Renji's lead aimed to draw out Sawamura's strongest potential.
He hoped Sawamura could throw his strongest pitch.
Sawamura, on the mound, immediately received this feedback.
Having his partner agree with his method was the best encouragement.
A warm feeling surged through Sawamura's heart.
Japan put all the burden on him alone.
Although Sawamura had faced many storms before, his mood was still complicated and heavy now.
No one knew what Sawamura was truly experiencing now.
Having a teammate's unwavering support gave Sawamura tremendous strength.
Feeling moved inside, Sawamura's pitching spirit fully erupted.
At first, he hadn't wanted to take risks.
But now, he has changed his mind.
With the situation out of control and no certainty of victory,
No one would remain idle.
Nor would Sawamura!
He had to throw the perfect pitch to repay everyone.
No matter how his teammates performed in this game,
Japan reaching this point was no small feat.
Even if in unfamiliar positions and facing strong American players,
Everyone gave their all during the game.
Honestly, with their fame and status, to put aside pride and humbly cooperate was already extremely rare.
And now, to practice that in action was even rarer.
Sawamura forced himself not to think about much; his only task now was to pitch well.
To face this opponent seriously!
America's fourth batter was a power hitter.
If given the chance, even if not hitting the sweet spot, he could send the ball flying far.
Using fastballs to confront such a monster was risky.
But Sawamura no longer cared about risk.
They had been pushed to the brink, desperate.
Japan team, leading for seven or eight innings, might hand victory to the opponent at the end.
That could not be allowed.
Sawamura had matured a lot with growth.
He had his own code for words and actions.
But throughout, there was one thing he never changed:
His desire to win.
He had to win!
No other reason—once on the field, he would pursue victory at all costs.
This had become an obsession, something he must accomplish no matter what.
He raised his right leg high, then slammed it down heavily.
As his body shifted weight, Sawamura's left-hand pitching motion whipped like a whip.
The white ball howled out, traveling over ten meters to appear in front of the batter.
America's fourth batter, this was his third time facing Sawamura.
He was already familiar with Sawamura's pitching variations.
Not just him—every American player was now accustomed to Sawamura's form and speed.
For the fourth batter, hitting Sawamura's ball now was easy.
But his goal was no longer just to make contact, but to precisely hit the ball and smash it far.
An ordinary hit might let America catch up.
But to defeat Japan and the pitcher in front of him,
One or two ordinary hits would not be enough.
More hits were necessary!
With this awareness, the American fourth batter aimed for a home run.
A home run now would greatly change the game.
But seeing Sawamura's current pitching, his once blazing ambition seemed suddenly doused.
How could this be?
Before, Sawamura's speed and weird pitching form had clearly been adapted to by America.
But now, the fourth batter of the team surprisingly discovered they had been overconfident.
Just when they thought they had adapted to Sawamura's pitching, the monster on the mound showed a different side.
How could the pitch be this fast?
The fourth batter of the American team felt utterly thrown off.
They had originally thought to take this opportunity to teach Sawamura a lesson.
After all, Sawamura had once fought on equal footing with Allen.
By teaching Sawamura a lesson here, it would also be like teaching the "Child of Baseball," Allen, a lesson.
Just thinking about that made them feel incredibly satisfied.
But when they truly faced Sawamura, it was a completely different story. Forget about Sawamura at 100% strength— even with his tricky breaking balls shut down, using only fastballs and a few simple breaking pitches, they felt helpless one after another.
To be honest, the opponent's strength was very strong! So strong that these proud American players had to unite just to score.
If they relied solely on any single player's strength, there was no way to beat Sawamura.
The gap was too large!
For such proud American players to come to this realization, Sawamura's strength had reached a terrifying level.
Later on, as time passed, the American players felt Sawamura's power weaken.
This was natural; no one is invincible.
As a pitcher's stamina wanes, the power of their pitches inevitably decreases.
Moreover, the American players were getting increasingly accustomed to Sawamura's pitching.
Though they acknowledged Sawamura's strength, they still firmly believed that the final victory would belong to them.
No matter how strong Sawamura was, he was still just one person.
Relying on him alone, the Japanese team players could not defeat the Americans.
This had already been proven in previous matches.
The momentum of the game was gradually tilting toward America.
But just when the American players thought victory was in the bag and hitting Sawamura's pitches would be no problem,
An unexpected event occurred!
The fourth batter of the American team, practically their strongest hitter—or at least one of their strongest hitters.
"STRIKE!"
"STRIKE!!"
This man, who had performed perfectly before, just struck hard.
Originally, the American players found batting against Sawamura almost effortless.
It would be an exaggeration to say every player could hit a home run, and that would be a blatant lie!
But to say every player could at least make contact and put the ball into play—that was no exaggeration.
These players were selected because they had a certain level of skill, many of them even volunteering for the tryouts.
Under these circumstances, those selected were likely even better than the American team's originally expected players.
In short, these players might not yet match the veterans of the American Dream Team, but they were definitely among the strongest in America for their age group.
Every one of them was a formidable presence not to be underestimated.
From Sawamura and his team's perspective, the opposing side was an elite squad composed of star players.
Every player, even the lower-ranked batters, had very high fundamentals and skills.
So after adapting to Sawamura's pitch speed and power, they were soon able to easily hit the ball.
This didn't mean Sawamura's pitches had become easy to hit— it only meant the American players were just that good.
They grasped the key points in a very short time and began to showcase their abilities.
The American players were confident!
Once they adapted to Sawamura's pitching, nearly all of them were bursting with confidence.
Although the game was nearing its end, the Americans firmly believed they could show their strength and hit the ball in this final showdown.
This was not boasting, but a manifestation of confidence in their abilities.
Under these circumstances, as the strongest current representative of America,
Their fourth batter stepped into the batter's box.
Though they had grasped Sawamura's pitching patterns and habits, they knew their time was running out.
The game was close to ending, and with bad luck, each player would only get one more at-bat.
They had to act quickly and hit the ball out without hesitation.
But just now, Sawamura threw what looked like a straightforward, not-so-difficult fastball.
Given the current state of the American team, that pitch was a once-in-a-lifetime golden opportunity they absolutely could not miss.
If they could hit that pitch out, it would deal a massive and crushing blow to the Japanese team.
But
Despite such a seemingly perfect pitch, the American team's fourth batter didn't swing?
What happened?
…