Chapter 12: Growing Confidence

"DEMON KING!"

"DEMON KING!!!"

The fans in the stands weren't in the mood to consider Takami's feelings. For them, it was enough to see how impressive Sawamura, the Demon King, truly was.

On the field, as Sawamura secured three Outs, both teams returned to their respective benches.

The Seidou baseball team naturally welcomed Sawamura with open arms.

As expected of their Demon King, everyone was intimidated the moment he stepped out.

"What a beautiful pitching!"

"Those guys of Sankou must be dumbfounded!"

"Keep it up and show them what a true King looks like..."

Meanwhile, in Sankou's dugout.

After the first inning, they felt the dominance of Seidou.

This dominance was palpable, sending chills down their spines.

As a powerhouse in West Tokyo, the players had a clear understanding of their own strengths. Although they didn't participate in the previous Spring Koshien, by observing the records of the other three teams in West Tokyo, they could gauge their general level in the national context.

Even when compared at the national level, Sankou was among the very best.

With such confidence, they believed that while there might be some gap between them and Seidou, it wouldn't be significant.

But reality was a harsh slap in the face!

In this inning, even with Kousei in good form, Seidou managed to pierce the iron wall.

They scored three points off Sankou.

Of course, an early loss isn't fatal for any powerhouse.

Everyone stumbles sometimes.

Scoring losses in baseball is entirely normal.

As long as they could recover later, everything would be fine.

Sankou's players were confident in their offensive strength. Over the past seven months, their main players had swung their bats like madmen.

This doesn't just mean that players are determined and working hard. Such intense training carries its own risks.

Like walking a tightrope, they honed their skills amidst danger.

By now, they were fully confident in their swings.

Even against Sawamura, the most terrifying pitcher in high school, they were confident they could hit his balls.

Even ordinary players felt this confidence, let alone the highly regarded core player, Takami.

However, Takami ultimately failed to hit Sawamura's third pitch.

If he had made contact and been caught Out, the Sankou players wouldn't have been too surprised.

But it was unreasonable that Takami didn't touch the ball at all.

They all stared at Takami, curious to hear his thoughts on Sawamura's pitching.

"As expected of the Demon King!"

While Takami was surprised in the Batter's Box, once he stepped into the dugout, he quickly calmed down.

This was part of his nature; after all, he was the team's main Catcher.

"When the ball came, I thought I had it."

Takami's voice held a trace of incredulity.

"But when I swung to hit it, the ball disappeared!"

While gathering information earlier, he had heard similar rumors and even witnessed them firsthand during duels…

But seeing Sawamura's 'disappearing pitch' for the first time left him feeling utterly astonished.

'How could this be?'

He didn't believe he could hit a ball like that.

"Using a Winning Shot so quickly!"

Coach Tahara wasn't overly surprised by Takami's report. He was already aware of Sawamura's bizarre breaking ball.

Of course, a pitch of that caliber wasn't easily hit.

What surprised him was that Sawamura used such a winning shot right from the start.

'That wasn't a good sign.'

It indicated that Sawamura was hiding other trump cards.

'If he was already terrifying, could he possibly become even more so?'

The game continued.

In the second inning, Seidou had another chance to attack.

With two rookies moved to the fifth and sixth batting spots, Seidou's lower lineup appeared quite formidable.

The seventh batter was Shiratsu, known for his solid hitting; the eighth was power hitter Maezono, and the ninth was Kanemaru.

This was an aggressive batting order, particularly with Kanemaru. Having previously played all substitutes, his performance had once again earned him Coach Kataoka's favor.

Ping!

Shiratsu hit the ball to the outfield, but Sankou's outfielder seemed ready, waiting for the ball's landing.

"SNAP!"

"OUT!"

Ping!

Maezono followed suit, sending a ball to the outfield, which was also caught.

Kanemaru hit a grounder that was also fielded and thrown out.

Though they failed to secure a hit, they maintained the offensive. Overall, their performance was decent, frequently making solid contact with the ball.

Such performance caught the attention of Fujio, a senior reporter for Baseball Kingdom Magazine.

He confidently told Akiko, who was beside him, that Sankou's defeat in today's game was merely a matter of time.

Amahisa's pitches were being consistently hit. Even if defended, it highlighted serious issues with his pitching.

"But didn't Amahisa-kun perform well before?"

Owada Akiko asked, her eyes wide with confusion.

Kousei's earlier performance had indeed been impressive.

"The players' states can be highly unpredictable, especially with the added pressure of today's game," Fujio explained.

His analysis wasn't unreasonable. Based on the current situation, it seemed accurate.

Yet reality often delivers harsh slaps, with certain aspects going unnoticed by analysts and observers.

In the subsequent innings, instead of collapsing, Kousei performed even better.

By the third inning, he faced Seidou's first batters without allowing any runs.

"OUT!"

"OUT!!"

Using his impressive slider, he dispatched Kuramochi and Haruichi in succession.

Ping!

Snap!

"OUT!!!"

Finally, with a new breaking ball, he forced Sawamura into a mistake.

'Damn!'

Sawamura noticed the new breaking ball but wore no joyful expression.

He had anticipated Amahisa to be difficult, but the real duel felt different.

Three ups, three downs.

While he didn't achieve a strikeout, he effectively dealt with Seidou's first three batters.

On the other hand, Sawamura wasn't about to be outdone.

Facing Sankou's cleanup, he unleashed his full power.

Under Amahisa Kousei's exceptional pitching—especially when he solved Sawamura—the Sankou players had been in great form.

Their ambitions began to sprout.

Even if they gave some points in the beginning, they are still going toe to toe with Seidou.

Sooner or later they will be able to catch up!

Ambition can be a frightening thing; once it grows, it can push through solid rock like a weed.

Experienced Sawamura understood this situation well, and he would never allow such a thing to unfold.

The better the opponent performed, the less he wanted them to see any hope.

He aimed to show his presence through action, delivering a clear message to Sankou's players.

'You have no chance!'

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

Sawamura thought this way and acted accordingly.

Most importantly, he succeeded.

Every single one of Sankou's first nine batters was cleanly Struck Out by Sawamura. Although there were moments when Sankou players made contact, those balls went Foul without exception.

This indicated that Sawamura had absolute control over the game.

Even a Foul ball counts as a Strike.

Thus, the game reached the end of four innings without anyone realizing it.

In the fourth inning, Seidou's offense exploded again.

Miyuki led off with a hit!

Following that, the fifth and sixth batters, Nishiyama and Yuuki, failed to capitalize on the opportunity to expand their lead.

Ping!

Shiratsu got another hit, creating a favorable situation with runners on first and third.

"YEAH!"

"Nice Batting Shiratsu!"

"Zono!"

"Follow suit Zono!"

"You Can Do It!"

PING!!

And Maezono managed to make contact with the ball sending it flying far to the outfield!

But the luck favored Chimaru Kouji, Sankou's left fielder, who ran desperately and slid to catch the ball!

Snap!

"OUT!!!"

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.

At this point, the score remained 3:0.

The pitching duel between Seidou and Sankou had reached the fifth inning.

Aside from the three runs in the first, all remaining innings had been 0:0.

Despite this, Seidou had numerous opportunities to score!

They even advanced to third base once.

But it didn't matter; the results spoke for themselves.

Sankou High School gradually seemed to have passed the crisis of collapse.

"As expected of our team's rival; they really are tenacious..."

At the top of the fifth, Seidou was getting ready to attack again.

…