Chapter 272: The Unfathomable Furuya!
"Wow, that was amazing!"
"Captain Yuuki really is incredible!!"
"That hit was absolutely professional level..."
The die-hard Seidou fans in the stands showered praise without holding back.
Back in the dugout after scoring, Kuramochi looked pleased at first, but soon pouted a little.
The boy felt a tinge of disappointment.
"Don't pull that pathetic face. Your performance was good enough," Kominato Ryousuke said with a smile, easily reading Kuramochi's thoughts.
"Really? I thought so too!"
Kuramochi was easy to cheer up. With just that small encouragement, he immediately returned to his energetic self.
Seeing this, the other teammates couldn't help but shake their heads.
When it came to their leadoff hitter, they were often at a loss for words — but one thing was certain:
After watching his hitting and baserunning just now, it was clear that Kuramochi's skills had climbed to a new level.
While it wasn't exactly rare for Seidou players to level up during major tournaments — many of them had shown noticeable growth — it was still a joy to see an important player like Kuramochi taking another step forward.
Especially considering their ace, Furuya, who seemed to evolve on a daily basis.
Even so, Kuramochi's improvement was something to genuinely celebrate.
"Remember the mindset you had out there, and keep it up!"
Even Coach Kataoka praised him highly.
Kuramochi blushed bright red from excitement.
The fans in the stands might not have recognized it, most of them thinking 80% of the credit for the run went to Yuuki's hit —
But those within the team knew better: Kuramochi's contribution was just as crucial.
The Seidou players and coaching staff were fully aware of that.
"Kuramochi-senpai has this side to him too?"
Sawamura watched in a bit of a daze.
But the rookie quickly understood.
Even though Kuramochi often acted all high-and-mighty toward him, he was still just a sixteen-year-old boy at heart.
It was natural for him to get overjoyed after a good performance and praise from his teammates and coach.
"Getting the first run on the board is a huge relief," Miyuki said, grinning.
Today's opponent was proving much tougher than expected.
With that in mind, taking the lead early would allow Seidou to play much more confidently moving forward.
"Still, just one run feels a little light. It'd be better if we could tack on another run or two."
"I don't think it'll be that easy. Their pitcher's ball has a really unusual spin. Without someone like Tetsuya's batting skills, it'll be hard to hit cleanly,"
Chris commented calmly.
Whether as a player or as the team's manager, Chris's insights were always sharp.
Chris had always been the calm, analytical type.
In his view, while players could work hard to improve their skills, the numbers never lied.
From his objective standpoint, apart from Seidou's captain Yuuki, none of their other batters were likely to figure out Saint Dorf's pitcher easily, at least not in a short time.
That's exactly why getting an early run on the board felt like such a huge advantage.
It could very well be the key to today's game.
"What a shame..."
Although the teammates said this, their eyes never left the batter's box.
"Fifth batter, No.1, Outfielder — Furuya-kun!"
Starting pitcher Furuya was also their fifth batter in the lineup.
The moment he stepped into the batter's box, the stadium erupted into thunderous applause and cheers.
"Furuya!!"
"Furuya!!!"
"Come on, hit it out of the park!!"
"Show us your monster home run!"
"Bring in another run!!"
The intensity of the cheers left Furuya's parents and grandfather utterly stunned.
They looked around in disbelief at the thousands of fans who had completely lost themselves in excitement.
"Dear... are they really cheering for Satoru?"
Furuya's mother asked, her voice trembling.
"I think so..."
His father answered, glancing around in awe.
He had always known their son was good at baseball, but because they lived far apart, he'd only seen Furuya's games back in middle school.
After Furuya moved to Tokyo for high school, it became almost impossible for his father to watch him play.
In his mind, Furuya probably had a small group of fans — nothing too crazy.
But now, standing inside Koshien Stadium, hearing tens of thousands of people shouting his son's name…
As a father, he couldn't help but feel a surge of pride.
"This kid… he's always been stubborn about chasing his dreams. Looks like listening to him was the right choice after all. Maybe he really will become a baseball star someday."
Furuya's mother nodded in agreement.
Before, when she read the media articles about Furuya, she thought the reporters were exaggerating.
Sure, their son was good, but there was no way he was that good, right?
Now, seeing the scene with her own eyes, she realized how wrong she'd been.
The reporters hadn't exaggerated at all — if anything, they had understated it.
Their beloved Furuya was even more amazing than the newspapers said.
"Settle down and focus on the game. Don't distract the boy," Furuya's grandfather said sternly.
Hearing the old man speak, the parents finally managed to calm themselves.
While Furuya's family composed themselves, things were quite the opposite in Saint Dorf's dugout.
Mitsuki frowned deeply.
"Is his popularity really that insane?"
When Yuuki had managed to hit Jack's pitch earlier, it had already left Mitsuki extremely surprised.
Jack might act laid-back and unreliable most of the time, but his signature pitch was truly powerful.
The strange spin he put on the ball made it extremely hard for batters to hit it far.
Yet, Seidou's cleanup hitter had smashed it with overwhelming force.
Now this Furuya kid — he didn't look like someone easy to deal with either.
Should we avoid a direct confrontation with him?
The thought flashed through Mitsuki's mind but was quickly dismissed.
The game had only just started.
If they resorted to intentional walks or evasive tactics this early, even if it worked, it would leave a bad impression on both the players and the fans.
It could shake their team's morale and affect future performance.
No — no matter how impressive he's looked so far, he's still just a first-year rookie.
