Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived

Chapter 452 452: Unique Speed

In the stands, Todoroki Raizo, who had been watching the game casually, suddenly sat up with interest.

Originally, he hadn't planned to bring his players to this game.

But ever since they had defeated Inashiro, reporters had been camped outside their school gate, begging for interviews at every turn.

At first, he had felt a certain pride in that. But he quickly realized it wasn't something to be too pleased about.

If the team made it to Koshien, then there would be real cause for celebration. All the attention in the world would be appropriate then.

But they had only taken a small step, and the media was already pouring on the praise.

Although his original goal had been achieved, new problems could easily follow.

For one, would the players become arrogant from all the attention?

They were fifteen, sixteen, seventeen-year-old boys. How much self-control could they realistically have? And there were already players on the team who didn't need outside encouragement to get carried away.

With the media adding fuel to that, things could get out of hand quickly.

Todoroki Raizo came from a professional baseball background. His playing career hadn't been especially long, but his achievements were not small, and he had seen enough of the world to know how these things went.

Sensing the risk, he had acted quickly. He declined all interview requests and brought the players to watch this game today partly to keep them away from the reporters.

Inashiro. Seido.

Both were prominent powerhouses in West Tokyo.

Although the two teams occupied similar standing and the gap between them wasn't enormous, their styles were completely different.

Playing against Inashiro and playing against Seido were two entirely different experiences.

Bringing everyone to observe in advance seemed like it could only help.

With that reasoning, Todoroki Raizo had brought his players to watch.

He had never expected Hongmo High School to pose any real threat to Seido. His plan had simply been to observe Seido's playing style.

Hongmo had given him an unexpected surprise.

That second-year pitcher was very interesting.

In the Seido High School Baseball Team dugout, the players did not mock the opponent or let their guard down because of the unusual pitching.

On the contrary, their expressions became serious.

A team that had made it to this stage could not be without ability. Given that, the pitcher on the mound had to have something they hadn't yet identified.

The most direct evidence was the reaction of the Hongmo High School players in their dugout.

They weren't panicked or embarrassed. They looked expectant.

If the Seido players still couldn't sense something was off, they might as well not bother playing and surrender on the spot.

And as they had suspected, the subsequent pitches from Mogami revealed something extraordinary.

His second pitch came in at a terrifying 136 kilometers per hour.

That speed alone was nothing special for Seido's players. Most of them could handle it.

But paired with his first pitch, the meaning changed entirely.

There was a speed difference of nearly 70 kilometers per hour between the two.

In the stands, Todoroki Raizo's expression shifted to one of quiet satisfaction.

Using dramatic changes in pitching speed to disrupt the batter's swing rhythm. In professional baseball, there had once been a pitcher who drove everyone to distraction with exactly this approach.

The Hongmo coach really did seem to have something up his sleeve, having found a prospect like this.

Speed variation combined with precise control.

Batters would find it very difficult to adjust.

Kuramochi, at the plate, looked uncomfortable. The opponent was toying with him, constantly throwing off his timing.

"Do you think you're running a circus?"

Pushed to a two-strike count, Kuramochi locked onto the incoming ball and swung.

"Ping!"

The baseball bounced off the ground and went straight into Mogami's glove.

Mogami caught it cleanly and threw to First Base.

"Pa!"

"Out!"

The entire sequence was quick and clean.

It also demonstrated that for all of Hongmo's reputation as the most laid-back team, their day-to-day training had been very thorough.

Kuramochi stared at his bat.

He had thought he had found the right timing. The ball was so slow, after all.

But he had still swung too early.

In the stands, Todoroki Raizo smiled.

That slow pitch looked hittable, but the memory of the fastball made it nearly impossible to find the right rhythm.

To an outside observer, or even to the batter, it might not look like much.

But getting the timing right was genuinely difficult.

He had heard rumors before that Hongmo was the most passive team in Tokyo. Now it seemed that reputation might have had something to do with a hidden asset they were protecting.

This kind of slow-fast pitching combination, paired with a team that appeared passive and unthreatening, could become a very powerful setup.

Hongmo High School.

Tokyo might well have another serious contender on its hands in the future.

It wasn't just Kuramochi. Kominato Ryosuke, whose hitting was precise and instinctive, was also retired.

"Ping!"

When the baseball landed directly in front of the First Baseman, the expressions in the Seido dugout darkened.

They could feel clearly that today's game was not going to be simple.

Kuramochi was one thing. But even Kominato, with his sharp batting eye, had been retired?

In the stands, Todoroki Raizo rubbed his nose, a small smile of amusement on his face.

"It looks simple, but it's not easy to handle. A 70-kilometer difference in speed. The swing rhythm is going to be affected no matter what."

Not just Todoroki Raizo. Many people in the stands were confused at this moment.

"This is Seido? They don't seem like much."

"When it's our turn to play them, we'll show them something."

"Haha..."

"Gah gah gah! Gah gah!..."

Not only the Yakushi players, but even some neutral fans were frowning.

Was Hongmo stronger than expected, or was the Seido High School Baseball Team underperforming?

Looking at the situation, something clearly wasn't normal.

On the pitcher's mound, Mogami, who had been nervous before the game, had now completely settled.

Before the game, both the coach and his teammates had been especially worried about him.

He had limited game experience, and his debut opponent was the Seido High School Baseball Team.

That was an incredibly difficult first test.

But now, it didn't seem as frightening as he had imagined. The Seido batters were human too, and they weren't dramatically stronger than the teammates he faced in practice.

As long as he stayed composed and pitched to his strengths, he could keep Seido's batters in check.

"Third batter, outfielder, Zhang Han."

Zhang Han stepped up to the plate.

Mogami, who had by now convinced himself that Seido's batters were manageable, didn't flinch at the name.

He threw the ball naturally, as he had been doing.

The speed of this pitch was genuinely slow.

Zhang Han showed no sign of swinging.

The Hongmo catcher quietly exhaled behind his mask.

Letting the pitch go?

That was exactly what they wanted.

The more pitches the batter watched, the harder it became to find the right timing. If Zhang Han took two pitches, even with his reputation, the Hongmo catcher was confident they could retire him.

He watched the ball drifting toward his glove.

His grip began to relax.

Then, without any warning, a shadow appeared in front of him.

"Ping..."

The bat came through and the entire space seemed to compress around it.

By the time the baseball was gone, the Hongmo catcher had only then managed to steady himself.

How?

Zhang Han had shown no intention of swinging a moment ago. How had the ball been hit?

Speed.

Zhang Han's bat speed was simply extraordinary. He had waited until the ball had fully entered the strike zone before beginning his swing.

And not only had he caught up with it, he had sent it out of the stadium.

Homerun.

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