Once Sawamura stepped into the Batter's Box, the entire Koshien stadium erupted into an intensely excited state.
Originally dismissed as weak, Hoshiryu High School suddenly displayed a shocking strength that left everyone stunned.
This made the audience remember this team well, and they all believed that this team would surely create even greater miracles.
It also made them feel a little bit of anticipation for the upcoming showdown between this team and Sawamura.
Could it be that this team could pull off some amazing feat?
Although they didn't believe Hoshiryu High School would easily take down Sawamura, what if?
Wasn't it the little-known Hoshitaru Koki who had once taken down Sawamura before?
Even though the Great Demon King had been dominating, he was not invincible.
As long as a player's strength was enough and they seized the right opportunity, and carefully observed the game, in a brief confrontation, they might be able to overpower Sawamura.
This had even become a label used by the audience to evaluate players.
When facing the Seidou High School baseball team, if a player hadn't briefly suppressed Sawamura at some point, no matter how great their previous achievements, no matter how glorious, they could only be considered a top-level high school baseball player.
Only players like Narumiya Mei, Carlos, and Mima, who had managed to briefly get the better of Sawamura in direct confrontations, could be considered elite players.
The audience was thoroughly entertained.
Both sides of the duel were on high alert.
Whether it was the catcher, Hosho, or the pitcher's mound where Nanami stood, seeing Sawamura made them both feel a mixture of joy and nervousness.
Being able to face the Great Demon King from their hometown on the Koshien stage was an exciting challenge for both Hosho and Nanami.
But once they thought about Sawamura's previous displays of power, their excitement was quickly overshadowed by nervousness.
He was a monster, after all.
With his terrifying abilities, he shouldn't even be playing in high school.
Among the players in high school, there was probably no one who could challenge him.
This was the instinct of the Hoshiryu High School players, and they completely trusted their instincts.
They weren't his match—not even close!
Under the influence of this subconscious thought, how could they not be nervous when facing Sawamura?
Although nervous, they didn't allow that anxiety to affect their state or performance.
They had long gotten used to being suppressed by Sawamura.
Now, when facing him again, apart from nostalgia, it was more about testing themselves.
On the pitcher's mound, Nanami stood in a prepared stance.
Sawamura, who was just as familiar with them, saw through Nanami's front and immediately guessed his plan.
Nanami wasn't avoiding the confrontation; he was clearly preparing for a direct battle.
'He has guts!'
Sawamura thought to himself with admiration.
Nanami seemed very confident about his pitching.
If he wasn't so confident, he wouldn't have dared to confront Sawamura directly.
Most pitchers with ace-level mentality were stubborn and hard-headed, unwilling to listen to advice.
If you told them to go east, they would go west. If you told them to chase a dog, they would chase a chicken. That was just how they were.
You couldn't get angry with these types of pitchers.
If you did, you might fall right into their trap.
Anyway, they were always calm and didn't care what you thought. What could you do about it?
Such pitchers usually had a very high sense of pride.
You couldn't tell them off...
Compared to those kinds of pitchers, Nanami was practically a model student.
Although he had his own principles, he was generally open to suggestions, as long as they weren't about his core beliefs.
A player like that could never be considered stubborn.
If he thought it necessary, he would certainly walk his own path.
As for why he hadn't done that yet, it was because he believed he could beat Sawamura.
With this judgment in mind, Sawamura's interest grew.
He was genuinely curious about what Nanami Haruka was thinking and what kind of pitch he was planning to throw.
At that moment, Sawamura had completely forgotten the details of the earlier parts of the game.
His entire focus was on his opponent standing before him.
Patiently, he waited for Nanami to deliver his pitch.
Meanwhile, in the Seidou High School baseball team's dugout, although it was Sawamura who was up to bat, his teammates felt like their offense was about to end.
With two Outs already, and considering the momentum shown by the opponents, even if Sawamura managed to get on base, the opposing team wouldn't let him easily return to home plate.
Given the strength of the opponents and the challenges the Seidou team was facing, it was unrealistic to expect just one batter to turn the game around.
At this point, they were more focused on the stunning double play that had just happened.
"What happened there?"
"It must have been a coincidence, right? We were just unlucky?"
"Is it really that coincidental?"
Miyuki, who was changing equipment and preparing to take his turn at bat, heard his teammates' comments and sneered.
'A coincidence? No way.'
"It wasn't a coincidence at all."
"What do you mean?" his teammates asked, looking shocked.
Although they had considered this possibility in their minds, they didn't want to believe it.
How could their opponents have read both Kuramochi and Kominato's thoughts so perfectly?
It didn't make sense!
If they didn't understand their thoughts and didn't anticipate their actions, how could they have performed like that?
"There's no such thing as a coincidence. Everything was planned. From the moment the pitcher ignored the runner at first base, this plan was already in motion. It wasn't just about Kominato.
They also anticipated Kominato's reaction. The pitch location was surely planned. It was within Kominato's reach. In that range, they knew Kominato wouldn't just stand there. He would definitely act!
So why was it the first baseman who rushed forward, not the third baseman? Doesn't that answer the question?"
Hearing Miyuki's words, his teammates were stunned.
