The game entered the bottom of the sixth, and Seidou's offense stepped back into the batter's box.
As the 9th batter walked up, the Seidou supporters in the stands were buzzing with excitement and tension.
"Seidou's entering their third cycle through the lineup. Akutsu won't be able to hold on!"
"You can't be sure… That Akutsu guy is insanely strong."
Debate rippled through the stands.
But one thing was clear—
Seidou's offense was infamous for exploding in the latter half of a game.
And now the order was about to loop back to Zhou Hao.
Just the thought of that electrified the Seidou fans.
The second round of scoring earlier had all started with Zhou Hao.
Everyone remembered it clearly.
If one of the batters before him could get on base…
Zhou Hao might single-handedly carve open Seisho High's defense again.
"Swing boldly! He's been pitching forever already!"
The 9th batter inhaled sharply, raised his bat, and attacked the first pitch.
"Ping!"
He felt it instantly.
He got it.
The contact felt solid.
If the ball dropped, he'd certainly reach first.
But—
"Clap!"
The ball dropped directly into Seisho's outfielder's glove.
"Out!"
One pitch, one out.
The Seidou supporters froze in disbelief.
"So this guy—after all that—still has the nerve to throw bait pitches to conserve stamina…?"
Akutsu had deliberately thrown something hittable to save energy.
Even with Zhou Hao coming up soon.
Even with the game hanging by a thread.
The arrogance—
or perhaps the confidence—
was outrageous.
And dangerous.
One out, nobody on.
Matsumoto entered the box—and immediately adopted a bunt stance.
It wasn't subtle at all.
"Seriously?"
"There's no one on base—this is such an obvious bluff!"
Seisho's players weren't fools.
They instantly recognized Matsumoto's goal:
Force Akutsu to run.
Force him to waste stamina.
Force him to get uncomfortable.
But knowing a tactic and countering it were two different things.
Akutsu pitched—
Matsumoto showed bunt—
and pulled back at the last second.
"Clap!"
"Strike!"
Akutsu's saved stamina was now bleeding away.
In Seisho's dugout, their coach squinted at Matsumoto through the glare of the sun.
"Too cunning…"
He had assumed Seidou, with a one-run lead, wouldn't resort to dirty baseball.
But Matsumoto was clearly intent on getting on base even at the cost of looking pathetic.
And in the process, he was actively draining Akutsu's stamina.
By comparison, Seisho's own batters had failed to pressure Zhou Hao at all.
Seisho's coach quietly took that lesson to heart.
If they met again next year, it wouldn't go this way.
Akutsu threw his third pitch—
and Matsumoto had to confront it head-on.
"Running forward twice… don't tell me your stamina isn't affected!"
He swung with everything he had.
"Ping!"
But the ball traveled barely five meters before dribbling on the dirt.
"Clap!"
Akutsu fielded it and fired to first.
"Out!"
Two outs, nobody on.
Seidou's dugout fell silent.
This was already the third time through the order—
and Akutsu's Bullet Ball was still razor-sharp.
They had no answer.
Even now, in the late innings, facing the same pitch repeatedly,
Seidou's strongest batters looked helpless.
Reporters were stunned.
"Is there seriously no way to deal with him…?"
"This Ace from Seisho is unreal."
They were witnessing a duel between two monsters—
one on the mound for Seisho,
and one soon to step into the batter's box for Seidou.
Two outs, nobody on.
Finally—
"Second batter, pitcher—Zhou Hao-kun!"
The stadium roared.
"Zhou Hao! Zhou Hao!!"
It felt like a professional game.
This was the reception of a superstar.
"Does even the nation's No.1 hitter get this kind of crowd reaction…?"
"You idiot, he is the nation's top hitter!"
Neutral fans blinked in confusion.
"What? Since when?"
Zhou Hao's supporters pounced instantly.
"Check the stats, genius! The official site has national batting averages!"
"Zhou Hao's batting average: 81.47%. First place—BY FAR!"
"The second place is only in the sixties!"
"And if not for that game against Osaka Kiryu, Zhou Hao would be above ninety percent!"
"Statistics don't lie—
Zhou Hao is Japan's No.1 hitter!"
The stands fell silent.
Then buzzed with disbelief.
A first-year…
A rookie…
Already the nation's most reliable batter?
It was absurd.
Terrifying.
Irrefutable.
The numbers didn't lie.
Akutsu knew all too well how dangerous Zhou Hao was.
He inhaled deeply, gathered his strength—
—and unleashed his Bullet Ball.
"Whoosh!"
The pitch hummed like a launched projectile.
Seidou's dugout flinched.
Akutsu's late movement, his velocity, his angle—
they were all still pristine.
Even now.
If we were the ones batting, would any of us hit this?
Goosebumps rose on their arms.
Akutsu was simply too strong.
But Zhou Hao…
was Zhou Hao.
The instant the ball entered the zone—
He didn't hesitate.
He stepped forward and swung decisively.
"PING!"
The entire stadium froze.
The ball soared high—
then descended sharply into the gap between Seisho's two outfielders.
They sprinted desperately.
But the ball hit the ground first.
Then skipped past them.
"It went through!"
"A huge hit to the outfield!"
Zhou Hao blazed past first—
stormed into second—
"Safe!"
A two-out double.
Two outs.
Runner on second.
Normally, not a dangerous situation.
But the next batter was—
Yuki Tetsuya.
Aside from Zhou Hao,
the only man on Seidou who had successfully hit Akutsu today.
Suddenly—
That two-out double didn't look harmless at all.