At the beginning of the match between the Seidou High School baseball team and the Komadai Fujimaki High School baseball team, a very intense scene unfolded.
Komadai Fujimaki High School's highly anticipated Ace, Hongo Masamune.
Without hesitation, he went straight at Sawamura for a direct confrontation!
At this point, even the fans in the stands admired his courage.
Sawamura, standing in the Batter's Box, had the same thought.
Although Hongo's pitch was decisive, his overall preparation time was still quite long.
From when he got ready to when he threw the ball, it took about 4–5 seconds.
This time was enough for Sawamura to get into the Zone.
Though he couldn't get too deeply into it, he could at least barely discern the ball's trajectory and angle.
Impressive!
Sawamura genuinely admired him.
But that was all.
Hongo Masamune's aura did indeed surprise him, but honestly, it was also expected.
Although Hongo had avoided direct confrontations when Sawamura was at his peak, if one were to define him as a player who shied away from face-offs, that would be a huge mistake!
This guy was fundamentally proud.
Only he could look down on others; he had never been looked down upon himself.
Under these circumstances, how could he always be content to stay under Sawamura?
It was simply impossible!
From the moment he started avoiding a face-off with Sawamura, Sawamura knew it was only a matter of time before Hongo Masamune made a comeback.
And when he did, he would have undergone some form of evolution.
This proud guy possessed such qualities.
Although Sawamura had predicted this long ago, in just a few months, he saw Hongo Masamune courageously face him head-on.
Was it naivety, or was it a lack of tact?
Sawamura, too, was a very proud person.
Not just in pitching, but in his batting power as well, he was filled with confidence.
As the baseball flew toward him, he didn't hesitate to lift his bat.
Since his opponent dared to face him with a Strike on the first ball, Sawamura didn't mind returning the favor immediately.
He focused on the ball's direction and gathered all his strength in his arms.
Shuuuuuuuuu!!!!!
He was confident that once his full power exploded, he would have no problem sending the ball flying.
'Here…We…Go!!!'
The bat and the baseball collided, as though their paths had been set in advance, emitting a loud crashing sound.
PAAAAAAAKKKKK!!!!
The collision was so loud that not only the batter and catcher but even the spectators outside the field could clearly hear it.
'So heavy!'
Sawamura felt as if his arms had been hit by an enormous truck.
It felt as if the bat was about to fly out of his hands.
'Incredible!'
He never expected that Hongo Masamune had such formidable strength.
Although Sawamura had never dared to underestimate Hongo's progress, this improvement exceeded his expectations.
In the past, Hongo had been like a frog trapped at the bottom of a sealed jar.
In high school baseball, he could only see such a small world.
Thus, every time he jumped, it was only so high.
He was afraid of jumping too high and bumping his head.
Even when the bottle's lid was removed, Hongo had grown accustomed to this easy victory and no longer fantasized about random things.
But now, there was a figure standing before him in the high school baseball world.
This figure had given him a goal and motivation. To chase this goal, he was willing to give up everything and jump as high as he could.
In this case, just how much had Hongo Masamune improved?
It was likely that even Sawamura himself wouldn't dare to make any guarantees.
Everything was so unpredictable.
The moment the bat made contact with the baseball, Sawamura understood that Hongo Masamune's progress during this time was no longer a leap.
It was as if he were an accelerating rocket, starting from his original self.
Before Sawamura's regression, this guy was living the best life.
He was just a step away from the legend.
He had already become a benchmark for Japan in Major League Baseball.
Some even praised him as a pitcher who had come out of an anime world.
From this compliment, it was easy to see just how terrifying his strength was.
Compared to his prime, Hongo Masamune's performance in high school was almost child's play.
This was why Sawamura had been able to easily defeat him in the past.
But now, this guy had found his true self.
Though he wasn't yet in his prime, he was already close to the threshold.
During certain special times, it wasn't inconceivable for him to erupt with a pitch that far surpassed his current ability.
Just like now!
Hongo Masamune's engine was clearly overheating, and the strength he was unleashing far exceeded his usual level.
150%, even 200%.
Under this condition, even Sawamura felt tremendous pressure.
The moment the bat collided with the ball, Sawamura not only felt discomfort in his arms.
There was also immense pressure!
Now, Hongo Masamune had become a substantial threat to Sawamura.
This game was not going to be easy to resolve!
At the start, Komadai Fujimaki High School's players had already sent a dangerous signal to Sawamura.
Despite this, Sawamura himself didn't show much surprise.
Although Hongo Masamune's growth had exceeded Sawamura's expectations, in terms of strength, he was still not qualified to surpass the high school level.
It wasn't just Hongo who had improved; Sawamura had also made great strides, especially in his batting.
'Go! You!!'
At that moment, all his strength exploded as he swung his bat at the flying ball.
PAAAAKKKK!!!!
The baseball was struck and flew high into the air.
