Chapter 19: Good Eyes

After Fujita was substituted in, although Nanakyo High School's baseball team still conceded a point, the overall situation clearly improved.

In particular, the double play at the final moment seemed to give the Nanakyo High School players a powerful boost of confidence, almost reviving the entire team.

This is the Koshien stage! Any shining performance they make will be magnified immensely.

Not to mention that there are countless hometown supporters watching them on TV, and even as many as 2,000 people who traveled from Kyoto just to watch them in person.

Among these 2,000 are their family members, friends, classmates, and hometown folks...

Although these 2,000 people occupy only a small corner of the entire Koshien stadium, which is far less than the number of fans cheering for Sawamura Eijun, they came to support them.

For their sake, they must play their best.

With this belief, the Nanakyo High School players are all highly motivated. They don't miss any opportunity and put their full effort into every detail.

When they let go of unnecessary thoughts and focus on doing their best, their strengths and individuality become even more evident.

As the second inning begins, the Nanakyo High School batters feel light and free when they take the field.

They feel agile, ready to face Sawamura directly.

The sensation is quite unusual, almost hard to describe.

To put it another way, if the players from Nanakyo High School had previously felt as if they were carrying a massive weight, like a huge mountain, making it hard for them to breathe, that weight is now gone.

Now, they only want to run forward.

Without any burdens, their bodies naturally feel much lighter.

Sawamura, keen as always, immediately notices the change in Nanakyo's players.

Standing in the Batter's Box, the fourth batter is Fujita, the newly substituted player.

Originally, this position should have been taken by their former Ace pitcher. Though his pitching was average, his batting skills were probably decent. Otherwise, there would be no reason to put him in the fourth spot.

The fourth spot always carries special meaning.

If a player in this position performs poorly, it reflects badly on the team.

But now, they have a first-year rookie in the spot. How much strength can he really have?

Sawamura's eyes narrow slightly.

He takes his stance and pitches the baseball.

Fujita, standing in the Batter's Box, gives Sawamura a bold, fearless stare, eager to see what kind of pitch the "Demon King" can throw.

But in the end, he sees nothing.

Sawamura Eijun's mitt and body completely block his view of the pitching arm.

'Just as the rumors had said.'

With this, it becomes very difficult to judge the timing of the pitch.

Fujita has no choice but to wait until the ball is closer before swinging.

Fujita quickly processes this information in his mind. He waits for the ball to come and then attempts to judge the direction and timing to swing.

WHRROOSH!

Without any warning, the baseball suddenly flies toward him.

'So fast!'

Fujita's eyes widen in surprise.

By the time he sees the baseball, it's already right in front of him.

His brain hasn't even had time to react, and the ball is already past his hands, landing neatly in Miyuki's mitt.

SNAP!

"STRIKE!"

After witnessing Sawamura's pitch firsthand, Fujita nearly soiled himself in fear.

'Oh my god! This is terrifying!!'

He didn't have time to react at all.

Sawamura's pitch, in Fujita's eyes, was on par with the 160 km/h pitch from a pitching machine.

He had indeed seen a 160 km/h pitch from a machine before.

But who could hit a ball like that?

It was almost a joke.

Fujita, a freshman who had just entered high school, had previously seen two powerful schools. However, his experience was still too limited.

He hadn't fully realized just how terrifying high school baseball could be.

High school baseball is on a completely different level than middle school baseball.

A rookie entering high school, no matter how talented, is still too green.

Even if Sawamura hadn't used the Wall-Making Form, just his pitch speed alone would make it impossible for Fujita to hit.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

Without any surprise, after nine pitches from Sawamura, the fourth, fifth, and sixth batters from Nanakyo High School are all struck out.

The fan groups who came specifically to cheer for Sawamura in the stands are now practically going crazy with excitement.

"DEMON KING!"

"DEMON KING!!"

They love seeing this—watching the Demon King crush everything in his path.

Whoever steps up to bat, the result will always be the same—crushed.

For Nanakyo High School, an underdog team, they might have a chance to upset other teams if they're lucky.

But to challenge Seidou High School and the Demon King? They are far from ready.

The momentum Nanakyo High School had just built up is immediately crushed.

Fortunately, they had already come to terms with their situation. They understood that they were no match for Sawamura and Seidou High School.

Under such circumstances, all they could do was perform their roles to the best of their ability.

In the bottom of the second inning, Seidou High School's baseball team comes up to bat.

It's the ninth batter, Asou's turn.

Except for Kanemaru(XD), all of his teammates have performed well.

