"Then let's use a perfect Slider to strike him out right here!"
Amakuhisa nodded in satisfaction.
He glanced back at the runners on second and third, and his inner monologue began again.
Seido really is terrifying. I only showed them one weakness, and they chased after it for ten kilometers. Are they stray dogs?
And this pitcher—apparently, he came to Japan halfway through middle school. Could he really adapt? He joined a baseball team as soon as he got here. Poor guy, he probably hasn't even talked much with Japanese girls.
As he muttered inwardly, Amakuhisa's mind seemed to enter another space entirely, leaving him completely unaffected by the pressure of runners on second and third. He stepped forward and whipped his arm out. The feel of his fingers brushing the ball was excellent, and the moment he released it, he was already full of confidence in the pitch.
Get out!
In the Batter's Box, after the pitcher shook off two signs, Kōshū sensed what was coming. A Slider?!
It was another pitch that looked like it was charging straight at his body, but this time Kōshū forcibly suppressed the urge to get out of the way. Track it to the end! Watch its path clearly!
Then apply it to his own Slider.
Everything was like that. Copying from one to two was easy, but inventing from zero to one was difficult. This Slider was Amakuhisa's talent alone, shaped by his pitching form, arm length, release angle, and the way he put spin on the ball, ultimately becoming a professional-level Slider.
Kōshū stepped forward with his left foot and estimated where the Slider would cross the plate amid all that uncertainty.
The power of his entire body flowed through him in a chain, rapidly accelerating the bat.
Low and inside?!