"Zhou Hao! Zhou Hao!!!"
The supporters of Seido High School erupted into thunderous cheers.
Zhou Hao's performance fully deserved such adoration.
Even Fujio, the veteran reporter from Baseball Kingdom, couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
"Zhou Hao is truly extraordinary."
His greatest weapon had already been sealed away.
For any pitcher, losing their best pitch would drastically reduce their effectiveness. In some cases, it could even cut their strength in half.
Yet Zhou Hao seemed completely unaffected.
He continued to dispatch his opponents with ruthless efficiency, never giving them the slightest opportunity to fight back.
A performance like that deserved everyone's praise.
He was a legend in the making.
Not a legend defined by history books or old records.
With every game, every inning, every pitch, he was creating his own history.
The game entered the bottom of the seventh inning.
"Second batter, Number 4, Second Baseman, Kominato Ryosuke!"
Seido's second batter, the infamous Devil Batter Kominato Ryosuke, stepped into the batter's box.
The moment he settled in, he assumed an aggressive stance, making it clear he intended to drive the ball deep.
No one doubted his determination.
He was absolutely serious.
Unfortunately, reality was often cruel.
His opponent was Narumiya Mei.
Even Seido's own players weren't particularly optimistic about Ryosuke's chances.
While Narumiya Mei couldn't compare to Zhou Hao, he was still one of the most complete players in high school baseball.
As long as the ball remained in his hands, he possessed the ability to dominate almost any batter.
And today was no exception.
Even against the famous Devil Batter, Narumiya Mei showed no mercy.
Whoosh!
The baseball screamed toward home plate.
There was nothing flashy about the pitch.
It was pure speed.
Pure power.
The game was approaching its final stages, yet the score remained locked at 1-0.
Seido held a slim one-run lead.
Everyone had already witnessed how terrifying Zhou Hao remained on the mound.
Even without his super-fast pitches, he continued to suppress Inashiro's lineup completely.
Under such circumstances, mounting a comeback was incredibly difficult.
For Inashiro, the priority was obvious.
They had to prevent Seido from adding insurance runs.
Only then could they hope to reverse the game with a single breakthrough later.
Whoosh!
Another blazing fastball tore through the strike zone.
Standing in the batter's box, Ryosuke understood the situation perfectly.
Narumiya Mei wasn't going to give him easy breaking balls to hit.
His choices were simple.
Wait helplessly.
Or gamble.
Bet everything on being able to drive away a fastball exceeding 150 km/h.
"What an annoying brat..."
Though inwardly frustrated, Ryosuke tightened his grip on the bat.
When the pitch arrived, he swung without hesitation.
Fwoosh!
The sound of the bat cutting through the air echoed loudly.
Everyone could tell that Seido's second batter possessed exceptional bat control.
Even when forcing a swing, he still had a chance of producing a dangerous hit.
"Considering his physique, just how much brutal training has he gone through?"
Harada, Inashiro's catcher, couldn't help wondering.
Still, he didn't believe Ryosuke could challenge their Ace head-on.
The gap between them was simply too large.
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
Clang!
Bat met ball.
The instant of contact sent a violent shock through Ryosuke's arms.
For a moment, it felt as if they no longer belonged to him.
He nearly lost his grip on the bat.
It wasn't just the velocity.
It wasn't just the movement.
The pitch location itself had been perfectly calculated.
Narumiya Mei had clearly intended to end the battle with a single pitch.
Ryosuke's wrists simply couldn't handle the impact.
Although he managed to keep hold of the bat, the ball flew nowhere near where he intended.
Thump!
The baseball bounced weakly along the ground.
Inashiro's second baseman charged forward, fielded it cleanly, and immediately fired to first.
"Out!"
The throw arrived comfortably ahead of the runner.
One out, nobody on base.
For Inashiro's supporters, that out was priceless.
"Nice job!"
"That's our Ace!"
"Don't think Mei is going to lose!"
Facing Zhou Hao had placed tremendous pressure on everyone connected to Inashiro.
They feared him.
There was no denying that.
But precisely because they feared him, they refused to surrender.
Instinctively, they understood one thing.
The moment they admitted defeat, the game would truly be over.
And that was something Inashiro could never accept.
Against any other team, perhaps it wouldn't matter.
But Seido was different.
They were rivals.
Archrivals from the same district.
Inashiro could lose.
But they would never admit inferiority.
Not in any aspect.
Especially not when it came to their Ace.
Narumiya Mei could not be allowed to lose to Zhou Hao.
That determination united the entire team.
Gradually, the atmosphere around Inashiro began to change.
They still had hope.
"Third batter, Number 1, Pitcher, Zhou Hao!"
The announcement echoed throughout the stadium.
Instantly, the Inashiro supporters who had been shouting moments ago fell silent.
It felt as though someone had suddenly tightened a hand around their throats.
Not a single word came out.
Meanwhile, the Seido supporters exploded with excitement.
The moment they had been waiting for had finally arrived.
"Show them another one!"
"You threw 168 km/h earlier—now crush them at the plate too!"
"Another home run!"
The cheers shook the stadium.
After all, Zhou Hao had completely dominated Narumiya Mei throughout the game.
Not only had he struck him out twice, but he had also blasted a home run off him.
It was dominance on both sides of the ball.
Now that Zhou Hao had returned to the batter's box, how could Seido's supporters not be excited?
In their eyes, overwhelming the opponent was simply what Zhou Hao did.
Of course, Inashiro's players and supporters viewed the situation differently.
"He can't even throw a fastball anymore."
"Can he really still hit a home run?"
Even so, if someone asked them to bet against Zhou Hao, few would dare.
The score remained 1-0.
Just a single run.
