Chapter 259: The First Law
"A perfect at-bat! First, he used foul balls to drain Mei's stamina as much as possible while constantly provoking his mentality. Then, when Mei's body and mind were both worn down, he targeted the one pitch he wasn't confident in hitting—the changeup—and used a bunt to get on base. That bastard… he definitely planned all of this from the start.
But when did he plan it?!"
Miyuki reverse-analyzed Sendo's entire at-bat in his mind and saw the complete strategy.
"Hoh? Interesting first-year,"
Carlos glanced at Sendo from center field.
His attitude showed both his veteran poise and the tenacity of the West Tokyo kings.
....
Sendo on Base = Seidou's Explosion Trigger
"Mine-senpai! Once Sendo gets on base, the scoring rate is almost the same as when Kuramochi gets on!
Seidou must be eager to add another run now!"
"Yeah. Sendo isn't just faster than Kuramochi—
behind him is Miyuki, a high-probability RBI hitter.
Just like Kuramochi is backed by Kominato and the cleanup, Sendo becomes an explosive scoring catalyst for Seidou. Seidou's lineup functions like two offensive cycles:
Cycle 1
– Kuramochi tries to get on base
– #2 to #4 move him in
(Even if Kuramochi fails, Kominato acts as his substitute on base)
– #4 and #5 (Yuki & Sendo) clean the bases
Cycle 2
After clearing the bases, #5 Sendo becomes the runner
– #6 Mazaki and #7 Miyuki bring him home
Even the later hitters—Furuya and the unused Shirasu—can create chances and help Kuramochi's on-base rate. That hidden cycle isn't as stable, but it's still a threat."
"I see!"
"This isn't a lineup normal teams can put together…
Seidou's lineup is just that luxurious."
....
"Sixth batter! Masuko!"
The commentary resumed as the batter stepped in.
"This offense is extremely important,"
Chris said from the dugout.
"Batter: aim only for hittable pitches.
Forget the tricky ones.
Runner: aggressively target the next base,"
Coach Kataoka instructed calmly.
In short—
If Mei dared to use fastballs to deal with Sendo, Masuko—who excelled at hitting fastballs—would punish him.
If Mei switched to breaking balls, Masuko wouldn't swing—and it would turn into a high-speed duel between Sendo and the battery.
This strategy used Sendo's speed like a weapon…
Even against a left-hander like Narumiya Mei, it was suffocating.
It was one reason Masuko hit sixth.
Otherwise, his power would be perfect as a connector for the upper lineup.
If the lower lineup is too weak, the offensive rhythm collapses before it can reach the top again.
That's why strong teams carefully place at least one high-contact hitter in the #8 or #9 spot.
Last autumn, Tojo batting eighth—and likely ninth being balanced—was for exactly this reason.
....
"Let's play a little more," Sendo licked his lips with mischief and extended his lead over five meters.
This was his favorite method.
It gathered pitcher data safely while applying psychological pressure.
If a runner keeps extending his lead despite the pitcher's pickoffs, the pitcher feels growing pressure.
Except Mei— he reacts with pure anger.
"You bastard!!"
Mei's eyes twisted downward in rage.
"Bastard…!"
Snap!
"Safe!"
"You—!"
Snap!
"Safe!"
"Die—!"
Snap!
"Safe!"
"DIE!!!"
Each time Sendo moved slightly farther.
Mei lost control, throwing pickoff after pickoff—despite being terrible at it.
The two of them were basically playing happily in their own little world.
Sendo went farther and farther.
Mei's irritation rose proportionally—if he could grab a bat, he might've run to first base to hit Sendo with it.
While Mei threw tantrum pickoffs, Harada stretched and strategized.
He'd be the one facing Sendo when the pickoff came his way.
.....
"That's enough, Mei."
Harada interrupted with a sign.
"Throw one off the zone. Let's observe their reaction."
Mei reluctantly stopped fooling around.
Though watching Sendo extend his lead made him itchy, he only threw silent glares.
