Chapter 67: Boat In The Ocean

Standing in the Batter's Box, Sawamura focused on Allen on the mound.

Sawamura's emotions were very complicated.

A person's thoughts change as their status changes, and this is true even for Sawamura Eijun.

Since his regression, Sawamura has experienced many, many games and encountered various powerful players.

With the advantage of foresight and his own hard work, Sawamura has always been at the forefront compared to his peers.

In all the games against peers, Sawamura had more or less an advantage.

Perhaps because of his teammates' limitations, he had lost to opponents before, but Sawamura always had a measure in his heart. As far as he was concerned, he was absolutely not inferior to any opponent.

After his regression, Sawamura carried this confidence deep inside him.

At first, Sawamura could maintain a normal mindset.

But as time passed, he started to feel that his current strength was getting him close to his goal.

The level of legends.

As long as he continued to work hard without slackening, sooner or later, he would sit on the legendary throne. Years later, when people talked about these baseball players, they would certainly remember the name Sawamura Eijun.

However, today, Sawamura's belief has taken a hit.

Allen, the opponent, used real action to teach Sawamura a lesson and showed him that Sawamura wasn't omnipotent.

Even without the advantage of Sawamura's regression, Allen, a prodigy, had steadily worked his way up to his current level.

A talent Mightier than any cheat!

His strength was certainly not inferior to Sawamura's.

Standing in the Batter's Box and facing Allen head-on, Sawamura immediately felt the difference.

The overwhelming pressure made Sawamura realize his own shortcomings.

'So strong!!!'

With his current batting skills, it would be very difficult to steadily secure a hit off his opponent.

This feeling was something Sawamura had rarely experienced before.

In the past, relying on his powerful abilities and rich experience, Sawamura could secure a hit off any opponent if he wanted to.

But now, Sawamura felt the difficulty.

Instinctively, Sawamura didn't see this as a bad thing.

It was like an actor improving their acting skills—when they start to feel a sense of reverence, it means they are improving.

Eijun had a similar feeling.

Although the information available to him now in the Batter's Box wasn't as abundant as before, Sawamura instinctively felt that his own strength had improved significantly.

Facing Allen head-on, it was still possible to secure a hit.

Sawamura, with his improved strength, couldn't possibly feel complicated because of this.

What really complicated his emotions was Allen's strength.

Allen didn't have the cheat of regression, yet his current strength was definitely not inferior to Sawamura's.

This was the most striking blow to Sawamura.

This also taught him a lesson.

Being a regressor is not all-powerful!

If he truly wanted to become a legend in the baseball world, besides following the regular training, he needed to think of other ways to improve himself.

The deeper Sawamura got into baseball, the more he realized the profoundness of the sport.

It was no exaggeration to say that this was a career worth dedicating one's entire life to.

'Come on!!!'

Sawamura Eijun felt as though he was alone in the vast sea.

He watched wave after wave crash toward him.

He had once believed that he had grown into an aircraft carrier that could ignore any storm.

But now, Sawamura knew that, in this vast ocean, he was just a small boat.

And a boat that had just set sail.

The road ahead would be tough, but he could only press forward.

The count was two Strikes, one Ball.

The situation: one Out, no runners on base.

Being pressured, Sawamura finally realized something.

He focused intently on Allen and resolved to hit the incoming baseball.

Allen on the mound was naturally not about to be outdone.

At this moment, Allen's momentum was even stronger than Sawamura's, because he had already pressured Sawamura. Now, he only needed one more Strike to finish the count.

Allen, having made up his mind, threw his decisive pitch.

VROOOOOOO!

Many people thought that, with Allen's 100 mph(161 km/h) fastball, his signature pitch must be the splitter.

Someone had once measured his splitter speed, and it was an astonishing 158 km/h, faster than most fastballs thrown by other pitchers.

Such a pitch was almost impossible to hit.

But those who truly knew Allen would never think so.

Because they knew Allen still had an even stronger trump card.

He was called the "Son of Baseball"!

And the strongest pitch of Allen's wasn't the terrifying splitter.

It was another kind of pitch.

A deadly weapon hidden within his fastball!

Allen's Straight ball!

It was no ordinary Straight ball —it was Allen's unique Straight ball.

As the baseball neared the batter, it would keep its initial spin on it.

It was impossible to make solid contact.

That was Allen's Straight ball!!

Sawamura's eyes were wide, if this was an anime, his eyes were certainly glowing.

In Sawamura's vision, the pitch coming toward him seemed to slow down.

'A Fastball!'

This was Sawamura's first judgment.

However, as the ball got closer, Sawamura's judgment changed continuously.

Now, he had a completely different feeling.

'This wasn't a fastball! To be precise, this wasn't an ordinary fastball.'

The spin of the baseball was faster than he had imagined.

Sawamura didn't know why he had such a clear feeling.

But he firmly believed in his instincts.

After seeing the ball coming, he decisively stepped forward and swung.

