Just now, it took Zhou Hao a full three seconds to activate the Sharingan.
He observed very clearly: this chubby guy named Midorima wasn't doing anything extraordinary with his pitches.
His hand was as big as a sandbag, completely wrapping around the baseball. When he released the ball, he added a powerful spin to it.
In terms of pure speed, his pitches weren't particularly fast—probably around 135 km/h.
But even at that speed, combined with the strong spin he added at the end, the pitch had an unusual force behind it.
Not to mention Zhou Hao—even if one of the other batters from Seidou High's baseball team stepped up, it would still be hard to hit that ball.
How could the ace of one of the top four teams in Chiba Prefecture not have some skill?
If they didn't have confidence, why would these players feel so frustrated about being sent to play against Seidou's second string?
"Phew!"
"Stay calm!"
"As long as I think carefully, there must be a way."
Zhou Hao steadied his thoughts and began replaying the chubby guy's pitch in his mind over and over.
From Midorima stretching out his arms, setting his stance, stepping forward…
All the way until the baseball left his hand and flew.
The ball, spinning fiercely, cut through layers of resistance and appeared before Zhou Hao.
That final burst of force in the pitch was where the power really exploded.
Was there any way to counter it?
Just as Zhou Hao was deep in thought, the white baseball came flying again for the second time.
Boom!
That terrifying sound of the ball tearing through the air came again—the white baseball shot through the strike zone in an instant.
Zhou Hao had no reaction at all.
Pop!
"Strike!"
One foul, one strike.
The players from Matsuyama High's baseball team were in a kind of frenzy.
"That little brat must be scared stiff, huh?"
"He didn't even make a move."
"Two strikes! The batter's cornered. Just watch—he's about to strike out."
"No matter how strong Seidou's varsity team is, this is just the second string."
In the top of the first inning, they had swallowed their anger—and now they were ready to vent it all.
And their target was clearly Zhou Hao.
In the Seidou dugout, the players' faces were grim.
Even from the sidelines, they could tell that the chubby guy's pitch wasn't ordinary.
If they were the ones at bat, could they hit that ball?
"Probably not. If it really comes down to it, just stall."
"This kind of full-power pitching can't last long."
The Seidou players were already thinking about fallback plans.
Adjusting her glasses, Takashima Rei frowned and said, "This match was specially arranged by the coach. If you can't perform well here, there's no way you'll be promoted to the varsity team. The varsity lineup is already pretty solid."
If it had just been speculation before, Takashima Rei's words confirmed it.
Today's practice match was the second team's final chance to get promoted to varsity.
After hearing this, many third-year players silently clenched their fists.
Three years of effort with Seidou's baseball team—everything came down to this day.
After speaking, Takashima Rei turned her gaze toward Zhou Hao.
Although Zhou Hao wasn't physically gifted, he was clever.
Even though Rei hadn't said this directly to him, she believed Zhou Hao understood perfectly.
Being down 0-2 wasn't the end of the world.
But if he was truly frightened by the opponent, then he would completely lose his chance of moving up to varsity.
At the plate, Zhou Hao wasn't affected by the noise around him.
For some reason, the chubby guy's pitching motion was becoming clearer and clearer in his mind.
To the point where he could freeze each action in his mind and examine it closely.
As he kept replaying it, a sudden ding! rang in his head.
[Sharingan Level Up: Current Level 2]
The skill that came with the system… could actually level up?
Zhou Hao froze, coming back to himself from the mental replay.
And at that exact moment, a spark of inspiration flashed in his mind.
He had found a way.
When it came to raw force, it was usually the hardest to counter.
Because aside from meeting force with force, there was almost no other solution.
If the chubby guy relied purely on brute strength to throw those blazing pitches, Zhou Hao would have been helpless.
The Sharingan could let him see everything, but it couldn't make him stronger.
But the chubby guy's pitching wasn't purely about strength—it was about spin.
He added a tremendous spin to the ball when pitching. To deal with such a pitch, the key was finding the right angle to make contact.
Zhou Hao looked up and observed the fielding positions of the Matsuyama High players.
Because his first two swings were so weak, they had become slightly complacent.
Clearly, they had seen many opponents fall to Midorima's full-power pitching, and they didn't believe anyone could hit the ball when he went all out.
"If I can just make contact, the chance of getting a base hit is very high."
Zhou Hao squinted.
"Sharingan, activate!"
With the Sharingan now at level 2, the world became even clearer once activated.
From 18 meters away, Zhou Hao could even see the seams of the baseball.
At that moment, Zhou Hao felt a surge of strength fill his body. He knew it was just an illusion—a side effect of his upgraded Sharingan.
But the illusion gave him overwhelming confidence.
Boom!
The baseball screamed toward him once again.
The Matsuyama players were already striking their victory poses in advance.
The Seidou dugout players instinctively turned their heads away.
They couldn't bear to watch what was coming.
And that's when the white baseball reached Zhou Hao.
Zhou Hao decisively swung.
His swing wasn't fast, but it was stable.
Especially as the bat was about to make contact with the ball, Zhou Hao deliberately adjusted the bat's angle—by around five to ten degrees.
Clink!
Just like his first swing, the ball rebounded off the bat. But this time, it didn't bounce foul.
Instead, it landed in bounds.
The hit wasn't all that strong, but the Matsuyama fielders weren't ready at all.
By the time the ball landed in front of them, they were only just reacting—and it was already too late.
All they could do was watch helplessly as the ball zipped past.
"It got through!!"
The Seidou players quickly turned their heads back, but they had already missed the most exciting moment.
What they saw was Zhou Hao jogging calmly to first base.
"Safe!!"
No outs. Runner on first.
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