Diamond No Ace: The Strongest Hitter Has Arrived Poor Acting II

Zhang Han stood at the batter's box, looking timid.

No matter how anyone looked at him, he appeared frightened. Or perhaps crushed under an invisible weight of pressure. At this mont, he behaved exactly like a complete rookie, the kind who had already been shaken by intimidation or a hard hit. His posture was stiff. His grip looked uncertain. Even his eyes carried a hint of hesitation.

Whether anyone believed it or not did not seem to matter.

Zhang Han continued his clumsy performance, unwavering and stubborn, as if fully committed to the act.

Inside the dugout of Seido High School's baseball team, frustration was spreading.

Several teammates clenched their fists. So frowned openly. Others looked away, unwilling to watch. No one liked seeing their batter stand there looking so powerless, especially not in such a critical mont.

Only Miyuki Kazuya was different.

As he slipped on his glove and prepared to step onto the field, his expression gradually grew serious. His eyes stayed locked on Zhang Han, not with anger, but with suspicion. The longer he watched, the stronger the strange sense of familiarity beca.

He had seen this before.

But when?

Miyuki frowned slightly, searching his mory.

That timid stance. That deliberate hesitation. That awkward, almost exaggerated nervousness.

It felt wrong.

Very wrong.

"Zhang Han… Matsukata…"

The na surfaced in his mind, and with it ca a sudden flash of clarity. Miyuki's eyes widened slightly. He rembered.

Three years ago.

Back when both he and Zhang Han were still first-year middle school students.

At the ti, Miyuki was already the main catcher of his team, trusted to lead them through official gas. Their opponent that day had been Matsukata. Zhang Han had been there too, but not as a main player. He was just a substitute, soone barely worth noting.

Until that at-bat.

Zhang Han had co in as a pinch hitter.

Back then, he had worn the exact sa expression. Nervous. Awkward. Almost foolish. His stance had looked unstable, his movents stiff, as if he might freeze at any mont.

Miyuki rembered clearly how everyone on his team had reacted.

They had all assud Zhang Han was simply too nervous.

It made sense. No one had heard of him before. He had no reputation, no experience worth ntioning. A new player making his debut in an official Little League tournant was bound to feel pressure.

Even Miyuki himself hadn't suspected anything.

And then, that unremarkable substitute had delivered the decisive hit, scoring the winning run and ending the ga.

At the ti, it had felt like a coincidence.

Now, looking back, it felt calculated.

So much ti had passed that Miyuki thought he had forgotten the incident entirely. Yet now, the mory replayed in his mind with startling clarity. Every detail resurfaced, sharp and vivid, as if he were watching a scene from a movie.

Stolen novel; please report.

Despite recalling it so clearly, Miyuki still couldn't understand Zhang Han's intention.

Back then, the success had co from surprise. No one had guarded against him. No one had taken him seriously.

But this ti was different.

Ichidai San would not underestimate Zhang Han. Not now. Not with the situation on the field as tense as it was. With a runner already on base, and the score hanging in the balance, Kashima would surely pitch with everything he had.

One hundred and twenty percent.

In that case, what was the point of pretending to be weak?

What did Zhang Han gain by showing fear now?

Miyuki couldn't figure it out.

Still, there was one thing he knew for certain.

Zhang Han had not given up.

There was no way soone like him would surrender at a mont like this. If he was acting, then he had a reason. Miyuki just hadn't seen through it yet.

On the other side of the field, Ichidai San's pitcher and catcher were equally cautious.

Zhang Han's weak posture did not make them careless. If anything, it made them more alert.

They treated him with the sa seriousness they reserved for Higashi Kiyokuni or Yuuki Tetsuya. Their focus was sharp. Their resolve firm.

But resolve alone didn't make decisions easier.

When Kashima actually faced Zhang Han, he hesitated.

Pitch selection was never simple. A pitcher had to consider countless factors. The number of outs. The runners on base. The score. The flow of the ga.

Then there was the batter.

What pitches was he good at hitting? What did he struggle with? What was he aiming for? Was he waiting for sothing specific? All of this went into choosing a single pitch.

Kashima had handled these calculations smoothly against other Seido batters.

But now, his mind felt blank.

Zhang Han had only played a few gas so far. From those appearances, only his strengths were visible. No obvious weaknesses had been exposed. Every hit looked clean. Every swing looked deliberate.

As for Seido's intentions, the answer seed obvious. With a runner on second base, they wanted a hit.

And yet, Zhang Han's posture told a completely different story.

He looked helpless. Passive. As if he wouldn't swing no matter what ca his way.

Kashima felt strangely unsettled. Zhang Han's cowardly waiting stance gave him nothing to work with. At that mont, the catcher leaned in and made a suggestion.

"If we don't know what he's planning," he said quietly, "why not just throw your best pitch?"

After all, Zhang Han was only a first-year freshman.

Kashima's straight ball was heavy and fast. There was a good chance Zhang Han wouldn't even make contact. And even if he did, the hit wouldn't be solid.

The logic was sound.

Kashima gave a slight nod.

He felt like a headless fly, unable to find direction. The catcher's suggestion offered a way forward, simple and direct.

He trusted his straight ball. It had worked against Higashi Kiyokuni. It had worked against Yuuki. It wasn't unbeatable, but it carried undeniable destructive power. Using it now would at least test Zhang Han's limits.

In just over ten seconds, Kashima made his decision and set it into motion. He believed himself decisive.

What he didn't realize was that this pitch took nearly three tis longer to prepare than his usual ones.

"Whoosh!"

The ball shot forward.

Despite the extended preparation, its speed and power did not diminish. If anything, the pitch carried even more force than usual. The white ball tore through the air, leaving behind a blurred trail as it scread toward ho plate.

In that instant, Zhang Han's foolish expression vanished. It was as if a switch had been flipped.

His eyes sharpened. His stance stabilized. He raised the bat high and swung without the slightest hesitation.

The movent was clean, decisive, and fierce.

Kashima and the catcher froze.

In that split second, they realized what they had forgotten.

Before the ga, they had held an internal eting. Hoshida, Zhang Han's forr teammate, had spoken clearly. Zhang Han was best at hitting straight balls. He hit them almost every ti. Breaking balls, on the other hand, were his weakness.

And more importantly, in a situation this critical, with so much on the line, why hadn't they thought of using a gyroball? Either option would have been safer. Smarter.

Instead, they had chosen the worst possible pitch.

A straight ball.

Right down the strike zone.

"Ping!"

The sound was sharp and heavy.

The bat collided with the ball, sending a violent shock through Zhang Han's arms. The recoil traveled straight into his hands. Half a year ago, he might not have been able to hit this pitch cleanly. He might not have even made contact.

But half a year had changed everything.

For nearly six months, Zhang Han had eaten three full bowls of rice every al, trained relentlessly, and strengthened his body beyond recognition. The weak freshman from before no longer existed.

"Go!"

The muscles in his arms bulged as power erupted from his body. With a single, forceful sweep, he sent the ball flying.

"It went through!"

A clean hit.

The very first pitch.

Yuuki Tetsuya, waiting on second base, reacted instantly. He sprinted forward, rounded third base, and charged ho without hesitation.

The crowd erupted.

"Zhang Han!"

"Zhang Han is a hero!!!"

The score changed, and the field fell silent for a brief mont, as everyone tried to process what they had just witnessed.

Zhang Han lowered his bat, expression calm, as if this outco had been inevitable all along.

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