Chapter 390

"Damn it!"

Narumiya Mei's head was fuming with rage as he met Huangqian Yangyi's gaze; he just couldn't understand how this guy's shoulder could produce such fast pitch speeds—wouldn't he get injured? What on earth was his body structure made of?

Heh.

Seeing Narumiya Mei's expression finally change, Huangqian Yangyi chuckled to himself. That's more like it; why keep such a deadpan face? It's not cute at all.

Turning his head to look toward home plate, he saw Inashiro's second batter, Shirakawa Katsuyuki. He was an old friend, and seeing the stern, unsmiling expression on the other's face, Huangqian Yangyi also turned serious.

Shirakawa Katsuyuki was a technical batter with superb hitting skills, especially when the first batter, Carlos, was on base; his hits always coordinated with the runner to launch fierce offensives.

But now, with Carlos struck out, the threat from Shirakawa Katsuyuki was not as great.

At the same time, Second Baseman Kominato Haruichi and Shortstop Kuramochi Yoichi pressed their positions forward after the opponent's second batter stepped up, exerting a certain amount of pressure. Facing Huangqian Yangyi's pitching, this batter would mostly choose to pull the ball into the infield, so they had to be on guard.

In the Batter's Box, a sharp glint flashed in the eyes of Shirakawa Katsuyuki, which were obscured by his bangs. He quietly choked up on the bat. It would be very difficult for him to hit Huangqian Yangyi's pitches and send them far, so he chose a low-position horizontal pull, aiming to pull the ball to the side to buy himself a chance to run the bases.

"Playball!"

The umpire's voice rang out. Miyuki gave the signal at the right moment, and the next second, Huangqian Yangyi threw the baseball. With a high release point, a streak of white light cut through the air and plunged straight into the catcher's mitt at home plate.

"Fastball!"

Shirakawa Katsuyuki lowered his body, and the bat in his hands swung heavily, leveraging the power of his twisting torso.

Swish!

At the very last moment, the baseball suddenly dropped, refracting right past the bottom of the bat.

Pop!

"Strike!"

Catching the ball firmly, Miyuki curled the corner of his mouth and looked up at Shirakawa Katsuyuki.

"Strike! The first pitch is a Forkball, 152 km/h, with a sharp downward break. In the Batter's Box, Inashiro's second batter, Shirakawa Katsuyuki, couldn't react in time and swung at air. Seido gets one strike!"

After the pitch, Shirakawa Katsuyuki calmly retracted his bat. Huangqian Yangyi's fastballs were still as monstrous as ever. Four-seam, two-seam, Cutter Slider, Forkball—each one was at the pinnacle. Hitting them wasn't easy. Having faced him many times and having been struck out repeatedly, he wouldn't feel discouraged by one swing and a miss.

Second pitch.

Miyuki gave the signal. Huangqian Yangyi lifted his left leg, raised his hands above his shoulders, and as his center of gravity fell forward, his arm whipped out like a lash. A white blur shot out.

It was still a fastball. Shirakawa Katsuyuki swung his bat with a ferocious expression, but this pitch exceeded his expectations again. From his perspective, the baseball suddenly accelerated and even produced an upward drift, while his own swing felt as if it had slowed down. The little white ball grazed the bat and tucked itself into Shirakawa Katsuyuki's chest.

Accelerated Rising Fastball!

"Strike!"

On the sidelines, Furuya clenched his fists tightly upon seeing this pitch. The combination of an Accelerated Fastball and a rising ball—he could throw both types separately, but he had been practicing this Accelerated Rising Fastball for a while, and it was always hit-or-miss.

"Huangqian!!"

"Nice pitch!!"

"Strike him out!"

"That's the rhythm!"

With two strikes, Huangqian Yangyi received the return throw and observed Shirakawa Katsuyuki's expression. He was still as calm as ever; perhaps because the game had just started, he wasn't in a rush.

Shirakawa Katsuyuki, however, was not so calm inside. They knew how rapidly and terrifyingly Huangqian Yangyi had grown over the past two years, but in reality, his repertoire of pitches wasn't vast.

This person was very clear-headed when it came to pitching. With his super-fast pitch speed, he learned different fastball trajectories, and then used the Changeup to infinitely expand the advantage of his fastballs. Huangqian Yangyi didn't have many breaking balls, and they weren't flashy, but he had played his fastballs to perfection.

The Cutter Slider went without saying, and the eerie trajectory changes of the two-seam fastball and the unusually sharp downward curve of the Forkball were all astonishing. Later, he even developed the Accelerated Fastball and the Rising Fastball, and now, he had combined the two types of fastballs.

In all his years of playing baseball, this was the first time Shirakawa Katsuyuki had seen someone play the most basic fastball with such flair.

Soon, the third pitch.

