Chapter 323: "Black"
"Fight him with inside pitches! Go slightly off the strike zone! Throw it nasty—this guy will swing!"
After even an outside forkball had been fouled off, Shiraha decisively chose to settle things.
Just like how a left-handed pitcher attacking a right-handed batter's chest with a sharp diagonal fastball was deadly, the reverse was also true—
a right-handed pitcher against a left-handed batter had the same conditions, just without calling it a "diagonal fastball."
"Pff!"
"Whoosh!"
Sendo saw the ball coming straight at his face!
(Instant recognition.)
"YARO—!!"
"Ping!"
His right foot stepped outward, his head tilted away, and the bat chopped downward—
Just like when Isashiki had hacked down that bad pitch against You Shunshin.
"Whoosh!"
"Pff!"
The ball instantly pierced the infield defense and dropped behind them.
Because the defense was guarding against Sendo's extra-base power—and because his hits had no fixed direction—the outfielders were all playing deep.
"He got it! The ball slices straight through Yokohama Kouhoku's infield! By the time the outfielder retrieves it, Sendo has comfortably reached second base!Seidou High's first hit of the game! And Yokohama Kouhoku's first real crisis!"
"YES!!! URA URA!"
Sawamura's imitation of Isashiki's demon face had evolved even further.
"YES!!!"
"He could've made it to third, right? With Sendo's speed!" Director Ota said excitedly.
"True—but that would've been too risky. There's no need to force it this early. For Sendo, second and third base aren't that different. That wasn't a bad judgment. Besides, he's already coordinated with Yuki and the others on how to move when he's on first or second. Second base is where his tactics work best."
"Oh? Sendo's idea?"
Ota looked onto the field with anticipation.
After all, once you know the trick, it's no longer fun.
And in Ota's impression of Sendo, his playstyle could be summed up in one word:
Black.
"Nice hitting! That swing looked a lot like Jun's!"
The third-year first-base coach stepped forward to take Sendo's gear.
"Thanks a lot! I really like that swing—it just looks cool! Though it only works on high pitches!"
"I see! Keep it up!"
With that, the senior stepped back.
Sendo adjusted the brim of his cap toward Yuki—
the signal to begin the operation.
"That hit couldn't be helped. Don't worry about the runner. The next batter is no joke—and neither are the ones after him. We need to be mentally prepared to give up runs here. But we can't let fear of losing runs give them openings."
After calling time, Shiraha spoke firmly to Ino.
"Yeah. I know."
"Then… let's go."
Shiraha tapped his partner's chest protector with his mitt and returned to position.
....
"A real man—everyone has his own world!
(Fifth batter! First baseman—Yuki!)
If one must compare it— it's like a star streaking across the sky! …
Hit it…! Yuki!
Hit it…! Yuki!
Yuki…! Yuki…! Yuki…!"
With a prime scoring chance—and Yuki at the plate—the cheering song from Seidou's stands once again drowned out the stadium announcement.
As Yuki stepped in, Shiraha resumed directing the defense.
Yuki was different from Sendo.
Though Yuki could hit for power, most of his long hits were standard deep outfield shots rather than fence-scrapers.
Unless he fully locked onto a pitch, he rarely blasted it straight into the wall.
The cheer squad didn't care—the game hadn't restarted yet, so they belted out the song at full volume.
Only when play resumed did they lower their voices and stick to instruments.
Meanwhile, Sendo took an enormous lead off second base.
That had become his signature.
Aside from Sendo—and Kuramochi, or Carlos—no one would even think about stealing third against a powerhouse.
A powerhouse's defense was solid by definition.
And aside from Sendo, no one truly had the confidence to steal third.
Third base was simply too close to home.
The pitcher didn't even need to use the set position.
At first base, a normal delivery was practically a gift—but even now, the pitcher kept using a normal motion against Sendo.
That alone showed they were willing to let him take third.
Because if they went to the set position, Yuki might blow them apart.
