" Sendou-kun! Congratulations on making it to the finals!" After several contestants were interviewed, a reporter spoke first.
"Thank you so much!"
" Sendou-kun's match today was truly eye-opening!"
It's perfect in both offense and defense!
What do you think of your opponent?
"They really are very strong!"
After all, they turned the tide in one game after being down by five points!
Truly... very strong!
Sendou answered the questions with ease, while Jun-san, who stood like a guardian deity on either side of him, seemed somewhat stiff in the face of so many people.
As for Captain Tetsu, he had a resolute expression on his face, but his body was already stiff...
Where's the pitcher?
You completely dominated Hoshinomiya today!
What kind of player do you think Hoshinomiya is?
"Hmm! Hoshinomiya- san is a very good pitcher. His Changeup is very sharp, but although his fastball is well controlled, it feels like he's missing something!"
As for my attack, it was all thanks to the efforts of Senior Chris and those behind-the-scenes colleagues; the information they provided was extremely accurate.
In addition, our entire batting lineup was draining his energy, coupled with the fatigue from consecutive pitches and today's temperature.
"I see! Then, Sendou-kun!"
Among the pitchers you've faced, who do you think is the best?
" Inajitsu ... Narumiya Mei!" Sendou answered without hesitation.
"If I remember correctly, Inajitsu is our opponent in the Regional Preliminaries finals!"
Sendou-kun must have obtained terrifying attack data from him, right?
So what kind of player is Narumiya?
How does she come across as compared to other pitchers like Hirobi Tate and Hoshinomiya?
"Data can be deceiving!"
The data only records that I got four hits, but it doesn't record how good my performance was that day!
The power I possessed that day is on a completely different level from the power I am today!
Let me comment on Narumiya Mei's words!
If it weren't for my condition that day, if it were a nine-inning match, that man would have been able to keep our Seidou Batting Lineup lineup under 5 points!
Tetsu-san's condition that day was definitely not bad, but he only had two hits in six at-bats, one of which was an irregular jump that resulted in an unexpected run to base.
There was only one solid hit!
"With the help of the defense, he managed to get two outs for Tetsu-san and strike out in the first two at-bats!" Sendou said slowly, with a hint of reminiscence.
"Strikeouts?"
"Two consecutive at-bats?"
"Within five points?"
The reporters below were stunned by Sendou's words. Everyone in the Koshien tournament had come to a profound understanding of just how strong Yuuki Tetsuya.
Let alone striking out two consecutive batters, striking out is a novelty.
"If I had to pinpoint the reason for their defeat, I could only say that I was in such good form that day, that's all."
If I hadn't been in such good form that day, I would have been confident of getting one Long Hit in six of my batting matches; the rest would have been entirely up to luck.
After all, that man was the one who had suppressed Tetsu-san for four consecutive matches!
Those twelve rounds were like Death Struggle match; several times, everyone else was in despair.
Even Tetsu-san wavered during the perilous experience!
He's practically a king!
"That's truly amazing!"
By this time, the reporters had some understanding of what Sendou meant by being able to suppress Seidou to within five points. (This is something that can't be faked; experts can tell just by watching the video.)
Even though I believed it, I still found it amazing. Just look at how many points the two reserve players gave the Seidou Batting Lineup!
The duo, who have been invincible and caused a ruckus at Koshien until now, have actually faced such a huge challenge.
The reporters couldn't help but glance at Captain Tetsu (who was completely bewildered and had no idea what they were talking about).
"A pitcher capable of suppressing the Sendou -Yuki pair!"
Those who watched the interview today all have this impression.
"As expected, now that we've come this far, our goal is the Victory Banner!"
Is there anything you'd like to say last?
"Our goal in Seidou is only one thing... and that is to dominate the whole country!"
We are a team that has survived a hellish Death Struggle!
We only got here by defeating the strongest opponents in the Regional Preliminaries, so our only goal is to dominate the nation!
Sendou's words silenced the reporters, but only for a moment.
"That's it then! Thank you for your hard work!" The reporter then announced the end of the interview.
After expressing his gratitude, Sendou left with the two overly nervous seniors.
We returned to the middle of the group and took the bus back to the hotel.
" Sendou! You should go back now!"
Your only task is to get enough rest!
You don't have to come to the evening's battle recap if you don't want to.