A satisfied smile appeared on Sawamura's face.
Although he had felt a tremendous threat during this swing, Hongo Masamune's strength had indeed caused him some trouble.
But in the end, he still came out victorious!
That baseball was struck hard and sent flying.
The ball soared into the sky.
But soon, Sawamura's smile turned cold.
Though the ball had gone high, it hadn't traveled very far.
'How could this be?'
He clearly felt that he had hit the ball dead center.
Under these circumstances, the ball should have flown a long distance.
Even if it wasn't a home run, it should have at least gone to the back of the field.
How could it have only traveled such a short distance?
Sawamura couldn't make sense of it.
The outfielder from Komadai Fujimaki High School raised his mitt and effortlessly caught the high-flying ball.
Snap!
"OUT!!!"
Sawamura's face was filled with frustration. Even now, he still didn't understand what had happened.
The angle, the force, the direction, the spin…
With all these factors accounted for in that amazing state, there was no way such a mistake should have occurred.
He couldn't figure out what went wrong.
Back in the dugout, Sawamura's mood was downcast.
Three Outs, and the sides were switched.
The Seidou High School baseball team's offense started poorly, which seemed to set the tone for their game.
"Look at the bat!"
When Sawamura returned to the dugout, his teammates were staring at his bat.
"Eh? What's wrong?"
Sawamura retorted, though his eyes unconsciously fell on the bat.
Long chipping lines had appeared on the smooth surface of the bat.
Crack!
When Sawamura touched the bat, it snapped in half.
'So that's it!'
As soon as he saw this, Sawamura immediately understood what had happened.
It was because of this that the ball's trajectory had changed.
That was why it didn't fly out of the field as he had originally planned.
'Incredible!'
'That guy's pitch actually had such power?'
Upon seeing this, his teammates were all silent, unable to speak.
The bat had been damaged like that in one confrontation.
If that ball had hit their bodies, they couldn't even imagine how painful that would have been.
Too painful!
Even though the situation hadn't actually happened yet, they could already feel the pain.
'Unbelievable!'
The teammates of the Seidou High School baseball team were all silent.
They could imagine that, even if their willpower was strong, they still had to be cautious.
After all, Hongo's pitch was just too dangerous.
Without the proper equipment and training grounds, letting him practice wildly could lead to unforeseen consequences.
Let alone a live match!
To the Seidou High School players, Hongo Masamune had clearly become a walking nuclear weapon.
He was simply not someone to provoke.
Miyuki Kazuya also clearly felt the atmosphere from the team.
He was helpless.
Some things couldn't be solved just by speaking.
Even if Miyuki said convincingly that such a pitch wouldn't cause any harm, the Seidou High School team wouldn't believe it!
After all, they had witnessed with their own eyes how Hongo's pitch had destroyed Sawamura's bat.
With that in mind, Hongo's pitching was truly terrifying.
Their Ace had already shown his strength, and as Seidou High School's Ace, Miyuki Kazuya believed Sawamura couldn't stay silent anymore.
They had to respond in their own way!
Sawamura wasn't a quiet person either. After receiving Miyuki Kazuya's hint, he immediately made his decision without hesitation.
It was time to fight back!
If it was a head-to-head battle, then so be it. Who's afraid of whom?
Right now, Hongo was barely entering his prime.
He still needed 2 to 3 more years of practice and games to fully unleash his potential.
As for Sawamura, even with his current strength, compared to his past self, he was far superior.
There was no way he was going to lose to someone like Hongo, who had just started awakening.
Impossible!
At the bottom of the first inning, Komadai Fujimaki High School went on the attack.
It was clear that, before the match, they had done extensive preparation against Sawamura's pitching.
The Coach of Komadai Fujimaki High School's baseball team was not someone who would take a loss lying down.
When he sensed he would face Sawamura, he surely made plenty of preparations ahead of time.
This showed during the upcoming confrontation.
They had clearly prepared a few strategies to deal with the pitches that the "Demon King" Sawamura often used.
They were waiting for Sawamura to throw these pitches so they could attack and get a hit.
But how could such a small thought go unnoticed by Sawamura and Miyuki Kazuya, the duo?
They had learned from past experiences during the West Tokyo Regional Tournament!
Though it hadn't affected the outcome of the match, it had cost them some points.
At one point, they almost lost the game.
Such painful lessons made Seidou High School's players determined not to let this happen again.
To avoid this, Sawamura and Miyuki had come up with several countermeasures.
The number of pitches they could fully predict was very few.
At most, there were only a few types…
To avoid these accidents, the best and simplest method was not to throw those pitches!
For other pitchers, this might be an impossible task.
But for Sawamura, the prince of breaking balls, it was a piece of cake.
WHRROOSH!!
"STRIKE!"
The players of Komadai Fujimaki High School quickly realized this.
The rhythm of Sawamura's pitching had changed.
…