Chapter 45: Battle Against Inashiro

With Takashima Rei's urging, and upon learning that the beautiful woman from just now was actually Huangqian Yangyi's older sister, everyone—whether jealous or simply wanting to hear gossip—lost interest.

At this time, inside the Inashiro dugout on the other side.

The little blond Narumiya Mei was also doing warm-up exercises, a smile he couldn't control no matter what on his face, occasionally letting out "hehe" laughs.

"Mei! Did you memorize all the information on the Seido batting lineup I told you to yesterday?"

Harada Masatoshi walked over very seriously and asked.

For today's game, the First Year Narumiya Mei had already been confirmed to play; Harada Masatoshi knew clearly that facing Seido, and in the finals at that, winning easily was absolutely impossible.

Therefore, everyone, including Narumiya Mei, had to give their all; there could not be the slightest slack or carelessness.

"Don't worry, don't worry, leave it to me, it's a guaranteed win." Narumiya Mei grinned.

Although the Dudahui championship didn't actually hold much gold content, and both schools, Inashiro and Seido, had already secured their qualification for the Kanto Tournament, there was no reason to fight this hard.

But the problem lay in the opponents; the West Tokyo Big Three were old rivals, and if their grudges were written down, it would take millions of words.

Once they met in the finals, whoever lost would look bad, and both sides were holding their breath; especially Seido, which had lost more than it had won in the last two years, was even more eager to get back at them.

Harada Masatoshi was not satisfied with Narumiya Mei's answer; this underclassman had talent and strength, but his personality was just too terrible—a pure problem child.

Time passed bit by bit, and the spectators in the stadium had gradually taken their seats; even though it was just the Dudahui, such an exciting game as Seido vs. Inashiro was quite a topic of conversation, and the stadium was already full half an hour before the game started.

Seido's Cheerleading Squad, Wind Instrument Department, cheering group, and friends and family group were all in place, shouting excitedly as they watched the players on the field doing pre-game preparations and warm-ups.

Soon, the pre-game warm-up session ended, and the game was about to begin.

"Dong!"

"Let's do it."

Before entering the field, Director Kataoka suddenly said to the players who were walking toward the field.

Everyone stopped in their tracks, and then a flash of excitement erupted in their eyes.

"Yes!" Dong Qingguo stood up straight abruptly and shouted.

"Everyone gather around!"

All the First String players poured out of the dugout, and Huangqian Yangyi and Miyuki were also pulled in by their upperclassmen, quickly forming a large circle.

Although neither of them had participated before, they knew what this was for.

It was that thing!

"It's coming!"

"Quiet!"

"So exciting!"

Spectators familiar with Seido trembled all over when they saw this scene.

The players on the Inashiro side also stopped when they noticed Seido's actions; for most of them, this wasn't the first time they had seen this scene.

Forming a circle, the burly Dong Qingguo took the lead in bending over, and everyone followed suit.

With his right hand on his chest, Huangqian Yangyi suddenly felt his blood surging.

Just then, Dong Qingguo took a deep breath and shouted.

"Who are we?!"

"King Seido!!"

"Who sweats the most?!"

"Seido!!"

"Who sheds the most tears?!"

"Seido!!"

"Are you ready to fight?!"

"Oh!!!!"

"Carrying the honor of the whole school, we have only one goal! Conquer the nation!!"

"Aooooooo!!!!"

Everyone pointed their hands toward the sky and shouted.

"Wow!!!"

The spectators on the sidelines were also infected by this atmosphere, shouting one after another in response.

"This is exactly why I like Seido!"

"Me too, me too, it's so cool."

"I really want to be one of them."

"So nostalgic." A sigh from a graduate of the Seido Baseball Club.

It wasn't just the spectators; the Inashiro side was also affected.

"So cool~" Narumiya Mei had star-shaped eyes.

Harada Masatoshi beside him looked at him thoughtfully, "What? Regret coming to us?"

Suddenly, all the upperclassmen's gazes shot coldly at Narumiya Mei.

"No, no."

Narumiya Mei shook his head quickly, "But, can we also have a slogan like that? It's really cool."

The sudden suggestion made the Inashiro people feel moved; indeed, if they also had such a slogan, it would surely be very passionate, right?

The players looked at Director Kunio in unison; Director Kunio was expressionless, but in his heart, he was also considering the possibility of this, but for now, let's just play the game; the matter of the slogan could wait until the game was over.

"Spring Tokyo Tournament, Finals!"

"The game between Seido High School and Inashiro Industrial High School officially begins!"

Unlike a television broadcast, there was no such passionate commentary on-site, yet the atmosphere reached its climax the moment the players from both sides stepped onto the field.

Before the game had even begun, the fans of both sides had already started their battle of wits, especially the respective Wind Instrument Departments, whose various musical instruments sounded one after another, vowing to outdo the other side.

"It's so lively."

In the spectator stands behind Third Base, Huangqian Mamiko sat in the first row and set up a tripod, aiming her camera lens at the field; watching a game live for the first time made her extremely excited, and she was curious about everything she saw.

On the field, the starting players of Seido had already taken their respective defensive positions.

In the top of the first inning, Inashiro Industrial was on offense first, with Seido on defense.

As the starting pitcher, Nanjo Taishi still felt quite a bit of pressure; the strength of Inashiro's batting lineup was, if anything, even greater than that of Ichidai Sanko.

Gathering his thoughts, Nanjo Taishi quickly threw the ball after seeing the pitch sequence from Tanaka Wataru.

It felt pretty good; the moment the baseball flew out, Nanjo Taishi had this feeling.

Pop~

The sound of the baseball entering the glove.

"Strike!"

Nanjo Taishi curled the corners of his mouth; today was indeed different, and his condition was very good.

"Strike!"

"Strike!"

With three consecutive pitches, the leadoff Batter of Inashiro was easily struck out by Nanjo Taishi.

The appearance of the Cutter was something Inashiro had not anticipated; in their intelligence, there was absolutely no information about Nanjo Taishi ever using a Cutter in a game.

"Using the Cutter in the first inning, isn't that a bit too early?"

In the Seido dugout, Department Head Ota was somewhat worried; shouldn't a new pitch be saved for when they encounter a difficult situation to catch the opponent off guard?

By revealing it so early, wouldn't that just give the opponent more opportunities to adapt?

"Nanjo's Cutter stability cannot yet compare to his High-speed Slider; once his stamina drops, the effect of throwing it will be greatly diminished."

"Moreover, by showing the Cutter right from the start, the people from Inashiro will be on guard no matter what; with such an impression, Tanaka's pitch calling will be much more convenient."

After hearing Department Head Ota's doubts, Coach Kataoka explained it in a slow and unhurried manner.