Chapter 488: Battle Against Seiko — His Brilliance
As Eijun stood tall in left field, breathing heavily, his glove raised high in triumph—the entire stadium went still.
Seiko High's dugout, poised to erupt in celebration, fell silent.
Seidou's players were left slack-jawed in disbelief.
In the stands, the crowd froze in a rare moment of silence.
That fragile, breathless quiet—lasted less than a second.
Then—
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
"OOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
The stadium exploded.
It was like a chorus of howling spirits.
Everyone's faces flushed red with excitement—
shouts, gasps, cheers, and chatter clashed in a chaotic uproar.
Every spectator seemed overwhelmed with the need to scream.
"What a spectacular display of defense! This—this is the answer from Seidou's Ace! Even the scorching power of Seiko's cleanup hitter Nagata—what should have been a sure-fire home run—was shut down by none other than Seidou's diamond of Ace, Sawamura Eijun!! A true guardian of the throne!!"
On the field—
Nagata, who had started running the bases, stared blankly in disbelief.
Kojima, who had broken for home, was forced to retreat to second, his expression equally stunned.
The rest of Seiko's bench was no different.
Ogawa Tsunematsu clenched his fists in frustration, Masu Shinichiro quietly shook his head, and even Coach Oga wore a face of bitter regret.
In the stands, former Seiko coach was speechless.
That was the perfect chance to take the lead.
And that kid shut it down.
"Holy crap. Holy crap. HOLY CRAP."
"No way he caught that?! Isn't that guy a pitcher?! A pitcher, right?!"
"Am I blind or did their Ace just make a play like that in left field?!"
"He's just a first-year, right?! RIGHT?!"
"I'm out of words. That's Seidou's diamond Ace."
"He pitches like a monster, hits like a cleanup, and now he's making web gems in the outfield?!"
"God… am I witnessing the birth of a baseball god?"
"Heh… all I can say now is… wow."
"Sawamura-kun!!!"
Out in left field—bathed in sunlight, with a bright, confident grin—
Sawamura Eijun.
In that moment—he carved himself even deeper into everyone's memory.
Faces across the crowd lit up with awe—and the wave of fangirl screams rose and echoed all over the ballpark.
In that instant—Eijun won over the crowd again.
"Yahaha! Sawamura, that was amazing!" Kuramochi shouted from the infield.
"Perfect catch, Eijun-kun!" Haruichi called out with joy.
"Ace, you're unbelievable!"
"SAWAMURAAAA!!!"
On the bench, and on the field, Seidou erupted in celebration, relieved, ecstatic, and fired up.
At home plate, Miyuki.
On the bench, Coach Kataoka, Ochiai—
they all wore calm, composed expressions once more.
In the stands—Jun-senpai's wolf-like howls echoed across the entire stadium.
Chris and Yuki wore faint, relaxed smiles.
"There's no matching him," Yuki murmured.
"It's the kind of existence that makes you feel helpless… but also incredibly reassured."
Tojou Hideaki, having just reached Eijun's side, looked at him with mixed emotions, his heart whispering silently:
He's… really something else.
On the mound—Furuya Satoru stared at Eijun's silhouette.
At that moment, a whirl of feelings surged in his chest.
Again… he saved us.
Even if it was in a different way.
Could it be that I…
"Furuya, that's two outs."
Suddenly, a loud voice rang out across the field.
Furuya sharply raised his head—his gaze locking onto the shining presence of Eijun.
"Don't forget what I told you last time! If your goal is the top—If you want to surpass me, if you want to fight for this number on your back—Then show me what you've got! Show me just how far your ability and your spirit can go! There's still one more out!! Get it yourself before you even think of leaving that mound! I don't remember ever acknowledging a rival who was weak and fragile!!"
That loud, high-spirited voice—that figure bathed in a soft golden glow from the sun—at this moment…
His brilliance was blinding.
So awe-inspiring, it filled the air with a solemn stillness.
From deep in left field, Eijun's shout rang out with conviction.
In the dugout, Coach Kataoka—who had been about to raise his hand for a pitching change—paused.
Then slowly lowered his arm.
On the field, Kuramochi, Haruichi, Miyuki, Kanemaru, Maezono—all turned to look at Eijun in stunned silence.
"That guy…"
Even Miyuki behind home plate didn't know what to say.
In the stands, and over in Seiko's dugout—people wore confused, astonished, and amused expressions.
On the mound, Furuya's right hand clenched tightly.
His gaze toward Eijun burned with fierce intensity.
Then—he turned back toward the plate in one swift, decisive motion.
In his eyes—a flicker of blue fire.
The pitcher's spirit still burned.
The pitcher's pride stood tall.
A king's roar.
This was the shine of a power pitcher's will to fight.
Where he stood—was his battlefield.
"Whoosh!"
"Pop!"
"Strike three! Batter out! Three outs! Side retired!"
"The final pitch—a blazing fastball on the inside corner! Furuya strikes out Seiko's fifth batter, Tamaki, in four pitches! Seiko's explosive offensive push this inning stops at just one run. What could've been a go-ahead hit by cleanup slugger Nagata was robbed by Seidou's Ace, Sawamura Eijun—and Furuya followed with a sharp, confident finish to retire the side. Three outs! Change sides! Seidou High still holds a narrow one-run lead!!"
Over on the third-base side, inside Seiko High's dugout—
"Damn it… a fastball?"
Tamaki returned to the bench, scowling in frustration.
"You were way off. Nagata was the unlucky one. I still can't believe they caught that ball," said Shirota, clicking his tongue.
"Yeah, it looked like it was gone for sure. And that guy just leapt and snagged it off the wall…" Yamashita added, shaking his head.
"Haha, guess I should've hit it a little higher,"
Nagata said cheerfully, without a trace of regret.
"Next time, I'll aim for the scoreboard. Let's see him catch that."
"Yeah, that's the spirit. There are still three innings left. We're only down by one run now—it's nothing. The rest is up to you, Tsunematsu."
Kojima Ryuhei patted Ogawa Tsunematsu firmly on the back.
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