Chapter 505 - 505: Bases-Loaded Heavy Artillery and Terrifying Scores!

The white baseball soared high into the sky.

Tens of thousands of eyes followed the tiny white dot as it climbed higher and higher.

Every spectator held their breath in anticipation.

Then, under countless expectant gazes, the baseball cut through the air and crashed into the outfield stands.

Silence.

For a brief moment, the entire stadium seemed frozen.

The Coach of Mishimon High School slowly closed his eyes, unable to accept such a devastating blow.

The players of Mishimon High School felt as if their hearts had been struck just as hard.

The score had instantly changed from 1-0 to 5-0.

"We've finally reached the moment everyone has been waiting for!"

"The reigning national powerhouse, Seido High School, has unleashed its true strength!"

"Zhou Hao blasts a grand slam!"

"Just as expected of the nation's number one player—his performance is flawless!"

Not even the harshest critic could find fault with those words.

Zhou Hao's ability and achievements had long since earned universal recognition.

"To continue an offensive like this with two outs..."

"That's terrifying."

"If they weren't facing a team as strong as Mishimon, Seido probably wouldn't have needed to reveal this level of power."

The fans in the stands were thrilled.

Seido's performance was incredible, and Zhou Hao's overwhelming power had left everyone speechless.

At the same time, Mishimon High School had also earned the crowd's respect.

Had they not displayed enough strength to pressure Seido, the national champions would never have been forced to reveal such an explosive offense.

It was precisely because their opponents were strong that Seido's domination felt so impressive.

Everything seemed natural.

Everything seemed inevitable.

"Fourth Batter, Number Three, Captain, Yuki Tetsuya."

The announcement echoed throughout the stadium.

The crowd was still immersed in the excitement of Zhou Hao's grand slam and had yet to fully recover.

But the game continued.

Bat in hand, Yuki Tetsuya stepped into the batter's box.

His expression remained unchanged.

Standing there, he resembled an unshakable mountain—calm, imposing, and majestic.

Meanwhile, Mishimon's starting catcher was already on the verge of breaking down.

To make Mishimon a force to be reckoned with, they had spent years training in obscurity.

Everything had been for this Summer Tournament.

Facing the national powerhouse Seido High School, everyone on the team had felt tremendous pressure, but none of them had ever considered giving up.

Especially their new Ace.

He had always believed that only a powerhouse like Seido was worthy of his full strength.

Unfortunately, reality was far crueler than he had imagined.

Less than two innings into the game, Seido had already discovered his weakness.

Once they adapted to his pitching style, everything else followed naturally.

Hit after hit.

Run after run.

The scoreboard now showed a crushing 5-0 lead.

"Do I really not have what it takes to challenge the strongest team in the nation?"

The thought surfaced uncontrollably in the Ace's mind.

Of course, he refused to accept it.

No competitor would willingly accept such a conclusion.

As long as even the slightest possibility remained, they would fight with everything they had.

His eyes hardened with determination.

Then he fired another pitch.

Whoosh!

The baseball exploded from his hand with a sharp, piercing sound.

Many spectators could hear the force behind it.

Through that pitch alone, they could sense the player's unwillingness to surrender and his desperate struggle against fate itself.

Unfortunately for him, the batter he faced was Yuki Tetsuya.

Sympathy was not something Yuki brought into the batter's box.

The instant the ball left the pitcher's hand, Yuki moved.

BOOM!

The bat swung like a thunderclap splitting the sky.

A terrifying sound echoed across the field.

CRACK!

The baseball was crushed.

From behind home plate, Mishimon's catcher stared in disbelief.

Had he not witnessed it himself, he never would have believed their Ace could be overwhelmed so completely.

Others might not understand.

But Mishimon's players knew exactly how formidable their Ace truly was.

Even their own batters, who faced him every day in practice, struggled to make solid contact against his unusual rising pitches.

Yet the Seido batters had only seen a handful of pitches.

And now they were driving them with ease.

This was the difference.

This was the gap between an ordinary strong team and a true national powerhouse.

The Ace turned his head and watched helplessly.

The ball streaked into the outfield before bouncing hard off the grass.

Their outfielder sprinted desperately, hoping to stop it.

But it was already too late.

By the time he arrived, the baseball had rolled far beyond his reach.

"It got through!"

The Seido players and supporters erupted in cheers.

To them, there was no sight more satisfying.

As for Mishimon's new Ace—

the desire to keep fighting was beginning to slip away.

The fact that he had dared to challenge Yuki Tetsuya head-on spoke volumes.

This was completely different from his confrontation with Zhou Hao.

When Zhou Hao stepped into the batter's box, the bases had already been loaded. Even if Mishimon's Ace had wanted to avoid him, he had no choice.

He could only grit his teeth and face him.

In the end, getting punished with a grand slam could only be attributed to a gap in ability.

At the very least, no one could blame him for making the wrong decision.

He had truly done everything he could.

But now, the situation was different.

He had the option to issue an intentional walk.

Yet he still chose to challenge Yuki.

The meaning behind that decision was obvious.

The new Ace of Mishimon High School had already lost the rhythm and confidence he possessed at the beginning of the game.

Once a pitcher's spirit was shaken, he was no longer a difficult opponent for Seido.

