Chapter 739 - 739: Conquered

The ball?

How could the ball suddenly disappear?

Azuma Kiyokuni, standing in the batter's box, couldn't hide the confusion in his eyes.

He even turned to look at Miyuki's glove several times, to confirm if the baseball had truly flown into his glove.

Seeing this, Miyuki proactively flipped his glove over, opening it for him to see.

The white baseball lay quietly in the glove, as if it had no connection whatsoever to the baseball that had flashed by like a white light just moments before.

But, it was it.

This isn't to say that Azuma Kiyokuni had already recognized the true nature of this baseball.

Mainly, Miyuki Kazuya wasn't a magician; he couldn't conjure a baseball out of thin air.

So, the one in his glove must have been the one he just caught, the one Zhang Han pitched.

"This little guy…"

Azuma Kiyokuni looked at Zhang Han as if he were seeing a rising superstar.

Although this superstar has not yet fully matured, he still has a long way to go in the future.

But the current Zhang Han has already begun to display that dazzling brilliance.

"Let me see what this future superstar's pitch is all about."

Azuma Kiyokuni quickly adjusted his mindset, preparing to face Zhang Han with his full attention.

He even prepared to cast aside the outcome.

Even though the words of the youngsters around him were very unpleasant, causing the veins on his forehead to throb incessantly, Azuma Kiyokuni still focused more attention on Zhang Han.

This was a demonstration of his strong mental fortitude as a professional baseball player.

"Is this senpai even good? He didn't even touch the ball…"

"Don't talk nonsense, the opponent is a professional player, and he already has game records. I heard he even hit a Homerun."

"As a professional rookie, he's simply incredibly strong."

"Is he really that amazing? When facing Zhang Han-senpai, it's not obvious at all…"

"Azuma-senpai is definitely amazing!"

Isashiki Jun pouted in dissatisfaction, defending his idol.

"Is he even better than Zhang Han-senpai?"

Isashiki Jun, who had originally intended to criticize his junior, immediately felt as if his throat had been choked, unable to utter a single word.

Azuma-senpai, of course, is super strong.

But to say he surpassed Zhang Han, it doesn't seem so...

After all, Zhang Han's performance last year was in no way inferior compared to his senpai.

The man who was able to win the Koshien's strongest rookie, no matter who he stands with, probably won't be inferior to the other party.

Azuma Kiyokuni, of course, heard these words.

His ears were sharp; even though Isashiki Jun was about five or six meters away from Azuma Kiyokuni, he still heard everything clearly.

"Zhang Han, surpassed me?"

Azuma Kiyokuni would absolutely never admit this, even if he were beaten to death.

He had to prove it.

He absolutely had to show these younger students who were watching.

Who was the strongest hitter in the Seido High School Baseball Team?

Even though he had already left the team, as long as he stood on the grounds of Seido High School again with a Seido player, he would absolutely not lose to anyone.

Absolutely not.

Come on, let me take a good look at what this disappearing magic ball of yours is all about.

This time, Azuma Kiyokuni was determined to wait for the right moment before striking.

He absolutely could not be as reckless as before.

Just now, not only did he swing, but because he was too eager, he completely missed the ball's change.

This was too disadvantageous.

It was as if he had just given the opponent a free strike, without even gathering any observational data.

This time, he definitely...

Just as Azuma Kiyokuni made up his mind, Zhang Han moved again.

He widened his stance, extending his arms and legs to their limit, then, as if naturally, his body began to exert force.

His foot landed heavily, firmly planted on the ground. At the same time, his arm, like a windmill, drew a circle.

And then the baseball in his hand flew out...

The motion was very fluid.

Before the baseball flew out, the feeling it gave was not at all like a pitch, but rather like a dance.

So much so that Azuma Kiyokuni was slightly stunned.

Then he saw the white baseball, like light, instantly dart across.

So fast.

This wasn't an illusion; this was Azuma Kiyokuni's most genuine feeling.

The baseball's speed was incredibly fast, as if even the air couldn't impede its progress.

In the blink of an eye, the baseball had already traversed more than ten meters of space and appeared before Azuma Kiyokuni.

Azuma Kiyokuni, who had originally made up his mind not to swing at this pitch no matter what.

