NOVEL SIMPLE V6_Chapter 39: ZONE
V6_Chapter 39: ZONE
“Sixth Batter, Pitcher, Sawamura-kun.”
With Sawamura up to bat and two Outs, he swung at the first pitch!
But Sawamura –who was ready to hit- suddenly felt strange…
Based on what he knew about Umemiya, he expected Umemiya to throw his new pitch for the first pitch.
Umemiya’s talent allowed him to use a curveball with horizontal movement, a feat not achievable through hard work alone but requiring highly sensitive fingertips.
Sawamura was well-acquainted with this type of pitch. He has seen it before in the MLB, and he saw it enough from the rest area, which gave him a high chance of success.
At first, Sawamura wasn’t entirely sure if Umemiya would throw this type of ball right away.
And then the strange thing happened…
Perhaps driven by his eagerness to score, he had cleared his mind of all distractions.
At the moment of the swing, Sawamura felt as if everything around him disappeared. All he saw was the pitcher on the mound and the small white ball he threw.
In this extraordinary state, Sawamura’s concentration was beyond ordinary.
Vaguely, he saw Umemiya’s hand, how he gripped the ball!
‘This was a breaking ball!’ Sawamura was convinced.
Not only did he clearly see the pitcher's action, but he also saw the ball’s trajectory with extraordinary clarity.
He hadn’t reached the level of extreme dynamic vision, but at this moment, he could even see the ball’s rotation.
He saw the ball clearly and distinctly.
Even the speed of the ball seemed to slow down.
‘It’s coming!’
Sawamura could easily get the timing of the ball flying toward him.
‘Now!’
Just before the ball reached him, Sawamura opened his stance and swung his bat forcefully.
PANG!!
As soon as the ball hit the bat, Sawamura felt the impact and knew.
‘I Hit A Homerun!’
The sensation was like a basketball player shooting a three-pointer. At the moment the ball is released, there’s a sudden sense that it will definitely go in.
Sawamura had that same feeling. He knew the ball would be a home run.
And indeed, the ball soared beautifully out of the park and into the stands.
A Home Run!
Without any doubt.
Even though Sawamura immediately came out of that extraordinary state, the feeling before that still captivated him.
‘Could this be the legendary ‘ZONE’?’
It is said that Ichiro Suzuki, one of the most accomplished players in this country, once mentioned such a feeling in an interview.
When asked why he rarely hit home runs but could deliver them in crucial moments, Suzuki hesitated but admitted.
“It’s a strange feeling, but sometimes it really feels like someone is telling me, ‘It’s time!’ Every time this happens, I know I should be able to hit a home run. I’ve never made a mistake in such situations.”
Such mystical claims are hard to accept.
But this phenomenon has indeed occurred. Given Suzuki’s achievements, there is no need to lie about such experiences.
Sawamura had heard of this from his friends in the Major League.
Though it is a rumor, most of the Pro Players in all sports fields know it exists. But because it is very random and it depends on luck, all of them treat it as just that, Luck.
But the very Extraordinary Players know that it is not.
Some of them enter this state an average of once during the games they play.
And now, Sawamura felt that he had just entered a similar extraordinary realm.
Although no one explicitly told him, “It’s time,” Sawamura genuinely felt he would do it.
He knew he would hit a home run, and reality matched his expectations.
‘Could it be that my hitting is also beginning to touch this realm’s threshold?’
The same feeling Sawamura occasionally experienced while pitching now seemed to appear during hitting as well.
Under the gaze of thousands, the ball flew out of the field and into the stands.
Home run!!!
A clean home run.
The score changed to 7:5, with Ugumori pulling ahead by two points.
“Home Run!!!”
The entire stadium fell into a moment of silence. This sudden home run shattered all their previous illusions.
Such a clean and decisive display of strength left the audience in awe.
The Maou lived up to his name, demonstrating an extraordinary level of skill.
After the initial shock, the stadium erupted into a tsunami of cheers.
With Sawamura’s two fan clubs at the center, thousands of spectators around them chanted his name in unison:
“Sawamura!”
“Sawamura!!!”
The atmosphere was electric with excitement.
They seemed to have forgotten that just moments ago, they were cheering for Ugumori.
The roaring cheers of the crowd didn’t affect Sawamura. Only he knew that the home run wasn’t as effortless as it appeared.
On the surface, Sawamura Eijun appeared unfazed, but inside, he was anything but calm. He had his own goals in batting—though not as intense as his focus on pitching, he wouldn’t mind becoming a legendary hitter.
Sawamura’s home run stirred the crowd into a frenzy. At that moment, it felt as if they had returned to the Koshien days when Sawamura was invincible on the mound, and everyone admired his exceptional performance.
