Chapter 84: Dazzling Show

Faced with Kuramochi who had already reached first base, the members of the Hoshiryu High School baseball team surprisingly did not make any defensive preparations.

This was clearly abnormal!

Theoretically speaking, without the help of the pitcher, even if the catcher is very skilled, it's not that easy to catch a runner off base.

Regular runners are difficult to deal with, let alone someone like Kuramochi Youichi.

At the catcher's position, Hosho stood ready, determined to deal with Kuramochi all on his own.

It must be said that his posture was impressive—it looked like he meant business.

But with Nanami Haruka relaxing his guard, could they really pull it off?

Kuramochi, standing at first base, clearly didn't think so.

As soon as Nanami Haruka took his stance to pitch, Kuramochi had already sprinted.

His legs moved with incredible speed.

It was as though he was a streak of blue light, instantly covering seven to eight meters.

The fans in the stands were eagerly anticipating what would happen next.

They couldn't wait to see who would have the upper hand in this confrontation.

Would it be Hosho, the highly skilled former partner of Sawamura Eijun?

Or would it be the "Cheetah" of the Seidou High School baseball team, who might beat him to the base?

This was a highly anticipated clash.

As everyone watched eagerly, the catcher, Hosho, suddenly stood up and moved outside the strike zone to catch the ball.

In the Seidou High School baseball team's dugout, all the teammates were stunned.

They'd been tricked!

Or rather, Kuramochi had been tricked!

Kuramochi, now rushing toward second base, had no idea that a hidden danger was lurking behind him.

Nanami Haruka wasn't actually indifferent to him.

On the contrary, Nanami Haruka was extremely focused on him.

They had even set up a trap, waiting for Kuramochi to run right into it.

Kuramochi's stance at first base had been far too obvious.

He was making it clear that he was going to steal the base no matter what.

In this situation, how could the Hoshiryu High School baseball team's members not set up a trap?

Of course, they set a trap to deal with Kuramochi Youichi.

Hosho, who had worked with Sawamura Eijun many times, knew this well.

Though Nanami Haruka didn't have the terrifying Last Moment Adjustment like Sawamura, if he planned to throw the ball outside the strike zone from the beginning, it wouldn't have been difficult.

Baseball games are often about strategy, playing mind games.

The person who can read the opponent's thoughts will get the upper hand.

In this confrontation, it was clear that the Hoshiryu High School baseball team had the advantage.

They had seen through Kuramochi's plan and were ready for it.

By the time Kuramochi was speeding toward second base, it was too late for him to change his mind.

'Try the fresh meal we've prepared for you!' Hosho, the catcher, received the ball and quickly threw it to second base.

Hosho was confident that they could get Kuramochi Youichi out with this throw.

But at second base, Oda, the Hoshiryu shortstop didn't share the same confidence.

By the time Hosho passed the ball back, Kuramochi was only seven or so meters away from second base.

He is too fast!

Oda was keeping an eye on both Kuramochi's base-stealing and the flying ball.

His first priority was to catch the ball.

After all, only by catching the ball could he possibly tag Out Kuramochi.

But the shortstop couldn't focus entirely on the ball.

Kuramochi, charging forward, felt much faster than the ball.

Perhaps it was already too late!

Maybe before he could even catch the ball, Kuramochi would already be safely on second base.

Oda thought somewhat helplessly.

It wasn't that he wanted to think these negative thoughts, but the situation before him made it impossible not to.

The figure rushing toward him appeared in the blink of an eye.

'It was too late!'

Oda could only lament in his mind.

Although they had set the trap in advance, it was clear that their trap was too small to contain such a fast beast.

As expected, Kuramochi arrived at second base just ahead of the ball.

The ball was still in the air.

Hosho, the catcher, who had been so confident, was now wide-eyed.

'How could Kuramochi be that fast?'

He was having trouble understanding.

Kuramochi's speed had exceeded his understanding.

With all their preparation, how could Kuramochi have reached second base ahead of them?

Under normal circumstances, with a typical catcher-pitcher throw, it would take about 2.9 seconds for them to stop Kuramochi.

It was difficult to block him.

But with this type of throw and reception, their speed would increase to around 2.6 seconds.

No matter how fast Kuramochi was, theoretically, he couldn't possibly reach second base ahead of the ball.

How could Kuramochi have reached second base in 2.6 seconds?

Hosho couldn't make sense of it.

In the Seidou High School baseball team's dugout, Sawamura Eijun, who had been Hosho's former partner, could only shake his head in exasperation.

"These two idiots!"

