Chapter 22: You Are Done, Kid!

No Outs, runner on first.

Yuuki Tetsuya successfully reached first base, and the chances of the Imperial University team scoring drastically increased.

At the same time, Sawamura also had to face the potential of a second round against Yuuki.

At first base, Miyuki Kazuya's expression was as calm as water.

Though he understood very well that the situation wasn't Yuuki's fault. Given Yuuki's personality, he always gave his all in any game.

That's the greatest form of respect for an opponent.

As for the difficulties Sawamura and Seidou High School might face, Miyuki might know some, but even if he did, he wouldn't pay them any mind.

If that affected his own actions, then Yuuki wouldn't be Yuuki.

But it must be said that the current situation was a huge crisis for Sawamura.

What made Miyuki feel helpless was that, even though Sawamura was facing this crisis, he, as his partner, couldn't step in to help. He could only rely on Sawamura to get through it by himself.

The feeling of helplessness and frustration is something that's hard to understand unless you're in the position of the person feeling it.

At the catcher's position, Kengo Inui was watching Sawamura on the mound with a complicated gaze.

As Sawamura's current partner, he should be stepping in to assist. However, the two of them hadn't had enough practice together and didn't understand each other well enough.

On one hand, he didn't understand Sawamura well, and on the other, simple game calling wouldn't be enough to face a batter of this caliber.

Inui couldn't help but feel frustrated.

However, what concerned him more was how Sawamura would deal with this crisis.

As his partner, even if he couldn't help Sawamura with advice right now, at least he should be ready to help when Sawamura needed him.

His eyes were firmly locked onto Sawamura, ready to act as soon as Sawamura gave a signal.

This made Sawamura on the mound feel at ease.

In this world, there's no shortage of 'bad teammates.'

Those teammates who clearly don't have the skill but insist on showing off are nothing but a burden.

Although he and Inui didn't have a deep cooperation, Inui also had his strengths.

Inui's greatest strength was that he knew what he could do and what he couldn't. He did what he was good at without hesitation, and for things he couldn't do, he entrusted them to others without a second thought.

Such a teammate was incredibly reassuring.

Sawamura didn't need to waste too much energy on his teammate and could focus entirely on handling the opponent.

No Outs, runner on first.

Standing at first base was Yuuki.

Tetsu-san probably had a significant mental warning when it came to Sawamura's pickoff techniques.

He was obediently standing at first base, not even attempting to steal.

Sawamura, watching from the mound, had a sudden thought.

'Okay, we can work with this!'

No matter why Tetsu-san was behaving like this, it was a great opportunity for Sawamura.

He just needed to focus on dealing with the batter on the field.

Fumei Tsuyoi.

His achievements in professional baseball were fantastic for the average player.

It was impossible enough that he was even playing a game with a bunch of high school kids, let alone playing against them.

Fumei certainly didn't expect to be hit with a home run in the first round.

Now, the tables had turned, and his and Sawamura's positions had completely reversed. With his hitting ability, could he not be thinking about getting revenge?

'The answer was probably no.'

'He definitely wanted revenge, the look in his eyes tells everything. I too would be thinking the same.'

The way Fumei looked at Sawamura was like looking at your natural enemy.

Sawamura probably couldn't understand why Fumei, a professional star, was this motivated against a bunch of high school kids, especially with him.

Even though Fumei had given up a home run, it could have been a fluke.

'As a professional, he didn't need to take it so seriously, did he?'

There was undoubtedly a reason behind Fumei's aggression towards Sawamura.

The reason was not that complicated, it is because Sawamura who was still a highschooler, was more famous—and maybe richer—than him, a rising star in the Pro world.

All of his talent, his struggles, his sweat, his tears, his persistence, his success, and his achievements all were judged to be less important than a high school kid who is playing the same sport.

It seems somewhat illogical for a professional player, already famous in the industry, to envy a little brat who hasn't even graduated from high school.

But people are that simple, you could say and analyze many reasons behind this, but in the end, it will boil down to this,

The guy is jealous.

He knew it was vain, but who doesn't have a bit of vanity?

Fumei has harbored jealousy toward Sawamura for a while now.

What fanned the flame even more was how much attention and resources his team was putting into recruiting Sawamura.

If things go smoothly from there, it is clear what will happen to him, the Ace of the team, when the new Golden Boy arrives.

Fumei was very proud of his achievements. And seeing is be discarded like that pained him greatly.

