A ball speed of 160 kilotres per hour, over 100 miles per hour. Anyone who can pitch at such a speed is already legendary for that velocity alone, regardless of what else they achieve.
So far, only one pitcher in Koshien history has reportedly reached it.
In Japan's professional baseball league, those who have managed it can be counted on two hands.
Even in the Major League in North Arica, the highest level of the sport, pitchers with that kind of speed are rare in any era. Records go back to the beginning of the league, and every one of those pitchers has been etched into history.
Last winter, a reporter who had slipped into Seido High School accidentally overheard soone practicing pitches, with another person recording the ball speed nearby.
The Seido High School Baseball Team never publicly acknowledged the incident, but dia reports spread like wildfire.
According to the reporter, the young man practicing at the ti had already reached a speed of one hundred and fifty-four kilotres per hour. He also heard soone inside say, with clear excitent, that if training continued at that rate, breaking one hundred and sixty before the end of high school was a certainty.
The reporter thought he had stumbled onto a major scoop. When he went to Coach Kataoka for comnt, Kataoka shook his head firmly.
"No. Don't talk nonsense."
But the harder Kataoka denied it, the more suspicious the reporter beca. He trusted his own ears over anything Kataoka said.
It was just a pity that he hadn't actually seen anyone. He had only heard voices and that terrifying pitching sound. By the ti he ca out to look, whoever had been practicing was already gone.
The entire indoor stadium was empty.
No video, no na, not even a single photograph.
News like that struggles to gain traction.
Even so, it caused a sensation. So speculated it was one of the three pitchers from the Seido squad of the previous autumn. Others guessed it was Hidezawa, who had already retired. But while none of their ball speeds were slow, they were all well short of one hundred and sixty kilotres per hour.
In the end, those willing to believe the report settled on a theory: Seido had a hidden Ace. One who hadn't been ready before, kept back until his pitching was truly polished, at which point he would make his presence felt.
Those unwilling to believe had plenty of counter-argunts. Seido was fabricating sothing out of nothing, planting fake news to get inside their competitors' heads. By the ti of the Sumr Tournant, it would co to nothing.
Jinguuji was clearly one of those who believed the rumour. But when he asked his seniors about it, they all seed to have sothing they couldn't quite say.
"Well..."
"You'll find out later."
No one admitted anything. No one denied it either.
Their evasiveness left Jinguuji more confused than before.
Miyuki was asked too, and he also gave no answer at the ti. But when he turned around and ran into Zhang Han, he nudged him with his elbow.
"The legendary soone. Don't you want to tell our new junior yourself? After all, he ca all the way from..."
Zhang Han glanced down at the middle finger of his left hand, then raised it in front of Miyuki's face.
"You're a celebrated Koshien star. Isn't that a bit unbecoming?"
"You should be grateful the legal system exists. With that mouth of yours, I don't know how many tis you'd have been beaten to death otherwise."
That hit a sore spot.
Thinking about the pitcher who had thrown at one hundred and fifty-four kilotres per hour just over two months ago, Zhang Han felt a dull ache.
He had never imagined his ball speed could improve that quickly.
After the Autumn Tournant, as he focused on his pitching, his form grew more consistent and the motion felt smoother. His ball speed broke through like water from a broken dam. He couldn't have slowed it down if he tried.
In just two months, his ball speed jumped two levels. By the end of December, his peak had reached one hundred and fifty-four kilotres per hour.
It was during that sa practice session that they were unlucky enough to be overheard by the reporter, and the story got out. The coaching staff hadn't been particularly troubled by the news at first. Having a pitcher with that kind of speed on the roster wasn't a bad thing. The player who had thrown at one hundred and sixty before, even without becoming the team's Ace, had brought real benefits to the program.
It was just a pity the reporter only caught the first half.
Zhang Han, who had thrown at one hundred and fifty-four kilotres per hour that day, left early because he was injured.
Manager Ota took him to the hospital imdiately. Takashima Rei and Kataoka followed shortly after.
"How does it feel?"
"It hurts a little when I move my middle finger."
At the ti, Zhang Han hadn't grasped how serious it was. He assud it was a muscle strain from too much pitching.
After the X-rays, the doctor's answer made everyone's heart sink.
"Bone crack."
Not a fracture, but serious enough. Finger bones in particular take longer to heal because of how much they are used.
"Did you hit anything?"
The doctor asked about the cause. He listened to Coach Kataoka and Manager Ota recount what had happened, then turned to Zhang Han, who confird it.
The doctor was angry.
"This is reckless. Even for soone who has been training since childhood, throwing at that speed puts enormous strain on the fingers. One wrong move and injury is almost guaranteed. He is fifteen years old and has never practiced pitching with his left hand before. You cannot let him throw at that speed without restriction."
The doctor's point was this: training the body from a young age allows it to adapt in ways it simply cannot once it has fully matured. A child who practices splits regularly can do a full split at fifty. An adult who tries to force one risks serious injury.
Zhang Han's situation was the sa.
It was the first ti Kataoka had genuinely listened to soone reprimand him. It also made him think seriously about bringing in a professional coach.
None of what the doctor described had been on Kataoka's radar before. Had he known, he would never have allowed Zhang Han's ball speed to increase so rapidly.
"Fortunately it was caught early and the damage is not too serious. A bone crack like this needs no special treatnt, only rest. The middle finger needs approximately one hundred days. If he stops pitching, he can return to normal practice in around thirty days. After the injury heals, don't rush back to pitching. Start with finger strengthening exercises, build up the muscles and bones, then increase intensity gradually. He is only fifteen. There is still a great deal of room ahead of him."
That was the doctor's advice.
From that point until now, Zhang Han had rested for over three months. He had not pitched in over three months.
His teammates were considerate about it. They generally didn't bring it up.
Gradually, it had beco an open but unspoken secret within the Seido High School Baseball Team.
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