Chapter 169: Sixth Round (18)



Somewhere in the stands of the stadium...

"Huh?! What the hell are you doing, you blue-eyed idiot?!" - A young man with white hair wearing a long, fake white beard stood up and shouted indignantly as he looked at Shun on the mound.

"Hey Suga, keep your voice down!" - A young man with brown hair and a fake mustache on his face spoke as he pulled his friend and made him sit down. Kohei couldn't help but blush in embarrassment, noticing the many eyes turned towards him and Sugawara, after all, besides Sugawara's shout, the two friends didn't look very "normal" with their "disguises" on their faces.

"Tch! Shut up! It's their fault, those idiots! Why the hell didn't they change pitchers?" - Sugawara continued irritated, but after noticing the many looks directed at him, he just muttered indignantly as he sat down, a slight trace of disappointment in his eyes as he looked at the field. It seemed he wouldn't get his revenge against Shoto in Kanto...

Kohei looked at his manic friend's reaction but said nothing. He also couldn't understand the decision to keep Shun on the mound, it was clear to everyone in the stadium that Shun's pitching had been declining with each inning.

---

In another part of the stands, two brothers sat watching the field...

"Huh? Are they really going to keep this pitcher?" - Kyosuke, the older brother, spoke in shock as he looked at the field. As a professional player, he understood very well the risk of that decision.

Ryosuke remained silent as he watched the field, but even he couldn't hide his surprise at seeing Shun back on the mound in the seventh inning. After all, Shoto Junior High had Sora and Jiro ready to go at any moment.

'Hmph! You said all that to me, but in the end, you're just selfish too...' - Ryosuke thought irritably as he looked at Shun. He still remembered how Shun had thrown him to the ground in the dugout before he was expelled from the team, and seeing the boy back on the mound even with his declining pitches, the only reason Ryosuke could think of was that Shun was being selfish and didn't want to give up the mound to anyone in what could be the last game of his middle school career.

---

"You'll pay for underestimating us!" - The first Kasuga batter gritted his teeth as he murmured, seeing Shun smiling on the mound. The only thing he could think was that Shun believed he could beat Kasuga's batters even though he was tired and his pitches were losing speed.

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"

The first batter then stepped into the left side of the batter's box, determined to take Shun down as the Kasuga crowd shouted loudly, making the entire stadium feel the pressure of that moment. However, the boy standing on the mound didn't seem to be feeling that pressure.

'How strange... My body still feels heavy, and I can still feel the fatigue, but... this strange sensation, it feels like I've never been better!' - Shun thought to himself, unaware of all the noise in the stadium. This was the boy's first time using his clutch player skill, and he still wasn't used to the feeling.

But without hesitation, Shun lifted his right leg into the air as he pushed his body forward. He stepped firmly on the ground before twisting his entire body and whipping his arm toward home plate.

'Damn!' - The first batter flinched back instinctively as he saw a ball coming toward his head at insane speed.

PAH

"Strike!" - The umpire announced as the ball broke horizontally and ended up in the high part of the strike zone.

---

In the stands...

"What the fuck?! 137 km/h?!" - A boy with a long, fake white beard stood up from his chair and shouted in shock as he looked at the stadium's speed radar.