Miyuki felt something very strange.
Originally, according to their plan, Sawamura was supposed to use some special tactics during this match.
However, before Sawamura could even use his secret weapon, the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team's first batter had already collapsed.
This took Miyuki by surprise.
'The opponent is too weak-hearted?'
They hadn't even fully executed their plan, yet the first batter from the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team had already surrendered?
At this point, they began to question whether their previous ideas were correct.
Miyuki felt like they had made too much of a big deal out of things!
Why did he let himself get carried away and come up with such a complicated strategy with Sawamura?
Now, it seemed completely unnecessary.
Although the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team had shown some very strange abilities in their previous games, most of their players were still from the previous roster.
Their defense had greatly improved with the addition of a new pitcher and catcher.
But for other positions, especially on offense, the other players from the Osaka Kiryu High School team could not have undergone a drastic transformation in such a short period of time.
They were still the same old Osaka Kiryu.
Just trying to make contact with Sawamura's pitches required them to use all their strength.
And even then, it might not be effective.
Let alone hitting a single!
With Sawamura's current pitching power and speed, combined with his unique pitching form, there were really not many opponents who could pose a threat to him.
At least, most of the Osaka Kiryu High School batters would not be able to.
Miyuki's heart relaxed immediately.
During the following pitch sequences with Sawamura, he became more carefree.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"
There were no unexpected breaking balls, nor were any special tactics executed.
The ball placement wasn't even particularly tricky.
Although it wasn't exactly a perfect pitch, it was close to the center.
A pitch like this should not have been hard to hit under normal circumstances.
Even with a speed of over 147 km/h,
a batter from a major team would still have a chance to make contact.
But when that pitch came from Sawamura, everything seemed to change!
From the batter's perspective, they even felt an illusion.
It seemed as though the small baseball coming at them was faster than the fastball thrown by Furuya, who was known for his national record-breaking fastball speed.
The first batter of the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team was definitely not a simple player.
Though not yet a superstar, being the first batter on such a top-tier team showed his strength.
Out of the hundreds of thousands of baseball players nationwide, he was among the elite.
Looking at the country as a whole, very few players were stronger than him.
A batter like this, in any typical game, would be a monster.
He could potentially turn the game around with his individual power.
But unfortunately, today, they weren't facing a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy.
Rather, they were up against a legendary high school player, the one and only who stood out among hundreds of thousands.
With his terrifying skill, the first batter from Osaka Kiryu didn't even have the qualification to face Sawamura directly.
Just the terrifying speed of the ball was something he couldn't handle.
If you can't adjust to Sawamura's strange pitching form, coupled with his speed exceeding 147 km/h, then you simply aren't qualified to face him.
Let's not forget, the truly despair-inducing part about Sawamura was not his fastball, nor his strange pitching form.
It was his breaking balls!
If you can't even hit Sawamura's fastball, don't even think about hitting his breaking balls.
There is no possibility!
A pitcher with outstanding skill doesn't need complicated strategies anymore.
Their pitching style alone can leave most opponents helpless.
The Great Demon King, Sawamura,
is undoubtedly one such formidable character.
If you lack the required skill, you don't even have the right to face him.
Behind the catcher's position, Miyuki felt that they might have overestimated the situation earlier.
After dealing with the first batter, he subtly gave Sawamura a questioning signal.
Though his movement was simple, after cooperating for so long, they had a strong understanding.
The moment Miyuki made that move, Sawamura understood exactly what he meant.
Eijun firmly shook his head.
'Don't underestimate the opponent!'
In Sawamura's view, the strength of that first batter wasn't something to be concerned about.
Even though their overall strength had improved, their individual abilities wouldn't have increased that drastically.
In this situation, it was perfectly normal for the opponent to miss his pitches!
It was still too early to abandon their previously made strategy.
Sawamura's opinion was to complete the first round before making any further decisions.
The real threat from the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team, in Sawamura's eyes, was the players from the second to fifth spots in the lineup.
Among these four, there were two powerful hitters from the old Osaka Kiryu team, and two new players who had just been substituted: Morishita and Takami Hakumatsu.
These four were the real opponents they needed to face in this game.
Otherwise, just based on the previous games of Osaka Kiryu, it wasn't even a challenge for the Seidou High School baseball team to defeat them.
It was a simple task they could accomplish easily.
The reason the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team now had the power to challenge the Seidou High School baseball team was because of the two new players and the two previously strong batters.
They were the real threats!
As for the other players, although they were also elites among hundreds of thousands, their skills simply weren't enough in this Koshien semi-final battle.
They were far, far behind!
There was no comparison whatsoever.
After hesitating for a moment, Miyuki agreed to Sawamura's suggestion.
'Better safe than sorry!'
Although he thought they had overestimated the opponent, the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team's strength had improved, but not to the extent they initially thought.
There was no need to use a sledgehammer to kill a chicken!
There was no need to reveal their trump cards so early.
After all, aside from this semi-final, they still had the finals to prepare for.
If they could save some of their trump cards, it would give them more confidence when facing the mighty Komadai Fujimaki High School tomorrow.
The Seidou High School baseball team had always had a high opinion of Komadai Fujimaki.
