102 Insight Skill

***Wiiiooouuuuu***

The match began as the Siren sounded, and Yakushi took their positions on the field. Rei made his way to the mound and surveyed his teammates. This year they had to add more first-year players to the team since they lacked sufficient numbers. Rei had never been one to care about such things, but as they reached the Semi-Finals of Koshien, he couldn't help feeling that they were at a disadvantage.

Looking around the empty dugout, Rei shook his head in disappointment. Only the coach was present, and they had no backup players to rely on. Watching his coach, Raizou, sit on the bench nonchalantly only added to Rei's frustration. He couldn't understand why the old man wasn't more concerned.

Rei pushed his thoughts aside as he settled into his position on the mound. The first batter from Hakuryu High walked out of the dugout, and Rei glanced over at him. In return, he was met with glares from the opposing team, as if they were wondering why he was looking in their direction.

"Ok! That's it! Were they provoking me? Me? Those brats?", Rei exclaimed in disbelief, questioning whether the group of children intentionally provoked him. Kazuma, who was preparing his mitt, was taken aback by Rei's self-talk. He wondered if Rei had lost his mind and approached him with concern.

Rei barked at Kazuma to return to his position as he saw him leaving. The match was about to commence, and the catcher needed to stay in place. Kazuma felt unjustly accused but reluctantly returned to his position. The batter also took his place in the batter's box.

As Rei stood on the field, his piercing gaze fixated on the batter before him. An ethereal blue aura emanated from his eyes, signifying his intense concentration. Suddenly, a shadowy figure materialized beside the batter, mirroring his every move and stance.

In a flash, a pitch was thrown toward the phantom batter, but it was a swing and a miss. The shadow vanished as quickly as it had appeared, leaving Rei to ponder the power of his Insight Skill.

However, his thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a sharp pain in his eye, which felt as if it had been viciously gouged out. He stumbled and winced, struggling to keep his eye closed and suppress the urge to scream out in agony.

Kazuma, noticing Rei's distress, grew concerned and called for a time-out. The umpire was visibly annoyed, as the game had yet to even begin. Coach Sasaki shared the same sentiment.

After receiving approval for a time-out, Kazuma made his way to the mound to check on Rei. He scanned him from head to toe, searching for any signs of injury. Kazuma gently moved Rei's hand away from his eye and saw that his left eye was red.

Kazuma asked with concern, "What happened? And what is this?" He was worried and prayed that Rei was alright.

Rei chuckled and said, "Don't worry about it. It's nothing serious. Can you get me some water to throw in my eyes? It will help relieve the discomfort." Rei covered his eye and felt that there was something in it, but the throbbing had stopped. He was confident that water would help.

Seconds later, Kazuma retrieved a refreshing water bottle from the nearby dugout. Rei gratefully accepted the container and expeditiously poured its contents all over himself. His face and attire became thoroughly saturated as the water cascaded down his body.

Kazuma was caught off guard by Rei's daring actions and stood motionless. With a grin on his face, Rei announced, "Ahh, that's much better," while massaging his left eye. Nevertheless, he cannot utilize the insight ability at this time due to its side effects. He must raise all of his stats to 160 to reactivate it, which is completely understandable since the ability is incredibly potent. Rei sighed as he came to this realization through the status screen.

"Return to your position," Rei instructed, pushing Kazuma toward the umpire. Kazuma complied, quickly moving to his designated spot and disregarding the incident he had just witnessed.

Raizou, who was in the Yakushi Dugout, cursed Rei for his actions. The expensive uniforms had been ruined all because he wanted to impress girls! The money spent on them had gone to waste. As he thought about the money, he remembered convincing the director to use it on them and now it had all gone to waste. At the thought Hypothetical tears formed in his eyes.

Back in the field, Rei winded up his glove and followed Kazuma's instructions to throw the first pitch to the inside. The ball rose quickly towards the batter.

Kujou prepared himself and swung his bat, thinking it was a fastball. He glanced back surprised to hear the sound of the ball hitting the mitt.

"Strike!" called the Umpire.

The Hakuryu High team was amazed at the pitch. They had heard about the pitcher's reputation, but seeing it in action was unbelievable.

"Rei Fujikawa's pitch clocked in at 151 KM! Although Yakushi had a slow start, they're off to a good one," announced the commentator.

Rei continued to pitch to the next batter, striking him out with ease with a 2-seamer to the outside.

"Strike! Batter out!" yelled the umpire.

In the Hakuryu High Dugout.

"Miyao, you're up next", said Coach Sasaki signaling the player. He nodded and stood up to grab his gear. "Don't be caught off guard by that pitcher and report back your findings", Coach Sasaki instructed.

Miyao nodded and as he was exiting the dugout, he passed by Kujou. He stopped and asked him his point of view, "Those pitches held a lot of control even though they were simple pitches, and trust me the speed is different from the batter's box", Kujou explained holding his bat.

"Let's see…", Miyao muttered confidently as he went to the batter's box taking his stance. While Kujou sighed and returned to the dugout.

A Few moments Later

"Strike! Batter Out! Two Outs!", yelled the Umpire.

Miyao returned to the dugout with no results to show for as well. While Coach Sasaki could only shake his head at the incompetent players. Although he had high hopes for the next batter, "Mima, You're up. Do as you're instructed".

Mima nodded and with his stoic expression he glanced at Kujou and Miyao in question. "The pitch is extremely fast from the batter's box and his control is exceptional", they both warned. "I'll admit his pitches are fast but they're nothing special to the point I can't hit them", he said confidently making the duo admire his skills.

Grabbing his bat, Mima went toward the Batter's box. Rei politely smiled at him as Mima walked to the batter's box dragging his bat. 'Prepared to be out', Rei mouth to the stoic Mima provoking him.

While Mima ignored him and solely focused on the match. He was only going to be provoked by someone whose skills he acknowledged.

Rei was provoking Mima for only one reason and that was because it was exciting. He figured since it was a match it should be exciting, shouldn't it? Though in all seriousness he had to strike Mima out now before he could get on the base cause that's when the Hakuryu High players start running fast like insects from one base to another. Insect…Insect...

As his mind wandered, Rei found himself unable to suppress his amusement and erupted into a fit of laughter on the pitcher's mound. His laughter persisted for several seconds, causing his eyes to become watery from the intensity of the moment.

Mima was taken aback by the sudden outburst and quickly became annoyed upon realizing its source. He couldn't help but wonder if the pitcher was laughing at his lack of batting skills or his mere presence at the batter's box. This thought only served to fuel his desire to challenge Rei personally.

Despite the commotion he had caused, Rei continued to laugh wholeheartedly, seemingly unaffected by Mima's irritation.