"That damn bastard!"
Sudo Ken's eyes were bloodshot.
What little reason he had left told him not to lose control.
But even so, he was already standing on the edge of snapping.
"He's trying to provoke Sudo."
In the bullpen, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka watched it all, immediately recognizing Takashi 's intent.
"Yes,"
Katsuragi Kohei had also caught on.
In fact, most of them had.
But Sudo Ken didn't—he was still trapped.
"What a terrifying person."
Coordinating with Aoba's coaching staff, getting Koenji Rokusuke pulled out of the game, and now riling up Sudo Ken on the field—
From the very beginning, Takashi wasn't aiming to defeat Advanced Nurturing. He wanted to destroy the entire team.
"Who's up next?"
"Nagumo Miyabi."
When Sudo Ken left and Nagumo stepped up, Takashi switched his glove back to his right hand.
Back in the bullpen, when Sudo Ken saw this, his eyes turned red.
He used his left hand against me, but now switches to his right? That's straight-up disrespect.
He's clearly looking down on me.
Ayanokoji originally considered comforting Sudo Ken, but after seeing that, he gave up.
…
Nagumo Miyabi had been furious at Sudo Ken earlier. But when he saw Takashi using his right hand, he suddenly got excited.
Everyone knew Takashi's right arm was injured.
And yet, as soon as he came on, Takashi was willing to risk that injury—what did that say?
It meant Takashi was afraid of him.
"Let's go."
Nagumo muttered, gripping his bat tightly.
Takashi rolled his right arm a few times—it still hurt like hell. But now wasn't the time to back down.
Nagumo wasn't like Sudo Ken—he had to be handled carefully.
Before the match, Amatani Kensuke had already planned out which arm to use against which opponent.
A good coach has a massive impact on a team.
Isn't that right, Ten Hag?
Takashi took a deep breath and threw.
At the same time, Nagumo swung.
Beep! 166 km/h!
"Strike one!"
Too fast.
Nagumo suddenly understood why Takashi's fastballs were so hard to hit.
Facing them in real life was nothing like watching on video.
Catching the ball again, Takashi didn't hesitate. Ignoring the searing pain in his right arm, he activated [Popeye Mode] again.
Beep! 166 km/h!
"Strike two!"
Beep! 165 km/h!
"Strikeout!"
"Daaamn it!"
Nagumo was furious at himself.
The speed was still ridiculous—he just couldn't hit it.
"Out! Switch sides!"
The umpire yelled.
"He's done it!"
"Takashi has singlehandedly shut down Advanced Nurturing's offensive storm!"
"He'll always be Aoba's strongest defensive wall!"
"You can always trust Takashi !"
"Now it's finally Aoba's turn to attack."
The announcer's excitement matched that of the fans who had traveled from far and wide to support Aoba.
Among them were alumni, fans of Takashi, fellow students—and even their parents.
All the players exited the field. As Takashi started to walk back to the bullpen, the front-row fans rushed toward the wire fence.
"Kitahara!!"
They surged forward, trying to high-five him.
Hands stretched through the chain-link fence—this scene immediately drew the attention of the cameramen on the sidelines, who quickly turned their lenses.
Takashi raised his hand, walking along and slapping hands the whole way.
When he reached the elderly man who had first led Aoba to the Koshien tournament, he gave him a firm high-five.
Smack!
"Bring the championship home!"
The old man clenched his fist and shouted excitedly.
Takashi simply replied with five words: "Aoba will be champions!"
Takashi made a full round of high-fives around the field.
As he brushed past Sudo Ken, he turned toward Advanced Nurturing's seating area, and with a grin on his face, shouted at Horikita Suzune:
"Horikita Suzune-san, if I win—will you go on a date with me?"
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
"Brother, I need medicine!!"
"I'll go out with you, brother! Ask me instead!"
The stadium erupted into another frenzy.
Horikita Manabu snapped his head around, his expression turning sharp as he stared at Takashi.
You punk—are you trying to hit on my little sister?
…
"You're telling me that's Takashi?"
In the VIP section, a just barely-composed Eriri turned her head, pointing at Takashi and addressing Narii.
Utaha turned her gaze away, unable to keep watching.
She couldn't believe that the guy she liked would be such a shameless flirt.
Narii also looked dark and stormy.
In her mind, Takashi had clearly lost it.
…
Elsewhere, Momo's eyes were icy cold. "Have I been too nice to him?"
"Looks like it's time for a proper 'adjustment.'"
Nagisa was smiling, but her eyes showed no warmth at all.
"How does he hit on everyone he sees?"
Tsubame grumbled quietly in dissatisfaction.
Beside her, Kotonoha's eyes darkened even further than blackness itself.
She suddenly had the urge to pick up her katana again—for practice, of course.
…
In a private box, Hitomi's face was terrifying.
Her long, pure-white straight hair fluttered with the killing intent. She had gone full demon mode.
She had already made up her mind: tonight, Takashi would be utterly drained.
Not a single drop left!!!
"This is the guy you're into?"
Kaguya leaned in and teased Hayasaka Ai.
Hayasaka glanced at Kaguya, then looked back at the field. She decided that once she and Takashi got together, she was definitely going to straighten him out.
…
The cameraman zoomed in on the stands, focusing on a black-haired girl with piercing, beautiful eyes.
"Wow, she's so pretty!"
"Wait, doesn't she look like someone?"
"Isn't that the second daughter of the Yukinoshita family?!"
"Yeah, yeah! They look exactly alike!"
"So it's true—Kitahara really has a type!"
"Maybe he regrets breaking up with the second daughter and didn't have the guts to get back with her, so now he's going after someone just like her."
"No way. What's her level? She's not even worthy to breathe the same air as our Yukino!"
Suddenly, the giant screen split in two.
On one side: the beautiful face of Horikita Suzune.
On the other: the stunning beauty of Yukinoshita Yukino.
"Yukino, look—it's you!"
Haruno happily nudged her little sister.
Yukino's gaze turned cold.
She was starting to realize that knowing Takashi was like being tied to him. No matter which girl he flirted with, she would always be dragged into the comparison.
"You bastard…"
Horikita Manabu was just about to step in and stop Takashi from messing around, when suddenly—someone rushed out and shoved Takashi to the ground.
"You damn bastard! I've been wanting to punch you for a long time!"
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