The baseball soared into the sky, covering a full hundred meters before landing on the protective net at the edge of the field.
"Home run???"
Everyone present, freshmen and Old-timers alike, stared in disbelief.
In their impression, while Zhang Han's hitting ability was impressive, he should have been a technical hitter. His hitting power had never seemed exceptional.
Not only others—even Zhang Han himself was stunned.
He had always relied on pitch-guessing to perform well. Though his guessing method was unique, at the core he belonged to the type of hitter who won through pitch selection and judgment.
Power had never been his specialty.
Back in Matsukata Senior League, whether in pitching or hitting, Zhang Han's power was only average. He couldn't compare with Hoshida or Miyakawa at all.
So he had always assumed his power was nothing special.
The Seido High School coaching staff, however, were the quickest to accept what had just happened.
"Zhang Han's power… I didn't expect it to awaken so quickly," Takashima Rei murmured.
The Ace of the team had just been hit for a home run by a freshman on the very first pitch.
Naturally, Takashima Rei's feelings were complicated.
But the one who hit the home run was Zhang Han. And with his power awakening this fast, she felt the investment they made to recruit him was well worth it.
More importantly, when a player's power awakens, it doesn't just boost hitting power. It also boosts ball velocity and pitch speed.
Who knew what kind of changes his pitching now held?
"How is that possible? When he took the test, he clearly wasn't this strong, right?" Manager Ota still looked like he couldn't believe his own eyes.
Although Zhang Han had shown excellent hitting efficiency during the entrance tests, he had still been within the realm of a freshman. Ota had only thought his potential was high for the future—he had never imagined Zhang Han could already display such overwhelming power.
He actually hit Hidezawa's pitch out of the park—a home run!!
"It's not that unbelievable. Zhang Han's original hitting power was already good. It's just that he was on a team with top-tier power hitters like Hoshida and Miyakawa, so his own power didn't look as prominent. But he was still one of Matsukata's core hitters, and his potential was undeniable. Since coming to our school, he's been doing basic strength training for over half a month. With that accumulated work, his potential has started to surface. We just didn't expect the awakening to be this fast or this effective."
Takashima Rei had already seen Zhang Han's hidden power when she recruited him. Otherwise she wouldn't have worked so hard to invite him.
But even she hadn't expected the buried potential to be this big.
Only two weeks of tire dragging… and his core strength had already fused with his lower body strength, giving a result greater than 1 + 1.
Truly extraordinary.
The Old-timers Team had been holding back, planning to give the freshmen a hard lesson.
Now it seemed the freshmen had slapped them in the face instead.
In the freshman dugout, it was silent for more than ten seconds. Only then did the young players truly understand what had happened.
"So cool!!"
"That's it!"
"Zhang-san, well done!"
Miyuki Kazuya grinned ear to ear. Before the upperclassmen even launched their attack, Zhang Han's clean home run had put the freshmen ahead. This was huge.
First, it boosted confidence. Many freshmen saw the upperclassmen as impossibly strong, unbeatable monsters. Zhang Han had proven with one swing that this wasn't true.
The upperclassmen were not invincible. As long as they worked hard, they had a chance.
Beyond the run scored, just the change in mindset was an enormous contribution.
And the upperclassmen must be shocked right now.
"This is a perfect chance to kick them while they're down. Kuramochi, you're up next," Miyuki said with a sly grin, walking over to Kuramochi Yoichi.
With the score at 1–0, Miyuki knew this lead was nowhere near enough.
If they wanted to defeat the upperclassmen, they had to score more while Hidezawa was still shaken.
The more runs, the better.
"You're calling the upperclassmen 'down and out dogs'? Don't make me go tattling to Hidezawa-senpai."
"You can tell him whatever you want after the game. Right now, getting on base comes first."
"Hee-haw!"
Kuramochi's eyes were burning with excitement.
Zhang Han had already hit a home run. If he couldn't even get on base, wouldn't that be embarrassing?
"Ping!"
Without hesitation, a perfect bunt. The ball stopped beautifully along the Third Base line.
"So accurate!"
"Beautiful bunt!"
"But there's no one on base… what's the point of bunting now?"
Before anyone finished speaking, a blue blur, like a leopard, shot forward.
"So fast!"
"Is he cheating?!"
Before the ball could even be thrown back, Kuramochi slid into First Base.
"Safe!"
"Bunt and steal! What kind of monsters are these freshmen?!"
Kuramochi's speed shocked everyone so thoroughly that they almost forgot who was stepping into the batter's box next.
"Ping!"
The shortstop on the Old-timers Team fielded it beautifully and threw to First Base.
The hitter was out—but Kuramochi, who had been on First, had already sprinted to Second Base.
Now he was in scoring position.
"Who was that guy? Even though he didn't get a hit, he hit it pretty solidly."
"I think his name was something Mae… can't remember exactly!"
One out. Runner on Second.
The freshmen's aggressive, relentless plays completely disrupted the Old-timers.
Now the player who ranked second only to Zhang Han in the freshman hitting test stepped into the batter's box.
Seeing a runner on Second Base, his blood boiled. He loved situations where he could bring runners home. And pitchers had fewer pitch options with a runner behind them.
Outside corner!
Just as Miyuki expected, the pitch flew to the outside corner.
"Ping!"
He swung without hesitation.
So heavy!!
The moment the bat connected, the force almost ripped the bat from his hands. He barely managed to hold on and sweep the ball past the Third Baseman.
Incredible!
How did Zhang Han manage to hit a home run off such a heavy pitch?
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