Straight ball!
When Raichi brought this news back to the Yakushi High School baseball team's resting area, everyone fell silent.
They really wanted to ask in detail what exactly was going on, but given Raichi's current state, it was hard to expect that he would give them a clear explanation.
Previously, the Yakushi High School baseball team had the impression that all of Sawamura's sharp breaking balls either had huge movement or fast speed. In short, they always caught opponents off guard!
But what about the fastball?
Sawamura's pitching speed wasn't slow, but it wasn't fast enough to be overpowering.
In theory, relying solely on fastballs is very risky, not to mention facing an opponent like Raichi.
For his beloved son, Raizou had always scolded him for being foolish and lacking common sense.
In Raizou's eyes, this might have been closer to the truth.
However, Raichi undoubtedly had great talent in baseball. Even Raizou, who thought his son was a moron, never doubted this.
After all, that foolish boy still had his blood flowing through his veins.
It would have been fine if Sawamura used fastballs against others—those weaklings would probably struggle to even hit his fastballs.
But Raichi was clearly different.
If it was a fastball, Raichi had a high probability of hitting it. In the end, the result was a high fly out to the home plate, as if everything had been predetermined.
"Fastball?"
Mishima, who was preparing to bat, suddenly became serious.
The news Raichi brought was not only shocking to the others but was equally shocking to Mishima.
It seemed that defeating this Demon King would be far more difficult than they had initially imagined.
If Sawamura could take down Raichi using only fastballs, Mishima couldn't even begin to imagine just how terrifying Sawamura's strength had become.
During the spring tournament, the two teams had faced off, and back then, Sawamura had left a profound and unfathomable impression on everyone.
Now, after months of hard work, the once unreachable figure of Sawamura was getting closer.
Mishima and the others originally thought that their current abilities had closed the gap with Sawamura. Even if they weren't close, the distance had surely shrunk.
But after hearing Raichi's statement, Mishima couldn't help but begin to doubt.
Was the Sawamura they knew really the same one from the spring?
If Sawamura or Miyuki had known about Mishima's doubts, they would have been greatly surprised.
Who would have thought that Mishima's intuition was so sharp?
The current Sawamura was definitely no longer the same as the one from a few months ago. After fully developing his Rocket ball, his strength had noticeably increased.
This was especially evident when he faced Akiba next.
Roaar!
As soon as Sawamura swung his arm, Akiba could tell what he was about to do.
He was going to throw that new breaking ball!
Before throwing this kind of breaking ball, Sawamura would always take a large stride, almost as if throwing a javelin.
Then the baseball would fly out!
At first, when watching from the resting area, it didn't seem like the ball was that fast.
It seemed similar in speed to Sawamura's usual pitches.
It wasn't that the larger stride made the pitch sharper. After all, different forms result in different amounts of power a pitcher can generate.
Only the most efficient form would allow for the fastest pitch.
From this point of view, Sawamura's sudden change in pitching form could have resulted in a mistake in his accuracy.
If it were anyone else, not only would the speed of the pitch drop, but maintaining any kind of speed would be a blessing.
But Sawamura had naturally flexible joints, and his fingers were highly sensitive.
He was able to control the baseball's landing spot with stability, ensuring it wouldn't veer off while also maintaining speed.
Although it didn't look like there was much change in speed when watching from the side, those standing in the Batter's Box felt a significant difference. Because Sawamura lowered his pitching stance and leaned forward more, the release point of the baseball moved closer to the batter.
This upgraded the effect of the Wall-Making Form, making it harder for the batter to track the ball.
Because the arm was positioned further forward, the release point was closer to the plate.
For batters standing in the Batter's Box, Sawamura's fastball now appeared to be incredibly fast.
While observers from the side might not notice the difference, anyone in the Batter's Box would feel as though Sawamura's fastball was on par with the 160 km/h pitches from a pitching machine. (100 mph
In high school baseball, only a small percentage of batters could hit a 150 km/h pitch.
However, across the nation, there were still a few hundred players who could manage it.
Of course, having the ability didn't guarantee success.
The outcome depended on the players' strength.
But raising the pitch speed to 160 km/h?
Even in the entire high school baseball world, only a handful of players could hit such a pitch.
