"Bullet Ball!?"
"How can that be a Bullet Ball!?"
Seisho High's fourth batter stood frozen, eyes wide in disbelief.
Even after seeing it with his own eyes, his brain refused to accept it.
Zhou Hao—Seidou's freshman Ace—throwing Akutsu's signature Bullet Ball?
Impossible.
And yet—
Before he could even process the shock, Zhou Hao was already in motion for the next pitch.
His windup was fluid, effortless, and eerily similar to the first Bullet Ball.
"Whoosh!"
As the second pitch screamed through the air, every hair on the fourth batter's body stood on end.
"This… this can't be real!"
The first pitch already felt disturbingly familiar.
But he forced himself to reject the idea.
Akutsu had trained for years—through grueling repetition, failure, and refinement—to master the Bullet Ball.
Akutsu's rise to one of the Three Great Star Pitchers came from that very pitch.
How could someone copy it in mere minutes?
But now—
Speed, spin, path, break—
Everything matched perfectly with the Bullet Ball he knew.
No deviation.
A one-to-one match.
His heartbeat thundered in his ears.
"Pop!"
By the time the ball slammed into Chris's glove, the fourth batter still hadn't moved.
Seisho's players, sitting far from the batter's box, couldn't clearly see the pitch.
They only noticed that it wasn't Zhou Hao's usual straight ball.
Zhou Hao always had tricks, and Seisho's lineup was used to it.
But what they couldn't understand—
Was why their team's cleanup hitter looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Why does he look terrified?"
"Is Zhou Hao's pitch really that unbelievable?"
The dugout was full of confusion, but none of them knew the truth.
Gasping for breath, the fourth batter stared at the mound.
Two pitches.
Two identical Bullet Balls.
He could not deny it anymore.
"That's Akutsu's… that's really Akutsu's ball."
The baseball didn't just arrive fast—
it appeared in front of him instantly, leaving no time to react.
"No! It can't be! He can't possibly throw Akutsu's pitch!"
He clenched his jaw until it hurt.
He refused to accept it.
He refused to believe that Zhou Hao, a freshman, could reproduce Akutsu's ultimate weapon.
"I'll hit it. No matter what—I'll hit it!"
While the batter was breaking down mentally, Zhou Hao remained calm.
He was simply savoring the feeling of throwing the Bullet Ball.
Just like when he learned the Rasengan, Kunai Straight Throw, and Uchiha Shuriken Technique,
he mastered this new pitch almost instantly.
The Three Tomoe Sharingan was terrifying.
It didn't just see an opponent's movements.
It allowed Zhou Hao to adjust his own body to replicate the opponent's technique—
perfectly simulating the effect of their pitch.
Of course, different builds and mechanics meant the replicated pitch would never be 100% identical—
But 80–90%?
Or even higher?
Enough to overwhelm any batter.
Before trying it, Zhou Hao hesitated.
If the pitch downgraded into a weak breaking ball, it would become a liability.
But once he tried—
The result exceeded his expectations.
The Sharingan fine-tuned everything: form, force, release.
Even his wrist angle.
The Third Pitch
"FAKE! That ball HAS to be fake!"
The fourth batter swung desperately.
"Ping!"
Weak contact.
The ball rolled less than ten meters before bouncing up harmlessly.
Third baseman Azuma grinned broadly.
"I told you guys—don't underestimate our Ace!"
He scooped the ball, fired to first—
"Out!"
One out, bases empty.
Only now did Seisho's players and coach fully realize what happened.
"That wasn't a straight ball."
"That was… the Bullet Ball!?"
Even Seisho—accustomed to top-tier pitching—was shaken.
But they recovered quickly.
After all, Zhou Hao was always absurd.
Straight ball? Deadly.
Breaking ball? Unhittable.
Spiral ball? A nightmare.
Bullet Ball?
Just another monster added to the pile.
Since they couldn't hit any of his pitches anyway…
What difference did this make?
The fifth batter stepped in, eyes burning with competitive fire.
He had seen his teammate crumble, but refused to be intimidated.
"Bring it! Use that fake Bullet Ball again!"
Zhou Hao obliged.
"Whoosh!"
The ball blurred toward him—Akutsu's Bullet Ball in both speed and break.
His legs trembled.
"Identical… It's exactly the same…"
He froze for two consecutive pitches.
Only on the third pitch did he finally swing.
"Ping!"
But Matsumoto at second base charged in and scooped it up cleanly.
"Out!"
Two outs.
Sixth Batter—Same Fate
The sixth batter mimicked his teammates—
taking two pitches, swinging at the third.
"Ping!"
A soft pop fly directly over Yuki's head.
"Out!"
Three up.
Three down.
The Seidou supporters exploded with joy.
"That's our Ace!"
"SHUT THEM DOWN!"
"Bullet Ball or straight ball—he's invincible today!"
Little did they know what truly happened on the mound.
Only Seisho's coach and Akutsu noticed the real problem.
Their fourth, fifth, and sixth batters—
All looked pale.
Shaken.
They hadn't been beaten by Seidou.
They had been crushed by Zhou Hao's Bullet Ball.
"…They're scared," the coach whispered.
Akutsu frowned.
He knew exactly why.
Even so, Seisho's coach did not panic.
"Hold steady. Drag the game out. Wait until the 7th or 8th inning."
Zhou Hao's pitch count was climbing.
Each batter forced him to throw three pitches.
If they could drag it long enough—
they could force Zhou Hao to tire out.
This wasn't passivity.
It was their only path left.
Bottom of the Fifth – Seidou at Bat
Seidou's offense struggled.
Akutsu's Bullet Ball regained its sharpness, and no one could hit him cleanly.
Two quick outs.
Coach Kataoka grew uneasy.
He approached Zhou Hao personally.
"Your stamina. Tell me honestly—can you continue?"
The entire dugout turned toward him, holding their breath.
If Zhou Hao couldn't go the distance—
Seidou's lead might evaporate instantly.
Zhou Hao met his eyes.
Calm.
Unshaken.
"Very good."
His answer held no hesitation.
And the game would continue with an overwhelming force lurking beneath the mound.