Yet that lone run already felt like a towering mountain standing before Inashiro.
If they wanted to defeat Seido...
If they wanted to turn the game around...
Then they first had to overcome the monster standing in front of them.
Zhou Hao.
If he hit another home run and extended the lead to 2-0—
Even the most stubborn Inashiro players understood what that would mean.
The game might become impossible to save.
Such a result was unacceptable.
Absolutely unacceptable.
Which was why they had to be careful.
Very careful.
Narumiya Mei stood on the mound with an ugly expression.
Being forced to issue a walk and avoid a direct confrontation with Zhou Hao felt, to him, like admitting defeat.
And that was something Narumiya Mei hated more than anything.
Under normal circumstances, he would never make such a choice.
But baseball wasn't a one-man sport.
He had to think about the entire Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team.
He couldn't allow the team's future to be jeopardized because of his personal pride.
No matter how unwilling he was, he still made the decision.
Whoosh!
The baseball screamed through the air, well outside the strike zone.
Standing in the batter's box, Zhou Hao could only watch helplessly.
Narumiya Mei was being far too cautious.
With Zhou Hao's current shoulder condition, hitting Narumiya Mei's high-velocity pitches was already extremely difficult.
Had Mei relaxed his velocity even slightly, Zhou Hao might have been willing to gamble.
With the Sharingan active, he still had some confidence in making contact, even on pitches outside the zone.
But Narumiya Mei left him no opportunity.
Even his waste pitches maintained maximum velocity and precision.
Every throw carried the same intensity as a strike.
As a result, Zhou Hao could only stand there and watch the pitches fly by.
"Ball!"
"Ball!"
"Ball!"
"Ball!"
"Four balls! Take your base!"
The intentional walk was complete.
Yet neither the players nor the supporters of Seido felt particularly happy.
Especially the players.
As Inashiro's longtime rivals, they understood Narumiya Mei's personality better than most.
For him to willingly avoid a confrontation with Zhou Hao meant only one thing.
He had abandoned all thoughts of personal pride.
His sole objective now was victory.
And a Narumiya Mei who had completely cast aside his ego was an extremely terrifying opponent.
At least in previous encounters, Seido had never found a way to deal with him when he entered this state.
What should they do now?
Just as that thought crossed everyone's minds, Seido's cleanup hitter stepped into the batter's box.
"Fourth batter, Number 3, First Baseman, Yuki Tetsuya!"
One out.
Runner on first.
Faced with this situation, Narumiya Mei showed no hesitation whatsoever.
He immediately delivered the next pitch.
Meanwhile, he acted as though Zhou Hao standing on first base didn't exist.
Of course, this wasn't carelessness.
It was confidence.
He and Harada had prepared extensively for exactly this situation.
If Zhou Hao attempted to steal second, they were ready.
They had practiced the scenario countless times.
Their success rate exceeded seventy percent.
To defeat Seido, Inashiro had invested an unimaginable amount of effort.
From the Ace to the bench players, everyone had prepared relentlessly.
They believed they could handle any situation.
If they hadn't been trailing by a run, many of them would have been confident in their chances of winning outright.
Even now, despite the unfavorable score, they hadn't given up hope.
Pop!
"Strike!"
Yuki calmly watched the first pitch pass by.
Strike one.
"Good."
Harada nodded inwardly after receiving the pitch.
Yuki's face remained as unreadable as ever.
No one could tell what he was thinking.
Fortunately, Narumiya Mei's condition was excellent.
For Inashiro, preserving this one-run deficit was the top priority.
As long as Mei maintained his current form, suppressing Seido's lineup wasn't impossible.
Still, Harada flashed another sign.
"Be careful. This is Yuki."
"His batting ability is no worse than Zhou Hao's."
Narumiya Mei gave a slight nod.
Even without the reminder, he would never underestimate the man standing at the plate.
Yuki Tetsuya was a legend in his own right.
Facing him was never easy.
Especially with a runner on base.
Mei took a deep breath and adjusted himself into peak condition.
Then he prepared to deliver the next pitch.
At that exact moment—
Bang!
Zhou Hao exploded off first base.
"Stealing!?"
"He chose to steal now?"
The crowd was stunned.
Countless fans stared in disbelief.
Of all times, Zhou Hao had chosen this moment to attempt a steal.
Where did he get such confidence?
No one could understand.
Even Seido's supporters broke into cold sweats.
Narumiya Mei's velocity.
Harada's throwing arm.
The chemistry between the two.
Stealing against that battery was incredibly difficult.
No matter how fast Zhou Hao was, the odds weren't in his favor.
After finally earning a baserunner, why risk giving away such a precious opportunity?
If the game reached the final inning, Zhou Hao's presence on base could easily become the deciding factor.
So why take the gamble now?
Before anyone could process the situation, Harada was already moving.
The moment Zhou Hao broke for second, the veteran catcher sprang from his crouch.
This play had been rehearsed countless times.
Narumiya Mei immediately adjusted the pitch location.
Harada received the ball perfectly.
Everything happened exactly as planned.
Today, the legendary Zhou Hao was supposed to fall into their trap.
On the mound, Narumiya Mei calmly altered the angle of his wrist.
The pitch changed course instantly.
Whoosh!
The baseball flashed through the air like a streak of white light.
Pop!
Harada received it cleanly.
"Ball!"
No one paid attention to the umpire's call.
Every eye in the stadium was fixed on Zhou Hao.
Without hesitation, Harada rose and fired.
Whoosh!
The baseball rocketed toward second base.
Pop!
Shirakawa caught it perfectly.
His eyes locked onto Zhou Hao as the runner charged directly toward him.
A cold smile appeared on his face.
"You're finished."