They actually thought that as long as they set the trap, they could stop Kuramochi.

'They completely overlooked the fact that they had failed to control him with their gaze!'

Kuramochi's speed of reaching the base was calculated with the assumption that there was a pitcher controlling him.

When no one was controlling him, wouldn't he run even faster?

And his distance from the base was much greater than usual.

In such a situation, it was clear that he could indeed reach the base ahead of them.

This safe base steal was essentially handed to Kuramochi by the Hoshiryu High School team.

Now, Kuramochi couldn't help but take advantage.

The Hoshiryu High School baseball team's trap was about to fall apart.

At this moment, an unexpected event occurred.

Because all attention had been focused on Kuramochi, Oda made a mistake while receiving the ball.

His mitt missed the ball, causing it to fly about five or six centimeters off, landing behind him.

Kuramochi, who had just stopped running, saw the opportunity, and his eyes lit up.

Like a swordfish leaping into the air, he jumped up and took off toward third base before the Hoshiryu players could react.

"What?"

"Still running?"

Seeing this, the Hoshiryu players were left dumbfounded.

'Unbelievable!'

'Was he even human?'

After such a dangerous steal of a second, just a fraction of a second away from being tagged out, most people would be shaken.

They'd need time to recover physically and mentally.

Even if there was an error in the throw, few would think to continue stealing the base.

But Kuramochi, in the moment the ball flew by, didn't even assess his surroundings.

He simply leaped into action and kept running for third.

The speed of his reaction was, in the words of Seidou High School players, amazing!

He sprinted straight toward third base.

The outfielder, Hattori, picked up the ball and glared at Kuramochi's back.

'That was too much!'

This guy didn't care one bit about the Hoshiryu High School team. He was heading straight for the next base.

Did he think the Hoshiryu team was a bunch of pushovers?

"Die, you monster!"

Although Hattori was pissed, he had to admit that Kuramochi's speed was truly astonishing.

Many times, they hadn't even had a chance to react before he'd already broken through and appeared in front of them.

"Bang!"

The third baseman caught the ball easily and turned to tag Kuramochi.

But he was too late.

Kuramochi was already like a streak of blue light.

In the blink of an eye, he had crossed nearly 30 meters and was right in front of third base.

When the ball reached him, his hand was already touching the base.

"SAFE!!"

No Outs, runner on third.

Kuramochi had made it all the way to third without wasting a single opening.

The Hoshiryu High School players were completely stunned.

They knew that if they allowed a player like Kuramochi to get on base, they would be in big trouble.

The threat level from the opponent would increase exponentially.

In this situation, they had prepared extensively and thought of various strategies.

But they never expected that the tactics they had set up would be completely useless against someone like Kuramochi.

In the face of pure speed, all their tricks seemed meaningless.

They couldn't stop him!

"This is it. Seidou High School is definitely going to score now!"

In the stands, many Seidou High School fans, watching this unfold, felt immensely relieved.

Their support hadn't been in vain—it was clearly paying off.

Hoshiryu High School's attempt to block Seidou High School from scoring was doomed to fail!

Next, it was only a matter of a bunt.

With Kuramochi's terrifying speed, as long as the ball hit the ground, he would definitely score.

Hosho clenched the baseball in his hand and issued instructions to his fielders.

He knew very well that this plan was futile.

As long as Seidou High's players were willing to take the risk, getting a point was inevitable.

No one could stop them!

But despite this, the Hoshiryu team wasn't giving up.

Their infielders set up an aggressive defense.

It was clear that they had decided.

Even if they couldn't stop them, they would make their opponents work for it.

Moreover, they still had a slim chance of success.

If they didn't try, they wouldn't even have that slim hope.

The Hoshiryu players, in this desperate situation, had no choice but to grit their teeth and fight until the end.

If they won, there might still be a chance.

If they lost, it wouldn't matter.

The situation had already deteriorated to this point, so what more could they lose?

The Hoshiryu players had reached a point of no return.

They now looked at Seidou's players as their ultimate enemies.

At this point, they were ready to fight to the death.

To break the boat and fight to the end.

Their backs were against the wall. What would the Hoshiryu High School baseball team do next?

No one could guess. No one could know.

Standing on third base, Kuramochi had keenly noticed this.

The players of Hoshiryu High School had a strange demeanor. It didn't look like they were ready to give up.

Instead, it seemed they intended to resist until the end!

Kuramochi wasn't surprised by the decision made by the Hoshiryu High School baseball team.

After all, they were all well-known figures.

