[515] Suppressed by Inashiro

Chapter 515: Suppressed by Inashiro

"Bottom of the first, Seidou High School's offense. Leading off, shortstop—Kuramochi!"

"No need to go all-out right away,"

Coach Kataoka said calmly from the dugout before the inning started.

"Try to pick up the fastball's trajectory and swing when you see the chance. Be bold before you fall behind in the count."

As he mimed a grip on an imaginary bat, he brushed his chin lightly.

Kuramochi nodded knowingly before stepping out to the on-deck circle.

"Seidou takes the plate after giving up a run."

As both leadoff batters were speedsters, the crowd was eager to see how Seidou would try to break through against the already borderline-unfair Narumiya Mei.

"Go, Kuramochi!"

"Get on base, Kuramochi!"

"Give Narumiya a taste of his own medicine!"

"Let's go, Kuramochi!"

"Seidou! Seidou! Seidou!"

From the bench to the stands, the cheers for Kuramochi were loud and enthusiastic.

Especially Isashiki-senpai, whose booming voice drew stares from the surrounding crowd.

In the dugout, Eijun quietly strapped on his batting gear—knee guard, wristbands—his eyes locked onto Kuramochi as he stepped into the batter's box.

Be careful, Kuramochi-senpai... That catcher isn't as easy to deal with as he looks...

Eijun silently warned in his mind.

Behind the plate, Tadano's mind flashed through everything he knew about Kuramochi Youichi:

A runner whose speed rivals even Kamiyama's. Excellent at bunting.

The only weak point—he lacks power hitting, no real home run threat.

Tadano's fingers moved subtly beneath his glove—signaling the call.

On the mound—Narumiya Mei stood tall and sharp, his gaze focused.

He nodded once—calm and unshaken.

As the umpire's voice echoed:

"Play ball!"

Narumiya raised his right leg high, then drove it down hard.

BOOM—

A gust of power erupted around him.

Whoosh!

His arm snapped forward, unleashing a blinding fastball.

So fast!!

Kuramochi couldn't even react in time—

The ball had already zipped into the strike zone.

He swung instinctively—but the bat was nowhere close.

It felt like the ball had passed him by miles.

The pitch bit the outside edge—and slammed into Tadano's mitt with force.

Pop!

"Strike!!"

Way too far…

As he watched the ball land cleanly in the catcher's mitt, Kuramochi's thoughts turned bitter.

This guy...!

"First pitch—outside fastball! A blazing, pinpoint strike! The batter swings and misses—one strike!!"

"That speed is insane!"

"Narumiya really is on another level. He used to top out at 148 km/h during the summer…"

"Now his average speed is basically 148 km/h."

"Right? Someone clocked him recently—he never dropped below 147 km/h, and even touched 149 km/h!"

"He's practically throwing 150 km/h now!"

"And with that kind of control? Plus, his fastballs are heavy and sticky. Just dealing with his fastballs alone might break Seidou's rhythm."

Whoosh!

PING!

Damn, it's so heavy...

As the crowd continued murmuring in amazement—

Narumiya launched another fastball, once again to the outside.

This time—

Kuramochi barely managed to track the pitch and get his bat to it.

But the impact stung his hands.

His expression twisted in pain.

Whoosh!

Thud!

Foul ball!!

Two outside fastballs.

And Kuramochi had already been forced into a two-strike hole.

While the young catcher's game-calling still felt textbook and somewhat easy to read, you just couldn't overcome the guy on the mound.

Narumiya Mei's pitching was simply on another level.

Sure enough—

Following the standard textbook flow, after chasing the batter with two strikes, you either throw a waste pitch to mess with their timing or use a breaking ball after fastballs to finish the job.

The catcher, without hesitation, chose the latter.

Whoosh!

Another crackling flash flew from Narumiya's fingertips.

A sharp gleam cut straight toward home plate.

In the batter's box—

Kuramochi twisted and swung—

But he couldn't keep up with the pitch.

Pop!

The slider curved smoothly through the air,

tucking itself perfectly into Tadano's mitt with a clean, crisp snap.

"Strike three! Batter out!!"

Kuramochi had seen it coming. He was prepared.

But Narumiya's breaking ball was just too perfect.

It had no holes, no mistakes. Add that to his incredible velocity—

Thrown right after a series of fastballs?

Kuramochi didn't stand a chance.

A clean and effortless strikeout.

"Second batter, right fielder—Shirasu!"

"Shirasu, that fastball's nasty," Kuramochi whispered as he passed by, his tone low and serious.

"It's only about 1 km/h faster than it was in summer, but to the eye, it looks way faster. You can't wait until you see the ball to swing. If you do, you'll always be late—at best it's a foul, or worse, a groundout."

Shirasu gripped his bat tightly and nodded solemnly.

The Prince of Tokyo's presence on the mound was overwhelming.

His first-inning dominance was staggering.

Whoosh!

PING!

Thud!

"Foul ball!"

Each pitch hammered toward the plate, and Shirasu struggled just to stay alive.

A wave of disbelief built inside him—

It hasn't even been three months since summer…

How is he this much stronger already!?

Whoosh!

Swish!

Pop!

"Strike!!"

Relentless pitch placement. Blazing fastballs.

Narumiya's pitching now rivaled that of professional-level players.

Whoosh—

Another fastball came flying—an outside pitch, high in the zone.

But with that speed—

Shirasu didn't have time to adjust his timing.

Swish!

He swung desperately, just trying to make contact.

But his timing was still off.

PING!

A clean sound—

The ball bounced weakly off the bat, rebounding back toward second base.

Shirakawa stepped in with ease, cut it off cleanly,

and scooped it into his glove.

Snap!

A quick turn—and the throw to first.

Yamaoka caught it cleanly.

"Out!!"

Unlike Eijun's shaky start—

Narumiya's opening was flawless. His commanding, explosive pitching immediately put Seidou on their heels.

This wasn't how the script was supposed to go.

The catcher might've still been inexperienced—

But Narumiya?

Narumiya was a walking cheat code.

With raw power and perfect control, he completely shut down Seidou's lineup.

A disastrous start—

Seidou's offense was utterly silenced.

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