Chapter 392: Wishing Everyone Great Wealth!!

"Critical moment! Seido's Kominato Haruichi pulls off a surprise stolen base, pushing Inashiro to the brink!"

"Top of the ninth! A chance for Seido!!"

"Can they score?! Seido!"

"Is Inashiro going to return home in defeat again today?!"

After such a long stalemate, the game has finally shifted; with one out and runners on first and third, Seido's chances seem high, but whether they can seize them depends on their Batter.

With two strikes already, what move will Arima Kazusa make?

Tadano Itsuki looks at Kominato Haruichi at third base; this guy, in the ninth inning of the game, having already reached second base and with the possibility of returning to home plate, actually chose to steal a base so calmly and decisively—was he not afraid of failing the steal and wasting the opportunity for nothing?

A flurry of thoughts surges in his mind, and Tadano Itsuki feels somewhat agitated, yet the moment he meets Narumiya Mei's gaze, he immediately calms down.

His senior's eyes are still as resolute as ever; he must not drag him down!

Tadano Itsuki clenches his fists; he must, he absolutely must get the out!

Having made up his mind, Tadano Itsuki begins signaling; a Forkball on the edge of the strike zone, though risky, would result in a ground ball even if the Batter makes contact, providing a chance for a Double Play!

Tadano Itsuki conveys his thoughts to Narumiya Mei through his eyes, but Narumiya Mei simply shakes his head.

Risk—Inashiro cannot afford any unnecessary risk right now; this risky method must not be used, for one must know that Seido still only has one out, and there is a high probability the opponent will attempt a squeeze play.

One by one, take them out one by one, steady and solid!

Seeing Narumiya Mei reject his pitch selection, Tadano Itsuki is stunned for a moment, then realizes something, and immediately changes the signal.

This time, Narumiya Mei nods; soon, his slightly hunched body slowly straightens, and his raised hands release the ball.

A white shadow flashes, and Arima Kazusa swings!

Swish!

The sound of the bat swinging rings in Tadano Itsuki's ears, yet he feels no worry at all; the moment he saw the opponent swing so quickly, he was already at ease, because this pitch was a Reverse Changeup!

Pop!

"Strike!"

"Batter out!!"

Arima Kazusa's swing failed to send Kominato Haruichi home; looking helplessly at Haruichi and Huangqian Yangyi on the bases, Arima Kazusa walks off the field with his head down.

"Leave it to me."

A large hand presses gently on Arima Kazusa's shoulder; it is Shirasu Kenjiro.

After saying one sentence to Arima Kazusa, Shirasu walks from the on-deck circle to the Batter's Box and resolutely heads toward home plate.

This clutch player who can always be relied upon in critical moments—facing a situation with two outs and runners on first and third, Seido's players and fans are all highly anticipating his performance.

"Shirasu!!"

"Get this run!!"

"It's all up to you! Shirasu!"

"Win this! Seido!"

"Hit it out!!"

The spectators are excited, but Shirasu is very calm, or rather, composed; he has always been like this, wearing an unchanging poker face at all times—in Huangqian Yangyi's words, Shirasu should be a magician.

Hoo~

Tadano Itsuki watches Shirasu; this guy's batting prowess is also quite solid; in his previous at-bats, he was struck out once and forced out twice; even though Shirasu didn't reach base, both times he made contact with the ball were beyond Tadano Itsuki's expectations, giving him quite a scare.

Casting his gaze toward the Pitcher's Mound, Tadano Itsuki believes in Narumiya Mei; take them out one by one, don't rush; he has already sent this Batter down three times, and he can definitely do it again this time.

In the Batter's Box, Shirasu knows full well how important his role is right now; top of the ninth, two outs, he is the third Batter; if he fails to get a hit and fails to send Kominato Haruichi home, then in the bottom of the ninth, even if they can suppress Inashiro's lineup and keep them from scoring, the game will go into extra innings, a situation Seido does not want to see.

Must hit it!

Shirasu lowers his center of gravity slightly, quietly waiting for the baseball about to fly in.

On the Pitcher's Mound, Narumiya Mei and Tadano Itsuki confirm the signal; both are extremely cautious right now, absolutely not throwing a pitch that could easily be hit for an Extra-base Hit.

For the first pitch, Narumiya Mei looks at the two men on first and third, then throws directly; the motion is swift, and the baseball zips out with a whoosh.

Today, even if I burn myself out, I will absolutely win this game; I won't let you score!

Having completely burned himself out, Narumiya Mei, in the ninth inning with his stamina severely depleted, throws a 155 km/h Fastball.

