Diamond Ace's Passionate Swing

"164.5km/h"

"Wow, is this even human?!"

"Such fast ball speed!"

"It'll be over in the blink of an eye."

"I wonder how the batter feels. If I were in the batter's box..."

"That must have been terrifying!" exclaimed the audience.

Osaka Kiryu Rest Area.

Coach Matsumoto gave the instruction, "Don't swing, observe first."

Kiryu's first batter nodded. "Understood."

"Reduce the ball speed," Miyuki gave the signal.

We've already thrown two bad balls; we need to put the ball into the strike zone.

Lin Xiao nodded.

Raise both hands above your head.

Turn around, swing your arm, and throw the ball.

call out! ! !

Snapped!

"nice shot!"

The ball landed smoothly in Miyuki's glove.

Even at a speed of 155 km/h, it's not that easy to hit.

Coach Matsumoto gave the instruction: "You can try swinging the bat."

Coach Matsumoto gave this instruction because the entire Kiryu batting team could serve from a 150 km/h ball machine.

Lin Xiao's third shot was at a speed of 155 kilometers per hour, which exposed a weakness in his shot. High ball speed is useless if you can't get a good shot in.

A baseball powerhouse that finished as the national runner-up is not so easy to deal with.

However, they underestimated Lin Xiao's pitching ability.

The fourth goal.

Lin Xiao lifted his leg and swung his arm in one smooth motion.

call out! ! !

The ball was heading straight for home plate.

The ball suddenly plummeted during its flight.

Miyuki caught the ball precisely just as it was about to reach his glove.

The batter was ready to swing, but the sudden change disrupted his rhythm, and his swing missed.

"nice shot!"

The referee delivered his verdict again.

At this moment, fine beads of sweat appeared on the attacker's forehead, and his eyes showed a hint of panic.

"This is going to be difficult."

Looking at the batter's expression, Miyuki felt a surge of confidence: "It seems this shot is intimidating for him. Lin Xiao, keep it up!"

Lin Xiao gave his opponent no chance to catch his breath.

He threw another ball.

This was another fast forkball, and the ball pierced home plate with the precision of a bullet.

"nice shot!"

Number of balls: Two good, one bad.

Let's see how the attacker responds.

The last goal.

call out! ! !

boom!

The ball flew out and went into the glove.

"nice shot!"

"Strikeout!"

The batter struck out without even touching the ball.

Miyuki stood up and said, "Well done!"

Lin Xiao nodded expressionlessly, preparing to accept the challenge from the next fighter.

When Kiryu, the first batter, returned to the dugout, Coach Matsumoto asked him, "How was your pitching, you first-year student?"

"The ball speed is extremely fast, completely different from that of a ball machine."

"The third ball suddenly dropped when it reached home plate."

"The rhythm is hard to catch."

"The ball speed slowed down later, making it quite difficult to hit."

Upon hearing this...

"This kid's pitching is something else. It seems I underestimated Seido before." Coach Matsumoto realized that Lin Xiao's strength should not be underestimated and began to quickly think of a countermeasure.

They were figuring out how to adjust their batting strategy to counter Lin Xiao's pitches.

Coach Matsumoto thought for a moment and gave instructions to the second batter: "Watch his pitches carefully, don't rush to hit them."

"Yes," the second batter replied.

Lin Xiao lifted his leg, turned around, and swung his arm.

The white ball is shot.

"nice shot!"

"nice shot!"

"nice shot!"

"Strikeout!"

Three consecutive high-speed fastballs sent Kiryu out as the second batter.

With all three balls averaging 152 km/h, Coach Matsumoto frowned as he looked at Lin Xiao. He never expected that his team, ranked second nationally, would be stumped by a first-year player.

Lin Xiao...

A first-year student who made a name for himself at the Kanto Tournament.

Multiple players were struck out in three consecutive strikes.

Coach Matsumoto's recollection of the investigation materials regarding Lin Xiao, if not for the current situation, would have made him think it was all just hype.

He said to the third batter, "Try a short hit."

Lin Xiao didn't care about Kiryu's strategy. He went straight for the strikeout!

"nice shot!"

"nice shot!"

"nice shot!"

"Strikeout!"

The last ball was a bad one, but the batter couldn't resist swinging, but the ball was too fast and he missed.

When Lin Xiao threw the last ball, breaking the speed barrier of 165 km/h, Coach Matsumoto's eyes widened, his face filled with shock.

He couldn't help but slightly open his mouth, a strong sense of unease welling up inside him.

"What kind of monster is this? With such terrifying ball speed, can our hitters handle it?"

His hands clenched slightly into fists as he gained a new understanding of Lin Xiao's abilities, while also feeling worried about his team's situation.

Seido is probably their biggest rival this year. With this monster kid joining the team, it's only a matter of time before they enter Koshien.

"Oh, well done."

Keep it up...

"Hoo-ga!"

Kuramochi and the others looked at Lin Xiao with approval. When he first joined Seido, although his pitching was fast, his control was very poor. Now, he was able to strike out three players in a row against the national runner-up batting lineup, which was very impressive.

They showed everyone the Koshien tickets and waved to them.

In the bottom half of the first game, the score was 0-0.

Seido High School launches an attack.

[Seido High School Roster]

First batter: Shortstop Kuramochi

Second batter: Second baseman Ryosuke Kominato

Third batter: Center fielder Izashiki

Fourth batter: First baseman Yuki

Fifth batter: Pitcher Lin Xiao

Sixth batter: Third baseman Masuko

The seventh baton: Catcher Miyuki

Eighth batter: Kominato Haruichi, left outfield

Ninth bat: Shirasu in right field

Surprisingly, Kominato Haruichi achieved an 8% batting average in his batting practice during the training camp.

Second only to Yuki and Lin Xiao, although his physique is not well-suited for the outfield, his arm strength is just right.

So Coach Kataoka thought he'd test this lineup to see how it went.

However, with Lin Xiao around, the ball rarely flies to the outfield, and that seems to be the case so far.

When it was Kuramochi's turn to enter the game, he stood in the right batter's box and looked at pitcher Kiryu.

"This guy's eyes are so fierce."

Kiryu pitcher Hiromi looked at Kuramochi with a cold expression.

On the pitcher's mound, Hiromi Tate threw the ball with all her might.

"Hahaha."

"I will hit any good pitch."

Kuramochi swung the bat confidently on his first pitch.

But the power of baseball exceeded his expectations.

This caused the swing to be blocked by the force of the ball, preventing the swing from taking place.

Kuramochi: "So heavy!"

but.

He still forced the ball out.

Ping!

The baseball hit the ground in front of it and bounced back.

The baseball landed directly in front of third base, and Kiryu, the third baseman, quickly caught it.

Kiryu, third baseman: "Strike!"

"It's time for a game."

The third baseman picked up the ball and looked toward first base.

Seeing Kuramochi running like lightning, he had already hit first base.

Kiryu, third baseman: "They've already run that far."

He immediately passed the ball to the first baseman.

Snapped!

The ball and the puck reached first base almost simultaneously.

"OUT!"

But we were still a step too late.

"The ball right in front of third base... almost missed." Kiryu, the third baseman, was shocked by Kuramochi's speed.

Osaka Kiryu Rest Area.

Wow.

"That's ridiculous."

"Is that guy a speedster?!"

Everyone was shocked by Kuramochi.

"Damn, that was almost a hit."

"That kid Lin Xiao is going to make fun of me again."

Kuramochi thought with frustration.