SWNOVELXO Chapter 189: <189> Transformation
Chapter 189: Transformation
Evening, Mealtime
As Sendo stepped into the dining hall, the first thing he noticed was Sawamura, donning a headband from Masuko, pretending to serve meals like a pro.
"What are you doing?" Sendo decided to mess with him.
"Huh?" Sawamura turned around, startled.
"Giving up on baseball to become a manager? Hmm... I think you'd be great at it!" Before Sawamura could respond, Sendo kept teasing.
"..." Sawamura gritted his teeth, unsure how to retort with his typical clumsy charm.
"Well then, Manager-san, grab me an extra helping of meat! Save me the hassle!"
"Who's the manager, huh? Sendo, are you trying to pick a fight with me?" Sawamura finally snapped.
"Relax, relax. Just get me some food!"
"Aren't there other people here? Like Fumino... san?" Sawamura glanced at the long line in front of Fumino, sighed, and gave Sendo an awkward look.
"Exactly, so help me out! I had an intense practice session today, and I'm starving!" Sendo raised an eyebrow at him.
Reluctantly, Sawamura started serving food for Sendo.
...
When it was Chris's turn, Sawamura gave him an overflowing plate, especially with a mountain of rice that could rival several normal bowls. Somehow, it didn't topple.
"What are you even trying to imitate?" Chris's amused question added to the hilarity.
The result? Chris's unique tsundere side was on full display, giving Sendo plenty of entertainment.
Sendo couldn't help but think that Sawamura and Chris made the perfect pair.
That day turned out to be particularly fun for Sendo.
Sawamura's attitude had taken a 180-degree turn, much to Sendo's amusement.
Spending time with Sawamura, who was unusually attentive and polite, provided endless laughs.
From bowing respectfully in the morning to waiting outside the restroom with a mountain of tissues for Chris, Sawamura's antics reached new levels.
By evening, he even suggested ambushing Chris at the bathhouse.
Seeing it all in person was far different from watching it in anime.
What surprised Sendo the most was Chris's unexpected tsundere streak. To think someone so gentle had such a side—it was just too good!
...
Meanwhile, Sawamura had developed an unusual quirk: flaunting random bits of knowledge. Whether it was something a senior told him or some trivia from a strange book, he couldn't resist showing off, regardless of its relevance.
As the Kanto Tournament ended, Seidou's practice shifted focus toward preparing for the Summer Tournament.
The influx of reporters, drawn by the team's performance, was noticeable.
Most attention was on Furuya, the emerging ace pitcher who gave hope for Seidou's future.
Sendo, however, was pleased to see Sawamura beginning to think more deeply about baseball.
Although, given Sawamura's personality, it wouldn't yield immediate results. Still, it was a promising sign.
Unfortunately for Sendo, Sawamura's newfound seriousness translated to pestering him with questions or bragging about minor discoveries, which was borderline exhausting.
Thankfully, Chris absorbed much of Sawamura's attention. Chris's demeanor was also visibly improving, with his eyes regaining their former brightness.
In true tsundere fashion, Chris subtly took charge of their interactions, like making Sawamura run laps under the guise of warming up for a game of catch.
...
After an entire morning of relentless running, Chris finally told Sawamura to stop.
"Alright, next is 20 sprints, then stretching exercises!"
"Everyone else is already eating dinner!" protested Sawamura, only for Chris to ignore him and walk away, effectively shutting him down.
Watching this unfold, Sendo couldn't help but feel too entertained to head to dinner early.
Finally, after what felt like ages, it was time for pitching practice.
"Ninth inning, two outs, bases loaded, full count. One hit would end the game. What pitch would you throw?"
Chris's question immediately clicked with Sendo—it was clear the prior physical training was meant to simulate such high-pressure scenarios.
Sawamura's response?
A straightforward fastball down the middle, his only viable option.
Chris and Sendo both knew it was the right choice.
Sawamura executed the pitch with a fiery determination that impressed Sendo.
However, Chris's follow-up scenario—imagining a walk-off home run against Masuko—highlighted the complexities of baseball.
It pushed Sawamura to explore his unique potential further.
With the question "What makes you special?" lingering in the air, Chris left for dinner.
"After all that fuss, he only threw one pitch!" Sendo remarked, unable to resist a jab.
"Hey, Sendo! What do you think my special trait is?" Sawamura, still puzzled, turned to Sendo.
"Figure it out yourself! That's what Chris-senpai said, didn't he?" Sendo replied, walking off to eat.
After all, Sendo was just a spectator. If he solved everything for Sawamura, wouldn't that make him an even bigger pest?
Sawamura's clinginess was already overwhelming. The thought of dealing with an upgraded version of Sawamura was unbearable.
Better to let Kanemaru handle the adhesive Sawamura 2.0!
...
By the afternoon, Sendo heard that Sawamura was going around asking everyone what his unique trait was.
However, Sendo didn't have time for such things—there was an important practice game against Teito, a renowned powerhouse team from East Tokyo.
East Tokyo's baseball scene was dominated by Teito, unlike West Tokyo, which was a battlefield of many competitive teams.
After school, while changing into his uniform to get ready for the game, Sendo accidentally stepped on a stray bat on the ground and fell flat on his face.
The result? He twisted his ankle, and the doctor recommended three days of rest.
Under normal circumstances, Sendo would have been thrilled to have three days off. But with an important game coming up, it was the worst timing!
Coach Kataoka removed Sendo from the starting lineup, leaving him to watch the game from the sidelines.
He could only sit there miserably as his teammates started strong—the third-year players immediately scored three runs with three consecutive doubles in the first inning.
The sight made Sendo want to leave.
Meanwhile, on the Second String field, Sawamura was starting on the mound. It turned into one of his infamous moments.
In an attempt to improve his control, Sawamura sacrificed power entirely, throwing slow pitches right down the middle—easy for the opposing batters to crush.
Unable to hold back his laughter, Sendo switched fields to watch the Second String game.
Sawamura's overconfidence, thinking he could master control with mere effort, was a joke to him.
"If control were that easy, wouldn't everyone have mastered it already? What's the point of you then, Sawamura?" Sendo thought to himself.
What Sendo didn't know was that, despite Sawamura's naivety, his confidence stemmed from Sendo's own pitching ability.
Sendo's precise control, showcased in their first-ever one-on-one match, left a lasting impression.
What Sawamura didn't realize, however, was that Sendo's exceptional control was a result of natural talent and a trade-off in velocity.
In elementary school, Sendo's full-power throws could barely maintain a four-quadrant target.
By the time he was in junior high, he hadn't thrown at full power for nearly five years.
But Sawamura, the fool, believed control was simple.
After Sawamura was substituted, Sendo knew Chris would step in with his trademark "motivational speeches." So, he returned to the First String game.
As soon as he arrived, he saw Furuya injured, getting sent to the Second String to run laps as punishment.
This served as a wake-up call for Sendo—laziness was acceptable, but the details must never be neglected.
For Furuya, Sendo could only shake his head. "What are the odds? I just got injured, and now Furuya's hurt too. The difference is, I had an accident, while Furuya didn't take care of himself."
Sendo also noticed a key distinction between himself and Furuya.
Furuya's pitching relied heavily on his fingertips, specifically the front edge and nails.
Sendo, on the other hand, generated spin using the pads of his fingers, which allowed for higher revolutions.
...
Tanba, a third-year pitcher with no fallback, seemed to have reached his peak performance. However, in Sendo's eyes, without mastering a second breaking ball, Tanba could only last one or two rotations through the batting lineup.
Sendo felt he had no right to criticize, especially since he struggled to hit Tanba's curveball consistently in private matches.
If others knew about Sendo's high batting average against Tanba due to being a left-handed batter, they'd want to hit him for complaining.
...
The evening saw the iconic no-light sprint race between the two unlucky pitchers, Sawamura and Furuya.
Both had been substituted due to their mistakes, creating a strange camaraderie.
"Only a month and a half left until the Summer Tournament. I really need to adapt quickly. Time is running out, and I still haven't fully adjusted—this is unacceptable!" Sendo thought, observing the third-years on the sidelines and the two pitchers on the field.
What Sendo didn't realize was that he had already made significant breakthroughs a few days earlier.
Both the seniors and coaches had noticed his improvements, but he remained oblivious.
...
During dinner, a casual conversation revealed how much Sendo had progressed.
"Is it just my imagination, or is Sendo's swing getting smoother and faster?" Jun-san wondered aloud.
"Sorry to burst your bubble—it's not your imagination. That guy's already starting to transform," Yuuki commented, shattering Jun-san's musings.
"So, you think so too, Tetsu? Looks like it's true, then. I didn't expect it to happen so quickly. The coaches thought his full transformation wouldn't come until the Summer Tournament, during the back-to-back games," Jun-san replied.
"It's all because of Sendo's extraordinary talent. Adapting to high school-level pitching is really just about two things.
"One, pitch velocity. In junior high, most pitchers in Nagano barely reached 100 km/h. Even the rare few who broke 130 km/h weren't much faster. High school pitchers, on the other hand, often exceed 140 km/h. The adjustment takes time, as the body struggles to match the rhythm, causing a sense of discomfort that affects performance.
"Two, breaking balls. Junior high breaking balls are nowhere near as varied or effective as high school ones. But Sendo is smart—he completely abandoned trying to hit breaking balls initially, which sped up his adaptation to high school pitching. The mismatch in swing timing is already disappearing, though his swing technique still needs work," Chris explained professionally.
"Got it!" Jun-san replied.
"Jun, Masuko, you'd better step up your game. At this rate, your spots in the core batting lineup might not be safe!" Chris added, hitting a nerve.
Jun-san's fighting spirit reignited. "I won't let him take my spot in the batting order, even if he already has me beat in defense!"
Masuko, on the other hand, felt less confident.
While Sendo had helped him adjust to a short-bat technique, progress had been slow.
Masuko struggled to read pitches and was easily fooled, limiting his improvement.
Sendo could have trained Masuko more intensively, but time was a constraint. For now, he could only let Masuko improve gradually.
...
Recently, Sendo had maintained a staggering .860 batting average in both internal and external matches. This success was due to his strategic approach at the plate.
In his first at-bat, he often relied on fouling off pitches by only hitting half of the ball.
This wore down the opposing pitcher's stamina and increased the chances of drawing a walk or a single.
While focusing on partial swings, Sendo hadn't yet mastered the ability to fully transition to power hitting.
However, this strategy ensured a high batting average. Once the pitcher tired in later innings, Sendo would switch to power hitting, often delivering extra-base hits, keeping his average consistently high.
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