Chapter 43: Pay-To-Win

At the same time, in the baseball club of Inashiro High School, a pre-game meeting was also underway.

All tactics had been set, and Tadano and Narumiya had discussed their strategies against Seidou's lineup and countermeasures for each batter.

Now, the focus was on the large figure projected on the screen.

This figure, of course, was Sawamura.

"To win tomorrow's game, we must defeat Sawamura, no matter what!" Coach Kunitomo stated coldly as he summarized the upcoming meeting for Inashiro.

"There's no need to elaborate on his strength; you should all know it. According to our information, not counting his hidden pitches, Sawamura Eijun's pitching can be categorized into several types: Straight balls, breaking balls, and Moving balls.

To deal with the Moving balls, we'll use our biggest bats from the start of the game, and if he focuses on this type of pitch, we need to hit it before it gets to the plate like we have trained before.

And for Straight balls, he uses them with good control and two pitching forms: one that hides the release point, making the pitch seem very fast. And to deal with this you have to swing like the ball is 150 km/h, and you have already trained to hit Furuya's pitching

The other is where the pitch seems to disappear suddenly(Magic ball). To deal with this one, you have to depend on your skills and swing speed and delay the swing until the last moment.

Besides these, the remaining pitches are Sawamura's signature breaking balls. We have incomplete data on Change-ups, floaters(Moving-up), Cutters, and Forkballs. His winning shot is still his Famous Straight-fastball and Forkballs.

His breaking ball pitching and control are superb. Targeting one type of pitch is foolish and ineffective. Past failures of the top teams at Koshien have shown us that such an approach will not work against Sawamura."

The players had already grasped these details from previous games with Sawamura, and they have been training for countermeasures ever since.

There was no need to hype up Sawamura's abilities; even without exaggeration, they knew this pitcher, known as the 'Demon King' was exceptional.

"Of course, No pitcher is without weaknesses, and Sawamura Eijun is no exception. One of his weaknesses is that his fastball isn't exceptionally fast. Though his speed exceeds 143 km/h, it doesn't measure up to the top speed pitchers nationwide, who generally exceed 145 km/h, with some even reaching over 150 km/h.

Additionally, while he is an excellent core to build a team around, he does not match well with Seidou's current team."

***

As October begins, the leaves blown off the trees by the roadside are increasing.

This constantly reminds people that autumn has arrived!

Even though it's autumn, the noon sun remains scorching. Today is a good day with clear skies and a gentle breeze. Although the sun is intense and energetic, the overall climate feels pleasant.

Outside Hachioji Stadium, the crowds have surrounded the entire venue, making it almost impassable.

When reporters Owada Akiko and Fujio Mine arrive, they are surprised to find the crowd has reached its peak.

"The game starts at 12:30, and it's only 12:00 now. Why are there so many people?" Fujio looks unconcerned.

"It's Seidou vs. Inashiro. It's no surprise there's such a scene," Akiko replies.

"Let's hurry, or we might not get a good seat," Akiko says, striding towards the stadium entrance.

Fujio follows closely behind Akiko, a skill he's honed as a reporter. Besides them, there are many interesting spectators today.

For example, there's a young man with a bob-like hairstyle and another well-dressed young man.

They are Wakabayashi Gao, the Ace pitcher of Ouya High School in East Tokyo, and Kasuga Hiro, the Captain and first baseman.

In the morning game, they defeated their opponents and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Autumn Competition.

The winner of the Seidou vs. Inashiro game will face them in the quarterfinals in a week.

Both are clearly very interested in their future opponents' games. Despite their exhaustion, they came specifically to watch this match.

Because they arrived early, they managed to find seats.

Kasuga glances at his watch and smiles wryly. "It's only 12:10, and there's still 20 minutes before the game starts. I didn't expect so many spectators to arrive already."

Wakabayashi pays no attention to his Captain and looks enviously at the opposing side of the field.

Two fan clubs have already assembled there.

One is the Demon King's Guard, and the other, a smaller one, is the Brotherhood of Red Hearts.

For the Seidou vs. Inashiro match, these fan clubs are clearly well-prepared and have been sitting in the stadium for some time. Both groups hold large banners, and the Brotherhood of Red Hearts has brought their powerful armaments from their arsenal.

A huge drum several meters in diameter, and banners as wide as serval rows of seats!

Around the two groups, reporters with cameras and microphones are conducting interviews.

It's expected that these interviews will be broadcast during the game's breaks and commercial intervals, giving viewers a glimpse of Seidou and its Ace pitcher, Sawamura.

TV TOKYO has even broken with tradition.

Previously, live broadcasts were only for the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals.

Now, they've advanced the coverage to include the live broadcast from Hachioji Stadium.

All this is because both teams are giants, and both sides' Aces are top star players in the country.

"It's really enviable!" Wakabayashi says thoughtfully.

His tone clearly shows his envy.

Next to him, Kasuga curiously asks, "Didn't you also receive invitations from Seidou and Inashiro back then? Why didn't you choose to join a giant team?"

Joining a giant team has many benefits.

For instance, with Wakabayashi's skills, even if he couldn't be the Ace at Koshien, joining Seidou or Inashiro would likely make it easier to become a Koshien pitcher.

"Because it is boring! It is like playing a game in easy mode, and you have the best resources and the best training. Such a pay-to-win game is no fun at all." Wakabayashi replies with dissatisfaction.

Although he could join a Famous team to test his abilities, Wakabayashi never forgot the most dazzling school in Koshien during his childhood.

Ouya High School!

As a public high school, they fought their way through to Koshien, becoming a public star!

Although they didn't win the championship due to their strength, Ouya's performance was deeply imprinted in Wakabayashi's mind. He also wanted to follow in the footsteps of the manga heroes and lead Ouya into Koshien.

Now, they've reached the quarter-finals. They are just three victories away from that ultimate dream.

"As long as we win the next game, all the Giants will fall. Our opportunities will expand a lot!" Wakabayashi says to himself.

Regardless of who wins this game, his attitude remains unchanged: win and make it to Koshien.

'Inashiro! Seidou!'

'Burn brightly in this game~'

"If both lose, it's the best outcome for us."

"Gao-chan, your devilish side is showing."

Kasuga quickly reminds him.

If he didn't, Wakabayashi's fox tail might have appeared.

Fifteen minutes before the game starts, the buses for the two teams arrive late.

As they leave the bus, the two teams run into each other, and several reporters with flashing cameras rush forward.

"Sorry, sorry!!!"

The President Ota acts as a temporary guard.

The Seidou players arrived a bit late and needed time to change their equipment, so there's no avoiding the delay.

He and several coaches block the crowd, clearing a path for the Seidou players.

…