Chapter 22: On The Bench

Seidou vs. Nanakyo

By the time the third inning rolled around, the spectators had already sensed something.

This game might end up with a huge score difference.

If the Seidou High School baseball team had been sending out their main players all this time, after securing a sufficient lead, they would likely start easing up.

After all, the mighty Seidou High School baseball team also cares about its reputation.

They wouldn't endlessly oppress a defeated opponent.

Once they've gained enough of an advantage, they would usually hold back, saving their strength for the next game. That's how the Seidou High School baseball team usually operates.

But today, this game clearly wasn't following that pattern.

After gaining a substantial lead, the Seidou High School baseball team didn't slow down their offensive pace.

Instead, they brought in a large number of substitutes!

These substitutes, who had finally earned the chance to play in the Koshien stadium, wouldn't just settle for being role players and wait for the game to end.

That's not even a joke.

Who doesn't have some ambition?

Anyone who makes it into the Seidou High School baseball team and stands out to be in the first string has a baseball dream.

Whether it's to get into professional baseball or to attend college, they all have their own goals.

So, if given the chance to play, how could they not seize the opportunity to show what they've got?

This was unthinkable.

In fact, when the Seidou team started making substitutions in the third inning, it was clear that something like this was coming.

Sawamura and Miyuki were replaced by Furuya and Ono, and when they came in, they had no intention of taking it easy.

They immediately started throwing high-speed pitches!

With Furuya being one of the fastest pitchers in the country, once he went all out, did the bottom of the Nanakyo High School batting lineup have any chance?

No chance at all!

Absolutely no chance!

Like a landslide, the three batters from Nanakyo High School were struck out before they even knew what had happened.

Though Furuya threw three balls that were outside the strike zone, it didn't affect his momentum in the slightest.

The Nanakyo players were completely overwhelmed by Furuya's presence. Every time they saw the ball coming, their instinct was to swing their bats.

Over and over again, they swung and missed.

As a result, Nanakyo's players were struck out, one after another.

The crowd was going wild.

There's always that one player who doesn't need any skills to impress you; just watching them pitch is exhilarating.

It's that feeling of raw power and intensity, like in boxing, which thrills the audience's adrenaline.

Furuya's pitching had that effect, and even the Great Demon King, Sawamura, couldn't achieve that.

After getting three outs, it was time for the Seidou High School batters to take the field.

Leading off was Shiratsu, who had been the first to get a hit off Fujita earlier.

With that success, his observation was even more careful this time.

Especially after Sawamura and Miyuki had both hit home runs earlier, Shiratsu analyzed his experience and thought about how they timed their swings.

What kind of characteristics did Fujita have as a pitcher?

In Shiratsu's mind, the answer was already clear.

Ping!

He timed it perfectly and decisively swung his bat.

The small baseball made contact and flew high into the air, landing in the gap of the outfield.

"Shiratsu-senpai is reliable after all!"

"He must have figured it out."

"Exactly. If he hadn't, those tricky pitches would be tough to deal with."

Sawamura and Miyuki exchanged glances.

They both knew that Shiratsu had figured it out. If not, it wouldn't have been so easy.

Coach Kataoka probably thought the same, so when Shiratsu returned to home plate, he told him not to go up to bat again.

They gave the chance to a younger player instead.

That player was first-year power hitter, Yuuki Masashi.

Because of his older brother, Yuuki Tetsuya, Masashi received a lot of attention in the Seidou baseball team.

Back in the day, their captain, Tetsuya, also took good care of the younger players when he could.

Now, everyone had the chance to take care of his younger brother, so they wouldn't hold back.

The batter who sent Shiratsu home was Toujou.

He probably hadn't fully figured out Fujita's pitching yet, but it didn't matter. He didn't need to know everything.

He just needed to make contact with Fujita's pitches.

Toujou's hitting technique was among the best on the team.

Even after swinging, he could adjust the angle of his bat with great flexibility, something even Haruichi couldn't do as well as Toujou.

Though Fujita's pitching timing was tough to gauge, Toujou could still make adjustments after swinging.

So even if he hadn't completely figured out Fujita's style, Toujou was confident in his ability to get a hit.

With Toujou's hit, Shiratsu successfully made it home, and Seidou High School added their 9th point.

The score was now 9-0.

That was the end of Seidou's offensive play in the third inning.

After Kanemaru's good hit, Asou accidentally hit a ball towards first base, leading to a double play.

In the third inning, Seidou High School's ninth batter was retired quickly.

When the fourth inning began, a major turning point occurred.

The starting batters for Nanakyo High School came up to bat.

Earlier, it had been mentioned that Nanakyo had made some adjustments to their batting order. Their two strongest batters were placed in the first and second spots to give them more chances to bat.

So, when the game returned to the top of the lineup, it was seen as the easiest opportunity for Nanakyo to score.

Now, the Demon King was no longer on the field.

Although Furuya's presence on the mound was no less impactful than Sawamura's, his reputation still fell short compared to the great demon king.

Even though they had no answer for Sawamura, they still had some hope facing Furuya.

But the development of the game took them completely by surprise.

ROAAARR!!!!

When Furuya's powerful pitch whizzed out from the mound, the players of Nanakyo High School felt the world's malice towards them.

Furuya stood on the mound, looking like a real monster.

The Nanakyo players in the dugout were about to cry.

