Chapter 225: Velocity Unleashed!
After Ryousuke said those words, he closed his mouth.
It seemed he was ready to accept whatever outcome followed. But his teammates on the Seidou High baseball team knew how reluctant he was to step down. The team was undeniably reliant on him at this moment. Their expressions were filled with inner turmoil.
Coach Kataoka was also hesitating. Making a substitution at this stage risked triggering a chain reaction. The opponent, Inashiro Industrial, who they were on the verge of overwhelming, might suddenly see this as their chance.
For players at their age, mindset often decided many things.
While everyone remained silent, Furuya once again stepped forward. This time, he didn't say anything to the coach or to his teammates. Instead, he walked straight up to Ryousuke.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Furuya's earlier words had already been blunt. The third-year seniors on Seidou's team were clearly worried he might go too far.
Yet, despite his teammates' protective gestures, Ryousuke didn't accept their concern. He pushed past them and faced Furuya directly.
"I'm fine. I can keep playing!"
Ryousuke no longer wore his usual gentle smile. He spoke with utter seriousness.
Furuya nodded at the determined senior in front of him. He had never doubted this. If Ryousuke stayed in the game, he would give his all, even if it cost him his future baseball career.
"I understand how you feel, and I respect your decision. But I need you to know that this isn't our last game. We still need your strength in the matches ahead!"
Furuya's words caused the seniors who had tried to intervene to back off. They realized their ace's impassioned plea was just as convincing as any speech from their coach.
"Please trust your teammates. They'll do just fine. We still need you when we reach the Koshien tournament!"
As Kataoka looked into Furuya's determined eyes, he saw a reflection of his younger self. At the same time, he made up his mind.
Ryousuke's eyes grew misty. The thought of stepping away from this final game filled him with intense reluctance.
"Trust me. I promise. And please, give your brother a chance. That kid is strong too!" Furuya continued.
"Fine… if that's the case."
Hearing that his brother would take his place, Ryousuke sat down quietly.
Ota quickly stepped in to examine him. That's when he noticed that Ryousuke's foot was already swollen.
"You reckless boy!"
Ota rarely scolded players. But this time, he couldn't keep his emotions in check.
"If you're not careful, you could completely ruin your career…"
Ota's voice trailed off, as everyone's attention turned to Haruichi.
Compared to his cheerful brother, Haruichi looked quite shy.
"Are you ready?" Coach Kataoka asked.
"Always ready!" Haruichi replied earnestly.
He sounded just like an eager first grader answering a teacher's question.
The teammates couldn't help but smile.
They knew that aside from their similar statures, the two brothers were entirely different.
Their personalities and even their playing styles were distinct.
However, if Ryousuke's departure was inevitable, then Haruichi seemed the most suitable to step in.
"Get ready to bat. It's our turn at the plate!"
In the top of the second inning, Seidou High's offense took over.
The substitution went smoothly, without any disruptions.
On the mound, Narumiya Mei had no idea that Lady Luck was already smiling on his team.
Faced with the menacing aura of Furuya, he gave it his all.
The white baseball sliced through the strike zone with a resounding whoosh.
Seidou High's batters could do nothing but watch helplessly as the ball streaked past.
Even if they had swung blindly, struggling desperately, the result wouldn't have changed.
Pop!
"Strike!"
Harada, crouched behind the plate, couldn't hide his surprise. The feeling in his glove told him that this pitch was even faster than the ones before.
And sure enough, the numbers didn't lie.
The massive electronic scoreboard displayed it clearly:
150 kilometers per hour!
The die-hard supporters in Inashiro Industrial's stands erupted with excitement. Even the players on their bench wore expressions of exhilaration.
Just moments ago, watching Furuya unleash his lightning-fast pitches had filled them with despair. Could they really stand toe-to-toe with such a monstrous pitcher?
But now, for the first time, Inashiro's players and fans felt a surge of pride.
Their ace, too, had joined the ranks of the 150-kilometer-per-hour elite. It wasn't just the other side's trump card—Inashiro had a monster pitcher of their own.
Their confidence soared. "Big deal! Who doesn't have an ace who can throw 150 km/h?"
Harada, still crouched behind the plate, caught on to the shift in morale. His battery mate, who had previously only reached that speed occasionally, now seemed able to deliver it at will.
What did this mean? It meant that Narumiya Mei was rapidly improving. Even his pitch speed was rising.
"That's our Narumiya," Harada thought with pride. Though he was the senior and team leader, he had to admit that his younger counterpart often left him astonished.
And Narumiya Mei never stopped delivering surprises.
"This is a perfect opportunity. Make it count! Give me your best pitch!"
With Harada's signal in mind, Narumiya Mei seemed to unleash untapped potential.
Another fastball blazed through the zone. The scoreboard displayed 150.5 kilometers per hour. It wasn't much faster than the last pitch, but it still edged higher.
Once again, the batter swung and missed.
In Seidou's dugout, the team sat in silence, their expressions grim. They understood better than anyone what this meant. Two consecutive pitches over 150 km/h—this wasn't a fluke anymore.
