Chapter 875

Her voice was flat and waveless.

"Time to go."

Natsume Chikage withdrew his thoughts, felt the residual cool touch on his cheek, and didn't really understand why she liked poking his face so much, but still nodded:

"Yeah."

The two walked side by side toward the magnificent entrance of the stadium.

Just like last time, as soon as they approached, men in black suits, wearing headsets, and with solemn faces appeared quietly from nowhere, silently leading the way in front.

Led by the men in black, they passed through the access control that usually required complex procedures, entered the empty and echoing passage, and were unimpeded throughout the whole process, and all possible questioning or inspection links were invisibly omitted.

At this time, in the center of the National Stadium, on that empty and flat lawn.

Two middle-aged men wearing professional sportswear and having capable temperaments had already been waiting here.

They were the two top coaches who had guided Natsume Chikage's batting last time—Kuroda Keisuke and Sano Sho.

Unlike the calmness and confidence last time, at this moment, both of them had a hint of imperceptible nervousness and strong anticipation, and their gazes drifted toward the entrance from time to time.

Since the end of the "special teaching" arranged for the Yutang family last time, they thought that the fate with that mysterious "A-kun" had ended, and that such astonishing talent might never be seen again.

Unexpectedly, after only half a month, the contact from the Yutang family came again.

And this time, the request was to teach "A-kun" pitching.

The impression of that "A-kun" on the two could be described as unforgettable.

The batting talent that the boy showed in just one day was simply strong to the point of being heaven-defying and against common sense.

Kuroda Keisuke could still clearly recall the calm posture of the boy with a slightly thin figure standing in the batting area, facing the high-speed incoming ball from the professional pitching machine.

And then, the sharp sound of the bat cutting through the air, the white ball turning into one precise and violent arc after another, flying far out of the guardrail and falling into the depths of the stands.

Home run—consecutive home runs!!

That picture was like a brand, deeply imprinted in their professional memory; every time they thought of it, they were still excited and couldn't believe it.

In their coaching career, they had never seen a "monster" with such terrifying talent and such rapid progress.

That kind of innate batting sense, terrifying dynamic vision, and exquisite control of body strength, if placed in the professional field, with a little systematic polishing, would absolutely be a world-shaking genius who could be directly sent to the American Major League Baseball.

Of course, the two also knew clearly that with the Yutang family represented behind "A-kun," the so-called professional baseball, Major League contracts, and even the huge salary that ordinary people envied, were probably just "drizzle" and insignificant.

But even so, thinking of being able to personally guide this boy who might be the most terrifyingly talented boy they could encounter in their coaching career, Kuroda and Sano still couldn't hide their inner excitement.

However, amidst the excitement, deeper doubts and professional prudence also emerged.

The two looked at each other, and both saw the same consideration in each other's eyes.

"This time it's pitching..." Kuroda Keisuke muttered to himself, habitually touching his chin, his fingertips feeling the rough touch of stubble, "And it has to reach professional level in a month..."

"Pitching and batting... are completely different things," Sano Sho hugged his arms, his brows furrowed, forming a deep "Chuan" character, "This requirement... I'm afraid it's a bit of a strong man's difficulty."

They sincerely admired the heaven-defying talent that "A-kun" showed in batting.

The essence of batting lies in judgment in the blink of an eye, extraordinary dynamic vision, and precise hitting where full-body coordination explodes at one point.

It is more like an ultimate "reaction art" and "instant strength control art."

And "A-kun," undoubtedly, is a genius rarely seen in a century in this art, a natural "destroyer" standing at the top of the batting area.

But... pitching is different.

This is almost another world in baseball that is parallel to batting but completely different.

Batting, theoretically, all nine fielders on the field can serve as batters, relying on hard training and certain talent, they can always achieve something.

Even occasionally, luck, courage, and intuition in an instant can create incredible hits.

It can be said that everyone has the qualification to stand in the batting area and try to capture that flying white ball.

But the mound... not everyone can stand on it.

First is the body structure.

The innate flexibility and stability of the shoulder joint and elbow joint are like the ceiling, directly determining the upper limit of your pitching.

Not everyone is born to be able to withstand that kind of repeated, extreme whip-like force exertion.

Second is the coordination of the full-body kinetic chain.

From the toes of the back foot kicking the ground to exert force, the force is transmitted through the calves and thighs, the waist and hips twist violently like a tightened spring, driving the shoulders to rotate, and finally through the upper arms and forearms, like a whip tip, the force is precisely 'flicked' to the fingertips to release the ball.

