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Chapter 520 - [520] A Risky Move in the Inashiro Game

Chapter 520: A Risky Move in the Inashiro Game

But what Miyuki didn't know—

Was that at this very moment, on the pitcher's mound, Eijun—despite looking calm on the surface—

was hiding a left hand that trembled faintly behind his back.

His face, too, had paled ever so slightly.

"As expected… releasing power like that is still too much for my arm in its current condition."

That previous pitch—Eijun had gone all out, unleashing his full strength in order to create that sharp angle and sudden break.

But the result was a sharp pain and numbing sensation that he was now struggling to endure.

If I throw like that a few more times...

Eijun estimated that at most, he had four or five such pitches left in him.

Beyond that, if he pushed his arm any further, the risk of serious injury would increase drastically.

Control… restraint… discipline. From here on out, every pitch has to be thrown with even greater caution.

Eijun adjusted his cap slightly and took a deep breath, steeling his thoughts.

...

Second pitch — low and outside.

After the brutally sharp cutter on the first pitch,

Miyuki wisely called for something away—using the full width of the strike zone to their advantage.

"Whoosh!"

A flash of light shot across the plate.

In the batter's box—

Carlos narrowed his eyes, tracking the ball with intense focus.

He hesitated.

"Pop!"

His bat never left his shoulder.

He could only watch as the ball sank neatly into Miyuki's glove.

"Strike!"

Too far...

After the vicious cutter, the low outside pitch looked extremely distant to the naked eye.

Carlos felt a hollow emptiness—like he physically couldn't reach the ball with a swing.

...

From the outside, Eijun looked like he'd fully recovered. His performance this inning looked smooth, confident—even dominant.

...

"Whoosh!"

Two pitches in—pressuring Carlos relentlessly.

Sticking to the aggressive strategy, the third pitch was a fastball right down the middle.

"Boom!"

"Swish!"

As the ball shot toward the plate, Carlos took a strong step forward and swung.

"Clang!"

But the swing came just a touch too late—causing him to miss the sweet spot completely.

The vibration in his palms, the lingering weight of the ball's tailing force—

Carlos's brow furrowed.

"Whoosh!"

The ball shot skyward toward third base.

Shouji took a few steps and—

"Pop!"

Gloved it cleanly.

"Out!"

Three swings.

Another out.

Eijun had now recorded two quick outs in the top of the 3rd.

...

"So this is his full form? Compared to summer... he's gotten way scarier."

Carlos frowned slightly as he glanced at Eijun,

then walked off the field.

If he had known that aside from the first pitch (the cutter, which was thrown at full power), the next two were only thrown at about 70%...he would have been even more shaken.

...

"Batting second, shortstop—Shirakawa-kun."

With Carlos out of the way, the situation swung heavily in Seidou's favor.

Miyuki, meanwhile, had fully relaxed.

From his perspective, Eijun was performing as usual.

His fastball had its usual power, speed, and late break.

His breaking pitches were sharp and well-timed.

Everything seemed stable.

If things continue like this, that first-inning run won't matter much.

That was what Miyuki believed—

But it was also a very dangerous assumption.

...

"Whoosh!"

"Pop!"

"Strike! Batter out! Three outs — side change!"

Perfect pitching.

In this inning, ace pitcher Eijun fully regained his rhythm.

Facing the top of Inashiro's lineup, he didn't give an inch—shutting down their third batter, Yamaoka, and stranding a lone runner on first.

Three outs. No advancement. Inashiro held scoreless.

...

"Beautiful pitch, Sawamura-kun!"

"The game's just getting started—only one run down. Let's go, Seidou!"

"It's okay, we're still ahead! You've got this, Inashiro!!"

"Go, Narumiya-kun!"

"Take them all down, Sawamura!"

"Seidou! Seidou! Seidou!"

"Tokyo Prince!!"

"Diamond Ace!!"

"King!!"

"Champion!!!"

"FIGHT!!!!"

The stadium was electrified.

Spectators and both benches shouted themselves hoarse, the atmosphere heating up as both teams' aces put on dazzling performances.

Adrenaline surged through everyone watching.

...

"Haa..."

After ending the inning with a change-up that struck out Yamaoka, Eijun slowly exhaled on the mound,

wiped the sweat from his forehead, and began walking back toward the dugout.

He knew that the inning still had some flaws.

His pitch to Shirakawa had been a bit rushed—

the change-up got read, and Shirakawa slapped a lucky infield hit.

Had it not been for that, Yamaoka wouldn't have even stepped into the batter's box.

But in a way, that pause in momentum worked out—

at the very least, it set things up so Narumiya would face the Seidou lineup with no one on base.

As Eijun jogged back to the dugout, he caught a glimpse—just a flash of yellow in Inashiro's dugout.

A certain someone.

He couldn't help thinking to himself:

...

"Heh… looks like I'm finally back in form. Now this game's really starting for real… Right, Koushu?"

Seto grinned as he spoke to the cold-faced Okumura, who stood with his arms crossed.

...

"Mhm. Now it's just a matter of when Seidou's batters can start threatening Narumiya-senpai."

Okumura nodded, tone calm and even.

But… why?

There was something about Sawamura-senpai today.

Something felt… off.

Okumura narrowed his eyes slightly, watching Eijun's seemingly normal figure in the dugout.

There's something different about him today…

...

"Bottom of the 3rd inning. Seidou's offense. Batting seventh — center fielder, Tojo-kun!"

...

Sawamura-kun, Miyuki-senpai, Kominato…

They'd all been shut down so far.

From the dugout, it was clear—

Narumiya-senpai's pitching was terrifying.

Even when his catcher couldn't fully bring out his best, Narumiya was still far beyond what most batters could handle.

But even so—

I won't back down. Not easily!

Tojo stood firm in the batter's box, his expression twisted with determination.

He was ready to take a risk.

He would get on base. No matter what.

He had given up the pitcher's mound—and with that, accepted the responsibility and pride of standing on the field in a different role.

More than anyone, Tojo cherished this hard-earned opportunity.

And more than anything—he was going to prove his value.

...

Eyes filled with resolve.

Locked in a cold stare with the pitcher.

Two wills clashing head-on.

Only one thing mattered on this battlefield—

Victory.

And no one was backing down. Not even an inch.

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