Talent (II)

When the ball was hit, Coach Nakanishi immediately realized his mistake, apologized, and sent Sendou off the field.

"Honestly... but this kid's reaction is really fast. If it were anyone else, even a sixth grader, they probably wouldn't have seen it at all—no reaction to a ball like that."

Coach Nakanishi was also blaming himself for his lapse, but Sendou's gaze never left the ball, which only confirmed his conviction: the boy's Dynamic Vision and reflexes were terrifyingly gifted.

Even Coach Nakanishi, who didn't follow other sports, knew that no human reaction time had ever dropped below 0.1 seconds.

And the world's top hitters were around 0.15 seconds, and that was after specialized training combined with natural talent.

In other words, having this level of reaction meant he already stood at the threshold required to qualify as a world-class elite hitter.

Sendou's reactions hadn't reached that level yet, but the fastest period for human reaction speed was from the third year of Middle School to high school—around age fifteen.

"He hasn't finished growing yet." Coach Nakanishi looked at Sendou with eyes full of expectation.

Since they were elementary school students, even professional training only lasted about an hour or two, and they disbanded around five o'clock.

Sendou hadn't bought any baseball gear yet, so he just grabbed his changed Cleats and headed home.

"I'm home!" The standard Japanese entrance greeting.

"Oh, you're back! Hurry up and wash your hands—dinner's ready!" Sendou's mother had already prepared the meal.

"Riiight~!" Sendou dragged out the word as he headed to the bathroom.

"Dad's not coming home again?" he asked after washing up a moment later.

"Yeah, seems like there's some project keeping him busy lately."

"I see!"

"How was your first training today? Did you get along with everyone?"

"The training content was simple, but the guy who went with me is too dumb." He answered without any awareness of his own talent.

"Well, keep it up! Have you decided on a position yet?

When your dad signed you up, he said different positions use different gloves and equipment, right?

That way I'll know what to buy you." Sendou's mother had clearly done some homework.

"The position isn't set yet. I'll decide later.

For now, I'm borrowing gear from the team—it feels pretty good to use." Sendou replied.

Since there were only two of them, life was very simple. After dinner, Sendou went to his room to read manga.

In the first few days of little league, it was all about learning the basic rules of baseball and simple drills to get everyone used to catching and throwing—they didn't even touch a bat.

Sendou had heard from his father that the coach, who was also the owner, had been a famous professional player in the past. After retiring, he started this little league team out of passion and joined the minor league.

Because of his reputation, many kids in the area came to learn here, and with the professional training, the team's performance was outstanding.

How strong exactly, he wasn't sure—Sendou's father had only heard it through word of mouth.

All he knew was that Wildcat was the most famous little league team in Tokyo and even the entire Kanto region. Though little league was a niche sport, basically no one watched except the parents.

And for now, Sendou didn't have much interest in baseball—he was just looking for something to do.

But the feeling of hitting that ball last time was really satisfying. The anticipation of swinging again kept him going.

And so he drifted along, living a monotonous three-point life.

On the third day, Coach Nakanishi had the older students practice on their own and gathered the newcomers on an empty field.

"Everyone should have a good grasp of the basic rules by now.

So today, I'm going to run some tests and decide everyone's positions.

If there's a position you want to play, speak up now. We'll start with the pitcher test, then the physical tests. Anyone want to be a pitcher?"

"Um, I was a pitcher at school before—I want to try!" one kid said first, followed by two others with decent shoulder strength raising their hands.

"Alright. Those who want to be pitchers: Sai, Oda, Sasaki. And Sendou—you said you didn't know what position you wanted, right? Then you'll test for everything. And you'll go first." Coach Nakanishi summed up.

But he noticed Sendou hadn't responded.

"Sendou-kun! Sendou-kun!" Prompted by the kid next to him, Sendou looked at Coach Nakanishi with a blank expression.

"Sure enough, Sendou-san said you have trouble sitting still and focusing.

But don't zone out during roll call!" Coach Nakanishi said helplessly.

"Right! So, what did you call me for?"

"Sigh. Come out and do the pitcher drill. You don't know what suits you, do you?"

"Oh! Got it."

Strictly speaking, Sendou wasn't hyperactive—he just liked to look around, whether in class or anywhere else. It was true that he had trouble concentrating, a habit from his previous life.

If he really immersed himself in something, his focus was far beyond normal—it was just very hard to get there.

After Sendou stepped forward, Coach Nakanishi began instructing him on pitching posture and mechanics.

Coach Nakanishi's form was the most protective of the elbow. As a professional player and a catcher at the tactical command center, he had also been close with the team's trainers during his playing days.

He knew exactly which pitching form and technique best protected the elbow and body.

After being instructed, Sendou began practicing a few times following the guided posture to let his body adapt.

Coach Nakanishi took out a catcher's mitt, crouched down about the distance from the pitcher's mound to home plate away from Sendou.

"Your form's about right. Try throwing a couple." He tossed the ball over at the same time. Sendou, half-distracted, caught it easily with one hand.

"Really impressive dynamic vision and reflexes." Coach Nakanishi sighed inwardly again at the sight.

"When you pitch, you have to stay in contact with the pitcher's plate for at least one second, or it's a balk! Just imagine the plate is right there and throw toward it."

"Hey~!"

He acknowledged and began pitching according to the standard form.

"Whoosh!"

"Thump!" The ball hit the mitt with a soft, muffled sound.

"Don't worry about where my glove is. Throw it at me with full force—I can catch it." Coach Nakanishi frowned.

"Oh!" Sendou didn't actually throw with full force as instructed. After all, hurling a ball at full power straight at someone, especially as a beginner, still came with some mental resistance.

"Whoosh!"

"Smack!"

"Still not enough. Your arm swing isn't complete. Let your arm whip out like a rope—imagine your whole body is a whip, and swing through all the way."

"Hai~" The response was still listless. Even so, Sendou had already started adjusting his mindset.

Just as Coach Nakanishi was about to frown at the kid's tone, he saw Sendou already beginning his motion.

"Whoosh!"

"Thud!" As a professional catcher, he could easily make the ball produce a better sound. This technique could, to some extent, get a pitcher fired up.

"No way, that easily broke 100 kilometers? Is this guy really a fourth-grader like us?"

The kids watching nearby were all stunned.

Coach Nakanishi was also somewhat surprised. Even for a professional flame-throwing pitcher, reaching Sendou's velocity usually didn't happen until the last few months of fourth grade or around fifth grade.

Sure, kids these days threw faster and faster, but they were nowhere near this. What was even more frightening was that even though the ball didn't land exactly where the glove was, it was still close enough that a slight shift would catch it.

"Nice ball. Keep going. I'll set my glove lower—try to keep the ball down."

"Whoosh!" This time Sendou didn't respond verbally, just nodded and started pitching.

"Thud!" The ball really was kept low.

"I've really run into one hell of a monster!" Coach Nakanishi was overjoyed inside.

Realized that three chapters weren't enough to write the initial talent-testing phase, so I changed the chapter title.