Chapter 12: Engine Start

Any genius, regardless of what their outward personality might be, deep down, is definitely very proud.

In their area of expertise, they can disregard all authority and existence. Because in the field they excel in, within their limited scope, they have certainly never failed.

It's like when a person is born, they naturally feel exceptional, as if their arrival in this world is a miracle, and the world revolves around them.

It is only after experiencing the cruelty of society that they will wake up.

They will truly understand that they are not the center of the world. They are merely a part of it, and not even the main part, but more like a supporting character.

This process is called growth.

The same goes for geniuses!

Only a small number of geniuses ever reach the pinnacle of the pyramid.

Most geniuses, during their growth process, will inevitably encounter some setbacks.

If they can overcome these setbacks, they will continue to grow. If they can't, that's the end.

As one of the 12 Rising Talents of middle school baseball, although Hanagata had encountered some setbacks, he certainly hadn't faced anything too overwhelming.

He hadn't been completely without failure.

But those failures were on par with his level.

Hanagata firmly believed that if he was a little luckier or worked a little harder, the gap could easily be closed, and he could win these games.

Although he was reluctant to lose, such opponents were not enough to shake Hanagata's confidence.

This led to Hanagata developing a slight sense of complacency in his inner mind.

In Hanagata's previous understanding, it seemed that there was no opponent of his age that could leave him completely powerless.

This indirectly gave him a sense of self-assurance regarding his strength.

He wouldn't dare claim to be the strongest in his age group, but he knew that he was certainly among the very best.

Even in the two years when he wasn't playing baseball, Hanagata hadn't slacked off his skills.

To be honest, the results he achieved from his self-training were somewhat different from the effects that would come from being guided by a famous Coach.

But this small gap, Hanagata quickly made up for it.

Kyoto also had powerful teams, with excellent players.

In his matchups against these players, Hanagata found that he was no worse than them, even perhaps stronger in some areas.

The opponents were the core members of elite teams, representing some of the best players in the country.

When comparing himself to them, Hanagata believed that even if he faced Sawamura, he wouldn't have to be afraid.

Although Sawamura's strength seemed unfathomable, he thought that with his own status as one of the top players in the country, he could still have a good match with the "Demon King."

During the West Tokyo Tournament and even the Koshien Tournament, Sawamura wasn't invincible. His pitches had been hit before, and he had allowed runs.

Since others could achieve such feats, Hanagata believed there was no reason why he couldn't do the same.

With this mindset, when he first stepped up to the Batter's Box, his fighting spirit was still very strong.

He wanted to analyze Sawamura's pitching patterns carefully, and when the baseball flew toward him, he intended to hit it hard.

Hanagata had good intentions and prepared well.

He had previously gathered all the available data about Sawamura from the internet and had created detailed simulations in his mind.

Thanks to Sawamura's dominance nationwide, information about him wasn't hard to find.

Hanagata quickly found reliable data and made many detailed simulations.

When he first stood in the Batter's Box to face Sawamura, though not completely confident, Hanagata was definitely motivated.

But the moment he faced Sawamura in battle, Hanagata's worldview completely collapsed.

When Sawamura threw the first pitch, Hanagata immediately understood what "fame is not without strength" meant.

If one had to describe the feeling of Sawamura's pitch, it would be "fast!"

Unparalleled speed.

Although Hanagata had heard all sorts of rumors before, it wasn't until the actual confrontation that he was astonished to realize that someone could actually throw a ball that fast.

In Kyoto, no pitcher could throw over 150 km/h.

However, Hanagata had conducted an experiment before, setting a pitching machine to 150 km/h and personally confirming how terrifying that speed was. He had also hit balls at that speed.

If Sawamura's pitch speed were only at that level, Hanagata wouldn't have been frightened.

But Hanagata was still shocked!

Even though he knew Sawamura's actual pitch speed wasn't 150 km/h, standing in the Batter's Box, the speed of Sawamura's pitches felt like it was at least 155 km/h.

It was a whole other realm.

And it wasn't just the speed; Sawamura's pitch gave Hanagata the feeling that it was alive.

In an instant, it seemed to break through all obstacles and appear in front of him.

