Sano Shuzo, whose swing had missed, could clearly feel just how terrifyingly sharp that pitch had been.
But instead of discouraging him, it only ignited his competitive spirit even further.
Quickly resetting into his batting stance, Sano Shuzo stared intently at Kitamura Kou's every movement, unwilling to miss even the slightest detail.
"The speed really is unbelievable. In terms of difficulty, this pitch is even harder to hit than a 160 km/h machine fastball. Hurry up and throw it again… let me experience that terrifying fastball one more time!"
Kitamura Kou naturally sensed Sano Shuzo's overwhelming desire to hit.
And he had no intention of disappointing him.
He stepped forward, his arm whipping through the air with explosive force as he fired the baseball toward home plate.
"BOOM!!!"
The moment the ball left his hand, Sano Shuzo's already terrifying aura surged again.
"Here it comes…! The pitch I wanted to crush!"
"WHOOSH!!!"
Although his thoughts raced wildly, his body never stopped moving.
Sano Shuzo swung the bat with every ounce of strength he had, and this swing was even faster than the previous one.
"THUMP!!!"
The bat and baseball narrowly passed each other.
The baseball slammed into Akaishi Osamu's glove once more.
Just a fraction slower—
And Sano Shuzo would have caught up to it.
"Two strikes!!!"
Sano Shuzo took several deep breaths before returning to his stance.
But now, the aggressive pressure he had released earlier had completely vanished.
The excitement and frenzy in his eyes were gone as well.
At this moment, he no longer looked like the fearsome slugger whose name shook all of Japan.
In the audience, Akiko Owada tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Mine-senpai… why does this scene feel strangely familiar?"
Mine Fujio smiled meaningfully, anticipation visible on his face.
"Of course it does. That's exactly how it felt whenever Kitamura-san stepped into the batter's box."
His smile widened.
"Now things are getting interesting. The sharpest spear has encountered the strongest shield. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this turns out."
(I enhanced Shuzo Sano's abilities a bit. After all, a man who hit 67 home runs deserves the title of "Monster Cannon.")
Behind home plate, Akaishi Osamu stared at Sano Shuzo in shock.
"On the second pitch… he almost caught up to Kou's fastball."
His heart tightened.
"So this is the true strength of the number one slugger in Japanese high school baseball… the Monster Cannon."
In his eyes, Sano's swing was already on another level compared to the three great sluggers of West Tokyo.
"If Kou makes even the slightest mistake… the consequences will be irreversible."
Kitamura Kou gave Sano Shuzo a long, deep look.
The batter standing before him radiated danger.
Although Sano still wasn't quite on the level of third-year monsters like Mishima Keitaro and Azuma Yuhei, the gap was already incredibly small.
And more importantly—
Kitamura Kou himself hadn't yet reached the peak condition he possessed in his previous life.
Skills and techniques could be polished ahead of time.
But physical development was different.
Strength, stamina, flexibility, explosiveness—those things required long-term training, proper nutrition, and time.
At present, Kitamura Kou's physical condition was probably only comparable to what he had during his second year of high school in his previous life.
And the difference between a second-year and a third-year body was far greater than most people imagined.
Even so—
Was he afraid of Sano Shuzo?
The answer was obvious.
Absolutely not.
In fact, this was exactly the kind of confrontation Kitamura Kou had been longing for.
The overwhelming aura surrounding Kitamura Kou slowly faded away.
The enjoyment on his face disappeared as well.
What replaced it was a calmness like a deep ancient lake—still and quiet on the surface, yet hiding violent currents underneath.
He slowly raised both hands above his head.
Stepped forward.
Swung his right arm.
Every movement was smooth, natural, and perfectly connected.
To the audience, the motion almost looked slow, as though the entire pitching sequence lasted much longer than usual.
But was that really the case?
While everyone was still mesmerized by Kitamura Kou's incredibly fluid pitching form—
The baseball had already exploded toward home plate at terrifying speed.
The suddenness of it left people stunned.
When exactly had the ball left his hand?
"BOOM!!!"
No one felt this illusion more clearly than Shuzo Sano himself.
If he waited until his brain consciously recognized the pitch before reacting—
It would already be too late.
Fortunately, Sano Shuzo had already touched the threshold all elite athletes dreamed of reaching.
After countless repetitions and relentless training, his body no longer needed instructions from his brain.
It moved instinctively.
Naturally.
The bat in his hands swung toward the speeding baseball on its own.
At that moment, the bat seemed to transform into a bolt of lightning, slicing across home plate.
Closer.
Closer.
Until finally—
The bat and the baseball completely overlapped.
Akaishi Osamu's heart skipped a beat.
"Oh no!"
"This pitch was read perfectly!"
Right now, he could only pray that Kou's raw velocity would suppress Sano's swing enough to prevent a home run.
But just as Akaishi Osamu was worrying—
Something incomprehensible happened.
The baseball seemed to turn into an intangible illusion.
As if it didn't physically exist at all.
It passed straight through the bat—
And buried itself deep inside Akaishi Osamu's glove.
"THUMP!!!"
"Strike three! Batter out!!!"
The home plate umpire's voice trembled with excitement.
Shuzo Sano stood frozen in shock.
And confusion.
That swing had broken through his current limits and reached an entirely new level.
Even if it had happened instinctively, he knew exactly what he saw.
The timing had been perfect.
The swing speed had been perfect.
Even if he failed to send the ball flying, he should have at least made contact.
There was no way he should have completely missed.
Although he desperately wanted another chance to face Kitamura Kou and uncover the secret behind that mysterious pitch—
The inning was over.
He had struck out.
And all he could do was walk back toward the dugout in silence, waiting for his next opportunity.
But it wasn't just Sano Shuzo who was confused.
The Seihou players were confused.
The audience was confused.
Even the Yakushi players themselves were confused.
And among everyone present, the most bewildered person of all was probably Akaishi Osamu, the catcher crouching directly behind home plate.
Even he had no idea how such a bizarre scene had occurred.
For a moment, the mystery of that impossible pitch completely overshadowed the fact that Kitamura Kou had just struck out the Monster Cannon himself.