Diamond Ace: Monster Slayer

Chapter 206: Monster name, more than just pitching!
The first game of the Koshien semi-finals.

Hanshin Tigers Koshien Stadium, the match between Seidou High School and Yamamori Academy.

The fourth inning was about to end, and Qingdao High School was leading Yamamori Academy by a slight advantage of one point.

The pitcher who had just been substituted in by Qingdao High School, Akihiro Fōtani, immediately struck out the batter with his "nuclear bomb"-like straight ball.

The power is so strong that no one can be amazed by it.

What does a 150km straight ball mean?
This is the stadium at Koshien.

Although Shohei Ohtani had thrown a straight ball at a speed of 160 km/h in Koshien before, it was about 10 km faster than Akira Fōtani!

But today, the straight ball thrown by Akihiro Kotani still left them stunned.

It can only prove one problem.

A ball speed of 150km is not something to be taken lightly.

Although there have been faster shots in Koshien, no one dares to say that they could have made this shot given how shocking it was.

In a professional arena, a ball speed of 150km is extremely rare.

What's more, this is a game played by a group of high school students.

"It was too fast. The ball was really too fast."

“It makes people feel like they can’t stop watching it!”

“Watching him pitch is a joy!”

The audience in the auditorium expressed their opinions one after another.

This year's Koshien is really worth seeing!

Seidou High School of the West Tokyo team, and the giant troll Otomaki of the Hokkaido team, both have pitchers with such monster speeds.

And these two young men have one thing in common.

That is, they are all from Hokkaido!
Zhou Hui, the man with the highest batting average this year, also started his baseball education in Hokkaido.

This makes us have to admit how strong the baseball culture in Hokkaido is, it actually nurtured several monsters.

Some people dare to say that in the future, half of the members of the island country’s national team will definitely be from Hokkaido.

Be it Hokkaido or Western Tokyo.

They are all fierce battle zones among fierce battle zones.

It is normal to have a few monster players.

"The speed of the ball was maintained well. Although these three balls were not in the strike zone, the performance was acceptable."

Miyuki said affirmatively to Fūya Akatsuki.

Xiao Jōgōu kept looking straight ahead without saying anything, and his eyes looked like he was about to fall asleep.

"Did this guy listen to me?"

"Jiang Gu, a good shot."

Back in the lounge, Director Kataoka started praising Akira Fōgaya.

He struck out right at the start.

This is completely different from the Fūya Akira who played against Yokohama Kohoku in the last game.

"Thank you for your supervision." Jiang Gu Xiao said: "Then..."

"Is there anything else you want to say?"

"So if the coach feels that I'm a good shooter, can you let me shoot the entire game next time?"

Fūya Akira said very seriously.

The game hasn't even ended yet, but he's already started thinking about the next one.

If this matter had reached the lounge of Yamamori Academy, it would probably have caused an uproar.

It would have been fine if I had said it before Yuto Kamado hit that home run, but saying it now really shows that I don't take them seriously.

"The game is not over yet. No one knows the outcome until now. I also told you to play this game as if it were your last game in Koshien."

Coach Kataoka didn't waste any words and just looked at the game field in front of him.

"You're still thinking too much. This isn't a good idea."

Zhou Hui persuaded.

He has much more experience in major competitions than Akatsuki Fōgaya.

Although the words of a first-year student are not enough to convince a contestant of the same grade, Zhou Hui, as the strongest person in the first grade, still has some say.

Zhou Hui established himself as the leader of the first grade right from the start of the rookie test, and he also put in an exceptional performance in the welcome match.

It can be said that in the entire first grade, no one is better than Zhou Hui.

Even he, Akatsuki Fōgaya, can't do it.

At the beginning, Xiao Furuya thought that with his talent, as long as someone in Qingdao High School could catch his ball, he could become a representative of the first grade.

But Zhou Hui's sudden appearance made him realize that there are always people better than you.

This is real talent!

Although his talent is nothing compared to Zhou Hui, it can still be regarded as a dwarf compared to his big one.

He and Zhou Hui are not on the same level at all.

Not only was Zhou Hui's grades in junior high school better than his, his physical fitness was also better than his.

Even the power he was most proud of was only of the same quality in Zhou Hui's eyes.

This shows how terrifying Zhou Hui’s ability is.