Huangqian Yangyi flexed his wrists a few times and threw the baseball accurately toward home plate. Shirakawa Katsuyuki stepped forward and swung his bat horizontally the moment the ball flew out.

Bang!

Bunt!

He made contact.

The powerful force of the baseball vibrated the web of Shirakawa Katsuyuki's thumb. This bunt was not successful; the ball didn't land where he wanted it to, but instead bounced off the ground and went straight toward Miyuki behind him.

Well, it tucked itself right into Miyuki's arms.

Shirakawa Katsuyuki looked back at Miyuki in astonishment. Miyuki, who was cradling the baseball in his arms, looked up, froze for three seconds, and then revealed an innocent, brilliant smile.

"Bad luck!"

Shirakawa Katsuyuki finally couldn't hold it in and spoke out loud.

And so, three up, three down; the first inning ended with a score of 0:0.

Top of the second inning, Seido on offense.

Without any surprise, when Huangqian Yangyi stepped into the Batter's Box, Narumiya Mei quickly threw a ball. After walking Huangqian Yangyi on four consecutive balls, he even winked at Huangqian Yangyi over at First Base.

Ignoring him, Huangqian Yangyi turned his head elsewhere, which immediately angered Narumiya Mei again.

Arima Kazusa, who followed Huangqian Yangyi, was struck out directly.

Shirasu, the 6th batter, was not spared either.

Striking out two people in a row, Inashiro's momentum gradually rose.

The 7th batter, Maezono Kenta, connected with a fastball, but unfortunately, the ball landed in the right infield, and Inashiro secured the out.

"Three outs, change of sides."

Bottom of the second inning, Huangqian Yangyi faced Inashiro's 4th batter, Narumiya Mei.

"Mei."

"Kazuya."

The two old friends exchanged a brief greeting at home plate and said nothing more.

Narumiya Mei set his batting stance, his eyes fixed on Huangqian Yangyi. As the Fourth Batter of Inashiro's lineup, if they wanted to win the game today, they had to score against the person in front of them. For over two years, they had tried various methods, and most of the time, they were just one step away.

And today, in this final game, the determination of everyone on Inashiro would only be stronger than all their previous attempts combined.

Feeling Narumiya Mei's gaze, Huangqian Yangyi became even more focused; today's Inashiro was definitely not a team that could be easily crushed.

The collision between the two aces truly unfolded at this moment. Huangqian Yangyi's first pitch, an inside-high rising Fastball, flew toward home plate. Narumiya Mei's eyes were sharp, the bat in his hands eager to swing, yet in the end, he did not swing; the baseball drilled into the chest area and slammed heavily into Miyuki's glove.

"Strike!"

The umpire's ruling and the sound of the baseball entering the glove rang out almost simultaneously.

Narumiya Mei glanced at Miyuki's glove, then looked back toward the Pitcher's Mound.

Quite calm, huh, Miyuki chuckled, stood up, and returned the ball.

If he won't swing at the inside pitch, then let's try an outside pitch.

Come on, Yangyi, an outside-low Cutter Slider.

Huangqian Yangyi received Miyuki's signal, took a deep breath after a nod, and slowly lifted his left leg. That flash of white light appeared, and the baseball, flying at extreme speed, produced an incredibly exaggerated movement as it entered home plate. Narumiya Mei's bat chased after it, and relying on his understanding of Huangqian Yangyi's pitch trajectory, this swing successfully made contact with the baseball. Bang! The little white ball flew backward, outside the Right Fielder boundary.

"Jianjie!"

Having secured another Strike, Narumiya Mei was backed into a corner.

The Inashiro players on the sidelines clenched their fists nervously, all gazing at Narumiya Mei with eyes full of expectation—their Fourth Batter.

At the same time, Huangqian Yangyi nodded slightly at Miyuki. Their eyes met, and Miyuki immediately understood, shifting his position slightly before setting his glove, having already confirmed the type of the next pitch.

From the high point, Huangqian Yangyi swung his raised arm with force, and the white shadow shooting tightly along the inside corner continued to enlarge in Narumiya Mei's eyes.

"Ha!!"

Swing!

Narumiya Mei's eyes narrowed, he pushed off with his feet, and concentrated all his strength into the bat.

Bang!

The baseball collided with the bat. Amidst the clash of two powerful forces, the little white ball was smashed onto the ground in front and flew toward the direction between Second Base and Third Base.

"Mei!!"

"Run!!"

"Charge!!"

"Get on base!"

The Inashiro players shouted at the top of their lungs. As the first Batter of this inning, as long as Narumiya Mei could get on base, they would have a chance to advance the runners.

"Kuramochi!!"

Huangqian Yangyi turned his head and shouted. Kuramochi rushed toward the baseball with quick steps, lowered his center of gravity like a cheetah, and bent down to scoop up the baseball. At the same time, Kominato Haruichi had already arrived in position, caught Kuramochi's throw, and quickly relayed it to First Base.