And even then, a set position wouldn't necessarily stop Sendo.
Not every catcher was Miyuki.
Miyuki's pop time and throwing speed could leave even Harada eating dust—his build alone made him more agile.
Anyone below Miyuki's third-year level didn't even qualify to challenge Sendo stealing from second.
And even Miyuki usually lost.
Second base sat directly behind the mound—
just like Hakuryuu's Mima, Sendo could clearly see the pitcher's fingers.
Put simply, even from the set position, Sendo could judge whether a pickoff was coming and decide whether to run.
The moment the pitcher lifted his leg, the grip was exposed.
If Sendo chose to go on a breaking ball—
From the pitcher pulling his arm back, loading, releasing, and the ball reaching home,
even at top speed, it took at least 1.5 seconds.
Even Miyuki's lightning-fast relay in the Hakuryuu game clocked 1.81 seconds from second.
From third it would be slightly faster—but still well over three seconds.
Add in Sendo's early lead, and three-plus seconds was more than enough.
Honestly, even on a fastball, Sendo could make it—the difference was only 0.1–0.2 seconds.
His exceptional dynamic vision and reaction speed gave him an overwhelming advantage.
Set position or normal delivery—same result.
Of course, even with three seconds, Kuramochi could run himself to death and still not make it.
He couldn't read grips, started later, and couldn't choose to run specifically on breaking balls.
This was the foundation of Sendo and Yuki's coordination.
As Yokohama Kouhoku's battery prepared to pitch, Sendo was already ready to steal.
Still, second base was prime territory—Sendo wasn't leaving it lightly.
"Young master!!!"
Sawamura changed his way of addressing him again.
"Whoosh!"
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
A low outside fastball brushing the strike zone.
That worked on Sendo.
But not on Yuki.
Yuki's pitch selection was among the best on the team.
He never swung lightly at balls.
After swapping spots with Sendo, as the batter meant to drive him home, Yuki was deadly serious.
He wanted all of Japan to witness the power of the strongest two-man batting combo.
"Second pitch! The runner is going!"
"STEAL!!!"
Don't panic! Shiraha screamed inside his head, desperately hoping his partner would stay steady.
This pitch was supposed to be a breaking ball—there was no way to deliberately miss it.
What they didn't know was that Sendo's takeoff was actually a signal.
The instant Sendo started running, Tetsu's eyes sharpened.
"Tetsu—if I steal from second, that means the pitcher is throwing a forkball."
Those words echoed in Tetsu's mind, something Sendo had told him before the inning began.
This was Sendo's scheme.
Using his exceptional dynamic vision, he would identify a pitch type.
When that pitch appeared, he'd signal it to the next batter through a stolen base.
The meaning of the signal changed depending on the opponent.
And with advance knowledge of the pitch—
"PING!!!"
A world-shattering sound.
Even though it was a nasty breaking ball!
"Hit-and-run! Ino's finishing pitch has been smashed!!!"
"THUD!!!"
"YES!!! Straight into the left-field fence!!!"
The outfielder sprinted back like a madman.
"OH!!!"
"YES!!!"
Sawamura went demon-faced again—this time copying Miyauchi-senpai's flaring nostrils.
"The runner from second rounds third with ease!!!
(Sendo is jogging…) Seidou High scores first!
Cleanup Yuki—an RBI triple!!!"
"YES YES YES! YES YES YES!"
Director Ota shouted wildly behind Coach Kataoka.
"By forcing his way to second, then stealing on the pitcher's finishing pitch, letting Yuki know the pitch type—and smashing that finishing pitch to crush their morale—that was Sendo's plan,"
Coach Kataoka said calmly as he watched the field.
"After switching the batting order, these two really are the perfect pair!" Ota said excitedly.
"Yeah. That kid's brain works frighteningly well. Once he realized Yuki was batting behind him, he adjusted his tactics instantly. Originally, he only planned to use the steal as a signal to help the batter choose a more hittable pitch,"
Kataoka said without turning around, smiling with quiet satisfaction as he watched Sendo surrounded by seniors.
