Chapter 568: The Majestic Presence of the Seniors
"Fifth batter, right fielder, Shirasu."
"!!"
"First pitch, outside fastball. Tanba, don't worry too much about the corners—just throw it straight through!"
"Got it!"
Quick attacks aren't just your specialty!
On the field—
Just as Shirasu took his stance in the batter's box,
Chris-senpai decisively gave the signal.
"Whoosh!"
As Tanba swung his arm, his left leg drove forward powerfully.
From the mound, Tanba whipped his arm with full force.
A spark snapped from his fingertips.
In the next instant, the ball shot forward—
A sharp aura filled the entire field, the white streak racing toward Shirasu at home plate.
The light flashing into his eyes, Shirasu didn't flinch.
He tightened his grip, his arms locking.
Step!
He planted his foot hard, swinging the metal bat with all his strength.
As the ball cut a shining line through the air, the bat came crashing down to meet it.
Clang!
The sharp crack of contact rang out.
The ball shot backward, lifted by Shirasu's full-powered swing.
As it soared, Captain Tetsuya dashed toward its landing point at first base.
Thud!
But the ball didn't fall inside the line—it landed foul, just outside.
"Foul ball!!"
A first-pitch swing, overpowered by ball speed and sent foul.
So, he was targeting the fastball after all?
Behind the plate, Chris's brows arched slightly. In summer, Tanba's breaking pitches were excellent, but his fastball had always been a weak point—speed without weight, lacking bite. Everyone knew it.
It made sense for the current team to hunt fastballs.
But—that was the Tanba of summer.
This Tanba was different.
"Second pitch, still an outside fastball. This time keep it low—even outside the strike zone is fine. The point is to set the rhythm."
Chris's fingers signaled under his leg.
On the mound, Tanba trusted him completely.
After all, this was the catcher he had most wanted to partner with since entering Seidou two and a half years ago.
"Fwoosh!"
"Whish!"
Pop!
"Strike!!"
Precise control—a delicate edge ball.
Shirashu was forced to swing.
Strike count gained.
Two pitches, and already he was pressed.
From there, Chris completely dictated the pace.
"Whoosh!"
Clang!
Thud!
"Foul!!"
A third pitch, inside, just off the plate, lured Shirasu into another swing.
By now, the image of Tanba's fastball was carved into his mind.
"Shoom!"
Then came the killing blow.
A fourth pitch—outside forkball.
Its path mimicked a fastball until the last instant.
Shirasu barely swung on instinct, but it was hopeless.
Pop!
Chris caught it cleanly in his mitt.
"Batter out!!"
A clean, decisive strikeout.
Sharp mechanics.
Varied pitch sequences.
The Tanba–Chris battery radiated overwhelming pressure, and the first- and second-years felt it pressing down on them.
Ping!
After Shirasu, Maezono—recently adjusted under Ochiai's coaching—managed to catch a fastball's trajectory. With a well-timed pull, he drove the inside high pitch into right field, reaching first base safely.
But that was as far as it went.
Seventh batter Kanemaru was next, and as expected, he still only excelled against fastballs. Chris saw through him instantly—using the heater as bait, then finishing him with a curve. Kanemaru couldn't resist at all.
Even with Maezono showing an aggressive lead-off at first, it didn't matter.
Not with Captain Tetsuya on first base.
Not with Ryousuke "the smiling demon" waiting nearby.
There was simply no chance for a steal.
No way to shake Tanba's rhythm.
"Shoom!"
Pop!
"Strike three! Batter out! Three outs—switch!"
In the bottom of the second, the Seidou underclassmen's offense was once again swept aside by the seniors like autumn leaves in the wind.
The weight of the upperclassmen's dominance was undeniable.
In the dugout, the first- and second-years' faces grew more grim.
"They're not giving us a single chance… Chris-senpai and Tanba-senpai are in incredible form," Kuramochi muttered, shaking his head.
"Well, it is Chris-senpai after all," Miyuki replied casually as he removed his gear.
"Their defense is airtight too. Even three months away from real games, the third-years are as sharp as ever," Maezono added, a note of awe in his voice.
"Yeah," came the heavy agreement.
Standing to the side, Haruichi, Tojo, and Shirasu all nodded with grim expressions.
Trying to score a hit—let alone runs—against seniors of this caliber was proving to be an almost impossible task. And today, with Tanba-senpai in peak condition, even the flaw in his fastball from summer had been vastly improved.
For the underclassmen, stepping up to swing felt like stepping into a trap.
Adding to that, the run scored back in the first inning meant that the seniors now completely held the reins of the game. The tempo, the rhythm—everything was being dictated by them.
And in the top of the third, the upperclassmen launched another wave of attacks.
It was their second time through the lineup.
Once again, they relentlessly targeted Furuya's slight tendency to let his pitches drift a little high.
Even with Miyuki pushing himself to the limit—drawing out every ounce of Furuya's potential, forcing a fast-tempo, power-based assault to cover up the high-ball weakness—it wasn't enough. Not against a lineup with this much top-tier firepower.
Kusunoki-senpai, lacking the same raw strength as his peers, went down swinging for a strikeout.
But the next batter, Ryousuke-senpai, was a completely different story.
His hitting technique, refined to the very peak of high school baseball, could only be described as art.
Every swing, every adjustment—like a relentless, sticky piece of gum, he simply refused to let go.
Not even Miyuki could shake him off.
And in the end—
Whizz!
Pop!
"Ball four, walk!!"
Ryousuke drew the walk. With one out, he advanced safely to first base.
And now, in this dangerous situation, Furuya had to face the cleanup hitter once again.
"Third batter, center fielder—Isashiki!!"
The power-hitting, strong-armed watchdog stepped into the box.
This time, there would be no easy way out for Furuya.
Isashiki's sharp ability to shoot the ball to the right side, coupled with the kind of power that could challenge even Furuya's velocity (though in terms of pure brute force, only Masuko-senpai rivaled him), made this matchup a nightmare.
Furuya now stood on the mound, visibly struggling under the weight of the challenge.
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