Miyuki Kazuya swung the bat with all his strength.
According to his calculations, the ball should have found a gap in the field.
His judgment had been precise, and his swing was perfectly timed.
Gone was the Miyuki Kazuya who had once been known as a batter who only thrived with runners on base but struggled when the bases were empty. Even without runners, he now maintained an impressive batting average.
He had firmly established himself as Seido's sixth batter and was already showing the potential to move even higher in the lineup.
Unfortunately, the ball didn't travel where Miyuki had intended.
The moment it left the bat, it drifted slightly off its intended course.
Yakushi High's outfielders reacted instantly, charging toward the ball before securing it cleanly in their gloves.
Pop!
"Out!"
One out, bases empty.
The Seido supporters couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.
They had been certain the hit would fall safely.
No one expected Yakushi's fielders to react so quickly.
"So close..."
"If it had landed just a little farther to the side, it would've been a hit."
Listening to the discussions around him, Fujio, the veteran reporter from Baseball Kingdom Magazine, quietly shook his head.
"Just a little off?"
He completely disagreed.
Miyuki Kazuya's batting wasn't simply "a little off."
It was only because Seido's Ace, Zhou Hao, shone so brilliantly that Miyuki's own reputation seemed comparatively subdued.
It wasn't that Miyuki lacked recognition.
Rather, whenever people mentioned him, they almost always mentioned Zhou Hao alongside him.
Together, they were hailed as the best battery in the nation.
Over time, many fans subconsciously viewed Miyuki as the perfect supporting partner to Zhou Hao's brilliance.
But that impression couldn't have been further from the truth.
Even without Zhou Hao, Miyuki Kazuya was an extraordinary player in his own right.
His talent was undeniable, and his skills were among the best in the country.
Judging from that swing just now, Miyuki had clearly aimed to drive the ball into a defensive gap.
Unfortunately, Sanada's pitch had too much movement.
Although Miyuki managed to make solid contact, the ball failed to travel exactly where he wanted, allowing Yakushi's defense to cut it off before it could become a hit.
"Miyuki Kazuya's ability is beyond question," Fujio murmured. "The fact that Yakushi's fielders were able to make that play only proves how much work they've put into their defense."
If Yakushi wanted to challenge Seido head-on, this level of defensive execution was the absolute minimum requirement.
Without relentless training and fielders capable of making crucial plays under pressure, they wouldn't even be qualified to stand against Seido.
The gap between the two teams was simply too large.
Against a powerhouse like Seido, even the smallest defensive mistake could prove fatal.
After Miyuki was retired, Masuko stepped into the batter's box.
Sanada immediately attacked him with pitches that rode dangerously close to his face.
Although Masuko possessed tremendous raw power, he had no opportunity to unleash it.
Before he knew it, he had already been driven into a two-strike count.
Left with no better option, Masuko gritted his teeth and forced the bat through the zone.
The result was nothing more than a weak pop-up.
Yakushi's first baseman calmly moved underneath it before stepping on first base to complete the play.
Pop!
"Out!"
Two outs, bases empty.
Sanada was collecting outs so smoothly that even Seido's players began to experience a strange feeling.
Could it be...
Even they couldn't deal with this guy?
The next batter was the eighth hitter, Shirasu.
Unlike some of Seido's stars, Shirasu wasn't particularly flashy.
He wasn't known for overwhelming power, nor did he possess an especially commanding presence.
What earned him a place in Seido's starting lineup was his consistency and all-around ability.
Standing in the batter's box, Shirasu quietly settled into his stance.
His objective was simple.
If he could drive Sanada's pitch cleanly into play, that would naturally be ideal.
But if he couldn't...
Then he would simply force Sanada to throw as many pitches as possible while searching for even the slightest weakness.
Sanada opened with two consecutive breaking pitches.
A Jet Ball.
Then a Cutter.
Throughout both pitches, Shirasu remained perfectly composed, as steady as a mountain.
Seeing that, Sanada couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Seido's batters are really troublesome..."