This series of extremely complex actions must be perfectly connected within a fraction of a second, like the most precise Swiss watch, with gears interlocking and fitting tightly.

Any small delay or deviation in any link will lead to a collapse in ball speed, ball quality, and pitching control.

Furthermore, it is the invisible 'hand feel' and the deeply hidden 'baseball IQ.'

How to use the millimeter-level subtle touch and pressure change of the fingertips to make the ball produce different rotation axes and speeds, thereby changing into thousands of different ball paths.

Fierce fastballs, sliders drifting horizontally, curveballs dropping suddenly, forkballs disappearing in front of the batter's eyes.

At the same time.

Also need to have the patience of a hunter and the brain of a chess player to read the batter's habits, weaknesses, and conduct psychological games of pitching layout.

So a pitcher uses his brain and body to pitch together.

It's not just as simple as pitching.

A batting genius doesn't necessarily become a pitching genius.

The neural types, muscle memory patterns, and even the psychological endurance requirements for pressure and failure of the two exist huge differences.

So historically, players who can reach the top hall level in both batting and pitching—"two-way players"—are rare.

Once one appears, it will inevitably be a legend remembered by the era.

Just like the player known as the strongest baseball player in history—Shohei Ohtani.

Both sides are ultimate geniuses, breaking high school student records in high school, and even entering the Major League, becoming a very dazzling player!

For the two.

A-kun's talent in batting is the only one they have seen in their lives, which can be called a miracle.

It can even be said to be stronger than Shohei Ohtani!

But in pitching... it's hard to say.

Because pitching requires time precipitation and experience accumulation, which is far longer and heavier than batting.

A young seedling of a professional pitcher, from learning the correct movements, to strengthening specialized muscles, to polishing various ball paths, to accumulating actual combat experience...

Often requires years, or even longer of systematic polishing and thousands of repetitions, to initially take shape and stand on the starting line of the profession.

One month?

Wanting to cross all thresholds from zero foundation and reach the professional pitcher level in one month... basically impossible.

The path of a pitcher is far narrower, steeper, and more difficult to forcibly cross with pure "talent" than batting.

This is true accumulation over time, a chemical reaction of sweat, time, and even a part of talent.

If they were given half a year to train A-kun, they might still hold a glimmer of hope and see some embryonic form.

But one month... it's too short, short to the point of seeming like an unrealistic dream.

Just when the two were shrouded in heavy clouds of doubt, three figures appeared in the passage at the entrance.

Kuroda Keisuke and Sano Sho immediately perked up, subconsciously tidied up the collars and hems of their coaching uniforms, stood straight with the most professional and respectful posture, and cast their burning gazes toward that place.

They saw that, guided by the men in black, the beautiful girl with a silent temperament but like an ice sculpture, and a boy with a slender figure and a handsome, calm face that seemed to come with a filter, walked in side by side.

The afternoon light happened to shine obliquely into the venue from the high glass windows, forming beams of light, and the dust floating in the air danced in the light.

The light seemed to have magic, plating a layer of pale golden, hazy light edges on the silhouettes of the two.

Especially Natsume Chikage walking in the front.

The light fell softly on him, outlining his tall figure and beautifully lined profile.

Those calm eyes seemed to be filled with starlight in the halo, the already impeccable facial features were carved more three-dimensionally by the light and shadow, and the skin was fair to the point of being transparent.

A kind of clean, clear, but also with a bit of illusory distance, extreme handsomeness came rushing toward them.

The two coaches looked from afar, even as middle-aged men with rich experience, they couldn't help but feel their hearts sway slightly at this moment, secretly marveling.

They only felt that this "A-kun," perhaps the most impressive thing, was not that heaven-defying batting talent...

But this clean, transparent, extreme handsomeness that seemed not to belong to the mortal world.

Kuroda and Sano didn't dare to have the slightest neglect, immediately ran forward synchronously and almost reflexively, then stopped at a position just right for the two, and with a standard and respectful, almost ninety-degree bowing posture, greeted in unison, their voices appearing particularly clear in the empty venue:

"Good afternoon, noble envoy of the Yutang family."

"At the same time, we are deeply honored again to be able to serve you, A-kun!"

Jinwei Tong didn't reveal any emotion to the two's overly respectful posture, as if she had long been accustomed to it.

But Natsume Chikage obviously wasn't used to being treated so solemnly, especially facing the coaches who had guided him before.

He immediately stepped forward and reached out to support them:

"Two coaches, please stand up, no need to be so polite."