Sendo noticed the shift immediately.
It's starting for real.
Both stared each other down—
Sendo preparing to dive back or break for second at any moment, his dynamic vision tracking every twitch of Mei's movement.
Pop!
"Ball!"
The moment Sendo saw it was a fastball, he instantly retreated—so fast Harada didn't even attempt a throw.
"He moved back the instant Mei started his arm motion… Is the runner reading it? Or applying psychological pressure?"
Harada watched both Masuko and Sendo carefully, analyzing.
"Why didn't Sendo run just now? He's fast enough to steal,"
Ota asked.
"Because he predicted the first pitch was a test pitch.
He wanted to make the count favorable for Masuko. Harada doesn't know Sendo's true top speed—
he didn't see the moment-to-second reaction during the inside-the-park home run. So, to stop Sendo's steal, he must call a fastball in the zone—
but Masuko loves fastballs. It's a dilemma."
Miyuki explained calmly.
"No matter what, Sendo will run on the second pitch,"
Chris added.
Harada took a deep breath.
He knew the second pitch was critical.
"Focus on the batter. Even if it becomes a ball, that's fine."
"Steal!"
"Whoosh!"
"He's running!"
Pop!
"—Don't underestimate—!"
Harada froze mid-throw.
Pop!
"Safe!"
"Ball!"
A delayed call, but expected.
Sendo didn't even need to slide—he had arrived too fast.
"Again—no slide! And he's about half a second faster than Kuramochi… Is he even human?"
Harada thought, stunned.
Fans roared:
"Too fast!!"
"NICE baserunning!"
"GO Sendo!"
Seeing Sendo on second, Harada stiffened.
He had made a fatal mistake—he now had to mentally prepare to give up a run.
....
Sendo silently took another huge lead.
Kataoka signaled Masuko to swing and help Sendo steal—
Giving up a strike was worth guaranteeing third base.
Sendo reluctantly agreed.
Harada made his decision:
"I misjudged the difference earlier. But I won't let him reach third easily."
"Steal!"
"Whoosh!"
"No—hit-and-run!"
Masuko swung—
"Slider?!"
He pulled back at the last second, making the ball intentionally unreachable.
Pop!
"Safe!"
Masuko's big swing fully blocked Harada's throwing lane.
"YES! One out, runner on third!"
....
"The critical moment! A flyball, a grounder, a defensive error— any of these scores the run!"
"Infield is moving forward! Is this a safety bunt defense?"
"No,"
Mine Fujio said,
"They know—even with the infield in—Sendo might still score. They just want to show toughness while getting the out."
"Steal!!"
Clink!
As the bunt dropped, Sendo dashed—and Seidou scored effortlessly.
"Inashiro records the out, but Seidou adds another run!
Now 4–0!
Inashiro's counterattack has been crushed by first-year pitcher Furuya, and their spirits shaken again by first-year No.5 Sendo!"
The Seidou cheering section erupted.
They celebrated the run and roared again at Sendo's unbelievable baserunning.
"Looks like… we really need to do something about that first-year."
Coach Kunimoto finally decided
—it was time to use the special "plan" they prepared specifically for Sendo.
That "special dish" was none other than the rule that, in the future, would be adopted for more than a decade— the famous First Rule of Sendo's Law.
"Sendo's Law, Rule No. 1: If there are fewer than two outs and Sendo is the runner, no base in front of him is allowed to be empty."
There were many variations of this rule, but this was its core. As long as this condition could be met—no matter how—it satisfied the First Law.
It would later become the most iconic rule of the legendary "Sendo Law."
....
"Damn, he really can do it…"
Carlos chuckled softly from the outfield.
At this point, even he felt it—
Sendo was basically a fully upgraded version of himself in every aspect.
Yet this didn't shake his fighting spirit at all.
In fact, it only fueled him even more, pushing his desire to compete even higher.
As expected from the most reliable second-year—
the one Narumiya Mei personally recruited.
(That is, after everyone agreed to forget the fact that he likes streaking.)
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