In the past two Koshien tournaments, they had caused quite a bit of trouble for Seidou.
Now, as they were about to meet for the third time, it was difficult for the Seidou team not to pay attention to them.
Moreover, their recent performances were dazzling!
Those who had watched the game videos felt the full weight of this challenger's threat.
There was even a moment when they completely forgot they were supposed to face Osaka Kiryu.
Instead, they focused all their attention on Komadai Fujimaki.
Compared to the Komadai Fujimaki High School team, which could pose a real threat to them, Osaka Kiryu didn't seem as intimidating.
The Seidou players were confident they could handle this challenge and win.
Not only the others, but even Miyuki thought so.
So when he realized that their opponent wasn't as troublesome as he had imagined, he decisively suggested to Sawamura whether they should keep their trump cards for the final match.
They figured that saving those cards for the final would be enough to have an unexpected impact.
To their surprise, Sawamura didn't hesitate at all and directly rejected the suggestion.
'No!'
On the surface, everyone was a player from the legendary Seidou High School baseball team.
But Sawamura's experience was ultimately different.
Looking at the lineup of the Osaka Kiryu High School team today, it wasn't difficult to guess how long this team had been privately rehearsing this lineup, especially for Seidou.
In the previous official matches, Osaka Kiryu had faced crises.
But even when they were in danger, they hadn't revealed all their trump cards.
Why?
Why would they be willing to take such risks just to keep this lineup hidden until the semifinals?
Since they had kept this lineup for so long, it meant that Osaka Kiryu High School was placing great hopes on it.
At least from their perspective, they believed that with this lineup, defeating Sawamura wasn't impossible.
This was very interesting.
Why did they have so much confidence?
Before understanding this, Sawamura wouldn't easily change the strategy he had decided upon.
One Out, no runners on base.
At this point, the batter in the box was the second batter for Osaka Kiryu High School, and one of the players Sawamura was particularly cautious about—Morishita.
Previously, in the match against Seihou's Akashi, this freshman had successfully hit Akashi's pitch to the outfield.
He was definitely not someone to be overlooked.
To completely deal with the threat from Osaka Kiryu, this freshman was another obstacle they had to overcome.
After Miyuki's sign, Sawamura decisively threw the baseball from his hand.
This was their first confrontation.
Which meant that Morishita had never seen Sawamura pitch before.
In this situation, dealing with this opponent shouldn't be too difficult.
As long as Sawamura could demonstrate his strength, defeating him wouldn't be hard.
Sawamura prepared himself and threw the baseball.
During his wind-up, his right hand and mitt shielded his body, making it difficult for the opponent to see where he was releasing the ball.
'Can't see it at all!'
Without any warning, the baseball shot out.
Morishita, although he had heard many rumors about Sawamura, still found it surreal when he saw it with his own eyes.
'Incredibly fast!'
The baseball seemed to shoot toward him like a speeding rocket.
In the blink of an eye, it crossed the 18 meters to where he stood.
'Damn!'
In that moment, Morishita's body was covered in goosebumps.
He had already known that Sawamura's strength was extraordinary.
But he never expected him to be this powerful!
The baseball flew at him without any warning.
Before he could even react, the ball had already reached him.
From the batter's perspective, the speed of the ball was comparable to a 160 km/h fastball!
'No wonder he was called the "Demon King"!'
Even without using his best breaking balls, just with fast pitches like this, all his opponents would bow before him.
This was the strength of the Demon King, and the confidence that the Seidou High School baseball team had to crush everything in their way.
"He really is like a monster!"
Morishita looked at Sawamura with increasing excitement, not backing down, but rather becoming more and more eager.
The goal had appeared!
Finally, the target that he felt was impossible to defeat, but one that he had to surpass, had emerged!
Morishita felt a fire igniting inside him. His eyes, as he looked at Sawamura, became filled with aggression.
"This guy!"
On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura felt the pressure coming from his opponent.
Truthfully, he was quite surprised.
The freshman from Osaka Kiryu High School had shown a level of aggression that made Sawamura take him more seriously than before.
It wasn't just bluster; Morishita certainly had something he hadn't noticed yet.
Sawamura squinted his eyes.
No matter what trump cards his opponent might have hidden, he wouldn't underestimate them.
The legendary Seidou High School baseball team couldn't afford any surprises on their path to becoming legends.
For Sawamura personally, he also wouldn't accept any unexpected developments.
For both professional and personal reasons, Sawamura couldn't afford to show mercy.
Since the opponent refused to yield, he would bring out his prepared trump cards.
When Sawamura gave Miyuki a signal, the catcher was taken aback.
'So soon?'
To Miyuki, it seemed that this freshman from Osaka Kiryu hadn't fully adapted to Sawamura's pitching speed yet.
Given that, it didn't seem necessary to reveal their trump cards so early.
'Had Sawamura sensed something?'
Miyuki didn't know.
However, as the catcher, he knew exactly what he had to do.
'Alright!'
Without any hesitation, Miyuki agreed with Sawamura's decision.
They decided not to wait any longer and to reveal their cards immediately.
'Let's go!'
