Tokyo: The story begins with a confession.

Page 97

"Thank you so much."

"I also love baseball very much and am a big fan of the Tigers. I really hope to see Uesugi-kun wearing the Tigers uniform someday. That would be such a wonderful scene."

Upon hearing this, Uesugi Kenichi could only chuckle twice without responding.

"Alright, Uesugi-kun, we won't bother you anymore. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. We know the true level of our school. If it really doesn't work out, we'll come back next year. We'll definitely find you a good group of helpers next year!"

"You're too kind. I'll do my best. I'll take my leave now."

After giving everyone a half-bow, Uesugi Kenichi left. Before he even reached the classroom, the team's coach and manager dragged him to the baseball field, saying it was to warm him up and keep his touch...

He dawdled on the baseball field until ten o'clock, and he was getting really bored. The manager and coach had told him not to let anyone else bother him, and a bunch of girls crowded around the field fence were whispering to each other from time to time.

· ·Requesting flowers· ········

Coach Cheng's arrival finally saved Uesugi Kenichi. Although the match was at 4 pm, they discussed it and decided to go early, firstly to experience the atmosphere of the match.

Secondly, we can also look at the qualifying results and the performance of other schools.

Of course, Coach Xiang Cheng asked Uesugi Kenichi for his opinion before making the decision. If he didn't want to go, then he could wait until after lunch, which was quite considerate.

Kenichi Uesugi isn't an ungrateful person. The school's support and attitude towards him are actually quite good. He's not a cold-blooded person either, and he has a sense of belonging to the school.

...... ..... 0

Now that he has the ability, he is determined to seize the Red Banner!

After obtaining Kenichi Uesugi's consent, Coach Cheng waved his hand, and a total of 10 buses headed towards the Heisei Gymnasium.

Their arrival attracted a lot of attention. Judging from their school uniforms, they knew that they were from Yamato Academy. Yamato Academy is home to Uesugi Kenichi, the most watched genius player in this year's Koshien!

Some spectators stopped watching the game altogether and craned their necks, searching everywhere for Uesugi Ken.

"Where is everyone? Why are there so many people at Yamato Academy? If anyone has seen Uesugi Kenichi, please let me know."

"What's the rush? Just look at the row in front of their seats. See, aren't they sitting there?"

"I see. You really can't tell from his appearance that this seemingly thin and weak boy contains such great power. It's terrifying."

"Yeah, look at the sound of the pitching in the video, I really wonder if the catcher will get hit to death by it!"

"I really hope the afternoon game starts soon. To be honest, I can't wait to see him pitch."

"So handsome..." a discordant voice rang out.

……Son.

Chapter 185 Uesugi the Great Demon King

Kenichi Uesugi sat quietly in the front row of the audience, watching the game. None of the schools that had made it to the third round in the Tokyo region were weak teams; their overall strength was much greater than that of Kitano Takeshi High School, which they had faced last time.

He watched very carefully. Although his personal strength was far superior here, his teammates were not actually good enough for a three-round match.

Kenichi Uesugi watched intently. "I'm not bad either," he thought. He stood to the side, pen in hand, constantly writing and drawing in his notebook, analyzing the strengths of other schools and what he needed to pay attention to.

Time flew by in this focused state, and after lunch, the first match of the afternoon began at 1:30.

"Uesugi-kun, look closely, the opponents below are the biggest rivals we might face in this qualifying round." Xiang Chengdai sat next to Uesugi Kenichi in car 650 and pointed to Furin High School below.

Upon hearing this, Uesugi Kenichi's expression became much more serious. Kobayashi had told him about the strength of Fuurin High School last time, and given their team's capabilities, he couldn't afford to be careless.

"Actually, facing Furin High School is a pretty good opponent for us." Xiang Chengda said to Uesugi Kenichi, whose gaze was very serious.

"Why do you say that?"

Under Uesugi Kenichi's gaze, every member of Furin High School looked confident and content, exuding a strong sense of aggression, seemingly not taking their rival, Hosen High School, seriously at all.

