Chapter 195: A Display of Holiness Before Others

It is not just Kawakami; Tanba is also practicing a new pitch. Although he is being mysterious about it, everyone actually knows it is a forkball.

"Hmm, that's great. Throw it to me later so I can try hitting it," Huangqian Yangyi said.

The current Seido pitching staff has a deep foundation, not to mention Huangqian Yangyi, that freak known as the Overlord.

Third-year Tanba Koichiro learned from his mistakes after last year's Summer Koshien, and his growth is plain for all to see. His pitching speed has broken through 140 km/h, and he carries a sharp, imposing aura; especially when facing the First Years, he always keeps a stern face, and no one dares to strike up a conversation with him.

Next is Kawakami Norifumi, whose valuable sidearm delivery has earned him a stable opportunity to play.

With these two around, a lot of the pressure on Huangqian Yangyi has been shared.

And this year is even more incredible; the addition of Furuya Satoru and Sawamura Eijun will make Seido's pitching staff luxuriously deep.

Just then, a sudden exclamation erupted from the A-side Field. Huangqian Yangyi turned his head to look; it was Furuya Satoru conducting a pitching test.

Although this guy doesn't like to talk, he is a man of action, and he fiercely shocked his First Year peers with his high-speed pitches.

"Damn it!"

Seeing this, Eijun narrowed his pupils, his face full of unwillingness to lose. By comparison, his pitching distance was a bit inferior.

The unyielding Eijun decided he would crush Furuya Satoru in the batting test later. As it turned out, the batting test did not include a bunt, and the bunt he had been practicing hard for half a year was now completely useless.

"So annoying!" Eijun walked to the side of the field, huffing like a cat.

Bang!

A crisp sound came from behind. Eijun looked back and saw that Furuya Satoru had actually hit an extra-base hit.

After Furuya Satoru, Arima Kazusa also performed excellently, blasting an extra-base hit that flew to the warning track.

"Not bad power," Huangqian Yangyi said in a low voice upon seeing this scene.

"That is the talent Huangqian-san discovered during last year's Koshien, right?" Kawakami said with a sigh of admiration.

"Mm, it's him."

"Pretty impressive."

"Still a long way to go," Huangqian Yangyi said.

Kawakami turned his head to look at Huangqian Yangyi, speechless; he didn't know who it was that had been happy about it just a moment ago.

Not long after, the batting practice on the B-side Field began, and Huangqian Yangyi stepped into the Batter's Box.

After taking a deep breath, Kawakami looked at Huangqian Yangyi standing opposite him and threw a curveball with everything he had.

Bang!

The little white ball was whipped away; it was a direct home run.

"Hey, the pitch path is not bad, just a bit slow," Huangqian Yangyi laughed.

Although Kawakami's curveball is not as sharp as Tanba's, it is quite deceptive because of his sidearm delivery. If it were any other batter, they might really have trouble tracking the pitch.

But Huangqian Yangyi is the least afraid of such tricky pitch paths; his eyes see them clearly, and his reaction is fast enough.

Hearing Huangqian Yangyi's words, Kawakami remained silent, then threw another curveball.

After three consecutive pitches, Huangqian Yangyi spoke up: "The completion isn't enough. The pitch path and the release are inconsistent; you still need to practice more."

Kawakami grunted, then said, "Then here comes a sinker."

"Sure," Huangqian Yangyi swung his bat.

This time, a sinking sinker flew in, but Huangqian Yangyi swung and missed. Facing Kawakami's specialty, it was indeed not easy to hit with this super-heavy bat.

After batting practice ended, Huangqian Yangyi went to the Bullpen for his daily pitching training.

Hearing the *bang, bang, bang* sounds coming from the Bullpen, the newcomers couldn't help but turn their heads to look.

"Is that Huangqian-senpai?"

"It must be. Just listening to it feels terrifying."

"Is this the Koshien champion pitcher? I really want to get closer and see his pitching."

The First Years developed different thoughts as they listened to the sounds from the Bullpen. In a place where no one noticed, Furuya Satoru and Eijun stared at the Bullpen with eyes full of burning intensity.

I want to pitch!

The two of them had the exact same thought in their hearts.

Time reached the evening, and after a full day of training, the First String's traditional event was about to begin.

Huangqian Yangyi vs. the entire First String.

The first to step into the Batter's Box was Kuramochi Yoichi.

Since this guy started focusing on practicing left-handed batting, his batting strength has improved significantly.

However, after swinging and missing twice in a row, Huangqian Yangyi easily finished him off with a forkball.

Noticing the commotion here, the First Years from the A-side Field all entered the B-side Field, standing on the sidelines watching and discussing.

Watching Huangqian Yangyi finish off Seido's starting lineup one by one, the newcomers were so surprised their mouths wouldn't close.

This is Seido's batting lineup, one of the top lineups in the country, yet it looked so fragile in Huangqian-senpai's hands.

Three pitches per person; after 19 people, Huangqian Yangyi wiped the sweat from his forehead. He hadn't limited his pitch types today, and he had been firing on all cylinders; he didn't want any accidents to happen the first time he pitched in front of his juniors.

Having performed a display of holiness before others, Huangqian Yangyi left the field amidst the hesitant gazes of his peers.

At night, everyone gathered in the cafeteria again.

"There are only a few days left until the Spring Metropolitan Tournament. I'm so tired," Miyuki complained while eating.

Since this time last year, they hadn't missed a single major tournament and had made it to the very end of each, which meant they had almost no time to rest. Just look, the Spring Koshien had just ended, and the Spring Metropolitan Tournament was about to start immediately.

"We start from the third round, so we can rest for a few more days," Huangqian Yangyi said.

Miyuki still looked listless, poking at the rice in his bowl.

Seeing this, Huangqian Yangyi laughed: "With you like this, your position as Starting Catcher might be in danger, oh."

Upon hearing this, Miyuki hurriedly sat up straight, "I will compete fairly with Chris-senpai!"

"Don't be in such a rush. At the very least, for the Spring Metropolitan Tournament and the Kanto Tournament, you should still be the Starting Catcher, though the summer tournament is hard to say," Huangqian Yangyi said.

"Hehe. I don't really care about being the starter; I'm just happy as long as I can get on the field. But even against Chris-senpai, I definitely won't lose!" Miyuki said, full of fighting spirit.

Just then, the poker-faced younger brother walked over, and Huangqian Yangyi knew what he wanted to say with just a glance.

Sure enough, Furuya Satoru spoke up.

"Miyuki-senpai, could I trouble you to catch my pitches later?" Furuya Satoru asked, bowing.

Miyuki had rice in his mouth and looked dazed and silly.

Gulp~

After swallowing the food in his mouth, Miyuki finally turned his head to take a careful look at this underclassman.

"Well, it's mealtime right now," Miyuki said.

Upon hearing this, Furuya Satoru realized he had been rash and was just about to apologize when he heard Miyuki continue: "You should focus on completing your rookie training for now; come find me once you've made it into the First String."

As he spoke, Miyuki turned his head to look at Sawamura, who had an anxious expression, "The same goes for you; don't come looking for me until you've entered the First String."

Upon hearing this, a thick fighting spirit immediately appeared in both of their eyes.