Whoosh~
Haa...
Narumiya Mei took several deep breaths, adjusting his condition.
Facing Kanzaki Ryou, he didn't dare show even the slightest bit of carelessness. If he wanted to get through this inning, he had to bring out his absolute best pitching.
Behind home plate, Tadano Itsuki felt even greater pressure.
Just standing beside the batter's box, Kanzaki Ryou gave off the feeling of a wild beast waiting to pounce. The oppressive aura alone made Tadano uncomfortable.
At that moment, his eyes met Narumiya Mei's.
The Ace gave him a small nod.
It was a gesture of trust.
A surge of determination welled up inside Tadano.
He absolutely couldn't back down now. He had to support Mei-senpai with everything he had.
Think!
Tadano desperately searched for a way to deal with Kanzaki Ryou.
Unfortunately, with his limited experience and ability, how could he possibly come up with a solution that even Tokyo's strongest teams hadn't found?
In the end, all he could do was trust Narumiya Mei.
His job was simple—
Catch every pitch Mei threw.
Whoosh!
After confirming the sign, Narumiya Mei immediately fired the ball toward home plate.
Kanzaki Ryou locked onto the pitch and swung.
Snap!
"Strike!"
The baseball dropped sharply beneath the bat.
A Forkball.
And one with an extremely exaggerated break.
Kanzaki pulled back his bat and smiled as he looked toward Narumiya.
So this guy had been holding back.
The movement on that Forkball was far nastier than the ones he'd shown earlier.
Even after stealing a strike, Tadano didn't dare relax. He quickly returned the ball and exchanged another glance with Narumiya.
Narumiya shook his head.
Then shook it again.
Finally, he nodded.
The next pitch was decided.
Less than three seconds later—
The baseball exploded from his fingertips like a sharp arrow.
A Fastball.
And a very fast one.
Kanzaki exhaled and swung.
His sharp eyes, like those of a hawk, tracked the ball's every movement.
Bang!
"Foul!"
The ball rocketed out of play.
Kanzaki glanced at Narumiya again.
That pitch had been thrown right through the heart of the strike zone.
Yet it wasn't easy to hit solidly.
Narumiya Mei wasn't some pitcher who relied solely on velocity.
Even when pitching down the middle, a batter still had to identify whether it was a Four-Seam Fastball, Two-Seam Fastball, Cutter, or something else entirely.
The pitch just now had completely exceeded Kanzaki's expectations.
It wasn't any of those.
It was another Forkball.
In less than three months, Narumiya had not only developed a high-speed Slider, but had also turned the Forkball into a genuine weapon.
Amazing.
Without hesitation, Kanzaki gave him a thumbs-up.
A genius truly was a genius.
Even after being repeatedly challenged and pressured by both Kanzaki Ryou and Miyuki Kazuya, Narumiya continued to shine brighter and grow faster.
It was unexpected.
And it made Kanzaki take him even more seriously.
With the addition of the Forkball, Narumiya's Fastball became significantly more dangerous.
Think about it.
A blazing pitch comes toward you.
It might move left.
It might move right.
It might suddenly drop.
Or it might remain a straight Four-Seam Fastball.
Under those conditions, guessing correctly becomes a one-in-four gamble.
Kanzaki subtly stepped forward in the batter's box.
The solution was simple in theory, yet difficult in practice.
Hit the ball before it started moving.
That was all.
Fortunately, Kanzaki had confidence in his ability to do exactly that.
His goal wasn't to challenge the Fastball head-on.
The real threat standing before him was Narumiya's arsenal of breaking pitches.
Forkball.
Slider.
High-speed Slider.
Circle Changeup.
Reverse Changeup.
Damn...
When he thought about it, Narumiya Mei was practically a walking pitch encyclopedia.
Still, Narumiya knew his batting tendencies as well.
Pitches with obvious trajectories, such as Sliders and High-Speed Sliders, were unlikely to be used against him.
The pitches that truly gave Kanzaki trouble were the Changeups.
Especially the two versions that were incredibly difficult to distinguish.
Would it be the Circle Changeup?
Or the Reverse Changeup that dropped sharply near the plate like a spiraling ball?
At that moment—
Narumiya released the pitch.
The motion looked identical to his Fastball.
Even Kanzaki was briefly deceived.
Only after the ball left Narumiya's hand did he realize—
A Changeup!
Even with preparation, locating the perfect contact point wasn't easy.
Kanzaki swung.
Just as the pitch reached the plate and began to break, the bat connected.
Crack!
Damn.
Didn't catch the sweet spot.
The white ball shot into center field.
At the same time, Kuramochi exploded toward home plate.
Kanzaki sprinted down the line as well.
If he got thrown out, Kuramochi's run wouldn't matter.
"Go!!!"
"Bring that run home!"
"Kanzaki, run!"
The Seido bench erupted.
Compared to Kuramochi scoring, everyone was even more concerned about whether Kanzaki could safely reach base.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kanzaki tracked the ball.
Carlos was charging forward to field it.
Perhaps because the batter was Kanzaki Ryou, Inashiro's outfield had been positioned deeper than usual.
That small adjustment made all the difference.
They were a step too late.
"Safe!"
Kanzaki reached first base safely.
Meanwhile, Kuramochi crossed home plate without issue.
A clean single to center field.
Standing on first, Kanzaki finally let out a long breath.
He still hadn't hit the ball as well as he wanted.
Otherwise, there would've been no need for such a close play.
Everyone else, however, had the same thought:
A single to center, and he calls that not hitting it well?
The announcer's voice echoed throughout the stadium.
"At a crucial moment, Seido's cleanup hitter and captain, Kanzaki Ryou, delivers a run-scoring single!"
"Seido High School scores first and takes a 1-0 lead!"
"YEAH!"
"Kanzaki!"
"SEIDO! SEIDO!"
The Seido supporters immediately erupted into cheers.
Hearing those voices, Narumiya Mei stood silently on the mound.
Every cheer felt incredibly irritating.
Again.
It was this guy again.
Another hit.
His most reliable weapon—
His Changeup.
The pitch he trusted the most.
The pitch he used to finish batters.
And yet, it had been hit at the worst possible moment.
Even though Kanzaki had struggled against it before.
Damn it, Lady Luck.
Can't you stand on Inashiro's side for once?
Watching Narumiya clench his fists, the Inashiro players in the dugout felt a pang in their hearts.
To many people, this game wasn't simply Seido versus Inashiro.
It was Narumiya Mei versus Kanzaki Ryou.
As for the Spring Koshien berth, both schools were practically guaranteed one.
No matter who won today, if the Tokyo representative went on to win the Jingu Tournament, Tokyo's Spring Koshien allocation would increase to 2.5 slots.
That would automatically send the Autumn Tournament runner-up to Koshien as well.
From an outsider's perspective, both Seido and Inashiro were clearly a level above the competition.
Winning the championship seemed inevitable.
But for the players—
And for the fans—
None of that mattered.
No one wanted to lose.
Especially Narumiya Mei.
For a year and a half, he had been suppressed by that terrifying battery.
The combination of Kanzaki Ryou and Miyuki Kazuya.
Defeating them had become one of his greatest obsessions.
The game wasn't over yet.
After allowing the run, Narumiya spent only a few seconds collecting himself before regaining his composure.
Back on the mound, he quickly retired Shirasu Kenjirou.
The top half of the inning came to an end.
And now—
It was Inashiro's turn to attack.