himself.
"Come on, can you act a little more seriously?"
'The opponent's goal should be to hit and run, creating opportunities.'
'With one Out already, Inajitsu High School didn't have many chances left.'
Even though there was a runner on first, it was Carlos on base.
The outcome should still be the same.
'Your task is simple: just focus on the batter.'
'A straight ball right down the middle!'
With such a wide swing, Mei needed to lower his bat's swing enough to intersect with the pitched ball.
He would probably struggle to make contact.
Miyuki confidently signaled.
On the mound, Furuya was like a firecracker, ready to explode.
Roaar!!
Like a volcanic eruption, the baseball burst from his hand.
That terrifying energy was enough to make the batters in front of him shudder.
Fortunately, Narumiya wasn't one of them. He switched from a wide stance to a bunt.
Ping!
The ball connected and rolled toward the first baseman.
Then Narumiya dropped his bat and dashed to first base.
This move left the Seidou High School players utterly confused.
'Are you kidding me?'
'Weren't you just intent on hitting a home run? Why are you suddenly playing it safe?'
'And if you're going to play it safe, why not use a proper swing instead of a half-hearted bunt?'
'Doesn't your pride hurt you for being this shameless?'
Clearly, Narumiya's conscience was unfazed.
As he sprinted to first, Maezono also rushed forward.
At that moment, Maezono felt like a hundred horses were racing through his mind.
Seeing Narumiya take such a wide stance, he instinctively took a few steps back while swinging his bat.
It felt like that pitch would go very far.
Didn't expect it to end up like this?
'Come on, come on!!!!'
"SAFE!"
Before Maezono could pick up the ball, Narumiya had already reached first base.
He raised his hand with satisfaction, waving to the audience on either side like he had hit a grand slam.
"Haha, this guy is really interesting."
"Is this the Prince of Tokyo? Quite amusing."
Laughter erupted from the crowd.
From his position as a catcher, Miyuki frowned at Narumiya Mei standing safely on first. His ominous premonition grew stronger.
He wasn't surprised by Narumiya's cleverness; that guy never played by the rules.
What troubled him was Furuya's pitching!
'Just now, the ball control had been off, rising nearly to the center.'
'Was the aftermath of their game against Komadai Fujimaki High School starting to show?'
One out, runners on first and second.
The audience was still immersed in Narumiya's recent performance.
But the game was already progressing.
Now stepping into the Batter's Box was the cleanup hitter, Yamaoka.
Like Narumiya, he assumed a home run stance.
With his bat held behind him, he stared at Furuya on the mound with fiery determination.
'Hit it!'
'Hit it!!!'
His unyielding spirit even affected Furuya on the mound.
The tension was unprecedented.
Despite the situation, Miyuki wasn't completely helpless. However, he felt extremely uneasy about Furuya's pitching.
His control was beginning to show signs of instability.
Furuya had never been particularly strong with control; if he became truly erratic, the results could be terrifying. That meant any kind of pitch could happen.
Faced with such a daunting scenario, Miyuki remained undeterred, actually displaying great enthusiasm.
"Focus on the batter!"
At this moment, Inajitsu High School had clearly declared their intention to confront Seidou head-on.
Miyuki could choose to back off, but doing so would definitely affect Furuya's pitching.
Unlike Sawamura, Furuya struggled to adjust his mindset. If his mentality was shaken, the entire pitching system would collapse.
'This simply couldn't be allowed.'
To let Furuya unleash his true strength, they had to go along with him.
'Let's go, face it head-on!'
The final result might not be unfavorable for them.
Miyuki reassured himself in his heart while signaling to Furuya on the mound.
Receiving the signal, with a wide pitching stance, Furuya felt as if he was pouring every ounce of strength into his throw.
Roar!!
Even now, Furuya's pitch speed remained at 155 km/h, completely unaffected by the number of previous pitches.
'Here it comes!'
Sensing the white ball flying toward him, Yamaoka swung his bat without hesitation.
Ping!
The bat made precise contact with the white ball, sending it soaring.
The ball wasn't as heavy as he'd expected.
Doubts briefly flickered in Yamaoka's mind, but he quickly sprinted toward first base.
SNAP!
The ball he hit slammed hard against the center field wall.
Almost a home run!!
"OOOOOOOOOOOH!!!!"
The Inajitsu cheer squad erupted with a wolf-like howl.
What a thrill!
This meant that Carlos on second base, and even Narumiya on first, should be able to make it home.
With such a distance, the baseball would take three to four seconds to reach home plate.
This involved the outfielder retrieving the ball and making the throw.
The entire process would take at least seven or eight seconds.
That was enough!
Indeed, more than enough for Narumiya to return to home plate.
Of course, such calculations weren't random. During their training at elite high schools, everyone had gone through various drills.
Calculating various situations—how to defend, and how to attack—were all part of their training.
"SAFE!"
Carlos made it back to home plate smoothly.
He helped Inajitsu High School close the gap to a score of 3-2.
The score difference was now down to one point.
Narumiya had already crossed third base and was heading straight for home.
Whoosh!
A throw like a sharp arrow covered all the distance from the outfield to home plate.
"Wow!!!!"
The audience in the stands erupted in excitement.
The ball flew directly over 100 meters like a knife splitting the field, landing just slightly off target in front of the catcher.
"That center fielder!"
"Fantastic!!"
In the outfield, Toujou Hideaki maintained his throwing stance.
The over-100-meter throw was his doing.
SNAP!
Miyuki stepped forward to catch the ball in his mitt.
Then he turned to tag Narumiya out.
The sudden move surprised Narumiya.
He quickly pivoted, running past Miyuki toward home plate.
Miyuki, undeterred, charged forward, extending his body fully.
Before Narumiya's foot hit the plate, he tagged him with the ball.
"OUT!!!!"
"Ooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!"
The previous wolf howls from Inajitsu's supporters were now echoed by cheers from Seidou's fans.
What had they just witnessed?
A 100-meter throw, a home plate confrontation, a spin dodge, and a lunge for the tag!
"Unbelievable!"
"These kids are amazing!!!"
One middle-aged fan was so excited he could hardly speak. He gazed in shock at the young players, mumbling incoherently.
"Is this really just a high school game?"
"Absolutely man!"
"Koshien is just like this."
"Endless talents, fierce battles, youthful energy, and sweat. Isn't this Koshien?"
"It's precisely these things that make battles between giants so exhilarating."
"And both of those teams are from Tokyo too."
"Damn, I can now see why these guys from Tokyo always brag!"
The audience was in awe.
Various comments filled the live broadcast platform, expressing their shock.
With two Outs and a runner on second base, Inajitsu and Seidou had reached a standoff.
The only concern was Furuya's state.
Up to this point, his pitching seemed powerful.
It looked like he should be able to hold on, but judging by the results, he should have been substituted by now.
In Seidou's dugout, Coach Kataoka wore a cold expression. No one could tell what he was thinking.
However, he hadn't signaled for a substitution.
This meant he wanted Furuya to continue pitching.
Miyuki ignored Narumiya's angry outburst about how that back toss was unfair and focused on Tadano, who was up next.
He didn't indulge in his earlier performance but calmly assessed the game before him.
One more Out.
'If Furuya could hold on here, he would truly be on the starting line to compete with Sawamura for the ace position.'
"Those who are Out, please leave!"
Narumiya continued to shout, and even the home plate umpire couldn't overlook it, ejecting him from the field.
The stands erupted in good-natured laughter.
Who would have thought the "Prince of Tokyo" could be so comical?
…