[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment":3,"chapter-tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-chapter-549":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Tokyo: You Call This Normal Equipment?",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},1952524,2739,"Chapter 549","tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-chapter-549",549,"\u003Cp>\"Is this still human... simply a—monster!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuroda Keisuke finally found his voice and spat out this sentence dryly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sano Sho couldn't say a word, he just slowly took off his mask, revealing a face full of shock, confusion, and a complex emotion like witnessing history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a period of time afterward, the two coaches already knew that fastballs couldn't stump Natsume Chikage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Afterward, it was almost mechanically, relying on the remaining professional quality, starting to guide Natsume Chikage to try simple changeups—the basic grip and exertion essentials of sliders and curveballs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They felt that these more difficult pitching methods would stump Natsume Chikage, making him learn for several days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because even Sano Sho, this genius pitcher who had risen all the way from high school to a professional player.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Spent several months or even half a year to perfectly master these very difficult balls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he felt that even Natsume Chikage, whose talent was better than his own, would at least take a week or two or a month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the result... still made them numb.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Natsume Chikage was like a sponge with infinite absorption power, quickly understanding the principles, and through his terrifying body control, after several attempts, he could throw changeups that had initial displacement and were decent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even after three or four consecutive balls, he could already stably hit the center of the strike zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even according to their instructions, in the case of changeups, he could point where he wanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This speed of learning and ability to master the core essentials had already made the two completely lose the ability to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, Sano Sho didn't know what else to teach, so he could only put forward an idea with a complex face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intending to suppress Natsume Chikage so that he would understand the pressure on the field.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, in baseball, it’s not that if you throw accurately, you can win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you are hit by the opponent, even if you throw accurately, it doesn't make much sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One had to know that in the current professional arena, which pitcher isn't pointing where they want.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they still lose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is because the opponent’s batter is also a genius, also awesome!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A-kun, a pitcher doesn't just need to know how to pitch, but also needs to cooperate with the catcher, read the signals, and execute tactics.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sano Sho simply explained the most basic hand signal system between the catcher and the pitcher.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Next, I will stand at the catcher position and give you signals, and you will throw the specified ball according to the signals, such as a fastball or the simple changeup you just learned.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kuroda coach will stand in the batting area as a batter and perform swings.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The main purpose of us doing this is to see if you can stably throw good balls under pressure.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuroda Keisuke also nodded, picked up the bat again, stood in the batting area, a smile of eagerness appearing on his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A-kun, let it go! Let me also experience the ball speed of your 'novice'!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Obviously, as a top batting coach, although shocked, he didn't think deep down that he wouldn't be able to catch the ball of a novice who had just learned to pitch, even if the ball speed was fast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to experience the \"texture\" of Natsume Chikage’s pitching personally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Natsume Chikage nodded, indicating he understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first ball, Sano Sho placed the glove on the outside, and his fingers signaled a fastball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Natsume Chikage glanced at Kuroda Keisuke, who was pretending to be relaxed in the batting area, and threw a fastball as soon as he raised his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ball speed: 155 km\u002Fh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Position: Outside low, almost grazing the edge of the strike zone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuroda Keisuke’s originally relaxed expression solidified instantly, his eyes captured the ball path, his body instinctively made small adjustments, but the ball speed was too fast, the position too tricky, his bat had just started halfway, and the ball had already \"banged\" into Sano Sho’s glove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Strike.\" Kuroda Keisuke put down the bat, his mouth twitched, and his look at Natsume Chikage changed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He only felt that he hadn't been on the field for too long and was bullied by a young man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now he didn't intend to let go, he was really, really serious!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not bad, A-kun! The control is very precise!\" Sano praised, giving the next signal: inside high fastball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Natsume Chikage nodded and threw again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ball speed: 157 km\u002Fh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The white ball was like a precision-guided missile, rushing straight to the corner above the inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuroda Keisuke was more focused this time, but the combination of ball speed and angle still made his swing miss, the bat and the small ball missing by a hair.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tsk!