After lunch, Kanzaki Ryou called Miyuki and Chris to the bullpen.
"A slow curveball and a palmball?" Miyuki frowned, thinking seriously.
"I recommend practicing the palmball first," Chris said.
"Why?" Kanzaki asked.
Chris smiled. "The palmball is similar to the circle changeup. It'll be easier to grasp and can quickly become usable. You might even learn it today and use it tomorrow."
"There's no need to rush. I might not even pitch tomorrow," Kanzaki shrugged. "Coach will probably let Tanba-senpai and Kawakami handle the game."
"Not necessarily," Miyuki replied. "The quarterfinals are right after this. Coach may let you pitch a couple innings to get a feel for it."
Kanzaki waved his hand. "We'll worry about that later. Let's start with the palmball."
Miyuki and Chris exchanged glances then both suddenly raised their hands.
"Rock-paper-scissors!"
"I win," Chris said with a faint smile.
Both of them wanted to be the first catcher for Kanzaki's new pitch.
Miyuki sighed helplessly. "Fine. I'll wait."
"Alright, this is the grip, right?" Kanzaki held the baseball deep in his palm, fingers curved naturally around it like holding an egg.
"Correct," Miyuki said while observing. "Don't apply pressure with the index and middle fingers. Lightly hold it using the thumb and pinky on the sides."
Kanzaki nodded and gently swung his arm several times, simulating the release.
After repeating the motion over ten times, he stopped.
"The release feels different from the circle change… more like pushing the ball out."
"You are pushing it out," Chris said as he walked opposite him. "Don't add unnecessary spin."
"First, light tosses using the grip."
"Got it."
They began playing catch with the palmball grip.
"Good. Now increase the distance."
Chris slowly stepped back — 5 meters, 10 meters, 15 meters… finally about 18 meters, the distance from mound to home plate.
Once the throws became stable, Chris nodded with satisfaction.
"Nice. You're adapting quickly. Want to try pitching?"
"Sure."
Kanzaki rolled his shoulder and stepped onto the mound.
"Don't throw too hard yet," Miyuki warned. "You'll mess up your mechanics."
"I know."
Chris crouched and tapped his glove.
"Throw it!"
Kanzaki exhaled, lifted his leg, and swung his arm.
The ball left his palm with almost no spin. It traveled slowly and suddenly dropped toward the pitcher's left near the plate slightly more break than a circle change.
Clap!
Chris caught it.
"A ball, but the speed and movement are excellent. Just needs refinement."
"Heh, I really am amazing," Kanzaki said shamelessly.
"Palmball and circle change are similar stop bragging and keep pitching," Miyuki grumbled, still annoyed he didn't catch first.
"Maybe you should go back, Kazuya. You're not needed here anymore."
"Idiot!" Miyuki rolled his eyes.
Kanzaki stopped teasing and continued pitching.
Bang! Clap! Bang! Clap!
With each throw, the landing point stabilized. He could clearly feel himself gaining control over the pitch.
"Chris-senpai, I'm throwing at normal strength now."
For the previous twenty pitches, he had intentionally held back. Now he needed to test real execution.
"Alright. Kazuya, bring the radar gun."
Miyuki quickly positioned it. "Go ahead."
Whoosh—Clap!
"A bit off target again, but still a strike," Chris said.
"112 km/h," Miyuki read. "About 5 km/h slower than your circle changeup… With two changeups like this, can any batter even hit?"
He sounded disturbingly excited.
Chris smiled. "The circle change drops toward the inside of right-handed batters, while this palmball moves to the outside corner. Combined with your fastball, it'll be extremely difficult to make solid contact."
"Honestly, I'm glad this guy joined Seidou," Miyuki muttered. "Facing him would be a nightmare."
If Kanzaki had gone to Ichidai Third or Inashiro, Seidou would suffer for three years.
Chris chuckled. "Sometimes I wonder what it'd feel like to face Ryou as an opponent. That would be quite a game."
Miyuki nodded in agreement.
At that moment, a resentful figure appeared outside the bullpen.
"Aniki!!"
Sawamura stormed in with a bat.
"Sawamura? What's wrong?" Kanzaki blinked.
"Batting! You promised to teach me batting!"
"…Ah."
Kanzaki laughed awkwardly.
"Ahem. Sawamura, I've actually been thinking about it. I figured out a method."
"Really?" Sawamura squinted suspiciously.
"Absolutely."
Kanzaki pointed across the plate.
"Stand over there."
Sawamura obediently moved beside Chris.
"Alright, start in a bunt stance. When it's time to swing, return to your normal stance and swing immediately."