Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived

Chapter 466: Zhang Han Vs Raichi

The Spring Tournament quarterfinal match between the Seido High School Baseball Team and the Yakushi High School Baseball Team had not even officially started, and yet it had already moved one person deeply.

Nitta, the reporter from Tokyo Television, was on the verge of tears.

He had truly misjudged Coach Kataoka before, always assuming the Seido High School Baseball Team's coach was iron-faced and unyielding with no consideration for anything outside the game. But in fact, Coach Kataoka had given their broadcast an extraordinary gift right from the opening.

The moment the Seido players shouted their chant in unison, thousands of fans rose to their feet and cheered along, flags waving everywhere.

What kind of energy was that?

Nearly ten thousand fans, all captured on camera, a rolling sea of people.

Within moments of the live broadcast starting, the response was already clear.

The station called. Although final viewership numbers hadn't been tallied, the early indicators for this time slot were very strong.

The voice on the other end was noticeably excited.

"The effect is better than the previous episodes. Nitta, keep it up. I believe you'll make this program a success."

Nitta felt the energy moving through him.

He was increasingly looking forward to this match.

The more intense it was, the better. And if the Seido High School Baseball Team won in the end, that would be ideal.

From a professional standpoint, the production team had already filmed a substantial amount of Seido footage. If Seido lost, while some of it could still be used, most of it would inevitably be set aside.

From a personal standpoint, through watching the Seido High School Baseball Team's matches over this period and spending time around the players, Nitta had become a genuine supporter.

Fans wanted the team they supported to win. It was that simple.

The match began in that charged atmosphere.

Zhang Han changed into his pitching gear and stepped onto the pitcher's mound.

In the Seido High School Baseball Team's dugout, Coach Kataoka's expression was slightly tense.

Their earlier read had been correct.

Yakushi had come in with an entirely new lineup.

The First Batter stepping up was Raichi Todoroki, the same player who had hit a two-run Homerun off Narumiya Mei to turn the tide of that game.

First Batter, Raichi Todoroki.

And his opponent was Zhang Han, who had shown genuine pitching potential but whom Seido had kept off the mound throughout this tournament.

The two hadn't even done anything yet, and the fans in the stands were already buzzing with anticipation.

This was going to be something.

An Ace against an Ace, and no one had expected the Seido-Yakushi showdown to open like this.

In the stands, Zhang Han's supporters had already raised everything they could hold and were waving it all at once.

"Zhang-kun! Zhang-kun!!"

"Han-san, you're the best!"

Everyone else was equally animated. Whether they were Seido supporters or Yakushi fans, they were on their feet, arms waving.

As if staying seated would mean missing something.

"Adjust the camera, quickly."

The duel between Zhang Han and Raichi Todoroki hadn't even officially started, and Nitta's eyes were already sharp with excitement.

Just the energy in the stands alone was worth extensive footage.

That young man, though, was truly remarkable.

Nitta thought about it with a quiet sense of wonder.

People really were different from one another. How long had Raichi Todoroki been known? A week at most.

And yet, simply by defeating Inashiro and hitting a Homerun off Narumiya Mei, he had become an overnight name in Tokyo. Nearly ten thousand supporters were here for Zhang Han today, but one or two thousand had come specifically for Raichi Todoroki.

Zhang Han had built his name over a full year, including breaking two long-standing Koshien records as a first-year player. That was how he had truly established himself.

Raichi Todoroki had closed a tenth of that gap in a single match.

If he won today, this young man might reach an entirely different level.

Shaking off the thought, Nitta turned his focus back to directing his team.

Cheering fans were important, but getting the footage was equally so.

Under his direction, Tokyo Television captured two key shots at the opening: the Seido High School Baseball Team's chant, and the intensity of the rival fan sections.

Through the live broadcast, the viewers watching at home were immediately drawn in.

These players were worth watching.

Not just adults. Teenagers in their final year of junior high, and younger ones too, were watching.

The impression this match was making on them would stay.

It was likely that after today, many of them would set their sights on Seido or Yakushi.

As for which team would attract more of them, that would probably depend on who came out on top.

"I didn't expect it to be this exciting from the very start."

Zhang Han stood on the pitcher's mound and took in his opponent.