On the first pitch, Hanagata didn't even have time to react.

And that wasn't the worst part.

When standing in the Batter's Box facing Sawamura for the first time, every opponent goes through this stage.

The stage of confusion.

They just couldn't react in time, and by the time they did, the opponent's attack had already finished.

The speed was simply too fast.

Although it's somewhat embarrassing, truthfully, there's nothing wrong with that.

As the saying goes, "Everyone makes mistakes."

There are times when no one can react in time, and that's just part of it.

What truly frustrated Hanagata was when he did react, but then he found that he couldn't hit Sawamura's pitch anymore.

Facing such a swift and tricky pitch, Hanagata could barely catch up with the ball's speed.

As for the angle, direction, and movement of the ball itself, his eyes couldn't even follow it.

His body, which had been idle for two years, was also too slow to react.

With the current strength Sawamura was showing, he no longer had any chance of winning.

There was no chance at all. They were simply not on the same level.

Not only could Hanagata not hit Sawamura's ball, but he was also struggling just to make contact with it.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKES! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKES! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

In this way, Hanagata and the third batter behind him were both struck out in succession.

If Hanagata couldn't even hit Sawamura's pitch, there was no way the other players from Nanakyo would fare any better.

One by one, they were also struck out.

Finally, three outs, switching sides.

In the first round of the confrontation, Sawamura had crushed the opponent with nine straight fastballs.

Without wasting a single pitch, he recorded three strikeouts.

He forced the opponent to go down 1-2-3.

A perfect start!

"They're no match at all."

A fan in the stands muttered to himself.

Behind him, a fan in his 40s didn't say a word in response.

Though the older fan didn't comment, there were also some professional analysts among the crowd.

Not everyone watching the game was a huge fan of baseball.

Especially those who brought girls with them to the game.

If they said they weren't trying to show off, that would be hard to believe.

"I guess Nanakyo's players didn't expect the game to be like this quickly. If their pitchers can hold off Seidou High School's offense, maybe they can still make a good show."

The rest of the words didn't need to be said.

After just facing the Great Demon King's pitching, if Nanakyo's players couldn't turn the tide and withstand Seidou High School's offense, they were in real trouble.

Even though the game had just begun, and the first inning hadn't ended yet, if there was a huge gap at the start, the outcome of the game might already be decided.

The average bystanders could easily understand this, and naturally, the Seidou High School team members were even more aware of it.

"I wonder if this horse before us is running at full capacity?"

Before the bottom of the first inning began, the Seidou High School team gathered to discuss their strategy.

They understood the pressure their opponents were facing. It wouldn't be easy to overcome them.

What they had to do was magnify that pressure.

In simple terms, they just needed to keep performing well and continue to put pressure on their opponents until they were overwhelmed.

As their Coach, Kataoka, had often told them, there were two crucial moments in every game.

One was the final whistle of the last inning.

The other was when one side gave up the game.

The whistle hadn't blown yet, but if they could make their opponents question their resolve and even give up, this wouldn't be impossible for Seidou High School's team.

Just look at how, after Sawamura finished pitching, the players who had been staring at Seidou High School's team as if they were about to fight to death were now already looking at them with fear.

Even if they didn't say it out loud, Seidou's players could roughly guess what was going on in their minds.

They were surely wondering if Sawamura was just an ordinary high school student like them.

If so, why was his strength so unfathomable?

It was clear that this was far beyond the level of a high school student.

It wasn't that they were trying to praise Sawamura.

It was because they realized they had no way of dealing with him.

They couldn't see any hope of scoring.

"Hyaa-ha-haa!"

Under these circumstances, Kuramochi took his bat and stood in the Batter's Box.

Their task now was clear.

They had to deliver the final blow to their opponents!

The offensive power that Seidou High School would show in the first inning and the points they scored could very well determine the course of the game.

Earlier, Seidou's scout Watanabe had given a high evaluation of the opponent when analyzing them.

They had an absolute core player, and whether it was the starting pitcher or the relievers in the bullpen, their strength was solid and well-rounded.

Without someone like Hanagata at first base, they wouldn't have gotten this far.

Now that they understood all this, Seidou's team wasn't about to hold back.

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