Chapter 20: Rivals In The Front Seat

Many people in the stadium were shocked, but the most shocked was Sawamura's opponent on the pitcher's mound, Fumei Tsuyoi.

He felt angry and frustrated.

Before the game, Fumei hadn't underestimated Sawamura, despite being only 17 years old.

In this matchup, Fumei went all out.

Fumei threw the first pitch, a simple outside ball.

He was bold and didn't use his best pitch right away.

With his current skills, Fumei had learned an important lesson: there is no absolute best pitch, only the most appropriate one.

Even if a pitch looks bad, as long as it gets the batter Out, it's a great pitch.

He planned to use that pitch to bait Sawamura into swinging.

Unfortunately, Sawamura wasn't fooled and chose to let the first pitch pass.

'Such caution!'

Seeing this, Fumei couldn't help but give him a higher evaluation.

When he threw the second pitch, he became even more cautious.

After a regular outside ball, he threw a curveball inside.

And this pitch ended up outside the strike zone.

In other words, it was a Ball.

Even if Sawamura managed to swing, the result would likely be a foul ball.

Fumei's plan was executed perfectly.

From his perspective, Sawamura wouldn't be able to hit the ball.

But to his shock, Sawamura didn't hesitate at all. He stepped forward and hit the ball hard.

It seemed like Sawamura had anticipated that it was going to be an outside Ball.

As he stepped forward, he adjusted his stance and swung his bat fiercely.

Seeing this, Fumei's heart nearly stopped.

'How could he…?'

Even if Sawamura was gifted, how could he know what kind of pitch Fumei was going to throw?

'This didn't make sense.'

Fumei was completely baffled.

But by the time Fumei realized it, Sawamura had hit the ball hard.

The ball flew almost along the baseline, out of the stadium.

Sawamura Eijun had hit a home run.

The only thing left on the mound was the dumbfounded Fumei.

Even for experienced professionals like them, there was a lot of pressure when facing high school players.

The pressure was greater for them than it was for the high schoolers.

When high schoolers lost, it was expected—they were amateurs, and the professionals were supposed to win.

But if a high schooler won, it would be a huge celebration.

For professional players, winning was expected.

But if they lost, even if no one mentioned it, it would be embarrassing.

If they lost and didn't perform well, it could even affect how they were viewed in the professional baseball community.

This was something he couldn't tolerate!

The rookie king of professional baseball had lost to a high schooler. That was an immense humiliation.

And to make matters worse, the one he lost to was Sawamura Eijun.

This was something Fumei absolutely refused to accept.

Furious, Fumei finally began to unleash the terrifying power of his 'Commander Tower'.

Once he went all out, even players like Nagata, Hoshida, and Yamaoka would be helpless.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

Even though these three were some of the best batters in high school.

And they were all capable of hitting home runs with their powerful batting.

But against the furious Fumei, they couldn't do anything. They could only watch as he did whatever he wanted.

The rookie king of professional baseball, and one of the MVP candidates this year.

Such a reputation proved Fumei's strength.

The world is full of players with great skill but little recognition.

But those with huge fame and a certain level of honor usually have the strength to match their fame.

In the world of baseball, strength is paramount.

If your skills aren't reliable, you can't go far in baseball.

Fumei Tsuyoi was the best example.

Once he unleashed his full strength, even the All-Tokyo team had a hard time handling him.

The three excellent batters were all quickly solved.

After Sawamura's home run, the Tokyo team's batters were retired in order.

The momentum they had just regained collapsed as if their efforts were for nothing.

Thus, the game entered the third inning.

At the top of the third, Tokyo University took the field.

After conceding one run, Narumiya used all his skills to defend.

Despite allowing a hit, he managed to stop the scoring.

He was quite strong in his defense, even after allowing a hit.

In the dugout, Coach Kunitomo was very pleased with Narumiya's performance.

After some time refining his skills, Narumiya had fully matured.

'He now knew how to adjust in unfavorable situations and had the determination to get back up after falling.'

Considering the strength of the opponent, this was already a very difficult task.

The game continued, entering the bottom of the third inning.

Tokyo's turn to bat began.