Even Akihiro Kotani, who always relied on brute force to play, was no match for him.

In the face of Zhou Hui's words, Jiang Gu Xiao ignored him. Instead, he put on his helmet and batting gloves, ready to go on the court at any time.

Zhou Hui shook his head.

If he can listen to himself, he can definitely become one of the top pitchers in the country.

This is not Zhou Hui bragging, this is his truest portrayal.

If it weren't for Zhou Hui, the ace pitcher of the Hokkaido Hawks might have been a third-rate pitcher for three years.

Although he did not make it to Koshien this year, he found a high school in Hokkaido to continue his baseball dream.

And the result wasn’t that bad, as I made it to the fourth round of the competition!
For a team that was not even a seeded team to make it to the fourth round, it was already considered top among schools of the same level.

And in the end they were defeated by the giant troll vine.

The giant troll Daitojuan is the champion of Hokkaido and the king of Hokkaido.

Losing to them is not too shameful.

"Zhou Hui."

Just as Jōgō Aki was getting ready to go on the court and had just stepped out of the locker room, he suddenly called out to Zhou Hui.

Zhou Hui also felt that this was an exception.

Although their connection was established on the Shinkansen train from Hokkaido to West Tokyo, they still didn't talk much after entering Seidou High School.

Many of the conversations were proposed by Zhou Hui, and very few were proposed by Jiang Gu Xiao.

Xiao Jiangu's ball speed is a new challenge for Zhou Hui.

So every day Zhou Hui would find Jiang Gu Xiao to train his striking skills.

His striking ability has improved so rapidly, which is closely related to Akatsuki Fōgaya.

This time, Jiang Gu Xiao took the initiative to find Zhou Hui to talk, which made Zhou Hui feel flattered.

"what happened?"

Although he didn't know why Akihiro Kougu was looking for him, he still agreed.

This is the most basic respect.

"Can you tell me the secret of your high batting average?"

Jiang Gu Xiao was about to go on stage, and he was asking Zhou Hui only now, which was undoubtedly a bit of a last-minute cram.

"Well..."

Xiao Jiangu asked the right person.

Zhou Hui is not only the strongest hitter in Qingdao High School, he can also say that he is the strongest hitter in the country.

When asking Zhou Hui about the issue of attack, Jiang Gu Xiao asked the right person.

"Would you like to try to hit him straight?"

Zhou Hui gave his own suggestions.

"Aim for his straight ball?"

Zhou Hui nodded.

For the batters of Seidou High School, this is their simplest tactic.

The batting ability of Seidou High School is top-notch, and even the pitcher position is no exception.

Besides, Akihiro Kouya is also quite strong, and his striking ability is also at the top level.

He was not much worse than the center batters of the Koshien team. It was just because he was a pitcher that Coach Kataoka did not let him show too much of his hitting ability.

Otherwise, in the game with Akira Fūdani as the starting pitcher, he could definitely get a position around the sixth batter.

It's all because Director Kataoka was unwilling to do so.

If he really wants to, it's hard to say how terrifying Qingdao High School's batting line will be.

The reason why Director Kataoka did this was simply to make Akira Fūya recognize his position.

He is a pitcher, pitcher No. 11, the future ace pitcher!
In the heart of an ace pitcher, there is more or less a "seed" of a strong bat.

This is no exception for Akatsuki Fōgiya.

He longs to become an ace pitcher praised by everyone, and is also willing to be the fourth batter who can decide the outcome of the game.

These were the things he longed for.

But getting this done is not as easy as it sounds.

A player cannot be indecisive.

Fōgaya Akira is talented enough in pitching, so there is no need for him to develop into hitting.

If they develop at the same time, unless they are particularly talented, the final result will definitely be that both sides are the same.

There's no way to escape this.

This can only be achieved if you master a skill until it becomes a masterful one.

What's more, Qingdao High School's batting line is so strong that they don't need a first-year pitcher like you to help.

Just do your part well.

"If the breaking ball is hard to hit, then aim for his straight ball. The path of his straight ball is a little ambiguous, but with absolute power, it's like a living target, so why not give it a try? With your power, I think it shouldn't be that difficult to hit a hit."

Zhou Hui said.

After hearing this, Xiao Jiangu was stunned.

A lot of knowledge was poured into his head.

