"Whoosh!"
"Clang!"
"Thud!"
"Foul ball!!"
"What's the matter? Is that all you've got, Furuya? Where's your grit? Didn't you say you wanted to surpass Sawamura? Then show ! Show your resolve!!!"
Standing in the batter's box, relentlessly hamring away at Furuya's fastballs and breaking balls, the fierce slugger—the Mad Dog—kept taunting him with words as sharp as his swings. Because this was an internal red-and-white match, the usual restraints and rules didn't really apply.
The provocation in his voice made the expression on the pitcher's mound tighten even further.
The crowd of spectators, however, could only break into wry smiles.
That was the real Jun Isashiki they knew.
Even in left field, Eijun could only shake his head helplessly.
C'mon, Isashiki-senpai, if you want to provoke Furuya, then provoke him. But why drag into this…? With a slightly bitter look, Eijun's eyes followed the grinning upperclassman in the batter's box.
"Tch… this is bad. With this kind of batting, if it keeps up, he'll connect sooner or later. And with Ryousuke-senpai already on first…"
Behind the plate, Miyuki's sharp eyes flicked toward Ryousuke, who looked casual on the basepath but was clearly poised to sprint the mont the ball was hit. Miyuki frowned.
Guess we'll have to take a risk here.
"Straight down the middle. Throw your fastest pitch and end it here. But listen, Furuya—whatever you do, don't let it float high. You know exactly what'll happen if you do."
Miyuki's fingers flashed the signal.
"Mm!"
On the mound, Furuya gave a fierce nod.
A straight fight. Settling it with speed—exactly how he preferred it.
"Boom!"
He whipped his arm up, dirt exploding beneath his powerful stride.
"Whoosh!"
In that instant, a streak of white light scread out of his hand.
"Perfect timing!!!"
As the pitch hurtled toward the plate, Isashiki's eyes glead. His wide mouth twisted into a feral grin.
"Boom!"
He planted his foot hard, his bat slicing through the air with a roar that seed to shake the field.
"Ping!!!!"
"YOSSHAAA!!!"
The ball exploded off the bat, a thunderous sound echoing through the stadium. Miyuki's face imdiately darkened behind the mask.
"Whoosh!"
The ball rocketed into the air, blazing past the infield and streaking toward left field.
On first base, Ryousuke had already broken into a sprint the mont the ball was struck.
Two racing figures tore around the bases, mirrored against the soaring arc of the ball overhead.
"Thud!!"
A vicious roar tore from Isashiki's throat as the ball slamd into the turf. Eijun lunged desperately in left, but the sharp rebound skipped past before he could even field it cleanly.
A perfect opposite-field hit. The spin and bounce sent it skipping too fast to handle.
By the ti Eijun scooped it up and rifled the ball back to the infield—
"Step!"
At ho plate, Ryousuke was already sliding safely across the plate.
An RBI single.
The third-years had struck again. Thanks to Isashiki's tily hit, their lead expanded to two runs at the top of the third inning.
"Hahaha! You're still a long way off, punk!!!"
Sliding perfectly into second, Jun Isashiki threw back his head in laughter, his eyes blazing with mockery as he shouted toward the mound where Furuya stood.
Neither timing, nor angle, nor raw strength—none of it was lacking in that swing.
Isashiki-senpai's hit was nothing short of brilliant.
Even Furuya, standing on the mound, had no choice but to admit it.
So this is what the nation's top lineup once looked like…
The tiniest weakness would be spotted instantly, then magnified without rcy.
Furuya clenched his right fist tightly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
Pitch control.
Velocity control.
Pitch selection.
The use of power and late movent.
The timing of mixing fastballs and breaking balls.
The road ahead of him was still long—very long.
"Batting fourth, first baseman—Yuuki-kun!"
It was completely the seniors' stage now.
Against this kind of lineup, Furuya's current ability simply wasn't enough to dominate. At best, he could hang on against so of the senpai. But when it ca to Isashiki and Yuuki, his pitching looked painfully fragile.
"Whoosh—Smack!"
"Four balls, walk!"
He had tried to face Yuuki head-on, every pitch thrown with extre precision. But Furuya didn't yet have the command to paint the four corners perfectly. Inevitably, he missed his spots.
And so, whether he wanted it or not, he walked the captain.
One out, runners on first and second.
And then ca the fifth batter, Masuko-senpai, the powerhouse slugger.
A ferocious swing.
A sharp low liner.
Kuramochi and Haruichi reacted quickly, but even their speed wasn't enough. They kept the ball from reaching the outfield, but the placent was too precise, too difficult to handle cleanly on the first bounce.
Masuko reached base safely with an infield single.
Bases loaded. One out.
A rare crisis for Seidou—almost never seen unless they were facing the level of Narumiya. And clearly, Furuya was not yet at that level.
"Whoosh!"
"Ping!!"
A thunderous sound split the air.
Chris-senpai, batting sixth, unleashed a mighty swing.
This was the clash of the two genius catchers—Chris and Miyuki. And Chris perfectly exploited the gap in Miyuki and Furuya's battery work.
His bat connected squarely, sending the ball soaring deep toward the left-field wall.
"Thud!!!"
"OOOOHHHHHH!!!"
The entire stadium roared. That ball had only been a hair away from flying completely out of the park.
Eijun was already sprinting with everything he had. Eyes locked on the flashing white arc, he launched himself forward.
At the very mont the ball slamd against the fence and rebounded out, his body twisted in the air—
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
A perfect diving grab. Eijun snatched the ball cleanly out of the air before it could fall again.
But even with that spectacular play, it was still a crushing extra-base hit.
Yuuki, running from second, had more than enough ti to cross ho.
Eijun hurled the ball toward third base—
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
But by the ti Kanemaru caught it at third, Masuko-senpai was already standing safely on the bag.
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