"Everyone else, you can leave now!" As soon as he got out of the car, Coach Kataoka gave the exhausted Sendou the green light.
After washing up, the Seidou players went back to their rooms. Sendou, who was already exhausted, fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Meanwhile, in the Second Match Semifinals of the Koshien tournament, as most people expected, Kyoma emerged victorious.
The final score was five to zero!
The four pitchers from the Kyoma are evenly distributed, ensuring their performance in tomorrow's final.
The particularly pragmatic ace, Hongo Masamune, only pitched two innings.
After all, in his previous Hongo, Hongo had gone toe-to-toe with Narumiya Mei. Although the number of games wasn't mentioned, the final game meant at least seven games.
It's only natural to conserve his energy before the finals, after all, he's still a freshman, having only received high school-level training for four months, and is still in a period of rapid growth.
His physical condition and stamina are not yet at their peak, and his only Changeup is the Fast Forkball.
However, Four-Quadrant plus a deciding pitch already makes for a very formidable pitcher.
After all, the average ball speed needs to reach around 145 km/h, and the top speed is around 148 km/h. (Judging from the statement that he could maintain a ball speed of 140 km/h in the final game Narumiya Mei against Narumiya Mei, Hongo's ball speed in the summer of his Hongo year wasn't as exaggerated as it was in the spring of his second year.)
Therefore, the final teams have been determined: Seidou vs. Kyoma Daifuji Maki.
The most anticipated matchup is probably between the Seidou Batting Lineup and the Kyoma pitching lineup.
Sendou, fast asleep in his room, was completely unaware of anything!
Naturally, no one knew what Miyuki was doing sneakily in the room.
" Hongo-kun! You only pitched two innings today, is that to prepare for tomorrow's Seidou match?"
"..."
The reporter looked awkwardly at Hongo Masamune, who remained silent and looked like someone owed him money.
The other reporters continued their questioning despite the awkwardness.
" Hongo-kun! Do you know Furuya-kun from Seidou?"
He's supposedly from Hokkaido too!
At this point in the reporter's speech, Hongo Masamune's gaze became even more Killing Intent.
However, he seemed to be thinking about something and remained silent.
"Then what about the fourth batter of Seidou, Sendou Akira?"
That was truly a monster!
Those top-tier first-year batters were something I never even dared to dream of before!
In the morning interview, Sendou-kun said that the most impressive pitcher he had ever seen was Narumiya Mei, the second-year ace pitcher in the Regional Preliminaries.
"It's said that if Sendou-kun isn't at his peak, he'll be suppressed as a pitcher!" The reporter seemed to have found a way to dictate Hongo Masamune's words, and was unilaterally feeding Hongo the information.
Other reporters echoed this sentiment.
Although Japanese journalists are generally decent, they would never like someone like Hongo, and naturally wouldn't deliberately promote him.
Just like Coach Nitta said, you can't offend the reporters.
"Tomorrow!"
"Huh?" The reporters were stunned for a moment before realizing that it was Hongo Masamune who had spoken.
"Did you say something?" one of the reporters asked.
"After tomorrow's match, I'll make him remember my name!" After saying that, Hongo Masamune stopped talking.
The reporter had long wanted to make Hongo and Sendou into a fated rivalry.
A super Monster Batter and Wrist Pitcher with incredibly Precision Control, both in the same grade – that's an enormous gimmick.
With his fiercely competitive personality, stern expression, and quiet demeanor, Hongo, and Sendoh, gentle, witty, and somewhat adorable Sendou, it's obvious who they'll side with.
That being said, they had to acknowledge Hongo's strength, and Sendou's current talent did not significantly suppress Hongo.
However, the baseball batter is the one who benefits.
If they watch the match between Inajitsu and Seidou, they might change their minds.
When Hongo returned, he was naturally ridiculed by Coach Nitta. Otherwise, how could he live up to the nickname "Devil" that Hongo had given him?
Hongo was holding back a lot of anger; every time he was interviewed before, this name kept popping up in his head.
How could someone as competitive as him not care?
This feeling intensified after learning that Sendou had expressed his opinion of him upon first hearing his name.
He had been watching Sendou's matches closely, and after discovering Sendou's strength, his competitive spirit resurfaced.
In particular, since the reporter knew that Sendou didn't care much about him, he rarely mentioned Hongo's name in the interview, but instead talked on and on.
