When facing Zhou Hao, Amahisa was far from calm.
He knew very well how terrifying Zhou Hao was.
Even while sitting on the bench earlier, Amahisa had been deeply shaken twice by Zhou Hao's batting.
Manaka-senpai's pitching was undoubtedly at the national level.
Even if it wasn't top-tier, it was absolutely first-class.
Against most opponents, such pitching would be more than enough.
Yet in front of Zhou Hao, Manaka-senpai's pitches had been completely meaningless.
Two confrontations.
One hit.
One home run.
During the autumn and winter, Manaka-senpai had trained desperately.
Among the three great powerhouses of West Tokyo, Seido High School Baseball Team—once considered slightly behind—had now fully caught up.
Next, it was Ichidai Sanko's turn.
They were being gradually overtaken by both Inashiro Industrial and Seido.
As Ichidai Sanko's ace, whether others could accept it or not, Manaka could not.
That unwillingness drove him to fight with everything he had.
But even so, when facing the monster ace Zhou Hao, Manaka had been powerless.
His strongest pitches were still sent flying out of the park.
With such a lesson in front of him, how could Amahisa not feel pressure?
Yet in the end, he still chose to face Zhou Hao head-on.
On one hand, that was his pride.
On the other hand, there were already two outs.
If he could take down Zhou Hao here, Ichidai Sanko could at least stabilize the situation.
The score gap was large and would take time to close.
But momentum could be seized back.
The gains clearly outweighed the risks.
Amahisa made his decision.
Because there were no runners on base, Ichidai's main catcher did not hesitate either and nodded in agreement.
With his partner's trust, Amahisa pushed his condition to the limit.
"Whoosh!"
Right from the start, he threw his decisive pitch.
Against Zhou Hao, there was no room for testing.
Watching the low-angle sliding ball fly in, Zhou Hao instinctively tightened his grip on the bat.
Originally, he hadn't planned to swing at the first pitch.
He wanted to observe first.
Even if he couldn't use the information himself, he could still relay it to the dugout.
Amahisa's pitching was strong—there was no doubt about that.
But so many Seido batters being suppressed could not be explained by strength alone.
The key problem was unfamiliarity.
Once Seido's batters became familiar with Amahisa's pitches, Zhou Hao believed they would start making contact.
That was the ideal plan.
But reality didn't give him the luxury.
The moment Zhou Hao recognized the trajectory—
A sliding ball.
His thoughts instantly changed.
A ball with such a sharp break could not carry too strong a late tail.
Under the gaze of his Sharingan, the baseball seemed to slow dramatically.
The rotation.
The trajectory.
The landing point.
Everything was clearly reflected in Zhou Hao's eyes.
In this state, hitting the ball felt almost effortless.
How strong was Amahisa's decisive pitch?
Zhou Hao understood that better than anyone.
Seido's batters were not weak.
Some were even outstanding on a national level.
Yet none of them had gained an advantage against Amahisa.
That alone proved how terrifying this pitch was.
But in Zhou Hao's eyes—
It wasn't much different from an ordinary straight ball.
He subtly adjusted the angle of his bat.
Then swung with full force.
The motion was smooth.
Natural.
As if he had practiced it thousands of times.
"Ping!"
The bat struck the baseball squarely.
The ball shot into the air.
Under countless gazes, it soared toward the stands.
Home run.
Zhou Hao once again sent the ball out of the park.
Seido High School Baseball Team scored their sixth run.
The score became—
6 : 2.
The stadium fell into brief silence.
Everyone knew Zhou Hao was strong.
But Amahisa hadn't been weak either.
Aside from Yuki, no one had been able to truly threaten him.
Over the past two innings, Amahisa had looked like a top-tier national pitcher.
And yet—
A pitch thrown with everything he had…
Was smashed so cleanly.
Zhou Hao jogged calmly around the bases.
No celebration.
No extra movement.
As if he had simply completed an ordinary swing.
When he returned to the dugout, his teammates looked at him with burning eyes.
"As expected of Zhou Hao-senpai!"
"That was insane!"
"From today on, you're my idol!"
"So what's the secret? How do you deal with his pitches?"
Zhou Hao didn't hide anything.
"His fastball is sharp, but his real weapon is the low-angle sliding ball. If the position is slightly off, it's basically unhittable. Even if you make contact, it's hard to send the ball where you want."
The Seido players subconsciously frowned.
Zhou Hao had just crushed the pitch.
Yet according to him, it was still extremely dangerous.
Everyone suddenly realized something.
