[{"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-560":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},1952535,2739,"Chapter 560","tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-chapter-560",560,"\u003Cp>\"Miss Konoe has given special instructions: you are not to approach the competition field.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Yukimura Suzune attempted to negotiate, and Fujiwara Aoi was so anxious she wanted to force her way through, but facing the well-trained, tall guards, their efforts were entirely futile.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The group could only be blocked at the perimeter, anxiously standing on tiptoe, gazing toward that familiar figure on the field.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Fujiwara Aoi was so anxious she stomped her feet, her voice laced with a sob.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"Ahhhhh! Natsume-kun, you big idiot! You big fool! Why did you agree to this?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Beside her, Saionji Nanase’s eyes had already turned red, crystalline tears swirling in her sockets before finally sliding down her cheeks.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>She felt that Natsume Chikage was truly so foolish, so very foolish.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Why did he always shoulder everything by himself?\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Why didn't he even discuss it with them first?\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>What saddened her most was that they had clearly agreed on a month of preparation time; why, after practicing for only one day, was he going to conduct this match with no chance of winning?\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Yukimura Suzune stared fixedly at that upright figure in the center of the field.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>A thought uncontrollably drilled into her mind—did he agree because he didn't want her to be pestered by Shinohara Shingo anymore? Was it to protect her?\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>It must be that...\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>In an instant, the image of Natsume Chikage handing her the manga with a smile on the train this morning surfaced before her eyes with absolute clarity.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Her heart felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand, and a sour, aching pain spread out.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Stopping him, it seemed, was hopeless.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>But if... if he really were to be expelled because of this absurd bet...\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Yukimura Suzune secretly clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Then, she would also take on this responsibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>She would also... choose to drop out.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>At the same time.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Akita Sana and her good friend Kondo Miki had just walked onto campus when they were drawn to the large crowd gathering in the direction of the baseball field.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"What's happening over there? Why are there so many people?\" Akita Sana asked, peering curiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>After asking a familiar classmate nearby, the two learned the shocking truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Akita Sana’s reaction exploded instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"Is that Shinohara Shingo sick in the head or something?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>She was so angry her cheeks turned bright red.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"Isn't it obvious he's deliberately looking for trouble with Natsume-kun?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"And Natsume-kun too... why did he accept?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>She bit her lip, then negated the thought herself.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"No... Natsume-kun might have had no choice but to accept. If he didn't, he would be constantly harassed by Shinohara and that baseball club gang; he really was in a dilemma...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Thinking of this, she became even more anxious, grabbing Kondo Miki’s arm and shaking it.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"Woooo~ Miki, what do we do? Is Natsume-kun really going to be expelled this time?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"Woooo~ Him being expelled or something... I don't want that to happen!!!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Kondo Miki’s expression appeared much more complex.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>She also felt that Natsume Chikage was quite innocent in this matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Moreover, objectively analyzing it, with his level of having practiced pitching for only one day, challenging Shinohara Shingo, who was an ace hitter, meant his chances of winning were slim.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>It was simply insane.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>However... looking at it from another angle, if Natsume Chikage were expelled because of this, perhaps it wouldn't be entirely a bad thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Given his strained family situation, the expensive private school tuition was already a heavy burden.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Dropping out early would at least allow him to get back a portion of the tuition already paid to subsidize his household, or he could transfer to a public school with lower tuition; perhaps he could live more easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>More importantly...\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Kondo Miki’s gaze drifted involuntarily toward that slender figure in the distance who was also anxiously peering—Tsukishima Rin.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>If Natsume Chikage left this school... perhaps Senior Tsukishima would be able to slowly free herself from her special focus on him?\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>This... might not be a bad thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Right there on the chaotic, noisy, and divided sidelines.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Tsukishima Rin stood quietly at a slightly further position.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>She neither attempted to rush forward nor lost her composure like the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>She simply pursed her lips slightly, her clear and firm gaze crossing the moving heads to lock firmly onto Natsume Chikage.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Even if reason told her this was almost a losing bet.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>But Natsume-kun had told her personally yesterday—\"I won't lose.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Therefore, she chose to believe.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Believe in that Natsume Chikage who could always create miracles.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>At this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Inside the baseball field.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Natsume Chikage walked to the pitcher's mound, stepped on the dirt beneath his feet, and then nodded to Hanyu Masaki not far away.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"Vice President Hanyu, I'm ready.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"You can notify the other side; we can start at any time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Hanyu Masaki gave him a deep look, nodded, and then turned toward Shinohara Shingo’s direction, raising his arm to make a clear \"ready to start\" gesture.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Shinohara Shingo swung his bat through the air a few times, producing a \"whoosh\" sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Afterward, he stood steadily in the batter's box, assumed a standard batting stance, lifted his chin slightly, and squinted at Natsume Chikage in the distance with undisguised contempt.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>To him, hitting a ball from a layman who had only practiced pitching for one day was as easy as pie.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He was even considering which humiliating posture to use to blast the ball out of the field.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>And at this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Natsume Chikage loosened his right shoulder slightly, took a ball from the ball box, and weighed it in his palm, feeling the texture of the leather and its perfect weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>During the special training arranged by Konoe Hitomi yesterday, he had already thrown a large number of baseballs and could tell that the ball in his hand now was of excellent quality, with a feel even better than the ones used for training.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>He no longer hesitated.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>His left foot stepped forward steadily, his body leaned back slightly, and his right arm was raised high, assuming a textbook pitching stance.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The entire movement was fluid and stable, not at all like a novice.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>And it was at this very moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The students gathered at the edge of the field witnessed this, and almost no one favored Natsume Chikage.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>A buzzing sound of discussion arose.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"Natsume-kun is probably going to fall this time... the opponent is Shinohara Shingo, a genuine ace; his strength is plain for all to see!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"That's right! I heard several strong baseball schools wanted to poach him. Natsume Chikage only beat the number two, Nakajima, last time, and now he dares to challenge the ace? He simply doesn't know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"It looks like Natsume-kun's expulsion is a foregone conclusion.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Even those female students who usually held a favorable view of Natsume Chikage and were almost blindly supportive could not hide their worry at this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The gap in strength on paper between the two sides was simply too vast.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"Natsume-kun has only learned for one day... why is he challenging Senior Shinohara? It's over, it's over, woooo...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"Natsume-kun is confused! Why did he agree to such an unfair challenge?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>\"Natsume being expelled or something... I don't want that! I haven't even had a chance to confess yet! At least... at least let him be expelled after he starts dating me; that way I could still go outside the school to find him!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>And Yukimura Suzune, Saionji Nanase, Fujiwara Aoi, and others, hearing the almost one-sided pessimistic voices around them, felt their already taut heartstrings stretched to the limit, and they held their breath unconsciously.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>At this moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>The morning sun finally pierced through the clouds completely, pouring onto the baseball field without reservation.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>It also outlined Natsume Chikage’s upright figure with a straight and clear edge of light.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>His eyes suddenly narrowed, his right hand gripping the baseball like a fully drawn bowstring, accumulating power, and then—suddenly released!\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>A white streak of light tore through the air, shooting toward the home plate at an astonishing speed!\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>It was a fastball!\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>A fastball that relied purely on speed and power, without any fancy movement!\u003C\u002Fp>",1388,"2026-06-15T07:10:31.195Z","2026-06-17T08:41:32.805Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","541ea9259680562659b2b37b030886c8f9f41e40f6938579b63e1b65c5552973","tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-chapter-561","tokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-chapter-559",624,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Ftokyo-you-call-this-normal-equipment-cover.jpg"]