Chapter 247: The Choice of a New Pitch

Just as Huangqian Yangyi was hoodwinking Sawamura, Miyuki also found Furuya, who was lying on a chair in the equipment room slacking off, inside.

"Hey, what are you doing, kid? It's training time now, and you're actually slacking off here. Get up, right now!" Miyuki stood at the doorway and shouted.

"Let me rest a little longer," Furuya said listlessly.

"Rest for what? Get up and come with me to the bullpen!" Miyuki didn't notice anything unusual about Furuya and continued to shout.

Furuya sat up with a sigh, "But it's so hot today. Can I go get some water?"

"Hot? Which day isn't hot? It's summer right now! You idiot!"

Furuya had no choice but to follow behind Miyuki as he walked out of the building.

"You guy, you must not have eaten enough; you don't have any energy at all."

"So hot~"

As soon as he stepped under the sun, Furuya stopped and hung his head, looking like he was about to melt.

"Nonsense, I already told you it's summer, of course..."

The voice stopped abruptly, and Miyuki's expression immediately became incomparably serious.

Only then did he remember that this guy Furuya came from Hokkaido; the summer there and the summer in Tokyo were on completely different levels. For Furuya, this was likely the first time in his life he had experienced this kind of temperature.

When the two arrived at the bullpen, Huangqian Yangyi saw that Miyuki's expression was off and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Miyuki nodded slightly, walked to Huangqian Yangyi's side, and whispered the problem he had discovered.

"Hmm, that is indeed a problem. This can't get out, lest the opponents find out about this weakness of Furuya's and target it specifically—though even if they don't target him, he's still afraid of the sun," Huangqian Yangyi laughed.

There was almost no good way to overcome climate issues; one could only adapt slowly.

"What we can do now is tell the manager and try to reduce this kid's training volume as much as possible. Observe his condition during training and make sure he doesn't get heatstroke."

Miyuki nodded after hearing this; he thought the same. This inability to acclimatize—if he just pushed through the training, it would only harm his body.

"Let him throw two sets of pitches first to see his condition," Miyuki said as he began to put on his protective gear, while simultaneously instructing Furuya to warm up.

Soon, ten pitches were thrown, and Huangqian Yangyi stood to the side, grinding his teeth.

"No, this is floating way too high."

"It is a bit," Miyuki said, being rather tactful.

Huangqian Yangyi sighed and said, "Forget it, stop practicing for now, lest his condition gets worse the more he throws. Furuya, go outside and bask in the sun. Remember to hydrate."

"Hey, hey, you're joking, right?" Miyuki stood up and said. With Furuya in his current state, wouldn't going out to bake in the sun just lead to his funeral?

"Not joking. Bask for ten minutes, rest for ten minutes. Just basking in the sun without training won't be a problem."

And so, outside the bullpen, Furuya stood at attention like a soldier, while Huangqian Yangyi moved a small stool to sit in the shade and watch, observing Furuya's situation while he was at it.

Because there was a game tomorrow, today's training was relatively relaxed, and it was only morning training; from the afternoon to the evening was free time.

Outside the field, a large group of reporters and spectators saw this scene and couldn't understand what it meant. Was the ace of the southern city Seido bullying a First Year player?

"Yangyi, drink some water." Fujiwara Takako held a bottle of ice-cold sports drink and handed it to Huangqian Yangyi.

"Ah, Senior is so kind," Huangqian Yangyi took it and noticed the cap had already been twisted open.

Fujiwara Takako smiled and looked at Furuya.

"Don't worry about him, he has to stand for the full ten minutes before he can drink," Huangqian Yangyi said.

Fujiwara Takako didn't understand what was going on. Did Furuya make a mistake? But if he really made a mistake, the manager should be the one punishing him. What was going on here?

Likewise, Manager Kataoka and Ochiai Hiromitsu also noticed this side.

In just a second, Manager Kataoka understood what Huangqian Yangyi was doing with Furuya. Is it really okay to adapt to the weather like this?

Manager Kataoka wanted to think of other ways, but it seemed that for Furuya's situation, there really wasn't any way to effectively help him adapt to the Tokyo summer.

"Huangqian, don't let Furuya stand for too long. Standing for 20 minutes and resting for 10 is enough."

Ah, this... Huangqian Yangyi didn't know what to say for a moment.

Furuya turned his head to look at Manager Kataoka with a look of utter despair; the resentment in his eyes was enough to supply ten Evil Sword Immortals.

At noon, after training ended.

"There is a game to play tomorrow, so today's training ends here. The game starts at ten tomorrow morning. Don't waste your energy when you get up in the morning; just do some simple stretching and gather at the field before eight-thirty."

"The weather forecast shows that tomorrow's temperature will exceed thirty degrees. Those doing self-training, be careful not to get too tired, maintain your stamina, and get a good night's sleep."

"Dismissed!!"

After Manager Kataoka finished speaking, the team dispersed on the spot, and the players walked out of the field in twos and threes.

"A-Zhe, do you want to go look at the Meikawa footage again together?" Isashiki Jun walked up to Yuki Tetsuya and asked.

"No need. The simulation and deduction are already over. What comes next is to bring out our strength and swing the bat in the game," Yuki Tetsuya said calmly.

"Hahaha, A-Zhe, you are as reliable as ever," Isashiki Jun laughed.

As Yuki Tetsuya left, Isashiki Jun found Kuramochi and Masuko Toru, and the three of them went to study the Meikawa game footage together.

Kominato Ryosuke, meanwhile, dragged his younger brother Kominato Haruichi along to practice hitting at fixed spots.

After everyone else had left, Huangqian Yangyi came before Manager Kataoka and Ochiai Hiromitsu.

"Boss, I have an idea."

Hearing this, Manager Kataoka looked at him curiously, "Go ahead, what do you want to do?"

"Hehe, I want to practice a new pitch, a Breaking Ball. I just haven't known what would be good to practice," Huangqian Yangyi said.

During this time, the number of times he had taken the mound was relatively low, and his pitching in training was mainly to maintain his condition. All in all, he was quite free, so the thought of practicing a new pitch came to him.

"A new pitch? It won't affect your condition, will it?" Manager Kataoka was a bit worried.

"It won't. You still don't trust me?" Huangqian Yangyi laughed.

At this moment, Ochiai Hiromitsu, who was on the side, spoke up: "Learning a couple more Breaking Balls is a good thing. Whether it's now or in the future when you enter professional baseball, if you put all your focus on fastballs, it will still put considerable pressure on your shoulder. Mastering a few more Breaking Balls will also allow for more tactical choices. After all, not every opponent requires you to throw such high speeds to be dealt with."

After hearing Ochiai Hiromitsu's words, Huangqian Yangyi nodded vigorously. This was one of the reasons he wanted to practice a new pitch; he was quite protective of his own body.

Manager Kataoka rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and said: "Since that's the case, you can try a Slow Curveball."

"A Slow Curveball?"

"The break is quite large, and the pitch speed is also slow; it should be effective when paired with your Fastball," Coach Kataoka said.

"A Palmball would also work. It is likewise a Changeup, but unlike the Circle Changeup, the Palmball is slower and has a greater amount of break. If you can master both types of Changeups, you will be able to effectively disrupt the Batter's hitting rhythm," Ochiai Hiromitsu said.

After hearing the suggestions from the Coach and the instructor, Huangqian Yangyi returned to the dormitory with a conflicted look on his face; which one should he choose?