PAAK!!

The baseball was struck and flew high into the air.

The entire stadium was stunned.

Even the players from the Dream Team didn't react in time.

They just stared blankly at the scene in front of them, eyes filled with disbelief.

Allen's final pitch, the deadly one, was actually hit?

This felt no different from seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

The ball didn't travel far, just beyond the infield.

But the placement was perfect, landing behind the third baseman.

There was a wide open space...

"I hit it!!"

Having gotten a hit, Sawamura himself was a little stunned.

After coming out of that miraculous state, he looked back and recalled the moment he hit the ball.

The hair on his body stood on end.

His performance was incredible!

Even Sawamura himself, looking back, couldn't believe that the outstanding performance was actually from him.

Luckily, at this moment, the hard training with the Seidou High School baseball team paid off.

Before his brain could react, his body naturally began to move, and he sprinted to first base.

Sawamura passed first base and pushed himself all the way to second base.

"SAFE!!"

It was only after reaching second base that he realized just how close it had been.

The feeling just now was so surreal!

If he had made even the slightest mistake during that moment, he wouldn't have gotten the hit.

Although he managed to reach base, Sawamura had to admit something:

Allen was truly a genius.

His deadly pitch had been honed to perfection. Even if Sawamura had another chance, he wouldn't dare confidently say he could get a hit again!

From Sawamura's observations, even with the help of that miraculous state, the probability of hitting a high fly was much higher than getting a hit.

Now that he was on second base, it was not only due to his improved abilities but also due to a lot of luck.

Such luck might work once or twice, but if it happened too often, cracks would surely show...

Standing on second base, Sawamura hadn't yet had the chance to savor the joy of success, when a worry rose in his heart.

Before this confrontation, Sawamura wasn't sure whether his Seidou teammates could actually hit the ball thrown by Allen.

Through this encounter, Sawamura now knew the answer.

But this answer was one he didn't want to face.

It wasn't that Sawamura underestimated his teammates, but objectively speaking, the chance of Seidou's players getting a hit off Allen was extremely low.

By the end of the game, it wouldn't even reach 10%.

It meant that Seidou's players had almost no chance to continuously hit and score off Allen.

This was the only opportunity they had to score.

Sawamura's judgment wasn't blind. There were several key objective reasons for it.

First, the strength gap between the two teams. Seidou's players had a really tough time getting a hit off Allen.

This wasn't just about the other players, it also included Sawamura himself.

Although he had gotten hits twice, luck played a big role in both instances.

The first time, Allen had completely underestimated Sawamura, allowing him to catch him off guard.

The second time, it was due to Sawamura's luck…

But would the same luck strike again? It was hard to say.

Second, Sawamura had just gotten a hit, and this was Allen's most frustrated moment.

'It was also the moment when he was most likely to make a mistake.'

'If we missed this opportunity, it might not come again.'

Third, Sawamura had reached second base, which meant there was still an out to work with.

With that, the ways to score weren't limited.

'If we're going to score, it has to be now!'

At this moment, another person's thoughts were completely in sync with Sawamura's.

This person was Sawamura's close partner, Miyuki.

Miyuki realized the situation too. After stepping into the Batter's Box, he exchanged looks with Sawamura.

He knew that relying solely on himself or Sawamura wouldn't solve the problem.

They had to work together, united.

Only then could they break through the Dream Team's impenetrable defense.

'It had to be now!!!'

Both of them were players who always thought several moves ahead.

They sensed the predicament their team was in, but the others didn't know it yet.

"MIYUKI!"

"CAPTAIN!!"

"IT IS YOUR TIME TO SHINE!!"

"DO IT!!"

In Seidou's dugout, the teammates were still cheering for Sawamura's successful hit.

Meanwhile, the American fans in the stands were completely silent!

In their minds, the Dream Team had always been unbeatable. They had never faced such a challenge.

Although they knew Seidou's team was strong, their strength should never have been this high!

They were really going head-to-head with the Dream Team and weren't falling behind at all.

"Incredible!"

"The world is really vast!"

"To think such a player exists…"

Especially Sawamura's performance, which amazed even the Dream Team's fans.

Even from an opposing standpoint, they couldn't help but admire Sawamura's display.

Because of Sawamura's outstanding performance, even the players of the Dream Team didn't know what would happen next.

Though they still had strong confidence in their own team, after watching Sawamura's performance, they couldn't help but admit that anything seemed possible for him.

He was a player who could sway the outcome of a game and shake people's hearts.

The New York team, as opponents, felt this even more acutely.

…

T/N: As always, Thank you all for reading!!

And I hope you all have a good day!

By the way, This Volume and the next Volume are Completed on Patre0n!

So can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.

T/N: As always, Thank you all for reading!!

And I hope you all have a good day!

By the way, This Volume and the next Volume are Completed on Patre0n!

So can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.

patre0n /ColdColt

There are +170 Chapters there.