He could tell that this confidence wasn't arrogance, but rather a genuine sense of self-assurance. In contrast, Baoxian High School seemed somewhat intimidated when looking at Fenglin High School.

Seemingly aware of how strong their upcoming opponent was, Baoxian High School's morale was already somewhat weakened before the match even began.

Upon hearing this, Coach Xiang Cheng turned his gaze to Uesugi Kenichi, a smile playing on his lips.

"Because what Furin High School is most proud of is their batting lineup, which can be called a storm of powerful batting even in Koshien. In Furin High School's games, there are often very large score differences."

"Each of the nine players in the batting lineup would be a top-four hitter in other strong schools. They are all very strong, especially their captain and fourth batter, Ryosuke Aoki, who is said to be able to hit pitches at speeds exceeding 175 km/h."

"His hitting ability is above average even in professional baseball. He's a junior and about to graduate, and quite a few professional baseball teams have already set their sights on him, just waiting for next year's draft."

As he spoke to Chengda, his smile deepened. "And coincidentally, we have you, Uesugi-kun, at Yamato Academy. With your pitching skills, I don't think Furin High School's batting lineup will pose a threat to us. You could say we're the team that hard-counters them!"

Uesugi Kenichi nodded and understood. Just as Coach Cheng had said, the batting lineup of Furin High School was outstanding. The sounds of bats hitting baseballs rang out continuously, and hits were hit one after another, eliciting enthusiastic cheers from the audience.

In particular, when Ryosuke Aoki, the fourth batter, came on the field, it garnered a lot of cheers and support, as it seemed that many fans had come specifically to watch him play.

Ryosuke Aoki did not disappoint. He hit a home run on his first batter, completely demoralizing the pitcher from Hosen High School.

Meanwhile, Fenglin High School's momentum grew stronger, and wave after wave of powerful attacks completely crushed Baoxian High School. However, it seems that their pitchers were only of average level.

Baoxian High School managed to score a few points; otherwise, if they had been swept after conceding a high number of points, the Baoxian High School players might have developed a phobia of baseball in the future.

In the cowshed, the recorder from Fenglin High School looked at his coach with a puzzled expression. Despite having such a huge advantage on the field, the coach did not show any smile on his face. Instead, he looked at the audience with a very serious expression.

"Coach, what's wrong? Aren't we about to win? Why do you seem so unhappy?"

Upon hearing the recorder's voice, Kojiro Ueno, the coach of Furin High School, withdrew his gaze.

"Isn't it normal for us to defeat Baoxian High School? What's there to be happy about?"

"What are you looking at? Is there something that's worth noting?"

"I'm worried about what will happen in the final qualifying rounds. I feel like I'm going to have a heart attack every time I see that monster sitting on the sidelines." Kojiro Ueno looked at the stands again.

The recorder followed the coach's gaze and, upon seeing the dashing young man, as upright as a pine tree, sitting in the audience, a knowing look immediately appeared in his eyes.

These past few days, the coach has been locking himself in his room every day, watching the game videos of that boy named Uesugi Kenichi over and over again.

When he occasionally went in, he often saw the coach muttering to himself with a look of despair on his face.

"How could there be such a high school student? This part is fake. No high school student could be this good. This must be a fake video."

"Oh no, oh no, how are we supposed to deal with this? We can't fight it at all."

"Why doesn't this boy recognize our school?"

This state continued for several days. Of course, he understood the coach's distress. After watching the video of those two games, all the players of Fenglin High School fell silent, their eyes filled with shock.

These past two days, he has often seen Captain Ryosuke Aoki training him with a pitching machine, and the speed displayed on the baseball pitching machine is a staggering 180!

"Stay focused, don't relax, and win this match decisively!"

"Yes!"

Ryosuke Aoki stood outside the cowshed and shouted at the group, who seemed somewhat complacent due to the huge point difference. Many team members responded loudly.

Seeing his teammates regain their spirits, Aoki Ryosuke nodded, then turned his gaze to the stands, to the 1.8-meter figure that had been on his mind for days, the one whose pitching kept him up all night—Uesugi Kenichi!