As long as Sawamura's trump cards could achieve the desired effect, the game would be much easier from here on out.
After receiving Miyuki's confirmation, Sawamura nodded slightly.
He then decisively threw the baseball from his hand.
WHRROOSH!!
'Damn fast!'
Sawamura's previous pitch had been fast, but this time, the ball seemed even faster.
Morishita, standing in the Batter's Box, was on edge, his eyes nearly bloodshot.
In their duel, it was clear that he was excited to the extreme.
If he found even the tiniest opening, he would surely unleash a relentless attack.
But there was nothing!
Not a single one.
Sawamura's pitch was too perfect!
After leaving his hand, the baseball almost instantly crossed the short distance to the Batter's Box.
By the time Morishita had processed the pitch, it was already too late.
At that moment, although Morishita was in a strange state, feeling very sharp, he still couldn't react to the sudden appearance of the pitch.
He didn't swing at it and just watched as the ball flew past him.
SNAP!
"STRIKE!"
Sawamura easily gained two Strikes.
But he wasn't happy.
Morishita!
Don't be fooled by this guy being a freshman. Sawamura could feel the sharpness in his presence.
He found it hard to believe that someone with such intensity would fail to catch up to his pitch.
Whether he could hit it was another story, but at the very least, Morishita should have been able to time the pitch.
'Why hadn't he swung?'
Had he sensed some kind of danger and hesitated before committing?
There was a strong possibility of this.
This realization made Sawamura more cautious.
In professional baseball, underestimating any opponent can lead to disastrous consequences.
Even if the opponent didn't seem threatening, they should be treated as equals.
Taking a deep breath, Sawamura threw his third pitch.
WHRROOSH!!!
The pitch didn't seem much different from the previous two.
It was still incredibly fast!
However, in the Batter's Box, Morishita looked confident when facing this pitch.
Could it be another Strike?
Perhaps because the great "Demon King" Sawamura was too strong, he rarely used Balls when facing any opponent.
It's not that he didn't know the benefits of using a Ball.
It's that he believed using a Strike better showcases his skills!
This was the kind of courage and confidence that only a player of Sawamura's caliber could have.
For Sawamura's opponents, this was undoubtedly a big help.
As long as they decided to swing, they didn't need to worry about Balls.
Just like right now.
After observing the first two pitches, Morishita finally vaguely saw the trajectory of Sawamura's pitch.
'Good!'
He finally caught it!
Timing it perfectly, Morishita decisively swung his bat.
In their first match-up, it seemed like he was utterly defeated.
But deep down, he knew he hadn't lost yet!
After all, in their previous encounter, he had been the pitcher and hadn't yet had the chance to bat.
As long as he could hit Sawamura's pitch for a home run, they would each have one win and one loss.
A draw!
'I HAVEN'T LOST YET!'
The 15-year-old boy was young, but his obsession was big.
Maintaining this obsession, Morishita used the strength of every cell in his body during the swing.
He knew Sawamura's pitches were fast.
Even if they weren't as fast as they appeared, they were still over 147 km/h.
After all, the big screen at Koshien Stadium never lied.
Every time Sawamura pitched, the screen would display the speed.
So far, the fastest pitch had been 148 km/h, with the slowest being 145 km/h.
The speed was fast, and the difference was small.
This meant that every pitch from Sawamura had a very high quality.
Fast speed, heavy pitch.
But even so, Morishita still had confidence he could hit the ball.
As long as he made contact, he believed his strength would be enough to drive the ball out.
As the true Ace of his team, his strength wasn't just shown in pitching; it could explode during batting as well.
'Right…NOW!!'
The small baseball whizzed toward him, reaching his eyes in the blink of an eye.
At this moment, Morishita's breath became heavy.
He was half-guessing, half-calculating.
Finally, he found the right moment and swung his bat.
He was lucky.
His guess didn't lower his hitting accuracy.
His bat swung directly toward the flying baseball.
He was about to make contact with it.
At this moment, Morishita's face turned red.
He was so excited!
Even though Morishita didn't care much about others' reputations, the fame of the "Demon King" Sawamura was simply too loud.
He had already become the role model and representative for all high school baseball players.
Facing such a living legend, any player's heart would inevitably stir.
Now, forget about defeating Sawamura.
Even if someone could hit one of Sawamura's pitches for a hit, that alone would make headlines!
As for hitting a home run!
Sorry, but until now, in all the public games where Sawamura participated, no one had ever hit a home run off him.
If someone really did manage it, it wouldn't just be instant fame.
It could very well be the peak of their life.
Morishita had such a chance now!
As long as his bat made contact with that baseball, he was confident that he could send it flying.
Once that ball flew out, everything he had longed for would no longer be a distant dream.
It would become a reality!
Right in front of his eyes.
He just needed to hit it!
As the bat was about to strike the baseball, Morishita's eyes turned bloodshot.
'HIT IT!!!'
The bat sharply made contact with the baseball, but there was no real feeling in his hands.
'Wha…?'
Morishita, standing in the Batter's Box, was stunned.
He looked at his bat in disbelief as he heard the sound of the baseball being caught in the Mitt.
SNAP!
"S-STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
…