Upon hearing Tanba's challenge, Zhou Hui felt a mix of nervousness and excitement.
It was finally happening! A direct confrontation with the ace pitcher!
"Are you ready?"
Tanba weighed a baseball in his hand, looking at Zhou Hui.
"Already?!"
Zhou Hui thought he would have some time to warm up, but it seemed Tanba was quite impatient.
"The important things should be done quickly! I've already thrown plenty of pitches! I'm ready!"
Tanba patted his chest confidently.
"But..."
"No buts! Let's just get started!"
Tanba punched his glove with his fist and then opened the door to head out.
Zhou Hui felt a bit frustrated!
He had hoped Tanba would give him a chance to warm up, but it seemed that was not going to happen.
Wait, shouldn't the first team still be training? How could Tanba be here?
"Tanba-senpai."
"What's up?"
Hearing Zhou Hui call him, Tanba turned slightly.
"Isn't the first team supposed to be training at this time? Why are you here?"
At this, Tanba quickly ran up to Zhou Hui and covered his mouth.
After looking around to ensure no one was nearby, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Shh!"
Tanba placed his finger over his lips, signaling for silence.
"It's because Coach Kataoka's training is too boring; I came here because I lost interest. You have to keep this a secret for me."
Zhou Hui had no choice but to nod in agreement.
He hadn't expected Tanba to be like this.
"Alright, I'll take you to a place where there should be no one around. Let's have our match there."
Zhou Hui followed Tanba without saying a word, keeping his head down.
In less than a while, Tanba brought Zhou Hui to a training ground he had never seen before.
"This is it." Tanba said proudly, "This is my secret base. I've never brought anyone here before. Even Coach Kataoka might not be able to find this place."
It looked like an abandoned baseball field, and it was quite old.
The bases were damaged, home plate was covered in dust, and the outfield fence had several holes. The pitcher's mound was worn down and unrecognizable, having lost its original height.
It seemed like a relic from the last century.
Zhou Hui couldn't believe that the seemingly glamorous Seidou High School had such a side to it.
But even so, Tanba ran up to the pitcher's mound without any hesitation.
"Come on, let's have a thrilling match!"
Tanba's right hand was clenched into a fist, and he was very excited!
Zhou Hui didn't have high demands for the environment; as long as he could play, that was enough.
Back in Hokkaido, he often played in places with poor conditions.
For example, an abandoned construction site was where he practiced every day.
He was used to it, to say the least.
Zhou Hui didn't mind and stepped up to the dilapidated batter's box.
"Let's just have one at-bat! The same rules as usual, no problem, right?"
Zhou Hui shook his head, indicating there was no issue.
Then, Tanba pointed to a mat behind Zhou Hui.
Following Tanba's finger, Zhou Hui looked over.
On the mat, there was a clear division into a nine-square grid.
The nine squares represented the strike zone.
"The strike zone is divided like this. It's quite simple, so I couldn't adjust it to your height, sorry about that."
Zhou Hui glanced at the strike zone division; it was roughly proportional to his height, so it didn't affect him.
He wasn't the type to nitpick, so he didn't care about these details.
As long as he could hit, that was all that mattered.
After all, this was a rare opportunity to face the ace pitcher!
"Come on, Tanba-senpai."
Zhou Hui got ready, resting his chin on his shoulder, swinging the bat rhythmically in front of him.
"I finally have the chance to see what the strongest batter of the first-years is capable of."
As Tanba spoke, Zhou Hui could feel his excitement.
This was the attitude one should maintain when facing a strong opponent.
Tanba was known for being tough on his teammates.
Although he sometimes faltered in regional tournaments, he consistently displayed extraordinary abilities in intra-team practice matches.
He might drop the ball against outsiders, but he would never falter against his own teammates. That was Tanba!
But to be honest, this also had a negative impact.
The reason Seidou High School hadn't reached Koshien in five years seemed to be found.
Perhaps Seidou High School had always lacked a true ace pitcher.
And Tanba had never been able to fulfill that role.
"Come on, Tanba-senpai!"
Zhou Hui was very confident.
Even if his opponent was two years older and an ace pitcher, he felt no fear.
In fact, he was even more excited.
"Good! I like your attitude! Here I come!"
Tanba leaned back, his right arm bent, the baseball tightly gripped in his hand, as if he was about to unleash it.
"Whoosh!"
With a powerful swing of his arm, he contracted his muscles, and the baseball was thrown.
The baseball shot out like a meteor, fast and sharp, heading straight for Zhou Hui's chest—a high inside pitch!
"Thud!"
The baseball hit the mat with a pleasing sound, but it also carried a sense of intimidation.
If that ball had hit him, it would have hurt!
"Strike one."
Tanba said casually.
The ball struck the upper right corner of the mat, leaving a very noticeable mark.
Zhou Hui didn't say much; he simply bent down, picked up the ball, and threw it back.
The match was far from over.
This was a battle between Seidou High School's ace pitcher and a rising star; it wouldn't be interesting if it ended too soon.
At Seidou High School's main training field, the first team members were all training there.
With the spring tournament semifinals approaching, everyone needed to bring their best state to face the competition.
Masuko Tōru was a very good lesson.
He had been dropped from the starting lineup due to a missed catch in a game, and he might not get to play in the upcoming matches.
If he didn't work hard, his fate could end up like Masuko's.
No one wanted to give up their precious starting position.
"Yuki, where did Tanba go?"
Coach Kataoka asked, puzzled, after looking around and not hearing Tanba's voice.
Yuki was the captain of Seidou High School and often assisted Coach Kataoka.
"He said he went to the restroom, but he hasn't come back for half an hour."
Coach Kataoka adjusted his glasses, his forehead slightly furrowing.
"Come with me."
"Yes!"