Chapter 16: Showdown with Tanba!

A fighting spirit inexplicably ignited within Tanba. He glared sharply at Huangqian Yangyi, then looked at the catcher, Tanaka Wataru, who signaled for a four-seam fastball.

Then, to the astonishment of everyone watching, Tanba actually shook his head at Tanaka Wataru.

"Tanba is doing that?"

"He's got ideas now."

"Interesting."

The upperclassmen of the same year who knew Tanba best were whispering among themselves; this guy, who was always reserved and rarely spoke, actually dared to shake off his senior's pitch selection.

At Home Plate, the catcher Tanaka Wataru was stunned for a moment the instant Tanba shook his head—not out of anger, but out of relief.

*Sniff*, Koichiro, you've finally grown up.

If the situation hadn't been inappropriate, Tanaka Wataru would have really wanted to rush over and praise Tanba a couple of times.

As a Pitcher, how could one not have their own ideas?

Thus, Tanaka Wataru signaled for a Curveball, and Tanba nodded.

Raising both hands, he lifted his left leg high and stepped forward forcefully, whipping his long arm out like a lash, and the baseball in his hand flew out instantly.

A Curveball!

The moment the ball left his hand, Huangqian Yangyi caught the trajectory.

Prepared to hit a Fastball and having already begun his swing, he could not make an adjustment, so he had to force the bat he had just swung to pull back.

The little white ball traced a beautiful arc in the air; Huangqian Yangyi watched as the ball flew toward his body, only to shift and drop into the strike zone as it neared Home Plate.

"Wow, that's really scary."

Huangqian Yangyi sighed; that is the good thing about a Curveball—a Batter with poor mental fortitude would likely be defeated before even fighting when facing a pitch coming straight at their body.

"Strike."

Tanaka Wataru stood up to throw the ball back, then smiled and said to Huangqian Yangyi, "Keep it up."

"I'll hit it," Huangqian Yangyi said, setting his stance again.

The second pitch was an inside four-seam fastball; the speed was high, nearly 140 kilometers, and Huangqian Yangyi locked onto the trajectory and swung decisively. With a *bang*, the ball flew toward First Base and landed in foul territory.

"The angle is sharp; I got jammed."

Huangqian Yangyi shook his bat and said. His dynamic vision was very strong, something no one at Seido knew yet; he had locked onto the trajectory the moment this pitch was thrown, but his swing speed had been a bit slow, otherwise it should have been an Extra-base Hit to the outfield.

What would the third pitch be? Huangqian Yangyi couldn't be sure in his heart; judging from the previous pitch selection, one Curveball, one Fastball, and both had attacked his inside.

Would the next one be a horizontally breaking Curveball? Or a Fastball?

Huangqian Yangyi gripped his bat tightly, stepped forward, and moved closer to Home Plate to wait for Tanba's pitch.

Everyone was shocked to see this; having just seen an inside Curveball, he dared to stand closer to Home Plate—if it was an inside pitch again, wasn't he afraid of being hit by the ball?

Tanaka Wataru noticed this and frowned. Was he guarding against an outside pitch?

No, Huangqian Yangyi's stance wasn't just about guarding against an outside pitch; this guy was deliberately putting pressure on Tanba, making him afraid to throw inside.

Tanaka Wataru, who knew Tanba's personality well, hesitated for a moment, then set his glove: inside pitch!

Since the opponent had issued a challenge, how could he not accept?

Tanba, show some spirit; you can't let a junior look down on you.

The second and third-year seniors didn't even dare to breathe loudly at this moment. Was Tanba's personality really suited for such a head-on confrontation?

On the Pitcher's Mound, Tanba looked at the position of the glove, feeling somewhat nervous, but there wasn't too much pressure; this was training, not a game, and he was very clear on that point.

Moreover, as a Pitcher, how could he not see the meaning behind Huangqian Yangyi's stance? This kid was challenging him.

Throw outside, and even if it was tricky, there was a high probability he would bite.

Throw inside, and he had to worry about whether he would throw a Hit by Pitch.

This was messing with his head!

Realizing this, the usually introverted Tanba's temper flared up.

He whipped his high-raised right hand down fiercely, and the little white ball flew over at extreme speed.

Inside! It was a Fastball!

Huangqian Yangyi took a step back while swinging his bat in a very awkward manner.

*Bang! *

Amidst the crisp sound of the collision, the little white ball flew high into the air.

An infield pop-up!

"What a pity."

Watching the little white ball fly into the sky, Huangqian Yangyi said.

"Yeah, it'll be a Flyout."

Tanaka Wataru stood up and clapped his glove. "But you're already very impressive. Seeing Tanba's pitches for the first time, you managed to track two of them. It seems your talent for batting isn't bad either; you could even hit a pitch like that."

"Thank you for the compliment, Senior, but it would have been better if I could have seen the Curveball again. I wanted to try hitting that one," Huangqian Yangyi said.

"You kid." Tanaka Wataru laughed in spite of himself; was he complaining that he hadn't called for a Curveball?

After Huangqian Yangyi walked off, Tanba, having finished pitching to five Batters, also left the field, though he looked a bit dejected.

Facing a First Year freshman, he had been tracked on two out of three pitches, and one of those had been hit during a head-on confrontation; he had lost.

Tanba went off dejectedly with the second-year Catcher Miyauchi Keisuke to the Bullpen to adjust his mindset.

"You guy, I couldn't tell during the test earlier; how come your batting is so fierce today?" Miyuki asked with a grin, draping an arm over Huangqian Yangyi.

"The tests were all fixed trajectories; they could only test basic skills. It would be a miracle if you could tell anything from that," Huangqian Yangyi said.

"True, but if it had been me calling the pitches just now, I definitely wouldn't have let you hit it!" Miyuki said, pointing his thumb at his own chest.

Huangqian Yangyi swatted Miyuki's left hand off his shoulder: "If it were you, how would you have called the third pitch?"

"A low, inside Curveball," Miyuki said.

"Huh? With my stance, you're throwing an inside Curveball?"

Huangqian Yangyi turned and put Miyuki in a headlock, "You brat, you're trying to kill me, aren't you? You're happy if the ball hits me, right?"

"Cough, cough, take it easy, I can't breathe."

In the Dugout, after seeing Huangqian Yangyi's batting, Kataoka Tesshin had remained silent.

"Director, Yangyi's batting," Takashima Rei said.

"Mm, his swing is decisive, but the speed isn't fast enough, yet he managed to keep up with Tanba's fastball twice. It seems he is very good at selecting pitches," Kataoka said.

"His style is very similar to Kominato's, but his physical attributes are even more outstanding."

At this moment, the gaze Takashima Rei cast toward Huangqian Yangyi was as if she were looking at a treasure.

"What a surprising player indeed. Perhaps student Huangqian's batting will also create surprises in this tournament," Department Head Ota said to the two while rubbing his hands.

The conversation of the three reached Chris's ears. Holding his notebook, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly. Regarding batting, both he and Dong Qingguo had taught Huangqian Yangyi their respective techniques in the dormitory.

Especially in terms of pitch selection and guessing the Catcher's pitch calling, Chris had been almost entirely selfless, wishing he could pass on everything he had learned in his life to Huangqian Yangyi.