Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived

Chapter 450: Permission

"Those who want to watch the game, get on the bus at the back now."

The First String players had a separate bus. If the remaining players wanted to come and watch, the school had arranged buses for them as well.

"I want to go!"

"Me too!!"

The new players naturally weren't going to miss an opportunity like this.

Watching the game had real value. They could observe Seido's style up close and see the level of their seniors firsthand.

Those seniors were the benchmarks. The competitors they would need to surpass if they wanted to make it to the First String.

With that in mind, of course they wanted to go.

As for the second and third-year players, they already felt a deep sense of belonging to Seido High School. Even if they couldn't play themselves, cheering from the stands was enough.

A crowd surged onto the buses.

One wasn't enough, so the baseball team arranged two. This included not only the baseball team's players but also the cheerleading squad and the orchestra.

In the early stages of a major tournament, the baseball team generally didn't call on the cheerleading squad and orchestra. But in the later stages, and especially after reaching Koshien, they became indispensable.

Unlike those eager to board, one stubborn figure was moving in the opposite direction.

He silently dragged two tires and ran laps around the baseball field.

The First String bus hadn't left yet.

Coach Kataoka watched that stubborn figure through his sunglasses, thinking about what Ochiai had told him.

Ochiai, Takashima Rei, Zhang Han, Miyuki.

Some had told him directly. Others had hinted.

They all thought very highly of this young man.

Besides what Kataoka had already witnessed himself, this player might have other abilities yet to surface.

Previously, few players at the Seido High School Baseball Team had managed to draw this much attention from so many people.

Perhaps it was time to have a conversation with him.

The bus slowly pulled out of the school gate, and Kataoka withdrew his gaze.

Zhang Han did the same.

It was hard not to notice that rookie. When the punishment had first started, the young man had looked dejected, and some had even bet he would quit the baseball team before long.

Now half a month had passed, and he showed no sign of leaving. If anything, his head, which had once been lowered, had at some point lifted.

"Interesting guy."

Zhang Han wasn't the only one who felt it. Many others on the team had noticed too.

The clearest sign was that no one was predicting anymore that the young man would quit. And those who had once mocked him had mostly gone quiet.

It wasn't that the mocking had simply run its course.

It was that it was hard to mock someone who was working that hard.

After pulling his gaze away, Zhang Han found himself in thought.

He had learned something from watching that first-year junior.

It made him think about himself.

The other party's goal was clear, and he was chasing it relentlessly. He wasn't even a third-string player yet, but there was something shining about him.

The light of effort. The light that came from pouring sweat into something you were determined to reach.

What about Zhang Han?

What kind of person did he ultimately want to become?

Zhang Han's personality was fairly easygoing. He generally did what Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff asked of him, without thinking much further beyond that.

Fortunately, both Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff were very professional, and Zhang Han had made rapid progress because of it, even becoming something of a recognizable figure in the baseball world.

But what came next?

Would he continue his studies, or aim for professional baseball?

Would he remain a pitcher, or focus purely on hitting?

Because of his family background, Zhang Han was somewhat more mature than his peers. But he had just turned sixteen. It was still a bit early to be mapping out the rest of his life.

At least the old Zhang Han had never thought about such things. His only drive back then had been to work hard and earn enough so that he and his family didn't have to worry about money.

That goal, at least, had already been reached.

The school scholarship, combined with some income from cover shoots, covered his own expenses and even let him contribute to his family.

He had never been someone who placed a high value on material things.

So, what now?

What did he actually want?

He wanted to keep playing baseball.

Compared to continuing his studies, Zhang Han clearly hoped to carve out a path in the baseball world.

Being a powerful hitter was something he had always pursued and wasn't willing to give up. And he was equally unwilling to give up pitching. It would be demanding, but Zhang Han planned to keep working on his pitching as long as it didn't cut into his hitting practice.

Whatever happened down the line, this was what he loved. He wasn't ready to let it go.

Having worked through it in his mind, Zhang Han felt a quiet sense of calm settle over him.

His studies had to continue as well.

Any sport was for the young. If he lived to be ninety or a hundred, he couldn't spend two-thirds of his life looking back at the first third.

Continuing his studies might open up more meaningful paths later on. But compared to baseball, academics would always come second for him.

A person's energy was finite. It wasn't possible to give everything to everything. Fortunately, mental and physical training didn't overlap that much. A little lost time here and there wouldn't be too damaging.

Just as Zhang Han finished working through his thoughts, Coach Kataoka sat down beside him.

"Coach?"

Zhang Han looked puzzled.

Coach Kataoka was famously strict and habitually sat in his designated seat. He had never come back to where the players sat.

The others on the bus were all staring with undisguised curiosity.

Coach Kataoka swept a stern look across them, and they immediately turned away.

They all obediently faced forward, pretending they had seen nothing.

It was as if they were fighting the urge to cover their ears too.

Zhang Han was even more puzzled now.

"Have you resumed your pitching practice?"

"I followed the doctor's instructions and rested for two weeks. I started back the day before yesterday, but I'm not throwing much each session."

Zhang Han said, with a slight edge of guilt.

He had started practicing without Coach Kataoka's permission. There was no way to dress that up.

Fortunately, Coach Kataoka didn't press the point.

"What's your ball speed? How does your control feel?"

Zhang Han's heart jumped.

If he still couldn't read what that question meant, he might as well give up.

"Although I haven't done full pitching practice, I've been keeping up with arm swing drills and other basic exercises. The ball speed shouldn't have dropped much."

"Have you tested it?"

"Not formally, but Ono caught for me. In his words, the speed hasn't slowed down."

Ono Hiroshi was Zhang Han's former teammate and partner from Matsukata. The two had a close relationship.

Ono had since been promoted to the second team and was one of their main catchers.

"And your control?"

"Still a bit inconsistent, but hitting the strike zone isn't a problem."

Zhang Han's answer was straightforward. Compared to winter training, he couldn't say his current ability had grown much, but it certainly hadn't declined.

Coach Kataoka nodded and stood up.

A flicker of disappointment crossed Zhang Han's face.

Still not yet, then.

"You won't be needed for today's game. Rest well tonight and be ready to pitch tomorrow."

Zhang Han felt something lift in his chest.

He looked up at Kataoka with gratitude, but only caught a glimpse of his broad back already moving away.

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