"Coach! Coach!"
Everyone on the field instantly swarmed around Coach Kataoka.
Kataoka, having taken the ball directly to the face, hadn't even taken a step back. He wiped the spot where the ball had hit, eyes wide with surprise.
"I'm fine. No need to rush over."
The players first exhaled with relief, then stared at their coach in disbelief.
To take a pitch like that to the face, even with a mask on, the impact must have been frightening. And yet he hadn't moved an inch. Was this man who coached them every day actually human?
"Very good."
Coach Kataoka gave Furuya Satoru's pitch a high evaluation.
"Furuya Satoru. Practice with the first string starting tomorrow."
He was effectively promoting Furuya Satoru to the first string on the spot.
In the senior team's dugout, the eager hitters were not ready to accept that.
Tajima stepped forward first, eyes fixed on Coach Kataoka.
"Coach, please give us one more chance. We will hit it next time."
They had been completely unprepared for that pitch. Given time to adjust, they should be able to handle it.
It wasn't just Tajima. Almost all the senior team players showed the same reaction.
Coach Kataoka was pleased to see that kind of ambition. But he clearly didn't want the two sides to keep going.
"I feel your determination. And I believe you would be able to hit it eventually. But unfortunately, there is no catcher among the new students who can receive that kind of pitch."
Saying that was already giving the senior team considerable face.
What Furuya Satoru had just thrown was not something that could be hit casually. The reason the senior team players felt so confident wasn't purely because of their own ability.
It was because they had Zhang Han and Chris on their side. And Masuko. And Miyauchi. Even if the second string players couldn't handle the pitch, those first string teammates would recover the team's pride for them.
Coach Kataoka understood this too.
So he had no intention of dragging it out further. Whether the senior team failed to make contact, or they kept hitting Furuya's pitches, neither outcome was good for Seido as a whole. Seniors failing to connect would damage their morale. And if the new student's pitching kept getting hit, someone Coach Kataoka already considered a combat asset for the team might suffer a serious setback.
He gave the senior team a ladder to step down from gracefully.
Someone, however, was not ready to use it.
"I'm up next to hit, Coach. Can you give me a chance?"
Zhang Han, who had been standing at the back of the group, raised his hand.
Coach Kataoka looked at him. Zhang Han looked back without flinching.
"Holy moly. Even after the coach already gave the order, he's still asking to go up."
"You can't blame Zhang Han for that. After seeing that pitch, I wanted to go up myself."
"That's just bold."
Several first string players voiced their admiration. Kuramochi, meanwhile, was staring at the speed gun in his hand with a puzzled expression.
"So? Was that pitch faster than Zhang Han's?"
"No, actually the opposite. Zhang Han's highest just now was 149.5. That kid's pitch was only 149."
Every first string player frowned at the same time.
Slower than Zhang Han, and yet it had seemed several times more overwhelming. What was going on?
Now they understood why Zhang Han was so fixated on this. If their pitch was the same speed but producing completely different results, they would want to get to the bottom of it too.
Coach Kataoka understood Zhang Han's thinking as well.
If Furuya Satoru joined the first string, it wouldn't affect Zhang Han's left-handed pitching much. A pitch with the potential to reach 160 kilometers was a heavyweight weapon regardless of other qualities.
But Zhang Han's right-handed pitching, which was approaching 150 kilometers, would be a different story. Against pitching like Furuya's, it would have no real advantage and would have to yield its position.
Zhang Han was, in some ways, a stubborn person. He wasn't unwilling to admit defeat. But for him to admit defeat, he had to be genuinely convinced. If this confrontation wasn't allowed to happen, it might become a knot he carried for a long time.
Zhang Han was a core presence for Seido. Coach Kataoka could not allow anything to weigh on him unnecessarily.
But letting Zhang Han face Furuya directly right now carried its own risks. Whatever the result, it would affect both players.
"As I said, there is no catcher among the new students who can receive his pitching right now."
Coach Kataoka repeated himself, hoping Zhang Han would reconsider and let it go.
Zhang Han stepping back would also signal something. It would mean Coach Kataoka believed the two pitchers simply weren't on the same level, and a comparison was pointless.
Zhang Han, unfortunately, seemed to have completely missed that meaning.
He kept his eyes on Coach Kataoka and said, in a very steady tone:
"That's fine. I won't need a catcher. I won't let the ball get past my bat."
The entire field went quiet.
Several people wondered if they had heard wrong.
He wouldn't let the ball get past his bat. Did that mean, whatever Furuya threw, Zhang Han was guaranteeing he would make contact?
That was perhaps the most confident thing anyone had said all day. Even for Zhang Han, wasn't that a little much?
That was what they thought. And yet they couldn't help but feel that it was incredibly cool.
Coming from Zhang Han's mouth, those words landed three times cooler than they had any right to.
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