Zhou Hao's Sharingan had undergone multiple evolutions since the day it awakened.
Some upgrades were dramatic. Others were subtle.
But in terms of major evolutionary leaps, this was the third time.
When the Sharingan first awakened, Zhou Hao gained access to the Sharingan's "perspective"—a slowed, hyper-detailed vision of the world.
Time itself seemed to shift.
Pitch trajectories slowed into clear, readable lines.
Ball spin, release point, timing—everything revealed itself in crisp clarity.
His natural batting talent had never been exceptional.
The true reason he rose to become a nationally feared slugger was—
The Sharingan.
From that slowed perspective, the baseball's flight path and landing point were fully exposed.
On top of that, the Sharingan automatically corrected his batting mechanics, granting him both prerequisites for elite hitting:
He could see the pitch.
He could strike the pitch.
With vision and mechanics perfectly aligned, his batting entered a realm beyond logic—
outs became rare, hits became routine.
Naturally, the top national teams didn't sit idle.
Soon, opponents began setting countermeasures specifically for him.
Starting in one particular game, Seidou noticed a trend:
Opposing teams used high-powered pitches to force Zhou Hao to swing.
Even if he made contact, the fielders were already pre-positioned to catch the ball.
After being neutralized once, Zhou Hao's Sharingan evolved again—
gaining a second tomoe.
This evolution granted predictive ability.
He could anticipate movements.
He could simulate pitches in his mind.
Seeing through a pitcher's mechanics and directing the hit to impossible-to-defend zones became routine.
From that point onward, aside from top-tier power pitchers, there was no one Zhou Hao couldn't hit.
His batting order shifted accordingly, eventually solidifying him as Seidou's #2 hitter—
one of their true offensive pillars.
But today, Zhou Hao encountered an unprecedented obstacle:
Akutsu.
The sharp release angle, the explosive velocity, the late life of his pitches—
Zhou Hao could only barely make contact.
Whether that contact resulted in a hit?
That was another story entirely.
In their previous confrontation, Zhou Hao suffered because of that very uncertainty.
The rest of Seidou's lineup hadn't fared better.
Akutsu—one of the Three Great Star Pitchers—was cutting them down one after another.
Now, bottom of the fourth inning.
One out.
Nobody on base.
Seidou still hadn't recorded even a single hit.
Akutsu glared intensely from the mound, expression unwavering.
No panic. No hesitation.
Even facing Zhou Hao, Akutsu maintained his cold, machine-like focus.
Every opponent was simply a target to eliminate.
Swish!
The baseball whistled in.
Zhou Hao didn't swing.
Instead, he activated his Three Tomoe Sharingan—wanting to test its capabilities firsthand.
And immediately, he noticed—
The baseball slowed even further.
Even Akutsu's Bullet Ball—renowned for sheer velocity—was broken into clearly visible frames.
Not just the path.
Not just the spin.
For the first time, Zhou Hao sensed:
He could replicate it.
Previously, with the Two-Tomoe Sharingan, he could only simulate other pitchers' mechanics in his mind.
But mental simulation and physical replication were worlds apart.
Pitchers differed in height, weight, finger length, arm angle—
An identical motion would not produce identical results.
A killer pitch from someone else might become a mediocre breaking ball from him.
Worse, poorly copied breaking balls could become liabilities.
That was why Zhou Hao never used replicated pitches in actual games.
But now—
Now he could adjust his own body to emulate the effect of Akutsu's Bullet Ball—
Not copying the posture,
but copying the result.
Even if the replication only achieved 80% of Akutsu's version—
Or 90%.
Or 100%.
Or even 120%—
It no longer risked becoming a "free hit" pitch.
Thwack!
"Strike!"
Zhou Hao didn't flinch.
Instead, a faint, breathtaking smile tugged at his lips.
Fans with binoculars gasped.
"Wait… is he actually that handsome?"
"When he's serious, he looks average. But when he smiles—damn…"
"That's easily a nine out of ten!"
Akutsu remained expressionless.
He received the sign, wound up, and fired again.
Swish!
Thwack!
"Strike!!"
Count: 0–2.
Seidou's supporters went pale.
Zhou Hao—Seidou's unstoppable hitter—
cornered without swinging?
Unthinkable.
Even if he were to be struck out, shouldn't he at least attempt a swing?
The Seisho supporters, meanwhile, were ecstatic.
"Resolve him now!"
"Is that first-year monster scared stiff?"
Even they called Zhou Hao a "monster" now—
acknowledging his overwhelming threat.
In the Seisho dugout, however, the coach's expression grew heavier.
The closer Akutsu seemed to "resolving" Zhou Hao…
the more uneasy he felt.
Zhou Hao was too unpredictable.
Too abnormal.
Without even using the Spiral Ball, he had already warped their entire game plan earlier.
Given that Zhou Hao had already seen Akutsu's pitches once, he should be adapting—
not freezing.
No swing for two straight pitches?
This was not normal.
Something was coming.
Something they hadn't prepared for.
Swish!!
Akutsu delivered the third pitch—another Bullet Ball.
Zhou Hao still wore the same faint smile.
He swung smoothly.
Ping!
The ball sailed foul.
Two strikes.
Still cornered.
But now—
no one dared underestimate him.
His expression was calm.
Almost calculated.
Seidou's supporters suddenly understood:
"He's reading him."
"He's planning something!"
To them, it looked like Zhou Hao was intentionally dragging out the at-bat to exhaust Akutsu's pitch count.
Even Seisho's players thought the same.
"This lunatic!"
"He's trying to drain our Ace!?"
But that didn't make sense.
Zhou Hao was the one with limited stamina as Seidou's pitcher.
If he exhausted Akutsu first, he might not last until the end of the game himself.
Under normal circumstances, that would benefit Seisho—
Akutsu with stamina vs. Seidou without Zhou Hao would guarantee their victory.
But despite the logic—
No one in Seisho felt happy.
Everyone sensed danger.
Their instincts were right.
Zhou Hao wasn't draining stamina.
He was completing replication.
Three pitches in, the mental replica was at 75%.
[Bullet Ball — 75% Replication]
He needed one more pitch.
Come on.
Zhou Hao waited eagerly.
Akutsu obliged.
After a deep breath, Akutsu unleashed another Bullet Ball.
Ding!
[Congratulations, Host—Bullet Ball perfectly replicated!]
Unlike his Spiral Ball (categorized as "Rasengan") or other pitches classified as Ninjutsu, this replication took a different form.
The Sharingan didn't just copy Ninjutsu.
It copied physical skill.
Technique.
Mechanics.
Base-running.
Pitching.
Everything.
Ping!
Another foul.
Seisho's supporters nearly bit through their lips.
Akutsu's Bullet Ball—second only to Kuroda's legendary Straight Ball—
was being fouled off repeatedly.
It was unheard of.
Akutsu's face finally tightened.
He inhaled deeply—
—and fired a pitch even sharper than the previous ones.
Swish!
The bullet-like pitch shot into the zone.
But Zhou Hao's stance had changed.
Hands aligned.
Timing perfect.
No hesitation.
Ping!
The instant bat met ball, Zhou Hao felt it.
The synchronization.
The clarity.
The precision.
"This feeling… is different."
The Three Tomoe Sharingan showed everything perfectly.
Except for lacking the raw strength to send it into the stands, he could place the ball anywhere he wanted.
The ball arced beautifully—
then bounced past the infield.
A hole opened.
And the crowd exploded—
"It got through!!"