Chapter 228: The Yakushi Battle (END)
"Just as expected, you're a monster! But I won't lose to you!"
"Stealing!" Just as Sanada was about to pitch, Yuuki made a steal!
"No way! Sanada-senpai can't hear anything at all!" Mishima quickly realized that their senior was too locked in to notice.
Pop!
Seeing their captain steal a base, Sendo resisted the urge to swing, especially since the pitch was slightly off.
"Ball!"
Sendo wasn't great at judging balls and strikes, but the umpire immediately made the call.
"Seidou High School's runner suddenly steals second base with ease!
Now the count is one-and-one!"
"The stage is set for you! Hit it out!" Yuuki, having successfully stolen the base, uncharacteristically voiced such a direct encouragement.
"Tetsu-san! Don't pressure me! Be careful, or I might start crying!" Sendo muttered under his breath when he heard Tetsu's voice.
Third-year Watanabe was taken aback. He never expected the usually cold-looking Sendo to have this kind of side to him. (Sendo has a cold exterior but a warm personality. People who don't know him well often see him as distant.)
"I won't lose to you!"
At this point, Sanada no longer needed to worry about the runner. With the man already on second and two outs, it wasn't necessary.
Ping!
"Foul ball!"
"You first-year brat!"
Pop!
"Ball!"
"Where will the next pitch go? No! Trying to predict it will only interfere with my body's instincts! I've already figured out my swing approach—now I just need to trust my reactions!"
Sendo felt a sense of exhilaration, so much so that he completely overlooked Sanada's exceptional condition.
Just hit the ball when it comes—that was his only thought right now.
Earlier, Sendo had assumed that Tetsu intentionally swung at the shuuto to set him up for an easy hit. But that was a huge misunderstanding.
In reality, Tetsu had noticed that ever since Sanada took the mound, his condition had been improving. His pitch velocity and movement were returning to peak form, meaning there would be no more easy fastballs like before.
This unusual resurgence likely meant that Sanada had abandoned his usual energy distribution and was going all out in a do-or-die effort.
In other words, he was putting everything on the line in this battle.
"The count is two-and-two! I think I've got a good feel for it now. Time to start my first offensive move!" Sendo decided that the timing was right.
This was a rare opportunity for real-game validation, and he had no intention of letting it go to waste.
"This guy is keeping up with the shuuto too! I wonder how much he remembers about the cutter? With all these outside pitches, his reaction to an inside pitch should be slightly delayed, right?" Watanabe analyzed while watching Sendo.
Sendo's eyes instinctively wandered, and when he caught sight of Miyuki, he suddenly remembered the small bet they had made before he stepped up to bat.
As the crowd roared with cheers, Sanada prepared to throw his final decisive pitch!
The moment Sanada lifted his leg, the cheers in the stadium abruptly died down, as everyone held their breath to avoid disrupting the showdown.
Whoosh!
"A fastball! Wait… why is my body—?"
Midway through his swing, Sendo realized that his body wasn't following the fastball's trajectory exactly.
If he had to put it into words, the first half of his swing followed the fastball's path, but midway through, it suddenly adjusted.
This left Sendo completely confused.
Ping!
The blindingly fast white ball, Sanada's wide-open eyes, and Sendo's utterly confused expression formed a stark contrast.
"Center fielder!!!"
The ball was moving fast and high—given its speed, it was definitely a deep fly ball. Watanabe judged the trajectory in an instant and reacted with urgency.
Seidou's runners on second and third, Ryousuke and Tetsu, didn't start running. The ball had enough distance that if it landed, both of them could easily score.
If it got caught, running would be pointless.
...
Just moments ago, the center fielder had felt relieved that he had positioned himself deep enough. But as he reached the wall, trying to track where the ball would land, he realized—it wasn't dropping much.
At that instant, countless players and fans from Yakushi High closed their eyes, unwilling to accept reality.
Meanwhile, on Seidou's side, the celebrations had already begun.
"THUD!"
The ball ultimately landed—deep in the left-center stands!
"IT'S IN!!!"
"That makes it a six-run lead!"
"That's a three-run home run to return the favor!"
"Sendo!!!"
"Sendo-san!!!"
"Sendo-sama!!!"
From Seidou's cheering section, all kinds of bizarre honorifics were being thrown around.
"He's a first-year! Why the hell are you all mixing up polite speech like that?!"
"Ye!!!"
Fumino threw her hands up, her face filled with pure excitement. She looked like she was about to jump down from the stands—if not for Kuiko-senpai's quick reflexes, catching her before she could topple forward.
