Chapter 748 Only Zhang Han

"The baseball flew out!"

"Aooooooh!"

In the stands, Owada Akiko, the new reporter for Baseball Kingdom Magazine, also shouted for a while before excitedly telling her senior,

"It's Zhang Han! A ball that others could barely touch, he actually hit it out the first time he saw it. It's truly incredible!"

Normally, Fujio would retort as soon as she opened her mouth, but this time he was surprisingly silent.

Owada Akiko looked at her senior in surprise, very curious about what was wrong with her senior.

Seeing the beautiful assistant's gaze, Fujio helplessly rubbed his forehead.

A beautiful partner was indeed pleasing to the eye, but when it came to professional matters, it was not so comfortable.

He first nodded, expressing agreement with Owada Akiko's words.

Then he offered his own opinion.

"Your judgment is not wrong; it is indeed very remarkable."

The vast majority of fans at the scene were excited and cheering solely because of Zhang Han's Homerun.

While they were so happy, the players of Sakurazawa High School could also be proud of their performance.

It was precisely because they had suppressed the Seido High School Baseball Team so badly in the previous innings that the Seido High School Baseball Team's teammates were so excited after scoring runs and conquering the opposing pitcher.

This also indirectly proved how suppressed their mood had been before.

Tracing back to the source, the main reason for the previous series of situations was Sakurazawa High School's Ace Pitcher.

Although Fujio couldn't remember the little guy's name, he already had his own hypothesis about the little guy's pitch.

If his judgment was not wrong, that should not be some quirk ball, but one of the legendary magic balls, the knuckleball.

The appearance of such a miraculous breaking ball should, logically speaking, definitely create a topic and become news.

But there was no way.

Whether it was Sakurazawa High School or the two teams that played against them before, they were both traditional public schools, with no real strength, and even less renown.

As a result, the attention they received was naturally low.

Even if there were a few knowledgeable people occasionally, they mistakenly took such a ball for an ordinary quirk ball.

After today, it would be different.

After this game ended today, that pitcher from Sakurazawa High School would definitely become famous, and very famous at that.

Correspondingly, this would probably be their last game.

"What a pity!"

If they hadn't met the Seido High School Baseball Team so early, if they hadn't met a batter like Zhang Han, Sakurazawa might have gone further.

They might even have become a dark horse that would be remembered forever.

But unfortunately, their luck was a bit poor, and they could only stop here in the end.

After feeling sorry for Sakurazawa, Fujio turned his gaze to the Seido High School Baseball Team's dugout.

By this time, Zhang Han had already run a lap and returned to the dugout.

All his teammates gathered around him, actively high-fiving him.

As the strongest batting lineup in the country, facing a public elementary school with no prior reputation, the Seido High School Baseball Team only managed to score one run by the third inning.

Embarrassing.

Especially after they learned about the game results of Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team and Ichidaisan Third High School, they felt even more pain on their faces.

Compared to the overwhelming victories of the other two powerhouses, what exactly was going on with them?

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Zhang Han stepped forward.

Just like before, this time he again stood at the forefront, helping the team solve the most difficult problem.

"How did you hit the ball out?"

"What's the trick with that guy's pitch?"

The teammates' questions came one after another.

Zhang Han's expression was a bit hesitant.

He also didn't know whether he should say it or not; he felt like saying it would make him seem like he was showing off.

"Just tell the truth."

Coach Kataoka proactively stepped forward to support Zhang Han.

Meanwhile, in the stands, Owada Akiko looked at her senior, her eyes showing a searching look.

"It's rare, even senior thinks Zhang Han's hit this time was beautiful!"

Beautiful?

Fujio, hearing this question, glanced at Owada Akiko.

She only saw the surface and screamed along with those young girls.

She didn't know where the real brilliance of Zhang Han's hitting was this time.

"The opponent's knuckleball can make Miyuki swing three times in a row without touching the ball. What does this mean?"

"It means Miyuki's hitting is no good when there are no runners on base."

Owada Akiko had heard her senior grumble about this before.

So she thought that saying it now would definitely not be a problem.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she said this, Fujio looked speechless.

"Miyuki's focus is indeed a bit lacking when there are no runners on base. But if you think he's completely useless, then you're dead wrong. Even within the powerhouse Seido High School Baseball Team, Miyuki's talent in all aspects is top-notch. Coach Kataoka made him the core Fifth Batter not just because of his performance with runners on base."

Speaking of Miyuki, one cannot help but mention Zhang Han.

Why is it that such an excellent Miyuki seems to have only an average reputation within the Seido High School Baseball Team, and even throughout Tokyo?

The main reason is that he happened to be in the same year as Zhang Han.

But even Miyuki, whose fame and presence were discounted, is still a top-notch star player nationwide.

To be able to make such a person miss three consecutive swings.

Nagao Akira.

In other words, the Ace Pitcher of Sakurazawa High School is definitely not a simple person.

The knuckleball he painstakingly honed could not be a simple pitch.

Fujio would stake his reputation on this point.

On the other side, in the dugout of the Seido High School Baseball Team, Zhang Han, facing his eager teammates, honestly revealed everything he had observed.

"The baseball itself has no rotation, and it changes irregularly during its flight, and the irregular changes are not small. It is very difficult to hit the ball accurately after seeing it clearly."

At least half of the teammates in the Seido High School Baseball Team's dugout were confused.

They had only heard of the knuckleball as a breaking ball before, knowing it was powerful.

They had never really studied the principle of this pitch.

The other half, being more eager to learn, had some understanding of the knuckleball, a magic-ball-like breaking ball, from different sources.

As soon as Zhang Han spoke, they understood.

The level of this knuckleball is very high.

Chris looked at Nagao Akira on the pitcher's mound with complicated eyes.

"This kid's perseverance is truly formidable."

From everything the opponent showed, Chris could tell that this pitcher named Nagao Akira actually didn't have much talent.

The fact that he could hone the knuckleball to such an extent meant that he hadn't done anything else in his three years of high school.

He had been painstakingly studying the knuckleball.

But to be able to persevere for three years, day in and day out, especially when there was no visible future.

Chris was seeing it for the first time.

As for why he judged that Nagao Akira had seen no glimmer of hope for the first two years, it's simple.

Because just before, Sakurazawa High School was still a first-round exit team.

Although there were reasons of luck involved, if Nagao Akira had already mastered the knuckleball at that time, they wouldn't have been so miserable.

Thinking about it this way, this guy named Nagao Akira is really quite terrifying.

"I used to hear people say that there are many monsters who bet their entire three years of high school on baseball. But I thought only those who entered powerhouse schools had such resolve. I never expected..."

An ordinary high school student, without much external pressure, could achieve such a degree.

"What drives people forward are ambition and interest. We have both, he probably belongs to the interest category," Zhang Han said thoughtfully.

This explanation was more palatable to the teammates of Seido High School Baseball Team.

It wasn't impossible for the other party to simply be doing it out of interest.

There are also many people who love musical instruments or chess and spend all their spare time on these pursuits.

"Stop talking so much, how exactly did you hit that kind of ball?"

Isashiki Jun couldn't help but ask.

He was so angry, partly because there was no good way to deal with the pitcher on the pitcher's mound.

On the other hand, he was angry at himself.

He was originally just left behind by his junior, but now he couldn't even see his junior's taillights.

What exactly had he been doing for the past three years?

Zhang Han, after hearing his senior's words, suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"Although that guy's knuckleball is well-executed, it's not without weaknesses."