The pitcher known as Tokyo's Prince had become even more formidable.
"His pitching is straight-up cheating!" one Seidou player muttered, voicing what everyone else was thinking.
Even now, Narumiya Mei's pitch speed still couldn't quite match that of Furuya.
There was nearly an 8 km/h difference between their fastest pitches, and more than a 5 km/h gap in average velocity. By that measure alone, the two pitchers were separated by at least one or two levels.
However, that didn't mean the Tokyo Prince's pitches were easy to handle. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
Over in Seidou High's dugout, the players' faces were grim.
"Speeds exceeding 150, coupled with pinpoint control on par with top-level pitchers, plus sharp breaking balls and a devastating changeup as a finishing pitch…"
Even on paper, Narumiya Mei's pitching profile was enough to give anyone a headache.
When comparing Narumiya to their ace, the two were essentially neck and neck. While Furuya's progress had been astonishing, Narumiya's improvement wasn't far behind.
When Furuya first joined Seidou, the gap between them was widest—Narumiya clearly had the upper hand. But by the time of the Kanto Tournament, Furuya had caught up, and some even believed he had surpassed Narumiya at that point.
Logically, considering Furuya's rapid growth, the gap between them should have continued to widen. But the reality turned out differently.
Two months had passed since the Kanto Tournament finals, and the gap had closed once again.
"That's scary," someone said.
"What else can you expect from the ace of Inashiro Industrial High?" others murmured in the stands.
Seidou's players wore somber expressions. From their perspective, Narumiya's rate of improvement was nothing short of alarming.
"Strike!"
"Strikeout!"
The Seidou batters tried their hardest. But even so, they had no answer for Narumiya's pitches.
No matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn't get their bats on the ball.
When they returned to the dugout, their faces showed how rattled they were.
"Don't worry, I've got this!"
Once again, Furuya stepped forward at the crucial moment.
All eyes turned to him, and Seidou's players quickly gathered their thoughts.
Just moments ago, they had nearly been swayed by the opposition's momentum.
Fortunately, they snapped out of it.
The score was tied at 1-1.
At worst, Seidou was even with their opponent.
Even if they fell behind temporarily, it wouldn't be a devastating blow.
When it came to overall team strength, Seidou's players were confident they held the advantage.
The game moved to the bottom of the second inning with Inashiro Industrial coming to bat.
Buoyed by their ace's brilliant performance, Inashiro's momentum seemed unstoppable—even against Furuya.
The players from Inashiro Industrial High stepped up to the plate with an air of bold ambition.
Their confidence was palpable, as if each one believed the next moment would bring a crushing hit.
From his position behind the plate, Miyuki furrowed his brow.
Inashiro wasn't Yakushi.
If Inashiro's players weren't intentionally targeting Furuya, there was no reason for them to look this eager.
"Stay sharp. Don't let your guard down," Miyuki cautioned, unable to pinpoint what exactly the opposing batters were planning.
Furuya gave a small nod. He couldn't spot any clues himself, but he trusted Miyuki's judgment.
Besides, given the current situation, he knew he had to rely on his powerful pitching to lead the team.
Leg lifted, stride extended…
As his weight shifted forward, the ball ripped from his hand.
Boom!
Sure, Narumiya's pitches clocking in at over 150 km/h were impressive—terrifying, even.
But compared to Furuya's pitches, the difference was clear to any observer.
Furuya's throws were faster, sharper, and more overwhelming.
The Inashiro batter had psyched himself up, steeling his nerves in anticipation of Furuya's fearsome velocity.
But when the ball actually screamed toward him, he was left stunned.
"It's so fast! How can it be this fast?"
Even though the sixth batter had braced himself and done all the mental preparation he could, standing in the box against Furuya's pitch was a different story entirely.
He quickly realized that his prior preparation had been laughable—completely ineffective against the reality of Furuya's power.
The opponent was just too strong. Overwhelmingly so.
Before he could process it, the ball blazed past and slammed into Miyuki's mitt.
Pop!
"Strike!"
Inashiro's dugout fell silent.
The players knew that their original plan was no longer viable.
Their opponent's strength far exceeded their expectations—not just by a little, but by a wide margin.
"That pitch was right down the middle."
"And Yamaoka didn't even react?"
Inashiro's roster was stacked with top-tier talent. Even their sixth batter, a standout player of monstrous ability within their team, was left powerless.
It was as though he had been completely shut down—unable even to swing his bat.
This stark dominance left Inashiro's players shaken.
"Strike!"
"Strike three!"
"Strike three!"
"Strike three!"
Three consecutive outs—all pitches exceeding 150 km/h.
In fact, three of them surpassed 155 km/h.
Even with Narumiya's significant speed boost, he still fell noticeably short compared to Furuya.
The two sides continued this intense back-and-forth until the end of the fourth inning, with the score still locked at 1–1.
Both teams' aces had displayed jaw-dropping performances.
And just as Inashiro's players and fans began to wonder how long this deadlock would last, Coach Kunimoto cracked his neck and spoke up.
"Perfect! Our chance has arrived!"
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