The Seido High School Baseball Team, after securing their first victory, successfully advanced to the Kanto Top Eight.
When the game ended and they were greeting each other, many Shonan Gakuen players gathered around Zhang Han and, as if by prior agreement, gave him a thumbs-up.
"You really make us look at you with new eyes!"
"Originally, I was quite unconvinced, but after today's game, I am completely convinced."
"Amazing! Please guide me more in the future."
These guys were shamelessly flattering him.
"Are you planning to lift me high and then throw me hard to the ground? I won't fall for it."
Zhang Han said with a smile.
These words made Akiyama, who was about to praise Zhang Han highly, a little startled.
He looked at Zhang Han in surprise and realized that he really was different from before!
In the past, when he heard these words, he always frowned, feeling the malice within them but unable to stop it.
Now it was different; he not only cleverly defused his words but did so in a joking manner.
Akiyama gave another thumbs-up, this time genuinely.
"It's a pity I couldn't hit your pitch on the field."
Kurokawa used force when shaking hands with Zhang Han.
This guy was as annoying as ever, liking to use these small tricks to save face after losing a game.
Zhang Han returned the handshake without changing his expression.
Although his hands weren't calloused, it didn't mean he lacked strength in his hands.
During his time with the Seido High School Baseball Team, his grip strength had also increased, and by a lot.
Although it was still a bit strenuous when shaking hands with Kurokawa, he wouldn't be thrown off like before.
Kurokawa's expression was the same as Akiyama's earlier, one of astonishment.
During the game, they had actually felt that Zhang Han was like a completely different person compared to before.
But that feeling at the time was definitely not as intuitive as it was now.
He clearly felt strength, a great deal of force, from Zhang Han's hand.
Kurokawa increased his grip strength again, and Zhang Han's expression changed slightly.
Kurokawa looked to be around one hundred fifty to one hundred sixty pounds, not a particularly large or burly physique.
How could he have such great strength?
Zhang Han was completely puzzled.
In fact, Kurokawa was the same.
Zhang Han's strength had indeed grown significantly compared to when he was in Little League.
But it hadn't reached a terrifying level.
Kurokawa also didn't understand how Zhang Han, with his current strength, could hit two Homeruns in a row.
Aoki's pitches were not light at all; even for him, hitting the ball out of the park was by no means easy.
How did Zhang Han do it?
Zhang Han didn't know what Kurokawa was thinking at the moment, and even if he did, he couldn't tell him.
He was able to hit the ball out by relying on his whole body's coordinated strength, meaning he relied on his entire body's power.
Kurokawa, on the other hand, relied solely on the strength of his arms and wrists to forcefully hit the ball out with a fixed hitting stance.
In Zhang Han's opinion, that was the most incredible thing.
"Hehe, you must be very familiar with them, right? Why didn't anyone come over to greet you?"
Kuramochi excitedly ran up to Miyuki and teased him with a smile.
Kuramochi wasn't genuinely curious; he mainly just wanted to tease Miyuki, who always made fun of others whenever he had the chance.
Now that it was Miyuki's turn to be the subject of fun, Kuramochi wouldn't hold back.
"Perhaps I'm too out of their league!"
Miyuki's mouth never lost a battle.
"Is your face made of bricks?"
"..."
The game ended, and the Seido High School Baseball Team secured their first victory in Kanto, successfully advancing to the Top Eight.
Their next opponent had also been determined: the champion from Saitama Prefecture, the Wada High School Baseball Team.
"Saitama! Are they all bald guys?"
Kuramochi said with a smile.
"We're no match for a teacher. If they're all bald, we might as well wave the white flag and surrender."
The players said with a laugh.
When they returned to the dormitory and watched the opponent's video, the Seido High School Baseball Team players were stunned.
The opponents weren't all bald, but there were two who were, and they couldn't stand it.
It felt as if their jinx had come true, like they were cursed.
One was their Coach, whose weight was probably over two hundred pounds; he was quite a sight.
"Their food must be good, otherwise how could they get so fat?"
The teammates shook their heads after seeing him.
It wasn't disapproval, but envy.
How much oily food must one eat to develop such a robust physique?
"They could probably go straight into a sumo wrestling match without any problems, right?"
The other was Wada High School's pitcher, also a bald man.
This bald man formed a stark contrast with their Coach's baldness.
"Hair really has nothing to do with looks."
"If Zhang Han were bald, he might not even be as handsome as that guy, right?"
"Do you want to try it?"
Hearing Kuramochi's suggestion, Zhang Han immediately shot him a cold glare.
Kuramochi felt a strong sense of murderous intent.
It was the first time he had felt such emotion from Zhang Han.
Kuramochi instinctively swallowed his saliva and quickly raised his hands.
"I was just joking."
That look was too terrifying.
Kuramochi had no doubt that if he continued to speak, Zhang Han would definitely come at him with a kitchen knife.
Zhang Han withdrew his gaze and looked at the opposing bald Ace.
Ogata Jūjirō.
What a strange name!
If he had ever played against or even interacted with someone with such a strange name before, Zhang Han would definitely remember it vividly.
But he racked his brain and still couldn't remember who this person was.
So he turned his questioning gaze to Miyuki.
The people who left a deep impression on Zhang Han were usually those difficult opponents he unconsciously remembered during their encounters.
There were also those players he hadn't played against but who had an exceptionally loud reputation.
Zhang Han would also have an impression of such players.
However, such players were ultimately a minority; most players did not have such fame or experience playing against Zhang Han.
Miyuki Kazuya was different; he remembered many opponents, even those on the bench, very clearly.
When Zhang Han chatted with Miyuki privately, he could even list the names of all twenty main players of Matsukata Little League without missing a single one.
This even included the characteristics of these players.
Zhang Han was far from having such an ability.
So he also placed his hopes on Miyuki.
Unexpectedly, Miyuki looked at him with an expression like he was looking at a madman.
"Look closely, the opponent is a third-year student. How could I remember all of them?"
It was true!
Only then did Zhang Han realize that the opponent was a third-year player.
The game against Shonan Gakuen had left such a deep impression on him that he subconsciously assumed this bald man was also a player of his own age.
But in fact, the other party was a year older than them.
As he thought of this, a strange feeling suddenly arose in Zhang Han's heart.
In other words, those guys from Shonan Gakuen had only been in high school for just over a year.
They could already contend with the Seido High School Baseball Team now, so what about after their third-year seniors graduated?
The opponent's strength would not be diminished at all; on the contrary, it would become even more formidable due to longer training time.
"Shonan Gakuen might be our formidable enemy next year."
Miyuki and Zhang Han were indeed on the same wavelength, thinking about the problem in the same way.
It was fine when they didn't remind them, but when the other teammates of the Seido High School Baseball Team heard it, their expressions changed quite a bit.
"So, you need to clearly see your own path! Don't think you can rest easy by relying on the achievements of your seniors. You second-year players need to work even harder."
Kataoka said.
Several second-year players quickly stood up and answered in unison.
Ota, who was standing nearby, glanced at Furuya Satoru and Jinguuji, then added.
"And the first-year players too."
There was nothing they could do; in the Seido High School Baseball Team, the two first-year players had too low a sense of presence.
It wasn't that Kataoka intentionally overlooked or forgot them.
"Yes!"
Jinguuji quickly agreed.
Furuya Satoru, belatedly, also chimed in with an agreement.
But in fact, Ota was really overthinking it.
These two, even without any words of encouragement, were full of motivation.
After the meeting, the team needed some time to gather information about the opponent and then make reasonable tactical arrangements.
The other players were dismissed first.
The next two days would primarily focus on practice, supplemented by opponent analysis.
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