Chapter 52: Hook

By the time the game between the Kanetsu-Norin High School Baseball Team and the Seidou High School Baseball Team reached the bottom of the seventh inning, it had basically lost all its flavor.

Sawamura smoothly secured two Outs.

In this critical game, the player who had earned the title of "Great Demon King" nationwide, performed as steadily as ever.

He easily dealt with his opponents, giving them no opportunity to strike.

During this process, the situation that the Kanetsu-Norin High School Baseball Team had hoped for—where the Great Demon King, Sawamura Eijun, might make a careless mistake—never happened.

From start to finish, there had been no hint of such a mistake.

In this match against the Kanetsu-Norin High School Baseball Team, Sawamura Eijun chose to play steadily, never being greedy or rushing for glory.

The Kanetsu-Norin players started attempting bunts, trying to force Sawamura Eijun into making a mistake.

However, his reaction exceeded everyone's expectations.

He didn't rush to aim for strikeouts.

When the Kanetsu-Norin players insisted on using bunts, Sawamura and his teammates cooperated by positioning their defense accordingly.

This effectively shut down all of Kanetsu-Norin's opportunities for bunting.

It was no longer possible for Kanetsu-Norin to get on base through bunting.

At this point, if they continued with the bunt strategy, their only purpose would be to prevent Sawamura from easily getting another strikeout.

Sawamura Eijun and Miyuki Kazuya, being the smart players they were, had already figured out what the Kanetsu-Norin players were thinking.

They likely wanted to take advantage of Sawamura's impatience to strike out the batter.

They set a trap.

The trap was to force Sawamura into a tight spot, hoping he would make a mistake.

When Miyuki realized this, he couldn't help but smile wryly.

The plan the Kanetsu-Norin players had come up with was truly childish!

If Sawamura were that easy to defeat, how could the Seidou Baseball Team maintain their winning streak all this time?

So many strong opponents before had failed to even make a dent in the Seidou High School team.

How could Kanetsu-Norin possibly have a chance to face them?

Now that he understood their intentions, Sawamura was unwilling to follow a mechanical, step-by-step approach.

He had a better idea!

As mentioned before, if he was confident and there was little risk involved, Sawamura would go the extra step.

The plump coach of Kanetsu-Norin had, in some ways, analyzed him correctly.

At least he had noticed one thing:

Sawamura loved being the center of attention.

This was a common trait for most pitchers.

As soon as they step on the mound, they crave the spotlight.

Sawamura saw this as an opportunity to perform.

When a person is driven by responsibility, they either be crushed by it or unleash their potential!

At this moment, the third batter from Kanetsu-Norin Nong High School was feeling this way.

He felt that all the hope for his team rested on his shoulders.

He absolutely could not let down the expectations of his Coach and teammates.

No matter how difficult it was, he had to find a way to hit Sawamura's pitch.

The batter made up his mind.

But he didn't swing at the first pitch.

He wasn't sure what kind of pitch Sawamura would throw next.

He hadn't read it well.

Moreover, he needed time to calm his emotions.

So, he pulled back his bat and watched the baseball fly past his eyes, landing in Miyuki's Nitt.

SNAP!

"STRIKE!"

Before the batter could react, Sawamura threw his second pitch.

Just like before, it was an incredibly sharp-breaking ball.

The third batter of Kanetsu-Norin Nong High School measured his own strength against the incoming baseball.

He had to admit with regret.

This pitch was likely going to end up the same as the first one. He wouldn't have any chance.

So, reluctantly, he took back his bat again.

SNAP!

"STRIKE!!"

Two consecutive breaking balls and the batter let both of them go.

Although he knew full well that this move was a bit cowardly, there was no other choice at that moment.

He had no other option.

Just as he prepared for the bunt, Sawamura, on the mound, threw a pitch he had carefully prepared.

WHRROOSH!!

The baseball soared through the air.

A fastball!

At that moment, the third batter from Kanetsu-Norin High felt utterly desperate.

He had thought he had no chance, but unexpectedly, he received a fastball.

Happily, he moved his bat to intercept the ball!!

Just as his bat was about to meet the ball...

The baseball suddenly dropped sharply after crossing the strike zone.

'What was this?'

The batter was absolutely stunned.

He tried to catch up with the ball but he couldn't, he could only stare in disbelief as the ball fell and avoided his bat, landing right into the catcher's mitt.

SNAP!

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

This scene stunned all the fans and spectators in the stadium.

"Sawamura!"

"Sawamura!!!"

Sawamura beautifully achieved a strikeout, completing the defense for this inning.

In such a situation, Sawamura pulled off an incredible stunt.

Bunt?

Still, you can't touch the ball!

Although Sawamura had done this before, it looked like a coincidence coincidence.

But now,

After watching it many times, Seidou High School's most loyal fans and Sawamura's supporters firmly believed it was not.

He really can do it!

If he wants to get a strike, not even a bunt can stop the Demon King!

Returning to the dugout, Sawamura immediately received a chorus of congratulatory voices.

