Chapter 298: The Captain Resolve
When Tetsu said he was willing to entrust his three years to Sendo, not a single third-year senpai objected.
They accepted it—completely.
And not just the third-years. Even the second-years and first-years were deeply moved by what Tetsu said afterward, even though it technically had nothing to do with them.
Then Sendo's last half-sentence wiped all of that emotion away in an instant.
"Give us back our feelings, you bastard!!!" the senpai shouted in unison.
"Let's go," Tetsu said with a smile as he looked at Sendo.
"Yes," Sendo replied shortly, softly.
"Hey! You scheming-glasses bastard! Your batting average today is terrible! Get it together already!"
Sendo immediately turned around and dropped a heavy punch on Miyuki's shoulder.
In truth, quite a few senpai with miserable batting averages felt a bit… called out too.
"Feeling much better," Sendo said, completely satisfied as he looked at Miyuki's awkward expression.
"Hey!" Miyuki protested, speechless that Sendo had just used him as a stress reliever.
....
"A fierce battle that has lasted eleven innings, the game still perfectly balanced! In the end, who will win? Inashiro Industrial, aiming for a historic back-to-back championship? Or Seidou High, chasing their return to Koshien after six long years? Top of the twelfth inning—Seidou High's offense! Leading off is the cleanup hitter, first baseman Yuki Tetsuya!"
🎵
"Men each have their own worlds!
If one must be compared—It would be that star streaking across the sky…! Hit it—Tetsuya! Hit it—Tetsuya! Tetsuya! Tetsuya! Tetsuya!"
🎵
Tetsu had already stepped into the batter's box.
Sendo said nothing, silently watching the impending showdown.
Only Coach Nakanishi and Sasaki noticed something strange.
The usually restless, constantly glancing-around Sendo was now crouched there like a wooden statue.
"So noisy… I'll shut them up right now," Narumiya Mei thought as Seidou's cheer song threatened to start a second verse.
"The seventh matchup between the ace and the cleanup hitter—who will have the last laugh this time?! Here we go!"
The emperor Narumiya, eyes filled with arrogance.
Tetsu, golden eyes shining.
"Fsh!"
"Whooo!"
Narumiya's arm whipped forward, slicing the air.
"Whoosh!"
"Boom!"
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
"First pitch—inside forkball! The batter swings and misses!"
"Alright!"
"Nice ball, Narumiya!"
"Great timing!"
"Leader!!!"
"Tetsu-san!"
"Captain!"
"Second pitch!"
"Fsh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
"Second pitch is an outside fastball—just misses!"
"You're seeing it well!"
"Vice-general!!!" Sawamura shouted yet another nickname.
"You can hit it!"
"He's scared already!"
"Keep attacking!"
"Narumiya!"
"Third pitch—outside slider, same path as the last fastball!"
"Whoosh!"
"Huh?"
"Ghh—ping!"
Tetsu held his breath and forced the ball into play!
"Foul!"
"Alright! He's cornered him!" Harada thought, energized.
"Alright! He's cornered him!"
"Finish him!"
"Tetsu-san!"
"Hit it, Tetsu!"
"Whoosh!"
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
"Fourth pitch—inside diagonal fastball! The batter stubbornly keeps up!"
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
"That one too—but Yuki is now forced to swing at balls! Just how nasty are Narumiya's pitches?!"
"Whoosh!"
"Forkball!!!"
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
"Whew!"
"That was close!"
"My heart can't take this…" Ota muttered.
"The ball's sharp," Harada said as he returned it to Narumiya.
"Pop!"
"Whew!"
Narumiya exhaled.
"You people don't understand anything about that place…That stage!"
"Next pitch—here! …Hm?"
Harada called for the usual pitch, but Narumiya shook his head.
"Seriously? You want to throw that here? Last time it got crushed!"
Harada stared hard at Narumiya.
"If I'm afraid of getting hit, I don't deserve to be called an ace. For Koshien! And besides, with my condition right now, it won't float again. To take down Tetsu—and the batters after him—Use this pitch. Break their spirits."
