Takashi glanced at Shohei Ohtani, who had approached him first:
"I'm not buying any lessons, thanks."
Shohei Ohtani looked stunned: "..."
Family, who would understand?!
The greatest player in a century of MLB history, American League MVP, the strongest two-way player on earth, a superstar with a top-tier professional sports contract, the baseball GOAT was being treated like some random lesson seller.
"Hahaha!"
The buzz-cut man standing next to Shohei Ohtani couldn't help but laugh.
He found Takashi hilarious—he couldn't believe there was someone in the island nation who didn't know Shohei Ohtani.
Not knowing Shohei Ohtani in this country was like not knowing Danka in basketball.
"Kid, if you don't know Shohei Ohtani, do you know Ichiro Suzuki?"
Ichiro Suzuki looked at Takashi expectantly.
Although his historical status wasn't as high as Ohtani's, he debuted earlier and swept major awards in Major League Baseball.
'Are these two guys really famous?'
Even Takashi, who cared nothing for baseball, sensed something was off.
He silently took out his phone and searched their names.
When Ichiro Suzuki saw Takashi searching both their names in front of him, even he was surprised.
Then he turned to Shohei Ohtani and said, "Is he really Japanese?"
Takashi put down his phone after searching. "Now I know who you are."
"Oy, oy, kid, the people standing before you are world superstars. Show some excitement."
Ichiro Suzuki clicked his tongue in typical Japanese style.
"Oh."
Takashi's face remained unchanged.
It wasn't coldness; he was just past the age of idolizing stars.
Besides, celebrities are human too. Don't over-glorify them, or you'll be the one disappointed.
Takashi believed this deeply, as any Messi fan would.
"Oh, you just say 'Oh'!? Cold shoulder, totally cold shoulder. For such a young age, you're already an expert at cold shoulder.
What will happen when you grow up? I think he's the next Masahiko Kondo."
Ichiro Suzuki was talkative, not putting on any star airs, but his words were not exactly flattering.
Sometimes Takashi really wanted to sew his mouth shut with a needle.
"Did Narii send you to teach me baseball?"
Takashi ignored the chatterbox Ichiro Suzuki and looked directly at Shohei Ohtani, getting straight to the point.
Shohei Ohtani smiled, "Something like that."
He was back home for an event.
As the current top star in MLB, he had signed many big-name endorsements. Several of the products he endorsed came from Narii's family.
Since Narii asked him to train Takashi for a while, he had no reason to refuse. Plus, he had nothing much to do while in the country.
"Let's go inside and talk."
Shohei Ohtani, Ichiro Suzuki, and Takashi entered the stadium.
Passing through a long but bright corridor, Takashi found this baseball club had a full baseball field.
You even needed to verify your identity to enter the inner field.
"This club was funded by the Kujo family. Originally, it was planned to be an investment to build something like Meiji Jingu Stadium, but the plan was canceled for various reasons.
However, since the field was already built, the Kujo family turned it into a club."
Ichiro Suzuki walked ahead, explaining to Takashi: "Every year during holidays, many professional baseball players come here to communicate and adjust their form."
"All right, kid, enough talk. Let's get to the practical part."
Ichiro Suzuki tossed a baseball glove to Takashi, stretched his neck, and stepped onto the pitcher's mound.
"Come on, show me your pitching skills."
Takashi picked up a baseball from the basket and walked toward the mound. "No protective gear?"
"No need. Our reflexes are way faster than yours. Your slow pitching speed won't hit me."
Ichiro Suzuki swung casually at the air, seeming to get a feel for it.
Shohei Ohtani stood nearby with his arms crossed.
There were not just these three on the field; others were present too.
Anyone who could get in here was at least a domestic professional baseball player.
Takashi felt like a goofy dog in a pack of wolves—under quite a lot of pressure.
"Hoo!"
Takashi stood firm on the mound and took a deep breath.
The fresh air filled his lungs and revitalized his body.
Looking again at Ichiro Suzuki, his eyes were determined.
"Good eye contact."
Ichiro Suzuki chewed gum with a smile, relaxed.
When Takashi raised both hands over his head, Ichiro immediately judged it was an overhand pitching style.
The advantages: fast speed, strong power, explosive force, hard to catch.
The disadvantage: long pitching time, easy to be stolen on by fast runners.
Takashi lifted his leg high, bent it slightly for power, twisted his body back, pushed off the ground, twisted his waist, exploded with force, and threw the ball with full strength.
The baseball hissed loudly as it flew toward the catcher's glove.
"Eh!"
Shohei Ohtani was a little surprised.
This pitch speed was at least 141 km/h.
141 km/h isn't very fast—it could even be called slow.
But Takashi was a newbie who had only played baseball for two days.
That was scary.
"Bang—"
The ball was hit by a bat with a crisp sound, flying high into the air.
It was a beautiful home run.
"Such a slow speed? Is he really a pro?"
"Pitching in the strike zone but slow speed? How did he get in?"
"Is he some prince from this club?"
...
The professional players immediately lost interest in Takashi.
At this pitching speed, anyone could hit a home run.
"He's Kawakami Narii's fiancé and still a first-year high school student."
Shohei Ohtani kindly reminded them.
Cough cough, getting back to the point, don't you think Watanabe Takashi's pitch just now had a bit of the aura of baseball god Babe Ruth back in the day?
"I think so too."
"To have such fast pitching speed in first year of high school, Kitaharra Takashi's future is limitless."
Otani Shota watched the professional baseball players whose expressions changed faster than flipping pages in a book, and he lightly shook his head.
He confirmed the vibe — they were here to serve the Kamikawa family like dogs.
"Oi, oi! Kid, is that all you've got?"
Ichiro Suzuki pointed his bat straight at Takashi and shouted loudly, "Not yet, not yet, not yet!"
Who do you think you are, Echizen Ryoma?
Isn't it normal for a pro to easily beat ordinary people?
Takashi smirked and took another ball out of the box.
He casually tossed it in his hand, silently chanting, "Exchange 1 stamina point."
His body had already reached its limit — it was time to push the system.
Sometimes, unless you push the system hard, you never know how much potential you really have.
Come on, system!
Show me your limits!
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