Diamond Ace: Monster Slayer

Chapter 230 The Finals Are Different

"Qingdao! Qingdao! Qingdao!"

"Qingdao! Qingdao! Qingdao!"

The atmosphere of the finals was different. The audience was like they were injected with chicken blood, cheering for their favorite team.

As the top school in West Tokyo, Seidou High School has a lot of fans.

With Nishitokyo, a certain fan base and the rebirth of a powerful family, Qingdao High School’s buffs can be said to be fully maxed out.

This is a team that makes people crazy no matter where they stand.

"The competition is not about whose fans are the loudest."

Hongo showed great disdain for the audience seats of Seidou High School.

It can be said that there is disdain, but there may also be some envy mixed in.

Who doesn’t want to have a group of spectators cheering for them during the game?

But unfortunately, they are the giant trolls.

What is the situation of the troll Daitojuan's baseball team?
They don't even have a second army.

Yes, baseball is miserable.

Due to the poor previous record, not to mention those with extraordinary talents, even those who love baseball did not choose to join the Troll Big Vine Scroll.

The players on the baseball team together are just enough to form a first-tier team, with no extras.

So that's why there weren't many people cheering in the audience.

Qingdao High School brought their entire second team.

what about you?
There is no second-tier team at all, how can we compare with others?
Those who came to cheer them on were a group of alumni who had nothing to do during the holidays.

Most of them were passers-by, and there were only about sixteen or seventeen students in the Troll Daitojuan school.

After all, who would have nothing to do after eating? They came all the way from Hokkaido to Hyogo Prefecture just to cheer for the school.

They are not rich young masters, and the transportation fare alone will cost a lot of money.

But after this autumn, the Troll Vine may no longer face this dilemma.

Their results this year are enough for talented players to consider the Troll Vine Scroll.

By then, it will be the Giant Troll Vine who chooses them, and it will not be them who choose the Giant Troll Vine.

The meaning suddenly became the opposite.

"The opposing first batter has very fast feet, so we can't let him get to the base easily. As long as he doesn't get to the base, it's fine. Besides, his hitting ability..."

"boom!"

Yasuda was still thinking about the next ball, but unexpectedly, Hongo's ball came directly over, leaving him no chance at all.

Hongo can be said to be the boss of the troll Daifujimaki, and his catcher is only responsible for catching his balls.

"Snapped!"

Yasuda opened his glove and the baseball slipped into it.

"nice shot!"

A straight ball high inside the corner, with perfect control.

“That’s really good ball control.”

Zhou Hui couldn't help but feel emotional.

Although both teams have pitchers with the same playing style, their status is very different just because of the ball control.

Because of his ball control, Xiao Fōgaya often allows opponents to take advantage of opportunities to score.

And Hongo is a complete monster, there is no need to care about anything.

The kind where as soon as the baseball is thrown, you know the outcome.

"If he is so strong, why haven't we heard of him in Hokkaido at that time?"

Fōgiya Xiao began to think with his chin clenched.

Although he did not play for the team in Hokkaido, he still had some understanding of the junior high school competitions in Hokkaido.

Under the influence of his grandfather Eiji Furutani, he attended every regional conference in Hokkaido.

What he couldn't understand was why he had never heard of the name Hongo Masamune?

"Stupid, just think about it and you will understand."

Zhou Hui mocked Jiang Gu Xiao and looked at him as if he was a fool.

"Myself?"

Jiang Gu Xiao pointed at himself, still not knowing what Zhou Hui wanted to express.

Akihiro Jōgiya is still such a simple-minded person with strong limbs.

God gave him unparalleled pitching talent, but forgot to give him an instruction manual.

He only knows how to throw the ball rudely and doesn't know how to use his brain.

If Fōgani Akira had been a little smarter, he wouldn't have had to take a make-up exam just to get a number for the summer tournament.

Zhou Hui has also done high school questions from the island country.

To put it bluntly, there is no problem at all for Chinese junior high school students to do it.

It's really unique that even with questions of this difficulty, he could force Akihiro Kouya to take a make-up exam.

Together with him is his fellow sufferer Sawamura.