She looked completely brainless in that moment, but it was ridiculously adorable—like a tiny duckling flapping around.
...
"Was that an inside fastball? That pitch was impossible to hit! What an idiot!" Among the watching players from Ichidaisan High, Hirakawa couldn't believe his eyes.
"Another three-run home run! Another first-year power hitter!"
"As if responding to the earlier three-run blast to left field, Sendo has just launched a three-run shot to deep left-center in the bottom of the eighth!"
"And this one was even higher and farther!" The announcer seemed to be deliberately fueling the competitive energy.
"Unbelievable!"
"This is insane!"
"He just fired back immediately!"
"Two first-year sluggers! West Tokyo's going to be wild in the coming years!"
"The battles between them will keep heating up!"
The neutral spectators quickly reverted to their objective stance, already envisioning the intense rivalry that would unfold over the next three years—centered around these two rookie power hitters and Seidou's fireballer, Furuya.
...
Back on the field, Tetsu made his signature, small-scale celebration—one he had been saving for a special occasion. (Even though he hadn't hit the homer himself, he looked just as happy as if he had.)
Sendo raised an eyebrow and glanced toward the dugout, where Miyuki was holding his head like he had a migraine. With a helpless shrug, Sendo wordlessly teased him, making Miyuki barely restrain the urge to punch him.
Then, with his usual nonchalant attitude, Sendo casually tossed his bat aside and began his signature slow-as-hell home run trot—slower than a jog, carrying a "This has nothing to do with me" expression.
...
A few moments earlier, before Sendo stepped up to the plate...
"Wanna make a bet?"
"Huh?"
"If I win, how about throwing a few full-power pitches in the indoor practice field when no one's around tonight?"
Miyuki was still fixated on seeing Sendo pitch.
"And if you lose?"
Hearing an opportunity, Miyuki jumped at it.
"If I lose, I'll do your laundry for a month. I mean, washing two people's clothes isn't any different from washing one. But knowing how much you hate hassle…!" Miyuki wiggled his eyebrows with a "you know what I mean" kind of expression.
"How do we bet?"
"In this at-bat, if you don't get a hit, I win!"
By setting the condition to a hit, Miyuki ensured that reaching base due to a defensive error wouldn't count.
And in this situation, Sendo definitely wouldn't use his lousy bunting skills to force his way on base with speed.
Miyuki had thought this through completely—after all, the guy standing in front of him was an absolute monster.
"What about me?" Sendo asked.
"Your batting skills are too strong—if I lose over a simple hit, that's too much. And the bet itself already favors you. So, a home run! If you hit a triple or a home run, you win. Anything else, and the bet is void."
Clearly, Miyuki had been scheming this for a while.
"…! Deal!"
Miyuki snapped back to the present—
"I completely shot myself in the foot!"
...
"Now the game is overwhelmingly in Seidou's favor!"
Watching Sendo round the bases, Owada turned to veteran journalist Fujio.
"At this point, you could say that hit just killed the game! No matter how strong Sanada's mentality is, his stamina isn't enough for extra innings. Yakushi would need to score at least seven runs in the final inning and completely shut down Seidou's lineup in the bottom of the ninth."
"But looking at their next batters—aside from No. 2 Akiba and No. 3 Mishima—the rest of the lineup isn't strong enough. And after Raichi just struck out, the momentum is completely different."
"On the other hand, Seidou's side is fired up from striking out Raichi and Sendo's three-run blast."
"Even though the game isn't technically over—since, as they say, baseball truly begins in the bottom of the ninth with two outs—this match is practically decided."
Fujio was a professional. He wouldn't get swept up in the excitement of the moment.
He could clearly see that Sanada's sudden resurgence was nothing more than a final burst—like a candle flickering its brightest before burning out.
...
"Hahaha! Are you kidding me, Sendo?!"
Jun had already sprinted out of the dugout, grinning.
"That pitch was a cutter! I saw it clearly from second base" Tetsu, having just crossed home plate, called out.
"Ooga!"
Pudding-senpai nodded, approving Tetsu's judgment.
"We saw it clearly from third too!" Ryousuke added.
"Are you serious?! He looked so forced in his first at-bat!"
With that, he grabbed Sendo, who had just stepped on home plate, yanked off his helmet, and everyone started ruffling his spiky hair.
Sendo's naturally stiff hair had a surprisingly satisfying texture—so much so that everyone couldn't resist.
Ryousuke had already decided—going forward, their team celebrations would now include rubbing Sendo's head alongside polishing Tanba's bald head!
