"Even if you don't step up, I can still handle them myself!"
Looking at the player stepping onto the field, Narumiya said.
"I know, I know! Mei-san is awesome!"
Sawamura responded with a casual smile.
"You bastard, you're clearly not trusting me, are you?"
"Of course not! How could I not trust your strength, Mei-san? I just can't stand these guys shaking us like this."
Sawamura's words immediately resonated with Narumiya.
In their previous innings, the two teams were evenly matched.
Whether it was against Akashi or Hongou, he was just as good as they were.
In fact, if Akashi hadn't avoided confrontation earlier, they were confident they could have scored off him.
Now, this semi-Tokyo team had integrated the top hitters and aces from various powerhouse schools.
Their strength was terrifyingly strong.
As soon as the opponent showed the slightest flaw, they would unleash an unstoppable attack.
They almost overwhelmed the opponent completely, just like earlier, when they were only a little short of hitting Akashi's pitch out of the park.
They had already finished testing the waters, and the players of Tokyo had a clear plan in mind for how to handle their opponents.
Under normal circumstances, they should have been able to secure a hit, and it would have been a natural progression.
But unexpectedly, the opponent played it safe, and as soon as things looked dangerous, they immediately switched.
Now they had to start over and focus on Hongou.
Compared to the more skilled Akashi, Hongou was a straightforward man who never avoided confrontation.
But thinking that he was an easy opponent because of this would be a big mistake.
With an average fastball speed of 152 km/h, that alone was already better than Narumiya's.
Although Narumiya could also pitch at 150 km/h, that was only his fastest speed.
His average speed was just above 147, not much stronger than Sawamura's.
Add in his precise control and sharp breaking balls, and once Hongou got into a rhythm, it was hard for anyone to stop him.
In fact, right now, Hongou's momentum had completely soared.
A pitcher like him, once he gets into his stride, it's unstoppable.
Compared to Seidou High School's Sawamura, Hongou was still in development; his overall skill wasn't as refined.
But so what?
Once the young man gets angry, no one can stop him!
That's the advantage of a fastball pitcher.
Facing such a monster, Narumiya would have to overclock.
And even then, all he could guarantee was his pitching. As for the other aspects, he had no control.
The score was 1-0 in favor of the opponent.
In this hard-fought pitchers' duel, being down by one point was deadly.
At this moment, Narumiya desperately needed support from strong hitters.
His teammates had always been reliable, even when facing Sawamura. His teammates never let him down.
When it was time to score, they did so without hesitation.
But in today's game, the situation was a bit special.
In the past, they were only up against one top-tier pitcher at most.
Now, they were facing three top-tier pitchers, possibly in a rotating format.
This was an awkward situation.
Even if his teammates from Inashiro Industrial High School were reliable, it was still too difficult to score under such harsh conditions.
He needed more powerful hitters.
At this moment, Narumiya couldn't help but think of Sawamura and Raichi.
If there was one hitter in all of Tokyo he could rely on most, Narumiya would definitely bring those two up without hesitation.
Even though their styles were completely different, even totally unrelated, their performances in the Batter's Box were utterly trustworthy.
Even with their contrasting styles, their number of hits and home runs was incredibly high.
"It's starting!"
"He's finally stepping up!"
For Hongou and the others, Sawamura's appearance meant something extraordinary.
Even though Narumiya, the pitcher on the mound, was formidable, they all admitted that his strength was top-tier nationally.
But compared to the "Demon King" Sawamura, his power inevitably seemed lacking.
This made the star players from other teams feel strangely uneasy, knowing that Tokyo Stars' players hadn't even shown their full strength yet. Why did they think that? The reasoning was simple: Sawamura had not yet stepped onto the field.
The most powerful player hadn't appeared yet, so how could Tokyo possibly have shown its full strength?
Now, finally, after much anticipation, Sawamura was stepping up!
With that, Tokyo had revealed all of its power.
It was time for a fair battle.
However, they were jumping ahead of themselves, as Sawamura still had other things to do.
The catcher, Renji, gave Sawamura a deep look as the Demon King entered the Batter's Box.
Though he had been confident before, now he couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Perhaps it was just his imagination, but he felt that Sawamura now looked more terrifying than ever.
