Chapter 704 - 704: Invisible Pitch

"How fast do I need to pitch to defeat you?"

Sawamura asked earnestly.

Zhang Han was asked, and didn't know what to say.

"As for ball speed, increase it by two more levels."

"Just two more levels will be enough to deal with you?"

Sawamura asked excitedly.

After joining Seido High School Baseball Team, Sawamura had learned a few things. He now knew that ball speed increased by five kilometers per level.

Hmm.

"I mean, if the ball speed increases by two more levels, I won't be able to guarantee hitting the baseball out of the park!"

Toujou almost burst out laughing when he heard Zhang Han's follow-up.

As expected of Zhang Han, he certainly had a way with words when retorting.

Even Sawamura felt the malice Zhang Han directed at him. His mood quickly sank, and he didn't say a word.

His current average ball speed was about 125 kilometers per hour.

After entering high school, he clearly felt growth. According to Chris, if he persevered, he should be able to improve by one to two levels very quickly.

As for whether there was a chance for further improvement?

That would depend on his own efforts and whether luck granted him such talent.

Overall, there shouldn't be too much of a problem for him to raise his ball speed to 135 kilometers per hour in the future.

This was also why Sawamura believed he had hope.

But Zhang Han's words completely knocked him from the clouds to hell.

Even if his ball speed truly increased to 135 kilometers per hour, defeating Zhang Han would still be impossible.

Sawamura's intuition was very accurate; he knew that the senior in front of him wasn't lying to him. With his current quirk ball, even if he increased his ball speed to 135 km/h, he shouldn't expect to pose a threat to Zhang Han.

Sawamura left dejectedly.

Zhang Han looked at Sawamura's retreating back, his gaze deep.

Although he said that to Sawamura, in reality, Sawamura's quirk ball was quite powerful.

Even now, his quirk ball could make most high school hitters feel tricky.

As long as his ball speed could increase by another notch, it should be enough for him to represent Seido High School Baseball Team in games.

Of course, only against ordinary opponents.

Against Ichidaisan Third High School and Inashiro Industrial, relying solely on Sawamura's quirk ball, even if he increased his ball speed to over 130 km/h, it would be difficult for it to have much effect.

"To truly become a representative of the First string, he still needs more weapons."

So, even though Coach Kataoka had high hopes for Sawamura, whether Sawamura could truly make rapid progress and advance to the First string in the remaining month or so was still an unknown.

As a member of the baseball team and also Sawamura's senior.

Zhang Han believed it was necessary for him to provide good guidance to his junior on his path to growth.

On the other side, Sawamura returned to the field dejectedly.

Chris and Miyuki had not yet left.

They had guessed earlier that the impetuous Sawamura would soon get an answer from Zhang Han.

No matter what answer he received, and no matter if Zhang Han directly rebuffed him or patiently guided him.

Chris's task was to guide Sawamura's thinking back to the correct path.

Regardless of the result and process, he had to summarize it into one point.

This point would be the motivation and direction for Sawamura's future efforts.

Sawamura's return was very unexpected for Chris and Miyuki.

He neither showed the relief of having received an answer nor the anger of being rebuffed.

He looked completely lost, as if he had instantly lost all his fighting spirit.

Was the effect that bad?

Chris and Miyuki exchanged worried glances.

A player's emotional fluctuations were, by rights, a normal thing.

But not at this time.

There was barely more than a month until the Summer Tournament began.

The final selection for the Seido High School Baseball Team's First string couldn't be delayed until then, so the timing had to be moved up.

Even after the First string was formed, they would need time to train and gel together, which would take more time.

Based on Chris and Miyuki's experience, the Coach should have almost finalized the roster for the new First string.

Those who would have the opportunity to train with the First string players, meaning those who had a chance to join the First string before the Summer Tournament, were also about to be determined.

If one didn't make this roster, there would be no chance to enter the First string, let alone represent the baseball team in games.

And the announcement of this roster, according to Chris's previous experience, would not exceed three days.

The roster would be announced in at most three days.

In other words, if Sawamura couldn't get Zhang Han out even once in the next three days, it would be very difficult for him to be on the roster.

This time was too short; even if Sawamura went into it confidently, his chances of success were not very high.

If he were to approach it with such a gloomy attitude, he might not even have the slightest bit of chance left.

"Under what circumstances do you think he would have a chance to train with the First string players?"

Chris asked Miyuki.

For Miyuki, this question was not difficult to answer.

"Either Zhang Han goes easy on him, or this guy can surprise him by learning a special move in these two days. Getting Zhang Han out two or three times might be difficult, but if the special move is good enough, tricking him into hitting it once isn't impossible."

Chris nodded slightly.

Miyuki's judgment was similar to what he had thought.

Fighting Zhang Han with only Sawamura's current weapons was indeed very difficult.

However.

In today's showdown with Zhang Han, Sawamura didn't give his all. Perhaps he thought he did, but in reality, he didn't.

"Do you still remember when the Coach taught you to practice pitching using a towel?"

Chris suddenly asked.

Sawamura nodded, puzzled.

He had been practicing constantly recently, never slacking off.

He also felt that this kind of practice was very effective, and his ball speed had started to make slight progress.

Because of the short time, others might not notice it yet, but Sawamura could clearly feel his own improvement.

"It's useless. Zhang Han said that even if I increase my ball speed to 135 kilometers per hour, he can still hit it."

As he spoke of his sorrow, two lines of hot tears streamed down Sawamura's face.

The young man felt such profound despair for the first time, as if no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make it to the First string.

"Don't be silly!"

Chris said unceremoniously.