\" Kuroda Keisuke clicked his tongue, only feeling that his state hadn't recovered, and now he was really, really serious!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A bit interesting... come again!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third ball, changeup signal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Natsume Chikage’s eyes, he seemed to be able to see Kuroda Keisuke’s current swinging action.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He saw him holding the baseball slightly, and then threw a slider with a slightly lower speed (140 km\u002Fh) but obvious horizontal displacement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuroda Keisuke judged it as a fastball, his swing timing was completely wrong, and he missed again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fourth ball, the fifth ball, the sixth ball...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether it was a precise fast fastball attacking the edge, or a changeup that had just been mastered but already had deception, Kuroda Keisuke, this professional-level batting coach, didn't even touch one ball!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His expression went from serious, to solemn, to unbelievable, and finally to... doubting life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tenth ball, another 158 km\u002Fh inside high fastball, Kuroda Keisuke swung with all his might, but still only swept through the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hoo... hoo...\" He supported his knees, panting heavily, his forehead already sweating, his eyes straight and dazed, staring at the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Sano Sho, who was the catcher, was not having a good time either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Catching heavy balls at speeds of over 150 kilometers continuously, even with thick catcher gloves, his left hand had long been shaken numb and stinging, his palm bright red.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Every heavy impact of catching the ball reminded him of the terrifying power possessed by the boy on the pitcher’s mound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sano Sho looked down at his painful wrist, then looked at Natsume Chikage’s ultimate talent that easily surpassed his own, his expression becoming more and more dazed and shocked, unable to speak for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Natsume Chikage saw the silent state of the two coaches and no longer moved or gave signals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also fell into silence and no longer pitched.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Kuroda Keisuke slowly straightened up, his face no longer having the previous relaxation or shock, leaving only a deep fatigue and... a trace of realization.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He finally understood completely why Sano, who was a pitcher, knelt on the ground and couldn't speak for a long time when the training ended last time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the skills and difficulty of a certain sport you have studied and believed in all your life are easily crossed and even surpassed by a novice with this unreasonable talent and speed, that kind of impact is enough to shake a person’s professional belief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One had to know that Sano Sho was also a genius pitcher, but at that time, he couldn't break the attack range of A-kun, who was a batter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All were hit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Can his mentality not collapse?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now... it was his turn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was his turn, as a batter, to not be able to hit any of Natsume Chikage’s balls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One had to know that he was also a genius in the eyes of the world...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Natsume Chikage looked at the silent state of the two coaches and recalled his pitching situation before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt that he had been completely proficient and there was no need to continue practicing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded politely to the two coaches who were still in the aftermath of the huge shock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Kuroda coach, Sano coach, thank you for your guidance today.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Also thank you for the baseball glove you gave me, I will definitely cherish it very much!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having said that, he turned and walked toward the player passage, preparing to meet Konoe Hitomi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the two top coaches remained, standing in the center of the empty stadium, looking at each other, unable to recover from the subversive impact brought by the boy named \"Natsume Chikage\" for a long time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in the auditorium.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Konoe Hitomi had been sitting there quietly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her deep eyes, which were always calm and waveless like an ancient well, had been firmly locked on the figure on the pitcher’s mound below from beginning to end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the raw first pitch to the earth-shattering 158-kilometer fastball.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the first attempt at a changeup to pointing where he wanted, perfectly controlling speed and having changeups that were hard to detect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From a novice who knew nothing to the perfect suppression power that even professional batting coaches couldn't deal with.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She saw it all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So... when that 158-kilometer number appeared on the speed gun, her slender, fair fingers tightened imperceptibly for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On that perfect, yet lacking emotion, beautiful face, ripples finally appeared beneath the calm ice surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She finally understood at this moment that Natsume Chikage’s talent in sports was all-encompassing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether it was kendo or baseball, swimming, etc., it was all like this...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time.\u003C\u002Fp>",1571,"2026-06-15T07:10:31.195Z","2026-06-15T07:45:40.648Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","e7ef57d8fa7f58089325617fcf920e6328d5c53c8589bfabec92dcbd3c8d917a","tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-chapter-550","tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-chapter-548",624,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ftokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-cover.jpg"]