"With bases loaded and one out, Seido High School Baseball Team has pulled through! Reliever Zhang Han has turned the tide…"
Fujita, always known for his composed commentary, showed no composure now. He was impassioned, words tumbling out faster than usual. His adrenaline was surging. As someone who loved baseball, how could he not be moved by a scene like this?
At this moment, Zhang Han was surrounded by a halo of glory. Commentator Fujita felt no amount of praise was enough. He deserved every word of it.
Even a neutral commentator had become a fan. As for the supporters of Seido High School Baseball Team and Zhang Han's own fan club, the girls in the stands were flushed, hearts pounding as they watched the figure standing tall on the field. This time, their excitement wasn't just about his looks. It was about what he had done out there.
Zhang Han, competing on the field, seemed to carry a certain magnetism that pulled at everyone watching.
Zhang Han himself let out a long breath.
He had made it through.
On his way back to the dugout, the second-year students swarmed around him.
"So that little notebook wasn't written for nothing, huh? I saw hundreds of densely packed words in there. Can you actually remember all of that?"
Isashiki Jun found it hard to believe. With only one night to study, how had Zhang Han retained so much and applied it so freely during the game?
"Jun-san, you wouldn't understand the world of a top student."
Zhang Han said it casually.
It wasn't false modesty; he had always had a strong memory. In terms of studying, he had never even used ten percent of it. Not for lack of effort, but simply because academics didn't interest him. When it came to things he cared about, the results were different. He couldn't claim photographic memory, but anything he had seen once, he could recall with reasonable accuracy.
He had only written down the Inashiro player information once, and it had all stayed with him.
His back-to-back outs against Carlos and Shirakawa owed something to luck and to Miyuki, but his own preparation had played its part too.
"You really aren't humble at all."
Kominato Ryosuke said it with a smile.
The remark actually gave Zhang Han pause.
He hadn't noticed it on his own, but Kominato Ryosuke was right. Fighting alongside his teammates, he had gradually let his guard down. The aloof distance he used to keep had quietly faded. He wasn't sure when it had happened, but at some point he had genuinely started to feel like a part of Seido High School Baseball Team.
Zhang Han smiled. That didn't seem like a bad thing at all.
His teammates went quiet for a moment.
Beauty, at a certain level, transcends gender. It is the most precious thing left behind in the world.
"You'd better smile less, or who knows how many innocent girls you'll lead astray."
Isashiki Jun said, pouting.
Zhang Han blinked, then shot him a look. "Can't I attract the discerning ones?"
His teammates laughed.
They were nearly back at the dugout when Yuuki patted Zhang Han on the shoulder.
"Well done."
"It's all thanks to the Captain's leadership."
Zhang Han had come to understand something. He was trying, in his own way, to be part of this team. The feeling was new, and it was one he had come to value.
Back in Seido's dugout, the mood was jubilant. For Inashiro Industrial, it was the opposite.
Zhang Han's sudden appearance, whether by strategy or by fortune, had shifted the game. Inashiro had been on the verge of putting it away. Now, things had changed. The meal that had been practically in their mouths had slipped away.
That was not easy for anyone to accept. The Inashiro players looked at one another and saw the same thing in each other's eyes: unease.
Zhang Han's pitching hadn't been fully tested or verified yet. But Zhang Han himself was too formidable a presence, especially when standing in the batter's box. The threat he carried onto the field was not something easily forgotten.
To illustrate: if Seido were to put former third-year Azuma Kiyokuni on the mound, or even Yuuki Tetsuya, you would still feel a sense of dread, even knowing their pitching was unreliable. It wasn't the pitch that was intimidating. It was the person standing on the mound.
And Zhang Han's pitching wasn't unreliable. His fastball speed was not far off from Narumiya Mei's. That alone was cause for a headache. With Zhang Han as the pitcher, that headache would probably double.
How to approach the rest of the game was a question worth taking seriously.
Just as Inashiro's hitters were feeling the weight of it, a clear voice cut through.
"A two-run lead is enough. I never expected you to score many runs anyway."
Narumiya Mei still wore his usual expression of pride. He lifted his head and looked across at Zhang Han in the opposing dugout, his competitive spirit rising.
Although Seido had beaten them in the Summer Tournament two months ago, he and Zhang Han hadn't had many direct confrontations in that game. It couldn't really be called a contest between them.
But now Zhang Han had become Seido's pitcher. The opportunities for direct comparison between them had increased considerably.
Zhang Han. Miyuki.
Next, they would see who was stronger.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Seido's hitters stepped eagerly into the batter's box, ready to score.
The result:
"Strike!"
"Strike!!"
"Strike!!!"
"Strikeout!!"
"Strikeout!!!"
"Strikeout!!!!"
Sharp fastballs, occasionally broken up with a breaking ball, gave Seido's middle and lower hitters no time to react. They watched pitch after pitch whistle past, unable to time their swings. By the time they gritted their teeth and committed, it was already too late. Bat and ball crossed like two parallel lines that would never meet.
Seido, having just survived a crisis, had barely rested five minutes before they were back on their feet.
The fans in the stands were buzzing.
"They must be close to ten strikeouts by now, right?"
"Eight. Six innings, eight strikeouts. Inashiro's ace is practically defying the heavens."
The conversation spread through the stands, making it clear to everyone watching: it would not be easy for Seido to turn this around. If they couldn't find a way past Inashiro Industrial's ace, none of it would matter. Not Zhang Han's pitching, not Seido's defense, none of it.
The score was still 6:4, Inashiro leading by two.
Top of the seventh inning. Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team on offense.
Zhang Han had barely finished a glass of water before he had to take the mound again.
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