Sawamura's pitch wasn't exactly 160 km/h, but the effect was similar.
He didn't bluff, and he didn't throw a breaking ball.
But with the rocket ball technique, its power was multiplied.
Even Akiba, who was known for his good contact technique, was left dumbfounded when faced with Sawamura's pitch.
'How could it be so strong?'
He couldn't even get the bat on the ball. Just making contact with the pitch was a huge challenge.
In the end, the result was:
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
Three straight balls—Akiba, too stunned to swing on the first pitch, failed to hit any of the next two.
He never made contact with the ball.
Either his swing was too slow, or he couldn't find the right timing.
He was ruthlessly struck out.
After returning to the resting area, Akiba honestly shared everything that had happened with his teammates.
Three fastballs in a row, and he couldn't even touch the ball.
Raizou scratched his head.
His bad premonition had come true.
He had always suspected that Sawamura Eijun's ability to take down Raichi wasn't a coincidence, but because Sawamura's fastball had such power.
Although it was hard to accept that Raichi was taken down with just a fastball, it was the truth!
Now that Akiba had returned, his experience confirmed Raichi's claim.
Sawamura was indeed throwing fastballs, and each one was a fastball.
Honestly, this made it even harder to accept.
While Akiba might not be as famous as Raichi or Mishima, he had been practicing with Raizou from a young age, and his hitting style was relatively steady.
Perhaps it wouldn't be so hard to get rid of him.
But for him to not even make contact with the ball, that was no easy task…
"Has the entire pitching system evolved?"
Although Raizou and the others knew from their match against Inashiro that Sawamura had developed a new breaking ball, they only now realized:
It wasn't just a new breaking ball, but an entire level upgrade.
Raizou didn't believe that Sawamura could only throw fastballs under these circumstances.
In fact, aside from a few specific types of pitches, Sawamura could probably throw any pitch with this new form.
This was the true face of Sawamura's level four breaking balls.
This was also the true face of his Level Four Rocket ball.
The Yakushi High School baseball team members now looked at Sawamura with admiration, as if gazing up at a towering mountain.
The Demon King was truly the Demon King!
Standing in the Batter's Box, Mishima could feel the pressure even more acutely.
Sawamura stood on the pitcher's mound like a giant, looking down on him.
An unprecedented pressure surrounded him, making Mishima feel like his entire body had frozen.
The Demon King truly was the Demon King!
No matter how unwilling Mishima was in his heart, he had to admit that his idol was getting stronger and stronger.
In Mishima's little notebook, he kept track of all the opponents he wanted to defeat, both in the Tokyo region and nationwide.
Now, the one and only top opponent was Sawamura.
Although the pressure was immense, it was also incredibly exciting.
Mishima enjoyed the challenge of facing Sawamura, always under the spotlight, no matter when.
He didn't need to do much; as long as he could get a hit off of Sawamura, even if it were by chance, it would create a huge sensation.
That was the current influence of the Demon King.
With this stimulation, the blood in Mishima's veins was boiling.
The overwhelming pressure turned into motivation as his eyes locked onto Sawamura, waiting for the baseball to come flying.
Roaar!
Sawamura on the pitcher's mound didn't make Mishima wait too long and threw the pitch smoothly.
His throwing form was almost identical to the previous one.
'Here it comes!'
In this posture, Mishima couldn't be sure whether the pitch was a fastball.
But he had no choice but to gamble.
His opponent was the Demon King Sawamura!
In this situation, waiting for the ball to reach his hands and determining the pitch type before swinging would not work.
At least not for Mishima and the others.
So to have a chance of hitting it, they had to bet on one specific type of pitch.
Only in this way did they have a chance to hit Sawamura's pitch.
'Now!'
Seeing the baseball, Mishima swung his bat.
But by the time he swung, it was already too late.
The baseball had already passed through his swing range and landed in Miyuki's Mitt.
Boom!
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
Without any suspense, Mishima too was struck out.
Almost the same form, and Sawamura threw a breaking ball.
Mishima, who had aimed for the fastball, couldn't make contact even when he timed his swing perfectly.
…
T/N: As always, Thank you all for reading!!
See you Tomorrow!
Until then, take care!
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