Chapter 391: Each Person's Determination

Bottom of the second inning, one out, runner on first base, batter Tadano Itsuki.

"Playball!"

As the umpire's voice just fell, Huangqian Yangyi, having caught the signal, quickly straightened his body and lifted his left leg, concentrating all his strength into one point; a white, cold glint shot out, and in the blink of an eye, it was bearing down on the space above home plate.

Watching this baseball flying toward his face, Tadano Itsuki's heart tightened—it was an accelerating rising Fastball!

The subconsciously swung bat was destined to fail to achieve the desired result; that streak of white light flashed past Tadano Itsuki's eyes, *Pop! * It was firmly tucked into Miyuki's glove.

"Strike!"

Under Tadano Itsuki's shocked expression, the home plate umpire behind him raised his right fist without hesitation and shouted.

Terrifying ball velocity, sharp trajectory, the illusion of acceleration and rising simultaneously reflected in his eyes; Tadano Itsuki could not help but knit his brows.

Facing this Pitcher known as the Overlord, a deep sense of powerlessness welled up in Tadano Itsuki's heart; with a tight grip on his bat and gritted teeth, after a brief moment of shock, he could only summon his courage and fighting spirit once more to continue forward.

The second pitch.

After Tadano Itsuki was left with a deep impression by a Fastball, Miyuki quickly signaled the sign for the second pitch.

*Mm! *

Huangqian Yangyi received the signal, his raised shoulder accompanied by a sudden step forward, and the small white ball flew from the tips of his slender fingers.

*Whoosh!! *

An invisible wave of air surged toward home plate, the momentum like rolling ocean waves.

*Oh no! *

Tadano Itsuki felt a great sense of foreboding in his heart; this pitch was coming in almost brushing against his chest. Forcibly suppressing his body's instinct to dodge, he swung his arms out suddenly, and the swing, squeezed by the ball's path, struck hard toward the baseball.

*Bang! *

The narrow bat collided with the small white ball; amidst a slightly harsh clashing sound, the pitch suppressed the swing, and under the heavy force and spin, the baseball flew high into the air.

"Kominato!"

Miyuki looked up at the baseball in the air and pointed his large hand toward Kominato Haruichi, shouting.

Kominato Haruichi retreated slowly, constantly adjusting his position.

*Pop! *

"Flyout!"

"Batter out!!"

As Tadano Itsuki was caught out, Narumiya Mei's expression at first base became increasingly ugly; two outs, if this continued, this offensive opportunity would be wasted again.

The Inashiro fans could finally no longer smile; one by one, they clasped their hands together and looked at Narumiya Mei, as if they were praying.

*Whoosh! *

*Swish! *

*Swish! *

"Strikeout!"

"Three outs! Change of sides!"

As the Inashiro Seventh Batter was struck out, Narumiya Mei's attempt to reach base also returned without success; two innings ended, and both sides remained at 0:0.

In the third inning, Seido still failed to score from Narumiya Mei, and Inashiro was the same; under the suppression of Huangqian Yangyi's pitching, they could find absolutely no opportunity.

In the fourth inning, the fifth inning, both sides remained deadlocked just like that, and the game arrived at the bottom of the eighth inning, Inashiro Industrial High School attacking, batter, sixth batter, Catcher, Tadano Itsuki.

The penultimate attack; with the score still tied, as long as Inashiro could score here, and then suppress Seido's batting lineup in the upcoming top of the ninth, then the ones who would ultimately win would be them, Inashiro!

"Go! Itsuki!!"

"Take them down! The game isn't over yet!"

"I'm counting on you!"

"Get a hit!"

"Inashiro!!"

Reaching the final stage of the game, Inashiro still had two more offensive opportunities, and the fans desperately hoped to take the lead here.

After eight innings of grueling battle, both Narumiya Mei and Huangqian Yangyi had their physical strength significantly depleted, and their pitching was naturally not as unsolvable as it was at the beginning; Tadano Itsuki gripped his bat tightly—this time, he must seize the initiative and gain the upper hand!

"One hit, just one hit!"

Tadano Itsuki cheered himself on in his heart; as Inashiro's starting Catcher, as Narumiya Mei's partner, he would never allow the team to stop here; he wanted to help Senior Narumiya fulfill his dream! At the same time, it was the dream of everyone at Inashiro.

This was a team that could conquer the nation; from the day he joined Inashiro, Tadano Itsuki had believed this.

Surely, he would definitely be able to help his senior!

"That's a pretty good look in your eyes." Miyuki looked up and happened to see Tadano Itsuki's expression filled with the desire to hit; at this stage, every at-bat was quite precious, and whether it was Seido or Inashiro, every Batter would give their all to strive for a hit!

