"A mere first-year brat, no need to inflate his ego. The really troubling thing is the defense behind him. Now, let's show them what a really scary pitching is like!"
Sawamura suddenly spoke up.
Upon hearing his words, the previously silent dugout suddenly became lively.
They had to admit that the first-year pitcher, Morishita, had indeed displayed surprising ability in their previous encounters, leaving the Seidou High School Baseball Team's teammates astounded.
Except for Sawamura and Miyuki, the other three players had all suffered losses while facing him.
If the opponent were a famous veteran player, the teammates of the Seidou High School Baseball Team might have felt a bit more at ease. After all, the person would be a top-tier national star.
A monster with such strength, even if it crushes them, would seem justified.
But the opponent was clearly not such a figure.
He was just some rookie who had suddenly appeared from who knows where.
They were actually being dominated by such a rookie?
The dignity of the King, Seidou High School Baseball Team, was completely lost.
The teammates were frustrated and angry, but there was also a hint of worry.
The team once seen as their great rival, Seihou, had just lost to the team standing before them.
What did this mean?
It meant that there was more to the defense than this first-year kid.
If the Seidou High School Baseball Team continued to stubbornly hold onto their previous mindset, they would definitely suffer in the end.
As the Ace of the team, Sawamura thought it his duty to take a bold approach—to fight fire with fire.
Led his teammates with his pitching and inspired them, meanwhile mounting a crushing pressure on the opponent.
"Have you come up with a plan?"
Miyuki asked, looking at Sawamura.
He didn't doubt Sawamura's ability to deal with the current opponent. After all, Sawamura was the great monster himself.
Defeating this opponent would be a piece of cake for him.
His main concern was how exactly Sawamura planned to achieve the desired effect.
To describe the opponent as a nobody, a little brat, they had to demonstrate the same domineering presence when they confronted each other.
"Of course. He is just a brat!" Sawamura replied nonchalantly.
Aside from enigmatic Hakumatsu, the other players in the Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team were fairly predictable. Sawamura had them weighed out in his mind.
To defeat them wouldn't be too troublesome.
There was no need for complex breaking balls; he just had to use a certain pitch he had mastered before.
When Sawamura first joined the Seidou High School Baseball Team, he stunned the older seniors in the rookie competition with his Magic ball.
Since partnering with Miyuki, Sawamura has been working hard on developing new breaking balls.
With these new pitches developed, they had to be used.
If they didn't use them, how would they know what the effect would be?
Under these circumstances, Sawamura had stopped using some of his previous pitches.
On the one hand, those pitches weren't mature enough, and on the other, they weren't necessary.
With the perfected pitches and newly developed breaking balls, he could crush everyone without effort.
Why bother with those old, ineffective ones?
But now, facing the provocation from the Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team, with his teammates' mindset being affected, Sawamura thought it was necessary to bring those old pitches back.
Speaking of ways to break opponents, there was no pitch that could break someone's spirit better than this one.
In the bottom of the first inning, the Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team began their offensive.
The first batter up was their second baseman, a man with exceptional speed.
Speed was almost a given for any leadoff hitter.
Once such a player successfully reached base, the team could unleash an endless variety of offensive strategies.
For example, take the Seidou High School Baseball Team's own offensive engine, Yoichi Kuramochi.
His presence in the Batter's Box was just decent, but once he reached a base, the outcome was drastically different.
The destruction he could cause would multiply exponentially.
Now, he had become one of the most formidable runners nationwide.
And it wasn't just Kuramochi—runners with such traits nationwide all had the same effect.
The pressure they could bring was far greater than ordinary people could imagine.
Even though the Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team had been somewhat lackluster in the past two years, the whole team still carried the heritage of a powerhouse.
Their lineup was still very solid.
Frankly speaking, they were a team with the strength to face off against Seidou High School Baseball Team head-on.
Perhaps they lacked top-tier hitters, which made them seem offensively weak, but if you thought that, you were terribly wrong!
Though they lacked star hitters, their average strength was still very strong.
They could certainly put enough pressure and damage on Seidou High School Basebthe all Team.
And if they really wanted to, it wouldn't even be that hard!
The second baseman up to bat was not the type to sit idly.
He immediately assumed a bunt stance.
"A bunt!"
"Right from the start?"
The audience, seeing this, was utterly shocked.
It was unbelievable!
Although the Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team was currently trailing, the game had only just begun, and their offense had just started.
There was no need for them to go to such lengths.
It felt as though they had already given up on resistance from the start.
Even though the "great demon king" had a loud reputation, surely it wouldn't scare these top-tier players into surrendering right away.
It was just too unbelievable!
'Hm…?'
Miyuki, the catcher for the Seidou High School Baseball Team, had a contemplative expression on his face.
He faintly sensed that something was off.
But what exactly was wrong?
He couldn't quite pinpoint it.
In any case, something was very, very wrong.
The players of the Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team, no matter how much they were struggling, shouldn't have looked this timid right from the start.
'If they weren't particularly good at stealing bases, the only possible reason for this behavior would be...'
Miyuki thought of a possibility and decisively signaled to Sawamura.
Upon seeing the signal, Sawamura nodded expressionlessly.
He lifted his right leg high and slammed it down with force.
As his body shifted, he moved forward by more than a meter, while simultaneously, his left arm whipped like a whip, sending the baseball speeding toward the batter.
Whrroosh!
'Fast!'
Even though he had mentally prepared, the leadoff batter for the Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team still flinched.
The speed at which the baseball came was more incredible than he had imagined.
Because he couldn't see the release point of the pitch, standing in the Batter's Box, Sawamura's pitch appeared even faster than it actually was.
Adding to that, Sawamura's current pitching velocity was over 147 km/h.
Given that, actually standing in the Batter's Box and facing Sawamura's pitch felt incredible!
The moment he saw that pitch, the batter pulled his bat back and watched helplessly as the baseball zipped past him and slammed into the catcher's mitt.
SNAP!!
A loud sound echoed from the Mitt, which clearly proved that Sawamura's pitch wasn't just for show.
Although his real pitch speed wasn't as terrifying as it seemed, throwing a ball at 148 km/h meant Sawamura was a standard fastball pitcher.
On top of that, the power behind his pitches was exceptionally rare in the country.
To be blunt, even without using breaking balls, Sawamura's fastball was already a lethal weapon.
When combined with his unusual pitching mechanics, the first batter for Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team was completely taken aback.
He looked at Sawamura on the pitcher's mound in disbelief, swallowing hard.
Everyone talks about the Great Demon King—well, the players from Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team weren't too concerned.
They were very familiar with Seidou High School Baseball Team, some even faced Sawamura before.
Perhaps it was precisely because they were so familiar with him that, even though they all knew Sawamura was exceptionally strong, they never thought his power could be this terrifying.
In the eyes of the Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team players, they always believed that Sawamura's strength was above theirs, but they thought it was still within the range of an ordinary human.
As long as he was human, they were confident they could face him head-on.
But the harsh reality was...
They had completely underestimated the power of the Great Demon King, Sawamura.
At least, from the perspective of the leadoff batter of Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team, Sawamura had long since surpassed the limit of high school.
That guy was so strong, he seemed like a real monster.
The first batter of Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team, who usually considered himself a baseball genius, might not have been one of the top players in the country.
But he was confident that he wasn't far behind the best pitchers in the nation.
Now, however, the Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team was forced to call for a timeout.
...
T/N: As always, Thank you all for reading!!
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