"FOUL!"
The small white ball arced nearly perfectly, hurtling beyond the third base line at incredible speed.
This exhilarating hit drew cheers from the audience.
They seemed unconcerned about whether Sawamura could make a hit or a home run; all they wanted was to see his impressive performance in the Batter's Box and his effortless swing.
That was enough to satisfy everyone!
"Sawamura!"
"Demon King!!!"
After Sawamura hit the ball out of bounds, the cheers from the stands only intensified.
In the catcher's position, the catcher from Eigen High School felt his heart racing.
'So frightening!'
At first glance, Sawamura's swing didn't seem particularly powerful.
But if you looked closely, you would see the incredible precision of his swing.
Every movement was perfectly timed—too much force would be excessive, and too little would be inadequate.
At that moment, the Eigen catcher truly recognized the gap between the two sides.
Although he was terrified, a small sense of relief flickered in his subconscious.
That was because Koji's pitching was effective.
'If it hadn't been effective, Sawamura would have hit a home run, not a foul ball.'
In the stands, among the members of Seidou High School's baseball team, Takuma also noticed this.
"Is there an issue with his hitting accuracy?"
It was unbelievable that Sawamura-senpai hadn't hit the ball forward.
Next to him, the blond-haired, protagonist-like Okumura stared silently at the field.
From his gaze, it was clear he sensed something but was unwilling to voice it.
"Sawamura!!!"
"Hit it!!"
"It is all on you!!!"
"You can do it!!"
The second and third-string players felt the atmosphere and began banging their megaphones together while singing support songs and cheering for Sawamura.
In the Batter's Box, Eijun carefully fixed his gaze on Eigen High School's Ace pitcher.
'We had underestimated this guy before; we didn't expect him to have a winning shot hidden away.'
In the previous two games, Eigen High School had won easily, and their momentum was strong!
In contrast, Seidou was not in a good state.
For players who had just battled in Koshien, the game before them felt like a child's game, lacking the stimulation they needed.
This sense of detachment affected not just ordinary players but even Sawamura to some extent.
'This wouldn't do!'
Quickly adjusting his mindset, Sawamura locked his eyes on his opponent, lowered his weight center, and raised his bat high.
He was ready to give it his all.
'He changed his stance!'
The Eigen catcher was astute; he quickly noticed that Sawamura had altered his hitting form.
'According to our prior research, this batting stance indicated that Sawamura was preparing for breaking balls, aiming for precise contact.'
'Very good!'
Though still anxious, the way Sawamura was responding was exactly what they had anticipated.
This was a fantastic news for them.
This meant their pitching and tactics weren't completely ineffective.
Bring it on!
'The next pitch: A straight ball!!!'
By lowering his center of gravity, Sawamura aimed to stabilize his batting form to hit the baseball accurately.
This indeed improved his ability to handle breaking balls, but...
It made dealing with powerful, fast straight balls quite challenging.
While it wouldn't guarantee that Sawamura would be Out, it could at least prevent him from hitting too far.
With the fielders mentally prepared, it wasn't impossible to stop Sawamura here.
Once that thought took root in the Eigen catcher's mind, it spread like wild weeds, filling his head.
Just the idea of neatly handling Sawamura here excited him immensely.
Not to mention the significance of this outcome for the game; simply the act itself thrilled him.
'Come on, the opponent had fallen into the trap we meticulously designed—let's finish this here!'
At that moment, the Eigen catcher felt as if the entire world was in his hands.
His excitement was nearly impossible to contain.
On the pitcher's mound, Yasuji Koji, the Ace pitcher from Eigen High School, had been enduring the relentless noise from the crowd since he started his duel with Sawamura.
He fought to overcome these negative emotions and continually stabilized his mind.
'Stay calm!'
In moments like this, he needed to remain composed.
'Remember your training, and you can throw the baseball perfectly.'
Koji pulled back, using nearly all his strength to pitch the small white ball.
Whoosh!
The white ball shot out like a sharp beam of light, racing toward Sawamura in the blink of an eye.
Here it comes!
The moment he saw the pitch leave Koji's hand, Sawamura recognized the approaching pitch.
'This ball is a straight ball!'
He was utterly certain, even though he hadn't quite seen how the opponent held the ball.
'The fish is hooked!'
In the stands, a tall figure watched the pitcher's throw and muttered a one-word assessment.
"Idiot!"
"What did you say?"
Asada and Nishiyama shared a dorm; despite their vast differences in skill and personality, Nishiyama always dragged Asada along during their activities.
Asada genuinely appreciated this and had unconsciously become Nishiyama's sidekick.
Though neither of them saw it this way, outsiders certainly did.
Nishiyama smiled and said nothing.
In the Batter's Box, Sawamura faced the incoming baseball.
A cold smile crept across his lips.
This felt incredible—like fishing and seeing a fish bite the hook.
Originally lowered, he suddenly straightened his body, positioning the bat behind him, his form twisting like a rope.
Sawamura's physique, which was the biggest disadvantage to his batting, slowly became his biggest advantage after training in Seidou for a full year.
As the baseball approached, Sawamura spun like a windmill.
At that moment, his waist, legs, and body all rotated in varying degrees, and he swung the bat with fierce determination.
PAANG!
The baseball shot out at an even faster speed.
It was like a fleeing hare, vanishing in an instant.
"IT'S FLYING!!! IT IS FLYING OUT OF THE PARK!!!!!"
"AFTER TWO OUTS, SAWAMURA SCORED A HOME RUN!!!"
