"Is this really appropriate?"
Manager Ota frowned, rubbing his hands together, his tone filled with hesitation.
Seido High School Baseball Team had its own established system for cultivating players.
And they had absolute confidence in that system.
The Freshman Welcome Game was an important part of it.
It had been used for many years, had proven its value, and had always worked well.
If the person making this suggestion were anyone else, Manager Ota would have rejected it outright.
The only reason he was speaking so cautiously now was because the one standing in front of him was Zhou Hao.
Coach Kataoka stood with his arms crossed.
Behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses, his sharp gaze rested on Zhou Hao.
He did not immediately refuse.
Instead, he maintained a posture that clearly indicated—
Continue.
Zhou Hao took a deep breath.
Before entering the room, he had already rehearsed everything in his mind.
He knew this would be difficult.
But precisely because it was difficult, it had to be done.
And he had to argue from the perspective of the entire team and the coaching staff.
"The Freshman Welcome Game has remained unchanged for many years," Zhou Hao said calmly.
"On the surface, it looks like we're inheriting successful experience."
Coach Kataoka and Manager Ota both felt their expressions ease slightly.
They could hear the confidence in Zhou Hao's voice.
And when someone spoke with this level of certainty, Seido's tradition was to listen first.
"But baseball is constantly evolving," Zhou Hao continued.
"What worked in the past may not always suit the present. If we want to keep up with the times, our methods must also evolve."
Manager Ota frowned.
"That may be true. But if first-years don't experience enough pressure, how will they break through and grow?"
From Seido's long-term experience, forcing rookies to face Second Team main players head-on had always produced results.
They would be crushed.
They would struggle.
But those who survived would emerge stronger.
Some losses were inevitable.
But the saplings that withstood the storm would eventually grow into towering trees.
Take Seido's current third-years as an example.
Back then, they were labeled a "poor harvest year."
They suffered defeat after defeat.
Yet they persevered.
Now, as third-year regulars, their strength was no weaker than previous generations.
This was the foundation of Seido's success.
Was Zhou Hao suggesting they shake this foundation?
Manager Ota couldn't help but feel uneasy.
People were often like this—
Once something succeeded, they stopped examining why it succeeded.
They simply assumed:
If it worked before, it will work again.
But Zhou Hao understood something many adults ignored.
When the environment changes, even if everything else looks the same, the result can be completely different.
Manager Ota stared at Zhou Hao.
A sixteen-year-old boy.
Yet he could articulate such a profound principle.
Not only did Zhou Hao possess terrifying baseball talent—
He also had an exceptionally sharp mind.
"This kid… is going to be incredible in the future."
Manager Ota couldn't help but sigh.
Coach Kataoka, however, remained calm.
"What you're saying makes sense," he said.
"But theory alone is not enough to overturn tradition."
To appoint Zhou Hao as the person in charge of rookie arrangements—
And to change the rules of the Freshman Welcome Game—
Coach Kataoka needed more than philosophical reasoning.
Zhou Hao silently exhaled.
He had expected this.
Coach Kataoka was never easy to persuade.
Fortunately—
Zhou Hao had prepared more.
"It's not just theory," Zhou Hao said firmly.
"Our team's situation itself has changed."
"The team's situation?" Coach Kataoka asked quietly.
He already had a guess.
Manager Ota also seemed to realize something.
"You mean…?"
Zhou Hao nodded without hesitation.
His gaze was steady.
His tone, confident.
"Manager, Coach—haven't you noticed?"
"Some of this year's freshmen are not inferior to Second Team players."
"Some are even not inferior to Second Team's main lineup."
"If we follow the old format, the final result of the Freshman Welcome Game may not be what everyone expects."
Silence filled the room.
Manager Ota searched for a rebuttal—
And found none.
After all, facts were facts.
Two freshmen had already been promoted directly into the First String.
That alone proved everything.
Those two weren't promoted out of kindness.
They were promoted because they possessed strength exceeding most Second Team main players.
Zhou Hao's argument struck at the heart of reality.
Manager Ota slowly narrowed his eyes.
Coach Kataoka remained silent for several seconds.
Then—
"You've convinced me."
"We'll proceed according to your proposal."
In truth, Coach Kataoka agreed not only because of Zhou Hao's reasoning.
There was another, deeper reason.
Recently, Coach Kataoka had increasingly felt that he himself still had shortcomings.
Since taking office, he had trained players strictly according to Seido High School Baseball Team's traditional methods.
And objectively speaking—
He had done well.
