"Score!!"
Two outs, bases empty.
No one had expected the Seido High School Baseball Team to score the first run at this moment.
Everyone had seen Narumiya Mei's pitching.
With such overwhelming pitches and such careful game-calling, even if the ball had been hit deep into the outfield…
It shouldn't have been blasted straight out of the park.
Even Seido's own players found the scene unfolding before them hard to believe.
Let alone everyone else.
The players of Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team were completely stunned.
1–0.
Under normal circumstances, a one-run deficit meant nothing to Inashiro Industrial.
With their explosive batting lineup, catching up—or even turning the game around—would usually be easy.
But today was different.
Their opponent was Seido High School.
And the one standing on the mound for Seido was Zhou Hao.
What kind of monster was Zhou Hao?
Ever since his debut year, aside from one game where he gave up a run due to complete physical exhaustion during last autumn's tournament, Zhou Hao had never allowed another run while pitching.
At most, opponents managed one or two Hits against him.
That was all.
He was Seido's absolute iron wall.
As long as Zhou Hao stood on the mound, Seido remained undefeated.
To Inashiro Industrial, it looked as though they had only lost a single run.
But in reality…
It felt as though they had already lost their right to compete for the championship.
The moment that thought surfaced in their minds, the Inashiro players immediately shook their heads desperately, trying to force the dangerous idea out.
"There's still a chance!"
"Even Zhou Hao isn't invincible!"
The players of Inashiro Industrial quickly regained their composure.
As elite players from a national powerhouse, the first thing they had learned was how to remain calm no matter the situation.
They absolutely could not panic.
Even now, although they understood exactly what Zhou Hao's Home Run represented, they immediately forced themselves to focus on the next step.
No matter what, they could not allow themselves to collapse before the opponent.
Only by enduring could they preserve even the slightest hope.
Even if they couldn't turn the game around immediately…
As long as they managed to hold Zhou Hao back and continue fighting—
They could at least prove to everyone watching that Inashiro Industrial was not inferior to Seido.
After all, the Summer Tournament was still ahead of them.
Compared to the Kanto Tournament…
Summer Koshien was the true battlefield for every high school player.
Last summer, Seido had conquered Summer Koshien and stood at the top of the nation.
From that moment onward, they became the universally recognized national champions.
Even after suffering defeat last autumn, whenever people mentioned the words "national powerhouse," the first team that came to mind was still Seido.
Why?
Because Summer Koshien was the pinnacle stage acknowledged by every high school baseball player in the country.
As one of the nation's elite teams, Inashiro Industrial had to think further ahead than ordinary schools.
They had no choice but to adjust their mentality.
And because of that, most of the players recovered quickly.
This was the fundamental quality required of starters on a national powerhouse team.
But one person was different.
The Ace of Inashiro Industrial—
Narumiya Mei.
The others might have accepted Zhou Hao's Home Run.
But Mei, the person directly involved, could never accept it so easily.
He had already sacrificed everything in preparation for Seido and Zhou Hao.
How could he calmly accept defeat now?
"This… shouldn't be happening!"
His blazing eyes locked onto Zhou Hao as he returned to the dugout.
Meanwhile, Zhou Hao deliberately glanced back and flashed him a brilliant smile.
"Are you mocking me?"
The instant that thought crossed his mind, the fire inside Narumiya Mei burned even hotter, threatening to consume him whole.
He simply could not accept this result.
Narumiya Mei clenched the baseball tightly in his hand.
At that moment, Yuki Tetsuya stepped into the batter's box.
Cheers instantly erupted from the Seido dugout.
"Take him down in one go!"
"He's already falling apart!"
From their perspective, Narumiya Mei had clearly reached his limit.
Even though his pitch count remained low and his stamina was still plentiful…
Zhou Hao's Home Run must have dealt a devastating blow to his mentality.
Anyone could imagine it.
Once a pitcher's emotions were shaken, his rhythm would inevitably crumble as well.