The baseball and Narumiya Mei both approached First Base continuously. Amidst the shouting from both sides, the person and the ball arrived almost at the same time.

"Safe!!!!"

The umpire's voice rang out, followed by the deafening cheers of the Inashiro spectators.

Standing on First Base, Narumiya Mei raised his right hand high. His sturdy silhouette under the sunlight overlapped with the cheers of the audience; their Fourth Batter, their ace, had secured a precious offensive opportunity for Inashiro.

Watching the excited appearance of the Inashiro people, Huangqian Yangyi couldn't help but curl his lip, not knowing what they were so happy about; it wasn't like they had scored.

Not looking at Narumiya Mei again, Huangqian Yangyi looked at the Inashiro 5th Batter in the Batter's Box, Yamaoka Riku. He was a super power-hitter; although his actual batting technique was a bit lacking, he used brute force to break through all techniques, and that power concentrated at the tip of the bat often played a decisive role at many moments.

The so-called "great strength creates miracles" was just like this.

In the Batter's Box, Yamaoka Riku stood toward the front and inside, and was holding a long bat; it was clear he intended to decide the outcome before the baseball entered the strike zone.

"Yangyi, start with a Changeup, then use a Fastball to decide it!"

Observing Yamaoka Riku's stance and movements, Miyuki quickly made a judgment in his heart and then began to signal with his hands.

"Come on!"

On the Pitcher's Mound, Huangqian Yangyi nodded heavily. Although it was a bit early to use a Changeup, Narumiya Mei was already on base, and he would absolutely not give Inashiro any chance to advance the runners.

First pitch!

Within his line of sight, Huangqian Yangyi swung his raised arm with force. That flash of white attacked instantly. Yamaoka Riku's expression was serious, his arms tense. As the heavy bat swung, it seemed to be accompanied by a booming sound. The black bat, the white ball shadow—when the swing was more than halfway through, Yamaoka Riku's pupils shrank sharply: it was a Changeup!

The bat, unable to be pulled back, swung high through the air, and the sound of the baseball entering the glove rang out behind him.

"Strike!!"

As the umpire's voice rang out, Yamaoka Riku, who had swung and missed, had a ferocious look on his face, his eyes becoming even more vicious.

After a very slow Circle Changeup, the deepest impression had already been left in the Batter's mind. Miyuki returned the ball and quickly gave the signal with his right hand: the second pitch, an outside-low Fastball.

Whoosh!

Pop!

"Strike!"

After a Changeup, this outside-low Fastball made it very difficult for Yamaoka Riku to adapt. Even though he knew it in his heart, his swing was still a beat slow.

Third pitch, Miyuki very boldly placed his glove in the center of the strike zone: Come on, throw it here!

Huangqian Yangyi smiled; if this location were hit, given Yamaoka Riku's power, there was a high possibility of a Home Run.

How bold, but that also depends on who the Pitcher is. Briefly loosening his shoulder, the little white ball suddenly darted out, flying toward the top of the strike zone. A rising Fastball? At first glance, Yamaoka Riku made a judgment in his mind, and the bat in his hands swung out. Just at this moment, the baseball suddenly dropped, avoided the bat, and entered Miyuki's glove—it was a Forkball!

Unfortunately, Yamaoka Riku had been fooled.

Walking off the field with an ugly expression, Yamaoka Riku high-fived the 6th Batter, Tadano Itsuki, as they brushed past each other: "It's up to you!"

"Yeah!" Tadano Itsuki nodded.

One out, runner on First Base.

Tadano Itsuki stood in the Batter's Box. As a junior and also a Catcher, Tadano Itsuki knew Seido very well, especially since a certain ace senior would constantly blabber in his ear about Seido's Catchers and Pitchers.

Looking at Huangqian Yangyi on the Pitcher's Mound, Tadano Itsuki swallowed his saliva. How should he hit? What kind of pitch would it be?

Tadano Itsuki looked down at Miyuki. Trying to guess this senior's pitch calling was very difficult; instead, there was a high possibility of falling into the opponent's trap and rhythm. He would just swing according to the pitch trajectory he chose himself and take the initiative!

With a decision made in his heart, Tadano Itsuki took a deep breath and held his bat high.

Heh, quite a fighting spirit, Miyuki looked up at Tadano Itsuki. Although this guy was already a second-year, his face looked very immature, making it easy for people to underestimate him.

However, Miyuki would not underestimate this Inashiro starting Catcher; the player valued by Manager Kunitomo, the successor to Harada Masatoshi, and the partner of the ace Narumiya Mei—any one of these identities was not easy to deal with.

Leaning forward, a moderate stance, aggressive yet leaving room for himself; a very clever idea. Seeing Tadano Itsuki's stance, Miyuki praised him inwardly.

It is a pity that, from another perspective, such an approach is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant out of greed; he shouldn't end up lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet.