"Damn it! How could the ball break like that?!"
Everyone on the scene widened their eyes in disbelief.
Very few middle school players can master high-level breaking balls. Even among high school players, those who can consistently throw advanced breaking pitches are rare.
But just now, they had clearly witnessed a breaking ball that was at least S-grade in sharpness.
The movement was simply jaw-dropping.
"The genius I've been waiting for… he's finally here!"
Supervisor Tahara's eyes lit up like a 40-watt bulb.
He was already content to have someone with Manaka Kaname's potential in his rotation.
But it was as if the baseball gods were showing him extra favor. Not only did they give him Manaka, now another pitcher had appeared—one who might be even more gifted.
He had only seen one pitch, but Supervisor Tahara could barely contain his excitement.
For a truly talented player, even if their skills haven't fully developed yet, the potential alone is priceless.
"Listen up—after the game, keep this kid here. No matter what, don't let him leave!"
The assistant coach of City Third High School was taken aback. He'd worked under Coach Tahara for several years, but this was the first time he'd seen him this excited.
That could only mean one thing: this kid's potential was off the charts.
Otherwise, the typically composed Tahara would never have lost his cool like this.
Despite his childish moments, Tahara was still a well-respected manager of a powerhouse team.
And yet now he was totally out of control.
The assistant coach turned his eyes to Tianjiu.
Was this boy's talent really that terrifying?
And then the next pitch answered all his questions.
Tianjiu opened with a deadly breaking ball and followed it up with a blazing fastball.
Whoosh!
The white ball shot forward like a bullet, cutting through the air and slamming into the catcher's glove.
Bang!
"Nice pitch!"
The ninth batter from City University High just stood there, stunned.
Too fast!
It flashed by him so quickly, he couldn't even react. He wasn't a first-string player like Ohmae or Manaka, but he was a solid prospect on the second team. He had already started playing scrimmages against other schools.
But even he couldn't catch up to Tianjiu's fastball.
"Two strikes already?!"
"The middle school kids this year are something else."
"Seriously, where did this guy come from?"
"You don't know? That's Tianjiu from the Ishikawa Little League. Haven't you heard of him?"
"The one with the noisy delivery?"
A small group of old fans from City Third had shown up outside the stadium to watch. They were already talking animatedly among themselves.
Every year, a few standouts emerge from the tryouts.
But honestly, most of them are more flash than substance. The event has hype, but the actual success rate for recruiting stars is low.
It's easy to understand why. Guys like Ohmae and Manaka, along with incoming rookies like Hoshida and Miyagawa, were already scouted and invited directly. They'd never show up to an open tryout like this.
So the ones participating were usually second-tier talents—good, but not great.
But this year?
A dark horse had appeared.
Tianjiu Guangsheng.
"Go grab a radar gun. I want to know how fast this kid's throwing."
Whoosh!
First pitch: a top-level breaking ball.
Second: a clean, overpowering fastball.
Third: a fastball right down the middle.
Three straight pitches.
Not a single swing.
The batter never even moved his bat.
"Strikeout! Batter is out without swinging!"
Tianjiu's appearance immediately gave the middle school squad a huge morale boost.
"Nice one!"
"We're not letting them win without a fight!"
"One out! One out!"
The atmosphere on the middle school side suddenly brightened, voices of encouragement echoing across the field.
"138 km/h!"
The radar gun finally got a reading.
The assistant coach frowned slightly.
It wasn't that 138 km/h was slow, but something felt off.
From what he saw with his own eyes, the pitch looked faster—easily 140 or more.
"His pitch has something special..."
Supervisor Tahara's eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
A true genius.
With the right training, this kid's future would be limitless.
But just as the hype around him soared—
Ping!
Tianjiu's pitch was hit by the City Third High's leadoff batter, Manaka.
The ball flew cleanly over the shortstop's head, landing safely in the outfield.
"Safe!"
One out, runner on first base.
"Well done! A clean hit!"
"Don't get cocky just because you're younger!"
The upperclassmen from City Third cheered loudly.
Even Zhang Han, who had been matched up against Manaka, gave him a thumbs-up.
"That was awesome, senpai! How'd you know he was going to throw an inside fastball?"
"Don't forget—I'm a pitcher too!"
Manaka grinned from ear to ear.
Clearly, he was thrilled at having predicted Tianjiu's pitch path.
"But I didn't expect you to come to City Third. Didn't you always say, 'Choice is more important than hard work'? I thought you'd go to Teito or Inashiro."
Those two teams had been Koshien regulars in recent years.
"Don't look down on City Third. It's a damn good team."
"I never said it wasn't."
"You totally did. Don't try to deny it, senpai."
"You're still as cheeky as ever."
"Thanks for the compliment, then."
Zhang Han had been a rotation pitcher in the Matsukata Little League since first grade, and he'd played against Manaka for two years.
He knew both Manaka and his backup, Tamba.
But Tamba was shy and quiet, so they hadn't interacted much.
Shinnosuke, on the other hand, had the kind of sunny personality that made him easy to talk to.