Even though his expression was blank, there was something about his aura that made the situation feel intensely dangerous, like a beast ready to pounce.
It was terrifying!
Even though Sawamura hadn't even swung yet, Renji could already feel the immense danger.
At that moment, he realized he had to take action!
'You can't hold back anymore; Sawamura has top-tier dynamic vision.'
To deal with Sawamura, Renji and Hongou had privately discussed strategies.
Seidou High School's baseball team had always been a towering mountain standing in their way.
Sawamura was like Mount Everest standing in front of them.
On the surface, they had no chance.
But as opponents, they had made their way through the tournament, and sooner or later, they would meet players like Sawamura and other stars.
How could they not go all out?
They had already thought of a way to deal with Sawamura.
They had planned to use it in the finals, but it was ruined by Sawamura.
Hongou had lost to Seidou High School and Sawamura before.
He wasn't foolish; of course, they had done their research.
What was Sawamura's pitching like?
What was his batting like?
Sawamura's batting had left a deep impression.
Losing to Sawamura had been the biggest stain on Hongou's career.
To overcome this defeat, he had put in more effort behind the scenes than anyone knew. After forming his own pitching style, Hongou had been waiting for the chance to face Sawamura again.
They had already clashed in the Summer Koshien, and back then, Hongou had shown extraordinary strength, nearly getting the better of Sawamura. But after that match, especially after losing, his strength had changed significantly. Instead of retreating, his pitching became purer, and now he was even stronger.
Hongou's strength had soared, but he hadn't told anyone about this except himself.
Roaar!!
After a few days, seeing Hongou again, Sawamura couldn't help but feel amazed by his talent. To be able to improve under such adverse circumstances was truly enviable.
But Sawamura didn't need to envy him anymore since they were now directly facing each other.
Sawamura didn't need to overthink; he just needed to hit the baseball that came toward him.
Hongou's pitching rhythm was so fast that Sawamura barely had time to adjust as the baseball came toward him.
Boom!
The rhythm was fast!
Sawamura didn't know if Hongou was doing this intentionally or not. His pitching speed had suddenly increased, totally different from his usual pace.
Changing the pitching rhythm temporarily in front of a big opponent was dangerous.
Sawamura frowned slightly. In his memory, Hongou was impulsive, with the hot-blooded temperament typical of youth.
But deep down, he wasn't that type of person.
When something serious happened, he was very calm.
The reason Sawamura could hit his pitches in the past was because Hongou's methods weren't that good.
Sawamura shook his head slightly, clearing away his unrealistic thoughts.
He wasn't sure why, but his thoughts seemed to be exploding like a geyser, possibly giving rise to strange ideas.
But now wasn't the time for that. He had more important things to focus on.
"STRIKE!!"
On the first pitch from Hongou, Sawamura couldn't swing, and the star players from other regions watching this matchup were filled with excitement.
The once all-powerful "Demon King" Sawamura had finally been restrained in this duel.
This sudden realization shocked the other star players. When did they start thinking that they could win just by continuing to play like this?
What were they thinking? It was quite an incredible idea.
Regardless of what others were thinking, Sawamura didn't waste a second after missing the first pitch.
He quickly immersed himself in the Zone.
'Let's go!'
In Sawamura's vision, everything around him faded away. All he could see was Hongou, the pitcher on the mound.
This was a magical experience.
Through constant practice, Sawamura had made some progress.
In the past, if the opponent's pitching rhythm was fast enough, Sawamura couldn't get into his zone.
But now, if the opponent's first pitch was fast, Sawamura would intentionally delay, allowing himself some time to prepare.
By the time Hongou pitched again, Sawamura was fully in his Zone.
At that moment, everything slowed down.
He could see every detail, even the exact moment Hongou released the ball.
'A fastball?'
On the second pitch, Hongou went with a fastball.
Sawamura was quite surprised by this choice.
But Sawamura didn't stop.
Shuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!
All he needed to do was show Hongou that no matter what, you're always you.
PAAAAAAKKKKK!!!!!
The low sound of the bat hitting the ball, followed by an immense force, struck the baseball.
Vroooooooooo!!!!
The baseball flew high into the stands.
...
T/N: Well, That's it for now.
Thank you all for reading!
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