Chapter 17: Mirage Breaking

Kuramochi's sudden move caught Teito High School completely off guard. They were utterly unprepared and thrown into confusion.

When Kuramochi initially ran to third base, Teito's battery was concerned about the situation. However, they felt a huge sigh of relief internally. It was better to have Kuramochi on third base than to deal with him causing chaos on first and second base. This way, they could focus entirely on Seidou's other batters.

As for the possibility of Kuramochi stealing home, the battery hadn't considered it seriously. With no Outs and a runner on third base, Seidou High School had many ways to score without making such a risky move.

For instance, Kominato Haruichi could bunt. With Kuramochi's incredible speed, even if the fielders managed to pick up the ball quickly, it would be difficult to prevent him from scoring. Moreover, after Haruichi, there were still strong hitters like Sawamura Eijun and Miyuki Kazuya.

In this situation, Seidou High School had no reason to opt for a risky play when a reliable scoring opportunity was available.

Taiyou and Inui naturally assumed Seidou would attempt a forced scoring play to secure the first run. Therefore, before pitching, they signaled their fielders to advance after the pitch.

Although Teito High School's strategy wasn't flawless, it was quite thorough. They were especially cautious about Haruichi's potential bunt.

Unexpectedly, when the pitch was thrown, Haruichi made no move to bunt and showed no intention of swinging the bat. Meanwhile, Kuramochi remained calm at third base.

With the count at two Balls and two Strikes, as Teito's battery wondered what Seidou's players would do, Inui threw the ball back. Kuramochi bolted for home plate.

Initially, Inui didn't notice any unusual signs. Then, he heard a loud, chaotic noise.

Teito's stands anxiously shouted, "HOME PLATE!!"

When thousands of voices cried out, Inui's mind became chaotic.

'Home plate?' His brain momentarily short-circuited before he instinctively glanced toward third base.

As expected, Kuramochi was already halfway from the plate.

Lightning struck Inui again.

"BACK HOME!!!!" His voice turned hoarse as if his vocal cords had been shredded.

Even though Mukai had his back to third base, he understood what was happening. He received the ball and, without hesitation, threw it to Inui.

SNAP!

As Inui caught the ball again, his heart gradually settled. It was still possible to make the play. If everyone had been a fraction slower, the result could have been disastrous.

Kuramochi was now just five or six meters from home plate. Inui, still crouched, extended his Mitt to tag Kuramochi.

Seeing the Mitt coming, Kuramochi dove forward like a mouse squeezing through a hole.

He slipped through the gap between the Mitt and the ground, an unexpected move that shocked everyone. Inui quickly pressed his Mitt down, but it was too late.

Kuramochi's hand was already firmly on the plate.

"SAFE!!!!" the umpire called out. There was clear excitement in his tone as if he was the one to score himself.

The crowd erupted in cheers. After six intense innings, Seidou High School, the National Champion, took the lead with a score of 1-0.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Seidou's offense wasn't over yet.

"Cheetah!"

"Cheetah-sama!!!"

"Cheetah-kun!!"

"Cheetah!!!"

With no Outs and no one on base, the Seidou supporters in the stands chanted Kuramochi's moniker in unison.

In a corner of the auditorium, Seto Takuma and Okumura Koushuu exchanged disbelieving looks. Seto muttered in disbelief, "Can you really score like that?"

He was stunned by Kuramochi's performance, never imagining that a runner could steal bases and make it all the way home on their own. It seemed almost unreal.

"Seidou!" he said this word loudly, his thoughts becoming clearer.

What kind of place was Seidou High School to have players like Sawamura and the extraordinary Kuramochi?

Kuramochi's steal had delivered a severe blow to Teito High School.

He looked proud as he returned to the dugout and passed by Sawamura, who was waiting to bat.

"How was it? Cool, right?"

"Yes! Cool Cheetah-senpai!" Sawamura nodded, giving Kuramochi a high five.

"Hyaa-ha-haa!" Kuramochi who was delighted laughed and gave him a high five.

Kuramochi's run was only the beginning for Seidou. With the count at two Balls and two Strikes, Haruichi continued to battle against Teito's battery.

Although Teito had lost a point, the immediate threat was gone. They could now focus solely on the batters.

'The point we lost was inevitable,' the pitcher thought. 'Now we must concentrate on the batters. With 3D pitching fully unlocked, it's not the time to hold back.'

Kuramochi's score was due to his unmatched speed, but also because Teito's battery had been caught off guard. They had forgotten their initial strategy.

Now that 3D pitching was fully operational, it was more effective to deal directly with the batters.

