Chapter 130: The Stage of My Dreams
Tch...
My swing was still too slow.
And I missed the sweet spot.
Watching the ball soar high into the air, Kitamura Kou frowned in frustration.
"Foul ball!"
As expected, the towering drive sailed just outside the foul line.
"What a shame!"
"It was so close!"
"Come on, Kitamura! You'll get the next one!"
The Yakushi dugout let out a chorus of disappointed groans.
Meanwhile...
The Kaidou players wore expressions of unmistakable shock.
After seeing only two Knuckleballs...
Kitamura had nearly launched one over the fence.
Even hitters like Sato Toshiya or Sengoku Masato might not have adjusted that quickly.
On the mound, Akutsu stood frozen.
His eyes remained fixed on the spot where the ball had disappeared, his mouth hanging slightly open.
For several long moments...
He couldn't move.
His Knuckleball had been hit for a home run before.
The memory was still painfully fresh.
Back then, during the game against the Dream Island team, Sato Toshiya had crushed one over the fence.
But that had been entirely Akutsu's fault.
He had lost his composure and left a mistake pitch over the plate.
That Knuckleball had barely moved.
Getting hit wasn't surprising.
This time...
It was completely different.
He was pitching at his absolute best.
Every Knuckleball danced unpredictably through the air, fluttering without any consistent pattern.
And yet...
Kitamura had nearly sent it out of the park.
How could he not be shaken?
After a long silence, Akutsu slowly blinked, finally snapping back to reality.
He turned toward home plate.
Kitamura stood there calmly, his expression as tranquil as an ancient well.
There wasn't the slightest trace of frustration over the foul ball.
Seeing that composed expression...
An uneasy feeling quietly took root in Akutsu's heart.
And it only grew stronger.
Behind the plate, Sato Toshiya immediately noticed the change.
Smack!
He slammed his fist into his mitt, the crisp sound cutting through the silence.
"Akutsu."
"That was an excellent pitch."
"Keep throwing it."
His steady gaze was filled with absolute confidence.
Akutsu took a deep breath.
That's right...
Last time...
I nearly threw everything away because I ignored everyone else's advice.
His thoughts drifted back to that painful memory.
Had Shigeno Goro not spoken up for him...
He might never have worn Kaidou's uniform again.
His fist tightened.
The hesitation in his eyes disappeared.
Replacing it was unwavering resolve.
I won't make that mistake again.
Sato...
Call whatever you want.
I'll throw the best pitch I can.
At that moment...
Something inside Akutsu changed.
His state of mind reached an entirely new level.
It was a state pitchers sometimes described as Zen—
The ideal mental state for throwing a Knuckleball.
His movements became astonishingly smooth.
Every motion flowed naturally into the next.
He raised his arms.
Lifted his front leg.
Stepped forward lightly.
Nothing was forced.
Nothing was wasted.
Rather than pitching...
It looked as though he were performing a carefully choreographed dance.
Whoosh!
The baseball drifted from his fingertips.
Once again, it fluttered through the air like a butterfly.
Only this time...
Its movement became even more erratic.
It floated farther.
Dropped more sharply.
Darted more violently from side to side.
Its path was more unpredictable than ever before.
Coincidentally...
Kitamura found himself facing yet another pitcher who had evolved in the middle of a game.
Seriously...
Do I have some kind of talent for making opposing pitchers level up?
He couldn't help letting out a helpless sigh.
Still...
This wasn't the time to complain.
He inhaled deeply.
Then sharpened his concentration even further.
As his mind settled, the world around him seemed to slow.
He could almost sense the flow of the air itself.
Every tiny current.
Every subtle breeze.
Even the faintest change affecting the baseball's movement.
Gradually...
The wandering Knuckleball became clearer in his eyes.
Each sudden rise.
Each unexpected drop.
Each tiny change in direction.
One after another, he traced them all, instinctively predicting where the ball would move next.
Finally...
The pitch reached the plate.
Kitamura's eyes flashed.
His bat exploded into motion without the slightest hesitation.
This swing was even cleaner.
Even more decisive.
Whoosh!!
A brilliant white arc flashed across home plate like a bolt of lightning.
Clang!!
The bat collided with the baseball with an explosive crack that echoed throughout the stadium.
The impact sent a violent shockwave through the air.
Even so...
The contact still wasn't perfect.
He had missed the sweet spot again.
But this time...
Only by the smallest of margins.
BOOM!!
The ball rocketed off the bat like a laser, screaming past Akutsu before soaring over the infield.
It streaked between second base and shortstop, racing toward deep center field.
The instant the ball left the bat—
Kusano was already moving.
He exploded off his first step like an arrow released from a bow.
His eyes never left the ball.
Not for even a fraction of a second.
He sprinted all the way to the warning track, stopping barely a meter from the outfield wall.
Without slowing down—
He leaped.
Using the wall to propel himself higher, he climbed into the air with explosive athleticism.
At the peak of his jump...
He stretched his gloved left hand to its absolute limit.
Time seemed to freeze.
Every spectator held their breath.
Smack!
The baseball disappeared cleanly into Kusano's glove.