Sawamura also passed every subject, so the two of them can be said to be equally good.

"Yes, your ball speed is about 150 kilometers per hour. Isn't it because no one in your junior high school could catch your ball that you didn't choose to play in the competition? Otherwise, just based on your ball speed of 150 kilometers per hour, you would be a household name even if you didn't play in the national competition."

Zhou Hui explained.

It was then that Akihiro Kouya realized that he was just like himself, because no one could catch his ball!

There is nothing wrong with what Zhou Hui said.

The ball speed of 150km is so shocking.

Even if Fōtani Akira didn't bring his 150km/h speed into the national competition, just showing it in the Hokkaido competition would quickly spread and let people all over the country know about it.

But unfortunately, no one could catch his ball, leaving him with no chance to perform.

"boom!"

Hongo gathered all his strength and threw the next ball hard again.

"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound, the baseball fell into the bag again.

"nice shot!"

"Although the pitching speed is similar to that of Furuya, the pitching positions are very tricky."

"boom!"

As a last resort, Kuramochi had to hold the baseball sideways and use a bunt to get a chance to reach base.

Seeing this, the third baseman of the troll Da Tengjuan quickly stepped forward.

"Ping!"

The angle was wrong and the baseball bounced off the ground.

"Damn it!"

Kuramochi dropped the bat and ran to first base.

All we can hope for now is that catcher Yasuda makes a mistake and fails to catch the ball.

But hope is always slim.

Although they are bad at playing baseball, that is only compared to their hometown.

They still have the basic skills they should have.

"Snapped!"

"Out!"

There was no surprise. Although Kuramochi ran to first base, he was immediately followed by the umpire's "out" sound.

Hongo shook his shoulders.

"If we can get rid of him, the rest of the batting line will be no problem."

Hongo was also afraid of Kuramochi getting on base.

If a runner with such a fast speed reached the base, it would be very distracting for him.

Among the top three batters of Qingdao High School, he is only afraid of this one.

Even Chris is not worth mentioning.

After all, Chris just came back from a serious injury, and his explosiveness in all aspects should not be as good as before.

"The second batter, second baseman, is Ryosuke Kominato."

Ryosuke walked into the batter's box with a smile on his face.

"No matter what, just hit his balls out of bounds."

This is Ryosuke's inner thought and also a tactic he often uses.

Of course, Hongo knew this.

Ryosuke is a difficult hitter for Seidou High School. Although his hitting ability is not strong, he can perfectly deal with every pitch, forcing you to send him to base.

This is what many people think of him.

How to deal with him has always been a difficult problem.

"nice shot!"

"Good ball!" But Hongo did not show mercy or change his tactics because of this choice. He still used two explosive straight balls to earn two good balls.

Yasuda, who was squatting in the catcher's box, couldn't help but wave his right hand with a baseball glove on.

"It hurts."

Being hit by a hard baseball traveling at 150 km/h will inevitably cause pain even if you are wearing gloves.

When Yasuda first joined the Giant Troll Otojuku, his first position was not catcher, but third baseman.

He only changed his position after Hongo entered school.

Because there was no one else who could catch Hongo's pitches at that time, he had no choice but to become the catcher of the troll Otojuan.

"It's the last ball, watch me finish you off!"

He pulled his body into the most comfortable position, and threw the ball out with his right hand like a loaded cannon.

"boom!"

Ryosuke can handle every type of ball path with ease, and this is not just talk.

Even if it's Honjo's fast straight ball, so what.

"Qiang!"

Ryosuke originally wanted to do the same as before, just lightly tap the ball and hit it out of bounds.

But what he didn't expect was that the ball was not honest at all when it hit the bat, and it was still running around. The rotation was full.

Facing this kind of ball, Ryosuke couldn't control where the ball landed at all.

"Third baseman!"

The third baseman took a small step forward, caught the baseball and threw it to first base.

"Snapped!"

"Out!"

Of course, Ryosuke's speed was not as fast as the ball, and Hongo easily got the outs again.

Two outs, no one on base.

This situation can be said to be very good.

Although Hongxiang didn't have a single strikeout in the opening inning, he still struck out two batters in six pitches, which was also extremely explosive.

