"Still, it went out!"
Narumiya stared blankly at the small baseball flying out, a look of relief in his eyes.
Actually, during the pitching process, he had a similar hunch.
That brat, Eijun, was probably going to hit that ball out of the park.
Narumiya didn't know how this premonition came to him, but he just knew, he had that feeling.
At the moment he pitched, he had hesitated.
Did I make a mistake? Should I have trusted the Crafty-Cutter more?'
But that was only for an instant, and soon, Mei had strengthened his resolve.
At this point, regret was useless. He and Tadano had already decided that they were going to use the splitter to deal with Sawamura.
If he suddenly changed his mind, what kind of effect would that have? It was impossible to predict.
In the end, Mei trusted his judgment and threw the Splitter.
He never expected that Sawamura seemed to be specifically waiting for this kind of pitch, and swung his bat.
The result was that he hit the ball perfectly!
The sound of the bat colliding with the ball made it clear. The ball was hit solidly and would likely fly far.
It was a Home Run, and it was the dramatic Goodbye Home Run!
It was so clean and beautiful, leaving no room for words.
In the Batter's Box, Sawamura was visibly excited, raising his arm high and running around the bases basking in the cheers of the audience all the way back to home plate!
"SCORE!!"
"GAAAAAAME SEEET!!!!!!"
On the home plate, his teammates were waiting for him and celebrated wildly!
Watching Sawamura's back, Narumiya felt as if all his strength suddenly drained away.
He hadn't even had time to feel the bitterness of failure when his body just collapsed, stiff as a board.
He was exhausted from today's game.
Before this, he had been able to hold on with a single burst of energy, just barely keeping up with the Seidou High School baseball team.
Now that the game was over, that burst of energy had dissipated.
Once that energy was gone, exhaustion immediately invaded his body.
In this game, Narumiya Mei pitched a total of 157 balls, breaking the record for the nine-inning games in West Tokyo.
Out of all those pitches, there wasn't a single one that was easy.
On the Seidou High School baseball team, it seemed that aside from Sawamura and Miyuki, there were no particularly standout batters.
But to underestimate Seidou High School's batting lineup would be a huge mistake.
While they may not have top-tier batters, they had a group of excellent ones.
Even Narumiya, if not careful, could have been hit for a base hit by Seidou's batters.
Shiratsu, Kuramochi, Kominato, Toujou, Maezono, Kanemaru, Asou...
These guys might not be at the top of the national rankings, but when it came to facing opponents like them, there wasn't a single moment you could relax.
Even with over 150 pitches, Narumiya Mei's fatigue wasn't the same as when he played against Inashiro or other teams.
And on top of that, Sawamura's fast-paced rhythm.
Sawamura intentionally increased his pitching pace, so his pitch intervals were shorter, leaving Narumiya with less time to rest.
Naturally, Narumiya couldn't fall behind.
Whether forced by the situation or his own request, he and Sawamura maintained almost identical pitching rhythms.
This increased the consumption of his stamina even further.
By the time the game ended, Narumiya was so tired that he didn't even want to move a finger.
He just lay there, staring blankly at the sky and the few white clouds floating in the blue sky.
His mind was empty, and he didn't want to think about anything.
"Senpai!"
"Mei!"
"Mei-san!"
When the team saw their ace suddenly collapse, the Inajitsu High School players panicked.
One by one, they rushed over and surrounded Narumiya.
Their concern was evident.
Even Sawamura, who had just returned to the dugout, immediately rushed over upon seeing Narumiya faint.
"What's going on?"
He pushed through the crowd anxiously, asking.
"Everyone, step back and give the player enough space to breathe."
A doctor in a white coat came rushing from a distance.
Seeing the professional arrive, the crowd finally dispersed, allowing the doctor to enter.
The doctor knelt down and waved his hand in front of Narumiya Mei's eyes.
"Can you see clearly?"
Narumiya, just regaining his senses, almost fainted from the question.
"I'm fine, don't worry!"
It was unclear whether it was because his tears had already dried up or because Narumiya didn't even have the energy to feel sad anymore.
He lay there in defeat, weakly saying.
Upon hearing Narumiya Mei's words and receiving confirmation from the doctor, everyone finally felt relieved.
"It's fine, stop scaring us!"
Sawamura frowned and grumbled.
When the doctor arrived, Narumiya actually wanted to get up.
His sense of decorum told him that lying down like this wasn't cool.
But he simply couldn't get up.
The strength he had built up during the game had already been drained completely. At this point, he didn't even have the strength to stand.
Finally, with the help of his teammates, he managed to drape his arm over Tadano's shoulder and forced himself to get up.
Tadano, with tears in his eyes, was crying like a child.
This guy usually performed well as the catcher and had become more and more confident, despite being a junior.
Though he had been bullied by Narumiya for a long time, in front of others, he was already a very mature and reliable baseball player, having shed his youthful naivety.
At this point, he could even be ranked nationally.
In other words, Tadano had already become an undisputed star player.
But this star player was now crying like a little kid.
To Tadano, Mei-san was perfect today.
If his pitch selection had been as good as Miyuki-san's, Mei-san wouldn't have thrown so many pitches…
If only...
Perhaps, they wouldn't have lost!
The young man unconsciously took all the blame upon himself, feeling deeply guilty.
