Narumiya Mei struck out Azuma Kiyokuni for the second time.
Although the process hadn't been perfect, the result was the same—and it happened at a critical moment.
It was hard not to let dark thoughts creep in.
Perhaps fate itself was favoring Inashiro, refusing to let them fall so easily.
Did that mean this game was still undecided?
At least, that was what the players and supporters of Inashiro Industrial believed.
Although the situation was extremely unfavorable, it didn't mean they had no hope.
As long as the game continued at this rhythm, they were willing to believe that a comeback was still possible.
"Inashiro! Inashiro!!"
Cheers thundered through the stands.
Even though their team was on defense, the supporters poured everything they had into their voices, hoping to pass their strength onto the field.
Narumiya Mei was in scorching form.
Yes, Azuma Kiyokuni had driven his forkball deep—but in the end, Azuma was still out.
That alone proved one thing.
Narumiya Mei's forkball wasn't ineffective against Seido's batters.
On the contrary, it was still a powerful weapon.
As long as he used his pitches flexibly, striking out Seido's lineup wasn't impossible.
And there was still the ninth inning.
The game wasn't over yet.
The seniors would definitely find a way to chase down the score.
Narumiya Mei kept repeating these thoughts to himself, almost hypnotizing his own mind, forcing himself to believe in this outcome.
His personality had always been contradictory.
Sometimes, he was fragile—one setback was enough to leave him shaken.
At other times, he was inexplicably confident.
No matter how dire the situation, he always chose to see the bright side.
And more often than not, things really did develop in the direction he believed in.
That was exactly the case now.
Facing Seido High School Baseball Team's powerful lineup, Narumiya Mei showed no sign of retreat. He continued to confront them head-on.
After recording one out, he welcomed his next opponent.
Seido High School's fifth batter.
The late-blooming genius—Yuuki Tetsuya.
When Yuuki first joined Seido, almost no one paid attention to him. Not in West Tokyo's high school baseball scene, and not even within Seido itself.
He was an unknown player. Ordinary. With no obvious potential.
Yet in just a few months, he earned a chance to play—and in his first official game, he hit a home run.
From that moment on, his rise was unstoppable.
His performances only grew stronger.
By now, even though his reputation hadn't reached Azuma Kiyokuni's level, opponents unanimously placed his threat level on the same tier.
To put it bluntly, he was no less dangerous than Azuma Kiyokuni.
Facing a batter like this was enough to make any pitcher's blood boil.
And enough to make them extremely cautious.
"This guy is also very strong…"
Harada, squatting behind the plate, hesitated.
In his eyes, Yuuki was, in some ways, even more troublesome than Azuma.
Especially for Narumiya Mei—Yuuki's hitting style naturally countered him.
That was bad news.
Under these circumstances, Narumiya Mei had to be extremely careful. A single lapse, a single mistake, could lead to disastrous consequences.
And for Inashiro?
This was a moment where mistakes were absolutely unacceptable.
They were already two runs behind.
Even if they played perfectly, a comeback wasn't guaranteed.
If they made a mistake, hope would vanish entirely.
On the mound, Narumiya Mei's expression was solemn. His earlier mistake weighed heavily on him.
He had been searching for a chance to make up for it—and now, that chance was right in front of him.
He couldn't afford carelessness. No matter what, he had to seize this opportunity.
His first pitch was a forkball.
"Whoosh!"
The ball dropped sharply.
Yuuki didn't hesitate. The moment the pitch appeared, he swung.
Yuuki's swing didn't sound as terrifying as Azuma Kiyokuni's. But it was far from ordinary.
At least, to Harada, it was anything but.
The bat left an afterimage, cutting through the air before clipping the sinking ball.
The forkball caught the lower part of the bat and shot off toward the catcher's side, bouncing behind Harada and the umpire.
"Foul ball!"
A collective gasp rose from the stands.
The tension was suffocating.
No one dared look away.
One strike.
Yet neither Harada nor Narumiya Mei felt relieved.
Yuuki had already managed to make solid contact with the forkball.
And this wasn't the first time.
It had happened twice today.
That was frightening.
Even if they wanted to calm themselves and stabilize the rhythm, they couldn't.
Their minds were tangled with doubt and hesitation.
If the forkball could be hit, what should they throw next?
What pitch could they rely on to strike out this new monster in Seido's lineup?
These were all problems.
And problems that needed immediate answers.
Harada struggled to make a decision. But there was one thing he understood clearly.
The reason Narumiya Mei's forkball was being hit so often was simple. Seido's batters had seen it too many times.
They were used to it.
Harada understood this. Narumiya Mei understood it even better.
But this time, he didn't collapse or despair like before. His eyes gleamed with excitement.
During games, Narumiya Mei rarely dwelled on past failures—unless the trauma was so severe that it shattered his mindset.
Most of the time, when he encountered difficulty, he became exhilarated.
He wanted to solve the problem.
And he took joy in doing so.
That was exactly how he felt now.
As he faced Yuuki, Narumiya Mei began thinking about his next move.
Seido's players were now accustomed to his forkball.
But seen from another angle…
They were also extremely wary of it.
This was a crisis.
But perhaps—
It was also an opportunity.
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