When Oda returned to his team's rest area, he looked quite disoriented.
"How was it? Was the pitch speed really fast?"
His teammates gathered around, asking for information about the opponent.
Oda forced a bitter smile and nodded toward the massive electronic board.
The last pitch that struck him had a speed of over 155 km/h.
And that was a breaking ball.
Even a fast splitter, which is the closest to a straight ball, with a speed of 155 km/h, could probably only be thrown by someone like Furuya.
To Oda, that guy had long surpassed the realm of a normal human. Now, who knows what kind of monster he had evolved into?
Even if the ace of the Seidou High School baseball team, Sawamura, wasn't playing, just solving this guy would probably not be an easy task.
"Whatever comes, we'll deal with it. I don't believe he can keep throwing at this velocity forever."
Tsuchihara came forward.
When facing Sawamura, the opponent who was so strong it was suffocating, he had never admitted defeat, at least not verbally.
Every time he played against Akagi Junior High's baseball team, he was the most motivated one.
Now the situation was pretty much the same.
Facing this powerful opponent, the young man had no intention of backing down.
He had made up his mind to go head-to-head.
"I can only give you a thumbs up. As your teammate, here's a word of advice. His pitching speed is really fast, especially when you're standing in the Batter's Box."
At first, Tsuchihara didn't take Oda's advice to heart.
Of course, the pitch speed was fast. Did that need to be said?
You don't even need to be in the Batter's Box to see it from the sideline; you can clearly tell the terror of the pitch speed.
It was like a flash of lightning, covering the distance in an instant.
Even professional baseball players, those with tons of experience, would probably not dare to confidently say they could hit that pitch.
Given this, Tsuchihara wasn't ignorant of Furuya's strength.
But so what? Did that mean they wouldn't face off?
Tsuchihara was confident in his own swing speed and hitting ability.
Although, until he stepped up to bat, he hadn't thought of a solid strategy.
Still, he firmly believed that if given the chance to bat, he would bring about a significant change.
And that change was exactly what he eagerly anticipated.
Once he stepped into the Batter's Box, Tsuchihara still hadn't come up with a solid plan.
Though Oda had already taken his turn, he hadn't offered any useful advice.
In their earlier exchange, Oda had been completely crushed.
In such a situation, not only did Oda not have any useful advice, but even if he did suggest something, Tsuchihara would doubt it.
Could it be a trap? Was it really effective?
From their earlier confrontation, Tsuchihara didn't believe Oda had truly figured out Furuya's cards.
At this point, Tsuchihara could only patiently wait.
He'd watch one pitch from the opponent, then decide his batting strategy.
The confusion that briefly flashed in his eyes didn't escape Miyuki Kazuya's notice.
After Furuya's stunning performance, it wasn't just the players from Hoshiryu High School who were stunned; even the players from Seidou High School were left wide-eyed.
After all, during their practice, Furuya had never thrown a ball like that.
Such a dazzling display, with the fastest pitch speed in the country, was well-deserved.
It was only natural for the players from Hoshiryu High School to be shaken.
The guy in front of them was usually very active on the offensive side.
But now, he was behaving cautiously, even looking a bit confused.
So, what was his plan?
Miyuki quickly understood Tsuchihara's thoughts.
Once he understood, he didn't make it obvious.
If he acted too obviously, it might wake up their opponents, who were still in a dazed state.
Miyuki nodded at Furuya, silently conveying his message.
'Continue pitching at your previous pace!'
Their opponents had already fallen under the spell of Furuya's pitching velocity.
There was no need to change the rhythm now; just let Furuya continue with the pace he had been following.
If something unexpected happened, they could adapt on the fly.
In a match, anything could happen.
In this case, even with plenty of preparation, it might not necessarily be useful.
Seeing Miyuki's signal, Furuya didn't hesitate and immediately threw the ball from his hand.
VROOOOOOO!!!
When the baseball, like a shell from an anti-aircraft gun, flew toward the Batter's Box, Tsuchihara was slightly dumbfounded.
Could this be the pitch from the fastest pitcher in the country?
It was indeed true to its name; standing in the Batter's Box, it felt completely different.
You could clearly hear the air scraping against the baseball as it flew.
That feeling was truly magical.
It felt as though what was coming wasn't just a cold, dead ball, but some unknown creature.
Just imagining it was enough to send a chill down your spine.
Even more terrifying was the speed of the pitch, combined with the unparalleled rhythm.
As opponents, they often didn't have time to react before the pitch was already over.
How strong was this?
Though it had been said that Seidou High School's pitchers weren't limited to just the ace, Sawamura, all the pitchers on their main roster had considerable backgrounds.
Playing against them meant that everyone, not just them, had to be extra careful.
Tsuchihara's mind raced.
Although he had been full of ambition before stepping up to bat, as the former captain of his former team, he wasn't a reckless player.
He also sensed the impending crisis for their team.
But for now, he hadn't figured out where that crisis would strike.
Before he could figure it out, the result of the confrontation was already decided.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
He was struck Out!
Although Tsuchihara had abandoned the idea of confronting the pitcher directly, he was now focused on trying to stall Furuya.
Part of it was due to stamina.
'It wouldn't last long!'
'Slow and steady was the true way to go.'
If they kept pushing hard, Furuya would eventually collapse.
This approach wasn't bad.
If Seidou High School didn't have the Ace, Sawamura, hidden in their team, then they could act freely.
But now, with Sawamura as a strong backup, if things got tough, they could just switch pitchers.
Wasting stamina wouldn't have much meaning.
At least, it wouldn't make much of a difference in the overall situation of the game.
Tsuchihara hadn't considered this.
His thinking was simple: stall Furuya and observe more pitches.
But unfortunately, even this small request wasn't granted.
Furuya resolutely struck him out!
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"
At Koshien Stadium, a monster has appeared.
He stepped onto the mound and quickly struck Out three batters in a row.
From start to finish, none of his pitches were touched by the opponent.
The man who completed all this was Furuya.
When his talent was fully unleashed, he was undoubtedly one of the best in high school.
…