The next pitch: the 3D Pitching, Mirage ball!

Ping!

The small white ball was struck and bounced into the mitt of Teito's third baseman. The third baseman caught it and immediately threw it to first base.

"OUT!"

Kominato Haruichi, known for his superb hitting skills, was effortlessly retired.

As of now, Seidou's effective hits are still alarmingly few. If it weren't for Seidou's speedster Kuramochi scoring their first run, who knows when they would have gotten their first point?

One Out, no runners on base.

Sawamura, who had been dealt with in the first two rounds, approached the batter's box.

The most surprising aspect of this game for Seidou's fans was probably Sawamura.

In previous Tournaments, Sawamura was not only the team's Ace but also one of their core batters.

As Sawamura stepped into the batter's box for the third time, the fans, despite their previous doubts, leaped to their feet and cheered loudly for their Demon King.

"Hit a big one!"

"It's all on you now!"

"Hit it out of the park!"

The cheers and chants filled the air, the power of thousands of voices was impressive.

As a passionate young player, Sawamura felt a surge of desire to perform, driven by the crowd's encouragement.

But Sawamura was different. Though his blood never cooled, he was well accustomed to these high-pressure situations. He wasn't going to let the crowd's excitement distract him. He stayed calm and focused, reflecting on everything he had observed.

'Mukai's pitching had been odd,' Sawamura had noted this.

However, he hadn't anticipated just how peculiar Mukai's pitching could be. To understand the breaking, Sawamura had even tried bunting but hadn't seen what he needed. Taiyou's pitching appeared straightforward, with a speed of only 130 km/h. Sawamura struggled to identify any issues.

'If I could see move straight, what was causing these unexpected breaks?'

Sawamura was convinced Mukai's pitching had some kind of break. If only Sawamura had been struggling, he wouldn't be so confident, but other strong hitters from Seidou High School had faced similar difficulties. This suggested there was indeed something unusual.

'The ball was hit, and the swing didn't miss, indicating that the breaks were not very pronounced.'

It resembled Sawamura's own Moving.

Of course, Sawamura knew this couldn't be a Moving ball. Taiyou's speed was just over 130 km/h, and Sawamura could see it clearly.

'A Moving ball would have more pronounced spin, which wasn't present.'

From the ball's rotation and Sawamura's observation, it seemed like an ordinary fastball. But why did it sometimes rise or fall when hit?

This was the puzzle Sawamura couldn't solve.

'Why?'

If he didn't figure this out, he couldn't be sure he would hit the ball. He needed to try, using 'Devil Style' to observe every pitch.

With Haruichi Out and considering previous hits, Sawamura vaguely touched on some key points. Before verifying, he wasn't confident in his guess, but it seemed plausible.

'Could there be a pitch that doesn't have strange movement but affects the batter's sight, misleading us into an incorrect swing?'

This idea made sense of all the problems. Sawamura had no doubt because he himself used two types of pitches to mislead batters.

'Really interesting.'

Having figured it out, Sawamura knew how to handle Taiyou's pitching. If it was a subtle sight misdirection, solving the problem was straightforward.

There were two ways to deal with it.

First, use a powerful swing to hit the ball out of the park, similar to how other batters handle Sawamura's quirky pitches.

Second, adjust the swing slightly to account for the visual deception.

Sawamura decided to use the second method to improve his chances of hitting.

Whoosh!

Just as Sawamura was ready, the small ball flew toward him. Accustomed to the terrifying speeds of the Major League, Sawamura found Taiyou's pitch slow.

"So slow!" he complained, then decisively swung his bat.

The bat brushed past the ball, missing it completely.

SNAP!

"STRIKE!"

"The Demon King actually missed the swing?"

The fans supporting Sawamura fell silent. The Demon King's performance was off today.

Despite their cheers, Sawamura's hitting seemed weaker. Although he hadn't hit before, he'd at least made contact. Now, he missed entirely.

This was quite embarrassing for the Demon King!

In the batter's box, Sawamura wasn't frustrated. The result was expected. In fact, he felt a hint of satisfaction.

The outcome confirmed Sawamura's guess.

"I guessed it right!"

A hint of joy sparkled in Sawamura's eyes.

Mukai's pitch was just as Sawamura had imagined.

'A pitch that had a deceptive effect on the batter's sight.'

Of course, the underlying principle was more than that, but Sawamura was sure of it. Although his dynamic vision wasn't top-notch, he could still see the 130 km/h ball very clearly.

'But that didn't matter. Understanding the pattern was enough.'

His task was simple: hit the ball!

The current situation was one Out, one Strike, and no Balls.

