The Seidou High School Baseball Team's dominance was on full display.
Nitta, the ace of Sensen High School, undoubtedly had strong pitching skills.
If it had been an average pitcher facing Seidou's furious offensive outburst, they would have already collapsed.
This was a common reality in high school baseball.
Why had Seidou managed to overwhelm every opponent before this, ending ga after ga early with huge leads?
Was it because their opponents were that weak?
Not really.
The teams Seidou crushed were all well-known schools in West Tokyo. While none of them were on Seidou's level, the gap shouldn't have been so huge.
Yet those gas ended in five innings, with Seidou scoring more than a dozen runs.
So what happened?
The answer was simple: those teams collapsed during the match. Their ntal state shattered under Seidou's pressure.
And when a team collapses like that, any scoreline becos possible.
But the Sensen High School Baseball Team did not collapse.
Yes, their players were exhausted.
Yes, Nitta was getting hamred—his pitches, even the bad ones, were being hit solidly.
But they still held on.
As long as even a sliver of opportunity remained, Nitta would fight to seize it.
A pitcher like that… deserved respect.
Still, that didn't an Sensen had stabilized the ga.
As the burly player from Inashiro Industrial had said from the stands:
"The real test begins now."
And he was right.
Sensen's cleanup hitter stepped up to the plate—the fourth batter, one of their strongest.
He didn't need to score a run.
Even just making contact would be enough.
If their team could prove that Zhou Hao's pitches weren't invincible…
Then Sensen would still have a reason to keep fighting.
But if not—
If even their best hitter was overpowered—then the ga might as well be over.
The director of the Sensen team understood this perfectly.
He approached his cleanup hitter with a steady voice.
"Rember your training. Swing with all your strength. You don't have to hit it clean—just make contact."
Who in their team could possibly touch Zhou Hao's pitches?
Only two nas ca to mind: their cleanup hitter, and Nitta.
Beyond them, no one else could hope to get a hit.
With that pressure on his shoulders, the fourth batter stepped into the box.
He raised his bat high, a determined look on his face.
Bring it on.
Behind the plate, Chris narrowed his eyes.
Sensen's hitters were fiery. None of them wanted to leave without making contact.
"Let's go!"
Chris opened his glove like a target.
As if drawn by a magnet, Zhou Hao launched the pitch.
Though Zhou Hao's Spiral Ball hadn't evolved yet, his delivery felt sharper and smoother than ever.
He was growing—pitch by pitch.
"Boom!"
The ball scread forward.
The batter didn't even move.
He stared wide-eyed as the white sphere shot past him.
"Smack!"
"Strike!!"
The Seidou dugout exploded in cheers.
They thought the batter was too scared to swing.
But that wasn't it.
The cleanup hitter's mind was clear.
Zhou Hao's pitch was impressive—but not unhittable.
"I can hit that!"
He tightened his grip.
As Zhou Hao threw the second pitch, the batter swung with all his might.
"Ping!"
The bat connected—barely.
A flicker of pride flashed in the batter's eyes. He'd done it. He hadn't let his team down.
But before that feeling could bloom—
Pain shot through his hands.
It felt like he had just struck solid rock.
The bat jolted violently.
It was as if he'd hit a wall of iron.
The pain ca too quickly—he couldn't hold on.
In front of hundreds of stunned spectators, the bat flew from his hands and shot through the air.
The chief umpire didn't even flinch.
He dropped into a practiced crouch, the bat whistling right over his head.
He'd seen it coming.
"The bat flew off?!"
The crowd gasped.
Then Seidou fans roared with excitent.
Many had heard about this before…
But few had ever seen it happen with their own eyes.
Now they had.
"As expected of Zhou Hao!"
"He sent the bat flying again!"
"In all of high school baseball—only Zhou Hao can do this!"
"The one and only!"
The fans were ecstatic, their cheers thunderous.
The batter stared down at his palms, dazed.
What just happened?
Before he could even process it, Chris scooped up the ball and tagged him.
"Out!"
One out, bases empty.
The Sensen players were numb.
Whatever they felt inside no longer mattered. The outco was real.
Their fifth batter stepped up next.
But unlike the fierce determination of the cleanup hitter, this one was already shaking.
His knees trembled as he entered the batter's box.
The image of the bat flying from his teammate's hands still haunted him.
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