Standing in the on-deck circle, Isashiki Jun's eyes turned icy.

"Kid, you've got guts."

Even against Yuki Tetsuya, the opponent still chose to pitch head-on.

Isashiki slowly raised the bat in his hand.

His fierce gaze seemed capable of swallowing someone whole.

Mishimon's Ace had already cast aside everything.

In his mind, there was nothing left to lose.

Yet when he met Isashiki's eyes, he froze for a brief moment.

Those eyes were terrifying.

For an instant, he felt as though he were staring at a ferocious beast.

A monster ready to devour him whole.

Fortunately, it was only an illusion.

After taking a deep breath, he quickly regained his composure and prepared for the next pitch.

Two outs.

Runner on second.

Yuki had already advanced into scoring position, and Mishimon was still facing the danger of surrendering more runs.

At this point, their Ace seemed to have completely let go of all hesitation.

He no longer cared about the score.

He no longer cared about the pressure.

All he wanted was to pitch.

With all his strength, he fired the baseball.

Whoosh!

The white ball screamed through the air.

Even the Seido players couldn't help but admire him.

Despite everything that had happened, he was still capable of throwing pitches of this quality.

Among all the opponents Seido had faced, very few could maintain such composure under these circumstances.

What they didn't understand was that this Ace was different.

He had wagered his entire high school career on this very game.

The result might have been far different from what he had dreamed of.

But he refused to surrender.

Even if years of hard work became a joke in the eyes of others—

he still had to answer to himself.

No matter what happened, he would fight until the very end.

Whummm!

The deep sound of the swing struck directly at the heart of Mishimon's catcher.

Terrifying.

That was the only word he could think of.

The instant he heard the bat cut through the air, a sense of danger washed over him.

He had a terrible premonition.

The ball was going to be crushed.

And the next second, his fear became reality.

Crack!

The bat connected cleanly.

Although Mishimon's Ace had maintained his pitching quality, his pitches had already been thoroughly figured out.

Especially by Seido's core batters.

By now, they had developed complete strategies for dealing with his unique delivery.

Just like this.

Isashiki Jun drove the ball effortlessly into the field.

The baseball landed and bounced sharply across the grass.

A Mishimon fielder rushed forward, hoping to stop it.

But he was too late.

The ball rolled past him.

"It got through!"

"It got through again!"

For Seido's supporters, this result was hardly surprising.

No matter how well Mishimon's Ace performed, it simply wasn't enough against Seido's lineup.

The fact that he had held on this long was already worthy of respect.

Even so, the Seido supporters couldn't contain their excitement.

Watching their batters repeatedly break through the defense and drive the ball into the field filled them with exhilaration.

The feeling was difficult to put into words.

But it was undeniably satisfying.

"Safe!"

"The sixth run scores for Seido High School!"

Even the commentator was stunned.

Before the game began, he had never imagined that today's match would unfold in such a dramatic fashion.

Mishimon's performance had exceeded all expectations.

Their opponent was Seido High School—the defending national champion, the nation's top seed, and one of the most dominant teams in the country.

Against such a powerhouse, most people expected Mishimon to be completely overwhelmed.

Yet reality had been different.

In the first inning, they had successfully held Seido's powerful lineup scoreless.

For a moment, many believed Mishimon's hidden Ace was about to become the star of the tournament.

Then Seido reminded everyone why they were champions.

Before the game could even reach the third inning, they erupted.

Hit after hit.

Run after run.

Even with two outs, their offense refused to stop.

By all logic, the inning should have ended long ago.

Yet Seido simply kept attacking.

After scoring their sixth run, the batting order had already completed a full cycle.

The lineup returned to the top.

The batter stepping into the box was Miyuki Kazuya.

Back in his first at-bat, he had already surprised everyone.

With nobody on base, he was the first player to break through Mishimon's defense and create a scoring opportunity.

Now, the two sides faced each other once again.

Two outs.

Runner on second.

The fans who had once doubted Miyuki's batting ability now felt completely reassured.

Part of that confidence came from his earlier performance.

The other part came from the situation itself.

A runner was already in scoring position.

For any batter, this represented a golden opportunity.

For Miyuki Kazuya?

It was even more dangerous.

He had earned a reputation as one of Seido's most reliable hitters whenever runners were on base.

While calling him "unparalleled" might be an exaggeration, his clutch hitting ability was beyond question.

Otherwise, he never would have received such praise.

Many die-hard Seido supporters even believed that the current Miyuki Kazuya deserved to be mentioned alongside Yuki Tetsuya and Zhou Hao.

And what kind of status did those two hold in Seido?

The answer was obvious.

Being compared to them was the highest compliment imaginable.

As if determined to justify that praise, Miyuki didn't disappoint.

The moment the baseball entered the hitting zone, he swung without hesitation.

CRACK!

The sound echoed throughout the stadium.

The white baseball rocketed into the sky.

Mishimon's coach stared in disbelief.

"How is that possible?!"

This wasn't the first hit their Ace had allowed.

But it was the cleanest contact anyone had made all game.

In terms of pure timing and precision, it was even better than Zhou Hao's towering grand slam.

Miyuki wasn't known for overwhelming power.

Yet the baseball continued to carry.

Farther.

Farther.

Farther still.

Then—

it cleared the fence.

"It... it went out!"