Non-Human Talent

"Begin!"

"Please give us your guidance!" The next day, the two teams started training on time.

Sen-chan made his classic sideways eye-roll expression and walked to the Head Umpire's position with his protective gear. He wouldn't let this free labor go to waste. Coach Nakanishi wouldn't be polite either; today, he was going to guide the pitching and catching training, so he grabbed a strong man.

"Thwack!"

"Ball!"

"Correct!"

"Strike!"

"yi ye, that ball was a ball!"

"Ball! But it feels like that ball could go either way. Is this what Coach Nakanishi was talking about, judging the Umpire's strike zone?"

"Well, pretty much! But the Umpire might also be influenced by the actual situation and change the strike zone, so don't easily trust your own judgment. Be cautious!"

"Yes, I understand!"

"How boring! When is That Old Man coming back?"

"Haha, Sen-chan, it's only just begun!"

"Annoying! I know!"

Sen-chan sent batter after batter away while complaining.

After who knows how long, Coach Nakanishi finally returned. Just as Sen-chan was planning to switch with him, he was told to rest.

"Yo, still angry?" While everyone was eating the lunch they brought, Coach Nakanishi came to chat with Sen-chan again.

"I'm not angry!"

"Alright, I can't tell anyway! You kid has too few emotional changes."

"Is there something you need?"

"That Ace on your team can really run! That's good; the basics are important for his age. But I'm curious, who is your Number Two Pitcher?"

"Number Two?"

"Don't you know? Below high school, there are basically limits on consecutive pitching, either by innings or by the number of pitches, to avoid overwork and injury."

"But what does that have to do with the Number Two Pitcher? Wait... are you saying that Middle School tournaments might have consecutive pitching like Koshien?"

"You're a Coach, and you don't even know the tournament system?"

Sen-chan really didn't know this. Most of what he knew was from his previous life's anime, but they were usually regional tournaments and rarely mentioned the issue of consecutive pitching.

"Looks like you really didn't know. Well, after winning a few rounds in the Middle School tournament, it's possible to have doubleheaders in one day! If you advance in the morning, then the next round is played in the afternoon, and the consecutive pitching limit will take effect. Without a Number Two Pitcher..."

"Directly forfeit!..." Sen-chan was a bit speechless; it was the first time he'd heard of such a thing.

"Well, don't worry, these guys will basically lose in the first round! It's fine." So Sen-chan quickly found a random reason, wearing an expression that said he wanted to change the subject.

"Alright! I heard that pitcher from your house used to just play around casually? I have a good way to strengthen and train his balance!"

"What way?"

"Find a One Foot Wide Wooden Board and have him stand on it with one foot, lifting and lowering the other foot to train his balance!"

"Na~ru~ho~dou~ (I see)!" Sendou said with a drawn-out tone!

I feel like I've heard or seen this method somewhere before? he thought to himself.

While they were talking, the two had finished eating. While the others were still resting, Coach Nakanishi continued to chat with Sendou.

"Akila, do you know what your current Physical Examination results are?"

"I don't know, I haven't had one!"

"Then..."

"I refuse! It's too troublesome!"

"..."

"Then there's a simple one, stand up first!"

"Why?"

"Just stand up!"

So Sendou stood up as he was told.

"Stand on your tiptoes!"

...Sendou did as he was told.

Then, Coach Nakanishi conjured a ruler from somewhere, rolled up Sendou's trouser leg, and started measuring!

"What are you doing? What does measuring this have to do with the Physical Examination!"

"As expected! I thought your explosiveness was amazing when you were a kid, no wonder!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your Achilles Tendon! Achilles Tendon, you're a real ba ke mo no (monster, inhuman way of calling someone), even someone as knowledgeable as me doubts whether you're human."

"I'm a genuine human! But I don't quite understand what you're saying!"

"Akila, do you know?

The longest Achilles Tendon length for ordinary people is about 15 centimeters, and many are 10 centimeters, but there are also many who reach 20 centimeters.

Your Achilles Tendon is now over 30 centimeters, although some of it has been slightly lengthened by previous stretching exercises, but this thing changes very little after birth, plus you're only 13 years old in just over 3 months, which means you haven't fully grown yet.

Your Achilles Tendon is more than twice the size of a normal person's even in an unformed body."

"Huh? Really? Is it okay? I don't feel uncomfortable?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Aren't disproportionate body ratios usually signs of illness? And there might even be after-effects?" Sendou's understanding of this was zero, only having heard some rumors from who knows where.

"Wait, your tone doesn't sound like it's a bad thing!" Sendou reacted, saying.

"Of course not, I'm talking about your aptitude, aptitude!"

"Oh, you scared me! So, what's this thing good for?"

"..." Coach Nakanishi was rendered speechless by this rapid change.

"Okay, the Achilles tendon is related to athletic ability, explosiveness, and jumping ability. The longer your Achilles tendon, the more your jumping ability and explosiveness will far exceed those of people with similar builds," Coach Nakanishi reorganized his words.

"Oh! Na~ru~hou~dou~! (I see)! And then?"

"Let's not talk about jumping, your jumping ceiling will far exceed ordinary people, and explosiveness means that your instantaneous and sustained explosiveness will be amazing. That's why your 100-meter speed and acceleration ability were so exaggerated a few years ago. At the time, I suspected that your Achilles tendon would be very long, but I didn't expect it to be so exaggerated. Although accurate measurement of the Achilles tendon requires medical equipment, I only need an approximate number for you.

I'm really looking forward to your current sprinting speed! It will definitely be something inhuman that I can't imagine, that..."

"Don't even think about it!" Sendou interrupted Coach Nakanishi without mercy!

(According to the timeline, Sendou in the first year of middle school is in 2004. The basis is that Little Angel was in his second year of high school when he just became the Ace in the summer preliminaries, which was the 90th tournament, and the 100th tournament was in 2018. So in 2004, Bolt just became a national sprinter, and his 200 meters was beginning to show promise in the youth category! No one had discovered his 42 cm Achilles tendon yet.)

Coach Nakanishi, whose thoughts were seen through, had no choice but to retreat again. This was a war of attrition. Whether it was the Number Two Pitcher or various pieces of information, they were all a kind of probing and hinting, a kind of reminder without Sendou noticing. Although he didn't expect any effect, he still had to try!

"I have to stay away from That Old Man! He's always thinking about making me do those boring tests!" Sendou thought to himself.

Thanks again for the rewards, thank you! Finally, I'm still asking for votes and collections, thank you everyone, thank you!