This puts pressure on Asou.

Although he's not happy about being the ninth batter for Seidou High School, he knows that now is not the time to try to change his position.

His priority is to show his strength quickly so that Coach Kataoka knows he is still a valuable asset to the team.

The competition for outfield positions is fierce.

Although Asou wears the main starting number, he spends at least half of the games on the bench.

Sometimes he rotates with a pitcher or even a promising first-year player.

In such circumstances, it's no wonder that Asou feels anxious.

He is very eager to prove himself quickly.

Once he steps into the Batter's Box, his sharp eyes lock on the pitcher.

He's determined to hit the incoming pitch.

It seems like the heavens heard Asou's wish, and Fujita quickly throws the ball.

The baseball soars toward him, arriving in an instant.

Asou is highly motivated. He believes he can clearly read the ball.

Without hesitation, he swings his bat.

Ping!

The bat connects with the ball. The ball hits the ground and bounces up.

It's caught by Hanagata, the first baseman, who swiftly grabs it in his mitt.

He quickly tosses it to first base.

The second baseman has already covered his position, and he catches the ball effortlessly, raising his mitt.

"OUT!"

There's no surprise. Asou, who just entered the Batter's Box, is immediately out.

In the Seidou High School dugout, Watanabe and Miyuki exchange a glance, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.

From their perspective, Asou's swing came too early.

And it was a significant early swing.

Although Asou's skills aren't top-tier on Seidou High School's team, there's no doubt about his abilities, considering he's made it this far.

A 140 km/h pitch shouldn't have caused him to misjudge it, right?

"Something's off!"

Actually, during the previous inning, the players of the Seidou High School baseball team had already noticed something unusual about Fujita's pitching.

Even from an observer's perspective, it seemed that Fujita's pitching speed was not just what it appeared to be.

It felt like it should be faster!

There is a very reasonable explanation for this, but the Seidou High School baseball team almost immediately dismissed it.

Among the thousands of pitchers in high school, occasionally, there are a few extraordinarily talented individuals.

These players' pitches often seem faster than their actual speed.

The speed gun can only measure the physical aspects. But every pitcher has his characteristics.

One Out, no runners on base.

'Let me see what this kid is really capable of,' Kuramochi thought as he stood in the Batter's Box.

He had given up on the idea of finishing the game quickly.

In baseball, it would be ideal to crush the opponent all at once, but if that wasn't possible, there was no need to panic. They could regroup and face the challenge head-on.

Fortunately, they already had a substantial lead at the start of the game, so there was no need to push the score any further.

He could take his time and observe the pitching of this little guy to see what was so special about it.

Whoosh!

On the mound, Fujita, full of the spirit of a young rookie who feared nothing, faced Kuramochi without any hesitation.

He decisively chose to engage in a head-on confrontation.

The baseball whistled through the air, reaching Kuramochi's hands in an instant.

The ball speed of this first-year rookie was around 140 km/h.

And for some reason, standing in the Batter's Box, it appeared to be even faster.

It was hard to determine exactly how much faster, but the sensation was certainly not that of a 140 km/h pitch.

Kuramochi thought, there must be something I've overlooked.

When facing Sawamura's pitching, the ball always felt around 10 km/h faster than its actual speed. This was mainly because the release point was concealed, and the batter didn't see the ball until it was already on its way.

The hidden distance in Sawamura's pitching was equivalent to an increase in speed, which made the batter feel like the ball was much faster.

'So what was the secret behind this kid's pitches?'

Kuramochi had been watching Fujita's pitching closely, but the ball had never escaped his sight.

So, why did it feel like it was faster?

In the Seidou High baseball team's dugout, Watanabe was intently watching Fujita's pitches.

A first-year player, not very tall, with a slender build and not much physical strength.

How could he throw such fast pitches?

The players of Seidou High had been pondering this question, but no one could find a definite answer.

All they had were guesses.

It was Watanabe who observed carefully and finally picked up on something.

"This guy Fujita has a very wide pitching motion!"

The moment Watanabe said this, the players of Seidou High immediately understood a lot.

Fujita's large pitching motion was the reason he could throw the ball so fast.

With his body type, to throw that fast, he must concentrate all his strength at one point.

Otherwise, how could he do it?

If he could, it would completely defy the laws of physics.

Because this was so obvious, the Seidou players didn't think much of it when they first saw Fujita's wide pitching motion.

Now, after Watanabe pointed it out, they could see the telltale signs.

"You have a good eye," Miyuki said with a smile.

…

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

See you Tomorrow!

Until then, take care!

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