That player was standing in the batter's box, laughing uncontrollably.

"Ga ha ha, ha ha..."

The sound was very much like a duck.

As foolish as it looked, Zhang Han had no intention of underestimating him.

Just a week ago, Narumiya Mei, Tokyo's best pitcher and possibly the best in the country, had been beaten by this same laughing teenager.

His swing was nothing like that of a first-year player.

He had to be treated like Yuuki.

Taking a slow breath, Zhang Han shifted his weight back into his pitching stance.

In the Yakushi dugout, Todoroki Raizo's eyes sharpened as he watched.

Zhang Han's current pitching motion looked strangely familiar.

It bore a striking resemblance to the style he had been planning to teach Sanada.

Kataoka.

As expected of a former player. Had he also arrived at this same point independently?

"Whoosh!"

The white ball left Zhang Han's hand and was above home plate almost instantly.

Raichi Todoroki's eyes lit up the moment he saw it coming.

Fast.

The speed was almost identical to Narumiya Mei.

This was exactly what he had been hoping for.

This was what made high school baseball worth playing.

"Boom!"

The sound of the swing was like a crack of thunder.

Even standing over ten meters away, Zhang Han felt it in his chest.

If that bat made clean contact with the ball, where would it go?

Where had this player come from? No middle school record, no youth program history. How did he have a swing like that?

"Ping!"

Contact.

Zhang Han felt a jolt.

Miyuki, behind the plate, felt it too.

Zhang Han's pitch speed had been anything but slow. Even without being fully unleashed, this early in the game, the speed had been close to 150 kilometers per hour.

And this batter, seeing Zhang Han's pitching for the first time, had made contact.

The ball flew eighty or ninety meters before coming down.

Fortunately, it landed on the foul side of the line. Had it been fair, it would have been a massive extra-base hit, possibly a Homerun.

"Ga ha ha ha..."

Raichi Todoroki, still wearing that wild grin, was nowhere near satisfied.

Cold sweat was running down Zhang Han's back.

In his time as a pitcher, he had faced difficult opponents before. In the earlier game against Inashiro, he had stood against one of the nation's best lineups.

Even then, the psychological weight hadn't been as heavy as this.

This player's ability was genuinely extraordinary.

He didn't look like a first-year at all.

Miyuki's thoughts were running in a similar direction.

Raichi Todoroki's raw hitting power was staggering, but so was his swing speed. Zhang Han's pitch speed was among the best in Tokyo.

And this batter could still wait until the ball was nearly in his zone before starting his swing.

In terms of pure swing speed, he was no longer below Yuuki or Zhang Han.

"In other words, the opponent we are dealing with right now is another Zhang Han or Yuuki."

Just thinking about it made everything feel heavier.

"Good pitch. Don't let his swing get in your head. Next one, outside."

Even as Miyuki said it, his own actions showed exactly how concerned he was.

He didn't dare signal an inside pitch against Raichi Todoroki.

And as he settled into his crouch, he signaled all three outfielders to move back.

Given what Raichi Todoroki had just shown them, they were not confident in getting him to miss cleanly.

The best they could realistically aim for was forcing him away from the center of the ball.

Zhang Han took a breath, working to reset. Not to be rattled by what had just happened.

Many pitchers were ultimately beaten not by their opponents, but by themselves.

Fear crept into the delivery before the ball ever left the hand. From there, nothing went right.

Zhang Han had understood this principle for a long time.

As a pitcher, no matter what had happened before or what might happen next, what was in front of him was only this pitch.

Throw the best pitch he could, and leave the rest to whatever came.

"Whoosh!"

Zhang Han's motion was smoother than the one before. The ball shot out and arrived in the batter's zone in an instant.

Miyuki was pleased when he saw it.

The speed was a fraction higher than the previous pitch.

The location, while not exactly where he had called it, was close enough, and it landed in a spot that would not be easy to hit cleanly.

Before his satisfaction could settle, a bat appeared in front of him.

"Boom!"

Another crack like a thunderclap from the batter's box.

"Ping!"

The ball had barely reached home plate before it was driven away.

The man who hit it tossed his bat aside without looking.

"Ga ha ha ha..."

Through the entire stadium, his laugh rang out.

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