Chapter 40: Developing a New Pitch?

"Huangqian, Miyuki, you two are so diligent." Nanjo Taishi raised his hand to greet the two of them.

"Aren't you the same, Senior? You came to train right after eating." Huangqian Yangyi walked into the bullpen and said while putting on his glove.

"If I don't work harder, my position as the ace might be taken away by you," Nanjo Taishi said in a joking tone.

But the others in the bullpen were all stunned; as the ace, to say such a thing so frankly, was he already prepared to voluntarily step down?

Tanaka Wataru looked at his old partner opposite him with a complex expression. What was this all about? Logically speaking, even if a junior had outstanding talent and performed well, a third-year ace shouldn't be under such great pressure.

After all, with two more years of practice, their strength was beyond doubt, and never before had a First Year freshman posed a threat to the ace position.

"Senior is joking; I still have a long way to go," Huangqian Yangyi said modestly.

Nanjo Taishi shook his head and stopped talking, then continued to practice with Tanaka Wataru.

While warming up and observing the pitching of Nanjo Taishi and Tanba Koichiro, Huangqian Yangyi poked Miyuki's butt.

"Did you notice?"

"Yeah." Miyuki nodded and whispered, "It's a Cutter."

"He's practicing a new weapon," Huangqian Yangyi said.

Previously, Nanjo Taishi dominated with his High-speed Slider, and being able to become the ace of Seido showed just how sharp his High-speed Slider was.

But such strength was always a bit lacking; against truly strong enemies, he could almost never suppress their batting lineup, which was also the reason why Seido had been unable to enter Koshien for a long time.

After watching a few more pitches, Huangqian Yangyi discovered that Nanjo Taishi's Cutter was thrown quite well; he probably started practicing it in private a long time ago.

It was just that for some reason, even though the trajectory of the Cutter thrown by Nanjo Taishi was well-controlled, and the speed and degree of movement were also good, Huangqian Yangyi always felt this pitch was soft. Was it an illusion?

Huangqian Yangyi didn't ask, otherwise it would feel like looking for trouble where there was none.

"Kazuya, let's practice a new pitch too."

"Huh?" Miyuki had an expression of 'have you eaten too much?'

Huangqian Yangyi said helplessly, "I'm serious, we can try."

Seeing that he didn't seem to be joking, Miyuki pulled Huangqian Yangyi to the side: "You know other pitches?"

"Didn't I say before? The pitches I have fully mastered are the four-seam, two-seam, and Changeup, but I never said I didn't know others."

Hearing this, Miyuki was suddenly a little excited, "You mean you know other pitches, but you just don't throw them well?"

"Yeah, that's it," Huangqian Yangyi nodded and said.

After thinking for a moment, Miyuki whispered, "Then we can't practice here. Let's go, let's change places."

Huangqian Yangyi understood what Miyuki meant. The senior had just shown off the new pitch he had worked hard to master; if he also followed suit and practiced a new pitch, the provocative implication would be far too obvious.

The two quickly brought their things and walked out of the bullpen. The few seniors behind them looked at them with four blank faces—they came and then left, what was the meaning of this?

Finding a place where no one was around, Miyuki asked impatiently, "Tell me, what other pitches do you know?"

Huangqian Yangyi pushed away the man who had leaned in front of him with disgust, thought for a moment, and said, "I tried many pitches when I was in middle school, for example, the Cutter that Senior Nanjo was practicing just now. But compared to the senior, my Cutter is a bit strange."

"Try throwing one." After Miyuki finished speaking, he ran to the opposite side and squatted down. As for what Huangqian Yangyi meant by 'strange,' he would know as soon as he caught one pitch.

"I suggest you wear protective gear," Huangqian Yangyi reminded him.

"Then wait a second." Miyuki hurriedly got up and ran to get the protective gear. Normal training was fine, as Huangqian Yangyi's control wouldn't hit him, but when practicing a new pitch, saving his life was more important.

When Miyuki returned after putting on the equipment, Huangqian Yangyi swung his arm to loosen his shoulders, then twisted his neck, and took the ball to make the grip for a Cutter.

Looking at Huangqian Yangyi's appearance, Miyuki immediately braced himself. This bastard's pitch speed was fast; if he didn't catch it, he would definitely be mocked by him.

"Here it comes!"

Huangqian Yangyi shouted, then threw the ball with force.

The small white ball flew rapidly toward Miyuki's face. Miyuki stared fixedly at the baseball. Since it was a Cutter, the trajectory must shift to the right when entering the Home Plate; the difference would be the magnitude of this shift.

Concentrating his mind, the moment the small ball began to change, Miyuki captured this instant precisely.

Yo X...

Before Miyuki could finish his 'Yo', the baseball hit the outer edge of his glove with a 'thwack', then bounced off onto his mask.

He didn't catch it!

Being hit on the mask by the ball, Miyuki's first reaction wasn't fear, but surprise at the trajectory of this pitch.

It actually only shifted by less than the distance of one ball! Is this a Cutter?

How much difference could such a Cutter have from a Fastball?

"Hey, are you sure you threw a Cutter?" Miyuki felt he needed to confirm.

Huangqian Yangyi curled his lips and looked at the baseball that had fallen not far away, "Of course it's a Cutter. I'm not stupid; I wouldn't be mistaken about what kind of pitch I threw myself."

Hearing this, Miyuki looked disbelieving, "Then your degree of movement is too small. This is no different from a Fastball at all."

"Nonsense, of course I know that, that's why I haven't used it," Huangqian Yangyi said in a huff, angrily taking another one from the basket.

"Again!"

"Wait." Miyuki reached out to stop him. He could see it now: the problem with Huangqian Yangyi's Cutter was that the degree of movement was too small. Continuing now wouldn't be very effective; it would be better to look at other pitches first, and if there really weren't any usable ones, then think of ways to improve.

"What for?!"

"Try throwing some other pitches. What else do you know?" Miyuki asked.

"Slider."

"Try one."

"Are you sure?"

"Nonsense, hurry up and throw it."

Seeing Miyuki so anxious, Huangqian Yangyi swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

A Slider belongs to a type of horizontal Breaking Ball; it can turn from the Strike zone to the ball zone, or from the ball zone to the Strike zone, in order to deceive the Batter.

However, because the Batter's bat itself swings horizontally, for a horizontal Breaking Ball, if the horizontal displacement is insufficient, it is very easy to be hit.

Loosening his fingers, Huangqian Yangyi held the ball in his hand according to the grip for a Slider.

Whoosh—!

The baseball flew out, and then an incredible thing happened.

The trajectory of this Slider began to deviate after gliding halfway through the air, and the magnitude was terrifyingly large, flying completely out of the Strike zone; Miyuki left his position directly and even with his arm stretched out, he couldn't touch it, and Miyuki maintained this posture for nearly ten seconds before turning his head to look at Huangqian Yangyi with a speechless expression.