Diamond Ace's Passionate Swing

Seriously, are all first-year students this terrifying these days?

First, I encountered Cheng Gongming, and now it's Lin Xiao.

Is his hitting ability exceptionally strong, and his pitching ability even better than Tanba and Kawakami?

He walked to the batting box, stretched his body, and his eyes became serious.

"Alright, let me see just how capable you are, the ace of the first year!"

"In that case, let me test whether he is qualified to be Seido's ace."

"Dongqing Kingdom said in a deep voice."

He walked over to Kanemaru, who was holding a baseball bat.

"Give me."

He snatched the metal baseball bat from Kinmaru's hand in one swift motion.

Jinwan was startled, his hand still hanging in mid-air.

"Ah...yes."

He noticed that Dong Qingguo was still wearing casual clothes and couldn't help but remind him.

"Well... it would be best to wear protective gear."

Dong Qingguo impatiently waved the baseball bat in his hand, making a "whoosh" sound.

"No need, I can dodge that guy's ball effortlessly."

Before the words were finished, a majestic voice rang out.

"East."

Coach Kataoka crossed his arms, his eyes sharp as knives.

"Didn't you decide to make money with your body?"

"If you're going to stand in the strike zone, put on your protective gear."

Just moments ago, Higashi Kiyokoku was all high and mighty, but in front of Coach Kataoka, he immediately became half-submerged and lost all his arrogance.

Jinwan muttered to himself.

"They became obedient all of a sudden."

Lin Xiao looked at Dong Qingguo, who was wearing protective gear, and a provocative smile appeared on his lips.

"Don't get angry if I strike out on you, senior."

Dong Qingguo adjusted his helmet and glared at Lin Xiao upon hearing this.

"Watch how I send your ball flying, you arrogant brat."

Miyuki, standing nearby, offered a timely reminder, his tone laced with a mocking smirk that seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold.

"Senior, this kid knows four ball types, don't let your guard down."

The hand holding the helmet in the Eastern Qing Kingdom paused.

"What? Four types of balls?"

Miyuki's voice came slowly, each word like a hammer blow to the heart of the Eastern Qing Kingdom.

"The ball speed is unusually fast. The fastest record is over 160, which was achieved when I first joined the team."

Dong Qingguo felt like his brain was a little slow to process.

A first-year student.

Extremely high ball speed.

Four types of balls.

His striking ability is comparable to that of Tetsuya Yuki.

Is he still on Earth?

What kind of monster is this guy in front of me?

Dong Qingguo glared at Yu Xing.

"Don't try to fool me. How could that be?"

Izashiki, standing nearby, loudly confirmed this.

"Senior Dong, I'm not lying to you."

"To date, no one has been able to knock this kid's ball away in an official match."

"In the practice match, the runner-up Osaka Kiryu completely dominated their batting lineup."

Upon hearing these unbelievable descriptions, Dong Qingguo was filled with utter shock.

He paused for a moment, then spoke in a complicated tone.

"If that's the case, I really envy your luck."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding third-year students fell silent, their eyes filled with complex emotions as they looked at Dong Qingguo.

They all understood the profound meaning behind Dongqing Kingdom's words.

Last year, they were just one step away from Koshien, but ultimately fell to Inashiro Industrial.

It wasn't that the batting lineup wasn't strong enough; it was that the pitchers couldn't hold on until the end.

envious.

Yes, they were incredibly envious of this year's team, envious that they had Lin Xiao.

A powerful pitcher who could potentially rewrite last year's tragedy.

Lin Xiao gripped the baseball tightly, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

"Let's go then. Senior, I can't wait."

Dong Qingguo looked at Lin Xiao, who was exuding an imposing aura on the pitcher's mound, and snorted coldly.

"Ha, arrogant brat."

He walked to the batter's box, gripped the bat tightly, and his eyes became completely serious.

"They took away the number one jersey in first grade."

"Let me find out whether he has the ability or not."

Miyuki crouched behind home plate, watching Higashi Kiyokoku radiating an astonishing aura of pressure from the batter's box, and thought to himself.

"There aren't many hitters who can be so intimidating just by standing in the batting position."

He gave Lin Xiao a secret signal.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Straight hit.

come on.

Lin Xiao raised his hand, lowered his center of gravity, and lashed out his arm like a whip.

"call out!"

The baseball shot out with a sharp whooshing sound.

"boom!"

It was as fast as a white light.

Dong Qingguo didn't even have time to make any preparation movements for swinging the bat.

"Snapped!"

The baseball, with tremendous force, slammed into Miyuki's open glove, producing a crisp, loud pop.

Minister Ota watched with a pounding heart.

"Even though it's a bad ball, it's incredibly fast."

He looked at Coach Kataoka with a worried expression.

"Is this really okay, Coach? What if Dong gets injured?"

Lin Xiao looked at Dong Qingguo, who was clearly stunned in the strike zone, and once again provoked him.

"Is Senior Dong scared?"

"Can I continue pitching?"

He looked at Miyuki, his eyes urging him on.

"Strike while the iron is hot, please."

Dong Qingguo was jolted back to his senses by Lin Xiao's words, and felt somewhat embarrassed.

"This kid is really arrogant."

He readjusted his grip on the stick, his gaze becoming more focused.

"To be honest, the ball speed is really fast. It's not easy to hit it."

Lin Xiao on the pitcher's mound showed no weakness, exuding a powerful aura that was directly confronting Dong Qingguo.

Even Dong Qingguo could clearly feel the pressure coming from the pitcher's mound.

"Is this the level of a first-year ace? No wonder he was able to beat Danbo."

Miyuki's voice came from behind the mask.

"Senior Dong, you can feel Lin Xiao's pressure now, can't you?"

Lin Xiao raised his hand again, swung his arm, twisted his lower body, and poured all his strength into his fingertips, throwing the ball with great force.

"call out!"

The baseball roared as if it were tearing the air apart.

It flew fiercely toward Dong Qingguo on home plate.

High-speed jet ball.

"boom!"

Dong Qingguo stared intently at the incoming ball, relying on his rich experience and intuition to judge its trajectory, and swung the bat with all his might.

However, just as the bat was about to touch the ball...

"Falling...falling?!"

The baseball's trajectory took a sharp turn and plummeted downwards.

The bat missed its target.

The ball is one step faster than the bat.

"Snapped!"

The baseball once again pierced Miyuki's glove with pinpoint accuracy.

The players on the sidelines watched the match with bated breath, but almost no one thought Lin Xiao would lose.

Anyone who has ever hit Lin Xiao's pitch knows that even if you can barely keep up with the timing of his all-out pitch, the ball is incredibly heavy.

Let alone hitting it out of bounds, even hitting it cleanly and precisely is extremely difficult.

Moreover, this was the first time Dong Xuechang had faced Lin Xiao's four different ball patterns, and just guessing the ball was already very difficult.

Dong Qingguo's hand holding the baseball bat went slightly numb, and his face was filled with disbelief.

"Hey, is this kid's ball-handling skill level even in high school?!"

Miyuki, who was crouching to catch the ball, caught it steadily, his voice coming through his mask with a hint of barely perceptible pride.

"This is the current strength of Seido's ace."