MTLNOVEL Chapter 500: [500] Semifinal – Game Two
Chapter 500: Semifinal – Game Two
"Eijun-kun, I'll carry your bag. You should go ice your shoulder first."
Haruichi lifted Eijun's gear bag with a smile.
"Oh? Then I'll leave it to you, Haruichi," Eijun replied, giving a slight nod. The moment Haruichi turned to leave, Eijun quietly let out a small breath of relief and began removing his jersey to ice his shoulder.
...
"Everyone, once you're done cleaning up, head to the stands. We'll all be watching the next semifinal," Coach Kataoka announced with a firm gaze across the dugout.
"Yes, sir!" Eijun, Miyuki, and the others responded in unison.
...
The broadcast echoed throughout the stadium, its sweet voice announcing:
"Up next is the second semifinal match: Inashiro Industrial vs. Yakushi High. The game begins at 1:00 PM. Right now, both teams are conducting defensive warmups..."
As the announcement continued, two of Tokyo's top four powerhouses appeared on either side of the dugout.
The old guard versus the rising force.
First base side: Inashiro Industrial, batting first.
Third base side: Yakushi High, taking the field second.
The monster slugger from Yakushi versus the "Prince of Tokyo," Inashiro's ace.
From a spectator's perspective, this matchup promised even more excitement than the first.
Could this new powerhouse take down two of Tokyo's historic giants in a row?
Could Raichi Todoroki, already dubbed Tokyo's strongest slugger, overcome Narumiya Mei?
It was the moment everyone was waiting for.
...
In Yakushi's dugout, Coach Todoroki lounged back lazily, his usual devil-may-care smirk on full display.
On the other side, Inashiro's Coach Kunimoto wore his trademark stone-cold expression, as if warning everyone to stay away.
Even before the game began, the tension between the two dugouts was already crackling.
...
From the stands, Seidou's first-string players were now seated, each holding a lunch box as they watched the teams warm up.
"Raichi vs. Narumiya, huh? This one's gonna be intense," Kuramochi commented, eyes glinting as he wolfed down a bite.
"Yeah," said Maezono solemnly, arms crossed.
"I wonder how many runs Yakushi can score off Narumiya-senpai," Kanemaru muttered, having already cleared his lunch, his expression serious.
"I think it'll come down to Raichi and Narumiya-senpai," Haruichi said quietly.
Kuramochi turned to Miyuki. "What about you, Miyuki? What's your take?"
Miyuki gave it some thought. "Narumiya is strong, no doubt. But Yakushi's batting lineup isn't a joke. We already saw how tough they were in the summer. And now, after another season of experience—especially Raichi—he's only gotten scarier. Narumiya's pitching is incredible, but Inashiro's current catcher has been limiting him a bit. There were a few passed balls already. Honestly, Raichi and Narumiya is a toss-up. And if Carlos can't consistently get on base, I think Inashiro's lineup will have a hard time scoring off Sanada."
Eijun, seated beside Miyuki, nodded in agreement. Without that weak link behind the plate, Inashiro would be a lock.
Narumiya Mei's performance in this tournament had been nothing short of terrifying.
Eijun glanced at Narumiya on the first base side, thinking to himself.
...
"So then, Miyuki-senpai, do you think Yakushi's going to win?" someone asked with interest.
Even Furuya leaned forward, curiosity flashing in his eyes.
"Sixty-forty, maybe," Miyuki replied calmly.
Eijun nodded quietly beside him.
That seemed like a fair estimate.
Although Narumiya was spurred on by Seidou High and began evolving into his complete form ahead of schedule, the rest of Inashiro's players hadn't kept up.
Strictly speaking, Inashiro Industrial was now a "one-superstar-surrounded-by-strong-players" team. Their overall cohesion wasn't great either.
Compared to Yakushi, their teamwork clearly lagged behind.
Inashiro's advantage lay solely in having Narumiya Mei.
Yakushi's strength, on the other hand, was their high level of synergy and more well-rounded performance.
A 60-40 split—60 in favor of Yakushi, 40 for Inashiro—seemed like a fair assessment.
At the very least, that was also how Eijun saw it.
...
"BZZZZ—BZZZZ—BZZZZ"
"Line up!!"
As the Seidou players were still discussing in the stands, the warmup time on the field came to an end.
With the blaring sound of the battle horn, both teams stepped onto the field with fierce energy.
Their two orderly lines surged forward with determination, and the sheer momentum of both sides collided in midair, sparking an intense atmosphere.
"Salute!"
"We look forward to playing you!"
...
After suffering through the pain of summer and undergoing rehab, Sanada had returned to full strength—both physically and mentally.
The dominance he displayed in this tournament had already put him in the Tier 1 category of pitchers.
"Top of the 1st. Inashiro's offense begins. Batting first, center fielder, Kamiya-kun."
Sanada's pitching style—more fastball variations than even Eijun—was pure and sharp. Whether it was his cutter or his jet fastball, he used them with expert precision.
Carlos, the leadoff batter, had not yet reached the same level he did in Part 2 of the manga. At most, he was just a higher-spec version of Kuramochi—still reliant on his legs to get on base.
Facing Sanada for the first time, Carlos didn't stand a chance.
"Whoosh."
"Clang!"
A powerful inside pitch strategy—ever since Eijun's early performances, Sanada had become known throughout Tokyo for aggressively attacking the inside corner.
One inside fastball.
Carlos failed on a bunt attempt and popped it up to the infield.
First baseman Mishima caught it easily for the first out.
Next up was the second batter, Shirakawa. Though skilled in technique, he lacked the power to truly break through Sanada's relentless attack.
Under a barrage of high-pressure pitches...
"Whoosh!"
"Smack!"
"Strike! Batter out!"
Sanada struck him out swiftly, securing the second out.
The third batter, Yabe, did manage to catch Sanada's outside fastball, pulling it to left field for a clean hit and reaching second base.
Unfortunately, Inashiro couldn't follow up.
The cleanup hitter—the "Prince of Tokyo"—faced Sanada's fastball but couldn't control the power properly, resulting in a grounder to third.
Raichi fielded it cleanly and threw to first for the out.
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