The eighth batter for the All-Tokyo team was their pitcher, Narumiya.

Narumiya was also a good outfielder and a fantastic batter.

He played an important role in the powerful Inashiro lineup, often batting third or fifth, always in the cleanup.

From this, it was clear just how strong Narumiya's batting was.

But now, in the All-Tokyo team, he was batting eighth!

Narumiya had always thought his abilities were on par with Sawamura's.

But after comparison, he was shocked.

Ignoring the pitching ability, when it came to batting...

The gap between him and Sawamura was vast.

Of course, that didn't mean Narumiya's batting skills weren't good.

The reason he was in the eighth spot was simply because the team was too strong.

Looking at the first seven batters, only players with monster-level abilities could even take the field.

Carlos, Shirakawa, Miyuki, Sawamura, Nagata, Yamaoka, Hoshida...

Each of these players, if they were pulled out of Tokyo, would be highly famous.

Narumiya's reputation wasn't worse than theirs.

But when it came to batting, his skills were simply not on their level.

After all, there's nothing more frustrating than realizing your opponent is better.

But Narumiya himself didn't feel this way.

He was determined to prove himself with his actions.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!"

Unfortunately, the result was unexpectedly disappointing.

Narumiya was cleanly struck Out.

He had gone all out, swinging for a home run, but Harada had noticed it and used crafty breaking balls to counter him.

Narumiya swung three times and missed each time.

"Damn it! Masa-san, how could you be so cruel?"

Narumiya grievingly questioned Harada.

Harada was taken aback by the question.

If his memory served him right, they were still opponents, weren't they?

"Idiot, who told you to swing widely three times in a row?"

Their bickering reminded them of the old days with the Inashiro's Baseball Team.

It was nostalgic...

But unfortunately, the nostalgia didn't last long as the game continued.

One Out, no runners on base.

The batter came up, the ninth hitter, Kengo Inui.

No surprise, he was quickly struck out as well.

The situation had become very dire.

Although Sawamura's home run had tied the score 1:1, the All-Tokyo team was in a disadvantaged position.

Narumiya had been strong but lacked the commanding presence to stop the opposition from scoring.

Tokyo University, led by professional players, was always ready to erupt.

Anyone with a bit of foresight knew this stalemate wouldn't last long.

If the Tokyo team didn't change the situation this inning...

In the next one, Tokyo University would likely begin a powerful counterattack.

Why?

The reason was simple. By the top of the fourth inning, the batters would be led by Tetsuya (third), Fumei (fourth), and Harada (fifth)…

This was the core of Tokyo University's lineup.

In fact, calling it a professional-level lineup wouldn't be wrong.

Even if Harada and Tetsuya had only joined recently, their power had already been recognized by the pros.

They were indispensable to their teams now.

They could truly represent professional baseball.

Their next round against Narumiya would shape the course of the game...

Perhaps even determine the winner.

With two Outs and no one on base, the lineup returned to the young man Carlos.

This was already Carlos's second matchup with Fumei.

Before this confrontation, Sawamura's excellent performance kept circling in Carlos's mind.

If that kid Sawamura could perform so well, Carlos couldn't afford to keep down.

'Hit it!'

Facing the incoming pitch, Carlos swung his bat with all his might, sending the ball flying.

Paak!

The baseball soared high into the air after being struck.

Snap!

But it was caught!

Carlos's eyes filled with frustration. He had thought that the ball had a chance to go out.

But now, it seemed his thinking was a bit naïve.

The game entered the top of the fourth.

This was the moment everyone had been waiting for, wanting to see how the pro-level players would perform against high school pitchers.

Too bad Coach Kunitomo didn't understand the spectators' anticipation, and their hopes were dashed.

At the start of the fourth inning, Kunitomo decisively called for a substitution.

Sawamura, who had been at second base, was now on the pitcher's mound.

The game was now in his hands.

Narumiya was furious, feeling like his life was on the line.

But Coach Kunitomo completely ignored him.

Narumiya will have to bring out his hidden cards in the second round.

But with Sawamura and Miyuki watching in the front seats, he won't do that...

…

T/N: Well, That's it for today!

As always, Thank you all for reading guys!

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