Seeing that Naoki Enomoto had finally backed down, the tightly wound string in Sato Toshiya's heart finally loosened. He let out a long breath, releasing the tension that had been building inside him.
Although he had appeared extremely domineering when confronting Naoki Enomoto just now, only he himself knew the truth.
If Naoki Enomoto had truly decided to ignore his warning and insisted on doing things his own way, then Sato Toshiya would have had absolutely no way to stop him.
After all, Naoki Enomoto's reputation and position within the team were far above his own. If their conflict had escalated, the one who would ultimately suffer would definitely be him.
"Fortunately... Enomoto-senpai hasn't completely lost his reason. Now I can calm down and carefully think about how I'm going to defeat this terrifying opponent standing before me."
Sato Toshiya secretly felt relieved as he looked cautiously at the figure standing on the mound in front of him.
Naoki Enomoto stood there like an immovable mountain, radiating an overwhelming presence that made people instinctively feel pressured.
At this moment, Sato Toshiya did not dare to relax even for a second.
He focused all of his attention, his mind rapidly turning over countless possibilities. He carefully searched through every strategy and every idea that might be useful, hoping to find the key to defeating this powerful enemy.
"Although Enomoto-senpai hasn't been using his full strength and has only relied on small tricks while pitching, it's clearly impossible to easily fool this Batter with such methods."
"However, if the goal is to disrupt his rhythm and successfully handle this Batter, then the first pitch is absolutely crucial."
"I need to leave an unforgettable impression of the Gyro Ball in his mind."
"The first pitch... a Gyro Ball aimed at the low inside corner, around the height of his knees."
"Even if it becomes a ball, the pitching motion must be perfect and complete!"
After making his decision, Sato Toshiya no longer hesitated.
He quickly lowered his glove to the area near Kitamura Kou's knees, staring firmly at Naoki Enomoto standing on the Pitcher's Mound.
His eyes seemed to say:
"Come on, Enomoto-senpai. Show him your full-powered Gyro Ball!"
"Want to hit two Home Runs in a row against the powerful pitching lineup of Kaidou High School?"
Standing on the Pitcher's Mound, Naoki Enomoto looked down at Kitamura Kou with a cold smile.
He tightly gripped the baseball in his right hand, and an invisible pressure instantly spread out from his body.
That terrifying aura descended upon Kitamura Kou like Mount Tai itself, making him appear completely unshakable.
Clearly, Naoki Enomoto had already made up his mind.
He wanted to personally test just how much ability this little rookie who dared to challenge Kaidou High School actually possessed.
"Hmph! Let this Great Master personally see just how much real ability you have, brat!"
With that thought, Naoki Enomoto suddenly roared.
Then, he threw the baseball in his hand with all his strength.
"Whoosh!"
The baseball instantly transformed into a streak of white light, like a bolt of lightning tearing through the air.
It shot toward home plate with terrifying speed, carrying a momentum as fierce as wind and thunder.
This pitch was extremely fast.
Although it did not break through the 150 km/h barrier, it still reached an astonishing 149 km/h.
Facing a Gyro Ball Pitcher for the first time in an official game, Kitamura Kou was not frightened by the fierce incoming pitch.
He knew very well that blindly swinging against an unfamiliar breaking pitch without enough information would only lead to failure.
Therefore, he made the most rational choice.
Observe.
Gather information.
Then formulate a strategy.
As the baseball approached home plate, it seemed as though it suddenly gained an additional burst of speed.
The ball became so fast that the human eye could barely follow its movement.
In the blink of an eye, it crossed the plate and slammed directly into Sato Toshiya's glove.
"Thwack!"
"Strike!"
"Hoo..."
Kitamura Kou took a deep breath before slowly exhaling.
Then, he gently closed his eyes.
The world around him gradually disappeared into darkness.
The pitch from just now replayed repeatedly in his mind like a recorded video.
From the moment Naoki Enomoto began his pitching motion...
To the instant the baseball entered Sato Toshiya's glove...
Every single detail was carefully analyzed.
"So this is the Gyro Ball..."
Kitamura Kou muttered quietly, a trace of amazement appearing in his eyes.
He carefully recalled the entire trajectory of the pitch, attempting to grasp the hidden secrets behind it.
"It's not that the baseball suddenly accelerates when approaching home plate."
"The true mystery of this pitch lies in the baseball's high-speed horizontal rotation."
"Like a bullet, this unique rotation greatly reduces the effect of air resistance, allowing the baseball to maintain almost the same speed from the pitcher's hand all the way to home plate."
"If a normal Four-Seam Fastball and a Gyro Ball both leave the pitcher's hand at 150 km/h, the Four-Seam Fastball will gradually lose speed because of air resistance."
"But the Gyro Ball, because of its special rotation, can greatly reduce that resistance and maintain a higher speed when it reaches the Batter."
"This creates an illusion for Batters who are used to facing normal Fastballs."
"They will mistakenly believe that the ball suddenly accelerated before reaching the plate."
Kitamura Kou slowly opened his eyes.
"To be safe... I should observe one more pitch."
"If the second pitch is also a Gyro Ball, then I can confirm my analysis."
Taking another deep breath, Kitamura Kou stared directly at Naoki Enomoto on the mound and returned to his batting stance.
"Hm... very good."
"It seems Enomoto-senpai's excellent control earlier successfully left a good impression on the umpire."
"Because of that, we managed to obtain this valuable strike."
Sato Toshiya quickly adjusted his thoughts.
"Since that's the case, let's become a little more aggressive."
"For the next pitch... set the target here."
His glove moved instantly.
Seeing where Sato Toshiya placed his glove, Naoki Enomoto's eyes lit up.
"Sato... sometimes you really understand what I'm thinking."
"Hehehe..."
The glove was positioned high and inside, only a tiny distance away from Kitamura Kou's chin.
A dangerous location.
A place where most Batters would instinctively hesitate.
"Brat, let this Great Master properly scare you!"
"I hope you don't end up losing your courage before you even swing!"
"Hahaha!"
Naoki Enomoto laughed inside.
Then his expression suddenly became serious.
Without the slightest hesitation, he threw the second pitch with all his strength.
"Whoosh!"
The baseball once again exploded forward.
Its speed reached 148 km/h.
This time, it headed straight toward Kitamura Kou's head.