So when the chance came for him to teach Sawamura what it meant to be a pro he agreed readily with no hesitation.

Fumei couldn't wait to face him.

But when it happened, Sawamura hit a home run off him…

That flamed him even more.

He'd suffered a loss in that duel, and now he was determined to get revenge.

'I will hit the ball out!'

Standing in the Batter's Box, Fumei stared at Sawamura on the mound, clenching his teeth.

Despite his previous loss to Sawamura, Fumei didn't think he was inferior to him.

That previous home run from Sawamura had a lot of luck involved.

From their encounter, Fumei had formed his own judgment of Sawamura.

Sawamura had skills, but he was also very lucky.

In the short span of high school baseball, luck and momentum can carry you far.

But in the grinder called Professional World…

Fumei was confident in his judgment, and he felt he had given Sawamura a lot of credit.

He could easily defeat him.

'I've seen plenty of players like you over the years!'

Fumei's eyes gleamed with provocation.

He believed he had fully figured out Sawamura. He was a talented pitcher with some clever skills and good luck. Against high school players, he could easily handle them, but at this level, he wasn't that impressive.

Fumei was confident he could easily defeat Sawamura.

'Come on! Throw your best pitch at me. I'll send it flying out of the park.'

Fumei's momentum was building.

From behind the plate, Inui also sensed the tension, nodding at Sawamura on the mound.

Though he didn't know Sawamura's exact plan, Inui had a good sense of what Sawamura was planning after watching his previous pitch.

'Throw your best pitch. I'll catch it.'

Even without knowing Sawamura's inner thoughts, Inui confidently supported him.

Sawamura, encouraged by his teammate's trust, began his motion.

His right leg lifted high, then dropped like a battle axe!

Fumei felt a jolt of unease.

For some reason, he sensed something had changed about Sawamura's momentum.

'What's going on?'

Fumei was confused, his gaze locked on Sawamura, waiting to see his next move.

He hadn't noticed anything unusual.

Then it came.

Sawamura threw his pitch, and it seemed to cut through the air.

Fumei suddenly felt something was wrong.

The way Sawamura moved, his mitt like a wall in front of him, blocking his view of the ball and his arm.

By the time Fumei noticed the ball coming, it was already too late.

WHRROOSH!!

The ball sliced through the air, closing the distance in an instant, and appeared right in front of Fumei.

'Fast!'

Fumei hurriedly swung the bat, but he couldn't catch up to the speed of the small baseball.

Before he even swung the bat, the baseball had already appeared in the catcher's Mitt.

SNAP!

"STRIKE!"

Just like that, Fumei was quickly down by two Strikes.

His initial judgment about Sawamura seemed completely wrong.

The opponent in front of him seemed like an unreasonable combination of elements, with a weapon in his hand that caught people off guard.

'A fast Straight ball, a tricky breaking ball.'

'A strange pitching form that hides the release point...'

'When these things combined, they formed an incredibly powerful weapon.'

Something no one could counter.

'I see, so all of that bravado was not empty either.'

Fumei finally began to take Sawamura's strength seriously.

Although Fumei still thought that Sawamura was being lucky with his batting...

He couldn't deny that the pitcher in front of him had a very distinct style.

If developed properly, he would definitely become a formidable figure.

Though he acknowledged Sawamura's strength, Fumei had no intention of giving up.

In his dictionary, the words "give up" might never have appeared.

After two pitches, Sawamura's concealed pitching was no longer a secret.

Fumei's eyes had already adjusted to Sawamura's pitching speed.

'Here it comes!'

'The last pitch!!!'

Sawamura was ahead with two strikes, looking to have the upper hand.

But Fumei didn't seem to care.

Until now, he still had confidence that he could hit Sawamura's pitch.

This was the confidence of a professional baseball player in his own abilities.

'This cocky feeling is exactly the same as in my memories!' Sawamura nodded, with a subtle smile on his face.

After spending so much time in the professional baseball world, Sawamura understood the nature of professional players very well.

Compared to regular high school players, the biggest trait of professional players is their confidence.

They believed in their own abilities...

Of course, players who made it to the professional leagues and established themselves there had put in effort and sweat that ordinary people could hardly imagine.

And it was precisely because of these efforts that they had gained the strongest confidence.

They believed in themselves, in their ability to solve all problems with their own skills.

