Chapter 215: The Ace Enomoto Shows a Glimpse of His Strength (2)

“Hehehe… So you guys aren’t made of steel after all. You still know fear and instinctively dodge.”

Naoki Enomoto shook his head while muttering under his breath, his expression filled with disappointment and contempt toward Kobayashi Keisuke.

Then, his tone suddenly changed, becoming sharp and cold.

“But you little guys dared to suppress my proud Kaidou High School so miserably!”

“This is an unforgivable crime!”

“Don’t think I’ll let you off so easily. Today, I will make sure you understand the difference between us!”

By the time he finished speaking, Enomoto was practically gritting his teeth, forcing every word out through his clenched jaw.

Kobayashi Keisuke had not swung at either of the first two pitches.

And his second dodge, in particular, looked extremely awkward and helpless.

Seeing this, the Yakushi High School players—who had been dominating the game so far—couldn’t help but start shouting from the dugout.

“Kobayashi-senpai! What are you doing?! We’ve already faced 150 km/h fastballs before! Those two pitches were clearly under 145 km/h, so why didn’t you swing even once?”

“This isn’t the Yakushi style at all!”

“Exactly! If you don’t swing, how are we supposed to score runs?”

“Kaidou still has several strong pitchers waiting behind him! Kobayashi-senpai, quickly adjust yourself and take care of this pitcher!”

“Our goal is to force them to run out of pitchers! Don’t waste this opportunity!”

“Kobayashi, can you handle him or not? If you can’t, let me take over! I’ll smash their Ace Pitcher!”

One voice after another echoed throughout the dugout, all of them reaching Kobayashi in the batter’s box.

Kobayashi’s face immediately flushed red.

His teeth clenched tightly as he cursed inwardly at his teammates.

“What do you know…?”

“If you aren’t standing here yourself, facing this pitch from such a close distance, you will never understand how terrifying it is!”

“But…”

Reality was cruel.

With two strikes already against him, he was only one more strike away from being retired.

There was no excuse he could make.

And the loud complaints from his teammates had also reignited the anger burning inside Enomoto’s heart.

His face turned red with fury, veins appearing on his forehead as he glared fiercely at Kobayashi.

“Damn it…”

“You useless small fry actually dare to underestimate me?”

“You said my pitches can’t even reach 145 km/h?”

“Fine!”

“Since that’s what you think, don’t blame me for showing no mercy!”

“If you have the courage, then don’t dodge!”

Enomoto’s eyes flashed with anger.

The next instant—

He violently threw the baseball in his hand.

Whoosh!

The ball tore through the air like a cannon shell, releasing a sharp whistle as it rushed toward home plate.

Compared to his previous two pitches, this one was clearly faster.

145 km/h!

And more importantly…

The trajectory was even more threatening.

The baseball flew dangerously close to Kobayashi’s face.

A pitch like this was an enormous test for any batter.

To hit it, a batter needed more than just reaction speed.

They needed the courage to suppress their body’s instinctive fear, maintain absolute composure, and still complete the swing at the perfect moment.

As for whether they could actually hit it…

That depended entirely on the difference in ability between pitcher and batter.

Facing the incoming pitch, Kobayashi clenched his teeth.

His face had already become slightly pale from instinctive fear, but his eyes remained firm.

“Damn it…”

“I am a third-year senior from Yakushi High School!”

“How can I keep backing down like this?!”

“Even if I get hit, I absolutely cannot retreat!”

Kobayashi used every ounce of strength in his body to suppress the instinctive urge to dodge.

But as for stepping forward and swinging at Enomoto’s Gyro Ball…

That was still far beyond his current ability.

Smack!

The baseball once again passed over home plate and landed perfectly in Sato Toshiya’s glove.

“Strike!”

“Strikeout!”

The umpire’s declaration echoed across the field.

Just like that, Kobayashi Keisuke was struck out without ever managing to swing his bat.

A deep sense of frustration filled his heart.

He lowered his head, his shoulders sinking as he walked back toward the Yakushi High School dugout.

He looked like a deflated balloon, completely drained of confidence.

When he returned to the dugout, he kept his head lowered, unable to face the gazes of his teammates or Coach Todoroki.

At that moment—

“Kobayashi-senpai.”

A familiar voice came from above him.

Kobayashi slowly raised his head.

Standing before him was Kitamura Kou, wearing a warm smile as bright as sunlight.

Kitamura gently patted his shoulder.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Pitches that are placed right on the edge of the strike zone are extremely difficult to hit. Even experienced batters struggle against pitches like that.”

“If you still feel unwilling to accept it, then use the time you’re off the field to carefully observe his pitching patterns and characteristics.”

“The next time you face him, you’ll be better prepared.”

After a slight pause, Kitamura smiled.

“Besides…”

“We’re still the team leading right now.”

“So keep your head up.”

With those words, he patted Kobayashi’s shoulder once more before walking back onto the field.

Leaving behind only a reassuring figure.

And for Kobayashi Keisuke, that simple encouragement was enough to slowly restore the fighting spirit that had been shaken by Enomoto’s overwhelming pitching.