Chapter 243: Furuya's New Record!
Facing Furuya's pitching, Inashiro Industrial High School's eighth batter looked completely clueless.
He just stood there, eyes wide open, watching the ball fly past without any reaction.
Until he was finally struck out.
Immediately, murmurs rose from the stands.
"What's wrong with Inashiro's batter?"
"Is he some kind of idiot? He didn't even swing..."
Not only ordinary fans but even the beautiful reporter from Baseball Kingdom Magazine had the exact same question.
"Could it be that he's just scared?"
Furuya's pitches easily exceeded 150 km/h.
Inashiro's players were clearly trying to wear down his stamina...
And Furuya obviously knew it.
But he didn't seem to care at all; he continued throwing exactly as he had from the beginning.
There was no sign at all that his stamina was faltering.
His dominant performance was starting to plant doubts in the hearts of Inashiro's players.
Could they really wait until this monster freshman finally ran out of energy?
Looking at the current situation, that seemed highly unlikely.
For Inashiro Industrial, this realization was undoubtedly a huge blow.
Yet, under these circumstances, Inashiro's eighth batter never even took a swing until the very end?
How could Akiko not suspect he'd simply been frightened?
Beside the beautiful reporter, Fujio gently pressed down his cap and shook his head confidently.
"No, that's not the case. Inashiro's eighth batter already did the best he possibly could. He simply can't hit a pitch that's faster than 150 km/h. Under these circumstances, his role naturally changed. His goal wasn't to hit the ball but to exhaust Furuya further. Take the third pitch, for example: even if he'd swung, he still wouldn't have connected. So not swinging was actually the smarter choice. After all, if the last pitch ended up being a ball, he would've forced Furuya to throw one extra pitch."
"Huh?"
Akiko's eyes widened in astonishment.
Were Inashiro's players really this cunning?
Even a seemingly ordinary pitch could be turned into a strategic battle.
Seeing the confusion on the beautiful reporter's face, Fujio shook his head again.
"High school baseball isn't just a contest of skill and courage. Strategy and mental strength are just as crucial."
Fujio's words were like opening a door to a new world for the reporter.
She hadn't realized that these teenagers' baseball matches were so deep and nuanced.
The battle on the field continued.
Inashiro Industrial High School's ninth batter stepped up to the plate.
Suddenly, someone in the stands raised a question.
"Counting that strikeout just now, how many strikeouts has Furuya gotten in today's game?"
If nobody had mentioned it, it would've gone unnoticed. But now that someone had asked, everyone involuntarily frowned.
Because Furuya's pitching style was always this dominant—
Using his terrifying pitch speed to crush opponents.
For him, striking batters out on the mound was as routine as breathing.
He'd already collected numerous strikeouts in previous games.
But since it was so common to see, everyone subconsciously ignored exactly how many strikeouts he had accumulated.
"Before today, Furuya always pitched just a few innings. Plus, Seidou High's strength often allowed them to finish games early! Even though his performances were incredible, his total strikeout count wasn't very high."
Once this topic was brought up, the stands quickly grew lively.
"In today's game, Sawamura came on midway and secured five outs. But all the other outs were taken by Furuya!"
"Which means, he already has a total of thirteen strikeouts!"
Thirteen strikeouts already?
Even Seidou High's most hardcore supporters were stunned, eyes wide open in disbelief at that number.
And the game wasn't even over yet!
There were still one and a half innings left.
Excluding any possible extra innings, there were still five outs remaining in regulation.
"With Furuya's current momentum, all five remaining outs could potentially be strikeouts!"
"That's eighteen strikeouts in total!"
"Forget about summer tournament history—looking at the entire history of high school baseball, no pitcher has ever achieved that many strikeouts in a single game!"
"And he didn't even pitch the full game..."
At first, Seidou's diehard fans couldn't quite understand what the others were whispering about.
But the moment they heard clearly, their eyes immediately lit up with excitement.
Wait a minute—
Was the ace they supported about to set a historic record?
This kind of joyful news absolutely had to be shared immediately on everyone's personal social media.
The excitement from the stands inevitably reached the field as well.
In Seidou High's dugout, the players felt a bit astonished at first upon hearing the news.
But naturally, they quickly accepted it with pride.
After all, as long as someone was praising their ace, there was no reason to disagree.
Yes, their ace was just that extraordinary, just that remarkable.
Meanwhile, over in Inashiro Industrial High's dugout—
The atmosphere was grim, filled with an unmistakable tension.
The stronger their opponent performed, the heavier their pressure became.
Even though they'd already decided to drag the game into extra innings.
They refused to believe that this monster freshman could sustain his performance that long.
Everything came with a price.
Throwing continuous pitches at speeds exceeding 150 km/h, pitch after pitch—
Could that freshman monster really remain unaffected?
It seemed impossible, against all common sense.
Yet, despite telling themselves that repeatedly, when they saw Furuya actually pitch—
When they watched him again and again unleash those blazing fastballs—
Inashiro's players couldn't help but feel a deep sense of doubt.
Could a pitcher whose stamina was supposedly about to collapse still throw pitches this fast?
Regardless of whether others believed it or not—
As for their own gut feeling, they were genuinely confused.
And just as the Inashiro players were lost in their doubts—
Furuya pitched again.
BOOM!!
The white baseball shot forward with a loud whistle—another blazing fastball.
Even facing Inashiro Industrial's ninth batter, Furuya didn't hold anything back.
Those Inashiro players who were desperately waiting for his stamina to collapse turned pale.
"This guy…"
They simply couldn't detect any sign of exhaustion from Furuya.
If he truly had stamina issues, wouldn't it be logical for him to conserve his energy right now?