They seemed to have underestimated their opponents, the Golden Generation of Nagano.
While the Seidou team reflected on this, another development on the field confirmed their previous guess.
Paak!
Sawamura's bat made contact with the ball, but the baseball didn't fly forward as expected.
Instead, the ball grazed the bottom of the bat and landed behind the catcher.
Hosho tried to block it, but the ball was too fast and the angle was too tricky.
Before he could react, the ball had already flown away.
"FOUL!"
The umpire called out loudly.
In Seidou's dugout, the teammates who saw this were shocked.
Had Sawamura just been at a disadvantage in that exchange?
It was hard to believe!
That was the Great Demon King, the one who dominated the entire country.
To make him suffer, even if just briefly... there were only a few players who could do that.
How formidable were the players from Hoshiryu High to temporarily suppress Sawamura's dominance?
Seidou's teammates couldn't wrap their heads around it.
They couldn't understand what had just happened or why things had turned out this way.
While they were in disbelief, Nanami Haruka maintained his rhythm on the mound and delivered his second pitch.
This pitch appeared to have even more power than the previous one.
Why was Nanami Haruka pitching like this?
And even more incredible, Sawamura seemed unprepared for this pitch.
At least, that was how it appeared to everyone.
He didn't swing immediately; he just watched as the ball passed him by.
Snap!
"STRIKE!"
A foul ball, then a strike.
Sawamura was being forced back!
The final pitch came, and Nanami Haruka was cautious.
The previous pitch had caused Sawamura to hesitate, which made Nanami wary.
The players from Nagano, having faced Sawamura in their middle school days, knew how dangerous he could be.
They had a natural aversion to him.
Whenever they faced off, they were always extremely careful.
They feared making a single mistake and walking straight into one of Sawamura's traps.
And this had clearly not escaped Sawamura's notice.
When the previous ball flew toward him, Sawamura had anticipated that if he swung full force and missed, or didn't hit it well, Nanami would maintain his rhythm and keep pitching the same way.
In that situation, Sawamura wouldn't have enough time to enter that miraculous state.
After his match against Kanetsu-Norin, Sawamura had discovered the weakness in that state.
Once he found it, he knew he needed to figure out how to overcome it.
But blocking out distractions and focusing on the hit wasn't something easy to achieve.
Even though Sawamura had good mental strength, entering that magical state required at least 3-4 seconds of preparation.
It was never going to be shorter than that.
Of course, if the opponent was too strong, like the "Son of Baseball" Allen, the crisis could spur Sawamura to enter that state more quickly.
But for the current opponents he faced, even someone as troublesome as Narumiya, Sawamura couldn't afford to enter that state instantly.
What should he do?
Sawamura thought about it and realized it was simple to solve.
If he couldn't shorten his preparation time, he would create some accidents to buy himself more time.
That was the solution!
He had already chosen this approach earlier.
Knowing the personalities of Hosho and Nanami, they'd probably think he had some kind of trick up his sleeve, which would make them cautious.
Thus, when Nanami pitched, he'd probably consult with Hosho.
This would buy Sawamura some extra time.
All the chaotic thoughts slowly faded away, and in this quiet atmosphere, Sawamura sank deeper into the Zone.
At this moment, in Sawamura's world, there were only two people left.
One was Nanami on the pitcher's mound, and the other was himself.
Here it comes!
'Throw your ball.'
'I'll take good care of it!'
Under Sawamura's gaze, Nanami felt uneasy.
In the previous rounds, he had thrown two pitches.
One had been barely touched by Sawamura, landing Foul, while the other Sawamura didn't even have time to swing at.
Based on those results, Nanami should have been in control.
But now, he didn't feel the advantage at all.
Instead, he had an ominous feeling, like Sawamura was a spider preparing to catch him in its web.
'Impossible!'
Shaking his head, Nanami pushed away that absurd thought.
The plan had been executed exactly as they had hoped, and it had been beautiful.
At this moment, he had the advantage, and there was no reason to retreat.
On the mound, Nanami made up his mind, wound up, and threw the ball with all his strength.
As the ball flew, it broke the speed limit, reaching a very high level.
This was undoubtedly one of Nanami's best pitches.
Sawamura watched the ball approach and muttered softly.
"So slow."
It was incredibly slow!
Perhaps, to others, a ball approaching 147 km/h would seem fast.
But in Sawamura's eyes, it felt unusually slow.
There was barely any movement, just the spin of a straight ball.
A straight ball, huh?
At that moment, Sawamura's mind worked at lightning speed.
The ball was almost in the strike zone when he noticed a tiny change.
It wasn't much, barely noticeable.
Had he not been in that miraculous state, he might not have noticed it at all.
The ball wasn't a perfect fastball but a Cut fastball.
It slid downward by about two ball widths.
Had Sawamura swung based on his initial read, even if he hit the ball, it would have been a weak grounder.
'Interesting!'
Sawamura murmured.
Adjusting the angle of his grip slightly, he swung the bat without hesitation.
Shuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!
The bat flew through the air, cutting the air with a sharp sound.
Hosho quietly took a breath, feeling a bad premonition.
'SHIT!!'
PAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKK!!!!!!!!
…