Chapter 300: Secret Weapon?

Top of the third inning, Seido on offense. The first to step into the Batter's Box is the Eighth Batter, Shirasu Kenjiro.

Standing in the Batter's Box, although no expression could be seen on Shirasu's face, he was deeply wary of Narumiya Mei in his heart; this guy's growth had exceeded the expectations of far too many people. Shirasu gripped his bat tightly, waiting with full concentration for Narumiya Mei to pitch the baseball.

"Play ball!"

As the umpire's voice rang out, Narumiya Mei on the Pitcher's Mound quickly threw the ball after confirming the signs with Harada Masatoshi.

Whoosh!

Swish!

The pitch, the swing!

Bang!

"Jianjie!"

Shirasu swung at the first pitch, connecting with a Fastball, but because Narumiya Mei had pitched this ball too precisely, it jammed Shirasu's swing, causing the baseball to fly out as a Jianjie.

In the Batter's Box, Shirasu frowned; this inside pitch from Narumiya Mei had greatly compressed his swinging space, leading to an incomplete swing. On top of that, he was too concerned about Narumiya Mei's Changeup—even though the manager and Coach had said not to worry about the Changeup, he would unconsciously guard against it in his heart, which caused him to have deviations when swinging.

Need to be more proactive! Swing earlier!

Shirasu moved his feet slightly, looking toward the direction of the Pitcher's Mound and moving a bit closer.

At Home Plate, Harada Masatoshi frowned after noticing Shirasu's movement; was he planning to hit the ball before it reached Home Plate?

Giving the sign with his right hand in front of him, Narumiya Mei on the Pitcher's Mound also quickly threw the second pitch.

Whoosh!

The baseball flew in, flashing with a white light; just as it was about to enter the Home Plate area, Shirasu's bat swept across.

Just as the powerfully swinging bat looked like it was about to strike the little white ball, the baseball disappeared from before his eyes.

Thwack!

"Strike!"

A Forkball!

Shirasu swung and missed; he had swung so early precisely because he was guarding against the Forkball, but only after actually batting did he realize that Narumiya Mei's Forkball now not only had a greater drop but also arrived even earlier!

Not waiting for Shirasu to think too much, Narumiya Mei, having already secured two strikes, had received the return throw from Harada Masatoshi. As if he didn't take Shirasu into account at all, Narumiya Mei threw the ball less than three seconds after Harada Masatoshi squatted down.

Eyeing the trajectory, Shirasu tilted his body slightly, positioning his bat in front of Home Plate.

Bang!

A bunt!

Shirasu let go of the bat and immediately sprinted toward First Base.

The sudden bunt caught the Inashiro players off guard, and the direction of the ball was good, rolling toward Third Base.

"Yoshizawa!" Harada Masatoshi shouted at the top of his lungs. Third Baseman Yoshizawa Hideaki rushed forward to meet the baseball, picked it up, and threw it toward First Base with his momentum.

"Shirasu!!"

Seido's teammates shouted from the sidelines.

"Safe!!"

Following a head-first slide, Shirasu successfully touched the First Base bag with both hands; he had successfully reached base.

No outs, runner on First Base; after adjusting his breathing, Narumiya Mei focused on preparing to retire the next batter.

"Sakai-senpai, let's go!!" In the Dugout, Sawamura shouted toward the field.

The ninth batter, Sakai Ichiro, stepped into the Batter's Box. As one of the more mediocre hitters in Seido's starting lineup, Sakai Ichiro knew very well that it was almost impossible for him to face Narumiya Mei head-on. However, he had strength and determination—if the ball comes, hit it! Holding this mindset, Sakai Ichiro managed to connect with a ball, but unfortunately, it was a Forkball. Sakai Ichiro failed to hit it well, and after the baseball hit the ground, it bounced directly toward the position of the Second Baseman.

Inashiro Second Baseman Hirai Tsubasa caught the ball and forced out Shirasu, then threw to First Base to force out Sakai Ichiro; Inashiro turned a Double Play on this sequence.

Sakai Ichiro was very frustrated after hitting that ball; if he could have lowered his bat by half a ball's distance at that moment, he could have hit it out.

"Leave the next one to me!" Kuramochi said to Sakai Ichiro, who was walking off the field, as he stepped out of the on-deck circle.

"Yeah, good luck!"

Two outs, no runners on base; Kuramochi Yoichi stepped into the Batter's Box.

"Kuramochi-senpai, we're counting on you!"

"Speedster, go!"

"Cheetah! You have to reach base!"

Inashiro's Double Play had instantly extinguished Seido's newly arrived hope for a run. At this moment, the spectators and teammates were all incredibly expectant that Kuramochi could reach base and ignite the offense once again.

Seeing Kuramochi standing in the Batter's Box, Narumiya Mei's brow twitched slightly. I will never let you succeed with a bunt; wanting to reach base by relying on your foot speed? Keep dreaming!

Narumiya Mei radiated a cold and terrifying aura from head to toe, making Kuramochi in the Batter's Box feel a sense of oppression, and the expression on his face became even more serious.

Must reach base! He absolutely had to reach base!

As long as he could reach base, Kuramochi believed that his teammates behind him would definitely not miss the opportunity.

"Play ball!"

The umpire's voice rang out, and Kuramochi's nerves tightened instantly. He didn't need an Extra-base Hit; he only needed to lightly tap the ball into a tricky spot, and then, relying on his foot speed, there would be a high probability of him sprinting to First Base.

Whoosh!

After confirming the sign, Narumiya Mei decisively raised his arm and whipped it out; in the blink of an eye, the baseball was already right in front of him.

Thwack!

"Strike!"

An inside Cutter caused Kuramochi to swing and miss.

Then came two more pitches: a swing and miss, and a Jianjie.

In just three pitches, Kuramochi had been successfully cornered. The tricky trajectory made it very difficult for him to swing, and even when he did, he only managed to hit Jianjie. Gripping the bat, Kuramochi felt like he had strength he couldn't unleash.

Soon, the fourth pitch flew over. This time, Kuramochi swung early, choosing the pitch type exactly where the baseball was flying. Before he could even be happy, the bat had already swung through, yet the baseball was late to arrive.

Thwack!

"Strike! Batter out!"

A Changeup!

Damn it!

Kuramochi glared at Narumiya Mei; this guy actually threw a Changeup at a time like this. No, Kuramochi lowered his head to look at Harada Masatoshi—it was this guy!

His own nervousness had been seen through by the opponent, which was why they chose to call for a Changeup here; clearly, he really hadn't reacted in time.

Kuramochi, who wanted to restart the offense for Seido, was thus easily retired by this Inashiro battery.

In the top of the third inning, Seido once again returned empty-handed.

In the dugout, Huangqian Yangyi stared at Narumiya Mei's back and frowned.

"This guy, could it be that he still has some secret weapon?"

"What did you say?" Miyuki turned his head and asked.

Huangqian Yangyi shook his head: "Don't you think Narumiya Mei is a bit too anxious today?"

Hearing this, Miyuki also looked at Narumiya Mei's figure on the opposite side, thought for a moment, and said: "Hmm, a little. Mei's pitching today is even more aggressive than usual, and the Changeup appeared earlier than before, as if he isn't worried at all that we might adapt to the Changeup, which would cause its effectiveness to be greatly reduced in the latter half."

"Therefore, this little blondie must still be hiding another secret weapon," Huangqian Yangyi said with great certainty.

Miyuki smiled, and while putting on his protective gear, said: "Alright, stop guessing, you won't be able to figure it out anyway; we'll know when we get to the latter half of the game."