Chapter 389: A Scorching Start

Kuramochi, having just returned to the dugout, immediately felt annoyed upon hearing his good friend praise their opponent.

"Hey! That was just a mistake on my part! Otherwise, I definitely would have hit it to the outfield and dashed to Second Base!"

"Heh."

On the field, Kominato Haruichi did not rush to swing at the first pitch, and on the second pitch, he chased a Fastball and hit it Jianjie.

"His control is pretty good," Huangqian Yangyi said with a low laugh while standing outside the dugout; this pitch was hit Jianjie by Kominato Haruichi on purpose, specifically to give the opponent the illusion that they were hunting for Fastballs.

Sure enough, after this pitch was hit Jianjie, the look in Tadano Itsuki's eyes when he looked at Kominato Haruichi changed, and after thinking it over, he gave the sign.

A low, outside Fastball.

Narumiya Mei nodded and threw the ball with a menacing aura.

Whoosh!

A white shadow came rushing in, and Kominato Haruichi raised an eyebrow—it was actually a Fastball again!

The bat swung out, Bang!

Kominato Haruichi gritted his teeth and managed to tip the ball away.

The baseball flew high into the air, lacking speed, and was caught by Shirakawa Katsuyuki before it hit the ground.

Flyout.

"Ohhhhhhh!!"

"Mei!!"

"Ace-sama!!"

"Two outs!!!"

"His pitching form is still as magnificent as ever!"

"Three inside pitches, this is our battery, powerful!"

Having resolved Kominato Haruichi, the fans of Inashiro felt genuinely happy, and the Inashiro players in the dugout also breathed a sigh of relief—not for the present moment, but because Huangqian Yangyi was destined to be given a Base on Balls this turn at bat.

Unless the third batter, Miyuki, could blast a Triple.

"Yeah, this is really tricky."

Just as he stood in the Batter's Box, Miyuki lowered his head and said with a smile on his face.

Tadano Itsuki looked up and met Miyuki's gaze without speaking; he didn't dare to respond to this senior, whom Narumiya-senpai described as having a black heart and a foul mouth.

Seeing that Tadano Itsuki was ignoring him, Miyuki shrugged in self-deprecation and then prepared to bat.

Two outs, no one on base; it was clear that Inashiro had grasped the rhythm of the game in this half-inning.

Even though they were about to face the heart of the Seido lineup, they didn't feel much pressure and could easily adopt a more relaxed and smooth approach to resolve it.

Thus, the first pitch was a Cutter; Miyuki didn't move, one Strike.

Seeing that Miyuki didn't react, Tadano Itsuki thought for a moment and decided to probe again, so he gave the sign for a Forkball; their goal today wasn't a Strikeout, as long as they could make it difficult for the Seido batters to hit, that would be enough.

"Come on, Narumiya-senpai, keep the pitch low!"

The corners of Narumiya Mei's mouth curled up; he had witnessed Tadano Itsuki's growth with his own eyes, so this pitch was fine and could be thrown. He lifted his right leg slightly, raised both hands, and as his foot landed firmly, the baseball flew out with a whoosh.

Miyuki's gaze followed the baseball closely, and the moment the white shadow entered the home plate area, his bat was in position.

Bang!

"Jianjie!!"

"Yeah~ what a heavy ball."

Barely managing to guide the ball outside the boundary, Miyuki let out a long breath.

Two Strikes, just one pitch away from ending this inning; Narumiya Mei and Miyuki's eyes met, and both felt the determination in the other's eyes to never back down.

Receiving the sign from Tadano Itsuki, Narumiya Mei's eyes turned sharp, and after a slow, deep breath, his entire state was adjusted to its peak.

Shoo!

That terrifying ball force swept in, and a beautiful arc followed an incredibly tricky angle.

It was a Slider!!

Boom! The target ball appeared, and Miyuki's bat aimed at the outside corner and swept across heavily.

Bang!

The moment the bat made contact with the baseball, Miyuki knew clearly in his heart: it was over.

This pitch, whether in terms of speed, angle, or the power and force of the ball itself, was a level above the Narumiya Mei he had understood!

"Three outs, change of offense and defense!"

The home plate umpire's voice rang out.

After being forced out, Miyuki stopped running, turned his head to look at the back of Narumiya Mei on the Pitcher's Mound, and although he had a thousand words in his heart, he could only turn around and leave the field in silence.

In the on-deck circle, Huangqian Yangyi gave a helpless, bitter smile; three outs meant that he definitely wouldn't have a chance to swing the bat in a moment.

"Gomen gomen~"

Miyuki scratched his head and smiled at Huangqian Yangyi, completely unbothered.

"Idiot!"

Huangqian Yangyi rolled his eyes in annoyance and immediately began changing his pitcher's glove after returning to the dugout.

"How is it, Huangqian? How's your condition today?" Kuramochi asked with a laugh, hands on his hips.

"Good luck, take them down."

"Captain, I'll leave it to you."

"Senior, let's have them go three up, three down."

The teammates around him spoke one after another while extending their fists; Huangqian Yangyi smiled at everyone, but just as everyone expected a passionate fist bump, Huangqian Yangyi turned his back to them and raised his right fist high.

"Let's go!!!"

"Ohhhhhhh~!!!"

"Now, bottom of the first inning, Inashiro Industrial on the attack."

"We can see Seido's Fourth Batter and Captain, the ace Huangqian Yangyi, leading the Seido players onto the field right now. Applause, the whole stadium is cheering! The showdown everyone has been waiting for!"

As Huangqian Yangyi stood on the Pitcher's Mound, the rhythmic applause and cheers still echoed throughout the stadium. How long had it been? Huangqian Yangyi listened to the cheers in his ears; compared to the previous game against Ichidai Sanko, the audience was clearly even more excited now.

Swish!

His right fist dropped heavily, and the previously noisy stadium instantly fell silent.

Satisfied!

Huangqian Yangyi slowly raised his head to look at home plate, where Inashiro's leadoff hitter Carlos was already prepared.

"Damn! That's too cool!"

"Senior is so awesome!"

"As expected of our ace."

The First Year kids from Seido suddenly realized at this moment that this was their first time witnessing Huangqian Yangyi's showboating in person as members of Seido.

Just as everyone was sighing in admiration, Miyuki at home plate had already quietly signaled the sign.

It's been a while, let's give them a heavy gift, Yangyi!

Kazuya! You understand me well!

Huangqian Yangyi flexed his fingers; the feel was good.

Then, in the eyes of the entire audience and the opponent, a baseball like a cannonball shot into Miyuki's glove.

No reaction!

Not just the audience, even the Batter Carlos only came to his senses after the baseball had entered the glove.

What is this!

Killer Baseball?!!

166!!

Everyone stared at this number, dumbfounded. What a sharp, what a direct, what a powerful opening statement!

"Bastard!"

Carlos gripped his bat tightly. Even though he had been prepared in his heart, he still couldn't help but want to curse right now. A pitch like this, and it could still be thrown into the strike zone—is this even fair to play?!

"Huangqian!!"

"Lord Ace!!"

"Tyrant!!"

"So cool!"

"Completely crush them!"

"Don't give them a chance!"

With one pitch, the whole stadium exploded. Huangqian Yangyi turned his head to look at the Inashiro dugout and winked at Narumiya Mei. Hmm, a flirtatious glance.