Chapter 82: The Vanishing Ball

Initially, Sawamura didn't want to use his Level 4 breaking ball in this game.

The media at the scene were no amateurs; they were hoping for a big headline to emerge.

Was it necessary to reveal his trump card before the summer tournament began?

This was an unsolvable dilemma.

No matter what choice he made, it seemed there was no wrong option.

In the end, Sawamura decided to follow his true intentions.

Since the Dream Team's little punks had already provoked him at his doorstep(It is actually the other way around but who cares), he naturally couldn't let them get away with it.

At the same time, this marked Sawamura's confidence.

Even if he revealed his trump card ahead of time, so what?

The other side would merely prepare counter-strategies to avoid facing the Level 4 breaking ball.

As for hitting the Level 4 breaking ball?

That was a joke!

At the high school level, there was no player who could pull that off.

Otherwise, what would the "Winning Shot" even mean?

Sawamura had this confidence.

Originally, he didn't want to reveal it simply because he didn't want his opponents to have time to prepare.

After all, Sawamura couldn't throw a Level 4 breaking ball on every pitch.

Even if his stamina allowed it, his fingers couldn't withstand that kind of stress...

But now, since he had already made up his mind, there was no reason to hold back.

Before the pitch, Sawamura deliberately glanced at Ramirez, who was standing on first base.

Ramirez was playing it cautiously.

Clearly, Sawamura's previous pickoff had left a deep mental mark on him.

Now, no player from the Dream Team had dared to challenge Sawamura in this regard.

With a slight nod, Sawamura set up his stance and threw.

WHRROOSH!

Ortiz, facing the pitch, didn't hesitate.

He decisively swung his bat.

Paak!

The bat struck the baseball, sending it into the air, and landing behind the catcher.

Miyuki, positioned behind the plate, nodded in approval.

At this moment, they were relieved that Ortiz didn't have dynamic vision.

If he did, this would have been troublesome.

Players with dynamic vision, in Miyuki's eyes, all seemed to have an unfair advantage.

Facing such players felt like playing in a completely different league compared to others.

Looking at Ortiz now, despite his exceptional hitting skills, from Sawamura and Miyuki's perspective, he wasn't that difficult to deal with.

There were plenty of ways to get him Out. He wasn't the hardest player to handle.

"FOUL!!"

"FOUL!!"

After two foul balls, Sawamura threw his third pitch.

WHRROOSH!

This time, it was unclear whether it was due to Sawamura's fatigue or his impatience to get an Out, but as he stepped forward, his body tilted awkwardly.

His step drifted off course, veering slightly to the right.

'Hm?'

Ortiz, watching from the Batter's Box, furrowed his brow.

He stared at Sawamura, unable to believe that Sawamura had made such an error.

Up until now, Sawamura's performance had always been reliable.

'How could he suddenly make such a mistake?'

Ortiz couldn't understand, but this didn't affect his judgment.

This kind of pitch—there was no way Sawamura could throw it to the catcher's Mitt. Even if he managed to, it wouldn't reach home plate!

He was ready.

If Sawamura missed, Ortiz was going to sprint to first base.

But then, Ortiz witnessed something utterly unbelievable. What he thought was impossible—that Sawamura couldn't possibly throw the ball to the catcher—turned out to be wrong.

Despite the awkward posture, Sawamura still managed to fire a straight pitch, sharp and fast like an arrow.

Confronted with this unexpected pitch, Ortiz stood there, stunned, unable to react in time.

Snap!

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

One Out, runner on first.

At this point, Sawamura was clearly exhausted.

'Thankfully, the Magic ball worked with him.'

His pitching was nowhere near the quality of his peak performance.

What was keeping him going now was sheer determination.

Just two more Outs, and he'd complete the inning.

The moment his focus wavered, his stamina would be completely drained, and it would be hard for him to stay on the mound.

But for now, it wasn't too late.

He had just enough left to push through and keep fighting.

"Fourth batter, first baseman, D. Bill."

Now, it was time for the Dream Team's fourth batter, David Bill.

In their previous three encounters, Bill had managed to hit Sawamura's pitches twice.

This was something Sawamura hadn't anticipated.

He hadn't expected a player his age to evolve to this level.

Given Sawamura's current stamina and the basic pitches he had left,

there was no way he could get Bill out now.

Before, even at full strength, Bill had been difficult to handle.

Now, with Sawamura's energy on the brink of collapse, how could he possibly get Bill out?

Not to mention that Bill had top-tier Dynamic Vision.

All the variations in Sawamura's pitches, the locations…

To Bill, they were all transparent, no mystery at all.

'No choice eh?'

Sawamura felt as if he had been pushed to a breaking point.

Now, he had no other option but to go all in.

He locked eyes with Miyuki.

Miyuki immediately understood.

He knew it was time to begin.

Sawamura's dramatic performance was about to start.

Miyuki, filled with anticipation, nodded slightly and crouched down.

The media in the stands, recording every moment, and the fans at home—on TV, computers, and smartphones.

All had their eyes glued to the game.

At this moment, only Sawamura and Miyuki's focus was on the opponent in front of them.

Their task now was to take this opponent down.

