"A trifle!"

In the stands where the players of Inashiro Industrial High School had gathered, a young, slightly shy voice echoed.

But it was that very sentence that left the entire Inashiro baseball team stunned.

"Just a trivial trick?"

They weren't exactly in the strike zone. From this distance, all they could do was approximate what was happening. But more than anything, they could feel the pitcher's presence.

Even from the stands, the pressure was immense.

It was clear—Seidou's first-year rookie pitcher was no fluke.

After watching the game footage, the players of Inashiro had planned to analyze Zhou Hao's pitching later.

They had to figure out how to hit him.

But for Narumiya Mei to call it a "trivial skill"?

"This isn't the time to brag. Did you see it clearly?"

A player named Harada asked with a frown.

"Do we need to? You can tell right away—it's just a high-speed spiral pitch. You can see it from his windup. Those guys from Sensen High School are just dumb. Instead of swinging blindly, they should be burning his pitch count. Wear him out. His stamina will probably drop before five innings."

Narumiya Mei's tone was sharp and confident.

"That makes sense... but what if it were us?"

Narumiya Mei scoffed.

"Our pitching machines can simulate spiral pitches at 140 km/h. Just train against that. I'm sure you upperclassmen would be able to hit it in no time."

Some people just command trust when they speak.

Narumiya Mei was one of them.

Even as a freshman, his confidence won the nod of even the upperclassmen on the Inashiro team.

Yeah!

How could the players from Sensen High School compare to them?

If it were them out there, even with how nasty Zhou Hao's pitching was—they would still hit it.

As the seniors chatted, Narumiya Mei, who had been grinning before, now wore a more serious expression.

"That guy, Kazuya, really found a good partner..."

He had originally invited Kazuya Miyuki to join Inashiro, wanting to build the strongest team in Tokyo to dominate the country.

Miyuki had declined.

At the time, Miyuki said he'd rather meet as rivals than as teammates.

Back then, Narumiya Mei had warned him:

"Don't come to regret it later."

Now... maybe Miyuki wouldn't.

He was lucky.

But no matter how lucky he was—he'd never shine brighter than Narumiya Mei over these three years of high school.

The game continued.

The second batter of the Sensen High School baseball team stepped into the batter's box.

He crouched slightly, lowering his center of gravity, and glared at Zhou Hao like he wanted to tear him apart.

From a distance, he looked fearless.

But behind the plate, Chris could see something the crowd could not.

The batter's legs were trembling.

A clear sign of extreme nerves.

The spectators in the stands couldn't sense the pressure Zhou Hao was exerting.

Even the players and coaches in Sensen's dugout couldn't truly feel it.

Only the batter—the one standing in the box—felt it in full.

And the next batter waiting on deck?

He was already scared.

"Let's go. Don't hold back!"

Chris gave the sign. The batter still looked calm on the outside.

But Zhou Hao grinned.

With Chris or Miyuki catching, he didn't have to overthink.

They could tell the batter's condition better than anyone.

Pitching to them was always smooth—no stress, just trust.

Zhou Hao inhaled deeply, set up, and threw.

Boom!

To an outsider, it might look like Zhou Hao was simply overpowering his opponents.

But the truth was—he knew they wouldn't even swing.

Even if they tried, they wouldn't hit it.

Bang!

"Strike!"

Just as he expected.

The batter stood frozen. Not a single twitch.

"As expected of Chris-senpai… what a sharp read."

Zhou Hao was impressed.

Meanwhile, the batter in the box looked utterly broken.

No light in his eyes. Blank.

"What kind of pitch was that?"

His mind raced for answers—but no one could give him one.

And before he could recover—

Zhou Hao threw again.

Boom!

The same trajectory. Maybe even faster.

The batter panicked and swung blindly.

The bat missed by a mile.

Bang!

"Strike!"

"Strike two!"

"Strike three!"

"Strikeout!"

The Seidou fans erupted.

Such clean mechanics. Such intense rhythm.

Zhou Hao had always come in as a relief pitcher before.

This was the first time fans were seeing what he could really do as a starter.

And they were stunned.

Now it was the third batter's turn.

Bang!

"Strike!"

"Strike two!"

"Strike three!"

"Strikeout!"

Three batters up, three batters down.

The inning ended with a dominating start from Zhou Hao.

Even for a team strong enough to make it to the Top 8 in West Tokyo, Sensen High School couldn't touch him.

Three up. Three down.

Time for Seidou High School to take the bat in the bottom of the first inning.

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