"Strike!!!"

"Mei!!"

"You're the best!!"

"Take him down!"

"It's the final inning! You must hold them off!"

"Ace-sama, we believe in you!!"

Shirasu's swing misses; in shock, he looks at Narumiya Mei, a touch of respect rising in his heart; to be able to break through his own limits at a time like this—the Emperor of left-handed Pitchers is truly strong; if only Inashiro were in a different region.

Looking at Narumiya Mei's eyes, Shirasu feels a pity for him from the bottom of his heart; such a powerful and excellent Pitcher, yet he has never played in the Summer Koshien; it must be said that it is a regret, but the game is just like that—I want to win, so you must lose.

Seido does not want to lose, even if they have already won many times.

Shirasu exhales, resting the bat on his shoulder once again.

Neither side will give an inch; so what if you are strong? Will I retreat?

On the Pitcher's Mound, Narumiya Mei, having broken through his own speed, does not feel a shred of excitement; if a pitch like that doesn't crush the opponent's fighting spirit, what use is it being faster? He knows clearly that he could never throw a second pitch at that speed right now.

However, having seen that pitch, the next part will be easy to handle.

Narumiya Mei and Tadano Itsuki exchange glances, their battery communication unfolding; yes, they are in perfect sync.

Come on, second pitch!

Narumiya Mei bends his body and breathes slowly, then slowly straightens; in the next second, the baseball in his hand flies forward along with the dust kicked up by his stepping foot.

Here it comes!

Shirasu's eyes narrowed, he gripped his bat tightly, and swung after the baseball had traveled half the distance!!

Bang!!

Tracking the ball's path, this swing, although not perfectly solid due to the final downward movement of the pitch, had enough power behind it, and Shirasu's swing was decisive; most importantly, he guessed right! It was a Changeup!

The little white ball was blasted back, fast and low, whistling as it shot onto the ground between First Base and Second Base, bouncing once and passing straight in front of Shirakawa Katsuyuki.

"It went through!!!!"

"Sixth Batter Shirasu, in the top of the ninth, guessed Narumiya Mei's Changeup! He hit through the infield defense!!"

"Huangqian Yangyi successfully reached Second Base, Shirasu reached First Base!"

"Kominato Ryosuke returned to Home Plate!!"

"1 run!"

"Seido leads by one run!"

"The offensive isn't over yet!!"

Shirasu, with both sides locked in a stalemate for the entire inning, secured a precious run for Seido!

"Shirasu! Shirasu! Shirasu!"

"Mr. Clutch!!"

"Reliable!!"

"The steady type!!"

All sorts of praise rang out from the stands, and Shirasu, already standing at First Base, turned his head to nod at Huangqian Yangyi.

Huangqian Yangyi smiled; this base hit was truly precious.

Completely targeted by Inashiro and given no opportunities to hit, Huangqian Yangyi could only place his hopes on his teammates.

It wasn't as if he hadn't been targeted before, but those opponents weren't enough to threaten Seido; even Inashiro had previously adopted a strategy of giving him a Base on Balls, but even Narumiya Mei couldn't completely suppress the Seido batting lineup. Today was different; a surging Narumiya Mei made the Seido batting lineup suffer, and it wasn't until the ninth inning that they finally obtained a scoring opportunity.

Fortunately, they succeeded in the end.

Two outs, runners on First and Second, score 1:0, Seido leads.

On the Pitcher's Mound, Narumiya Mei's eyes were wide with rage, full of regret and annoyance!

The opponent guessed his pitch! This wasn't an accident!

Although he hadn't become arrogant or complacent due to his self-breaking 155 km/h Fastball speed, such a Fastball made him subconsciously choose to throw a Changeup, believing it to be the best choice at the time, not knowing that the opponent was thinking the same thing!

Recovery! There was still a chance!

Get the out first, Inashiro still had one more offensive opportunity!

Narumiya Mei suppressed the anger in his heart, but his state was affected; facing Seventh Batter Maezono Kenta, he gave up another base hit, creating a bases-loaded situation, but in the end, he struck out Aso to get that out, and the game entered the bottom of the ninth.

Seido dugout.

"Finally! Huangqian, suppress them!"

"The rest of you, don't be careless. Without a doubt, Inashiro will attack frantically next. Even if the Pitcher is Huangqian, everyone must show the necessary resolve. Don't give the opponent a single shred of opportunity, and defend this precious 1-run lead to the end!"

Before taking the field, Manager Kataoka said to everyone.

"Yes! Manager!!"

Bottom of the ninth, Inashiro on offense.