Sawamura wiped the sweat from his hands and applied some grip powder.

At such a crucial moment, any tiny slip-up or mistake could be fatal.

So he had to minimize every possible risk.

Sawamura's cold eyes fixed on his opponent.

Then, with a deep breath, he set his stance and hurled the baseball with all his might.

WHRROOSH!

It was like a flash of lightning, appearing out of nowhere.

In the Batter's Box, Bill, with his braided hair, was at his peak focus.

As the fourth batter of the Dream Team, he had been told by Coach Walter before stepping up:

"You have to hit this!"

The record of the Dream Team could not be ruined here.

With that thought in mind, Bill confidently swung his bat!

He saw the trajectory of the pitch clearly.

And he was certain he could send this ball flying.

'I can see it!'

As the ball neared, Bill swung without hesitation and watched as his bat made contact with the baseball.

'Gotcha!'

At that moment, Bill felt a sense of relaxation.

He believed he had already defeated Sawamura.

'EH…?'

But strangely, there was no solid feeling in the bat.

And no sound of the ball striking the bat.

'What The Fu*k?!'

Bill's eyes went wide. He turned to look at the catcher in disbelief.

Sure enough, the baseball had gone straight into the catcher's Mitt.

SNAP!

"S-STRIKE!"

The sound of the ball sinking into the Mitt is always crisp, no matter when you hear it.

But at this moment, Bill had no mind to appreciate it.

His eyes were wide, filled with incredulity.

Could someone explain to him what had just happened?

Miyuki, positioned behind the plate, had been keeping an eye on Bill's facial expressions.

Seeing Bill like this, Miyuki let out a long breath of relief.

'As expected, this kind of pitch was effective.'

Even though the opponent had a top-tier dynamic vision, there was absolutely no way they could see through it.

'Good!'

Bill, the fourth batter of the Dream Team, who had previously hit Sawamura's pitches twice, had now swung and missed?

"Huh?"

"What Happened?"

This was something the Dream Team players and their supporters simply couldn't accept.

They couldn't believe what they had just seen.

Could someone tell them what had just happened?

The entire stadium was silent.

Everyone was absorbed in Sawamura's pitch.

No one could understand what had just occurred, and everyone stood dumbfounded.

'He Got Another Trick!!'

Bill, being the battle-hardened veteran he was, was the first to recover.

Once he regained his composure, he stared intently at Sawamura, waiting for the next pitch.

'You Bastard! You Were Holding Back!"

WHRROOSH!

Sawamura didn't hesitate, quickly throwing the baseball.

Bill watched the ball fly toward him, but this time, he didn't choose to swing.

Instead, he kept his eyes locked on Sawamura's pitch!

SNAP!

"STRIKE!!"

After seeing this pitch, Bill didn't feel any sense of relief.

Instead, he became even more conflicted.

The second pitch Sawamura threw was just a regular fastball.

'These two annoying guys had completely played me.'

They knew he would be watching this pitch, so they threw the most straightforward fastball.

Bill glared at Miyuki with intense frustration.

Miyuki grinned, giving him a big smile.

For some reason, Bill found that smile particularly infuriating.

He really wanted to punch Miyuki in the face, giving him a big panda eye.

Of course, that wasn't possible.

WHRROOSH!

Sawamura threw his third pitch.

Pressured and with no other choice, Bill swung at this pitch.

SNAP!

In Bill's eyes, the bat passed through the baseball again, but he hadn't made contact.

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

The Dream Team's fourth batter had just been struck out?

Now, not only were the Dream Team players and supporters stunned, but even the players from the Seidou baseball team were wide-eyed, mouths agape.

No one could say a word.

What in the world had just happened?

Next up, the fifth batter faced the same situation as Bill.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

Sawamura struck out both the fourth and fifth batters of the Dream Team.

In front of 60,000 eyes, Sawamura showed what true power was.

After watching this game, all the fans in the stadium were completely silent.

"WAAAAAAAAAA!"

"AMAZING WHAT WAS THAT!"

"ALL SWING AND MISS!!"

"IMPOSSPLE!"

"SOOOO COOOOL!!!"

And then, thunderous applause erupted.

Bottom of the 9th inning, Seidou High School is up to bat!

Despite Sawamura's incredible skills, the gap in overall strength between the two teams still existed.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

Allen also efficiently handled Seidou High School's batters.

Before Sawamura's turn came up, Allen had already secured three outs.

After a grueling nine innings, lasting an hour and a half,

the reigning champions from Japan, Seidou High School, faced off with the legendary Dream Team.

The game ended in a draw.

For the Dream Team's players and supporters, this result wasn't exactly satisfying, but it wasn't unacceptable either.

On the Japanese side, however, they were ecstatic!

Before Seidou High School entered this exchange game, no one could have imagined that they would end up with such a result.

Undefeated!!!

Although they didn't achieve a perfect record, this result was enough to make everyone overjoyed.

Especially the sponsors who had invested in the game.

They would probably wake up smiling from their dreams, given the generous profits.

...

T/N: With this, the game ended! Hope you guys enjoyed it!

Thank you all for reading!!

And I hope you all have a nice day!

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