"Don't think too highly of yourself, you brat! This loss is on us, your time hasn't come yet."
Narumiya spoke irritably.
It had been a while since he'd seen this side of Tadano.
Now that he did, Narumiya didn't feel nostalgic at all. On the contrary, he was filled with anger.
How frustrating!
You'd think Tadano, being a second-year, would be similar to Eijun, also a second-year, both being Freshmen who were promoted early.
'But why was the gap so big?'
Thinking about this, Narumiya couldn't help but smile bitterly.
Comparing Itsuki to Eijun seemed a bit unfair.
To be honest, these two were not on the same level.
In the Inajitsu High School baseball team's dugout, Coach Kunitomo had a frosty expression, as if a hailstorm were about to hit.
They had spent months planning, and during that time, the Inashiro players didn't think about anything else but how to defeat the Seidou High School baseball team.
Honestly, they had been successful.
At least 70% of this game had played out according to Inashiro's script.
But they never expected a wildcard like Lee-Hyun to emerge.
Seidou High School really was lucky, able to attract players like him.
Previously, Kuramochi, who was completely unknown to Inashiro's scouting network, had been poached by Seidou High School.
Now, there was the imported car-I mean sprinter Lee-Hyun, coming out of nowhere...
"Really makes you envious!"
In Seidou High School's dugout, Coach Kataoka had no idea how much Coach Kunitomo envied him.
At this moment, Kataoka was in a good mood.
Seidou High's team had been fully adjusted, and now there were only two teams left that could truly challenge them.
At least, from Coach Kataoka's perspective, these two teams were formidable opponents.
Their overall strength could rival Seidou's, and they were the biggest obstacle in Seidou's path to a championship repeat.
But now, one obstacle had been cleared.
That left just one big challenge standing between them and the legendary accomplishment.
In comparison, the remaining obstacle seemed less heavy.
"Is Mei, you okay?"
Miyuki immediately approached Sawamura.
When Sawamura had rushed out earlier, Miyuki had followed, but there were so many people that he couldn't come close.
He was concerned about Narumiya.
"He's not dead yet!"
Sawamura responded normally.
Miyuki understood, and it seemed Narumiya was all right for now.
"I forgot to ask earlier. How did you know the last pitch was a Splitter?"
Miyuki was very curious about this.
Based on his guess, Narumiya should have pitched his best ball in that final moment, right?
"Of course, I could tell."
Sawamura responded honestly.
"I'm not joking with you." Miyuki frowned. "Tell me, how did you figure it out?"
Hearing their exchange, the others gathered around as well.
It wasn't just Miyuki who was curious. The Seidou players also shared a deep interest.
Sawamura sighed helplessly.
He was telling the truth, but no one believed him.
On the field, the Seidou players lined up in one row, and the Inashiro players lined up in another. Both teams bowed at a 90-degree angle.
"THANK YOU FOR THE MATCH!"
"THANK YOU FOR THE MATCH!!!"
Both teams were calm, and while the Inashiro players cried, they eventually returned to their original selves.
It wasn't clear if they cried because of their loss or because they were mourning the end of their high school baseball careers.
The Inajitsu players hand-shacked the Seidou players, congratulating them and entrusted their dreams to the Seidou players,
"You didn't have to go this hard on yourself!" Miyuki said to Narumiya who could barely stand.
"Shut it! I didn't want to leave any regrets!"
"Really regrets? Or didn't you want to show off?"
"What do you take me for?! And you ran away before I could get back at you!"
"Even You…" Miyuki didn't know what to say to that, even the opponent was teasing him about this.
"Looks like you chose the right path in the end Kazuya, now go all the way to the top!"
"Mei…" Miyuki is surprised by Mei's sudden honesty, but with his friend entrusting his dreams like that, there is only one response.
"You got it!" Miyuki said with certainty!
"And you!" Narumiya turned to Sawamura and took a one hasty step.
He held Sawamura's left hand with his, and bro hugged him with the other, taking Sawamura back for a moment.
No one knew if it was because Narumiya was tired or, he actually wanted to do it.
But the surprises didn't end there…
With a relaxed tone, Narumiya said to Sawamura.
"I Am Glad I Spent My Youth Competing With You. Thank You For Being Such An Amazing Rival!"
"Eh…?"
"Now, go and be the best! Oh, and tell everyone that I was your biggest rival!"
"Mei-san…"
"Oi, don't make such a face. I am not gonna die, you know? I will head to the Pro World ahead of you! So don't chicken away just because you have so much money! I will be waiting for you there!"
Sawamura was speechless at the final goodbye and challenge issued by Narumiya here!
The two have been competing in this life since they were in middle school, but that time has ended, and now even their high school rivalry has ended.
Thankfully they still have another chance to fight again, and Sawamura won't let his friend and rival down!
"Of course! Thank You For Your Hard Work!" with an honest and sincere face, Sawamura replied to this challenge and goodbye.
The West Tokyo semifinals, where Seidou High School faced Inajitsu High School, concluded with Seidou winning 2-1, narrowly defeating Inashiro.
This century-long battle had come to an end.
…
T/N: Finally, the game has ended!
Man, it was such a large game, I hope you guys enjoyed it!
And, Thank You all for reading!!
Have a good day people!
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