His body, without receiving any commands from his brain, once again moved prematurely.

The moment the baseball flew over, the bat in his hand followed, pushing forward.

How could this be?

Azuma Kiyokuni's mind was filled with questions.

His eyes were clearly still tracking the baseball, so why did the bat in his hand not obey him?

Was it because the pitch of the baseball was too good?

It seems that this is the only reason.

Azuma Kiyokuni's thoughts were completely correct.

The angle at which the baseball flew was simply too good, and countless swings had already formed a habit in his body.

His body simply couldn't ignore such a good pitch.

This pitch was a perfect strike.

Or rather, it was another perfect strike.

It was the exact same pitch he encountered when he first batted against Zhang Han.

If there was any difference, it was that the first time, Azuma Kiyokuni focused more on himself and the bat.

What angle should he use to hit, and where should he hit the ball?

This time, he focused more on the incoming baseball.

Even though his body had already reacted, Azuma Kiyokuni didn't care at all.

His loss was irreversible. The bat had already swung, and the outcome was obvious.

At this moment, the only thing Azuma Kiyokuni could do was to observe carefully how the baseball changed.

Only then could he formulate a hitting strategy.

The bat once again crossed paths with the white baseball.

Despite Azuma Kiyokuni putting all his attention on the baseball, he still couldn't see the ball.

Because the bat blocked it for a moment.

So much so that when the baseball flew past, Azuma Kiyokuni felt for a moment that the baseball had disappeared from his sight.

How could it disappear?

Azuma Kiyokuni was incredibly surprised.

The first time, it might have been a coincidence.

In that state, after Azuma Kiyokuni swung the bat, his body and eyes followed.

But this time, Azuma Kiyokuni's eyes had never left the baseball.

Yet he still couldn't see clearly how the baseball changed.

Of course, it wasn't that he gained nothing at all.

He had just aimed for a genuine Fastball.

However, the baseball did not appear above the bat.

Miyuki, on the other hand, caught the ball beautifully.

This leaves only one reasonable explanation.

"Two strikes!"

Azuma's face became dark as he heard people start talking again. He absolutely would not allow the baseball to fly past again.

This time, he had to hit it no matter what.

Here it comes.

Zhang Han's baseball was as fast as ever.

Because the motion was smooth, without any sloppiness, the baseball flew especially fast.

Especially since Zhang Han's Fastball speed was already very astonishing.

When these several favorable conditions were combined, the power was definitely not as simple as one plus one equals two.

The white baseball arrived in front of Azuma Kiyokuni in the blink of an eye.

Just like the previous two pitches, it was another genuine Fastball.

And it was right down the middle.

Having learned from the previous two lessons, Azuma Kiyokuni was already mentally prepared.

He had even guessed how Zhang Han would pitch.

Right down the middle, definitely not going to work.

His previous two at-bats had clearly demonstrated this point.

Although he didn't know how much it dropped, Azuma Kiyokuni was very confident about the drop.

He focused on the incoming baseball.

He directly aimed to hit two balls below the Fastball's position.

No confidence!

But what if he had no confidence? Having been pushed to two strikes, it seemed he could only choose to go all out at this point.

Azuma Kiyokuni thought so, and he did so.

He aimed for two balls below the Fastball and decisively swung the bat in his hand.

"Boom!"

Bystanding players could even clearly hear the sound of the bat cutting through the air as it swung.

This player, who had already turned professional, was extraordinary.

Just from his swing, one could see some clues.

Such a powerful swing, as long as it wasn't completely off and could make contact with the ball, it could send that white baseball flying fiercely.

However, the bat missed again.

The baseball did not drop as Azuma Kiyokuni had imagined.

Instead, the baseball climbed up a bit.

This is a Rising Fastball?

Ultimately, the bat was at least three or four baseballs away from the baseball.

"Pop!"

"Strike!"

"Strikeout, out!"

The result was obvious, with nothing to dispute.

Azuma Kiyokuni was struck out.

From beginning to end, he was never able to make contact with the baseball once.

The teammate holding the radar gun ran over from afar.

Looking at the quiet scene, he asked, covered in sweat,

"Has it started?"

"It's already over."

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