With players like Miyuki, Sendo, Isashiki, and Yuki, he barely needed to worry about the team.
Sometimes, Sendo even acted as his tactician.
"YES YES YES!"
"Get back here and pitch!"
Sawamura tried to rush out to celebrate, but Miyauchi-senpai grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back.
"Let go of me! Muscle-senpai!!!"
…
"Sixth batter! Third baseman—Masuko!"
After the celebration, Yokohama Kouhoku still had to face Seidou's powerful lineup with a runner on third.
"One run is acceptable. Coach already said it—if you want to play this team, you have to be prepared to give up at least five runs. Pitch carefully. This guy used to be a cleanup hitter—and he's a heavyweight slugger! One mistake and the ball will fly a mile!"
Even without Shiraha saying it, Ino understood. He glanced cautiously at Masuko.
Masuko stretched his arms, bat nearly brushing his backside, left arm hooked around his neck.
With his round head and massive build, the pressure was overwhelming.
"This is it," Coach Kataoka said.
"Huh?" Ota looked over in confusion.
At the same time, Tetsu shuffled a couple of steps toward home.
It looked routine—but the muscles beneath his pants were tightly coiled.
He was really going to run.
"I told you—Sendo coordinated baserunning with the third-years he practiced with. And Masuko was originally the batter behind him. That movement just now was a squeeze play."
"WHAT?!"
Ota was stunned. There's even something like that? That's way too subtle!
Masuko looked completely ready to swing.
With that body and his reputation as a power hitter, no one would ever imagine a bunt here.
And yet—
Masuko's bunt success rate was extremely high.
His technique was solid—he just rarely used it, and his build was incredibly deceptive.
Sendo had taken full advantage of that.
With runners on—especially with zero or one out—this also boosted Masuko's batting average.
Masuko was weaker against breaking balls than fastballs, but breaking balls were easier to deaden for bunts.
Once pitchers realized how good Masuko's bunting was, they'd hesitate to throw breaking balls with runners on.
And behind him was that scheming bespectacled catcher.
His batting was terrible overall—but with runners in scoring position, he was a different beast.
Second on the team in RBIs, behind only Sendo—
even higher than Yuki.
And he loved hitting finishing pitches.
Ota could only stare in disbelief.
These guys had planned so many small tricks.
It perfectly confirmed Ota's one-word evaluation of Sendo:
Black.
All schemes.
"The runner goes!"
"Whoosh!"
"Tap!"
"Squeeze play!"
"That body… and he bunts? …First base!"
Shiraha stared at Masuko in disbelief as Seidou scored another run.
"With a surprise squeeze, Seidou calmly scores their second run! Even a massive body can lay down a perfect bunt!"
"What a flawless bunt! Unlike someone!"
(If Kuramochi had been nearby instead of celebrating, he would've smacked Sawamura for that.)
"Isn't it obvious this would work?"
Yuki joked with Sendo after returning to home plate.
"Wasn't this basically unavoidable?" Sendo laughed.
"SMACK!"
The two high-fived hard.
"You're insanely reliable, Tetsu! Even if someone knew the pitch, most people couldn't hit it like that!" Isashiki shouted.
"SMACK!"
He slapped palms with Yuki hard enough to sting.
Even though Isashiki risked leaking information, the opponent had no idea.
To them, it just sounded like praise.
"Seventh batter! Catcher—Miyuki!"
"Keep it going! Don't get taken out so easily, Miyuki Kazuya!!! Every time there's no one on base, you can't hit at all!!! Hit it!!! Carefully!!!"
Only Sawamura could yell something like that.
Miyauchi-senpai could barely hold him back.
"Damn you…" Miyuki muttered under his breath.
With no choice, he stood up and walked toward the batter's box.
"Thud!"
"Shut up!"
"Smack!"
"You're too loud!"
The middle infield immediately cut him off.