Before this game, he had imagined countless scenarios involving Seido High.
But none of those expectations came close to reality.
Even the least conspicuous batter in Seido's lineup possessed remarkable discipline and composure.
Every player clearly understood their role.
And for a baseball team, that was incredibly important.
Each player faithfully carried out their responsibility, all centered around a single objective.
Drive the pitch into play.
They had done it countless times before.
And they continued to execute it with astonishing consistency.
From Sanada's perspective, Seido seemed almost flawless.
He couldn't identify a single obvious weakness.
To retire every batter, he had to pour every ounce of strength into each pitch.
Even then, success was never guaranteed.
Thinking that, Sanada tightened his grip on the baseball.
Just before releasing it, the suggestion he had made to Coach Todoroki suddenly resurfaced in his mind.
If the game continued like this, Yakushi had virtually no chance of winning.
Perhaps deliberately lulling Seido into a false sense of security and guiding the game according to Yakushi's pace was their only remaining opportunity.
But now...
Sanada wasn't so sure anymore.
Would that strategy really work against Seido?
Could they truly create a chance to win that way?
It was a question he couldn't answer.
Whoosh!
The final pitch exploded toward home plate like a bullet.
Having already been pushed into a two-strike count, Shirasu couldn't afford to watch it pass.
The instant the ball entered the hitting zone, he committed to his swing.
Whoosh!
The bat cut cleanly through the air.
Yakushi's starting catcher instinctively widened his eyes.
Among Seido's nine starters, Shirasu was arguably the least intimidating offensively.
Yet even his batting ability exceeded that of most players on Yakushi's roster.
Is this... the strength of the nation's reigning powerhouse?
A bitter smile appeared on the catcher's face.
At that exact moment—
The baseball slipped past Shirasu's bat and crashed squarely into the catcher's mitt.
Pop!
"Strike!"
"Strikeout!"
Three outs! Side retired!
The game moved to the top of the third inning.
Yakushi High School came to bat.
The crowd buzzed with excitement as all eyes turned toward the mound.
Standing there, still as composed as ever...
Zhou Hao remained on the pitcher's mound.
Even though the score was only 1–0, Seido High's supporters already believed victory was all but certain.
As long as Zhou Hao, their unwavering pillar of strength, stood on the mound, they had absolute confidence.
In their eyes, Zhou Hao simply couldn't lose.
He would win.
As if sensing the crowd's unwavering faith, Zhou Hao smiled and waved toward the stands.
There wasn't a trace of arrogance in his expression. If anything, he looked approachable.
To the Yakushi players, however, that smile felt like blatant disregard.
He wasn't taking them seriously at all.
"Once you're up to bat, swing if you see a pitch you can hit," Todoroki Raizo instructed earnestly. "Don't hesitate just because your opponent is the number one player in the country."
With Zhou Hao dominating the game so thoroughly, it was time for his players to confront their own limitations.
One of Yakushi's third-year players frowned.
"Coach, aren't we supposed to wear down his pitch count?"
Raizo chuckled.
He had once told them something they had never forgotten.
If you truly believe you can't beat the opposing pitcher, then stop obsessing over getting hits. Think about what else you can do to help the team.
Against Seido—especially against a monster like Zhou Hao—their options were limited.
If they couldn't get a hit, then the least they could do was force him to throw more pitches.
Even if they couldn't create an opportunity for themselves, they might create one for the batters behind them.
That had always been Yakushi's philosophy.
Whenever Coach Todoroki spoke, his players instinctively believed him.
No matter how powerful the opponent, as long as they followed his instructions, there would always be a chance.
And so far, that belief had never let them down.
Compared to the Yakushi team of the past...
Their previous results were almost embarrassing to think about.
Ever since Todoroki Raizo became their coach, the team's strength had skyrocketed.
Looking across West Tokyo, they believed only the three traditional powerhouses were beyond their reach.
Against every other team...
Yakushi was confident they could overwhelm them.
So why had their coach suddenly changed his approach when facing Zhou Hao?