Under his leadership, Seido had produced many professional players.
So many, in fact, that their reputation in this area was unmatched.
Even during the years when Seido failed to reach Koshien, they were still recognized as one of the nation's top powerhouses.
But everything has gains and losses.
For a team of Seido's stature, repeatedly missing Koshien was unacceptable.
This inevitably created dissatisfaction.
Especially among the school's leadership.
The school invested enormous resources into special recruits and poured large amounts of funding into the baseball team every year.
Naturally, they expected returns.
Could Seido reach Koshien?
Could Seido achieve good results at Koshien?
These outcomes were directly tied to the evaluations of the school administrators.
With that pressure, how could the Principal and Head of Academics not be anxious?
Coach Kataoka understood this very well.
But he never wanted those anxieties to be passed onto the players.
That was why he had always firmly rejected interference from above.
Now, because of Zhou Hao, Seido had not only reached Koshien—
They had dominated the nation.
Through competing against true national powerhouses, Coach Kataoka himself had also grown.
He had begun to clearly recognize his own limitations.
Because of this, he finally decided to attempt change.
If the attempt failed, he would consider bringing in an excellent assistant coach.
Someone who could compensate for his weaknesses.
Zhou Hao's proposal, at this moment, was like a timely push.
It gave Coach Kataoka the chance to reform some of Seido's long-standing rules.
During afternoon practice, the first-year new players were gathered together.
They had already received news about the Freshman Welcome Game.
According to what they heard, this would be their best—and possibly only—chance to enter the First String or Second Team.
Even if they couldn't reach the First String,
they had to at least reach the Second Team.
Otherwise, before the Summer Tournament, they would completely lose the qualification to compete for a First String spot.
This year's freshman class at Seido was unusually strong.
Many outstanding players stood among them.
Every single one was filled with anticipation.
They originally thought the person addressing them would be the team manager or vice-manager.
What they did not expect—
Was that the one who appeared was the soul of the current Seido team.
"Senior Zhou Hao!"
"Senior Zhou Hao!"
"Mr. Zhou Hao!!!"
The freshmen greeted him in unison.
Recently, Zhou Hao had spent a lot of time interacting with the first-years.
They were already quite familiar with him.
So seeing Zhou Hao step forward made them feel both excited and reassured.
Zhou Hao smiled warmly.
No airs. No distance.
In his hands were more than a dozen sheets of paper.
"Are you all ready?" Zhou Hao asked.
"Always ready!"
"Very spirited. Good."
Zhou Hao nodded in satisfaction.
"The upcoming game will be directed by me."
"It will be a total of twelve innings."
"Except for the first three innings, everyone will get playing time in the remaining nine innings."
"So there's no need to worry about not having a chance."
This arrangement was something Zhou Hao had specifically requested from Coach Kataoka.
He would not deprive anyone of the opportunity to show themselves.
"Yes!!"
The response was loud and energetic.
"Since it's a game, the first step is knowing both yourselves and your opponents."
"Do you know what the scores of previous Freshman Welcome Games looked like?"
The freshmen looked at each other.
They were curious.
They had asked seniors before.
But every time, those seniors wore extremely complicated expressions and avoided giving details.
Now that Zhou Hao brought it up, they leaned in.
"I have the results from the past ten years."
"Take a look."
Zhou Hao handed out the papers.
Three to four people shared one sheet.
Sawamura Eijun stared at the numbers.
Even he, an eternal optimist, froze.
"25–0…"
"19–0…"
"27–0…"
Were these really baseball scores?
Even volleyball or badminton would struggle to produce numbers like that.
Only now did the freshmen truly understand what Zhou Hao meant.
They had been thinking too optimistically.
Turning the tide.
Standing out.
In games like these—
Ordinary people simply had no chance.
Only once-in-a-generation talents could shine.
Pitchers were slightly different.
For outstanding pitchers, it was easier to leave an impression.
But aside from pitching, it was extremely difficult to display individual brilliance.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many zero-score games.
"Now you understand the gap between you little sprouts and your second- and third-year seniors, right?"
Zhou Hao smiled gently.
There was no mockery in his tone.
Only calm truth.
"Senior, what should we do then?"
Tojo was the first to ask.
From what Zhou Hao said, he would only personally direct them for the first three innings.
Against such terrifying opponents,
their only chance to perform was to follow Zhou Hao's plan.
Before anything else—
They had to be selected into the starting nine.
This year's freshman class was large.
Securing one of those nine spots…
Would not be easy.