Chapter 223: The Evolving Fastball

Miyuki heard this number and couldn't help but smile: "Your pitching seems to have changed."

"Oh? What kind of change?" Huangqian Yangyi asked; he had only been focused on pitching and hadn't really paid attention.

"Two-stage acceleration!" Miyuki said.

"Two-stage acceleration?" Huangqian Yangyi was stunned for a moment, then reacted, "Are you talking about the spin rate?"

Miyuki nodded; talking to Huangqian Yangyi was always easy, "Your spin rate has increased quite a bit, which causes the velocity to decrease less in the latter half of the pitch. Visually, it looks like a two-stage acceleration, creating the illusion for the Batter that the baseball is suddenly speeding up."

"Hah, so that means my Fastball has become even more formidable." Huangqian Yangyi tilted his chin up proudly.

"Yeah, that's right. But how did it change so suddenly? Did you deliberately increase your spin rate while pitching?" Miyuki asked.

It was clear that Huangqian Yangyi hadn't been pitching at all recently, yet after resting, his pitching had become even more aggressive; how could those who spent all day racking their brains and training desperately compete with that?

"Perhaps it's a case of 'when the water flows, a channel is formed'?" Huangqian Yangyi said. If he really had to explain the reason, even he wasn't sure.

"Growth!"

A voice came from outside the Bullpen.

Huangqian Yangyi turned his head, speechless, and sure enough, he saw Ochiai Hiromitsu, who had quietly arrived outside the Bullpen to eavesdrop and watch.

What a ghostly fellow.

"Coach Ochiai, when did you get here?" Fujiwara Takako was startled.

Ochiai Hiromitsu stroked his small mustache, his face actually flushing slightly, "Ahem, I was here from the beginning."

"Heh." Huangqian Yangyi rolled his eyes, then asked: "Coach Ochiai, you said, growth?"

Ochiai Hiromitsu nodded, "That's right, growth. Technical growth, psychological growth, and physical growth!"

"Over this past year or so, your body has grown a lot, especially in strength and the control of that strength. You might not have felt it before, but after resting for so many days, once the accumulated fatigue was eliminated and your body recovered to its optimal state, perhaps that is the reason your pitching has changed."

After Ochiai Hiromitsu finished speaking, the look in his eyes as he watched Huangqian Yangyi was incredibly intense. It was too perfect; such a Pitcher was simply born for baseball. It was a pity, though—this wasn't someone he had personally cultivated; otherwise, how much of a sense of accomplishment would that be?

Why did he feel a bit envious of Coach Kataoka?

After hearing Ochiai Hiromitsu's analysis, Huangqian Yangyi turned to look at Miyuki: "Quick, keep catching. I need to grasp the feeling of the pitch more clearly."

Miyuki nodded and immediately crouched down, transforming into a cold, unfeeling catching machine.

Whoosh! Bang! Swish~ Pop!

Pitch after pitch, Huangqian Yangyi carefully felt every change in his body each time he threw.

Watching from the side, Fujiwara Takako's gaze remained fixed on Huangqian Yangyi. She didn't know why, but Fujiwara Takako felt that Huangqian Yangyi looked like he was glowing while pitching, making it impossible to look away.

"Hahaha, that's it. I can consciously throw this kind of ball now."

After throwing about a dozen pitches, Huangqian Yangyi stopped, satisfied. He had already mastered two different types of Fastballs: one without acceleration and one with it.

"Sigh~"

Miyuki stood up and sighed as he looked at Huangqian Yangyi. He didn't know what to say to express the shock in his heart. It was one thing for this bastard's pitching to evolve, but to be able to switch back and forth between two different Fastballs—wasn't that a bit too foul?

Still, it was truly great to have come to Seido, Miyuki sighed to himself.

Not just at Seido; even after graduating and entering professional baseball, he would still be Huangqian Yangyi's partner! No one could stop him!

"Alright, stop showing off and keep throwing," Miyuki said.

Two days later, the Kanto Tournament opened.

The Kanto Tournament consisted of five rounds of matches, and every opponent encountered in each round was a powerhouse school from various regions. Under the leadership of Huangqian Yangyi, Seido fought all the way to the finals and met Inashiro Industrial once again. Both sides fought with sparks flying, and in the end, Seido won the championship with a score of 6:4.

Of course, the runs were given up by Kawakami and Tanba.

Although Huangqian Yangyi was hit for 6 hits in this game, he ultimately didn't give up a single run.

After this game ended, Seido and Inashiro Industrial were considered by many to be the two strongest teams in Tokyo, and perhaps even all of Japan. The titles of West Tokyo Overlord and West Tokyo Prince were spread by the media to almost every corner.

After the Kanto Tournament ended, Seido entered a break period, with no games until the Summer Tournament in July.

At this time, the Baseball Club once again received a precious two-day holiday.

"Let's go, Huangqian."

Outside the dormitory, Miyuki stood with his backpack, knocking on Huangqian Yangyi's door.

"Coming, coming." Huangqian Yangyi walked out, also carrying his backpack.

Today, he was going to visit Miyuki's home!

The two left the school, and Huangqian Yangyi was somewhat excited.

"It's a deal: we go to your place, and you cook yourself!" Huangqian Yangyi said.

Miyuki pushed up his glasses and said confidently: "Just you wait and see, my cooking skills!"

Not long after, they arrived outside a detached house.

Huangqian Yangyi carried the small gift he had bought and followed Miyuki inside. A middle-aged man wearing a hat and a jacket stood in the entryway.

"Nice to meet you, I am Huangqian Yangyi. Thank you for the invitation, Uncle." Huangqian Yangyi politely greeted Miyuki's father.

Miyuki's father didn't seem to be good with words; after exchanging greetings, he led Huangqian Yangyi into the house to sit down.

Miyuki shook his head helplessly. He had a good relationship with his father, but they didn't really talk much in daily life. So, after Miyuki found a casual topic for the two of them, he ducked into the kitchen.

One hour later.

"Delicious!!"

"Amazing!"

Huangqian Yangyi really hadn't expected that Miyuki actually had some real skills when it came to cooking.

After finishing the meal, Miyuki's father went out to work. Huangqian Yangyi and Miyuki first played board games, then played video games and watched a movie.

"A bit boring, let's go play baseball."

"Hey, hey, today is a day off, and you still want to play baseball?"

Huangqian Yangyi didn't think much of Miyuki's suggestion.

"Just for fun. There happens to be a batting center near my house," Miyuki said with a grin. He knew Huangqian Yangyi couldn't refuse; after all, someone who played baseball every day wouldn't be able to resist wanting to swing a bat, even on a day off.

"Then let's go."

The two left the house; the batting center was no more than 1 kilometer away, so they strolled over. After paying, Huangqian Yangyi took a bat and swung it a few times with a helpless expression; he had clearly come for the holiday, yet he had been dragged over here by Miyuki to hit balls again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The pitching machine was set to a speed of 150 kilometers per hour, and Huangqian Yangyi batted the balls away one after another.

Just then, in the adjacent stall, a blond-haired youth's brows furrowed tightly after seeing Huangqian Yangyi's batting.

"Kamei, what are you looking at?"

Beside the youth, a taller and more sturdily built black-haired youth asked expressionlessly.

Kamei Kei shook his head, turned around, and revealed a smile: "It's nothing, let's continue training, Kiyomine Haruka."