Shooosh!
Smack!
A streak of white light tore across the sky, like the blazing trajectory of a teor.
The scene that followed left every player at Seidou High School in utter disbelief and rendered Furuya's expression pale and powerless.
It was a mont that left everyone stunned.
The atmosphere at Edogawa Municipal Stadium soared to its peak in that instant!!!
"Another ho run! Right after Umiya's hor, Seidou's pitcher seems to have completely collapsed. After walking the fifth batter on four pitches, he threw another fastball—only to have the sixth batter effortlessly connect, launching a two-run hor over left field. In the top of the fourth inning, Ugumori High School has scored four runs, finally breaking through the ace pitcher's defenses once and for all!!!!"
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap! How is this even happening!?"
"Unbelievable... Four runs in just one inning?"
"I can't believe it."
"Back-to-back ho runs... Seidou's really in trouble now."
"This is a major blow."
"Can Furuya handle this?"
"Hmph, they should've switched him out for Sawamura after the first ho run. Now look—they're down by four. And Ugumori's ace isn't made of clay, either. This ga's looking dangerous for Seidou."
"Was he just too young after all?"
"What a sha…"
The crowd erupted into a chorus of noise, their shocked reactions spreading throughout the stadium.
Ugumori High School's cheering section was alive with unrestrained, joyous celebration.
anwhile, Seidou High School's dugout fell into a deathly silence, a stark contrast to the jubilant scene on the other side.
Out on the mound, Furuya stood frozen, his face ashen.
At that mont, Furuya's mind was a complete blank.
He had pitched just like he always did—so why? Why did it end up like this? Two ho runs? Furuya couldn't even begin to comprehend what had just happened.
Had he misplaced his pitches? Was his strategy guessed? Or had he made so sort of mistake?
Furuya still couldn't pinpoint where exactly he went wrong.
The path he'd always believed in, the confidence he'd held in his own ability—it all seed to start crumbling in that instant.
Behind the plate, Miyuki let out a quiet sigh and closed his eyes.
Miyuki knew that the ball had floated up just like before, but could that really be the only reason? Could it really have led to this?
Miyuki didn't want to believe that was the case. He couldn't believe it.
Furuya's pitches had floated before.
But for it to result in sothing this devastating…
This was the first ti Miyuki had seen it happen. Maybe, just maybe, he'd overlooked sothing critical. Maybe that oversight was what led to Furuya's current situation.
This inning belonged to Furuya.
And now, it was over.
That thought lingered in Miyuki's mind.
Neither Furuya, nor Miyuki, could see the true cause—that subtle shift in a single-minded pitcher's mindset, spiraling into a dangerous ntal block.
This was the catalyst behind today's events, reminiscent of the struggles Furuya faced in the original spring tournant.
But here, the situation was different. Instead of a milestone on the path to proper growth, it was the bitter fruit of a misguided mindset.
And that bitter fruit was Furuya's burden alone to bear.
In the dugout, Coach Ochiai approached Coach Kataoka with a faint smile.
"Coach Kataoka."
The softly spoken words from Ochiai conveyed his recomndation clearly, and Coach Kataoka gave a silent nod in acknowledgnt.
In the end, this result was not sothing anyone could have predicted—not the players on the field, and not even Coach Kataoka or Ochiai.
Unlike the original spring tournant where Coach Kataoka had intentionally used Furuya for developnt despite the resulting heavy runs allowed, here both Kataoka, Ochiai, and Miyuki had genuinely believed that Furuya could suppress the opposing hitters and keep the damage under control.
Unfortunately, people's minds are unpredictable. Why Furuya suddenly crumbled here was beyond anyone's understanding.
Ochiai, however, might have had a faint grasp of the reason. After all, he'd spent considerable ti practicing with Furuya recently.
Furuya's shifting mindset and the series of events on the field now made sense to Ochiai, at least to so extent.
That's precisely why Ochiai knew this was the mont to take Furuya off the mound.
Internally, Furuya had already completely collapsed—and perhaps he was even beginning to doubt himself.
Ochiai watched as Furuya stood on the mound surrounded by Seidou's infielders, and he couldn't help but let out a quiet sigh.
This was only the first step. If you can't get through this, your future will be grim, Furuya.
As the crowd speculated and as the players from both Ugumori and Seidou grasped the situation, the decision was made.
"Notice of a substitution for Seidou High School: replacing Furuya on the mound is left fielder Asou. The left fielder Tojou will move to center field. Center fielder Sawamura will take over as pitcher. Batting third and pitching is Sawamura!"
Under the spotlight of the entire stadium, the ace erged.
When the ace appeared at this mont of crisis, the audience watched with anticipation and excitent.
The ace of diamond of Seidou, one of the strongest southpaws of the current generation, Sawamura Eijun, approached calmly yet resolutely. His figure, running in from the outfield, exuded a commanding aura.
The number on his back glead faintly golden in the autumn sunlight, sparking waves of cheers across the stadium.
"He's here—the ace of Seidou!"
"The golden battery!"
"Don't let them keep getting away with this, ace!"
"Take them down, Eijun!"
"ACE! ACE! ACE!"
Seidou's ace, the sumr national champion pitcher—Sawamura Eijun—stepped onto the mound.
Gathered at the mound, Miyuki, Kuramochi, Maezono, and others encircled the lone figure in the center.
The once proud, upright figure of Furuya now appeared weak and dejected, his head lowered in silence.
Eijun looked at him with a complicated expression. Furuya seed to sense his presence and extended the ball toward Eijun, who took it quietly.
With that, Furuya lowered his head and walked off the mound, his steps heavy as if weighed down by the world.
It was then that a calm yet serious voice rang out.
"Furuya, if your goal is the sa as mine—to reach the top—don't show that kind of face. Giving up is easy, but it's also boring. You're soone I consider a worthy rival. If you run away here, I'll look down on you for the rest of my life. Show what you're made of, Furuya."
Eijun's firm words left Kuramochi, Haruichi, Miyuki, Maezono, and even Tojo with stunned expressions.
Furuya, hearing them, hesitated for a mont. He said nothing in response, but his steps forward seed to straighten slightly.
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