Even in professional baseball, his pitching speed is top-notch, and coupled with his seemingly limitless hitting ability, there is no doubt that the boy sitting on the sidelines cast a deep shadow over his heart!

After watching the video of Kenichi Uesugi's match, he trained himself using a pitching machine. Even with the same fastball, he could only maintain a batting average of around 50%.

The ball speed of 180 is too fast, leaving him very little time to react. He must maintain full concentration and not hesitate for even a moment to hit the ball.

However, the mental strain of trying to concentrate fully at all times is immense.

However, if they want to advance beyond the Tokyo region, Kenichi Uesugi is a huge obstacle they must overcome!

Chapter 186 Online Broadcast

The result of the match was a foregone conclusion, with Furin High School emerging victorious. It was only 3 p.m., and there was still an hour before Yamato Academy's match against Yamado High School.

It was time to enter the field for preparations. Coach Xiang Cheng led the team onto the field, and a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted from the stands as they stepped onto the field.

Many people shouted Kenichi Uesugi's name and waved their support signs. Although it had only been two games, Kenichi Uesugi had already won over many viewers.

As they sat and prepared, the big screen in the stadium began to show highlights of Kenichi Uesugi's two previous pitches and swings, which also included some highlights from other high schools!

Backstage, a man excitedly watched the ratings soaring on his computer screen and exclaimed, "The ratings have increased dramatically!"

The director standing nearby wore a knowing smile. "Isn't this 11 something we expected? Ignore everyone else and keep the camera firmly focused on Uesugi Kenichi's back, even when he's resting, understand?"

"Yes, I know what to do."

Traditionally, the Koshien tournament is usually broadcast on television and online only from the final round of the preliminary rounds, but this year is different.

A super baseball prodigy has emerged this year. If that were all, it wouldn't be so bad, but what can you do when this kid has such a handsome face that even men would admire?

This caused a surge of comments on the forums and comment sections of the entire Koshien tournament area, with many people requesting to rebroadcast the matches featuring Uesugi Kenichi.

After conducting numerous surveys, the organizers discovered that quite a few people actually shared this sentiment and readily agreed to move the television and online broadcast times forward considerably.

Ultimately, TV stations are also thinking about ratings. They would have no objection if the ratings could be significantly increased, let alone starting the broadcast from the third episode. They would even have no objection if the broadcast were moved to the first episode.

On the online broadcast, many viewers who couldn't go to the stadium to watch the game flocked to the live stream and kept spamming the chat with comments.

"Wow, finally we can see Uesugi-kun's matches again! Go for it! I love the most handsome Uesugi-kun in the world."

"Oh my god, give the director a bonus! The camera is on Uesugi-kun the whole time. I'm drooling."

"He's handsome from every angle, and his skin is so good even without makeup. How can anyone else compete with that?"

"You guys are going too far. Weren't we here to watch baseball? There are so many girls over there."

"Who says girls can't watch? I guarantee there are way more girls than boys here!"

"Never mind, let's do our best at Yamato Academy! Go, Uesugi-kun!"

……

Soon after the opening sequence finished playing, Coach Xiang Cheng conveyed the tactical objective to the team and then had the players warm up.

His tactics were simple: although Yamato High School was strong, it didn't matter much who they faced in defense against Yamato Academy, which had Uesugi Kenichi.

The key issue is offense; how to score points under the opponent's defense is the focus of the game.

The entire tactic was arranged around the offensive. She placed Kenichi Uesugi in the third batter position, Yayoi Iijima remained in the first batter position, and Yuji Kawasuke, the fourth batter and captain with the strongest hitting ability, was placed in the second batter position.

Coach Xiang Cheng believes that as long as the first and second batters can get hits and create a runner on base, then Uesugi Kenichi, who will be the third batter, will inevitably be walked to base.

Of course, there were indeed opponents who didn't believe in the power of hitting and wanted to test Uesugi Kenichi's hitting ability. Coach Xiang Cheng welcomed them very much.

In general, the strategy revolves around Kenichi Sugi's formidable and powerful hitting skills, aiming to score points.

If they only succeed once in a nine-inning game, the scales of victory will tip in their favor!