How could he pitch so recklessly without restraint?
The Inashiro players couldn't understand it, and neither could the spectators in the stands.
Standing in the batter's box, desperately looking to get a hit, the batter was equally confused.
"Why?"
Why could this freshman monster keep throwing these relentless fastballs even after pitching so many already?
Their team wasn't exactly in a great situation either.
How could he still confidently pitch without any fear?
This inevitably made the batter doubt everything they'd previously assumed.
But no matter how much he questioned it, there wasn't anything he could actually do about it.
It wasn't just their eighth batter who had been stunned.
Facing Furuya's terrifyingly fast pitches, Inashiro Industrial's ninth batter was equally helpless.
He could only stand there, watching the ball fly past him time after time.
"Pop!"
"Strike!!"
"Strike!!!"
"Batter out—strikeout!!!"
The end result was exactly the same as before.
He was struck out without even taking a swing.
In the stands, Seidou High School's hardcore supporters were ecstatic.
"He broke the record!!"
Even though they had no idea what the previous record was, when Furuya secured his 14th strikeout of the game, these die-hard Seidou fans firmly believed that their ace had just set a brand-new record.
The previous record had been established during the Kanto Tournament.
This new record belonged specifically to the Tokyo Summer Tournament.
The commentator for the game quickly checked the stats after hearing the excited chatter in the stands.
He immediately confirmed to the fans present, as well as to millions watching at home:
"Furuya has officially broken the record!"
"And this game isn't over yet—I believe this is just the beginning..."
Two outs, nobody on base.
Although Inashiro Industrial's offensive inning was technically still ongoing, everyone's attention had shifted away from the match itself.
Instead, all eyes were on Furuya and the record he'd just achieved.
Witnessing history unfold firsthand created a unique and thrilling atmosphere.
Almost everyone present was completely absorbed by this excitement.
At this moment, Inashiro Industrial's leadoff batter stepped into the batter's box.
"Go ahead and laugh! Celebrate all you want!"
Although Inashiro had already decided on their strategy to push the game into extra innings, that didn't mean they'd completely abandoned offense.
If they could score a run before regulation ended, it would undeniably give Inashiro a huge advantage—perhaps even allowing them to secure victory in advance.
Carlos, the small but explosive star of Inashiro Industrial High School, was their core player and key figure.
His responsibility differed greatly from the two teammates who batted ahead of him.
Before stepping into the batter's box, Kunimoto had specifically instructed him:
If there was a chance, aim for a solid hit.
If not, then at least try to wear down Furuya's pitches as much as possible.
No matter how dominant Furuya seemed, at the end of the day, he was still made of flesh and blood.
He wasn't structurally different from any other high school athlete.
"Which means," Kunimoto thought, "he shares the same weaknesses as ordinary players. Throwing explosive pitches over 150 km/h nonstop is absolutely impossible."
Precisely because Furuya's current performance was too dominant, seemingly flawless, Kunimoto was even more convinced of his judgment: Seidou High's ace couldn't keep this up for much longer.
Carlos, the small but explosive player, was clearly thinking the exact same thing as his coach.
The more perfect and unstoppable a monster like Furuya appeared at a moment like this, the more certain it was that a situation he couldn't control was bound to follow.
That meant Carlos had to aggressively seize any opportunity presented and lock down the game as soon as possible.
"We won't let you guys steal victory from us that easily again…"
The painful lessons from the previous Kanto Tournament were still fresh in the minds of the Inashiro players.
There was no way they wanted to experience that kind of defeat again.
Carlos raised his bat high, determined to swing with full force at even the slightest opportunity—no matter how small it might be.
Miyuki, crouching behind home plate as the catcher, easily read the opponent's intention.
"Their resolve is strong," he thought.
He glanced meaningfully toward his pitcher.
After several months playing together, Miyuki and Furuya had developed a perfect understanding.
For some situations, they didn't even need signs anymore; a simple glance was enough to convey their thoughts.
Just like now—when Miyuki indicated that the batter would be troublesome, Furuya was already well aware.
But Furuya wasn't concerned. Facing an opponent filled with fighting spirit, he simply raised his glove, pulled back into position, and fired off another pitch.
BOOM!!
The pitch, as always, was overwhelmingly powerful.
Standing in the batter's box, Carlos's eyes immediately flashed with excitement as soon as he saw the incoming pitch.
"You think you can beat me with a pitch like this? Dream on!"
Despite Furuya's terrifying speed, Carlos wasn't intimidated in the slightest.
He even swung at the very first pitch without hesitation.
A fastball in that location—even if it exceeded 150 km/h—Carlos was still fully confident he could hit it.
As for where exactly the ball would land, that was beyond his control.
Carlos didn't worry too much about that.
The lead-off batter for Inashiro Industrial High School clearly understood his situation.
Just hitting the ball would already be challenging enough.
Controlling precisely where it landed wasn't something within his abilities, nor something he needed to think about right now.
Brimming with confidence, Carlos swung—but just as his bat was about to make contact, the ball suddenly dropped sharply.
Whoosh!
Carlos stared in disbelief, eyes wide with shock.
How?
How could a pitch thrown with such power and momentum suddenly become a breaking ball?
He'd been certain it was a four-seam fastball!
Yet reality was cruel. It wasn't a four-seam fastball—it was a breaking ball instead.
"Pop!"
"Strike!!"
Carlos felt a chill run down his spine.
Moments ago, he'd been filled with absolute confidence, but now he felt as though Furuya had completely read his mind.
"How did this happen?"
Could it be that the freshman monster on the mound didn't just have phenomenal pitching skills—but could even read his thoughts?
"That's impossible!"
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