Chapter 108: [108] The Fierce Showdown with Yakushi
Chapter 108: The Fierce Showdown with Yakushi
"Whoosh"
"Bang"
"Crack"
"Out of bounds!!!"
"With the first pitch, it's already an aggressive inside attack. Yakushi's pitcher, Shunpei Sanada, seems to be declaring his stance with this pitch, showing that his momentum is absolutely not inferior to his opponent's!!!"
The ball is heavy and carries a lot of force.
Eijun grinned, gripping the bat tightly with both hands. He slightly loosened his grip, then tightened it again.
No wonder in the original story, it could break Haruichi's wooden bat.
Without substantial power, that wouldn't be possible. Also, the pitch speed is clearly over 140 KM/H. Just the fastball is this troublesome, let alone the cutter and the shuuto.
Watanabe's fingers moved slightly.
Sanada nodded gently.
"Second pitch!!!"
"Whoosh"
A dazzling white light streaked through the air, a sharp presence approaching swiftly.
In the batter's box, for a moment, Eijun's breath caught. The white light coming into his line of sight arrived in a blink.
Fastball?
No, this pitch is!!!
Eijun's pupils contracted sharply as the ball entered the strike zone before he could react.
"Clap"
"Strike!!!!!"
Damn, I'm cornered, Eijun thought, his eyes flashing with a mix of surprise and anger.
A shuuto, on the second pitch!?
Eijun gritted his teeth.
Alright, I've been cornered.
Next, the third pitch, an outside fastball. Sanada, throw it slightly off. The inside pitch left such a strong impression on him, so there will naturally be a slight stiffness on the outside one.
Ah, I understand.
A solemn expression appeared on Sanada's face. He raised his left leg high and swung his arm forcefully.
At that moment.
"Whoosh"
The third streak of light shot out rapidly!!!
Outside!!!
Relying on feeling, matched with his slightly blurred vision, Eijun made a rough judgment on the ball's trajectory, a resolute glint appearing in his eyes.
Eijun couldn't determine if this pitch was going to be in the strike zone.
It was too subtle.
Already cornered, he must swing at this one.
Spreading his stance as wide as possible, he tightly gripped the bat, squeezed it, and rotated his lower body to add power to his swing, at least trying to push for a foul ball!!!
"Swish"
The bat swung, the white light sped forth.
"Bang!!!!"
A sharp sound echoed.
As the ball hit the bat, Eijun's expression changed.
This feeling, this angle—it probably won't fly far.
"Whoosh"
As Eijun expected, the ball flew backward and struck hard along the edge of the third base line.
It rolled along the boundary line.
Eijun quickly tossed the bat aside; even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, he had to give it a shot.
Eijun sprinted toward first base.
However, this was ultimately just a gamble on luck—the odds were overwhelmingly slim.
Admittedly, Raichi Todoroki was quite abysmal on defense this summer, but when it came to handling ground balls, he was barely adequate.
He picked up the ball and threw it with a violent flick.
It was an all-out throw.
Fortunately, first baseman Mishima was very familiar with his teammate.
He leaped and caught the ball securely, even though Raichi's exaggerated throwing stance wasted a bit of time.
Eijun had only managed to get two-thirds down the baseline.
Landing on the base, Mishima solidly stepped on it.
"Out!!!"
A force-out at first base, and Eijun was unsurprisingly out.
"High outside pitch, should have been a ball; it wasn't right to swing..."
A tinge of regret surfaced within Eijun, but there was nothing he could do about it. After all, only after making contact did he realize the precise location of the pitch.
Previously, being cornered, he had no choice but to take a risk.
Swinging gave him a slim chance; not swinging meant sitting passively on the sidelines.
"Ninth batter, right fielder, Shirasu-kun."
"Shirasu-senpai, the inside pitches are a bit more inside than you'd expect," Eijun whispered as he passed by him.
"Got it," replied Shirasu with a nod, in a similarly low voice.
Shirasu's solid hitting style posed quite a problem for Sanada.
Shirasu, being naturally cautious, rarely made risky swings without instructions from the bench. Essentially, he was a steady and reliable hitter.
Without much confidence, he seldom took risks.
Fighting off pitches as fouls, he focused intently on the outside pitches, causing Sanada some discomfort.
Ultimately, Sanada managed to get Shirasu out with a cutter.
And then came Kuramochi's third time at bat in the game.
He had performed well before, but in his first encounter with Sanada, he gained not a single advantage. The aggressive pitching gave him no leeway whatsoever.
This left Kuramochi somewhat taken aback.
Three-pitch strikeout.
After returning to the bench, Kuramochi's expression was as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"He's seriously intense, isn't he?" Miyuki said with a smile, noticing Sanada walking off the field while putting on his catcher's gear.
"Maybe..." Eijun replied with a faint smile.
"Get ready, Sawamura," said Miyuki in a serious tone as he approached Eijun.
Raichi, the core of Yakushi and their biggest monster hitter, loomed ahead.
"Yes, I'm ready," Eijun said with a resolute and severe expression.
Though unsure if he could truly shut down Raichi in a one-on-one showdown, he was determined to give it everything he had.
"Looking forward to seeing what you can do," Miyuki smiled softly.
Their gloves met in tacit understanding between pitcher and catcher.
"Sawamura, make sure you do well this inning!" shouted Isashiki, urging on Sawamura, "Show those guys what you're made of!"
"Don't rush it, pitch carefully."
"Sawamura! You've got this!"
"Seidou, Seidou, Seidou!!!"
"Top of the fifth inning, Yakushi High School's attack, batting first, third baseman, Todoroki-kun!"
"Todoroki!!"
As his name suggested, in the tournament against Ichidaisan, he hit two home runs, emerging as a monstrous genius hitter.
In this game as well, he started with a home run and a double.
He stepped out of the dugout and onto the batter's box, carrying an imposing aura and a metal bat, even as just a first-year, radiating pressure.
"Go, Todoroki!!!"
"Raichi, show them what a true swing looks like."
"Let this first-year feel the terror of your bat."
"Knock it out, Raichi!!!!"
His imposing figure, wild aura, and a grimace slightly marred by scars, his eyes seemed to glint ominously.
Eijun took a deep breath.
The real formidable enemy had arrived!!!
---------------
If you want to read 10 advance chapters ahead.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Leonzky
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone