Unaware of the bombshell that he'd just dropped, Ken rolled his shoulder a few times wearing his usual grin. Meanwhile, word seemed to have spread within the crowd thanks to the shock of the scouts.
By now, everyone understood that Ken had been holding back throughout the tournament. In such a prestigious National Tournament, this guy had sealed his slider until the final game.
Some might call it arrogance, but in truth, it seemed like the guy hadn't needed it at all. In fact, he had not given up a single run despite holding back.
"I don't know whether to be impressed or annoyed…" Tony said, his tone full of exasperation.
"Yeah… Kids these days are brutal." Lorenzo chimed in, his eyes falling on Ken before drifting to the Dodgers players on the bench. It was clear that they weren't taking the revelation of Ken's slider very well.
"Does he even care about being scouted?" Tony murmured, tapping his pen on his notepad. Usually, players would try to showcase their talents in events like this as much as possible, increasing their odds of being seen by scouts and the like.
Yet Ken seemed to be the opposite.
'Wait… Maybe that's not the case?' Tony's eyes narrowed as he stared at Ken deeply. His mind was working, trying to figure out the guy's intentions.
'Why would he hold back until now? Is it some sort of tactic?' He thought, his gaze moving to the coach on the bench. But upon seeing the blank expression on Coach Wyatt's face, he frowned.
'Even the coach seems surprised…'
As he stewed on the matter, his figure finally froze. "No way…" He muttered, as if the revelation was too shocking.
The grin on Ken's face made it seem like he had everything planned. Like some sort of genius who had carefully laid out everything in advance to lull the competing teams into a false sense of security.
Yet now that the final game had begun, he decided to unleash his true potential.
'This guy… All he cares about is winning.'
As the revelation struck Tony, he felt a shiver down his spine. He looked at Ken's tall figure with a new sense of appreciation. When all the other players showcase their abilities to secure scholarship opportunities, Ken alone wanted nothing more than to win.
While it might be a means to an end for others, it was Ken's only goal. He didn't care about the eyes on him, all he wanted was the trophy.
A wide grin crept onto Tony's face as he came to this conclusion, "This competitive spirit… I truly never thought I would see it here."
"Hmm? Why do you look so happy?" Lorenzo asked, hearing his cousin mumbling.
Tony ignored him, all his attention trained on Ken. 'Is this what they call the Japanese fighting spirit?'
Back on the field, Ken's mind was preoccupied. 'Man it feels good to throw the slider again, I can't believe I forgot to tell Steve…' he thought, feeling a little embarrassed.
'Now that we've shown them the slider, their plan should be in shambles.'
"Batting 2nd, Short stop, Kyle."
As the next batters name was announced, Ken watched as the guy walked up to the batters box. Just from the guy's body language, it was clear that he had no confidence to hit the ball, especially after what had just transpired.
But just when Ken was feeling a little sorry for the guy, he saw Steve crouch down into position and call for a forkball.
Ken's face froze, 'Damn, this guy really wants to break their spirit…' He thought, stifling a laugh.
He eventually nodded, getting into position for the pitch. Performing his fluid wind-up, Ken sent the ball flying towards the plate.
WHOOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
Tony's eyes practically jumped out of their sockets as he witnessed the next pitch.
"W—What the hell was that!?" He exclaimed all too loudly.
A few people in the vicinity looked at him oddly, but they soon ignored him. He didn't even notice their presence since he was too busy being utterly shaken.
"Splitter? No… That was a fork." He muttered, feeling explosions go off in his mind. Just how much had this guy been holding back during the tournament?
"Man, I give up. This kid is just too diabolical." Lorenzo said, feeling some pity for the Dodgers. It seemed that he'd kept not one, but two pitches sealed during the tournament, only to reveal them in the finals.
Coach Roberts who had done his best to recover his team's morale, suddenly paled. Ken was their biggest obstacle on the Gladiators, and that was even before he revealed the slider and forkball in his arsenal.
What would have been a tough match regardless, had turned out to be much worse than he had anticipated. If he had been given a couple of weeks to study and research the guy's pitches, it might have been a different story.
'Damn it… Is there nothing we can do?' He thought, biting his nails subconsciously.
The rest of the inning went just about how everyone expected. Since the Dodgers now had to worry about an addition two breaking balls, they began to crumble.
Their original game plan of attacking Ken's fastballs was now no longer viable, leading to the decline of their morale.
Soon enough, Ken struck the other two batters out in quick succession. The 4th inning for the Gladiators had been enough to stomp out any hope that the Dodgers had of making it a close game.
First it was the Grand Slam, followed by the reveal of Ken's 2 hidden pitches. It wasn't surprising that the High School team would be in a sorry state afterwards.
Unfortunately for them, their luck had yet to turn.
After getting the Gladiators 8th batter Nicolas out on a ground ball to the pitcher, their bad luck continued.
WHACK
The right fielder Adam managed to get a good base hit into the outfield, stopping just before the center outfielder could get to it.