Fooled by the circle changeup, Masatoshi Harada could only look at Miyuki Kazuya helplessly.
So this is how they're responding to us revealing the changeup early…
As he turned to leave the batter's box, Harada lowered his voice while passing the on-deck circle.
"He's relying more on breaking balls today. His fastball isn't as fast as before—you can try targeting it."
"Harada-senpai, I know."
Narumiya Mei puffed out his chest proudly as he picked up his metal bat and strode toward the batter's box.
His entire aura turned cold—
yet a blazing fire burned in his eyes.
"Fifth batter, pitcher, Narumiya-kun!"
The moment Narumiya stepped in, the stadium ignited once again.
The previous Ace-versus-Ace clash hadn't happened—because Narumiya had chosen to walk Kanzaki Ryou.
But now—
No one believed Kanzaki Ryou would do the same.
Ever since stepping onto the mound in high school, he had never issued a walk.
In his baseball—
there was no retreat.
No avoidance.
Only attack.
No matter who stood at the plate, he would throw without hesitation.
An overwhelmingly aggressive style.
Behind the plate, Miyuki Kazuya observed Narumiya's stance.
Like Harada and the others, he stood close to the plate.
A stance like that made both pitcher and catcher uncomfortable.
So that's it…
Miyuki's eyes narrowed slightly.
Inashiro's strategy today was clear—use aggressive positioning to suppress Kanzaki Ryou's inside pitches.
Different possibilities flashed through Miyuki's mind as he tried to read Coach Kunimoto's intentions.
On the mound, Kanzaki Ryou met Narumiya Mei's gaze briefly—
then shifted his focus to Miyuki.
Can't read it?
Fine.
Let's use this pitch… to greet an old friend.
Miyuki subtly adjusted his position and extended his glove, signaling with his right hand.
A faint smile appeared on Kanzaki Ryou's lips.
He liked that signal.
Whoosh—
Taking a deep breath, Kanzaki leaned forward slightly.
The baseball spun in his right hand behind his back as he locked onto Narumiya, who stood fully focused in the batter's box.
He straightened.
His left leg rose slowly.
Then—
He stepped forward.
His arm whipped out in a blur.
Whoosh!
The sensation of release was crystal clear.
Narumiya's pupils shrank.
Fast!
An overwhelming sense of pressure bore down with the incoming pitch.
Suppressing the instinct to dodge, he gritted his teeth and swung—
Pop!
"Strike!"
Before his swing had even reached halfway—
the ball had already drilled into his chest area, cleanly caught in Miyuki's glove.
Just a ball's width away.
The umpire broke into a cold sweat.
That had been dangerously close.
Narumiya didn't even notice.
His eyes instinctively darted toward the speed gun.
"161 km/h!"
A full-power fastball.
A greeting pitch—
right at the chest.
Perfect.
"Damn it…!"
Narumiya clenched his teeth.
He knew very well—
he couldn't throw at that speed.
These two bastards… they're doing it on purpose!
They didn't go all out against Harada—
but against him, they throw full power?!
"Humph!"
Narumiya lowered his head, then snorted coldly at Miyuki.
"If you've got the guts—do it again!"
"Hehe."
Miyuki smiled.
That pitch had worked perfectly.
Standing up, he casually tossed the ball back.
"Come on, Narumiya. Try hitting it."
"Kazuya… are you looking down on me?!"
Narumiya's voice turned icy.
Miyuki simply crouched again, no longer responding.
Narumiya turned his gaze back to the mound.
Damn chestnut-haired monster…
I will win!
Gripping his bat tightly, Narumiya's fighting spirit surged to its peak.
No matter what—
he had to hit this pitch.
Sensing that determination, Kanzaki smiled faintly.
He checked Miyuki's signal.
Then—
lifted his leg.
Swung his arm.
Whoosh!
The ball screamed toward home plate.
"Haah!!"
Narumiya roared as he swung with all his strength.
Bang!
A violent impact echoed.
The shock traveled up his arms, his expression turning fierce as he forced the ball away.
Whoosh!
The ball soared high toward first base.
Yuki Tetsuya charged forward—
then suddenly stopped.
The ball drifted outward—
"Foul ball!!"
"…What a heavy pitch."
Narumiya loosened his grip slightly.
His palms were numb.
Even after facing Kanzaki so many times—
the feeling of contact still shocked him.
That speed.
That late movement.
Narumiya was certain—
This level of pitch was rare.
Maybe even unprecedented in Japanese high school baseball.
Against a monster like this—
even a moment's distraction meant missing the timing.
And even when making contact—
directing the ball where you wanted was incredibly difficult.
Most of the time, it would end in a fly out… or a forced out.
He glanced at the speed display again.
154 km/h.
Narumiya's eyes flickered.
Then—
he made his decision.
He adjusted his stance again—
moving even closer to the plate.
At the same time, he subtly lengthened his grip on the bat.
This increased his coverage.
Maximized his power.
But—
It completely abandoned the inside pitch.
A double-edged choice.
Miyuki immediately understood.
He's forcing us to throw outside.
But…
what if we go inside?
With that stance, the pressure on the pitcher would be enormous.
One mistake—
and it could be a hit-by-pitch.
Still…
Miyuki didn't believe Kanzaki would hesitate.
If called—
he would throw it without fear.
That was his nature.
Was it confidence?
Or rebellion?
The more you challenged him—
the more he would do exactly what you thought he wouldn't.
Miyuki glanced at the mound.
As expected—
Kanzaki Ryou was staring back, his eyes burning with competitive fire.
Such a stubborn guy…
Miyuki chuckled inwardly.
Good.
Let's break their expectations.
He set his glove.
And gave the signal.