And the moment his pitching rhythm collapsed…
Seido's batters would naturally seize the opportunity.
Especially since the man currently standing in the batter's box was Yuki Tetsuya.
How strong was he?
In the hearts of Seido's players and supporters, the nation's number one player, Zhou Hao, was the only person who stood on equal footing with Yuki.
The two were considered comparable monsters.
That was why no one had ever questioned Yuki Tetsuya's position as Seido's Fourth Batter.
And now—
He stood at the plate.
To the Seido players and fans, this was the perfect opportunity to widen the gap even further.
Everyone wanted to see Yuki completely crush Narumiya Mei.
But just as those thoughts spread through the stadium—
Narumiya Mei, standing on the mound, suddenly fired the baseball from his hand with sharp, decisive force.
BOOM!!
The previous Home Run seemed to have had absolutely no effect on this prideful Ace.
The pitch exploded from his fingertips with the same terrifying speed as before.
Fast.
Sharp.
Difficult.
Even Yuki couldn't help but feel astonished after seeing it clearly.
How exactly had Zhou Hao managed to send this kind of pitch into the stands?
And not just any stands—
The 120-meter center-field stands.
It was unbelievable.
Still, amazement didn't stop Yuki from batting.
He calmly let the first pitch pass by.
Then, when the second pitch came—
He swung without hesitation.
BOOM!!
The sound of the bat striking the ball exploded like thunder across the stadium.
WHOOSH!
The baseball soared high into the sky.
At that moment, Harada Masatoshi, the starting catcher of Inashiro Industrial, instantly felt his heart tighten.
He shot to his feet and shouted toward the field.
"Outfield!!"
The previous Home Run had clearly left a deep psychological scar on Harada Masatoshi.
In fact, it wasn't just him. Most of the players from Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team still hadn't recovered from the shock of that Home Run.
Their greatest threat against Seido had always been Zhou Hao.
And yet, despite all their preparation, they had still allowed Zhou Hao to hit one out of the park.
It was an enormous blow to Inashiro Industrial's morale.
Even now, the lingering fear remained in their hearts.
The baseball soared nearly ninety meters through the air before beginning its descent.
Carlos Toshiki sprinted toward the falling ball like a hunting cheetah.
Pop!
The moment the baseball dropped, Carlos secured it firmly in his glove.
"Out!"
Three outs. Side retired.
For the players of Inashiro Industrial, this game was destined to become a lesson they would never forget.
Fortunately for them—
That inning was finally over.
Top of the fifth inning.
Inashiro Industrial's turn to attack.
After losing that run, everyone could clearly feel the change in the atmosphere surrounding the Inashiro players.
Their eyes had sharpened.
And the way they stared at Zhou Hao was filled with aggression.
They wanted to score.
Noticing this, Miyuki Kazuya curled his lips slightly before jogging onto the field.
"Believe it or not," he said to Zhou Hao, "if the rules didn't exist, those guys from Inashiro would probably rush over here and beat you up."
Zhou Hao raised an eyebrow.
"You still have time to worry about that?"
"What's wrong?"
"Watch my pitches carefully this inning."
Zhou Hao narrowed his eyes slightly.
"They might be a little fast."
He wasn't completely certain himself, but he could vaguely feel it—
The speed of his pitches was about to increase again.
"A little fast?"
Miyuki snorted proudly.
"How fast could they possibly get? I can already catch a 163 km/h Fastball."
When it came to this topic, Miyuki Kazuya was genuinely proud of himself.
Everyone knew just how terrifying Zhou Hao's pitches were.
That much didn't even need to be explained.
But being able to catch those pitches consistently?
That was equally monstrous.
It was no exaggeration to say that catching a 163 km/h pitch barehanded through a catcher's mitt was something very few people in the world could do.
Even among professional catchers, not everyone possessed that level of skill.
"Fourth Batter, number two, catcher, Harada Masatoshi!"
At the beginning of the fifth inning, the first batter for Inashiro Industrial was their cleanup hitter.