How unlucky could they be to face Seidou High School's baseball team in the first round?

It was one thing to face a monster like the Maou, as many teams across the country had been destroyed by Sawamura.

But now, Seidou had already pulled their main players out.

Did they think the opposing team was showing mercy?

Don't be silly!

They were simply showing off their power.

With Furuya on the mound, it was chaos for Nanakyo High School.

Before, when facing Sawamura's pitches, though they rarely made contact, they at least had a chance to hit.

But now, they didn't even get that.

By the end of the top of the fourth inning, Nanakyo still hadn't gotten a hit.

On the other side, it was Seidou's turn to bat.

With Sawamura and Miyuki out, Nanakyo's players expected the pressure to be much less.

But it wasn't at all what they expected.

The first batter, Kuramochi, immediately hit the ball.

He didn't stop as he sprinted to first base.

Though the hit wasn't particularly pretty, his speed made up for it!

He made it to first base safely.

After that, Kominato Haruichi, after fouling off eleven pitches, finally walked to first base.

This was exhausting for Fujita, who had thrown so many pitches.

And yet, Kominato made it on base.

Frustrating, right?

Fujita was angry but helpless.

At this point, Kominato had completely controlled him.

With no outs and two on base, the next batter up was the one replacing Sawamura—Furuya.

PAANNGG!!!

With the swing of his bat, it felt like a whirlwind swept through the Batter's Box.

The bat connected with the incoming ball, sending it flying like a gust of wind sweeping away leaves.

The baseball flew off and kept going…

~~~

By this point, Furuya had long ceased being the rookie he once was.

Although his control was not perfect, with only about 70-80% of his pitches landing in the strike zone, it was still more than enough.

Given that the opponent couldn't hit his pitches, how could he possibly throw four balls?

It was a complete crushing victory!

With Furuya's pitching speed and unique throwing style, even a top-tier team would not have had a pleasant time facing him without proper preparation.

Not to mention Nanakyo High School's baseball team, which was a one-man team.

After some adjustments, only the star player from Nanakyo could barely manage to touch Furuya's pitches.

And even if he made contact, it was a huge question whether he could actually hit the ball.

As for the other players, they probably couldn't even touch a single pitch from Furuya.

The Nanakyo High School players were completely overwhelmed, unable to find their bearings...

They stared blankly at Seidou High School's players, their minds a complete blank.

No matter how they thought about it, they couldn't figure out why the team in front of them was so terrifyingly powerful.

It was one thing to have the "Demon King," but even the substitute pitchers were top-tier.

It felt like they were playing a joke.

Even within the top teams, elite pitchers are rare. Most top-tier teams lack a true Ace pitcher.

Given Furuya's current abilities, if he were not playing for Seidou High School, he would undoubtedly be the Ace pitcher of any other team.

And not just any team—he would be the Ace pitcher of a top-tier team.

"The heavens are so unfair!"

The Nanakyo High School players could only sigh in regret.

It wasn't that they weren't trying; it was that their opponents were too terrifying.

On the other side, the fans in the stands were getting fired up.

"FURUYA!"

"FURUYA!!!"

What was once reserved only for the "Demon King" was now being showered on Furuya.

The fans were passionately shouting Furuya's name, hoping he would create a miracle.

So far, he had already struck out 9 players in a row.

"This guy isn't going to break the strikeout record, is he?"

Some fans in the stands couldn't help but wonder.

But this was immediately dismissed by another fan.

"Don't be silly! Haven't you seen the West Tokyo tournament? The record for most strikeouts in a single high school official game is held by someone sitting in Seidou High School's dugout."

Even the strikeout record for Koshien is still held by Sawamura.

Although Furuya was performing incredibly well, he clearly hadn't surpassed Sawamura's own abilities yet.

And now, many reporters who had watched the West Tokyo tournament had already made predictions.

The person most likely to break the strikeout record at Koshien in the future is also Sawamura.

Why did they say this?

If you watched the semifinals and finals of the West Tokyo tournament, you would understand.

The power Sawamura showed was truly scary.

It was as if no one could stop him.

The two top teams from West Tokyo couldn't stop him, and Koshien's opponents would probably have a hard time as well.

On the field, Seidou High School's defense was as solid as a rock.

On the other hand, Seidou High School's offense showed no signs of slowing down.

They were playing aggressively, even extremely aggressively.

No matter how difficult the pitcher Fujita was on the mound, they were determined to score—and score they would.

However, after the second inning, with the exits of Sawamura and Miyuki, their offensive power was slightly reduced.

But even with this reduced strength, Seidou High School was not a team anyone could easily analyze.

In the third inning, they barely managed to score one run.

In the fourth inning, The Monster Furuya fully exploded, hitting a powerful three-run home run.

This brought the score to 12-0.

At this point, Nanakyo High School had no hope left.

As everyone thought that Nanakyo High School's baseball team had completely lost all hope, Fujita, their pitcher, suddenly erupted.

With unyielding willpower and remarkable style, he held on against Seidou's offensive.

This kept Seidou High School's team from gaining any advantage in the subsequent fourth inning.

The score remained at 12-0 until the fifth inning.

By the end of the fifth inning, the score was still 12-0.

…

T/N: This game will be completed tomorrow!

As always, Thank you all for reading!!

See you Tomorrow!

Until then, take care!

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