Chapter 204: 203: You Might Be a Genius, But Koshien Is Full of Them

Words : 1313 Updated : Oct 13th, 2025

During Monday's lunch break, Takashi said to Tanaka Kota, "Kota, I remember you were the starting pitcher for your middle school baseball team, right?" "Yeah, I used to play baseball for a while because Shota pulled me into it." "Then can you teach me how to pitch?" "Huh?" Tanaka Kota looked at Takashi in surprise. "I can, but wouldn't it be better to ask the baseball team coach? Before coming to teach at our school, he was a pro baseball player." "The coaches are busy preparing for Koshien right now. It wouldn't be right to bother them." Otani Shota was injured, and the coaches were scrambling. Losing a single player meant the entire offensive and defensive system they'd carefully crafted was now up in the air. They'd have to start over. The original system had been designed specifically for the nine players on the first string team. You couldn't just promote someone from the second string and expect it to work. The key difference between the first and second strings wasn't just a matter of rank—it reflected the gap in actual ability. Would Otani Shota's seniors have given up their positions if he hadn't beaten them first? Every member who had climbed into the first string had done so by defeating others. By standing atop the fallen. In competitive sports, the strong reign supreme—results speak louder than anything. "You're right." Tanaka Kota also recalled the current state of the baseball team. The two of them borrowed a pair of baseball gloves and a ball from the team, then headed to the field to practice. Before leaving, Takashi also borrowed a pitch speed gun from the team's female manager. "Pitching is actually pretty simple. Start in position, lift your leg, stride forward, rotate and twist your waist, flick the ball, and throw." Tanaka Kota demonstrated the standard pitching form to Takashi, then threw a fastball with full strength. Takashi glanced at the speed gun. The reading showed 143 km/h. That was an insane number. You had to know—professional pitchers usually throw around 150 km/h. And Tanaka Kota hadn't trained since middle school, yet he was still this fast. Even scarier was the fact that he was only in his first year of high school. His growth potential was enormous. Takashi suddenly understood why both Tanaka Kota and Otani Shota had received recommendation-based admissions. As expected, everyone is the protagonist of their own story. "Watching won't help you. Come try it for yourself." Tanaka Kota tossed him a ball. Takashi mimicked the form he had just seen. Tanaka Kota stepped in to adjust his posture. "Hold the ball in front of your body with both hands." "Rotate your body slightly backward." "When your leg reaches its highest point, pause briefly to store energy." ... With Tanaka Kota adjusting him repeatedly, Takashi pitched using the most standard form: leg lift, stride, and throw. A sharp whistling cut through the air as the baseball shot off into the distance. "Holy crap—137 km/h!!!" Tanaka Kota stood there dumbfounded. "Takashi, are you seriously pitching for the first time?" "Yeah. Didn't you teach me the form just now?" Takashi shook his arm. After his first pitch, his arm felt like it was about to fall off. But he wasn't surprised by the result. A stamina level of 5 was average for a normal adult. A stamina level of 6 was about the upper limit of what a regular person could achieve through hard work. "Man, I can't stand you naturally talented freaks. So boring. I'm out." Tanaka Kota turned around and stormed off, cursing under his breath. "Come on, bro! Don't leave! Stay a bit longer—I'll buy you a soda later!" Takashi quickly grabbed him. "One week!" "Alright, alright, whatever you say." The sweltering heat stirred within the classroom. Outside the windows, the cicadas screamed endlessly, so noisy it frayed one's nerves. It was impossible to calm down and focus. A small group of girls by the window seats were chatting away. "Did you guys hear? Hoshino Ai was spotted at the fireworks festival yesterday with some other guy." "Dating is a huge taboo for idols. Isn't she supposed to shave her head now?" "That's old-school idol stuff. What era do you think we're in?" "Who was she on a date with, anyway?" "A mysterious silver-haired guy. Here, someone caught a photo." One of the girls found a paparazzi photo and passed it around. "Eh? This silhouette... doesn't it look a lot like Kitahara?" "It really does." "No way it's Takashi. If it were, Narii would've skinned him alive already." At that, the girls all burst into meaningless laughter. "Must be nice... I want a boyfriend too. Ah, hey—look over there!" Following the direction of the pointing finger, everyone looked over to the baseball field—somewhere girls would never normally go. Under the blazing noonday sun stood two boys. One stood on the pitcher's mound, throwing ball after ball with practiced motion. The other stood nearby, measuring the pitch speed. The scorching sun beat down on the pitcher. His white shirt was soaked in sweat, clinging to his body and faintly revealing the smooth lines of his muscles and the rising and falling of his chest. As the girls watched, they began to feel... breathless for some reason. "I'm going to wash my hands." One girl came to her senses first. Face flushed, thighs pressed together, she took quick, small steps toward the restroom. The others, snapping out of it, averted their eyes in embarrassment. "Kitahara is so handsome!" "Eh? Don't tell me you like him? If the the girls find out, they'll put a Tokyo-wide hit on you." "No way! I'm just... a little thirsty." "Wow, bold words!" "I'm a good girl—I don't smoke, don't drink, don't fool around. I'm just slightly perverted, what's wrong with that?" "If Kitahara confessed to me, I'd be down for three times a day." "You shameless thing, trying to have it all, huh?" The girls burst out laughing and teasing one another. Lunch break passed quickly. Takashi and Tanaka Kota were drenched in sweat. The two of them reeked of sweat and didn't want to go back to class like that, so they plopped down in the cool shade of the corridor, sipping chilled ramune soda from a vending machine. "Takashi, why are you suddenly so into baseball?" Tanaka Kota asked from where he sat on the steps. Takashi rolled the cold bottle across his face. "I plan to become the baseball team's ace pitcher within a week and take Shota's place to get us to Koshien." "..." Tanaka Kota went silent at those words. After a while, he finally spoke. "Give it up. You can't do it." While Takashi did have talent, and could pitch as fast as 139 km/h— If it were a weak team, there'd be no issue making him a starting pitcher. But on a strong team—especially one aiming for Koshien—Takashi's velocity wouldn't even get him into the second squad. The players who make it to Koshien are basically prodigies from every prefecture. You might be a diamond, sure—but Koshien is full of them. "What if... my current pitch speed isn't my limit?" Takashi knew full well he couldn't do it on talent alone. So he was ready to cheat a little. System, allocate stat points! Let me see where my true limit lies! ___ 20 Advanced Chapters available on p@ tr eon (.) com/HalflingFics Also, please point out my mistakes in the comment, thank you! Don't forget to leave a review too~ Check out the other translations too ___

Chapter 204: 203: You Might Be a Genius, But Koshien Is Full of Them

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