When Uehara threw his fifth breaking ball, the players of Seido High School Baseball Team could no longer maintain their composure.
This was the first time they had seen such a pitcher.
He mastered so many breaking balls, and almost every pitch had the same pitching motion.
"This is unreasonable!"
Coach Ochiai, in the dugout, was pinching his little beard on his chin so hard he almost pulled it off.
He couldn't understand it.
Although throwing a breaking ball with the same posture was every pitcher's dream and the ideal pitching state for a breaking ball, truly achieving this was almost impossible.
Fastball-type breaking balls, such as a regular Fastball, whether two-seam or four-seam, and also the changeup or forkball, these two also basically belonged to Fastball-type breaking balls; by throwing them like a Fastball, simply changing the grip could fundamentally alter the baseball's movement.
However, other types of pitches were different.
If one were to throw them using a Fastball motion, it would be difficult to throw a standard curveball or slider, which are large-breaking breaking balls.
Even the most formidable pitcher, when throwing such pitches, could only try their best to keep the motion small, thereby creating an illusion.
Yokohama's Ace was different from everyone else's approach; all his pitching postures were Fastball postures, yet he could throw a standard slider and inward floating ball.
This completely defies human anatomy!
"How did he do it?"
If Ochiai couldn't figure it out, let alone everyone else.
Only Yuuki, who was preparing to bat, had a thoughtful look in his eyes.
On the field, Zhang Han's expression remained unchanged, as if he had intentionally let that last pitch go.
He calmly watched his opponent, waiting for Uehara to throw the second pitch.
A silent pressure weighed down on Yokohama's pitcher-catcher duo.
The catcher, squatting on the ground ready to receive the ball, glanced at Zhang Han thoughtfully.
Not simple!
He truly lived up to his reputation as Koshien's super rookie.
This palpable pressure, making it difficult to breathe, was something he had never felt before.
Even when they played against Ichidaisan Third High School before, facing batters of Omae and Hoshida's caliber, he had never felt this way.
"The meaning of taking down this batter is different. Let's give it our all!"
It was precisely this overwhelming, terrifying pressure that solidified the Yokohama pitcher-catcher duo's determination to take down Zhang Han.
They had a premonition that if they could legitimately take down Zhang Han here, their subsequent games would be much easier.
Conversely, the other players of Seido High School Baseball Team might become hesitant afterward, unable to fully display their strength.
Uehara, who received the signal, was practically delighted; he had been looking forward to this moment for a long time.
Having already planned, Uehara threw his second pitch with all his might.
It was almost the exact same location, and Zhang Han specifically noted that even the arm swing was identical.
A forkball?
Zhang Han gripped his bat, ready to swing.
Just as he was about to swing, Zhang Han suddenly had an ominous premonition.
He stopped his swing and watched as the baseball began to drop before it even entered the strike zone.
And it wasn't a straight drop; it was a drop with an angle.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
Zhang Han was now in a two-strike count.
But that wasn't the most terrifying part.
The most terrifying part was that the players in the Seido High School Baseball Team dugout, who thought they already understood their opponent, were slapped in the face by their opponent.
The opponent threw a sixth variation.
A curveball!
In the dugout, even Chris couldn't maintain his composure.
"Rainbow Ball pitcher!"
"What is a Rainbow Ball pitcher?"
Kuramochi asked, puzzled.
"I've only seen them on TV before. Pitchers who have seven or more breaking balls are called Rainbow Ball pitchers. However, such pitchers are very difficult to develop, but precisely because they are difficult to develop, once they do, their strength often reaches a very high level."
Jinguuji, standing nearby, his eyes lit up.
He chose to join Seido High School Baseball Team because he wanted to challenge such incredibly strong pitchers.
Now it seemed that his choice to join Seido High School Baseball Team was indeed the right one.
Being with such a progressing powerhouse high school, he could indeed see all sorts of top pitchers.
Just like now, he even saw the legendary Rainbow Ball pitcher.
His only regret now was not being able to go on the field and experience it firsthand.
"I must become a regular!"
Joining the First string was a small goal.
Only by becoming an indispensable main force in the team as a first-year, like Zhang Han-senpai, could he represent the team on the field earlier and face off against various formidable pitchers nationwide.
Narumiya Mei, Sanada Shunpei, Manaka Kaname, Aoki, plus the current Uehara…
"High school baseball is truly challenging!"
To say that Zhang Han, who was in a two-strike count, felt no emotional fluctuation at all, would definitely be a lie.
The guy he was facing now, named Uehara.
When he faced Kuramochi and Kominato Ryosuke before, there were still repeated pitches, or Fastballs thrown.
But during his confrontation with him, there wasn't a single pitch that had been thrown before; they were all pitches he had never thrown before.
Quite impressive!
Even Zhang Han had never seen such an opponent before, an opponent who was a complete unknown.
How to hit the ball against such an opponent?
You don't even know what the opponent's pitching will look like? So how can you hit his ball?
Just as Zhang Han was deep in thought, Uehara threw his third pitch.
Compared to the first two pitches, this one was slightly lower.
Zhang Han focused intently on the ball, trying to determine if it was a curveball or a forkball.
This pitch…
Gradually, Zhang Han seemed to see the trajectory of the baseball clearly.
A forkball!
Zhang Han breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, this guy finally ran out of tricks.
If he had come up with another new breaking ball, Zhang Han would probably have had to surrender in this at-bat.
But since he threw the forkball now, Zhang Han couldn't be blamed for showing no mercy.
He accurately aimed at the incoming baseball, and the moment the baseball dropped, Zhang Han decisively swung.
"Ping!"
When the baseball was hit, almost everyone's eyes at the scene followed the small white ball.
No one noticed the look of astonishment on Zhang Han's face after he hit the ball.
He actually mis-hit it!
No, to be precise, he was actually outsmarted.
That wasn't a forkball at all; it was a fast forkball.
The name seemed similar, just adding the word "fast." But in terms of baseball movement, they were completely different concepts.
The fast forkball was a bit faster, and its downward drop was relatively smaller.
Zhang Han aimed to hit a forkball, and inevitably hit the ball too high.
Fortunately, his swing had immense power, so even though he hit it high, he still sent the ball flying with great force.
So much so that many people on the scene thought the baseball would fly all the way out of the stadium.
Even the more confident Yokohama players' hearts jumped, as they watched the baseball fly to the deep outfield.
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