"Let alone you, how many people across the country can confidently get Zhang Han out? In a game, with four or five at-bats, they are often very satisfied if they can get Zhang Han out once or more. Why do you think you are now better than those top pitchers in the country?"

It was certainly good for Sawamura to aim to defeat Zhang Han.

Setting one's goals higher also provided motivation to move forward and work hard.

But if he gave up on himself just because he couldn't defeat Zhang Han.

That would be ignorance.

Chris believed his top priority was to correct Sawamura's mindset.

After listening to Chris, Sawamura indeed felt much better.

As a single-minded individual, he was quite easy to persuade.

"Besides, you're not without a single chance. In tomorrow's showdown, we can give Zhang Han a surprise. If you're lucky, you might even get him out once."

"Is Chris going to teach me some secret technique? Something like an anime hero's ultimate move?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Chris was utterly confused.

"Haha..."

Sawamura let out an awkward laugh.

So these two seniors also had things they didn't know.

"Let's adjust your pitching form! Your body is already much more flexible than average people, especially your wrist. Lower your release point slightly; it shouldn't affect your pitch too much, right? Try it like this."

Chris demonstrated.

When preparing to pitch, he swung his arm behind his body and gently pressed it down.

Because his bones weren't that flexible.

Chris could only barely manage such a movement. If he pitched with that posture, it would greatly affect his ball speed and control accuracy.

Only Sawamura's body could do this without strain.

Sawamura wasn't too satisfied: "Is just this adjustment enough? I always feel like it's not quite enough..."

"Try it first. I thought of it when I was catching for you. And remember what the Coach taught you before, to throw the ball past the batter."

After teaching Sawamura, Chris ran to the catcher's position, ready to catch the ball.

Sawamura then threw the already prepared ball according to Chris's instructions.

It was very simple, and there was no difficulty for him.

Although this posture couldn't increase his ball speed, it also wouldn't diminish his pitching feel.

"Whack!"

Chris, who caught the ball, showed a slight smile on his face.

"Very good!"

Miyuki, who was observing all of this, was a little puzzled after seeing this scene.

From his position, there was no difference at all, okay?

"Is there any difference? You look very excited!"

Upon hearing Miyuki's question, Chris truly smiled.

"You can't tell by standing there. You can take a bat and stand in the batter's box to try hitting it; you might be surprised."

Miyuki listened to Chris and indeed took a bat, preparing to stand in the batter's box to observe.

"You don't need to think about any specific pitch. They're all straight pitches, so you can hit with confidence."

Chris said this specifically, but Miyuki was unwilling to believe a single word.

"Then I'll wait and see."

He fixed his gaze on Sawamura, who was pitching.

First pitch.

"Whoosh!"

The baseball flew over uneventfully and landed in Chris's glove.

"Whack!"

"Strike!"

Chris smiled and held up a finger.

His meaning seemed to be that they were now leading by one strike.

Miyuki's expression turned grim.

Although he had just intended to observe and let the first pitch go, since Chris had already made the situation tense, as a key First string player for Seido High School Baseball Team, he naturally had no retreat.

"You can't get Zhang Han out with this kind of pitch, so you're trying to get me out? If you want Sawamura to regain confidence this way, then I'm sorry, I won't cooperate."

Miyuki said, raising his bat high.

He had let the first pitch go because he was observing.

For the second pitch, he would not hold back for anything.

Seeing Miyuki adopt a serious stance for the showdown, Chris nodded almost imperceptibly, while also giving Sawamura a signal.

Let's start, try using the new pitching form I just taught you.

Although Sawamura didn't feel any difference, since Chris had requested it, he unhesitatingly threw the baseball in his hand.

Hmm?

Miyuki, standing in the batter's box, quickly noticed something unusual.

Before, he could always see Sawamura's release point when he pitched. Plus, Sawamura's ball speed wasn't very fast, so if Miyuki wanted to, it was relatively easy to hit his pitches.

But now, Miyuki suddenly found that he couldn't see Sawamura's release point at all.

His arm was too flexible and had completely fallen behind his body.

Due to the obstruction of his chest, he couldn't see the baseball at all.

Miyuki had a vague bad feeling.

If he couldn't see the release point, many things were difficult to judge.

Just then, Sawamura actually took a step, preparing to pitch.

Miyuki's pupils suddenly widened.

He carefully observed every one of Sawamura's movements. Although he had already noticed that this guy had taken a step and was preparing to throw, he still couldn't see the release point.

Where was the baseball? Where did the baseball go?

Just as Miyuki was wondering, the baseball finally appeared.

It wasn't until Sawamura began to release the ball that he saw the baseball flying over.

Fast.

So fast.

This wasn't the fastest ball Miyuki had ever seen.

Both Zhang Han and Furuya Satoru's ball speeds were definitely much faster than this pitch.

Miyuki's feeling was, to a large extent, due to Sawamura's previous ball speed being too slow.

This pitch now gave him the feeling that the ball speed had suddenly surged by 10 kilometers per hour.

Miyuki barely swung.

"Ping!"

The bat was still a little late, and the baseball hit the bat, bouncing high.

Chris stood up and walked seven or eight steps forward, catching the pop fly in his hand.

"Whack!"

"How does it feel? Are you surprised?"

Caught off guard, even Miyuki was tricked by Sawamura's pitch.

If Zhang Han were up, he might even fall for it if he wasn't careful.

"It's quite surprising, but not enough. If his Fastball could enhance its movement, there might be an even bigger surprise."

Miyuki made this suggestion largely because he had lost face.

He shouldn't be the only one losing face.