Haruichi's intent gaze was focused on the pitcher's mound.
'At the start of the game, Kotari Yuuto, the pitcher, occasionally threw pitches that were relatively easy to hit.'
'He was slow to get into his pitching rhythm.'
This wasn't surprising. In fact, Furuya also had a similar issue.
It could even be said that among all the pitchers Kominato had seen, only three did not have this problem at all.
Most other pitchers, including the King of Tokyo, Narumiya Mei, experienced this issue.
Narumiya himself couldn't completely avoid it.
Shoulders not fully warmed up, lack of concentration...
Various issues can limit a pitcher's performance.
And Kotari Yuuto was just one of many pitchers with such problems.
By waiting patiently and observing every pitch closely, Kominato knew he would eventually find an opportunity.
Haruichi had that kind of patience.
Snap!
"STRIKE!"
The first pitch was tricky, and Kominato chose to let it go.
The umpire called it a Strike.
Kominato looked back at the umpire in surprise.
The pitch was near the edge of the Strike zone and could have been called a ball. The umpire's immediate call of a Strike indicated absolute confidence in the pitcher's control.
'This is daunting.'
Such preconceived notions could directly affect Kominato's performance.
He was under pressure, like this he couldn't afford to let borderline pitches go by.
As Kominato hesitated, the pitcher threw the second pitch.
It was also a tricky pitch.
Kominato's brow furrowed instinctively.
'From the game footage we had watched of Yamamori Academy, Kotari Yuuto's control was good, but not to this extent. What was with these consecutive corner pitches?'
"STRIKE!"
Kominato let the second pitch go as well.
Two Strikes in a row.
In Seidou High School's dugout, his teammates couldn't help but become anxious.
Despite Kominato's soft appearance and polite manner, those who knew him were aware that he was as stubborn as an old man and absolutely unwilling to let things go without a fight.
In the Batter's Box, he was very decisive, never letting a good pitch go without swinging.
Once he made up his mind, his actions were straightforward.
It was highly unusual for him not to swing at two consecutive Strikes.
This made everyone feel uneasy.
In the on-deck circle, Sawamura glanced at the pitcher and catcher.
'There were no signs of any signals.'
Although the bodies of Haruichi and the catcher obscured his view, Sawamura's experience told him that there were no visible signs or signals exchanged.
This matched the intelligence they had gathered before.
Yamamori Academy's battery seemed to have no apparent communication, with the pitching entirely driven by the pitcher's instincts.
But Sawamura felt an unsettling doubt.
'Shouldn't there be some form of communication between the pitcher and catcher?'
Even if they couldn't see any clues, it didn't mean there was none. On the contrary, their communication was likely very frequent.
'How else could they have outmaneuvered Haruichi?'
Vaguely, Sawamura sensed that Haruichi was likely to be Out soon.
He couldn't quite explain why, but he had that feeling.
And indeed, the next events unfolded exactly as Sawamura had anticipated.
Facing two Strikes, Kominato had no choice but to swing at the third pitch thrown by the Kotari brothers.
Whoosh!
The small white ball shot toward home plate like a shooting star, crossing over ten meters in an instant.
Already down with two Strikes, Kominato had no choice but to swing, even though the pitch looked extremely tricky.
Even if this swing resulted in a mistake, it would be a strategic blunder on their part.
Originally, they had expected the opponent to be unstable at the start and had aimed for more hittable pitches. Facing such tricky pitches consecutively, he felt helpless.
Even though Kominato didn't get the pitch he was hoping for, he refused to give up attacking the opponent.
In addition to his own hitting skills, he has an ability like his brother.
That was entanglement.
Even if he didn't get a good hit, he could still make contact and foul the ball off.
This would allow him to continue waiting and also consume more of the pitcher's pitches.
Two birds with one stone.
Because of this strategy, Kominato had let the second pitch go without swinging.
He had high hopes, but the result wasn't as he wished.
As the white ball approached his hand, it suddenly slid inward.
'A Slider!'
At this moment, Kominato, who had already swung, was caught off guard.
He could only manage to make a weak contact.
Paak!
The ball bounced back towards the pitcher.
Kotari leaped up, caught the ball in his mitt, and threw it to first base.
Snap!
"OUT!"
Just like that, there were two Outs.
"YEAH!"
"Nice Yuuto!"
"Two Outs!"
"Two Outs!"
Yuuto was visibly excited.
So were his younger brother Kazuto and the rest of the teammates.
Nevertheless, even with the team's joyful play and style, they calmed down quickly.
One because they didn't want the umpire to scold them again, and the more important reason was the next batter.
The Demon King, Sawamura Eijun!
Seeing this opponent, every cell in the twins' body was charged with thrill.
Every player has a dream figure they look up to.
And the brothers have a little secret they haven't shared with anyone.
They are both registered members of the Demon King's Guard.
The Demon King's Guard is the largest fan club of Sawamura.
The two brothers have played baseball together since childhood. When they advanced to high school, they quickly stood out on their team, becoming the Ace pitcher and the main catcher.
As their performance and level in Yamamori High School improved, the brothers stopped talking about Sawamura.
To some extent, they had become rivals with the Demon King.
Looking up to your own opponents seems strange.
But their admiration for Sawamura has never waned.
They followed Sawamura's news and watched videos of his games in silence.
They also eagerly awaited the moment they would face him on the field.
Their hard work has finally paid off; their chance has arrived.
Facing off against the Demon King, Sawamura Eijun.
In their thoughts, this scene had appeared countless times.
They had imagined solving Sawamura many times before.
'Nii-chan!'
Kotari Kazuto looked at his partner on the pitcher's mound with eyes blazing with fire.
'Let's do this!'
In Kotari Yuuto's eyes, flames burned fiercely as well.
Here it comes!
"Please take care of me."
As they anticipated, Sawamura walked steadily to the Batter's Box after politely greeting the umpire and the catcher.
And then he took his stance and looked at the mound.
To the battery, Sawamura appeared unusually tall.
Of course, this doesn't mean Sawamura is actually a giant. It's just that his presence is that daunting.
After watching so many videos of Sawamura, they had mentally created an image of him.
Now, that imagined figure was standing right before them.
They were so excited that they could almost feel the adrenaline pumping into their veins and goosebumps covered their skin.
Trying to calm his racing heart, Kotari Kazuto signaled his brother.
Though the twins had grown up together, they didn't achieve the legendary level of Perfect Sync.
There was some mutual understanding, but knowing each other's thoughts perfectly was challenging a lot of the time.
Since the Perfect Sync was impossible, they needed to coordinate their pitches through a bit of communication.
Growing up together made this process easier than it would be for others.
A small gesture or even a glance was enough to convey their intentions.
Sawamura, standing in the Batter's Box, couldn't pay attention to the catcher's subtle movements.
In fact, even if he did notice, it probably wouldn't be of much use. Such small actions are indecipherable to anyone but a brother who has grown up with you.
'But!'
'The defensive formation had changed.'
…
T/N: Well, That's it for now.
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