Although Hoshiryu High School couldn't be compared to Seidou, they were still a famous and strong team nationally.

Such teams had their pride!

They would rather die standing than live on their knees.

Once such a team decided to fight until the end, even the players of Seidou High School couldn't be completely sure they could stop them.

Kuramochi, who was originally waiting to be walked, suddenly changed his mind.

Before the other side could react, perhaps he could strike back fiercely with a different approach.

The players of Hoshiryu High School had already come to terms with the situation, and they were well-prepared in every aspect.

From pitching onward, every step was carefully thought out.

Relative to that, it was difficult to find a flaw.

If there was a flaw, it was before the pitch started.

Hosho had set everything up and passed the ball back to the pitcher.

He hoped that Nanami would continue to step up and get through this challenge.

Perhaps because of feeling a little relaxed, the return pass was a bit too high.

'Chance!!'

Kuramochi, who had already been thinking about it, immediately realized that his chance had come when he saw the ball in the air.

His legs moved quickly, and his whole body moved like a predator in search of prey, racing toward third base.

"THIRD BASE!!!"

"HOSHO!!!"

At first, Hosho, the catcher, didn't even anticipate such an unexpected turn of events.

At this moment, he was still thinking about how to coordinate with the pitcher.

Suddenly, there was an exclamation from the dugout.

'What happened?'

Hosho was startled. He quickly turned his head toward third base.

'When did Kuramochi already run eight meters?'

'Is this guy out of his mind?'

This was Hosho's first thought. Such a direct steal of third base, even in professional baseball, had a low chance of success.

Where did he get the confidence to attack head-on like this?

'Doesn't he fear getting Out?'

Hosho couldn't understand.

Although he couldn't grasp Kuramochi's actions, he knew what he had to do.

"Throw back!"

He quickly signaled Nanami to throw the ball back.

Nanami also noticed Kuramochi's movement and was just as surprised.

He set up his stance, and the baseball whizzed through the air.

"Stop dreaming!"

They were determined not to let another steal happen at third base, no matter what.

Before Kuramochi could reach home plate, Hosho intercepted the ball in advance.

Snap!

When that baseball finally settled into his Mitt, Hosho could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He had been quite startled earlier, almost thinking it was too late.

Fortunately, luck was on their side, and they managed to avoid disaster at the last moment.

"Die!"

Hosho, who had been driven nearly mad by Kuramochi, swung his Mitt with the ball at Kuramochi.

In high school, unlike professional baseball, there were no collisions.

As long as Kuramochi collided with the catcher, he would be called Out.

Without the option of a collision, Kuramochi didn't have many ways to dodge.

No matter which direction he tried to escape to, Hosho had a good chance of making contact with his body with the mitt.

No matter which part of his body Hosho touched, the result for Kuramochi would be the same.

Out!

There was no doubt about it.

Just as Hosho's Mitt was about to touch Kuramochi's body, Kuramochi suddenly leaped into the air like an acrobat.

His legs were tightly bent, and his arms spread out like the wings of a bird.

This guy actually leaped over Hosho's head!

Smack!

Kuramochi, flying over, slapped the home plate with his hand.

Hosho stood dumbfounded, watching Kuramochi soar above his head.

He wasn't in a full crouch but a half-crouch. His posture was to allow for more flexibility to react to Kuramochi's movement.

He had originally thought Kuramochi would dodge left or right.

But he never imagined Kuramochi was aiming above him, not to the left or right.

At over 1.4 meters tall, Hosho was half-squatting.

How could Kuramochi leap over his head?

What kind of vertical jump did this guy have to accomplish this?

Hosho was stunned!

The players from Hoshiryu High School were all dumbfounded.

Even the fans and spectators in the stands, after a moment of shock, stood up and started clapping.

They felt they had to do something to show their respect for the players on the field.

An unremarkable bunt, after reaching base, was followed by no cooperation from the batter.

Kuramochi ran all the way back to home plate by himself.

Such a performance was something people hadn't just seen—they hadn't even heard of it before.

A one-man stolen base!

In the years to come, this moment will be remembered by countless people.

The 100-year anniversary of Koshien selected the top 10 most exciting moments in its history.

Kuramochi's one-man stolen base was one of the top 10 greatest plays.

This was a record that belonged only to him, and no one else would ever break or tie it.

Kuramochi Youichi became a sensation!

From that point forward, he would become the third national superstar of the Seidou High School baseball team, following in the footsteps of Sawamura and Miyuki.

Though his skills might still be lacking in some areas, his fame was undoubtedly on par with the top national stars.

…