"That guy is simply a monster!"
After getting struck Out, Kuramochi encountered Kominato Haruichi, the second batter, on his way back to the dugout. He then gave his evaluation of Narumiya.
Despite always looking carefree, Kuramochi was someone who had a strong sense of discipline. He had a keen ability to assess others accurately.
As the first batter for the king of high school baseball, the Seidou High School baseball team, Kuramochi had been with the team for years, traveling across the country and facing off against top players from all over. Even with some of the best from America, he had been up against them too.
It wouldn't be wrong to say he had high standards or that he was well-traveled. Nowadays, among his peers nationwide, there were very few players who could make Kuramochi feel inferior.
The famous star players were generally about on his level or just slightly better, but there were only a handful who made him feel completely outmatched.
Narumiya Mei, unfortunately, was one of those players.
After their encounter just now, Kuramochi truly felt the difference.
He couldn't even hit the ball, let alone get a hit. During his entire exchange with Narumiya, he couldn't even make contact with the ball.
This match was likely going to be tougher than he had imagined.
This was the first feeling Kuramochi had after being struck out.
Kominato Haruichi, upon hearing Kuramochi's thoughts, didn't show any unusual expression.
As a fellow partner in the keystone duo and the person who is the closest to in the field, he understood exactly why Kuramochi had said such things.
It was just a warning. Kuramochi was trying to prepare him mentally.
Narumiya Mei was not someone to be taken lightly. Even if Kominato couldn't gain the upper hand in this battle, he should not rush.
It was all done with good intentions.
Although Kuramochi didn't offer direct tactical help, he had given him emotional comfort.
However, even so, Kominato Haruichi did not intend to take Kuramochi's advice.
He had his own thoughts, and they were resolute.
He was going to hit the ball!
This was the decision he had made even before the Summer Tournament.
Before the game with Inashiro Industrial High School, Kominato Haruichi received a text message from his older brother.
]Do your best in tomorrow's game!]
The message was very simple, but Kominato Haruichi was deeply moved when he read it.
He knew his older brother, Kominato Ryosuke, was not the type to be overly sentimental.
No matter how tough the previous matches had been for Seidou, Ryosuke had never talked about them.
This was the first time Ryosuke had about a game with his younger brother since he left high school.
Kominato Ryosuke held a special place in Kominato Haruichi's mind, and after reading the message, he was overwhelmed with emotion.
He read the message over and over again, feeling the care his brother had for him.
So, in this match, no matter how terrifying the Tokyo Prince was, he was going to hit the ball!
With this resolution in mind, Haruichi coldly fixed his eyes on the pitcher's mound where Narumiya stood.
As Kominato Haruichi is a batter with unparalleled skills, Narumiya and Tadano didn't underestimate him at all.
They were well aware that if Kominato unleashed his full potential, even they could run into trouble.
Fortunately, Haruichi's strengths and weaknesses were very clear. Dealing with him shouldn't be difficult.
At least, this is what the Inashiro Industrial High School pitcher-catcher duo thought at first.
Narumiya's fastball exceeded 150 km/h. (93 mph)
His pitches had both strong velocity and excellent quality.
Against a batter like Kominato Haruichi, whose power wasn't as strong, it was entirely possible to overwhelm him.
Theoretically, if they played to their strengths, it would be very difficult for Kominato Haruichi to get a hit off Narumiya's pitches.
Based on the intelligence they had gathered, this was the situation.
Tadano made up his mind and crouched down to catch the ball.
Over the past year, Tadano had become quite familiar with his partner, Narumiya Mei, who was known for his "genius" status.
Narumiya was like a stubborn mule.
Once he set his mind on something, as long as it wasn't too extreme, it was better to go along with his thinking.
'Only by doing so could his full potential be brought out.'
If the catcher interfered too much, no matter how many reasons you had, the result would not be ideal.
Narumiya would start getting rebellious, and when that happened, there was no guarantee he'd cooperate, let alone perform at his peak.
So, in order to bring out Narumiya's best, Tadano focused on keeping his emotions balanced and making sure he was comfortable with every pitch.
Tadano had learned this well, and now he could fully concentrate on guiding Narumiya to pitch at his peak.
'Let's go!'
This simple, straightforward confrontation was exactly what Narumiya enjoyed.
Thus, his first pitch was excellent.
Roaar!
The baseball flew like a sharp white streak, crossing the space of several meters in an instant, heading straight for the catcher's Mitt.
Just as Tadano was about to catch the pitch…
A bat appeared in front of him!
'What…?'
It was just the first pitch, and the quality was so high…
In Tadano Itsuki's mind, the batter had no reason to swing at this pitch.
But surprisingly, the Devil Brother with blazing eyes, didn't just swing, he did so decisively.
He was able to follow the ball with his vision clearly the moment Narumiya threw it, and with his fast swing speed, he was able to make contact.
Now, what was left was to overwhelm the power of the ball...
PAAK!
The ball that seemed impossible to hit was forced out when it met the bat.
Kominato Haruichi, who had once appeared slender and weak, now looked particularly tall and powerful, exuding a sharp momentum!
Over the past six months, he had not only worked on his swing speed but had also been training his strength.
Now, while he couldn't say his hitting power was overwhelming, it certainly wasn't weak.
The baseball that was hit flew past Narumiya Mei's back.
Narumiya's eyes flashed with surprise.
He couldn't believe that the first pitch he threw had been hit like this.
There was no hesitation, just a clean and sharp hit.
"YEAAHH!!!"
"The Devil Brother Strikes Again!"
"Awesome!"
The Seidou High School baseball team's players in the dugout couldn't hold back their cheers.
Haruichi had actually hit Narumiya's pitch on the very first ball. It was a good omen.
Considering that the next players up were Sawamura and Miyuki, they realized Seidou High might even recover from the deficit in the first inning.
It was a promising thought, but before it could fully develop…
A figure dashed from the shortstop zone in a blink of a flash!
After the first rebound of the ball, he managed to catch it with the tip of his mitt.
Shirakawa couldn't stop his momentum but with great skill, he rolled twice before snapping back into a half-crouching stance, passing it to first base with precision!
Snap!
"OUT!!"
Kominato Haruichi, who had hit a beautiful shot, was Out with only a step and a half from the base.
Seidou now had two Outs, with Sawamura stepping up to bat.
…