"SAWAMURA IS DESTINED TO BREAK THE HIGH SCHOOL HOME RUN RECORD. HE HAS ALREADY ACHIEVED HALF OF THAT RECORD AT THE START OF HIS SECOND YEAR!"
At that moment, a single thought crystallized in everyone's mind.
The Demon King truly lived up to his reputation.
The score changed to 1:0.
'We fell for it!'
At that moment, the catcher of Eigen High School was filled with regret.
Just when he thought he had successfully deceived Sawamura, a miracle was about to happen. Sawamura delivered a powerful sucker punch.
Sawamura demonstrated the gap in their levels through action.
That gap wasn't trivial; it was enough to evoke feelings of despair.
'Too strong!'
For the players of Eigen High School, Sawamura's strength seemed to come from another dimension.
He had reached a new level that sent chills down their spines.
It was like a child wrestling with an adult; no matter the skill, they simply weren't in the same league.
With an almost playful demeanor, Sawamura successfully overwhelmed Eigen High School's battery.
In the stands, Asada was in awe of his companion Nishiyama.
'He even predicted the outcome before the Eigen pitcher threw.'
"How did you know?"
Unconsciously, Asada asked directly.
Nishiyama pointed to his head. "Intuition!"
Asada had to commend him for that insight.
Sawamura made it back to home plate, giving Seidou High School a crucial point.
The score was now 1:0.
At this moment, Miyuki entered the Batter's Box, joining Sawamura.
"It is your turn now!"
Sawamura confidently passed the task to Miyuki.
"Don't worry!"
Miyuki replied with a bright smile.
Their casual conversation seemed to infuriate the Eigen catcher, who glared with rage.
At that moment, the Eigen catcher's eyes were bloodshot.
He looked like a beast ready to pounce.
At this Sawamura and Miyuki exchanged knowing glances.
' 'It worked!' '
It seemed their taunting had worked.
'Bring it!'
As he stepped into the Batter's Box, Miyuki silently hoped for the winning shot.
'Just throw your winning shot now!'
The two strongest hitters at Seidou High School were Sawamura and Miyuki, as shown by their past performances against tough opponents.
But even so, they were different.
Miyuki was the analytical type, skilled at pitch prediction. This ability, combined with his catching talent, was almost superhuman.
He often smashed out the opponent's favorite pitch.
His favorite targets were those winning shots.
On the other hand, Sawamura was a pragmatic type, blending pitch prediction with intuition...
Sawamura's hitting often surpassed Miyuki's. In crucial situations, both had their strengths, but their records told a different story.
Sawamura clearly had the edge over Miyuki.
He had more hits and timely hits than Miyuki.
Not to mention home runs.
The current high school home run record was an unprecedented and terrifying achievement.
111 home runs! (In the official matches)
This record was deemed unbreakable.
There were many reasons for this, but one main reason was the evolution of high school baseball toward a more professional approach, leading to strategies like intentional walks being more frequently employed.
It wasn't that today's hitters were less capable; they simply weren't given opportunities.
Without chances to hit, how could anyone break records?
The only one with a hope of breaking this record was Sawamura.
While he had been walked numerous times, he seemed to hit even more home runs. This was largely due to Seidou High School's extensive competition schedule and Sawamura's standout performances.
So far, he had racked up a total of 46 home runs.
When Sawamura hit his 30th home run, everyone predicted it would be difficult to surpass his record.
Pitchers unsure of how to face him would likely walk him. For those who felt confident, hitting a home run against Sawamura would also be a challenge.
Yet, it was perplexing.
Every time pitchers faced Seidou High School, they acted as if they were under a spell.
They resolutely chose to confront Sawamura head-on.
As a result, Sawamura's record kept climbing.
"To pitchers, they don't consider the consequences of giving up a home run but focus on what happens after they solve Sawamura…"
Fujio's analysis was undoubtedly the most insightful.
Shifting back to Miyuki.
Miyuki's records trailed Sawamura's slightly, whether in hits or home runs.
However, he wasn't without strengths.
When facing strong opponents, his ability to deliver key hits was exceptional.
From this perspective, it made sense that he was the team's cleanup hitter.
At this moment, Miyuki felt he had to deliver the final blow to their opponent.
'Having just given up a home run, Eigen's battery would be cautious about straight pitches, wanting their Ace to regain form quickly.'
'This made it highly probable that the first pitch would be a winning shot.'
'Combined with our taunt, the chances of the winning shot appearing increased.'
'Considering all aspects, betting on the opponent's winning shot for the first pitch seemed prudent.'
'Now throw it!'
Just as Miyuki grasped the situation, the white ball flew toward him.
'Awesome!'
A spark of surprise flashed in his mind.
The opponent had indeed fallen for their tactics and threw the expected winning shot.
Even the location matched his prediction perfectly.
Miyuki confidently swung his bat, making solid contact with the hovering baseball.
PAAANG!!
The ball soared high into the air, tracing a long arc before landing in the left-field stands.
Pak!
The moment the baseball hit the ground, the crowd erupted.
"MIYUKI!!"
"SEIDOU!!!"
"KING SEIDOU!!"
At that moment, it felt as if Eigen High School was tolling their death knell.
Though the game had just begun, they appeared utterly defeated.
The score changed to 2:0.
And Seidou High School's offense was not over.
"Fifth batter, outfielder, Shiratsu-kun!"
After consecutive home runs, it was Shiratsu's turn to hit.
…