LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 213: <213> Beyond Imagination!
Chapter 213: Beyond Imagination!
"We won!"
"The game ends early—Seidou is invincible!"
The supporters of Seidou High School's baseball team erupted in cheers, waving their arms in celebration.
For them, taking time off on a weekday to watch this game was more than worth it.
Today's opponent, Sensen, a well-established powerhouse, had put up a commendable performance.
Even their rivals had to admit that they were deserving of their spot in the Final Four.
A team that reaches the Final Four in West Tokyo is competitive enough to make an impact even on the Koshien stage.
Winning a game or two at that level wouldn't be surprising.
Yet, even against such a strong opponent, Seidou High's players had completely overwhelmed them, crushing them with an unstoppable force.
Just how strong is Seidou?
This game provided a glimpse of their dominance.
But what truly filled Seidou's players and supporters with pride wasn't just the overwhelming victory itself.
What made them proud—even exhilarated—was the fact that Seidou had revealed its weaknesses in this game.
Their ace pitcher hadn't even stepped on the mound.
Instead, they had sent in a third-year pitcher, a former ace who had just recovered from an injury.
And alongside him, a first-year rookie who had struggled with his pitching in the previous game.
In a crucial semifinal match, Seidou's head coach had made a bold decision—to send out two pitchers with uncertain form.
Anyone with a keen eye could see how risky this move was.
Of course, Seidou's coach was well aware of the risks.
But he did it anyway.
It was clear that he wanted to test the team's depth and adaptability.
Could their pitchers maintain stability even when the ace was absent?
That was the biggest challenge Seidou's players had to face.
Everyone watched intently.
Truth be told, even Seidou's supporters were nervous.
They had no idea how things would play out.
They were anxious, uncertain…
And yet, even under those circumstances, even with their pitchers facing difficulties—
Seidou still utterly dominated.
They didn't give their opponents a single chance to fight back.
They simply took the victory—by force.
Final score: 9-2.
The game ended early due to the mercy rule.
Their ace, Furuya Satoru, never once stepped onto the mound.
Yet his impact on the team, the awe he inspired in the crowd—
was no less than anyone else's.
In fact, if they had to pick an MVP for this game—
It would be Furuya.
Without a doubt.
"That final home run was insane! I felt like my heart was soaring with the ball!"
"A pitcher who throws over 150 km/h obviously has explosive power in his arms. Unless he has zero batting talent, he's bound to be a threat at the plate too!"
"That's just the norm. But Furuya? He's a different breed. He's the kind of player who defies limits. When he holds a bat—
Anything is possible!"
The crowd buzzed with admiration.
Their opponents were completely stunned. Even during the customary bow of respect at the end of the game, their eyes remained vacant, as if they still hadn't processed what had happened.
Faced with such a situation, Seidou's players weren't sure what to say.
They simply chuckled and nodded in acknowledgment.
Before leaving the field, the Seidou players, as always, turned to the stands and bowed to their supporters, expressing their gratitude to those who had come all this way to cheer for them.
Seeing the players' respectful gesture, the smiles on their supporters' faces grew even brighter.
"Keep it up! That was an incredible game!"
"I'll definitely be there for the finals!"
"Furuya-kun, do you mind having one more girlfriend?"
Generally speaking, girls from Tokyo tend to be more reserved and traditional.
But in the stands, that stereotype was nowhere to be seen.
They were bold.
Furuya listened with a sheepish grin. With his growing reputation, situations like these had become far too frequent.
Frankly speaking, they were too many to count.
At this point, besides offering a polite smile, he had no idea how to respond to these overly enthusiastic female fans.
Kuramochi, watching this scene unfold, felt his already sour mood plummet even further.
Some people have it all, while others get nothing.
Up until now, the only close interaction he'd had with a young woman was with his own sister—a terrifying force of nature.
But look at Furuya! Not only did he already have a girlfriend in name, but he was also getting public love confessions.
