Chapter 210: Another Strikeout for Sato Toshiya

"Hoo... hoo..."

Kitamura Kou breathed heavily.

His chest rose and fell violently, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, soaking the hair around his temples.

Yet even so...

His burning gaze never left Sato Toshiya standing in the batter's box.

Sato was also breathing heavily, his chest moving with every breath as he stared back at the pitcher on the mound.

The excitement brought by pushing his nerves to the absolute limit.

The tension caused by a heartbeat pounding like a war drum.

The feeling of his blood boiling as though it was about to explode.

Yes.

This was exactly the kind of battle Kitamura Kou had always dreamed of.

A true clash between elite players.

A baseball duel where both sides gave everything they had.

At this moment, Kitamura's face was filled with satisfaction.

He narrowed his eyes slightly and focused on calming his breathing while replaying every moment of their previous confrontation in his mind.

"This guy is incredible..."

"Even though my timing was perfect, I still couldn't fully catch the center of the ball and drive it into fair territory."

"This pitcher is even more difficult to deal with than Goro-kun..."

Sato Toshiya's eyes shone with excitement.

"But the stronger the opponent..."

"The more my fighting spirit burns."

He finally looked up and met Kitamura's gaze.

A smile appeared on his face.

"I really want to sit behind home plate and catch this pitcher's throws myself."

"I wonder what it feels like compared to Goro-kun's pitches?"

Thinking this, Sato glanced at Akaishi Osamu.

The envy in his eyes was impossible to hide.

"Thank you."

Kitamura suddenly spoke inside his heart.

"Thank you for allowing me to experience this feeling again."

"The feeling of standing evenly matched against an opponent."

"An opponent who forces me to give everything."

After experiencing such an intense battle, Kitamura Kou had made his decision.

He would not continue this endless stalemate.

Not anymore.

Considering the later stages of the game, dragging this out was not the best choice.

This time...

He would settle it.

With his strongest pitch.

Kitamura slowly removed his cap.

He wiped away the sweat dripping down his forehead before it could reach his eyes.

Then he calmly put his cap back on.

Afterward, he bent down and picked up the rosin bag beside the mound.

He squeezed it gently, drying his sweat-covered fingers.

Every movement was careful.

Every action was deliberate.

There was no wasted motion.

Only absolute preparation.

Gradually, his breathing stabilized.

His chest no longer rose violently.

Everything was ready.

Kitamura suddenly raised his head.

In that instant—

A terrifying gaze flashed through his eyes.

Cold.

Sharp.

Piercing.

It was as if an icy blade had emerged from the depths of hell.

Sato Toshiya, standing in the batter's box, suddenly felt a chill run through his body.

It was like a cold snake crawling up his spine, spreading throughout his entire body.

Before he could even react...

Kitamura completed his pitching motion.

Boom!!!

The baseball exploded from his fingertips.

Like a cannonball fired from a barrel, it tore through the air and rushed toward home plate with overwhelming momentum.

At this moment...

Sato's concentration reached its absolute peak.

Everything around him seemed to slow down.

The crowd.

The field.

The sounds.

Everything disappeared.

Only one thing remained.

The baseball flying toward him.

The white light approaching at incredible speed.

His entire world had narrowed down to himself...

And that pitch.

But Kitamura Kou, who had been watching Sato closely from the mound, naturally noticed the change.

His eyes became brighter.

Like two burning stars in the night sky.

A fierce flame ignited deep inside his heart.

"That's right..."

"This is the opponent I've been searching for."

"You really have reached that realm..."

"The realm that countless baseball players dream of entering..."

"But only a chosen few ever reach."

Excitement surged through Kitamura.

A feeling of satisfaction.

A feeling of joy.

However...

For a brief moment, another emotion appeared.

Regret.

A faint sense of disappointment.

Because he realized something.

This opponent...

This incredible Batter...

Might not appear in front of him again anytime soon.

But that emotion disappeared almost instantly.

Because it was replaced by something stronger.

A burning desire.

A hunger for battle.

Facing the incoming pitch...

Sato Toshiya's mind had not even finished giving the command.

But his body had already moved.

His muscles tightened.

His arms bulged with explosive strength.

The bat swung forward with all his power.

Whoosh!!!

The bat cut through the air like lightning.

The violent swing created a sharp sound that seemed capable of tearing through everything around it.

But then—

The baseball changed.

The pitch that had originally been heading toward the center of the plate suddenly rose.

It climbed higher.

And higher.

Like a wild horse escaping its restraints.

Sato immediately adjusted his swing.

But the movement of the ball was too sudden.

Too sharp.

He couldn't completely follow it.

Fortunately...

Akaishi Osamu had been prepared from the beginning.

His nerves were stretched to their limit.

His eyes never left the baseball.

The moment he noticed the ball beginning to rise, he reacted instantly.

His body sprang upward.

His glove hand shot toward the sky.

He adjusted his position again and again, tracking the ball's movement.

Even though Sato desperately tried to correct his swing...

He couldn't catch up.

Thud!!!

The baseball slammed into Akaishi Osamu's raised glove.

The force of the pitch was so powerful that even Akaishi's sturdy body staggered backward slightly.

But he held on.

The ball was secured.

"Strike!"

The umpire raised his hand.

"You're out!"

Another strikeout.

Sato Toshiya had been retired.