If we face him head-on, it's not like we're guaranteed to lose.
With that in mind, Mitsuki decided against signaling any special instructions.
Not far from Mitsuki, the Saint Dorf team manager, Aoi Shingetsu, had also been drawn to the overwhelming cheers from the stands.
She couldn't help but glance at Furuya.
Even without stepping onto the mound, he's managed to gather such an incredible following?
"We should have scouted him earlier and brought him onto our team instead," Shingetsu said casually.
Someone with this level of popularity, combined with monstrous strength — and that terrifying fastball — could easily have been marketed into a national treasure.
"We did have a scouting report on him," the team's coach, who was acting as a secretary with a notebook in hand, replied calmly.
"But back then, he wasn't well-known, and his pitch velocity wasn't nearly what it is now..."
Shingetsu sighed.
"Well, it's a shame. But I can't complain — our current roster is still excellent. Especially our pitcher."
There were no special signals from the dugout.
On the mound, the tall black pitcher Jack flashed his gleaming white teeth in a broad grin.
He hated being restricted. But for various reasons, he had to obey his manager's orders.
As long as Mitsuki didn't send any signs, he could pitch however he wanted — free and wild.
"I am the Eagle of Africa. Let's see you handle this!"
Jack gripped the baseball tightly with two fingers.
As he shifted his weight forward, his arm snapped through the motion.
Whoosh!
The ball launched from his hand like a bullet, rocketing toward Furuya.
Many people in the stands thought Furuya would hold back.
He wasn't the type to swing aggressively at the first pitch; usually, he would take a pitch or two to observe.
But this time, Furuya broke from his usual habits.
The moment he saw the ball coming, he gripped the bat firmly — and swung without hesitation.
Ping!
The white baseball made contact with the bat — but it barely traveled three meters before bouncing off the ground.
Then everyone watched as the ball quickly rolled foul.
"Foul ball!"
It was an incredibly close call.
Given how little distance the ball traveled, if it hadn't rolled foul, Furuya would've definitely been thrown out.
"Tch, lucky punk," Jack muttered in frustration from the mound.
In Seidou's dugout, the players collectively let out a breath of relief.
Even though they had somewhat anticipated this outcome, witnessing it firsthand still left a bitter taste.
After all, this was Furuya!
If it had been any other batter, maybe they could have accepted it.
But seeing Furuya get pushed into a corner like that — it was tough to swallow.
"With that kind of strange spin, unless you have time to adjust, it's almost impossible to make solid contact," Chris calmly analyzed.
They had suspected as much beforehand.
But now that it was happening right in front of them, it hit home with the weight of a heavy stone.
"Saint Dorf really isn't simple."
If even Furuya couldn't connect properly, the rest of the lineup would surely struggle even more.
While the Seidou bench grew increasingly tense,
Furuya took a deep breath at the plate.
He had overheard the earlier discussions in the dugout —
about Jack's pitching style, and how he used his long arms and height to generate heavy spin, creating the illusion of a falling ball despite throwing it like a fastball.
It wasn't exactly a true breaking ball, but it had a deceptive downward trajectory —
almost like a knuckleball or a "falling leaf" shot in soccer.
This wasn't something easy to hit, even if you could see it coming.
Jack had combined his physical attributes into a unique weapon — much like how Sawamura relied on his quirky pitches.
They were different in style, but the idea was the same: both had carved out a place for themselves by maximizing their unique strengths.
If Seidou wanted to beat this Jack, there were only two options:
One — like Yuuki had done earlier — swing fast and hard enough to simply blast the ball, no matter how it moved.
But aside from Yuuki, no one else on the team had that kind of explosive swing speed and power.
Furuya realized he couldn't pull that off.
"No choice, then."
He didn't like it, but he had to adapt.
He raised his bat high over his shoulder, his gaze sharp yet strangely blank.
He focused every fiber of his being on the pitcher's mound, clearing his mind completely, trusting his body to react on instinct.
"Come on!"
Jack, seeing Furuya's stance, gave a disdainful sneer.
"Given up already? Pathetic."
Facing an opponent who seemed to have surrendered, Jack didn't hold back.
He gripped the ball tightly and unleashed a full-powered fastball.
"You're out of here!"
Whoosh!
The white ball shot toward Furuya like a bullet.
In the Seidou dugout, the players could hardly bear to watch.
Even though they were mentally prepared, everyone still hoped for a miracle — especially after Yuuki had just made it to second base.
Scoring another run would have been huge.
Just when despair was setting in—
Furuya moved again.
Despite his rough first swing, his second attempt was crisp and decisive.
In Saint Dorf's dugout, Mitsuki smirked confidently.
"You're not your cleanup hitter. You're not strong enough to hit that pitch."
He was absolutely sure of it.
Boom!
Furuya swung with everything he had, meeting the ball right as it entered the strike zone.
Ping!
The ball soared high into the air.
Mitsuki's smirk didn't fade.
He had seen this scene countless times before — batters hitting it high but shallow, easy outs for the defense.
The usual result against Jack's pitches was either a grounder or a weak pop-up.
And this time, without a doubt, it looked like a pop-up.
The ball would surely drop after flying 30 to 40 meters — or so everyone thought.
10 meters.
20 meters.
40 meters!!
...And still, the ball kept climbing.
Watching the ball sail past the infield, the previously smug Mitsuki's eyes widened in disbelief.
Why?
Why isn't it dropping?!
-----------------
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Shu_21