I should have known not to ask this question earlier. Now I am even more confused.

All in all, just remember one thing.

That is to aim for the straight ball!

Don't worry about anything else.

"Come on, I believe you."

Zhou Hui smiled slightly and watched Xiao Jiangu walk onto the court.

As a teammate, there is actually no problem for Zhou Hui to teach Jiang Gu Xiao some striking knowledge.

They are partners fighting side by side, and they are also grasshoppers on the same rope.

Fōgō Akira's good performance will be beneficial to Seidou High School and their common dream.

Zhou Hui was not afraid that Jiang Gu Xiao would squeeze him out through attack.

First of all.

He doesn't have that ability.

Zhou Hui's historical level of super talent, coupled with his unparalleled striking ability and superb striking skills, cannot be learned in a few words.

If one could really understand it by listening to Zhou Hui's chattering once or twice, then there would be countless Zhou Huis all over the world.

Zhou Hui would become less special.

The point is that one of them is a pitcher and the other is a fielder.

It's a completely unrelated place.

It doesn't seem that simple to replace this word.

"Bottom of the fourth inning, Seidou High School is on offense, the eighth batter, the pitcher, is Furuya-san."

After Xiao Jōgō stood in the batter's box, he let out a breath of foul air.

The pressure of seeing Akira Fōtani standing in the batter's box does not seem to be as great as when he is on the pitcher's mound.

It seems like there are just two people.

This is the psychological reaction of Yamamori Academy.

They didn't believe that a pitcher could be so versatile and have such high attainments on both the pitcher's mound and the batter's box.

If this kind of person is just in the first grade, then his name should have spread all over the country when he was in junior high school.

But no one in Yamamori Academy had ever heard of the name Fōgiya Akatsuki before.

Considering the rank of Akihiro Kotani, they didn't even think about it in that direction.

"First adjust it with a straight ball from the inside corner."

Kamijou Kazuto stretched out his gloves and placed them on Akatsuki Fōgiya's chest.

This position not only tests the hitter, but also the pitcher.

Pitchers generally resist this position.

The distance to the batter is too close, and if you are not careful, you will miss the ball.

This is what they don't want.

"Whoosh!"

But who is Shenzu Yuto?

The ace pitcher of Yamamori Academy, does he have such poor mental quality?

Ridiculous, ridiculous.

The white ball whizzed out.

"This should be a straight ball..."

Xiao Jiangu took a look at the ball path, took a step forward, and swung the tightly held bat out in a flash of swords and sabers.

"Qiang!"

It's a pity that I didn't grasp the angle and hit the ball out of bounds.

"Out of bounds."

Kamado and Tou seemed to have seen something as well.

This kid is not that simple.

Although it only relies on brute force, you can still achieve good results.

In his hands, baseball is like a toy.

"He didn't even hit the center of the ball just now, but he felt so powerful. This kid is not easy to deal with, Yuto."

Kamizuru and Dou gave each other a secret signal, telling him that he wouldn't need to give secret signals anymore.

Although this is a tradition between the two brothers, Kamisama Yuto's secret signals are more often a reflection of his understanding of his brother rather than the situation.

The situation has reached an uncontrollable point, and all we have to rely on is the abilities of Shenzu and Dou.

As a catcher, he has good pitch matching and always knows what pitch to match and when.

"The next ball should be a straight ball at a high angle."

Shenzu and Dou put their gloves at the highest point of the strike zone.

"Whoosh!"

There was a mistake in Kamizuru Yuto's ball control, and the ball did not fly as Kamizuru Yuto required.

This was clearly a bad shot.

There are already three more balls away from the strike zone.

But Xiao Jiangu still took a step forward without hesitation, swung the bat in his hand, and hit it hard.

"Qiang!"

"Can't he really see that it's a bad shot?"

Zhou Hui was helpless.

If I had known this, I would have told him this earlier.

To be honest, the current Akihiro Kouya is just an outsider with only brute force.

Although the baseball was not in the strike zone and Akihiro Kotani did not hit the center of the ball, the baseball unexpectedly flew out and even resulted in a hit!

Zhou Hui's mood also brightened up after the storm.

Fōgiya Akira quickly took over the first base.

No one out, first base occupied.

"This kid is really lucky."

……

(End of this chapter)