Almost all his teammates sent him their blessings.

"That was amazing!"

"So Cool!"

"Keep it up!"

"We're starting to wonder if there's anything you can't do, senior!"

Sawamura smiled, greeting the teammates around him.

He himself was quite satisfied.

The issue that had been troubling him had finally been resolved.

Miyuki, standing nearby, looked at Sawamura with complex emotions.

"What's wrong? What did you think of my pitch?"

Hearing Sawamura's question, Miyuki couldn't help but recall the ball he had seen from the catcher's position.

It really was similar!

He had seen Hoshitaru pitch his breaking ball before, so he had a strong impression of that type of pitch.

Even in previous matchups, he had managed to hit that kind of ball.

'It looked similar to a Splitter, but its variation was sudden.'

That pitch seemed more powerful than a splitter.

Especially for Hoshitaru, who was already strong with his fastballs.

In the early stage, that pitch didn't look different from a fastball.

But when it suddenly changed, the batter had to make a choice.

Even if the batter guessed right, the terrifying speed and sudden change of angle made it difficult to maintain a fluid swing.

After analyzing it, Miyuki realized that the pitch was indeed of a very high level.

And when it was in Sawamura's hands, that pitch had an added twist.

Hoshitaru's pitch already looked bizarre to the batter.

But when it was thrown by Sawamura, while the speed of the pitch hadn't really improved,

The angle of its drop became even more significant!

On the surface, it looked like a fastball, but after traveling two-thirds of the distance, it suddenly dropped nearly 30 centimeters.

'And yet, it still landed perfectly in the Mitt!'

Isn't that incredible?

Even Miyuki himself couldn't comprehend how the ball changed.

During the catch, he even briefly had the illusion that the ball might bounce off the ground midway.

Considering how the ball had changed its angle, Miyuki felt like he had performed beyond his normal abilities just catching that ball.

The baseball was still shaking in the Mitt as though it wanted to slip out.

It had undergone such a drastic change in angle, yet its power hadn't diminished much!

Isn't that miraculous?

What others thought, Miyuki didn't know, but as for himself,

This was undoubtedly miraculous—truly, extremely miraculous.

"Even if it's not for dealing with bunts, that sudden break would make it hard for any batter to follow."

"So, based on your judgment, how powerful do you think that pitch is?"

How powerful was that pitch?

When Sawamura asked, Miyuki took some time to think.

Compared to the two Level 4 pitches Sawamura had already developed, this variation of the pitch wasn't low.

But the change in angle was too singular.

Trying to force it into a Level 4 wouldn't be quite right.

"This pitch is probably close to your Vanishing ball, a little better than Level 3. But it's not quite at Level 4 yet."

"However, although it seems that the pitch hasn't reached level four yet, in the future, it's still possible for it to evolve further."

"What do you mean?"

"Based on how I felt just now, that pitch has yet to reach its limit. If we push it further, this pitch could evolve even more!"

Hearing Miyuki's words, Sawamura couldn't help but smile.

So this pitch wasn't necessarily fixed, and it could evolve. Is that it?

Previously, Sawamura and Miyuki had tried countless pitches.

Some of those breaking balls worked, while others didn't.

The pitches that didn't work were naturally discarded right away.

The ones that worked became Sawamura's signature moves, and these were what he referred to as his level series.

Based on the type of breaking ball and the threat it posed to the batter, Sawamura divided his breaking balls into four levels.

The pitches in level four were the ones that had never been hit by anyone—his trump cards.

The level three pitches weren't necessarily weaker than level four.

Maybe they were used more often or had a simpler variation.

Although theoretically, they could also be used as game-winning pitches, the unfortunate thing was that these pitches had been hit before.

Therefore, when it came to critical moments, Sawamura no longer used them.

These pitches were referred to as Level Three.

Why did Miyuki consider the Hook ball that Sawamura had just thrown as a level three pitch?

And not a higher-level level four?

The reason was simple: based on Miyuki's experience, if Sawamura planned to use this pitch long-term, eventually, someone would hit it.

The Cutter ball Kai, which was extremely tricky, had been hit before.

Even though it had distinct characteristics, it wasn't enough to deal with all threats.

Miyuki judged the pitch to be level three based on this reasoning.

However, compared to other level three breaking balls, this pitch had other evolutionary possibilities.

As long as he spent time on it and the two of them worked together, it wasn't out of the question for the future.

Miyuki even had a hunch that it wouldn't take too long.

After all, Sawamura had quickly mastered this new breaking ball, indicating he had an extraordinary talent for it.

Perhaps, in just a few days, they would have a new trump card.

If that happened, Sawamura, who was already nearly invincible in the high school world, would become even more terrifying.

No one would dare to challenge Sawamura's might at this point.

Nevertheless, that would have to wait until after the game.

Now was not the time for experiments.

…

T/N: Well, That's it for now!

As always, Thank you all for reading guys!

Have a good day!

By the way, this story is announced completed on Patre0n!!

https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt

There are around +190 Chapters there.