The coach of Matsuyama High School's baseball team had completely misunderstood.
He thought that Zhou Hao was a secret weapon hidden away by Seidou High School's baseball team, but the truth was far from that.
It wasn't just Matsuyama's players who were shocked—
Even Seidou's own coach and players were drawing a blank at this moment.
Kataoka, standing in the umpire's position, had the clearest view. In fact, his vantage point was even better than Miyuki's as the catcher…
Looking at Zhou Hao's build, Kataoka simply couldn't believe that he was capable of throwing such a high-quality screwball.
"The velocity is around 135 km/h!"
While this speed would only be considered average among high school ace pitchers—
It still surprised Kataoka, precisely because it came from Zhou Hao.
He knew Zhou Hao's training volume was far from enough.
What if he trained harder? What if he reached the average level of the first-string players?
Then his pitch speed would become truly impressive.
Not to mention that Zhou Hao's pitches weren't just fast.
The spin and late movement on the ball were also quite something.
"What the hell have the coaches in charge of new students been doing? How did they let such a promising kid be buried until now?"
Up until now, Zhou Hao had already shown some amazing performances on the field.
But back then, Kataoka clearly didn't view him as an essential part of the team's power.
Now it was different.
He wasn't just the hope of the future—Zhou Hao was already contributing significantly to the team right now.
Kataoka couldn't help but smile.
That smile, in the eyes of Matsuyama High School's coach, looked like blatant provocation.
"There's no way we're going to lose to a first-year brat. Pull yourselves together!"
Zhou Hao's pitching was indeed astounding.
But compared to their ace, the Matsuyama coach still believed they had the upper hand.
When their ace faced the core hitters of their own team, those hitters could still get solid contact!
There was no reason they couldn't do the same now.
"Yes, sir!"
The batter standing in the box was Matsuyama High's third batter.
His face was serious.
The pressure Zhou Hao's pitch had just put on him was still weighing heavily on his heart.
As the match resumed, he wasn't confident he could hit the ball.
But the coach had spoken, and the whole team was watching him.
As the core hitter of the team, if he backed down now, it would deal a massive blow to team morale.
"It's fine. His pitching is a lot like Midorima's. But in terms of power, he's still weaker than Midorima."
The batter raised his bat high and locked eyes on Zhou Hao with focused intensity.
It was as if he was ready to strike the moment the ball came.
Behind the plate, Miyuki glanced up at the batter.
Even though they had the upper hand so far—
He had to admit Matsuyama's top batters were no joke in the batter's box.
Just like now.
After the shock of that last pitch, you'd expect Matsuyama's players to be rattled.
But there wasn't a trace of fear in their eyes.
Their fighting spirit remained high, and their determination to hit the ball was just as strong as ever.
"So, Zhou Hao, what will you do when facing a situation like this for the first time?"
Zhou Hao didn't have much pitching experience.
Even experienced pitchers struggled against persistent, tough hitters like these.
Let alone a complete newbie like Zhou Hao.
But just as Miyuki was thinking that—
He saw Zhou Hao on the mound start his windup.
"No signs? He's going for it directly?"
Miyuki was stunned.
As a battery, they should have exchanged some sort of signal before the pitch.
At the very least, a look...
But there was nothing.
Luckily, Miyuki remembered what Zhou Hao had told him before—
Zhou Hao could only throw screwballs.
"This is getting more and more interesting…"
Miyuki refocused completely.
He had already let one pitch slip by. He couldn't afford to make the same mistake again.
Zhou Hao lifted his leg, took a powerful step forward, and unleashed the full strength of his body…
"Boom!"
Zhou Hao's pitching form wasn't anything to write home about.
But the ball flying out of his hand was anything but ordinary.
In the blink of an eye, it was already in front of the batter.
Matsuyama's third batter had already made up his mind to swing.
But when he saw the pitch clearly, he instinctively held back.
He couldn't hit it…
His instincts as a batter told him so—and he trusted those instincts.
He chose to watch one more pitch.
"Pop!"
As the ball landed in Miyuki's glove, it felt like he wasn't catching a baseball—
But a small, feral beast trying to leap out of his mitt.
"Stay in there!"
Miyuki squeezed hard, finally taming the wild pitch.
"Strike!"
The ball was returned, and Zhou Hao immediately fired off the third pitch.
"Rasengan!"
When Zhou Hao used the Rasengan (screwball), he didn't need to think twice. His motion was smooth and natural, as if he had practiced it ten thousand times…
The white baseball spun toward the batter.
This time, Matsuyama's third batter couldn't hold back.
He gritted his teeth and swung with everything he had.
"Whoosh!"
The bat cut through the air with a sharp sound. You could tell this guy wasn't an average hitter.
But despite the powerful swing—
The bat didn't connect.
The ball slipped right through the strike zone before he could catch up.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
"Strikeout!"
Matsuyama High School's powerful third batter hadn't even touched the ball?
In the Matsuyama dugout, the players all looked at each other in shock.
"What the hell just happened?"
"It looked just like Midorima's pitch. Why couldn't he hit it?"
They racked their brains, but couldn't make sense of it.
When the third batter returned, a bunch of teammates immediately surrounded him.
"What was that?"
"The spin was insane. You can't treat it like an ordinary fastball. And once you're standing in the batter's box—it feels a lot faster."
The third batter told the truth.
He had no time for pride—if they didn't figure something out soon,
The rest of the game would become a slaughter.
Just imagining that was like a knife to his heart.
"It's okay. We still have our cleanup hitter!"
Their fourth batter was the heart of their offense.
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