It was blatantly telling him that the Sendou was above his own; how could he tolerate that?
Those who refuse to admit defeat will not fear any powerful enemy.
Today's interview has ignited a powder keg in the Hongo.
"What's wrong with you, Narumi!" Narumiya Mei returned to the dormitory after a day of practice, Harada looked at Narumiya Mei's face and asked with a puzzled expression.
Narumiya Mei's cheeks were flushed, and her mouth, which was closed, was stretched almost to her ears. She looked so happy and cute.
"It's been like this ever since I heard Sendou-kun's interview on the radio," Tadano Itsuki said helplessly.
"An interview? Did Sendou say something?"
They must have mentioned Naruto and praised him, right? Harada and the others left after watching the match, so they didn't see the interview.
Then, Tree recounted the gist of Sendou's interview, Harada finally understood the whole story.
"I see! That wasn't an exaggeration!"
"It's not that I'm praising you to the skies!" Harada, understanding Narumiya Mei's arrogant attitude.
Anyone would be delighted to receive such praise from their greatest rival, or even a formidable enemy they had already resigned themselves to, not to mention that Narumiya Mei's personality is such that she gets carried away by praise.
"What? Ya-san!"
This is strength, talent, and recognition!
"That guy Sendou has such good judgment, he definitely won't be wrong!" Narumiya Mei nodded proudly.
Harada knew that at this point, it was pointless for Naru to say anything, so he just let him be happy!
Anyway, it's not a good thing, but this recognition will become a driving force for Narumiya Mei's growth.
Thinking of this, Harada leaned closer to speak.
"What are you going to do? Ya-san!!!" The white-haired man thought Harada was going to beat him up, so he panicked a little, but shouted loudly.
"There's nothing there!" Harada, who was about to speak but was interrupted, suddenly didn't want to say anything more.
"What do you mean you don't want to talk about? Why are you coming over here?"
"A face, so close! So big! So scary!"
"What do you mean by 'big'?" Harada didn't expect that this white-haired guy would bring up his face again.
"It's big, it's big!" Narumiya Mei said matter-of-factly. (Actually, he was panicking inside.)
The two ended up staring fiercely at each other with their foreheads very close, while Tadano Itsuki stood by, completely dumbfounded.
As usual, Narumiya Mei sat obediently in front of the TV for the evening news, waiting to see the live broadcast! (This guy just wanted to hear it again, and he even planned to record it...)
Although others found it strange—this guy, who never pays attention to the news and is already covered in Koshien, was unusually watching the news today, and with that infuriating expression no less. (Happy face)
It wasn't until I saw Sendou's interview that I suddenly realized what was going on.
Harada covered his head the whole time, feeling incredibly embarrassed!
He sighed inwardly, wondering if his white cat had finally been tamed.
I want to watch the game tomorrow too!
"I, as the king, will personally watch the battle. Seidou will definitely win, and then I'll come back and deal with them!" Upon hearing Sendou address him as king, Narumiya Mei immediately adopted himself as king.
After he said that, the others stopped paying attention to him and let him play by himself!
Sendou slept soundly until dark. After washing up at the hotel, he slept straight through until nightfall. When he checked the time, it was already eight o'clock. He then prepared to get up, have a meal, and attend the War Council.
I'm planning to go back and then continue sleeping... (Sleep, eat, eat, sleep—it's like being a pig!)
However, when he took the food to the dining room, he found that the third-year students were all excitedly discussing something.
Suddenly, Sendou felt no longer sleepy, and the grilled meat in his hand no longer tasted good!
However, I still quietly found a place and prepared to eat.
"Hey! You're finally awake!" Isashiki said when he saw Sendou.
The other senior colleagues also looked over, their faces full of smiles.
But he couldn't bring himself to smile at this heartwarming scene.
"Ah! I slept very well, but after the meeting, I'll take a shower and go back to sleep."
So, Sendou squinted and "smiled".
"You still want to sleep?!" the seniors exclaimed in unison.
"Well! It's good that I can sleep! I'll leave you to sleep tomorrow too!"
"Cleanup Hitter!" But it was Isashiki reacted first and laughed.
"Okay! I understand!" Sendou said with a "smile" again.
They then sat down and began to eat.
Requesting votes...