The Old Baseball Player System

Chapter 155: Sixth Round (4)

"Time!" - Kasuga's third batter requested from the umpire, trying his best to calm himself down.

The umpire granted the time, forcing Shun and Daigo to pause and wait.

"Tch! Now they're quiet..." - Ren muttered irritably from second base as he looked at the Kasuga crowd. Since the third batter had called for time, they had stopped shouting, allowing him to fully concentrate on his duel with Shun.

After a few seconds, the third batter stepped back into the batter's box while receiving encouraging claps from the Kasuga crowd. Shun stood calmly on the mound, watching the batter as he listened to the loud noise coming from the stands.

However, Shun wasn't nervous because of the noise or the pressure. He could feel his whole body easily, sensing an oddly light yet surprisingly powerful sensation. Daigo signaled for a vertical slider to end the duel, but for the first time in the game, Shun shook his head, refusing the sign.

Daigo was surprised by Shun's refusal, but he quickly changed the signal to a horizontal slider, which Shun accepted with a nod. However, when Daigo placed his glove on the outer corner of the zone, Shun shook his head again. Daigo then moved his glove to the center of the zone, and Shun still shook his head. Finally, Daigo placed the glove on the inner corner, but Shun shook his head once more.

Daigo was confused, unable to understand what his senpai wanted. He was about to call for time when Shun made a gesture with his glove, indicating an inside pitch.

"What? Wait?!" - Daigo was on the verge of calling for time, incredulous that Shun had just signaled his pitch location for everyone to see. However, before he could do anything, Shun began his motion, leaving Daigo in shock behind home plate.

'Is he trying to confuse me? Or is he underestimating me? Damn, I need to swing!' - The third batter thought quickly after seeing Shun's gesture. He was equally confused by the pitcher's clear signal and couldn't believe it was real.

But Shun didn't care about any of that. He signaled where he wanted to pitch because Daigo wasn't giving him the pitch he desired. As for signaling the opposing batter about his pitch location, Shun simply didn't believe he could be hit.

"HAA!" - Shun stomped firmly on the ground, whipping his arm as he threw and shouted.

"Fuck!" - The third batter cursed in alarm when he saw the pitch coming out of Shun's hand, speeding directly toward him. He was certain the pitch would hit him if he didn't move, so he jumped back, landing on his rear on the ground.

"This bastard! He aimed at-" - The third batter began to complain, thinking Shun had intentionally aimed at him, when a loud noise echoed through the stadium.

PAH

"S- Strikeout! 3 outs, changeover!" - The umpire called, barely able to believe what he was witnessing. He never thought he'd see a pitch of this level in a middle school game, but the evidence was right in front of him.

As the ball hit Daigo's glove, Shun was already stepping off the mound, calmly walking back to his dugout. He knew he had struck out the batter and ended the inning.

The stadium fell silent for a few moments, trying to absorb what they had just seen, but soon, lively cheers erupted from the stands. Of course, Kasuga's crowd remained in total silence after Shun's incredible performance that inning.

---

"Holy crap! Now that's going on the offensive!" - Satoru said, impressed after seeing Shun's pitch.

"A front-door slider that looks like it's going to hit the batter and ends up in the middle of the zone. Not bad, Kenshin Jr." - Masahiro commented, equally impressed. This wasn't a pitch you saw every day, especially in a middle school game.

"Hehe." - Kenshin just smiled proudly as he watched his friends praising his son.

In the row below, Toji was also impressed, watching Shun calmly returning to his dugout.

"Hahaha, he really signaled where he was going to pitch! Since when did he turn into such a crazy guy?" - Toji laughed excitedly, looking at his friend with a certain excitement in his eyes. He could feel his hand trembling with the desire to catch Shun's pitches.

"A perfect inning to start, looks like he's not playing around..." - Akira murmured, equally impressed. He hadn't expected such a dominant performance from his friend.

"Huh? What is it, Satoshi?" - Hana asked curiously, noticing the strange expression on the boy's face.

"135... on a slider..." - Satoshi murmured with an unusual expression, looking at the stadium's speed radar.

"Huh? What?!" - Toji looked at Satoshi curiously, but following his friend's gaze, he shouted in shock. The stadium's radar was showing an impressive 135 km/h.

Of course, Shun wasn't the only middle school pitcher in Japan who could throw at 135 km/h. Satoshi, for example, was someone who could not only reach that speed but surpass it. However, not only Satoshi but all other pitchers who could reach this speed did so with fastballs. Enjoy exclusive chapters from M-V-L

Shun, on the other hand, was throwing sliders, breaking balls that were naturally slower. Not only that, but the slider Shun threw had an impressive break, which, combined with the speed, was simply unimaginable for a pitcher just 15 years old.

"Since when did he have such a strong shoulder?" - Toji muttered, unable to comprehend, but a thought quickly came to his mind. If Shun was throwing sliders at this speed, what would happen when he threw fastballs?

---

Meanwhile, in another part of the stands, two boys, one wearing a blonde wig and a fake mustache, and the other with a long fake white beard, were watching the field...

"Holy shit!" - Kohei said, impressed, as he watched Shun enter the dugout. Being left-handed himself, it was inevitable that he would compare himself a bit to other left-handers his age. However, this was the first time in Kohei's life he'd seen a left-hander his age throw like that.

Although he didn't feel inferior to Shun, he had no problem admitting that the boy's slider was by far the best he had ever seen. He himself couldn't even imagine throwing a pitch like that right now, but, of course, unlike Shun, his greatest strength wasn't his sliders.

"Tch! That blue-eyed idiot, why the hell does it feel like he improves more every time I see him?" - Sugawara muttered irritably as he stroked his long white beard.