Kanto Tournament Six

If the fourth batter of Shin Kō had faced the Narumiya Mei from the first inning, he might have had a chance to steal a hit from him, but the one he was up against was a Narumiya Mei firing on all cylinders.

Shin Kō's fourth batter, Ishikawa, swung hard at all three pitches, but he couldn't even touch the ball. In the end, he struck out swinging.

The next two batters didn't fare any better—one was caught by an infield fly, the other caught on a foul ball.

But Narumiya Mei was far from satisfied with this Three Up, Three Down. Two of his pitches had been touched. And that was something that absolutely should not have happened!

Narumiya Mei clearly wouldn't get another at-bat. In the bottom of the second inning, Inashiro's first batter to step up was the eighth batter, Van Masami. Though Inashiro's offensive firepower was indeed fierce, extending the lineup all the way to the fifth batter, Narumiya Mei, required not just strength but also a bit of luck.

This time, Inashiro's luck wasn't so good. Shin Kō's relief pitcher had apparently gotten used to throwing on the mound. His skill level was admittedly lacking, but Shin Kō's defense was decent. In the end, Shin Kō managed to secure three outs through their defense, and Inashiro's batting order stopped at the fourth batter, Harada.

And the next batter after that would have been Narumiya Mei. This infuriated Narumiya Mei so much that he dragged Yoshizawa—the one who had hit an infield grounder and handed Shin Kō the final out—over and gave him a thorough scolding.

Yoshizawa himself felt he was playing terribly. He was the only starting batter on Inashiro's team who still hadn't recorded a single hit.

Finally, Narumiya Mei angrily covered his head with a towel. He did not want to see Su Qing step onto the pitcher's mound, that smug look on his face! Absolutely not!

"Top of the third inning, Inashiro Industrial High School requests a substitution. The pitcher will be changed from Narumiya to Su. The pitcher will be changed from Narumiya to Su."

Inashiro's pitcher change didn't cause an uproar like the one at Seido next door. At this point, Inashiro had a massive lead and could easily end this one-sided game in five innings via the mercy rule.

Inashiro's supporters were indeed disappointed not to see Narumiya Mei pitch, but they were also looking forward to seeing what Su Qing's pitching would be like.

Earlier, when Su Qing was warming up in the bullpen on the first-base side, the enormous noise he created had already drawn the attention of all the Inashiro supporters. Everyone was curious whether this pitcher, whom Coach Kunimoto had exceptionally promoted to the First String, could make a stunning debut like Narumiya Mei before him.

They'd heard that Seido next door had a kid with explosive velocity, reaching over 150 km/h. It would be a lie to say they weren't envious. Until today, Inashiro's supporters had been numbing themselves with the thought that they had the Tokyo Prince, Narumiya Mei, while Seido's was just a first-year kid with poor control who might blow up at any moment.

But when they discovered that Su Qing's velocity seemed just as explosive, the Inashiro stands instantly ignited. Everyone was talking about Su Qing. Unfortunately, Su Qing didn't warm up for long before he stopped, and Inashiro's batting lineup had been dragging on for too long.

The supporters had thought they'd have to wait another inning to see Su Qing take the mound. But his appearance came so quickly that it caught them off guard.

Unlike Furuya Satoru, who slowly walked up to the pitcher's mound, Su Qing ran up. This was his first official game since being reborn, and Su Qing was genuinely excited.

He had already forgotten when was the last time he had been this excited running onto the mound. After turning professional, his passion had dwindled bit by bit, until finally, he felt he could no longer find joy in playing baseball.

After retiring, Su Qing felt an immense sense of relief. No more grueling training to maintain his form, no more painstakingly studying every batter.

He could go home, drink some wine, play baseball with the kids, and see if he could rediscover that old happiness. Unfortunately, before he could do any of that, he had transmigrated. What a shame—his first plan had been to help out the community he grew up in.

But here, Su Qing seemed to have found that old happiness again. He played and practiced not to justify the salary the team gave him, but for himself, for the team. For friends?

Maybe Narumiya Mei didn't think so, but Su Qing believed he and Narumiya Mei were already friends. Perhaps they would even become close brothers, like the relationship between Jiang Gu and Little Angel at Seido next door. That might be pretty great.

Su Qing picked up the freshly replaced rosin bag, thoroughly dried his fingers, and began a new round of warm-ups.

After throwing a few pitches according to Harada's signals, Su Qing felt his shoulder was already warmed up.

As for Shin Kō, their reaction was about the same as Yokogaku's. No! Inashiro was even more contemptuous! They had directly pulled Narumiya Mei! Clearly, they thought Shin Kō had no chance of turning the game around.

How could that be!

Shin Kō's batters, who had yet to get on base, were itching for a fight. They wanted to take hit after hit, even home runs, off Su Qing to tie the game!

But they were clearly overthinking it. Facing Su Qing's first batter, Shin Kō's seventh batter, couldn't even get the bat off his shoulder. He could only watch as Su Qing sent pitch after pitch—of a type he had no idea what it was—into the strike zone.

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[Da Gu Da Gu]: Even if it's not the first time I've seen it, the streamer's fastball still gets my blood pumping! A 96 mph fastball, that's 154 km/h, and it moves! If I were a batter, I'd be stunned too! What kind of godly fastball is this?! It even breaks after entering the zone! And the spin rate! Average spin rate of 2453! I feel like the streamer is just here to bully the kids, isn't he?! Can anyone in high school actually hit a ball like this?! I really feel sorry for the kids' shoulders—if they accidentally touch it, their arms will go numb from the impact!

Su Qing had no time to check the livestream and see the audience showering him with praise. He didn't need to, either, because the entire stadium was already roaring for him!

Even Shin Kō's supporters couldn't help but let out shouts. The announcer's voice was nearly hoarse from yelling. And this was only after three pitches.

Su Qing was also delighted. Though he wasn't fully satisfied with his velocity, he was very pleased with the angle of movement and the spin rate on those last few pitches.

What made him even happier was the batter's expression. For a pitcher, that was a reward. In his past life, Su Qing had seen countless strong batters dejectedly lower their bats and trudge back after facing his pitches. But he was still happy to see that expression again.

At that moment, Su Qing finally felt youth completely. This fiery body, free of any pain, was telling him that he was healthy, young, and full of energy.

The pitches he threw could make the crowd cheer for him and leave batters dejected!

Su Qing felt that, right now, he was practically invincible!