The sheer injustice of it all made Kuramochi's frustration boil over.
So when he reached the entrance and saw Sawamura chatting with his old friends, his irritation flared up again.
Especially when he saw Wakana's face.
Pure, cute—like the girl next door.
Kuramochi's fragile heart took yet another direct hit.
Without hesitation, he and Ryousuke tag-teamed Sawamura with a barrage of physical retaliation.
"Are your ears stuffed with pig hair? We've been calling you forever!"
"Get moving, idiot! Are you really making all of us wait on you?"
At Seidou, it was rare to see upperclassmen bullying their juniors.
Even when they did, it was never serious—at most, they'd send them on errands, like fetching drinks from a vending machine.
In Room 5, where Sawamura stayed, his seniors were particularly easygoing.
So much so that even those minor errands were rarely demanded of him.
At most, they engaged in harmless scuffles.
And in those playful scuffles, the seniors always controlled their strength.
Because of this, Sawamura had long believed that the so-called "upperclassmen bullying freshmen" trope would never happen to him.
But now—Kuramochi was hitting him way harder than usual?!
"Wait… are you actually bullying a junior now?"
Hearing Sawamura's alarmed accusation, Kuramochi let out an exasperated huff—before landing another well-aimed kick.
"What nonsense are you spouting? We just came here to get you."
"Liar! You guys hit me harder than ever before!"
"Shut up, idiot! Everyone's been waiting for you forever."
As Wakana and the other Seidou players watched this familiar scene unfold, nostalgia washed over them.
It felt just like old times.
Back in their days playing for Akagi Junior High's baseball team, they often gathered like this—joking, laughing, and enjoying each other's company.
Their bond hadn't changed.
But they had to admit—that feeling from back then could never truly be recreated.
After assembling, instead of taking the team bus directly back to school, the Seidou High baseball team followed their coach to the stands of Jingu Stadium once more.
By this time, a crowd had already gathered.
Though not as large as the one for the previous match, there were still two to three thousand people in attendance.
It was a testament to Inashiro Industrial's reputation as West Tokyo's long-standing powerhouse.
Even though they had lost to Seidou in the Kanto Tournament finals, the interest in them hadn't waned.
As soon as Seidou's players appeared, the crowd immediately reacted.
"Seidou's here!"
"That white-and-blue uniform is so cool!"
"No wonder they're a prestigious private school—even their uniforms are stylish! Compared to the bland outfits from other schools, it's like night and day."
"The guy with glasses—that's Miyuki, right? He looks even better in person!"
"And there's the mixed-race heartthrob!"
"That's Furuya!"
"So tall! So handsome! I need a picture!!"
The fans' enthusiasm made it clear just how high Seidou's status had risen.
Even though they were merely spectators today, their presence alone drew attention from all directions.
It felt as if they had already become true superstars—no matter where they went, they were the center of attention.
But by now, Seidou's players had been through enough to handle this kind of situation with ease.
They responded with calm smiles, politely nodding to those who greeted them.
The fans, in turn, knew their boundaries—aside from greetings and words of encouragement, they didn't interfere.
Once everyone was seated, they finally shifted their focus to discussing Inashiro Industrial's opponent for today's match.
"Who are they? Are they strong?"
A great question.
And one that left more than half of Seidou's players completely stumped.
They had previously reviewed the opposing team's information.
Even if it was just in passing, they had definitely heard the name before.
But now?
They all looked at each other, blank expressions on their faces.
Not a single one of them could remember Inashiro's opponent.
"Sakurazawa."
At this crucial moment, Chris, holding his ever-reliable notebook, provided the answer.
The moment they heard it, everyone nodded.
That was the name.
"Wonder if they can last until the sixth inning?"
For Sakurazawa to fight their way through the West Tokyo Tournament semifinals, they clearly had some level of strength.
They were even considered one of the tournament's biggest dark horse contenders.
The two most surprising teams this year?
Sakurazawa and Yakushi.