On the Pitcher's Mound, Huangqian Yangyi's breathing was steady, adjusting his state in the limited time; although the pitch count was not high today, every Batter in Inashiro's lineup could not be underestimated, and that kind of mental exhaustion was far greater than physical exhaustion; fortunately, the rest time was long enough, and Huangqian Yangyi believed that his current state was definitely much better than Narumiya Mei's.

"Playball!"

As the umpire's high-pitched voice fell, a thick sense of ferocity was revealed between Huangqian Yangyi's brows; following a slow exhale, his high-raised shoulder whipped his arm out, and the small white ball whistled toward home plate.

Inside pitch!

Tadano Itsuki captured the information and immediately swung his bat; the fierce strike carried his unyielding will; this swing bit into the lower half of the baseball, and feeling the violent vibration transmitted from the bat, Tadano Itsuki's face turned ferocious.

"So heavy!!"

It was already the end of the game, yet this Overlord's pitching was still so full of power.

The small white ball was crazily squeezing Tadano Itsuki's bat; the muscles in his arms bulged, and Tadano Itsuki wanted to control it to make the ball fly in the direction he wanted, but in the end, because he failed to hit the core of the baseball, the hard-to-suppress baseball flew high into the air.

"Jianjie!"

The baseball landed just outside the boundary; watching Shirasu, who had already arrived and almost caught the ball, Tadano Itsuki let out a long breath.

The second pitch.

Miyuki decisively gave the signal.

Huangqian Yangyi nodded and threw the ball toward the outside corner.

Whoosh!

Swish!

Tadano Itsuki's bat attacked the outside corner, barely making contact with this Cutter Slider; he was lucky, as the baseball landed in the infield and rolled out along the boundary line—another Jianjie.

Whew~~

Tadano Itsuki was like a tightrope walker, hovering on the line between life and death; if that ball hadn't rolled out, he would have been put out.

Next, the third pitch.

Miyuki gave the sign, and Huangqian Yangyi did not hesitate at all. Just as he was about to swing his arm, Tadano Itsuki in the Batter's Box bent his knees to lower his center of gravity, gripping his bat firmly; when the little white ball flew out, he did not rush to swing.

Changeup!

Tadano Itsuki was pleasantly surprised; after pausing for a split second, he waited until the baseball had flown more than halfway before aiming at the trajectory and swinging his bat.

Bang!

The two collided.

Damn it!

Tadano Itsuki felt secretly annoyed. Although he had guessed it was a Changeup, the speed of a Circle Changeup and a Palmball were different, and their downward movement was different too. He barely hit this ball, and it slammed into the ground toward the left, flying straight toward Arima Kazusa at Third Base. Before Tadano Itsuki could run even half the distance, the baseball whizzed past him from behind.

"Put out!"

"Senior Huangqian, one out!" After throwing the ball to put Tadano Itsuki out, Arima Kazusa held his right hand high, raised one finger, and shouted.

"One out!"

"Let's go!"

"Huangqian!!"

"Captain!"

His teammates behind him cheered and shouted in their own ways. Huangqian Yangyi's mouth curled up. How long had it been? He didn't know when it started, but these guys rarely cheered for him on the field—was it because he was too steady? But today, he was just as steady. Was it because it concerned the ticket to Koshien? Huangqian Yangyi couldn't guess for a moment. He looked toward home plate; Inashiro's 7th Batter, Yabe, was already standing in the Batter's Box.

Yabe looked at Huangqian Yangyi with a solemn expression, raised his hand to adjust his cap brim, and stood sideways, his figure just as tall and powerful. With his bat shouldered, he slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his whole person exuding a cold determination.

Bottom of the eighth inning, the tense game situation, the nervous atmosphere throughout the stadium; Yabe was focused, his eyes fixed on Huangqian Yangyi, not daring to look away for even half a second.

"Playball!"

The moment the umpire's voice rang out, in Yabe's eyes, Huangqian Yangyi's pitching motion was completed in an instant. The white ball shadow, speeding along, arrived at home plate in a flash. The bat in his hands had already swung, but the head-on strike ultimately missed the baseball. In the high outside corner, the ball was firmly caught by Miyuki's glove.

"Strike!"

"A high outside Fastball, precisely controlled on the edge of the strike zone. Even at the final moment of the game, Huangqian Yangyi still used his tricky pitch trajectory to deceive Yabe's swing."

"One strike!"

"Nice pitch! Huangqian!"

"Ace-sama, one more pitch!"

"Strike him out!"

Bastard!

Yabe swung at empty air and felt a bit irritated. Choosing to attack the inside corner, he had perfectly missed this Fastball. Why didn't he attack the inside corner aggressively? Wasn't that the usual style of this battery?