"…How selfish do you have to be to ask that?" Harada thought bitterly.
"But our basic pitches have all been figured out. We don't have a choice. One pitch decides it."
No mind-reading—just trust.
Harada met Narumiya's unwavering eyes, and the battery came to an agreement.
"Hehe."
Narumiya grinned when he saw Harada give in.
"The game's already over. My condition is insane right now—I feel like a god. Getting hit? I honestly can't even imagine it."
"The sign is set! Pitch seven!!!"
"Fsh!"
"Whooo!"
"Changeup!"
"That angle—!" Harada froze when he saw it.
"Hn!"
Just as Tetsu prepared to swing, a sharp pain ran through his body, forcing him to simply watch.
"Pop—thud!"
"Changeup—but the catcher misses it!"
"Ball!"
At the call, both Tetsu and Harada looked toward the mound—
At the stern figure standing there like an emperor.
Most of the stadium could only stare in shock.
A changeup, already slow by nature, so vicious that even the catcher mishandled it?
How nasty did it have to be?
By the time it reached the glove area, it was almost scraping the ground.
Most terrifying of all—
After crossing the plate, it dropped violently, breaking toward Tetsu's outside corner with spiral-like movement and sinker-level drop.
And the scariest part?
It missed the strike zone by just a hair.
Even from the side, it was terrifying.
Seidou's on-deck batters all swallowed hard.
If that goes in the zone… how do you even hit it?
Tetsu, usually expressionless, felt a cold sweat slide down his cheek.
He was grateful—no, relieved—that his lower back had twinged just now.
Otherwise, swinging blindly, he would have—no, definitely would have—missed.
The only one still expressionless was Sendo.
In truth, his fighting spirit had just been reignited even higher.
"Alright!!!"
"Nice ball!!!"
Inashiro's bench and cheering section exploded.
That pitch made victory feel within reach.
"See? How does a human fight a 'god'?" Narumiya thought, thrilled by his own condition.
He knew better than anyone—this level was fueled purely by an adrenaline-like mental state.
His stamina was at its limit, but as long as this heat lasted…
Even if his other pitches weren't peak-level—
This evolved changeup alone made him feel invincible.
Unbeatable.
How many innings could that noisy first-year last?
This inning, he would crush Seidou's morale.
And once their spirit broke, how much could their defense in the bottom half really hold?
"After I finish Tetsu…You're next, Sendo. Don't think you've beaten me already. I'll take back everything you took from me."
Narumiya glanced toward the on-deck circle.
His spirit surged even higher.
"Not yet! Not yet, not yet, not yet! Not yet! Not yet, not yet, not yet! The game's only just begun!!!"
Sawamura shouted at the top of his lungs.
He didn't know what else to say—so he just kept yelling that it wasn't over.
And that was enough.
Chop!
"Too close!"
Jun slammed him with a knife-hand strike.
"Your voice is too loud! Stop playing the hero, brat!" Kuramochi added with a kick.
"That won't do at all, Sawamura-kun!"
Only this guy could twist the atmosphere of the entire stadium with a single sentence.
"Hit it, Tetsu!"
"The game's only just begun!"
"Tetsu-san!"
🎵
"Men each have their own worlds!
If one must be compared—It would be that star streaking across the sky…! Hit it—Yuki! Hit it—Yuki!
Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!"
🎵
Even without accompaniment, the cheering section began singing the cheer song.
The brass band girls reacted a beat later—and joined in.
🎵
"Men each have their own worlds! If one must be compared— It would be that star streaking across the sky…! Hit it—Yuki! Hit it—Yuki! Yuki! Yuki! Yuki!"
🎵
In the end, it became a chorus—the bench, the cheering section, even Seidou's supporters in the stands all singing together.
They wanted to lend Tetsu courage with their voices.
Tetsu looked in turn at the bench, the cheering section, and the singing crowd in the stands.
And then—At the on-deck circle.
