Zhang Han was utterly bewildered.
He really couldn't understand what was wrong with the usually arrogant seniors.
They were all looking at him with expressions filled with deep bitterness.
Did he steal their steak, or did he take their extra practice slot?
If it wasn't for those two reasons, he truly couldn't figure out why these seniors were staring at him like that.
"They're just jealous. Don't overthink it."
Azuma Kiyokuni laughed and explained, "Don't even mention them. Even I can't help but be jealous of your luck, kid. Making it to Koshien as a first-year…"
Azuma Kiyokuni wasn't surprised that Zhang Han could hit a home run. This kid was like a monster, catching up to him and Yuuki in just a few months.
It was truly unbelievable.
Although Yuuki had also risen to prominence during last year's Summer Tournament, at that time he still showed signs of immaturity. It wasn't until this spring—nearly a full year after Yuuki joined the baseball team—that he finally developed his own style, kept pace with Azuma, and officially surpassed Tanaka and the others.
Such explosive growth in just one year had already deeply shocked Azuma Kiyokuni.
As for himself, although he became famous early, it wasn't until a year and a half after joining the baseball team—last autumn, when all his seniors retired—that he truly became the backbone of the team, formed his own hitting style, and reached his current level.
It took him a year and a half.
Yuuki took a year.
What about Zhang Han?
Although Zhang Han was still somewhat immature and not completely polished, Azuma Kiyokuni had already seen it clearly—Zhang Han had begun to develop his own hitting style.
This was the hallmark of a top hitter.
Tanaka, Hidezawa, Yamada—these old teammates weren't lacking in effort. But they were always missing that one crucial element needed to reach this level.
Don't underestimate this tiny difference.
It was precisely this gap that stopped countless people.
Only hitters or pitchers who could form their own style had the potential to become renowned players in professional baseball.
This was an extremely important sign.
Even during its decline, Seido High School Baseball Team had maintained strong competitiveness. The reason lay in its ability to cultivate such symbolic leaders year after year.
That required both the player's talent and the team's training system.
It had to be said that Seido High School Baseball Team had been extraordinarily fortunate in the past two years.
First came Yuuki and Chris.
Then Miyuki and Zhang Han.
Although Miyuki had only just begun to show his potential as a hitter, Azuma Kiyokuni firmly believed that he, too, possessed this kind of hitting potential.
It was just that Miyuki's ceiling might not be as high as Zhang Han's. He would need another year or two of refinement to fully develop his own style.
Of course, this did not mean Miyuki was less important to the baseball team than Zhang Han.
In fact, in terms of overall importance, Miyuki might be even more critical to Seido than Zhang Han.
It couldn't even be said that Miyuki was inferior; their strengths simply couldn't be compared directly.
But purely in terms of hitting, Zhang Han's talent and effort far exceeded Miyuki's.
Whether now or in the future, his offensive strength would surpass Miyuki's by a wide margin.
What Azuma Kiyokuni envied the most was Zhang Han's luck.
Although he and Yuuki had also become main players in their first year, they failed to make it to Koshien back then. Naturally, they had no chance to challenge records that only freshmen could touch.
Of course, even if they had made it to Koshien at that time, their strength back then might not have been enough to tie the record.
But there was always hope, wasn't there?
Now, Azuma was a third-year, and Yuuki was already a second-year.
They could no longer enjoy the kind of glory Zhang Han was experiencing now.
To say they weren't envious would be a lie.
They were envious—but only envious.
In the end, the team's victory came first.
The total score was 4:0.
As long as Seido High School Baseball Team didn't commit any fatal mistakes in this game, even performing at only 80–90% of their usual strength would be more than enough to secure victory.
Why were the fans in the stands so shocked?
The reason was simple: no one expected Seido High School Baseball Team to be this strong.
As Fujio, a senior reporter from Baseball Kingdom, put it:
"Shinko High School from Kyoto—although not as famous as the three powerhouse schools of West Tokyo—is still a nationally renowned powerhouse. Their strength is absolutely not weak, especially their Ace, Kuse Hikaru, who is widely regarded as one of the top pitchers in the country. Such a team, wherever it is placed, cannot be underestimated. In today's game, while Kuse Hikaru and Shinko High School may not have performed at 120% of their ability, they maintained their usual standard. As for the result we're seeing now, it can only be attributed to the overwhelming strength of Seido High School Baseball Team."
Seido High School.
Osaka Kiryuu.
Online debates about which team possessed the nation's strongest batting lineup had never ceased.
Especially over the past two days, the discussions had grown extremely heated.
Everyone voiced their opinions, and the online community was overflowing with enthusiasm.
It was lively.
Yet almost no one noticed how strange the debate itself actually was.
Osaka Kiryuu—the school with the most Koshien championships—was known for forming elite teams every year through special admissions.
Some even jokingly referred to them as the "Cosmic Team."
Such a team might lack a singular, overwhelmingly dominant Ace pitcher.
That was normal. True powerhouse schools rarely rely on one Ace.
But every hitter on Osaka Kiryuu's roster was a genuine star slugger.
What about Seido High School Baseball Team?
Although their momentum surged after returning to Koshien, everyone knew they hadn't made it here in many years.
How many people truly believed Seido could go far?
Not zero—but certainly very few.
Yet now, this newly risen team, after playing just one game, dared to stand on equal footing with the so-called Cosmic Team.
After today's game, this debate would likely grow even more intense.
Leaving all that aside, even Fujio himself was beginning to look forward to the eventual clash between these two teams.
While he was lost in thought, the game on the field was already nearing its conclusion.
The initial gap was simply too large, and Shinko High School no longer had the ability to resist.
The only thing keeping them on the field was the final trace of stubborn pride belonging to a powerhouse school.
By the end of the eighth inning, the score on the scoreboard had become almost unbearable to look at.
17:1.
Returning to Koshien, Seido High School Baseball Team blasted four home runs and scored seventeen runs in their Round of 16 match.
For a time, their momentum was completely unmatched.
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