Chapter 12: Dreams And Reality

Seidou High School's offensive plan was completely transparent.

The players from Minori Shigeru High School knew exactly what they had to do.

But so what?

Even though they knew exactly what Seidou's players would do, they were still powerless.

Since Toujou's successful stolen base, the outcome had already been sealed.

When Tekuno was still lost in the previous mistakes, Toujou suddenly made a surprise and stole the third base.

Tekuno was forced to throw the ball to third base!

By the time the ball reached third base, Toujou was already there, casually having tea.

Later, when Asou showed a bunt saying clearly that he wanted to force this point, Minori Shigeru High School refused to let it go!

The players from Minori Shigeru immediately took countermeasures, moving their defense forward.

This essentially sealed off the batter's bunt route, forcing them to face off directly.

Any ball hit by a bunt would be caught and thrown back quickly.

This could definitely stop Toujou's stolen base!

They could already imagine that scene.

Then when Asou pulled back his bat, the players from Minori Shigeru made only a slight adjustment to their positions.

They didn't give up on their forward defense strategy.

It was clear—they were determined not to lose this point.

Seidou High School had to back down, which made the players from Minori Shigeru feel very pleased.

Ask yourself, how many teams could achieve that in a game?

But then, the changes on the field far exceeded their expectations!

Facing Minori Shigeru's forward defense strategy, Asou actually forced his way through with a tactical push for a run.

The batter still bunted!

He avoided the first and third basemen's defense and directly hit the ball toward the pitcher's mound.

Hanayama's eyes widened. This move clearly caught him off guard as well.

However, his reaction was quick, and he quickly retrieved the ball and threw it to the catcher.

His actions were smooth and sharp, and if it had been caught on camera, it would have looked fantastic.

Unfortunately, no one was watching that part of the field.

Everyone was focused on the action at home plate.

Tekuno received the ball and prepared to tag Toujou Out.

But before he could fully turn his body, Toujou, who had already started running, smoothly circumvented him, and with a beautiful move, touched home plate.

"SAFE!!!!"

This thrilling offensive play left the audience ecstatic.

"Awesome!!!"

"So Cool!!"

Every time you watch Seidou High School's games, you get that feeling.

This is no longer a high school game, right? Even professional players would be hard-pressed to match this level of play.

In a high school game, you're seeing professional-level baseball.

This is one of the reasons why fans love watching Seidou High School play.

Score: 10-0!

The players from Minori Shigeru stood frozen, faces ashen.

It's over! This time, it's totally over!

What made them feel most desperate wasn't the ten-point gap, but the feeling Seidou High School's baseball team gave them.

Unstoppable! Absolutely unstoppable!

The opponent's strength was just too overwhelming—they were in no position to resist.

On the pitcher's mound, Hanayama also felt a momentary blow.

In the previous confrontation, he hadn't held back at all.

But still, the Seidou High School baseball team scored.

This was done without the star players from the upper batting order; just three batters from the lower order helped the team score.

And it was a crucial run.

'Is this what it's like to be a powerhouse?'

Hanayama couldn't help but think back to the choice he made years ago.

Back then, he had rejected the elite teams and joined Minori Shigeru, thinking that with his strength, he could help this underdog team soar.

Was that the right decision?

When he first joined the team, the senior players wouldn't allow first-year players to even enter the field.

"You're just here to collect the balls. Nothing more!"

With this, half a year was wasted.

In his second year, after offending the team captain, he was ordered to leave the baseball club! If it was just Hanayama, maybe he could've dealt with it.

But his friends were punished in the same way.

"Just because you play well, you think you're something? Until you fix this attitude of yours, I won't let you participate in the games!"

At that time, Minori Shigeru didn't even have a professional Coach, just a teacher leading the team.

When they reported this situation to the teacher, they found out that not all teachers had the authority to manage their students.

Instead, the teacher scolded them for not being cooperating with their seniors.

At 16, Hanayama was getting desperate.

In that desperation, the usually calm and collected Hanayama was trying to do something.

Requests, pleadings, arguments, until it reached a full-blown fight with fists and bats.

Real life isn't as harmonious as comics, and when things escalate, they don't resolve easily.

In the end, the baseball club was banned.

They were relegated to just a hobby group, practicing baseball together.

Only last month did the baseball club ban get lifted.

Under normal circumstances, such a baseball club wouldn't qualify for major tournaments.