And considering how much more impressive Sendo's performance was compared to Tanba's, the shift in team tradition was becoming dangerous.
This realization made Sendo instinctively shudder.
...
"Hmph!"
Coach Kataoka watched the scene unfold with a rare smile.
After a good round of messing with him, the upperclassmen finally let Sendo go.
Sendo, now freed, started smoothing out his completely disheveled hair.
"Tanba-san!"
Almost as if he had eyes in the back of his head, Sendo suddenly called out to Tanba behind him.
"Hm?"
"Six-run lead! Feels good, doesn't it?" Sendo turned around, grinning, and pointed his thumb at the scoreboard.
"Ah, this feels a lot better!" Tanba laughed, patting his chest.
"Now, even if I throw a few hittable fastballs, we don't have to worry about them catching up!"
"Oh… you!"
Tanba-senpai was speechless at Sendo's teasing—especially since he was deliberately poking at his sore spots. But that only went to show how close the two had become.
"Hahaha! Just kidding! No need to rush, Tanba-san. You only just got back into action, so take your time with your control."
"Besides, you've got the best defense in the country behind you! And the strongest batting lineup in the nation!"
Sendo exaggerated a little at the end, but hearing those words from him filled Tanba with an odd sense of reassurance.
Tanba knew that through humor, Sendo was telling him not to get impatient. Rushing would only backfire.
And more importantly, it was a reminder to always be aware of his newly emerged weakness and work to overcome it.
...
"Why do you guys look so grim?"
"Enjoy the moment! Especially you third-years! This kind of adrenaline-pumping tension—you won't get to experience it so easily in life after this! If we hold them here, we still have one more inning to attack!Let's turn this game around!"
Right as Seidou finished celebrating, Raizou's voice cut through the air, reigniting Yakushi's fighting spirit.
Facing a pitcher in peak condition for the first time?
Their cleanup hitter striking out?
Their ace getting taken deep for a home run?
None of that mattered to Yakushi.
They were here to enjoy the game, to give their all, and to fight until the very end.
...
Masuko-senpai was taken out by Yakushi's defense!
The game finally entered the final inning.
With both teams' spirits at their peak, the ultimate battle was about to begin.
If Yakushi couldn't close the gap in this inning, there would be no bottom of the ninth.
...
"Top of the ninth! Yakushi High at bat! Batting second, left fielder, Akiba-kun!"
"We have to get on base! Create a chance for a comeback!"
"Don't back down, Tanba-san!"
"Let's go, Tanba-san!"
"Tanba!!!"
"Let him hit it! We'll shut it down!"
"Crush him, dammit!"
"Akiba!"
"Hit it out!"
"There's no way we're giving up here!"
...
First pitch!
"Whoosh!"
Pop!
"STRIKE!"
"A curveball for the first pitch! The batter didn't even swing!"
Even with Akiba's all-or-nothing determination, he instinctively flinched at a ball that seemed to come straight at his face.
....
Pop!
"Ball!"
"The second pitch is an inside miss! Here comes the third!"
Pop!
"STRIKE! Another curveball!"
...
"Inside pitch!"
Akiba finally spotted an inside fastball on the fourth pitch.
Pop!
"STRIKE! Batter out!"
"A forkball!"
...
"Batting third, first baseman, Mishima-kun!"
"Ahahaha!"
Mishima stepped up with his usual hearty laugh.
"Finally, it's my time to be the hero! Raichi! Just wait over there! I'll be the one to turn this game around!This match isn't ending here!"
His internal monologue was on full blast.
...
Yet, despite all that, Tanba quickly put him into a two-strike hole with just two pitches.
"This must be a test from the gods! I have to endure it!"
Somehow, with his slow reactions and boundless optimism, Mishima remained completely unfazed.
...
In the end, through sheer persistence, he managed to put the bat on the ball and send it into play.
But his joy was short-lived—because the next batter was quickly struck out.
...
Yakushi had reached their final stand.
...
"STRIKE! Batter out!"
"Aaaahhh!!!"
Tanba roared as he finished the inning.
"GAME OVER!"
Victory for Seidou! Heartbreak for Yakushi!
...
"Nice ball, Tanba-san!!!" Miyuki cheered excitedly.
"Aaaahh!!" Tanba responded, voice filled with emotion.
"Beautiful pitching!"
"Ooga!"
As the team showered Tanba with praise, Ryousuke had already swiped Tanba's cap.
The others were ready to join in.
...
"Then, I won't hold back!" Even Kuramochi joined the fray.
...
"What goes around, comes around!"
Sendo smirked as he, too, reached out with his "sinful" hands.
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