Chapter 644 - 644: New Pitch

"Whoosh!"

The baseball was like a beam of light, appearing instantly in front of Miyuki.

When Miyuki saw the baseball flying towards him, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he raised his glove, preparing to catch the ball.

However, the baseball grazed the top of his glove and flew behind him.

That was exactly where Coach Kataoka was observing, and the baseball hit Coach Kataoka squarely in the stomach.

Fortunately, Miyuki had blocked it with his glove, successfully absorbing ninety percent of the force from the baseball.

But even the remaining ten percent, when it hit someone's stomach, was absolutely not pleasant.

Coach Kataoka bent over in pain.

This man, who was like an iron tower, actually bent over?

"Coach?"

"Do you want to go to the hospital?"

Miyuki and Zhang Han were both extremely flustered and quickly stepped forward to ask.

On the contrary, Coach Kataoka looked as if nothing had happened. He stood up and rubbed his stomach with his hand.

"I just got a cramp; it's nothing serious."

After a while, he used his hand to smooth out his breathing.

Then Coach Kataoka looked intently at Zhang Han and nodded.

"For tomorrow's game, starting from the beginning, you should also be prepared to pitch."

Zhang Han was stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted and nodded repeatedly.

"Yes!"

Miyuki felt that his Coach was a bit too willful.

Ever since Zhang Han returned from the hospital, the baseball team's Coach and coaching staff had not pressured Zhang Han to pitch in actual games; he was kept as a weapon being honed for the Summer Tournament.

To be frank, Zhang Han should be relatively unfamiliar with the pitcher's mound now.

Without any practice and without re-adjusting with his teammates, he had only seen Zhang Han pitch once earlier that day, and now he was preparing to have him appear in tomorrow's game.

Isn't this reckless?

But precisely because of Coach Kataoka's arbitrary actions, it was not difficult to see what kind of shock Zhang Han's pitch just now had brought to Coach Kataoka.

Let alone the Coach, even he, the person who was preparing to catch the ball, was momentarily dazed just now.

So much so that he didn't even catch the ball.

"You're good, kid. When did you figure it out?"

"Just in the last game."

Zhang Han was also very satisfied with the newly developed pitch.

"I just don't know if you can catch it with a temporary partner the day after tomorrow?"

"Don't worry, I will definitely not let the ball fly behind me again."

Miyuki said confidently.

"You two, use these two days to get familiar with each other."

Coach Kataoka had no way of dealing with his own disciples' blind self-confidence.

All he could do was let the two players practice as much as possible to avoid any mishaps during the actual game.

Time flew by, and more than a day passed.

On the day of the Kanto Tournament finals, the Seido High School Baseball Team players boarded the bus early in the morning, heading to the game venue.

As soon as they got off the bus, a large group of reporters surrounded them.

These reporters were practically shoving microphones into Coach Kataoka's face.

Manager Ota anxiously tried to hold back the crowd.

"Before the game, we have nothing to say. Please come back and ask after the game is over."

On the other side, the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team players were not much better off.

A group of reporters also surrounded them.

The number of people on both sides was almost equal.

But even so, some people were still not satisfied.

"A Koshien quarterfinalist, the Tokyo Spring Tournament champion, is actually on par with our Koshien championship banner. It's incredible."

Narumiya Mei said with a pout.

"No choice, who told the Seido High School Baseball Team to have Zhang Han?"

With Zhang Han, the Seido High School Baseball Team naturally brought a considerable number of fans and traffic. Reporters are very realistic; they interview whoever can boost their magazine's sales.

If the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team hadn't just won the Spring Koshien championship and wasn't currently on a strong momentum, many people wouldn't have been as interested in whether the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team could win the Kanto Tournament. It's possible that even fewer reporters would have come to interview the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team.

"It seems Zhang Han isn't here?"

The Seido High School Baseball Team players had all successively gotten off the bus.

They stood in a line, a full twenty people.

Among them, one person missing was not that easy to notice.

Of course, key figures were an exception.

The more crucial a person is, the more they are the focus of attention, and once they disappear, they will definitely be noticed.

Zhang Han was one of the best among them.

Even in a team like the Seido High School Baseball Team, Zhang Han's existence was extremely special.

No matter where he stood, he was the center of attention.

So many reporters surrounded the Seido High School Baseball Team, but not everyone had the chance to ask questions to the Seido High School Baseball Team's Coach and players.

A large part of the reason these people were still so enthusiastic was to use this opportunity to find Zhang Han and take a photo for promotional use.

But they were destined to be disappointed; nineteen players got off the bus from the Seido High School Baseball Team, but Zhang Han was nowhere to be seen.

The reporters left dejectedly, and the players of the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team on the opposite side were also incredibly puzzled.

It was understandable for other players from the Seido High School Baseball Team to be absent, but if a core player like Zhang Han was truly absent from this game, then the originally suspenseful game might very well have no suspense at all.

Having gotten rid of the reporters, the players arrived at the locker room.

Zhang Han, who had disappeared earlier, had already changed his clothes in the locker room.

"Your family has boarded the plane?"

Coach Kataoka asked.

Zhang Han quickly nodded: "Thank you, Coach."

If it weren't for Coach Kataoka's special consideration, it would have been impossible for him to send his mother and sister to the airport.

Even if he didn't delay the game, such a thing would have been very difficult to get permission for.

"The weather is good today, the plane was not delayed and took off directly."

"Go to the field later and perform well."

Coach Kataoka did not continue the topic but instead imagined in his mind the expressions on the faces of the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team players when they discovered Zhang Han was not there.

Very shocked, with a hint of pleasant surprise in their shock.

It seemed that not having to face Zhang Han made the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team players incredibly happy.

But their beautiful dream was destined to be shattered.

"The Kanto Tournament final, the game between the West Tokyo Seido High School Baseball Team and the West Tokyo Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team, officially begins!"

With the umpire's command, the surrounding cheerleaders went wild, cheering madly for the players of both teams.

"Seido! Seido!!!"

"Inashiro... Inashiro..."

In the top of the first inning, the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team was on offense.

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