Fujio began to worry about Seidou High School.

As a reporter, although he cannot directly state his home team, Fujio has always been a fan of Seidou High School.

He really likes the cultural history and playing style of Seidou High School.

He thought this was how a man played baseball.

In his opinion, the playing style of Qingdao High School is very much to his liking.

But unfortunately, his profession is a journalist, and he has to look at every game from a neutral perspective.

But this is the professionalism of a male journalist.

It’s different for female reporters like Yamato Akiko. She can have her own home team and like whichever team she wants.

Even if it's obvious, no one will care.

"Third batter, catcher, Chris."

"Ahhhhhh! Senior Chris!"

"Come on! Senior Chris!"

"Hit it! A big one!"

Everyone in Qingdao High School is excited about Chris's return.

The difference in strength between him and Miyuki is obvious to everyone.

Yuyuki is not as good as him.

This point, Yukichi admitted.

Because until now, Miyuki has never defeated Chris in even a formal competition.

He will be criticized if he continues to be stubborn and refuses to admit it.

"Isn't the catcher Miyuki?"

Old man Xin Tian was also excited when he saw this scene.

I have long wanted to see how this most stable catcher in the West Tokyo Regional Conference would perform.

He had also heard that if Chris had not been injured, his ceiling would definitely be that of a man who could have received an invitation to play in the professional baseball league this year.

It has always been a regret for Mr. Nitta that he never had the chance to see him in his prime.

But it's different now.

Now he had a chance to see Chris.

"No matter what, I will never use a changeup before dealing with Zhou Hui."

"boom!"

Hongo is very clear.

His changing ball is a secret killer move that cannot be used by everyone. It must be reserved for the most important fourth batter of Qingdao High School.

"Snapped!"

The baseball hit Yasuda's glove like a bomb, and the dull sound just now was like a bomb exploding.

"nice shot!"

"How are you? The strongest catcher in western Tokyo."

Hongo looked at Chris with disdain.

But Chris was not moved at all. He changed his preparation posture and continued to face it.

“That expression.”

"boom!"

With his arms open, Hongo threw himself forward once again.

Only this time, Chris had already spotted the baseball's position, so hitting it shouldn't be too hard.

"Qiang!"

With a heavy hit, the baseball was lifted up and flew towards the right outfield.

"Right field, right field!"

Catcher Yasuda stood up and shouted.

This time, he actually caught the center of the ball and shot it out.

The right fielder had heard about how great Chris's hitting ability was, so he always stayed back on defense so that when his baseball came flying, he would have a suitable way to catch it.

"Snapped!"

Jump high and catch the baseball in your glove.

"Out! Three outs! Attack and defense switch!"

In the end, under the strong suppression from his hometown, even someone as strong as Chris couldn't get a single hit.

The audience seats at Qingdao High School immediately fell silent.

When they saw this scene, they couldn't believe it.

Even if the opponent is a strong team that has reached the Koshien finals with them, they won't be defeated three times in a row.

This is impossible. It's impossible!

Seidou High School's striking ability is among the best in the country.

As long as Seidou High School goes to bat, there will definitely be a hit.

If Zhou Hui was still on the batting line-up, one more home run wouldn't be a problem.

This is the trust that Seidou High School fans have in their own batting line-up.

It is also a reflection of Qingdao High School's long-term high batting average.

But the result this time was that they didn't get a single hit and were hit three times by their opponents.

Back in the lounge, Hongo threw away his gloves and sat aside.

"How does it feel to go a whole inning without striking out?"

Mr. Nitta asked, not even glancing at Hongo.

"As long as we can win the game, Seidou High School is really a strong team."

Old Man Nitta nodded.

Know how to recognize opponents and put the interests of the team first.

Hongo has really grown up.

Let the unruly hometown of the past remain in the past.

By coaching such talented pitchers, Mr. Nitta also hopes to bring them to a higher stage.

The Qingdao High School lounge on the other side.

No one was troubled by the ups and downs.

It's the Koshien finals, and these little setbacks are normal.

This is what a final should be like!

……

(End of this chapter)