Just when everyone thought this fast and accurate ball would pass the batter unhindered, Kawakami Ryohi in the batter's box made a move — he leaned his entire body over, reaching towards the home plate to hit the ball.

"Clang—" A crisp sound of the bat hitting the ball shattered the tranquility of Koshien, and the ball soaring high gripped the minds of countless spectators present.

On the bench and in the Alps Stand, the players and supporters of Koushing Academy all stood up, their eyes fixed on the baseball flying through the air, judging its trajectory and predicting where it would land;

While the other spectators were probably thinking the exact opposite — in the stands where the Waseda Jitsugyo cheering squad was located, upon hearing the sound of Kawakami Ryohi's bat hitting the ball, Lin Xinglai clasped her hands in prayer:

"Please don't let the ball fly out... it has to be caught..."

This wasn't just her wish; it was the thought of the entire audience, even most of Japan at this moment — if a potential perfect game were to be missed because of this, it would truly be a pity.

Noise from the audience continued to rise from the stands, as if they believed this could make the ball fly a little closer, a little slower.

"Please... catch this ball!" In the outfield stands, Seiomi Koutaro's gaze was fixed on the outfielders of Waseda Jitsugyo — at this moment, all that could be relied upon was their performance!

Watching the ball peak and begin its descent, Kenshu Yasuda's expression grew serious, his mind working rapidly.

In the outfield, the moment the ball was hit, Kenshu Yasuda was already prepared to make this catch — thanks to Lin Guanglai's exceptional skill and condition, few balls had flown to the outfield in this match; even when they did, they were mostly easy pop flies to handle.

But this ball was clearly different; the batter's swing speed and the ball's upward momentum indicated that Kawakami Ryohi's hit was aimed for a long drive, giving the defenders little time to react; as an outfielder, Kenshu Yasuda knew that if he wanted to make the catch, he had to quickly judge the ball's path and then sprint towards the landing spot.

As the core of the team's outfield defense, the central fielder, Kenshu Yasuda had to cover the most space among the outfield group — besides the large open field in the center, when his teammates in left and right field were dealing with the ball, he also had to quickly provide backup to prevent possible missed catches.

In Japanese, the position of central fielder has a specific name — "Naka-ken Te", meaning, as the core of the outfield, as the last line of defense in the team's defense, and also being the vice-captain of the squad, Kenshu Yasuda knew that for the sake of Lin Guanglai and himself, catching this ball was his unshirkable duty!

Born with talent and long-term practice gave him a keen judgment for the baseball's landing spot. In just a few breaths, he determined the approximate position of the ball's descent: it was at the distant boundary between the right and central field, equidistant from both himself and Yagaki Kentaro — there's no denying it, Kawakami Ryohi's hit was exceptional, and if all went as expected, this ball would be an indisputable Texas leaguer, allowing him to secure at least a double. (Note 1)

For an outfielder, dealing with a fly ball in no man's land like this is extremely difficult; a slight mistake would mean missing the chance — Kenshu Yasuda was well aware, he had only one shot!

At the same time as his judgment was complete, Kenshu Yasuda shouted "It's mine" to his nearby teammate, instructing Yagaki Kentaro in right field to back him up from behind;

Then he broke into a sprint towards where the ball was descending, keeping his eyes on the ball, adjusting his steps according to its changing position.

Closer and closer, he was getting nearer to the ball;

Sooner and sooner, the ball was rapidly approaching the ground.

The entire field — no, all the spectators in Japan's Takayama gathered their gaze on him, anticipating the story about to unfold — would the catch be made and the miracle continue, or would the catch fail and suspense end?

No one knew what would happen next, nor could anyone think about it in this moment.

In Kenshu Yasuda's mind, now there was nothing but that spinning, descending white sphere.

In the eyes of the spectators, although Kenshu Yasuda was moving very quickly, he still seemed unable to match the speed of the ball's descent — some in the outfield stands were already sighing, lamenting their inability to witness the birth of a miracle.

Seeing that the distance to the ball was still a bit off, Kenshu Yasuda ignored everything else at this moment; he simply lowered his center of gravity, propelling his entire body towards the ball's descending path, his gloved left hand extending forward in a final attempt.

The outstretched left hand flew barely above the ground, and right when the ball was just an inch off the ground, Kenshu Yasuda clearly felt the familiar, solid sensation within his glove.

A surge of joy welled up within him, but it didn't last long; fearing that he might fumble the ball again, Kenshu Yasuda immediately tightened his grip and quickly raised his left hand upwards, protecting it from hitting the ground.

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