<93> Taking Charge in a Crisis!

Chapter 93: Taking Charge in a Crisis!

Unconsciously, the game had already reached the top of the fifth inning.

The score on the field remained 0-0.

For the players of Inashiro Industrial High School, this was nothing short of torture.

Previously, they were at the mercy of Seido High School's monster rookie pitcher, which was somewhat understandable.

Even though Inashiro's players had been warned about this fastball-throwing monster, it was nearly impossible to adjust their swings to such pitching speed in just a few days.

But now, they found themselves struggling against Tanba, their old rival and previous victim?

How could the proud players of Inashiro Industrial High School accept this?

One glance at the Inashiro dugout made the gloomy atmosphere clear as day.

"Is this guy seriously pulling this off?"

"Does he think having a first-year monster to back him up makes him invincible?"

"Harada!"

Faced with this difficult situation, the players of Inashiro naturally placed their hopes on their cleanup hitter.

As one of the top hitters, on par with Seido's Yuuki, the players had absolute confidence in their captain.

Harada stepped into the batter's box, raising his bat.

The terrifying aura emanating from him felt like it could completely overwhelm the pitcher standing on the mound.

The intimidation was palpable.

However, Seido's ace, Tanba, did not back down in the slightest against this formidable opponent.

After his performance in the fourth inning, Tanba had started gaining confidence in his pitching.

There was no doubt that Inashiro's players were incredibly skilled.

That was indisputable.

But to say they were flawless?

That wasn't accurate either.

At least for Tanba, his current opponent was not invincible nor unbeatable.

"I can do this! My pitching is enough to shoulder the responsibility of Seido's ace!"

For the first time, Tanba's heart filled with this kind of confidence.

It brought him a sense of elevation, a feeling of transcendence.

Tanba could clearly feel the baseball leaving his hand with more power, more tricky angles, and even a bit more speed.

Whoosh!

Harada, standing in the batter's box, watched as the ball flew past him.

He didn't swing.

But the expression on Harada's face grew more serious.

Earlier, in the dugout, Inashiro's cleanup hitter hadn't fully grasped the situation.

But now that he was in the batter's box, facing Tanba's pitches, the feeling was undeniably shocking.

Because they had faced Tanba before, they knew his pitching well.

It was precisely because of this that Harada felt so astonished.

Seido's ace had clearly made a huge leap forward in his pitching ability.

This was, of course, not good news for them.

Previously, they had been suppressed by Furuya. Now, if they were also shut down by Tanba...

It was easy to imagine how difficult it would be for Inashiro to make a comeback later in the game.

"No!"

As the captain and cleanup hitter of Inashiro, Harada could never allow such a thing to happen.

He gripped the bat tightly with both hands, and when Tanba threw his second pitch, Harada decisively swung.

Crack!

The ball was barely nicked, dropping behind the catcher and umpire.

"Foul ball!"

The umpire discreetly wiped the sweat from his forehead before making the call.

The umpire could sense that the players from both teams were locked in an intense battle.

The batter from Inashiro Industrial High School had the air of someone who wouldn't rest until he got a hit, while Seido's ace, Tanba, was having an exceptional performance in today's game. His eyes seemed sharp, constantly calculating his next move. Moreover, his pitching today was at an unusually high level.

With these two facing off, it was destined to be a clash of titans.

As the umpire in this game, he had to stay sharp and ready for anything. Both teams were powerhouses with large fanbases across the nation, so every call he made had to be careful and precise. Of course, this wasn't just for the integrity of the game—it was also for his own safety.

Just like what had just happened.

When two top-level players go head-to-head, anything could happen.

With one good ball and one foul, Tanba's dominance was stunning.

Amid this tension, Tanba threw a clean, sharp third pitch.

Whoosh!

The white baseball whistled through the air.

If nothing unexpected happened, he might have been able to retire Harada with this pitch.

However, something unexpected did happen.

Faced with Tanba's sharp curveball, Harada had no choice but to swing, though his heart was filled with despair. The ball was hit, but it didn't fly in the direction he had intended.

Crack!

The ball Harada hit flew directly toward Tanba.

"What just happened?"

The crowd of Inashiro fans in the stands was dumbfounded. They never imagined the game would unfold like this.

Seido's players were equally stunned.

The ball came at such a high speed that Tanba had no time to dodge.

The baseball hit him hard on his pitching shoulder.

Tanba, gritting his teeth in pain, picked up the ball and tried to throw it to first base, but the intense pain in his arm made it impossible for him to make the throw.

"Safe!"

Harada successfully reached first base.

No outs, a runner on first.

From his position in the outfield, Furuya suddenly recalled this moment when Tanba got injured.

But according to Furuya's memory, Tanba was supposed to get injured in a practice game, and the injury wasn't to his arm.

What was going on now?

Could his butterfly effect really be this powerful?

"Time out!"

Coach Kataoka called for a timeout and immediately went to check on Tanba's injury.

Tanba's arm was red and swollen, clearly in bad shape.

Whether the injury was serious or not was still unknown, but it was certain that Tanba wouldn't be able to continue the game.

Whether his bones were injured couldn't be determined by sight alone; they needed to go to the hospital for a proper examination.

Director Ota volunteered to accompany Tanba to the hospital for the check-up.

At the same time, Seido had to start thinking about a new pitcher.

Coach Kataoka's gaze shifted between Kawakami and Furuya.

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