"How much stamina do you honestly think you can drain from him?" Raizo asked with a grin.
"Face reality, boys."
"If you want to tire out a pitcher, you have to make contact with the ball first."
Besides, Zhou Hao wasn't expected to pitch the entire tournament.
He didn't need to conserve his stamina the way ordinary pitchers did.
Thinking of that, Todoroki Raizo laughed.
"Didn't I already tell you? I've taught you everything I know and made you practice everything I possibly could."
"From here on..."
"It's your turn to take me to Koshien."
"Now go."
"Figure out how to hit that 160 km/h fastball."
The Yakushi players immediately recalled the promise they had made.
Even though the man standing on the mound was Zhou Hao, none of them could suppress the fire burning inside their hearts.
"Go all out!"
"No matter what happens, we're going to hit that ball!"
The game resumed.
The Yakushi batters seemed like completely different people.
Instead of cautiously working the count, they attacked aggressively.
The instant Zhou Hao released the ball, they swung without hesitation.
Behind the plate, Miyuki Kazuya frowned.
He had no idea what Yakushi was planning.
Whatever scheme they were cooking up...
He had no intention of letting it succeed.
Forget allowing them to get a hit.
At this moment, Miyuki didn't even want them making contact.
He flashed a signal.
Strike them out.
Seeing the sign, Zhou Hao curled his lips into a faint smile.
"My thoughts exactly."
Against Yakushi's lower-order batters, he didn't even need to pitch at full power.
He casually lifted his leg, stepped forward, and released the baseball.
Boom!
The instant the ball left his fingertips, Yakushi's batter felt his breathing stop.
Fast!
Without thinking, he swung with everything he had.
It wasn't because of his coach's instructions.
It was instinct.
A desperate urge to resist.
He had the strange feeling that if he simply watched Zhou Hao's pitches go by, he would be completely overwhelmed by the pressure.
The bat sliced through the air with tremendous force.
There was no doubt this experienced third-year hitter possessed real strength.
Unfortunately...
His swing was too slow.
Before the bat could even reach the hitting zone, the baseball had already flashed past him.
Pop!
"Strike!"
"Strike two!"
"Strike three!"
"Strikeout!"
The fastball had only reached around 155 km/h.
For Zhou Hao, that velocity required very little effort.
Anyone watching could tell he wasn't even pitching at full strength.
But it didn't matter.
A 155 km/h fastball was still more than enough to overwhelm Yakushi's lineup.
Three up.
Three down.
After recording another effortless inning, Zhou Hao calmly returned to the dugout.
The scoreboard remained unchanged.
Seido 1, Yakushi 0.
Even without Coach Kataoka saying a word, every Seido player understood the situation.
There was no way Zhou Hao was coming out of the game yet.
If he left the mound now...
No one could predict what might happen.
At the very least, someone would have to face Yakushi's dangerous trio of first-year batters again.
"Start getting ready for the next inning."
Chris called out to Furuya Satoru and Sawamura Eijun.
"Yes!"
"Yes, sir!"
The two first-years answered in perfect unison.
Although Zhou Hao had no intention of leaving the mound, both rookies were already eager for their chance to pitch.
Coach Kataoka watched them thoughtfully.
Noticing his coach's expression, Zhou Hao smiled to himself.
Has Coach finally started considering it?
He could more or less guess what Kataoka was thinking.
The enthusiasm displayed by the two first-year pitchers was impossible to ignore.
After all...
Deep down, Coach Kataoka was an extremely competitive man.
Whenever he saw players with talent, determination, and the desire to fight for the team...
He was always willing to give them an opportunity.
Hopefully, we can finally break through against Sanada this inning, Zhou Hao thought.
Just then—
A familiar mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[System Mission: The Batter's Determination]
[Mission Objective: Hit a home run in your next at-bat.]
[Reward: Increase batting ability by one level.]
[If you record an ordinary hit instead, batting power increases by 0.2.]
[If you reach base via walk, the mission is considered failed, and no reward will be granted.]