But with the help of their new Coach Miwara, the team managed to get into the Summer Tournament.

To sum it up, a bunch of drama!!!

Because of a few idiots, Hanayama and his team wasted more than two years.

In this sense, they were tragic.

But from another perspective, their story was incredibly inspiring.

If their story were written as a novel, by this year, they would surely be overcoming challenges. Even if they couldn't make it to Koshien or dominate the country, they would at least leave behind a brilliant mark.

But in the real world, such things don't exist.

Facing the king, Seidou, the current giant,

Minori Shigeru was still helpless…

Even if they gave it their all, they couldn't shake their opponent even a little.

Was it really going to end like this?

Hanayama wasn't reconciled. Very, very unwilling.

He tilted his head back, trying not to let the tears in his eyes fall.

He had to do something.

No Outs, a runner on first base.

He needed to get the first Out!

'Just like Coach Miwara said, Don't rush.'

'One at a time!'

With good luck, the ninth batter Kanemaru managed to hit a grounder.

"OUT!!"

"OUT!!!"

This allowed the fielder to get a double play, securing two Outs in one go.

"YEAAH!!"

"TWO OUTS!"

"TWO OUTS!"

The spirits of Minori Shigeru's players were lifted a little.

Whoosh!

The small baseball came hurtling in.

Kuramochi in the Batter's Box wasn't in a rush at all.

The opponent's fighting spirit was still strong, something Kuramochi had already anticipated.

Not only that, he also guessed that the opponent's ball speed and power had decreased.

'Just because a player's fighting spirit was high didn't necessarily mean they would perform well.'

Hanayama, still affected by the previous situation, had seen his pitching power and speed drop.

Kuramochi wouldn't let such an opportunity slip by.

From the way he pitched to Toujou and Kanemaru before, Kuramochi knew Hanayama still had hidden moves.

To avoid them perfectly, he couldn't wait for Hanayama's trump card pitch.

So he swung at the first pitch.

Ping!

The baseball was hit and rolled away.

Kuramochi sprinted to first base.

He knew that at this point, his opponent would be eager to get that last Out.

But the more they rushed, the less they would get their way.

The offensive of Seidou High School's baseball team was far from over.

Two Outs, a runner on first base.

It was Haruichi's turn to bat.

On the mound, Hanayama used his eyes to pin down Kuramochi on first base over and over again.

Kuramochi was also still, just staying on the first base bag, not moving a step.

In this case, Hanayama naturally has no way to pick him Out.

He let go and concentrated on dealing with Kominato.

But how could Haruichi be so easy to deal with?

He swung at the first ball Hanayama threw.

Paak!

The ball was hit and fell into the gap of the defense.

Kominato scored a hit and ran to first base.

Kuramochi, who was originally on the first base, passed the second base directly at this time and advanced to the third base.

Two Outs, runners on first and third.

Haruichi was on first, and Kuramochi was on third!

The offense of Seidou High School's baseball team kept coming in waves, one after another, seemingly unstoppable.

"Isn't it exciting?"

In the dugout, his teammates were also ecstatic.

If they scored another run now, no matter how many of the best players from around the country were gathered in Minori Shigeru, they still wouldn't be able to turn the game around.

The batting lineup had already reached the third round!

This game felt like a complete demolition of the opponent.

"Victory is already decided!"

Maezono mumbled.

Before the game ended, the players of Seidou High School's baseball team usually wouldn't make a call like this.

In baseball, there's a famous saying:

The game is only decided in two moments:

One is when the last Out of the ninth inning is recorded, and the other is when the opponent gives up.

From what we can see now, neither of those moments has happened yet.

But based on the situation, Minori Shigeru could not possibly stop Seidou's offensive.

Consistently getting hits and scoring runs was only a matter of time.

Then, Miyuki spoke up suddenly.

"If I told you that everything the opponent did was intentional, would that make it even more exciting?"

"What do you mean?"

Maezono asked, confused.

Miyuki didn't explain further, just picked up his bat, ready to step into the Batter's Box.

However, he felt that by the time he got his chance to bat, the inning might already be over!

"What does he mean?"

Maezono turned to ask Sawamura.

Sawamura shrugged without answering.

...

T/N: The game is going smoothly for Seidou...until now...

Sorry for the late update yesterday.

The chapters were uploaded and ready to publish, but I got busy and completely forgot!

As always, Thank you all for reading!!

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