The game between Seidou High School Baseball Team and Rokkaku High School Baseball Team had entered the bottom of the first inning, with Seidou now on offense.
At this moment, Matsumoto stepped into the batter's box.
His expression was tense. He had observed Mitai's first two pitches, and his conclusion was undeniable—
Mitai's pitches were terrifying.
Ever since Seidou entered Koshien, not a single pitcher they faced had been easy to deal with.
There was no need to mention monsters like Kuroda or Akutsu.
Even the Aces in their other games had caused their batters plenty of trouble.
Compared to those national-level names, Rokkaku High's Ace wasn't particularly famous.
When Matsumoto first stepped in, he thought he could get a hit easily.
Now he realized—
He was wrong. Completely wrong.
The guy on the mound was no pushover at all.
Hitting Mitai's pitch was ridiculously difficult.
"This is what a top-level team looks like…"
Mitai threw again.
Matsumoto gritted his teeth and swung.
Ping!
The moment the bat connected, Matsumoto felt a sharp numbness shoot up his arm.
Even after seeing many elite pitchers, Mitai's ball still made his heart sink.
Too heavy!
The intimidation was overwhelming. The ball power was monstrous. Even when he made contact, he had zero control over the ball's path.
Whack!
The infielder scooped the ball and made a clean throw to first.
"Out!"
One out, bases empty.
Rokkaku's players and their supporters visibly relaxed.
"That's how it should be!"
"Seidou isn't that scary after all!"
From their perspective, their Ace was doing exactly what he needed to do.
Sure, dealing with Seidou's 3rd and 4th batters might be trouble.
But the 1st, 2nd, and those after the cleanup?
Totally manageable.
Seidou's supporters and players observed quietly.
"A power pitcher…"
They knew this type well.
Trick pitches, breaking balls, deceptive release—Zhou Hao could read all of them. His Sharingan allowed him to see through everything.
But power pitchers were different.
The one who caused Zhou Hao the most trouble so far?
Kuroda.
A pure, overwhelming power pitcher.
Zhou Hao, a man with an 80–90% hit rate, was almost completely shut down by Kuroda in their first three matchups.
Only near the end did he manage to get a hit.
Now another power pitcher was standing before him.
Of course Seidou's dugout was nervous.
Rokkaku's Coach noticed this too.
He looked at Mitai with deep seriousness.
"Mitai, you understand… the one standing across from you is one of the strongest players in the entire nation."
Koshien was already in the semifinals.
When the tournament began, no one paid attention to Zhou Hao.
Now he was the most dazzling name on the field.
A first-year rookie—but a monster.
The entire country saw it:
"Zhou Hao is the core of Seidou.
Shut him down, and anything is possible."
If their core collapses, even giants like Seidou stagger.
Mitai understood perfectly.
He knew what was expected of him.
The boy who looked like a delinquent but was painfully introverted…
The boy who shaved his head not for style but to hide his premature graying…
The boy no club wanted during tryouts…
He still remembered the moment his Coach extended a hand:
"Join the baseball team. With your physique, you'll become someone amazing."
The Coach wasn't wrong.
Mitai tried every position and excelled in all of them.
But on the mound—
He was invincible.
"This is the national stage… and in front of me is the strongest batter in Japan."
Mitai tightened his grip on the baseball.
"Play ball!"
Boom!
The pitch was only 142 km/h.
But the sensation it carried was like it was meant to crush everything.
Zhou Hao activated his Sharingan.
He saw the pitch trajectory clearly.
And that was not a good thing.
Because it meant the pitch had something beyond trajectory—
late break, overpowering momentum, unnatural weight.
Zhou Hao didn't swing.
Whack.
"Strike!"
Rokkaku's players and fans erupted.
"One more! Don't give him a chance!"
"Strike him out!"
To them, getting Zhou Hao out was an achievement worth bragging about for life.
Mitai felt confidence flooding him.
His state was perfect.
Facing Zhou Hao, he felt unstoppable.
"Come on, Zhou Hao…
Let me see how strong the most famous slugger in Japan truly is!"
Boom!!
He pitched again, like a boxer delivering a knockout blow.
Zhou Hao's Sharingan captured everything—
the release, the rotation, the intention.
He smirked.
Then swung with everything he had.
PING!
The moment the bat made contact—
Rokkaku's Coach and players froze.
Their instincts screamed:
This wasn't normal.
This was BAD.
The ball soared high.
Not randomly.
Not by luck.
It flew toward the exact spot the two outfielders could not cover.
Coincidence?
For any other batter, maybe.
For Zhou Hao?
Absolutely not.
Whack!
The ball landed cleanly.
Zhou Hao sprinted like a blur and slid into second.
"Safe!"
One out, runner on second base.
Seidou's supporters erupted into cheers.
Their earlier worries were pointless.
Zhou Hao was still a monster.
A terrifying, unstoppable monster.
Rokkaku's side looked shell-shocked.
He hit it… just like that?
They really thought they had a chance earlier?
Their Coach swallowed hard.
After thinking it through, he realized—
This was the normal outcome.
Zhou Hao had faced Kuroda, Akutsu, and two other top-level Aces…
and survived all of them.
Mitai's pitch had heavy late movement.
But it clearly wasn't on Kuroda's level.
And a small difference between elites becomes enormous in a real game.
Now everyone saw it.
Mitai couldn't suppress Zhou Hao.
And now?
Zhou Hao was already at second.
Their plan originally advised intentionally walking him—
just like Seisho High did last game.
Seidou only had three truly terrifying batters.
If they walked all three, they could fight the rest.
But that strategy required absolute trust in their pitcher…
…and risked blowing up the entire inning.
It was a double-edged sword.
Rokkaku's Coach hesitated.
Then—
"Keep going! Face him head-on!"
A decision that would completely change the flow of the game.
"Third batter, No. 3… First baseman, Yuki Tetsuya!"
Yuki stepped up, bat raised high, aura blazing.
The Rokkaku catcher's expression tightened.
Something about Yuki's stance felt extremely dangerous.
Yuki didn't notice at all.
His eyes locked onto the incoming pitch—
BOOM!
The ball came fast.
The swing came faster.
PING!