No one paid attention to Yabe's internal monologue. Miyuki returned the ball. When Huangqian Yangyi threw the second pitch, Yabe had already swung, but it was a Circle Changeup; he swung too early and missed. Two strikes.

For the third pitch, Miyuki placed his glove in the center of the strike zone.

Seeing the sign, Huangqian Yangyi nodded. This pitch was still a Changeup. Yabe swung too early and only realized it after the baseball entered the glove—it was a Palmball.

Two consecutive Changeups; Yabe hadn't expected this battery to value him so much. They really weren't giving him any chances at all.

"Strike!"

"Strikeout!"

"Wagagaga~!"

"Too easy, Huangqian is still playing with ease."

"That's the second out."

"One more!!"

Two outs, no one on base; the tens of thousands of spectators in the stands all knew that Inashiro couldn't possibly score in this inning.

The only ones who hadn't given up were the Inashiro players themselves. The 8th Batter who came up had an expression identical to Tadano Itsuki and Yabe—just as resolute. However, after swinging at empty air for two consecutive pitches, he made contact with the third. The flying baseball was fast and far, but also very high. In Right Fielder, Shirasu had judged the landing point early and was waiting underneath; it was a Flyout.

"Three outs, change of offense and defense!"

The eighth inning ended, and the game had finally reached its final moments.

Top of the ninth inning, Seido on offense.

Seido's first batter was Kominato Haruichi. After three at-bats in the first 8 innings, Kominato Haruichi hadn't managed to get on base. In this final opportunity, with two consecutive pitches where he didn't swing, the hand holding the bat was trembling slightly. It was so difficult. Narumiya Mei's pitches were extremely formidable from every angle. It wasn't that he hadn't hit them before, but today, this Left-handed Emperor seemed to have activated a cheat code; his state was surprisingly good throughout.

In the stands, Kominato Ryosuke, who had come to watch the game in person, naturally saw his younger brother's predicament, his eyebrows already furrowed into a straight line.

"Haruichi, you can do it. As long as it's you, you can hit any ball! Believe in the bat in your hands!"

Whew~

In the Batter's Box, Kominato Haruichi's eyes were sharp. After taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he felt the wooden bat in his hands and stopped thinking about any unnecessary things. Pitch type? Trajectory? It didn't matter! If the ball comes, hit it!

Just then, on the Pitcher's Mound, Narumiya Mei moved.

Whoosh!

That little white ball was just as fast and tricky as every time before, but Kominato Haruichi keenly captured the trajectory. The wooden bat in his hands swung forward—bang! At this moment, the Forkball was bitten by the bat the instant it started to drop. Lowering his center of gravity, he swung from bottom to top and heavily scooped the ball up—a hit to Center Fielder!

Kominato Haruichi reached base!

"Kominato!!"

"Cool!"

"Too beautiful!"

"Nice pitch!"

"He's shy! He's blushing!"

The cheers of the spectators reached his ears, and Kominato Haruichi, the First Baseman who had his right hand raised high, lowered his head, his neck and the back of his head turning red.

On the Pitcher's Mound, Narumiya Mei frowned as he looked at Kominato Haruichi; for some reason, he had a bad premonition, as it had been like this many times before, but no, it was absolutely impossible, this time, don't even think about scoring!

Turning his head calmly, Narumiya Mei looked indifferently at Miyuki as he walked into the Batter's Box; he was in great form, and even Kominato Haruichi reaching base did not cause him any extra pressure, so he struck out Miyuki directly in three pitches, then followed up by giving Huangqian Yangyi a Base on Balls.

One out, runners on first and second.

At this moment, Arima Kazusa stood in the Batter's Box carrying his bat, took a glance at Kominato Haruichi at second base, and as their eyes met, they immediately had an idea.

On the first pitch, Arima Kazusa swung decisively at the Fastball, but swung and missed.

Hit the ball as it comes; that was the attitude Arima Kazusa displayed.

On the second pitch, the very moment Narumiya Mei threw the ball, just as the entire stadium's atmosphere was tensely focused on the Batter, Kominato Haruichi behind Narumiya Mei had already dashed from a distance of three steps off second base toward third base.

"Stolen base!!"

Tadano Itsuki felt a shock in his heart, as if he hadn't expected Kominato Haruichi to attempt a Stolen base at this time, and after catching the baseball, he stood up and threw the ball hard toward third base.

Seeing the baseball flying toward him, Kominato Haruichi, still a few steps away from the third base bag, dove, his hands touching the bag before the baseball arrived.

"Safe!!"

The umpire announced loudly.