Chapter 408: The Truth Revealed
After repeatedly playing, pausing, slowing down, and rewatching, Eijun had already gone through Ouya High School's game footage at least three times.
However, he still couldn't pinpoint that sense of incongruity, which made him frown slightly.
An uncomfortable feeling arose in his heart, like a thorn stuck there—something he wanted to remove but couldn't, leaving him unsettled.
"He's really an impressive pitcher, especially that forkball. He can control it so well within the strike zone, which poses a huge threat to batters," Haruichi exclaimed after finishing the video, giving high praise to Ouya High School's ace, Wakabayashi Gou. Of course, Wakabayashi deserved such an evaluation.
While it's true that Ouya High School had once made it to Koshien and achieved a top-eight finish in the national tournament, the fact remains that Ouya is a public high school.
Not to mention the lack of advanced facilities in their baseball club, even their training time is undoubtedly less than that of a private powerhouse like Seido High.
This doesn't even account for the absence of professional assistant coaches or specialized support staff. In terms of institutional support, Ouya High is inherently at a disadvantage compared to private powerhouse schools.
Yet, in such an environment, they managed to develop an ace pitcher like Wakabayashi Gou, which is undoubtedly commendable.
There's no doubt that if Wakabayashi had joined a private powerhouse, he would have been at least another template like Mukai Taiyou.
In the original story, he managed to hold Seido scoreless for the first four innings.
Of the six runs he conceded later, two or three were due to Seido exploiting the defensive shifts of his team.
Strictly speaking, the runs he gave up through sheer pitching ability were only about three. With such a performance, Wakabayashi is undoubtedly a formidable ace.
Of course, Haruichi wouldn't know about these details from the original story, but based on Wakabayashi's seemingly effortless pitching in the game footage, it was enough for Haruichi to genuinely admire this ace from a public high school. He might even become a strong opponent, Haruichi thought seriously at this moment.
However, when Haruichi finished speaking, he was surprised to find no response. Curious, he turned his head and saw Eijun frowning, lost in deep thought.
Haruichi's eyebrows twitched slightly, showing a hint of surprise. What could Eijun be thinking about so intently?
But Haruichi, being in a rather gentle phase of his personality at this time, naturally wouldn't interrupt Eijun's train of thought.
Besides, Eijun might be considering something important related to pitching. So, Haruichi simply sat quietly beside him. After all, Haruichi wasn't the impatient type.
About fifteen minutes later, Eijun finally snapped out of his reverie. When he turned his gaze, he saw Haruichi looking at him with a curious expression. This made Eijun scratch his head in confusion.
"Haruichi, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?" Eijun asked, puzzled.
"No, nothing. It's just the first time I've seen you so serious, so I was a bit curious," Haruichi replied, his cheeks slightly flushed. A gentle smile appeared at the corners of his eyes, and his pink figure, combined with his soft features and the faint warm blush, created the perfect angelic smile—one that could warm anyone's heart.
For a brief moment, Eijun was slightly captivated. But he quickly regained his composure. He swore to himself—no, he definitely wasn't being charmed. And no, he definitely wasn't charmed. Probably...
"Ah, I was just thinking about something earlier. There are a few things about Ouya's ace that I find a bit concerning," Eijun coughed lightly, steering the conversation back to the main topic. His casual deflection was so smooth that Haruichi didn't even notice.
Haruichi nodded and said, "Yeah, Wakabayashi Gou is quite an impressive pitcher with his control and that forkball of his. He's definitely a formidable opponent."
"That's true, but there's still something..." Eijun nodded at first, then shook his head slightly and sighed.
"What is it? Is there something else bothering you, Eijun-kun?" Haruichi asked, genuinely curious. After all, it wasn't often that Eijun showed such a thoughtful expression.
Could it be that Ouya's ace was even stronger than he appeared, to the point that even Eijun felt wary? If that were the case, then they'd need to reassess this pitcher. Haruichi couldn't help but entertain this thought.
However, this time, Haruichi was mistaken.
While Eijun did acknowledge and appreciate Wakabayashi's skills, he wasn't overly intimidated.
Among the six aces Seido had faced in the fall tournament, Wakabayashi's strength ranked around fifth—or perhaps tied for fourth or even third.
Strictly speaking, the skill gap between Mukai Taiyou, Umemiya Seiichi, and Wakabayashi wasn't that significant.
If anything, Mukai Taiyou was slightly stronger, at least based on the original story's portrayal.
So, while Eijun was cautious and alert about Wakabayashi, he wasn't as wary as he was of, say, Kojima Ryuhei or the hefty pitcher from Seiko.
The reason Eijun was so preoccupied now was simply human nature—the frustration of knowing something but not being able to recall it.
It was like when you want to say something or bring up a topic, but the moment you open your mouth, you forget what it was. Most people would feel bothered and try hard to remember. Eijun was in exactly that situation.
"Well, you could say I'm concerned," Eijun replied, unaware that his demeanor had led Haruichi to such thoughts.
This was also because Eijun's presence and significance in the team had changed dramatically.
As both the ace and the cleanup hitter, if Eijun showed concern about a particular player, naturally, others would take notice.
From their perspective, if someone as strong as Eijun was wary, then they should be even more cautious.
This led to a situation where, during the match against Ouya, Haruichi approached Wakabayashi with extreme caution. As a result, Wakabayashi's little tricks didn't work on Haruichi, leaving the Ouya ace frustrated.
"Ah, forget it. If I can't remember, then I won't dwell on it. A bit of uncertainty in a match can be part of the fun. Besides, after the fall tournament, there's not much left from the original story that I can reference, and the timeline has changed so much. In the end, my own strength is what really matters," Eijun thought to himself after some consideration.
He decided to let it go, adopting a more open-minded attitude. After all, as the saying goes, "To forge iron, you need to be strong yourself." As long as he was strong enough, even if the opponent had some secret weapon, it might work for an inning or a single at-bat, but it wouldn't dominate the entire game.
In sports, being weak is the real sin. Dreams, beliefs, and a love for baseball are important, even necessary. But one must remember that strength is the foundation. Without it, nothing else matters. This is a world where power reigns supreme.
Having come to this realization, Eijun stopped worrying about it. After chatting with Haruichi for a little while longer, he packed up his things, left the cafeteria, and headed back to his dorm.
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