<40> This is the Protagonist's Script

Chapter 40: This is the Protagonist's Script

"Another one?"

The reporters were a bit confused.

"Yes, a record for consecutive strikeouts. I watched that game 6 years ago too. The record back then was eight consecutive strikeouts by the Orangutan Player. But Furuya? He recorded nine in a row!"

When the first reporter realized this and spoke the record aloud, every reporter at the scene instinctively swallowed hard.

They vaguely sensed what the speaker was trying to convey.

"Has there been an official record of consecutive strikeouts?"

"It's not just about consecutive strikeouts; it's the record for the most strikeouts by a player in their debut game! For a high school debut, Furuya holds the record for the most strikeouts!"

With that explanation, everyone immediately understood.

How could they have missed it?

This was Furuya's debut match!

Whether or not there was a record before didn't matter—there is now!

"And that's not all; he's also the man with the fastest pitch speed in a high school debut."

Although Furuya's 154 km/h pitch wasn't the fastest in all of high school, records show that some high school players have thrown over 160 km/h.

But for a first game, especially as a first-year, Furuya's performance was nothing short of explosive.

One can only imagine...

By the time Furuya becomes a second-year and third-year, his performances on the field will only get more spectacular.

"Two records, huh?"

To pull off such an incredible feat in your very first official high school game?

Even the seasoned reporters, let alone the casual spectators, were utterly stunned.

They exchanged glances, all sharing the same sense of disbelief.

How could this be happening?

And yet, it had unfolded right before their eyes.

"When tomorrow's papers come out, this kid's name is going to be known nationwide!"

It's not rare to see a fast pitcher appear.

But someone with Furuya's talent? That's incredibly rare.

What were outsiders thinking about this?

Neither the Seidou High baseball team nor Furuya knew.

After the game, they celebrated hard.

Then, they went to the edge of the stands to thank the fans who had come to support them.

Only after finishing these gestures did the Seidou High baseball team say goodbye to their opponents.

"Thank you for the game!"

"Thank you for the game!!"

For some reason, the players from Yokohama Kohouku looked unusually downcast.

Especially when facing Furuya, these guys were cold as ice, completely indifferent.

"They're being way too petty!" Kuramochi grumbled, clearly unhappy with their attitude.

However, Miyuki, the team's main catcher, found it entirely understandable.

"Don't blame them. I'm sure they don't want to act this way either, but what can they do? The game is over, and their loss is a done deal. Unable to accept the result, they don't know how to face Furuya right now."

At this, Miyuki suddenly laughed.

"Care to explain?"

Kuramochi clearly didn't get it.

"Put simply, they've been completely rattled by Furuya, and they haven't snapped out of it yet."

"Oh!"

Kuramochi instantly understood, but he shot Miyuki a look of irritation. "Can't you speak more plainly next time?"

Miyuki had gone on and on, and Kuramochi still hadn't understood what point he was trying to make.

Furuya, meanwhile, had an expression of indifference.

But in truth, he was feeling quite excited inside. Overall, the result of the first game was pretty good. He figured his standing in Coach Kataoka's eyes had probably gone up a bit more.

To be honest, the outcome was better than Furuya had expected.

Pitching was one thing.

It didn't surprise Furuya that the Yokohama Kohouku players had no idea how to deal with his full-powered throws during their first encounter. After all, even the third-year seniors of Seidou High had been dumbfounded the first time they saw him pitch during practice.

So it wasn't unusual for the Yokohama Kohouku batters to react the way they did.

What really surprised Furuya was his luck.

Even though he had guessed the pitch from Yokohama's ace, he hadn't expected to actually hit that ball.

It was that very hit that sealed their victory in the game.

And it was pure luck.

If he had to step into the batter's box again and try to repeat to make it homerun, he wasn't sure he could do it.

But fate works that way sometimes.

Even if it was just a coincidence, his performance in his very first official high school game was something special.

Neither their coach nor Seidou's future opponents could ignore his presence any longer.

His image as a powerful hitter must have already been etched deeply in everyone's minds.

And for Furuya, that was definitely not a bad thing.

After the game ended, the team returned to their hotel to rest.

The hotel had been booked in advance.

With Seidou High's baseball team being from a prestigious school, their accommodations were naturally quite good.

The team had rented out an entire floor of the hotel.

This floor had thirteen rooms in total, with a lounge area in the middle.

Each room housed two players.

Coach Kataoka and the other staff were no exception, sharing rooms just like the players.

It was in one of these rooms that Furuya unexpectedly encountered four uninvited guests.

"Why are you guys here?" he asked.

Among the four was Maezono, the second-year cleanup hitter. Furuya had only seen him a few times and wasn't familiar with him.

But the other three were a different story.

As players in the same year, Furuya knew them all too well.

They were Sawamura Eijun and Kominato Haruichi, both now promoted to the second string, and Kanemaru, who was still hanging around with the new recruits.

Seidou's first-string team had twenty players, meaning they occupied ten rooms in total. Coach Kataoka was sharing a room with Director Oota, while Rei Takashima had a separate suite.

The remaining two rooms seemed to be reserved for the newcomers.

"I didn't want to come either! I wanted to stay with the team and play in the second string practice matches," Sawamura grumbled, clearly frustrated.

He had recently grown into a key pitcher for the second string and had been looking forward to proving himself.

But as the team advanced in the tournament, Sawamura had been unexpectedly assigned to assist the first string players.

Although the team had called for volunteers earlier, Sawamura was certain he hadn't signed up.

He had no idea what the head coach or team manager were thinking, but they had forced him to come along.

"You really don't appreciate what you've got, do you?"

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