After analyzing the situation in his mind, Sawamura suddenly realized that scoring might not be as easy as he thought.

Up to now, Taiyou and Miyuki had only faced each other once, during the second inning.

The second time they faced each other, Taiyou walked Miyuki.

This meant Miyuki had no direct experience with Taiyou's strange pitch.

What were the odds of hitting it?

'Probably not high!'

Even if he reached base, the chances of Miyuki or Maezono bringing him home weren't very great.

And if he didn't reach base, the consequences would be even worse.

With two Outs, even if Sawamura revealed Taiyou's pitching secrets, the probability of Miyuki and the others getting consecutive hits was minimal.

'Moreover, Mukai's pitching secrets couldn't be explained in just a few words.'

Seidou's lineup had reached the third round; they should have shown results by now!

If they couldn't establish an advantage and the game dragged into the fourth round, things would get unpredictable.

In the fourth round, Teito's pitching and catching duo would certainly give their all to fight Seidou.

'At that point, luck might not be on Seidou's side.'

With a dangerous narrowing of his eyes, Sawamura knew his only chance to thoroughly defeat Teito High's battery was now.

The score was 1:0!

With one point secured, as long as he didn't allow any runs, victory was assured.

With this confidence, Sawamura could afford to be more aggressive in his tactics.

'The safest way to score now was to hit a home run, or at the very least, a super long hit.'

Only this way would the chances of scoring increase and offer a better hope of overcoming Teito's battery.

To hit this kind of pitch out of the park!

'First, I needed to guess what type of pitch Mukai would throw.'

A serious glint appeared in Eijun's eyes.

He raised his bat high, his stance wide and ready.

Whoosh!

The ball flew toward him. Sawamura aimed at the spot he had targeted and swung his bat forcefully.

The bat missed the ball again!

Snap!

"STRIKE!"

Twice he had failed to connect!

In the stands, the Demon King's Guard members gaped in disbelief at the scene before them.

Their leader, Miyamoto, muttered in disbelief.

"This is impossible! There is no way!!!"

The Demon King he knew had always been unstoppable. When had he ever been so ineffective?

Many in the crowd shared this sentiment. They wondered if Sawamura's swing was malfunctioning.

However, not everyone thought so. For instance, Kengo Inui, the catcher, observed Sawamura with apprehension. If there had been runners on base, Inui might have chosen to Walk Sawamura.

'Two missed swings meant that Sawamura had completely seen through Taiyou's 3D pitching Mirage.'

At this point, he was just gambling on probabilities!

Sawamura Eijun, the Demon King!

'His reputation was well-deserved, his abilities monstrous.'

Despite his fear, Kengo Inui wasn't going to give up on solving Sawamura just because of that fear.

With no runners on base, retiring Sawamura and Miyuki cleanly was of great strategic significance.

This was Seidou High's third round of batting!

If they were lucky, they would only have to face Seidou's top lineup once more.

'The probability of using the phantom technique to solve Sawamura was 50%!'

'Let's do it!'

The next pitch: a straight ball!

Truth is stranger than fiction, and fiction can seem real when truth is strange!

'The Mirage ball, when used alone, was merely an enhanced version of a breaking ball!'

'When paired with a straight ball, its effectiveness would double.'

At this moment, Taiyou and Inui were in perfect sync.

They anticipated Sawamura hitting a rebound or a Pop fly.

'Go to hell!'

Taiyou threw the pitch with confidence, thrilled at the thought of solving Sawamura again!

The white ball flew through the air like a laser, covering several meters, and reached the batter.

BUZZ!!

In the Batter's Box, Sawamura's body spun like a wheel, and his bat was roaring through the air!

PANG!!!

The white ball was struck and soared high into the air.

The first to relax were Sawamura's dedicated fans in the stands.

If Sawamura missed again, they wouldn't know how to leave the stadium. Fortunately, their Demon King wasn't so ineffective!

And this hit was impressive!

The ball soared across the entire field and hovered to the outfield stands.

"CENTER!!"

Inui's eyes widened in shock, his brain buzzing with all the lightning.

'Sawamura had aimed for the straight ball!'

'How could this be?'

Filled with doubts, Inui had no time to ponder further. He watched the ball anxiously, silently praying it wouldn't fly out.

Teito's outfielder kept retreating until he was stopped by the field's wall. The ball continued its trajectory and eventually landed among the stands.

PAK!!

A home run!

After Kuramochi scored the first point, Sawamura Eijun followed up with a home run, helping the team score the second point.

The total score was now 2:0.

~~~

T/N: The biggest Chapter until now, but the game is almost over.

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