At the figure crouched there, seemingly cut off from the world, like a wooden statue.
Sendo.
"I get on base. You bring me home."
Tetsu remembered the words he had said to Sendo before stepping up.
He tightened his grip on the bat and reset his stance.
Tightening his grip didn't mean he was more nervous.
On the contrary—his shoulders relaxed even further.
"So you're not that easy to shake, huh?"
Narumiya Mei thought coldly as Seidou's singing grew louder.
"Then I'll crush you with pure ability."
"Whoosh!"
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
"Even after the changeup's speed difference, he can still catch up to the fastball?"
Harada glanced at Tetsu as he took a deep breath.
"As expected…"
"Another one! Finish him!"
"Nice call, Ya-san."
Narumiya thought with satisfaction.
Pitch nine.
"Vice-general!!!"
"Tetsu!!!"
"Fsh!"
"Whooo!"
"A—another changeup?!"
"Pop!"
This time, Harada caught it cleanly.
As expected of Narumiya's longtime partner.
Narumiya was clearly pleased.
"Ball!"
Even so, it was another ball.
In that instant, countless people exhaled at once.
Even Tetsu—he had nearly swung at the very end.
Barely keeping up with a fastball over 145 km/h, followed by that kind of changeup…
This pitch selection was outright insane.
Ota slumped onto the bench, looking like his soul had left his body.
If this went on any longer, he genuinely felt like he'd need an ambulance.
This is too intense…
Coach Kataoka and Chris were also holding their breath, sweat pouring down.
Everyone else was gasping for air, like they'd just escaped suffocation.
"Finish him in one go, Mei!"
"Keep it up!"
"Crush them all at once!"
"Inashiro!"
"Inashiro!"
"Inashiro!"
Inashiro's supporters began chanting in unison to overwhelm the stadium.
Even neutral spectators started to sway their way.
Some were Sendo's personal fans—but only when Sendo was involved.
As a result, it felt like the entire stadium was backing Inashiro.
The momentum had completely tilted toward Inashiro.
"We—will win!!!"
Sawamura shouted as if he were trying to fight the whole stadium by himself.
The kind you couldn't stop even if you tried.
But Tetsu—solid as bedrock—wasn't about to be shaken.
He had already wavered more than enough today.
There was nothing left that could shake him further.
"Continuous outside pitches and speed differentials…"
Harada's thoughts were crystal clear.
"He's already being pushed to the limit. Final pitch. Inside forkball."
After changeup, fastball, changeup—everything had been outside.
Just keeping up with the speed difference was already brutal.
Finishing with the inside…
Even a fastball felt risky—this was rock-solid pitching.
"A little high is fine. Make him think it's an inside fastball. Even if he barely gets to it, the drop will finish him."
"Ya-san… you're really thinking this through."
Narumiya felt it deeply.
"This team is the strongest. Let's go together—to Koshien. And after that, let's see the top of Japan together."
"Fsh!"
"It ends here!!!"
Narumiya roared inside his heart.
"Whoosh!"
"Alright! His form's completely broken! He can't generate power from that position. Even if he makes contact, it won't go far! We've won!"
Harada thought.
Tetsu grit his teeth.
But the moment the ball dropped, despair flickered through him.
"Ping!"
With sheer willpower, Tetsu sent a grounder toward third base.
Straight at the third baseman.
"Got him!—Cleanup hitter!"
"Thud! Thud! Pop!"
Yoshizawa was ready—he positioned himself to field the bounce cleanly the instant it rose—
But the ball took an irregular hop.
Not a reverse bounce—but an extremely low one.
It clipped the base.
Then on the second hop, it struck Yoshizawa's glove and rolled out of it.
If the ball hits the glove or the base and stays fair, it's still a live ball—not a foul.
"Pop!"
Yoshizawa reacted quickly—
But Tetsu still made it safely to first.
At the very last moment—
The goddess of fortune finally smiled, just a little, on Seidou High.
-----------------------
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Shu_21