Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived

"I heard your junior, Sawamura, is really down in the dumps now?"

In the Baseball Club's exclusive dining hall, Miyuki casually inquired of Kuramochi.

But in reality, which player on the Seido High School Baseball Team isn't working hard? Who has the time to casually inquire about others?

Some people think that prestigious high schools are cold, and there's a reason for that.

After all, most of these people have their own things to do, and the time they can spend together outside of training is truly minimal.

If you can't make it into the First string, it's hard to feel the care that the First string seniors have for their juniors.

Even if they had time, they would dedicate themselves to improving their skills.

After all, aside from those players whose skills are so outstanding that they don't have to worry about their positions, who has the mind to meddle in others' affairs?

Miyuki was pretty much the most disliked person on the team before, and a very important reason for this was that he meddled too much.

Logically speaking, Miyuki now isn't as carefree as he used to be.

Chris is on a strong upward trajectory recently, with a good chance of catching up and potentially unseating him from the starting catcher position.

He also trains very hard.

Aside from training with Zhang Han and occasionally interacting during games, Zhang Han rarely sees Miyuki in private anymore.

Even when they eat together and discuss issues, the core of their discussions is basically focused on their next opponent and their recent training.

As for the junior players, aside from the two who have already made it into the First string, they really discuss others very little.

Under these circumstances, Miyuki suddenly bringing up Sawamura surprised Zhang Han.

"You have a lot of free time now! Are you confident you can beat Chris and keep your spot? I've been working with Chris lately, and his catching feels really comfortable…"

Zhang Han said.

As he spoke, he put the rice ball in his hand into his mouth and took a small bite.

Every time Kuramochi watched Zhang Han eat, he would be annoyed to death.

This was the Baseball Club's exclusive cafeteria; besides the serving aunties, there wasn't a single girl around, not even a female fly.

What was Zhang Han trying to do by eating with such a polite demeanor?

"Can't you eat faster?"

"Good food needs to be savored. If you wolf it down, can you appreciate its taste? Can you appreciate the kitchen auntie's intentions when she prepares the dishes?"

"You…"

Zhang Han was always polite to strangers.

But if the other person was an acquaintance, especially someone like Kuramochi, who was already a friend or even closer, Zhang Han wasn't so polite anymore.

Kuramochi rolled his eyes, ignored the irritating guy, and turned his head to Miyuki, nodding as he said,

"I don't know what that kid is up to. He's been really depressed lately. I asked around and heard that his recent practice games haven't been going well at all, and he even had to be taken out by Takashima Rei, the Vice Coach."

"Taken out by Little Rei?"

Miyuki and Zhang Han really didn't know about this.

However, they could imagine the scene.

Takashima Rei, despite her usual elegant demeanor and intellectual, gentle professional woman image, was indeed like that normally.

Although she was shrewd and capable, she never came across as aggressive.

For example, when she recruited Zhang Han, her methods could be described as quite strong and domineering.

But Zhang Han and his family didn't feel anything at all; he himself eagerly ran to the Seido High School Baseball Team.

However, all of this was predicated on it not involving baseball.

Once baseball was involved, Takashima Rei would immediately do a complete turnaround, her strictness even rivaling that of Kataoka.

With Kuramochi saying that, Zhang Han and the others weren't surprised at all that Takashima Rei would do such a thing.

What surprised them was Sawamura, who had performed exceptionally well in the freshman game, and had even challenged Zhang Han several times.

They had originally thought that Sawamura, after joining the second team, would grow rapidly.

There was no way around it; Sawamura had left too deep an impression on everyone in the freshman game.

So they naturally assumed that a superstar would surely rise among the new students of the Seido High School Baseball Team.

They never expected Sawamura to encounter such a severe setback.

"You're quite concerned, aren't you? Do you want to go encourage him? If you, the team's main catcher, are willing to speak up, I believe he'll be very touched."

Kuramochi looked at Miyuki with considerable anticipation.

This was no joke; what Sawamura needed most right now was the recognition of others.

Coach Kataoka's recognition would certainly be best, but Coach Kataoka probably couldn't spare the time to comfort him right now.

Furthermore, based on their understanding of their own Coach, the Coach wouldn't actively step forward in such a situation.

He might even put more pressure on Sawamura, making him experience more pain, and then be reborn from the ashes.

Such an approach isn't bad, but from a player's perspective, it's always a bit too strict.

Zhang Han also looked at Miyuki with an inquiring gaze.

He was also curious why Miyuki was so fixated on Sawamura when there were so many excellent pitchers on the team.

"I don't have that kind of time."

Miyuki did not deny his concern.

In the past, he might have actually set aside time to pretend to run into the other person by chance, and then offer some guidance and encouragement.

But now, in this Kanto Tournament, his competition with Chris has intensified.

From Zhang Han's perspective as an outsider, with an objective viewpoint, it was difficult to see the gap between the two, not to mention the two of them themselves.

Both Miyuki and Chris clearly saw each other's strengths, especially the strengths that were better than their own.

Precisely because they were both catchers, they saw things more clearly and accurately.

They naturally believed that even if the starting position was taken by the other person, it would be nothing to be surprised about.

It was under the impetus of this idea that the two of them competed relentlessly, as if their lives depended on it.

Anyone could do it, and neither of their skills was bad.

Because of this, their competition was no longer just a struggle for technique and ability.

There was also effort, coordination with teammates, and even mental fortitude and game experience.

This was an all-around contest.

Under these circumstances, Miyuki, who used to have the sharpest tongue, could no longer be as relaxed as before.

After Zhang Han finished eating, he did some simple exercises.

The other First string players did not have extra practice tonight due to the game.

Zhang Han originally wanted to go to bed early, but tonight he just couldn't fall asleep.

Although the Seido High School Baseball Team had severely slapped the faces of the questioning media with a resounding victory in today's game, in reality, the problems of the Seido High School Baseball Team have not been fundamentally resolved.

And this matter had a certain connection to Zhang Han himself.

Under these circumstances, he couldn't help but overthink.

Unable to sleep, Zhang Han walked alone on the embankment.

Occasionally, he would see players practicing their swings under streetlights or under bridge arches.

At Seido High School, diligent figures were everywhere; if you wanted to see them, you wouldn't miss them.

Perhaps it was late, so there weren't many people doing extra practice, and most of them were already nearing the end of their training, starting to finish up one after another.

As Zhang Han walked to the netting, he suddenly saw a player in a game uniform, dragging two tires and sprinting madly.

Tire-dragging sprints could basically be considered the most exhausting of all physical exercises.

Even during normal practice, not many people were willing to do this exercise.

No way, it was just too tiring!

Zhang Han had only seen one person do extra practice privately while dragging tires.

That guy was already drenched in sweat, looking like he had been doing extra practice for quite a while, and there was no sign of him stopping yet.

"That's too reckless!"

Zhang Han muttered to himself.

Although he detected a bad sign, Zhang Han had no intention of proactively stepping forward to warn the other party.

He believed that someone must have done so already, and the other party had ignored their advice, which meant it was his voluntary choice, and a strongly desired one.

In such a situation, others couldn't dissuade him.

Just as Zhang Han turned to leave, a voice suddenly called out from behind him.

"Zhang Han!"

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