"You brat, you've got something up your sleeve. Spit it out!"
Azuma Kiyokuni, who had seemingly vanished earlier, suddenly popped up from nowhere.
Zhang Han raised both hands, assuming a gesture of surrender.
"In terms of pitcher quality, Narumiya Mei is one of the best I know. His fastball, control, breaking balls, stamina—everything. I can't really comment on the older students since I haven't faced them, but among our generation, his overall quality is unquestionably the strongest."
Zhang Han spoke calmly.
"Who wants to hear you praise him?" Azuma interrupted impatiently. "We're asking about his weaknesses."
Narumiya Mei's ability didn't need explaining.
Azuma had faced him directly and understood his strength better than anyone. Calling him the strongest pitcher of their generation was obvious. Based on what Azuma had felt just now, Narumiya Mei wasn't just outstanding among freshmen.
Even among all pitchers in the high school league, he likely ranked near the top.
It felt unfair to say this about his teammates, but objectively speaking, Narumiya Mei's pitching had probably already surpassed Hidezawa's.
This was Hidezawa after his evolution.
Before that, Azuma wouldn't even have dared to compare them.
"Don't rush, seniors," Zhang Han said evenly. "I'm getting to it."
He didn't let Azuma disrupt his pace.
"Narumiya Mei doesn't have any obvious flaws. Overall, you could say he has two innate deficiencies."
Two innate deficiencies?
Seido had just taken a heavy hit at Narumiya Mei's hands. It was hard to imagine what weaknesses he could possibly have.
Everyone turned to Zhang Han, eyes fixed on him.
"The first one is actually pretty obvious," Zhang Han said. "Just look at his build. His fastball is fast, but his raw strength isn't outstanding. Whether it's pitching or hitting strength, he's only medium to upper-medium."
That's it?
Several seniors shot him unfriendly looks.
If Zhang Han couldn't give a convincing answer, they might really jump him.
Medium to upper-medium strength was a weakness?
"You—"
Before Tanaka could speak, Zhang Han cut him off.
"I know what you're thinking. You don't see this as a flaw. But it is. It means that as long as you hit the ball with enough force, it can fly very far. That's Narumiya Mei's first weakness. Back at Matsukata, Hoshida and Miyakawa scored runs precisely by exploiting this."
The dugout fell silent.
They didn't know whether Zhang Han's assessment would work here, but they couldn't deny how tempting it sounded.
Seido's power hitters—Yuuki, Zhang Han, and others—were all tall, strong players. They trained hard, and when it came to raw power, they believed they were second to none.
Even against Osaka Kiryu, whose lineup was considered the strongest in the nation, Seido hadn't lost in terms of power during practice games.
The real reason they'd lost back then was pitching.
At that time, Hidezawa had been lost and confused, not even at a third of his current strength. Osaka Kiryu seized that weakness mercilessly and piled on the runs.
If they played again now, Seido was confident the outcome would be different.
If Zhang Han was right, then Narumiya Mei facing them was like meeting his natural enemy.
"And the other one?" Azuma asked.
"I can't say that yet," Zhang Han replied. "When I go up to bat, I'll show you."
He wasn't trying to be mysterious. He simply wasn't sure whether Narumiya Mei had already fixed that flaw this year.
Coach Kunimoto was one of the top coaches in the country. Would he really allow his pitcher to retain such a major weakness?
That was questionable.
Still, Zhang Han's words lifted the heavy mood in Seido's dugout.
Everyone looked toward Inashiro with renewed confidence.
Narumiya Mei taking the mound didn't mean the end. If anything, it meant the real game had just begun.
What was there to fear?
Nothing at all.
It was simply a matter of meeting force with force and adapting as they went.
Top of the sixth inning. Inashiro Industrial on offense.
Their batting order began with the core of their lineup.
Narumiya Mei's earlier pitching had reignited their morale, and this time they were eager to strike back.
The result, however, was disappointing.
Since the game against Ichidai Third High School, Seido's ace, Hidezawa, had been absurdly dominant. He gave Inashiro no room to breathe, mowing them down with overwhelming force.
The Inashiro batters did everything they could to fight back.
But against Seido's ironclad defense, all resistance was meaningless.
Three outs. Change sides.
Bottom of the sixth inning. Seido's offense.
The lineup began with Zhang Han.
"Sixth batter, shortstop, Zhang Han."
In Inashiro's dugout, the bald coach felt his head throbbing.
Narumiya Mei had pitched brilliantly and struck out Seido's cleanup hitter. That should have dealt a heavy blow.
By his calculations, Seido's momentum should have collapsed.
Inashiro's adjusted batting order had brought their core hitters forward. The first batter was a key piece. They should have had a great chance to score.
No one had expected Hidezawa—whom they'd almost written off—to erupt with such terrifying power.
The coach had even considered using Hidezawa as a benchmark.
Narumiya Mei stepped out of the dugout, fully geared up. His eyes locked onto Zhang Han in the batter's box.
It had been a long time since they'd faced each other.
"I've wanted revenge for last summer for a long time," Narumiya muttered. "Didn't expect the chance to come this soon."
"What did you say?" Harada asked, confused.
"Nothing," Narumiya replied. "Just be careful this time. That kid has a lot of tricks. Don't fall for them."
Harada froze.
Since Narumiya Mei had joined the team, they'd formed a close partnership. This was the first time he'd heard Narumiya speak about an opponent like this.
"You didn't lose to him in middle school, did you?" Harada teased.
"Don't be ridiculous," Narumiya snorted. "Him? He didn't even get a quarter of his hits off me. No—less than a tenth."
************************************
Upto 20 Chapters In Advance At: P@treon/Vividreader123