Unlike most viewers who focused on Sawamura’s home run, Fujio, a senior reporter from Baseball Kingdom, was more interested in Sawamura’s previous pick-off.
‘What a terrifying player.’
Since his appearance, even Seidou’s other players had shown a completely different level of performance.
While it might not be apparent on the surface, this was precisely what made it most terrifying.
A dangerous storm was brewing.
After Sawamura, it was Toujou’s turn to bat.
At this point, Ugumori’s players hadn’t fully given up. They shouted, cheering on their ace.
“Let them come at us!”
“We’ll definitely stop them!”
“Two Outs! Two Outs!!!”
In the stands, some spectators, moved by Ugumori’s spirit, continued to support them, driven by a mix of admiration and sympathy for the underdogs.
Despite their encouragement, Umemiya knew the game was essentially over. The score difference was only two points, but their opponents were no longer on the level of Furuya and Kawakami.
They were up against Sawamura Eijun, the top pitcher in high school baseball and the most celebrated player.
Although Sawamura was just a first-year student, he had already proven himself worthy of the nickname “Maou” (Demon King).
Such an opponent left Umemiya in awe. But he would not abandon the game.
His pitching remained strong.
Ping!
Toujou refused to back down, hitting the ball and sprinting to first base. As the ball seemed poised to slip through the defense, a Ugumori fielder made a perfect play, throwing the ball back to first base just in time.
“OUT!”
Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.
The game reached its final inning with a score of 7:5. The margin was small, just two points.
Based on the score alone, Ugumori had a slim chance to stage a comeback, but it was not entirely hopeless.
However, everyone on-site believed Ugumori’s chances were minimal. Their opponents were too strong to be overcome merely by momentum.
“The game isn’t over yet; we still have a chance to get a hit first!”
Matsubara Nao, in his wheelchair, remained optimistic despite the seemingly insurmountable situation.
“Yes!”
Despite their internal doubts, Ugumori’s players, returning to the Batter’s Box, were filled with high spirits.
“I must commend you all for your efforts! But I also have my mission, so let’s end the game here.”
On the mound, Sawamura’s eyes gleamed with a cold light.
While Sawamura respected Ugumori’s performance, he would not show mercy just because of that respect.
The right leg was raised high and then fell fiercely like a sharp battle axe, his arm swung like a whip, and Sawamura unleashed a powerful pitch.
The batters, inspired by Matsubara and Umemiya, remained undeterred. They focused intently on Sawamura.
They had studied the Maou’s pitching and prepared countermeasures. For example, the batter was aiming for Sawamura’s Moving and Straight balls.
Sawamura’s other pitches were not targeted because they were too difficult to read. When preparing, they had asked Matsubara what if Sawamura used only breaking balls.
“Give up.”
Matsubara responded firmly.
“If that’s how it develops, it will actually be simpler. It means the situation is highly favorable for us. But I doubt it will happen. If it does, we should give up, as there are too many variables to target.”
How could it be impossible to aim?
Every pitcher has their own subtle habits, even if difficult to detect. For example, throwing a breaking ball is different from throwing a regular ball.
The batter decided to watch closely but still couldn’t see clearly as the ball flew past.
Whoosh!
The ball appeared like a laser, with no prior warning. Its speed seemed even faster than Furuya’s.
‘How was this possible?’
He had clearly caught up with Furuya’s speed before, yet now, facing Sawamura’s pitch, he couldn’t even swing.
The truth was harsh. Sawamura’s ball speed was incredibly fast, and his Wall-Making Form made it seem nearly ten kilometers faster.
The impression was that Sawamura’s ball was faster, not slower, compared to Furuya’s.
“STRIKE!”
“STRIKE!!”
“STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!”
“STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!”
“STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!”
“GAME SET!!”
“In the second round of the Fall Tournament, Ugumori High School faced Seidou High School. In the end, the reigning champion Seidou triumphed with a score of 7:5, advancing to the top 16 in Tokyo.”
With this game concluded, Seidou moved on to the top 16. Out of over 260 high schools in Tokyo, making it this far was a significant achievement.
However, another major news story was awaiting coverage.
Tomorrow, the top 16 teams would face off to determine the top eight. One match to watch was Seidou vs. Inashiro!
Why the hype? With Teito High School withdrawing, the championship favorites now were Seidou and Inashiro. Both teams were powerhouses in West Tokyo and fierce rivals.
Add to that their recent clash in the summer finals, and the rivalry was even more intense.
Just thinking about this match was thrilling.
Originally, TV coverage was scheduled for the quarter-finals, but this time it would be broadcast live on TV Tokyo.
…