"Second batter, number one, pitcher, Akutsu!"
Top of the fourth inning.
Seisho High on offense.
One out, bases empty.
Their Ace—Akutsu—stepped into the batter's box for his second at-bat.
The stadium tightened instantly. Supporters from both sides, as well as neutral fans, leaned forward in anticipation.
For anyone familiar with high-level baseball, one truth was obvious:
The turning point of the game had arrived.
Through three perfect innings, neither Seidou nor Seisho had produced a hit, much less a run.
In an Ace-vs-Ace duel like this, the team that scored first would seize absolute momentum.
And in this inning, two direct confrontations were scheduled:
Zhou Hao vs. Akutsu.
Ace vs. Ace.
Core vs. Core.
Everyone knew these matchups would dictate the entire flow of the game.
Akutsu raised his bat. His expression hardened, eyes cold enough to freeze steel.
He had already resolved himself to fight Zhou Hao head-on.
"Bring it on."
Even Chris felt a surge of adrenaline.
The top pitcher in the nation was stepping into the box.
This was the perfect opportunity to fully test Zhou Hao's arsenal.
"Should we give him something… troublesome?" Chris muttered under his breath.
Zhou Hao blinked, briefly stunned.
Chris? Suggesting mischief?
The stoic, calculating mentor suddenly revealing a playful streak caught him off guard.
But if that was the plan—
"Then I'll follow your lead," Zhou Hao replied with a small nod.
He set his stance and delivered.
Whoosh!
The ball floated in—a deliberately slow, blatantly gentle bait pitch.
In the Seisho dugout, players clutched their heads in frustration.
Zhou Hao was toying with them again.
He wasn't just pitching—
He was provoking, antagonizing, and manipulating tempo at will.
This pitch was so obviously a trap that swinging felt foolish…
but ignoring it felt equally dangerous.
They had been burned before.
The last time they fell for Zhou Hao's bait, they didn't just get retired—they helped him conserve stamina and control rhythm.
Now, even in the face of a laughably hittable slowball, Seisho's hitters hesitated.
What would Akutsu do?
Would he get caught in Zhou Hao's pace too?
Would he resist?
Everyone held their breath—
Then Akutsu swung.
Even his own teammates jolted.
Would he step right into the trap?
Ping!
The bat clipped the ball, sending it foul.
"Foul ball!"
The entire stadium exhaled at once.
Zhou Hao straightened slightly.
The casual smirk vanished.
Akutsu's intent was unmistakable:
"If you have the guts, throw it. Tricks won't shake me."
He would foul off anything questionable.
Zero risk.
Zero gambling.
From Akutsu's perspective, blindly attacking bait pitches held no value.
Even if he managed to slap one into play, Zhou Hao would simply shift gears and secure the next outs with ease.
Zhou Hao could afford mistakes.
Zhou Hao expected mistakes.
And that was what made him terrifying.
So Akutsu chose to cut the entire concept apart.
Zhou Hao wanted to bait swings?
Fine—he would foul off every bait pitch on purpose.
Slowballs were easy to hit.
And even easier to foul.
Chris narrowed his eyes.
That settled it—
their earlier tactic wouldn't work anymore.
Akutsu had broken the tempo.
Time to shift strategies.
Zhou Hao received the signal and nodded.
He had only intended to toy with them for an inning or two anyway.
Against a powerhouse like Seisho, getting away with trickery even briefly was already a profit.
He wound up and fired.
Whoosh!
The moment the ball left his fingers, the difference was crystal clear.
No more bait.
No more misdirection.
Zhou Hao was pitching in earnest.
Akutsu watched the crackling fastball zoom past without swinging.
Thwack!
"Strike!"
147 km/h lit up on the scoreboard.
Seidou's supporters roared.
Zhou Hao's true velocity was back.
But whether that was good news or bad news for Seisho…
With two strikes, the crowd erupted.
"Finish him!"
"Don't give him any chance!"
Zhou Hao inhaled—and unleashed a pitch with full power.
Boom!
A violently spinning baseball materialized in front of Akutsu:
A three-stage Spiral Ball.
Akutsu's pupils shrank.
"Was I read—!?"
Before he could react, the pitch crashed into Chris's glove.
Thwack!
"Strike! Strikeout!"
Two outs. Bases empty.
Seidou's section erupted.
"Insane!"
"That Spiral Ball was disgusting!"
"Who wouldn't freeze after seeing that!?"
In Seisho's dugout, faces were pale.
That Spiral Ball wasn't just a pitch.
It was a statement.
The earlier slowballs weren't mercy.
They were bait intended to manipulate stamina and rhythm.
And they had walked right into it.
They had believed those "easy balls" were opportunities.
They had cooperated with Zhou Hao's plan without realizing it.
Shame washed over them.
Zhou Hao wasn't just a first-year Ace—
He was surpassing even the nation's three superstar pitchers.
The third batter stepped up.
Whoosh! Strike!
Whoosh! Strike!
Two pitches froze him entirely.
Only on the third pitch did he react.
Ping.
A weak pop-up to second base.
"Out!"
Side retired.
Even though Seisho forced Zhou Hao to throw more pitches this inning—and made him reveal the Spiral Ball again—the psychological toll was immense.
"Good job. Stay focused," their coach said, forcing stability.
They couldn't afford a mental collapse.
The score remained 0–0.
They still had a chance.
Bottom of the Fifth — Seidou on Offense
Matsumoto led off.
Earlier, Akutsu had mirrored Zhou Hao with an overwhelming three-up, three-down inning.
Seidou's lineup still felt the chill of that memory.
They needed to break the deadlock.
"If he dares throw that pitch again… I'll blast it!" Matsumoto vowed.
His batting wasn't on par with Zhou Hao, Yuki, or Azuma Kiyokuni, but he was no pushover for the Ace.
Akutsu pitched.
Whoosh!
The ball appeared in front of Matsumoto like a white bullet.
His blood froze.
So this was Akutsu's full-power pitch.
He couldn't even react—not a twitch.
Thwack! Strike!
Before he regained composure—
Thwack! Strike!
Thwack! Strikeout!
One out, bases empty.
Akutsu had fully unleashed his strength as well.
With his stamina, he could pitch at peak condition until the ninth inning.
"Second batter, pitcher, Zhou Hao."
The stadium instantly tightened again.
Another Ace-vs-Ace confrontation.
Earlier, Zhou Hao struck out Akutsu.
Now Akutsu stood on the mound.
Unlike Akutsu, however—
Zhou Hao was Seidou's true offensive core.
The most dangerous bat on the team.
A blood-red spark ignited in his pupils.
While pitching earlier, he had sensed something within him evolving.
And now, the system confirmed it.
"Congratulations, Host—Three Tomoe Sharingan awakened."
Until now, he had never reached full maturation.
He hadn't expected it to awaken here, in the middle of this national-stage duel.
Heat surged through his veins.
Zhou Hao didn't hesitate.
He activated the Three Tomoe Sharingan.