Chapter 53: Double Play

Just at this moment, Narumiya Mei suddenly threw the ball toward First Base. Huangqian Yangyi was greatly startled and hurriedly leaped backward, touching the base before the baseball entered the glove.

"Phew~ That was close."

Huangqian Yangyi looked toward Narumiya Mei, only to see the other party with his chin tilted up, looking at him with an arrogant expression.

I'm watching you, don't even think about a Stolen base!

Hmph.

Huangqian Yangyi smiled; this little blondie had actually noticed him.

Well, it wasn't exactly a surprise. The little blondie was a left-handed Pitcher himself; although most of his attention was focused on the Batter, his body faced the direction of First Base, so observing Huangqian Yangyi's movements wasn't difficult.

With his little scheme discovered, Huangqian Yangyi lost the urge to attempt a Stolen base. Narumiya Mei soon threw the third pitch, a Slider. Yuki Tetsuya swung his bat again, and with a "bang," the baseball flew backward out of bounds as a Foul Ball.

Another Foul Ball; after two Strikes, a Foul Ball does not count toward the Strike count.

Yuki Tetsuya prepared to hit again. No expression could be seen on his face; the whole person seemed immersed in another world.

An inside Forkball, an inside High Fastball, an outside low Slider—what would come next?

Yuki Tetsuya calculated silently. Over the course of three consecutive pitches, Narumiya Mei had thrown three completely different types of pitches. It could be said that they had already seen all the pitch types of Narumiya Mei that they were currently aware of. So, what would the other party use to strike him out next?

While Yuki Tetsuya was guessing the next pitch, Harada Masatoshi, who was crouching beside him, was also frowning with a look of caution. Yuki Tetsuya's batting had put him under great pressure; having two consecutive pitches hit as Foul Balls already demonstrated the other party's strength.

Come on, finish him off with your best pitch!

Harada Masatoshi set his glove and gave Narumiya Mei the signal for a Forkball.

At this stage, Narumiya Mei's Forkball was his greatest weapon. Having seen three different pitches in a row, the Batter's hitting rhythm had been disrupted. At this moment, as long as he could throw his finishing pitch, he was very confident in getting him out.

Narumiya Mei nodded, hid the baseball in his glove, then lifted his right leg high, standing firmly on the Pitcher's Mound, his whole body radiating an incomparable, terrifying aura.

This was the temperament unique to an ace.

Yuki Tetsuya frowned slightly, the bat in his hands swayed a little, and a blue aura suddenly rose from his body.

!!!

Huangqian Yangyi's eyes widened like copper bells.

No way, a gas canister?

The auras of both sides seemed to collide in the air, weaving sparks. Narumiya Mei swung his arm, and the baseball flew out.

Yuki Tetsuya, with blue aura rising from his body, brought his bat down fiercely as if it had been enchanted.

With a crisp metallic sound, the bat struck the top of the baseball, forming a ground ball that was quickly fielded by the reactive Narumiya Mei, who took a few steps to catch it in his glove.

It's over!

Huangqian Yangyi was forced to advance to the base at this moment. The instant he saw Yuki Tetsuya hit the ground ball, he had a bad premonition.

Narumiya Mei threw the ball to the First Baseman to force out Yuki Tetsuya, and then the First Baseman threw it toward Second Base. The baseball flying behind him grazed past Huangqian Yangyi.

With a "pop."

Huangqian Yangyi failed to reach Second Base.

"Roar—"

"Double Play!!"

"Narumiya Mei!!"

A perfect Double Play completely ignited the entire field.

The previously unfavorable situation was resolved in the blink of an eye by Narumiya Mei in coordination with his teammates. The fluidity of the movement and the tacit understanding were not at all like a newcomer who had just entered high school.

"That little blondie is really impressive."

Huangqian Yangyi jogged back to the Dugout.

"That last pitch was heavy."

Yuki Tetsuya, who followed Huangqian Yangyi back, said.

"It's already amazing that you could hit it, Senior," Huangqian Yangyi said.

Yuki Tetsuya smiled and shook his head, looking toward Dong Qingguo in the Batter's box.

Failing to continue the offensive, Yuki Tetsuya felt some self-reproach inside. Not being able to seize the scoring opportunity created by his junior made him urgently want to improve his own batting level.

And watching people with a higher level than himself bat was a very good method.

"Huangqian, your batting is quite impressive." Just as he sat down to rest, Kominato Ryosuke's voice came from behind him.

Huangqian Yangyi turned his head to see Kominato Ryosuke smiling, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Senior Kominato, I just had better luck. Compared to your batting, Senior, I'm still far behind," Huangqian Yangyi laughed.

"You're quite humble."

Kominato Ryosuke placed a hand on Huangqian Yangyi's shoulder and said leisurely: "If you give up runs while pitching, let me train your physical fitness properly."

Uh...

Huangqian Yangyi suddenly had a bad premonition and smiled stiffly: "Giving up runs is very normal, right?"

Kominato Ryosuke maintained his smile and said no more.

He couldn't very well say that their own people at Seido hadn't scored off Huangqian Yangyi, so if Inashiro scored, wouldn't it make them look inferior to the others?

"Ha!!"

A roar erupted on the field. Dong Qingguo swung his bat fiercely, spraying quite a bit of saliva from his missing teeth, locking onto Narumiya Mei on the Pitcher's Mound like a hungry beast.

Shrinking his neck, Narumiya Mei was somewhat afraid of this tall giant beast.

Hmph, gorilla, actually scaring me.

Narumiya Mei gritted his teeth and glared back at Dong Qingguo, his eyes turning into vertical pupils.

"Kid, hurry up and throw it!" Dong Qingguo roared. Narumiya Mei trembled all over, not understanding why a gorilla could also play baseball. It was too annoying; he had to get him out immediately!

Although he was grumbling in his heart, Narumiya Mei knew very well how strong the batting of the person in front of him was. This was a monster who could hit his pitches; he absolutely could not let his guard down.

With this realization, Narumiya Mei's performance was even a few notches better than before. After two Strikes, he actually tangled with Dong Qingguo for another 4 pitches.

Whew~

Narumiya Mei bent down to pick up the rosin bag from the ground; the sweat on his palms had already dampened the baseball. Staring at Dong Qingguo, he had to admit that this was the strongest Batter he had encountered since he started playing baseball, putting even more pressure on him than the Fourth Batter of their Inashiro.

As for Dong Qingguo, after hitting several consecutive Foul Balls, he also had to look at Narumiya Mei with new eyes; the last Pitcher who had made things this difficult for him was his own junior, Huangqian Yangyi.

However, compared to that guy, he was still able to hit Narumiya Mei's pitches, at least for now.

If he were to wait until the summer, once the opponent had fully adapted to high school baseball and his technique, stamina, and mentality had all improved, even he would find it very difficult to keep hitting the ball away like he was doing today.

Just then, Narumiya Mei threw another pitch. Dong Qingguo exerted force with both hands and took a large step forward, striking the center of the baseball with his bat before it could change trajectory.

Bang!