This was the mark of a qualified professional player.

When it came to batters, excellent players in the professional leagues shared this determination and confidence.

When they held a bat in their hands, they believed they could definitely hit the ball.

"I will definitely hit it!"

"I can do it!!!"

Perhaps they didn't always have such clear thoughts in their minds, but they definitely had that idea, more or less.

Some even visualized the scene of the ball being hit out of the park in their heads.

Such players naturally exude a unique aura.

Sawamura was very familiar with this feeling.

In contrast, there were fewer such players in Japan. In America, a land that values freedom, such players were a dime a dozen.

Even if their skills weren't outstanding, their mindset was very specific.

They believed they could hit the ball! They pictured the ball flying out of the field.

Against such an opponent, regular high school players would definitely be affected.

Either they would unleash even greater power than usual, or they would be overwhelmed by the opponent's aura...

Either way, they would be affected to some extent.

And neither of these outcomes was necessarily a good thing.

Too much intensity can backfire.

If you burn out your potential too much, the end result is always tragic. In the professional league, the pitching squad is deep, so even if one pitcher burns out, the team can make up for it.

After all, there are plenty of pitchers who can replace an Ace.

High school baseball is different. If the Ace pitcher burns out...

It could spell disaster for the whole team.

Their strength would be greatly diminished.

For some teams, the next step might be an abyss of despair.

A worn-out Ace pitcher is a fatal blow in high school baseball.

The same goes for losing momentum.

A pitcher who has lost his momentum—how much of his strength can he still show?

That is an unknown, but it is certain that it won't be more than when he's in a normal state.

This is the pressure that the aura of a professional baseball player brings.

Fumei also tried to use his own aura to its fullest.

But unfortunately, his opponent didn't seem affected by it at all.

Sawamura didn't seem to care at all.

Facing Fumei, he easily threw his third pitch.

Fumei raised his bat and swung fiercely at the incoming baseball.

'You Are done, Kid!!!'

SHUUUUUUU!!!!!!

After two pitches of adaptation, he finally got the hang of Sawamura's pitching form.

This time, he made solid contact with the pitch.

PAAK!

'This Is It!'

A faint smile appeared on Fumei's face.

He was confident that he could hit the ball out of the park.

After the ball flew out, Fumei sprinted toward first base.

A strange feeling—the hit didn't feel right, as if he hadn't struck the sweet spot.

The collision felt off.

But he believed that as long as the ball landed well, it would be enough to get him on base.

Snap!

The ball landed, and a figure appeared in front of it, catching it securely in his mitt before quickly throwing it to second base.

At second base, Shirakawa, the shortstop, had already been waiting in position.

Snap!

After catching the ball, he stepped on the base and swiftly threw it to first.

"OUT!"

"OUT!!!"

In Fumei's disbelieving gaze, he and the runner at first base were double-played.

'How could this be????'

Fumei couldn't understand.

He had clearly hit the ball—why did it land perfectly in front of the second baseman?

'Was this a coincidence?'

"Not a coincidence!"

It was Tetsuya's calm response that caught Fumei off guard.

He was very familiar with Sawamura.

That Sawamura could pull something like this off didn't surprise him at all.

"That guy already decided from the start to take us both Out with one move!"

Tetsuya's explanation was hard for Fumei to accept.

How could it be?

Could it be that this double play was something Sawamura had planned from the beginning?

"As much as I hate to say it, that's exactly what happened," Tetsuya said, but the smile on his face wasn't hidden at all.

His Kohai was still as reliable as ever!

Two Outs, no one on base.

Sawamura's crisis was resolved.

With a fishing pitch, Fumei's hit had been turned into a double play.

It seemed like a simple tactic.

But anyone familiar with the details wouldn't dare to underestimate what Sawamura had just done.

After all, his opponent was no ordinary player.

He was the rookie king of the professional baseball league.

A super strong hitter who had a solid hit off Narumiya in the first round.

Sawamura was bold enough to throw a bait pitch against such an opponent?

How big was his nerve?

In the dugout.

Coach Kunitomo stretched his neck, making it crack.

'Sawamura isn't just bold; he's skilled. He's already figured out his opponent's mindset, so he was confident enough to do this.'

Sawamura's performance had amazed Coach Kunitomo immensely.

It was a strange feeling as if compared to the high school players, Sawamura was far more relaxed and at ease against professional players.

It was truly unbelievable!

…