With Yakushi High already eliminated, Sakurazawa had made it to the Final Four.
Now, it seemed they had an even greater chance of being crowned the ultimate dark horse of the tournament.
However, from Seidou's perspective, they weren't convinced.
And the reason was simple.
The gap in strength was too wide.
They didn't know much about Sakurazawa, but they knew Inashiro Industrial all too well.
A team so formidable that even Seidou's players felt uncertain about their chances of beating them.
As they discussed the matchup, both teams began taking the field.
But to everyone's surprise—
The opening of this game played out nothing like what they had imagined.
Sakurazawa's ace pitcher threw a fluttering, unpredictable knuckleball that left Inashiro's batters completely baffled.
Three up, three down.
Seidou's players exchanged wide-eyed glances, utterly stunned by what they had just witnessed.
To put it bluntly—
They were just as lost as Inashiro's batters.
"Now I understand how Sakurazawa made it this far."
Though none of them had ever heard of Sakurazawa's ace before today, they had to admit—
his knuckleball was the real deal.
Even Inashiro's batters, despite their experience, struggled against his seemingly slow, yet unpredictable pitches.
They simply had no idea how the ball would move.
Fortunately, Inashiro had Narumiya Mei.
When his team was in trouble, Tokyo's Prince stepped up in dominant fashion.
Sakurazawa's hitters fought hard.
But effort alone wasn't enough to conquer Narumiya Mei's elite pitching.
Even making contact with the ball was a near-impossible challenge for them.
"Strike!"
"Strike!!"
"Strike!!!"
"Strikeout!!"
"Strikeout!!!"
"Strikeout!!!"
After allowing their opponent a strong start, Inashiro wasted no time in firing back with equal force.
And in terms of sheer dominance, they hit even harder.
By the time the third inning ended, the game had been a pure pitching battle.
The score remained 0-0.
"Three innings in, and it looks like Inashiro is struggling even more than we did in the semifinals!"
A Seidou player couldn't help but comment.
But another teammate immediately shook his head in disagreement.
"That's not a fair comparison. We weren't even playing at full strength."
After all, in Seidou's semifinal match, their ace hadn't even stepped on the mound.
Meanwhile, Inashiro's ace had been pitching from the very start.
"It's different! Sensen is undoubtedly stronger than Sakurazawa—there's no question about that."
"But we also have to consider that these two teams have completely different styles."
"Sensen plays a game similar to ours, which means as long as we're stronger, we can beat them head-on."
"But a team like Sakurazawa is a different story."
"When a dark horse like this suddenly emerges, if the opponent gets dragged into their rhythm, it's incredibly difficult to turn things around."
Right now, Inashiro's situation was looking shaky.
Three innings had passed, and they still hadn't scored.
And from the outside, it seemed like Sakurazawa was controlling the pace of the game.
Just as that thought began settling into everyone's minds—
BOOM!
A sudden turn of events erupted on the field!
The ball was hit!
Carlos made the first move—
And this time, he actually connected with the knuckleball.
"Ping!"
Even though Seidou's players had expected this to happen, they were still caught off guard by how suddenly and quickly it unfolded.
It only took Inashiro's batters their second time at the plate to seemingly figure out the flaw in Sakurazawa's pitching.
And once they found that weakness—they attacked it relentlessly.
The result?
Predictable.
No matter how hard their opponents fought back, the outcome was never going to change.
At first, when Inashiro failed to score in the first three innings, people were already getting ready to mock their offensive struggles.
But then—
In the fourth and fifth innings alone, they exploded for ten runs.
In an instant, the score skyrocketed to 10-0.
And just like that, Inashiro ended the game in five innings via the mercy rule.
Seidou had won in seven innings—Inashiro did it in five.
It almost felt intentional.
As if they were making a statement.
When the game ended, Narumiya Mei extended a finger and pointed directly at Seidou's players.
It was as if he was saying—
"If you've got the guts, come and get us!"
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