Yuuki being retired cast a heavy shadow over the Seido High School Baseball Team's dugout.
Just moments ago, everyone had been optimistic. Especially after Azuma Kiyokuni advanced to second base, the mood had clearly lifted. According to Seido's original expectations, this inning should have produced at least one run.
If not Yuuki, then Zhang Han.
If not Zhang Han, then someone else.
With those two guarding the plate, they couldn't say scoring was guaranteed, but they absolutely believed they had the upper hand.
So why wouldn't they be optimistic?
Reality, however, was far crueler than imagination.
Yuuki being shut down by the gyroball forced everyone to face a terrifying truth.
Kameshima's gyroball was on an entirely different level.
Up until now, not a single Seido batter had truly dealt with it.
Not one.
Even Azuma Kiyokuni, the monster among monsters, hadn't gained any real advantage against that pitch. In the end, he had been forced to violently pull a ball that was already drifting out of the strike zone just to put it into play.
Manager Ota rubbed his hands, his scalp tingling.
"Kameshima was already one of the top three pitchers in Tokyo," he muttered. "Now he's added a mature gyroball. Nationwide, there might not be many pitchers who can compete with him."
"That pitch spins fast, hard, and in the opposite direction," another coach added. "Who can hit something like that?"
"The gyroball is called a 'magic pitch' for a reason," someone sighed. "If it were easy to hit, it wouldn't deserve the name."
"In that case," Ota said quietly, "we can only wear him down."
Everyone understood that Kameshima was already at his limit.
His collapse was only a matter of time.
The Seido players knew this clearly, yet unease still lingered.
Victory could cover many problems.
If the situation turned favorable for Ichidai Third High School, it could stimulate Kameshima mentally. A pitcher hovering on the edge of exhaustion might suddenly find a second wind.
That was the last thing Seido wanted to see.
Because of that, they were desperate to score now.
Who knew when Kameshima would finally break?
And even if he did, Ichidai Third High School wasn't out of cards yet.
Their second-year pitcher, Manaka Kaname, had already begun showing his potential. While he wasn't as oppressive as Kameshima, his skills were still more than respectable.
Breaking him down would also take time.
And time was exactly what Seido lacked.
After all, Ichidai wasn't the only team carrying hidden dangers.
Seido had plenty of their own.
Right now, everyone was united against a single enemy. Those internal issues were temporarily suppressed, compensated for by teamwork and momentum.
But they hadn't disappeared.
Even Seido's own players weren't especially optimistic about Zhang Han's current at-bat.
As for the neutral fans and Ichidai Third High School's supporters, they were even more certain.
In their eyes, Kameshima should be able to deal with Zhang Han easily.
By this point, Kameshima had nothing left to hide.
He would definitely rely on the gyroball.
Zhang Han knew that too.
Among all breaking balls, the gyroball was a special existence. It could be paired with a fastball, or used entirely on its own.
If it was mixed with fastballs, Zhang Han wasn't afraid.
He might not be able to predict the exact pitch type every time, but as long as he used a few small tricks, he could tell when a fastball was coming.
But Kameshima wouldn't do that.
Not now.
If Zhang Han's judgment was correct, then from this point onward, Kameshima's pitches would all be gyroballs. Not just to him, but to everyone.
This wasn't because Kameshima wanted to show off. It was because of stamina. By now, his pitch count was already approaching one hundred and twenty.
Kameshima was never known for exceptional endurance. Judging by his past games, this was already near his physical limit. Even with the adrenaline of facing Seido, that limit wouldn't magically rise forever.
To put it bluntly, how many more pitches could he throw?
No one knew.
Not Seido's players.
Not the spectators.
Probably not even Kameshima himself.
In this situation, he would pour everything into every single pitch.
The gyroball consumed enormous stamina, but it also increased his chances of getting quick outs.
If he was lucky, he could last a little longer.
And now that the game had entered its later stages, every extra batter he survived increased Ichidai Third High School's odds of victory.
Because of this, Zhang Han was almost certain. The next pitches would be gyroballs.
Primarily gyroballs.
And that was exactly what frustrated him the most. If Zhang Han had wanted to face the gyroball, he wouldn't have acted like an idiot during his first at-bat.
But now, even if he wanted to keep acting, Kameshima wouldn't give him that luxury. Whether he liked it or not. He would have to face the gyroball.
Zhang Han slid his hands to the very end of the bat. When pushed to the edge, he was still willing to gamble.
Since it had come to this, he would pour in all his focus and truly experience this so-called "magic pitch."
"Whoosh!"
Moments ago, Kameshima had looked exhausted.
Now, he suddenly seemed full of energy. This had to be the legendary final burst. The only strange thing was that his "final burst" seemed to be lasting a bit too long.
"Thwack!"
"Strike!"
Zhang Han didn't move.
He stood there, motionless, as if repeating the same act from before. It looked like he was deliberately waiting for a fastball or an ordinary breaking pitch.
As for the gyroball? He appeared to have given up on it completely.
Ichidai Third High School had suffered at Zhang Han's hands before. They didn't believe him for a second. No matter what act he put on, they had already made up their minds.
They would go all out.
"Whoosh!"
The second pitch came.
Another gyroball.
This time, Zhang Han moved.
Not deliberately. Not consciously.
As if driven by instinct, his body reacted before his mind could catch up.
"Ping!"
It was as if he and the baseball had made a silent agreement. The bat struck the ball cleanly.
The white blur shot forward.
For a brief moment, the entire stadium froze.
The spectators didn't react. Seido's players didn't react. Even Ichidai Third High School's fielders stood there in confusion.
"Thud…"
Only when the baseball landed and bounced did everyone finally snap back to reality.
"It… it went through!!"
"Zhang Han scores the go-ahead run!"
"Total score—three to two! Seido High School takes the lead!"
The stadium exploded.
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