The first Batter was Inashiro's ninth batter, the Left Fielder, Shan.

"Shan! We're counting on you! You must get a hit!"

"You can do it, Shan!"

"Go, Shan! Hit it out!"

"Inashiro! Inashiro! Inashiro!"

The audience's expectations put great pressure on Shan. In this bottom of the ninth, facing Huangqian Yangyi, he realized what it meant to have the heart but lack the strength, striking out in three pitches.

Next, First Batter Carlos stepped up. Just looking at his expression, one could tell he was very unsettled. At the end of the game, trailing by one run, Carlos seemed a bit anxious.

"Carlos!!"

"Go!"

"I beg you! Get on base!"

"Kamiya!!!"

"Hit it out!"

The Inashiro fans shouted at the top of their lungs, with many sobs mixed in.

Whoosh!

"Pop!"

"Strike!"

Zoom!

"Pop!"

"Strike!"

Whoosh!

Bang!

The baseball flew out, heading straight toward First Base.

Carlos was tagged out!

Two outs!!

Only one out away!

"One more! One more!"

"Seido~! Sei-do!"

"Reach the top again! Seido!"

"Overlord, win this game!!"

"Victory will belong to us!!"

"Charge, King Seido!!"

At the very end, carrying the hopes of everyone at Inashiro, Shirakawa Katsuyuki stepped into the Batter's Box.

A bitter smile curled at the corner of his mouth; was this the Goddess of Fate playing a trick? One run, a difference of one run!!

After the bitter smile, the light of competition flickered in his eyes.

Even in this situation, Shirakawa... no, everyone at Inashiro had not given up!

The game wasn't over yet!!

"Ahhhhh~!!!"

Shirakawa, who was always calm and composed, let out a roar that echoed throughout the stadium after stepping into the Batter's Box, declaring his determination and unwillingness to lose!

"Bottom of the ninth, Seido is still maintaining the tightest defense with a one-run lead. Inashiro seems to have reached a dead end; the final result will be decided by their second batter, Shirakawa Katsuyuki!"

"Playball!!!"

Amidst the umpire's impassioned voice, the first pitch came!

The sudden flash of white was terrifying. Under the pressure of the pitch, Shirakawa Katsuyuki gritted his teeth, eyes wide, staring fixedly at the baseball. Swish! He swung his bat with fierce speed.

Pop!

"Strike!!"

Then, the second pitch!

A Changeup! Shirakawa swung and missed again!

"Last pitch!!"

"Strike him out!"

"Awooooo!!"

"Huangqian!!"

With only one Strike left, the Seido fans had already stood up.

Whoosh!!

Finally, it was an accelerating rising Fastball. In this desperate situation, Shirakawa swung his bat, striking the bottom of the baseball with force.

In the sky, that flash of white was so dazzling, pulling the gaze of everyone present.

"No!!"

"Drop!!"

"Don't catch it!!"

"Please!"

The Inashiro players prayed and pleaded.

In the end, that ball fell into the Left Fielder, Asou Takeru's, hands.

"Batter out!!!!"

"Game set!!!!"

The moment the umpire's voice rang out, Shirakawa in the Batter's Box had vacant eyes, his body going limp as he collapsed to the ground.

On the sidelines, the Inashiro players stared blankly at the field. A sense of loss, frustration, and emptiness... in this instant, all negative emotions swept over them.

"Woooo~"

Tears wet everyone's faces.

Under the sunlight, Narumiya Mei walked out of the dugout, looked up at the azure sky, and slowly closed his eyes.

"It's over, my summer."

No crying, no roaring.

In the end, Narumiya Mei actually curled his lips into a smile, somewhat bitter, somewhat regretful.

Summer Tournament, West Tokyo Final, Seido High School vs. Inashiro Industrial High School, score 1:0, Seido wins.

August, Summer Koshien, Final.

Seido High School vs. Komadai Fujimaki.

Following Huangqian Yangyi's final pitch, the last batter for Komadai was struck out.

Seido High School achieved an unprecedented 5-consecutive-year championship at Koshien!

This summer, the third-year students of Seido retired, and the new Seido team began a new journey.

The following year, Kyoto, the Huangqian household.

"Onii-chan."

A sweet voice came. Huangqian Yangyi, who had already graduated and returned home, was sleeping in for the first time in a long while. He opened his eyes groggily, and what came into view was his younger sister Huangqian Kumiko's cute little face.

Huangqian Kumiko looked at her dazed brother, chuckled, and said sweetly.

"Breakfast is ready, time to get up."