Their Fourth Batter.
Narumiya Mei's partner.
And the emotional pillar of the team.
Harada stepped into the batter's box with a very clear objective in mind.
He was determined to hit Zhou Hao's pitch.
Even if he couldn't get a clean Hit, he wanted to at least drive the ball deep into the outfield.
Having his bat blown away once was already humiliating enough.
He would never allow it to happen a second time.
Meanwhile, waiting in the on-deck circle, Narumiya Mei quietly observed his senior's condition.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
After giving up a run, Mei understood better than anyone how heavy his responsibility had become.
If this had happened in the past—
Back when he was still immature—
He might have collapsed from the pressure already.
At that time, Narumiya Mei believed Inashiro Industrial was destined to rule West Tokyo and dominate the nation.
But now, things were different.
They were no longer kings defending their throne.
They were challengers.
And the mentality of a challenger was completely different from that of a ruler.
A king could not tolerate mistakes.
But for a challenger—
A mistake was merely another obstacle on the road to victory.
As long as they kept moving forward, they would eventually break through every wall in front of them.
Narumiya Mei firmly believed that.
He believed another opportunity would come.
And when it did—
He would face Zhou Hao again.
Standing on the mound, Zhou Hao could clearly feel the fighting spirit radiating from both Harada and Narumiya Mei.
He had to admit it.
Top-tier players truly were different from ordinary people.
After suffering such a devastating blow earlier, they had managed to recover this quickly.
"Not bad…"
Zhou Hao nodded inwardly.
"Impressive."
But at the same time—
He also felt a little sorry for them.
With Harada and Narumiya Mei's talent, combined with their current fighting spirit, Zhou Hao honestly couldn't claim absolute confidence against them.
No matter how overwhelming his pitching was, they still had a chance to connect.
Unfortunately for them…
Their timing was terrible.
Zhou Hao's "Power +1" state still hadn't disappeared.
And right now—
He wanted to test something.
He wanted to know what would happen if he fully released the limits of his Sharingan while under the effects of "Power +1."
Just how fast could his pitches become?
In the past, Zhou Hao had never cared much about this.
Back then, his body simply couldn't handle it.
But now—
He had already become the fastest pitcher in high school baseball.
Naturally, he wanted to take one more step forward.
Even if it only happened once…
He wanted to create a terrifying record that would shock everyone present.
The more he thought about it, the stronger the fighting spirit surging inside him became.
Zhou Hao narrowed his eyes.
Then—
He lifted his leg high into the air.
Before anyone could react, he stepped forward and unleashed the pitch.
From the perspective of the audience, nothing about Zhou Hao's pitching form seemed different from before.
After all, they had watched him pitch countless times already.
His current motion looked nearly identical.
Naturally, everyone assumed this pitch would be no different from the previous ones.
But they were wrong.
Completely wrong.
BOOM!!!
The baseball exploded from Zhou Hao's hand like a shell fired from a cannon.
In the blink of an eye—
It appeared in front of the batter.
Harada had faced Zhou Hao's Fastballs before.
In fact, one could say he understood them better than most.
But this pitch—
This pitch was on an entirely different level.
Too fast!
Harada's eyes widened in disbelief.
Before he could even react, the baseball had already blown past him.
He didn't even have time to swing.
Behind the plate, Miyuki was equally stunned.
The ball's trajectory had drifted slightly outside the Strike Zone, forcing him to reach his glove outward.
POP!!
The instant the baseball smashed into the mitt, Miyuki's entire arm was violently knocked backward.
Heavy!
The pitch felt unbelievably heavy!
Before Miyuki could even process what had happened—
The baseball grazed the Home Plate Umpire's cheek and tore straight into the backstop net behind them.
BANG!!!
Even after hitting the net, the baseball continued surging forward violently.
For a moment—
The entire stadium fell silent.
No one could take their eyes off it.
"My god…"
"How is that even possible?!"
A heartbeat later, a massive uproar erupted throughout the stands.