<84> He’s a Monster!

Chapter 84: He's a Monster!

Seidou High School's baseball team is facing off against Inashiro Industrial High School. The first half of the first inning ends with the score still tied at 0-0.

But that's not the most important thing right now.

The key point is that Seidou's starting pitcher, Furuya, has just struck out three consecutive batters.

And his opponents? Carlos, Shirakawa, and one of Inashiro Industrial's powerhouse third-year batters.

As the true reigning champions of West Tokyo, Inashiro Industrial High School shines even on the grand stage of Koshien.

Every core player on their team is not just a local star but a national one as well.

To put it bluntly, the caliber of their players is on a completely different level compared to the teams Seidou has faced before.

Yet despite this, Furuya has still managed to strike out the first three batters from Inashiro in succession.

This performance is no different from what he has shown before.

However, the fans in the stands are going absolutely wild.

They scream out Seidou's name and cheer wildly for Furuya Satoru...

In the stands, one fan seemed perplexed.

"This isn't the first time Furuya has performed like this, right? If we're not talking too far back, didn't he strike out nine consecutive batters when he faced Yokohama Kohouku? Is there really a need for the fans to be this crazy?"

It's not surprising this fan didn't understand.

When it comes to reputation, Yokohama Kohouko's baseball team isn't necessarily inferior to Inashiro.

At this moment, a chubby reporter steps up to explain.

"That's completely different!"

Hearing the reporter's comment, many people turned their attention to him.

Others also had similar doubts but hadn't voiced them.

Now that someone was explaining, they were eager to listen.

The chubby reporter, clearly someone who enjoyed the spotlight, beamed with a broader smile as he noticed the interest from the crowd. His tone grew more enthusiastic as he spoke.

"In the first game of the Kanto tournament, Yokohama Kohouko's team faced off against Furuya Satoru, who had emerged as a dark horse out of nowhere! Before the game, I bet the Yokohama players could never have imagined they would face someone like Furuya in that match."

The chubby reporter shook his head with a wry smile.

"Given that situation, losing badly was only natural. In fact, it wouldn't matter which high school team they played against—they would've been at a disadvantage."

After delivering this conclusion, the reporter paused for a moment before continuing.

"But Inashiro Industrial's situation is entirely different. Though they've never played against Seidou before, they've surely studied the game footage. They would've been mentally prepared. Knowing Narumiya's temperament, it's likely they even trained specifically for this matchup. In other words, Furuya's advantage as a dark horse is no longer as pronounced in this game. Yet even so, the Inashiro batters still couldn't find a way to deal with him. What does that tell you? It's obvious!"

Upon hearing the reporter's analysis, the crowd suddenly felt as though a fog had lifted.

So that's what it was!

Of course, some were still slow to catch on and didn't fully understand.

But they were too embarrassed to ask the reporter to explain again, so they quietly asked their friends nearby.

"Don't you get it? In that first game, striking out nine consecutive batters only showed that Furuya was at a 90% skill level, able to crush powerhouse teams when they weren't expecting it. Today, with three consecutive strikeouts, it shows that Furuya's strength is far beyond just 90%. He's even stronger!"

Even the spectators, with the reporter's help, began to realize just how remarkable it was for Furuya to pull this off.

Let alone the players of Inashiro Industrial!

Although before the game they had already tried their best to overestimate Seidou and Furuya's abilities, it was clear now...

At this point, Seidou High School's baseball team is no longer the same team that played in their previous games.

They have advanced to the finals of the Kanto Tournament with an overwhelming advantage.

Throughout their journey, they have progressed even more smoothly than Inashiro Industrial High School.

Given these circumstances, it's understandable that Inashiro's players would be on high alert.

But even though Inashiro's players had stretched their imaginations to the limit, they still couldn't have predicted just how strong Seidou would be now.

Especially with Furuya!

"Where did this first-year monster even come from? I've never heard of him before!"

"I heard he's from Hokkaido."

Even when the players of Inashiro were complaining, they sounded helpless.

It was clear that Furuya had thoroughly shaken them.

"He's just a first-year kid. Don't let him get to you!" said Narumiya, Inashiro's ace, clearly dissatisfied.

"So what if this kid throws fast? How long do you think he can keep that up?"

In moments like this, the role of Inashiro's ace was undeniably crucial.

After hearing Narumiya's words, the tense expressions on his teammates' faces eased a bit.

Upon reflection, they realized they might have been worrying too much.

Nothing terrible had happened yet, and they couldn't afford to panic.

Though Inashiro's players were surprised by Furuya's pitching, it didn't mean they were completely unprepared.

Coach Kunitomo had made sure his players were familiar with Furuya's pitching style, but he wasn't counting on them to hit his fastballs with ease.

Even for the elite players of Inashiro, hitting a ball over 150 km/h required practice.

And this type of practice wasn't something that could be perfected in just a few days.

At the very least, most of their players wouldn't be able to do it within the short span of the Kanto Tournament.

Even though it was hard for Inashiro's batters to make solid contact with Furuya's pitches, that didn't mean they had no strategy against him.

Of course, that would come later.

As long as Inashiro's players didn't get too fixated on the issue, they would still have a chance to make a comeback against Furuya in the future.

But before that, they first had to deal with Seidou's offense.

In the bottom of the first inning, Seidou took the turn to bat.

Leading off for Seidou was their first batter, Kuramochi Youichi.

"Heh!"

Kuramochi was brimming with excitement.

In all the games he could remember against Inashiro, he'd never felt this good.

In the past, they were always on the receiving end, constantly pressured.

Now, it was finally their turn to go on the offensive!

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