Zhou Hao wasn't just strong.
He was operating on a completely different level.
Should they say—
As expected of Zhou Hao?
Even many of the third-year players couldn't help but think the same.
Especially after Zhou Hao stepped up and blasted another home run.
Yuki, who followed him into the batter's box, lifted a high fly ball toward the outfield.
An Ichidai San outfielder moved under it.
"Pop!"
"Out!"
Three outs.
Offense and defense changed.
The game entered the bottom of the Fifth inning.
Ichidai San High School Baseball Team went back on offense.
The first batter stepped into the box with a fierce expression, as if determined to swing with everything he had.
But the spectators in the stands hardly paid attention.
Everyone was still immersed in Zhou Hao's home run.
"Two consecutive homers, and they came off two different pitchers!"
"He drove in five runs all by himself!"
"Zhou Hao-senpai is as cool as ever…"
Whenever Zhou Hao's name was mentioned, countless people subconsciously gave a thumbs up.
This wasn't flattery.
His performance was simply too astonishing.
Even knowing that such displays were "normal" for him, people still couldn't help but marvel.
Zhou Hao was that kind of player—
A walking spotlight.
Even though he was now stationed in the outfield, his presence still dominated the entire field.
Tanba returned to the mound and once again showed the form he had at the start of the game.
"Whoosh!"
A high-drop curveball fell like a meteor.
The Ichidai San batter squinted instinctively and swung hard.
"Ping!"
The moment the ball was hit, Ichidai San's players and fans felt a surge of hope.
But that hope vanished almost instantly.
Someone was already waiting at the landing point.
"Pop!"
"Out!"
One out. No one on base.
The player who caught the ball—
Zhou Hao.
The Seido supporters, who still hadn't fully recovered from his home run, felt as if their worldview had been refreshed again.
"He's not just strong at batting…"
"He's completely well-rounded!"
"He's an all-around ace!"
Zhou Hao couldn't hear these praises.
And even if he could, he wouldn't take them to heart.
He knew his own situation better than anyone.
If an opponent challenged him with extreme velocity and violent late movement, even he might struggle.
But against sliding-type breaking balls—
Whether it was Amahisa or anyone else—
Once he saw them clearly, they were no different from ordinary pitches.
This was the terror of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
As long as he saw it, no sliding ball could hide from him.
The game continued.
Ichidai San desperately wanted to break through Tanba and score.
From their previous encounters, Tanba had always been the softer target.
But this Tanba…
Was no longer the same pitcher from their memories.
With regained confidence and facing the lower half of the lineup, Tanba pitched in an exceptional state.
When Ichidai San's batters saw his pitches, disbelief appeared in their eyes.
He had only rested briefly.
Yet it felt as if he had completely transformed.
The baseball whistled in.
Before the batter could fully adjust, it was already in front of him.
Gritting his teeth, he swung.
"Ping!"
He already knew the result the moment the bat made contact.
The ball dribbled weakly after landing.
Seido's second baseman was perfectly positioned.
He fielded cleanly and fired to first.
"Pop!"
"Out!"
Another crisp defensive sequence.
The stands erupted again.
"So smooth!"
"Seido's defense is terrifying."
"For a team with Zhou Hao on it, is anything surprising anymore?"
Unlike Seido's relaxed atmosphere, Ichidai San was growing increasingly anxious.
Yes, they had pulled back two runs.
But Coach Tahara wanted more than just saving face.
If there was any chance to win, he wanted it.
And that chance existed only while Tanba was still pitching.
Once Zhou Hao returned to the mound, scoring would become nearly impossible.
As long-time rivals, Ichidai San knew Seido's rhythm very well.
Zhou Hao always handled the beginning and the end.
That tactic had carried Seido through countless battles.
Past powerhouse after past powerhouse had fallen.
Finally, Seido stood at the summit of the nation.
Tahara understood better than anyone—
Time was running out.
They had to seize every remaining opportunity.
But reality was merciless.
No matter how hard Ichidai San's batters tried, they still couldn't get a hit.
Three batters up.
Three batters down.
The inning ended.
The game moved to the Sixth inning.
The score remained—
6 : 2.
Ichidai San's supporters fell noticeably quieter.
Seido's supporters, by contrast, appeared far more relaxed.
Although Ichidai San was tougher than expected,
considering that they were a top powerhouse and Seido's longtime rival,
this result was still acceptable.
From the press seats, Fujio of Baseball King spoke calmly.
"Ichidai San's chances are running out."
Because in his eyes—
The outcome of this game had already become clear.