Although Zhou Hao was still somewhat dissatisfied in his heart,
he had to admit that the stamina +1 boost was undeniably a huge help.
Even though Miyuki Kazuya finished second to last in the run, as a first-year rookie who had just joined the team not long ago,
the fact that he could barely keep up with the training intensity of Seidou High School's first-string baseball team was already a small miracle.
Back in middle school, Miyuki Kazuya was definitely one of the top-tier geniuses.
However, he was known more for his skills and intelligence,
which is why he couldn't compete with his upperclassmen in physical training like running.
If someone of his caliber were famous for power and speed,
it would be entirely possible for them to outpace their seniors in a run.
So how big was the gap between Zhou Hao and a genius like him?
On the huge baseball field, they were running laps.
Within just ten laps, Miyuki could lap Zhou Hao.
During yesterday's training, Zhou Hao had already fallen more than a full lap behind Miyuki.
But today, by the time they finished running, he was only about twenty meters behind Miyuki.
Even though Miyuki had accelerated in the final stretch, he still couldn't widen the gap.
Miyuki was only five to six meters ahead of the third-to-last senior.
Toujou, Yuki, Matsumoto, Yoshida...
These core players of the team also had differences among themselves.
Zhou Hao's current running speed was nearly equal to what Miyuki had when he first joined the team.
Although the system still evaluated Zhou Hao as a "slightly stronger weakling,"
for Zhou Hao, this was already an incredible improvement.
Thanks to just one point added to stamina,
he had gone from an ordinary person to an excellent baseball player.
The gap between the two is like a chasm.
In addition to the morning runs, Zhou Hao also saw big improvements in other areas after his stamina increased—
for example, his endurance.
Previously, with Zhou Hao's original stamina, he could only throw 30 Rasengan pitches.
That was only enough to last two or three innings in a real game.
If the team encountered a crisis and he was sent to the mound,
Zhou Hao might not have been able to hold out.
Unless the opposing team cooperated and swung at every pitch—
but how likely was that?
Yesterday, when Zhou Hao faced off against seniors like Toujou,
they were swinging aggressively and didn't bother observing or dragging out at-bats.
By the time Zhou Hao got through the seventh batter,
his pitch power had already dropped noticeably.
Even though the stamina indicator said he could still throw a few more Rasengans,
the effectiveness had significantly decreased with each pitch.
That's why Toujou was able to blast the ball out of the park.
Otherwise, even if Toujou had figured out Zhou Hao's pitching,
he wouldn't have hit it that far.
But now, with stamina +1, Zhou Hao could throw 40 Rasengan pitches.
Don't underestimate those 10 extra pitches—
they were enough to let Zhou Hao last an extra inning or two.
If the team really ran into a jam and needed him on the mound,
he would feel much more confident.
Aside from better endurance, his strength and speed also improved slightly.
Even his pitch speed increased.
However, compared to the Rasengan or the Sharingan activation time,
these improvements weren't as dramatic.
During the following days, the team entered Hell Week—a week of grueling training.
Zhou Hao began following the personal training plan given to him by the coaching staff.
Aside from basic physical conditioning,
his focus was on pitching and mastering the craft of being a pitcher.
Zhou Hao's pitching was still immature.
But compared to his pitches, his mound presence and techniques were practically non-existent.
On the mound, how do you hold runners on base?
How do you coordinate with the fields?
How do you make in-game decisions and throw the appropriate pitches?
Zhou Hao knew absolutely nothing about any of these.
Coach Kataoka and the staff put in a lot of effort on this.
On one hand, they wanted the training to be as close to actual games as possible.
On the other hand, they didn't want anyone else to know about Zhou Hao, their secret weapon.
Some of the third-year seniors who had already been cut from the team voluntarily stayed to help Zhou Hao train.
Coach Kataoka and the other coaches felt deeply guilty about this.
These players had worked hard for three years, and with the summer tournament approaching, they were cut from the team.
Though Coach Kataoka's intent was for these players to focus on their studies and get into a good college,
which was well-meaning,
in the end, the team still owed these players something.
They worked hard for three years, yet never once got to represent the team in a game.
And now they were helping as training partners—
how could the coaches not feel bad?
But these third-year Seidou players were adamant.
In their own words, even though they couldn't play for the team anymore,
they still sincerely hoped the Seidou High School baseball team could go even further!
"Let us contribute one last time to the team."
"Let us use these three years of sweat to help our junior grow!"
"Let Zhou Hao go in our place and witness the stage of Koshien…"
Even Coach Kataoka couldn't remain unaffected.
When Zhou Hao heard those words, his eyes welled up.
Though he hadn't spent much time with those third-year seniors,
he could feel their deep love for baseball,
and their passion for the Seidou High School baseball team.
Not wanting to disappoint them,
Zhou Hao could only train even harder—
to help the team advance to Koshien,
and make up for the regret of these seniors.
Time flew by, and a week passed quickly.
A second-year player named Masuko was cut from the team.
It wasn't that he was bad—just that Seidou had too many strong hitters.
Compared to them, Masuko had more weaknesses,
so it was only natural for him to be eliminated.
Perhaps thanks to Zhou Hao joining the team,
Chris no longer felt such intense pressure.
Or maybe Zhou Hao's subtle warning helped Chris avoid disaster.
Chris's overtraining problem was exposed early on.
Coach Kataoka ordered him to rest for a week.
When Chris returned to the team, he was back to normal.
"I thought I'd have a chance to steal your No. 2 spot,"
Miyuki Kazuya said with a teasing smile.
Though he talked trash, Miyuki genuinely hoped Chris was okay.
When Chris got injured, no one was more anxious than Miyuki.
After Hell Week ended, the team officially handed out jersey numbers.
Zhou Hao, who had made it onto the first team, received jersey number 20.
Because Chris was still on the team, Miyuki kept his number 19 .
These two first-year players, as representatives of this generation of Seidou High School baseball,
were about to compete in the summer tournament.
After the tournament draw was complete,
Seidou, as a seeded team, had their first game a week later than the others.
They were finally about to begin their first match.
--------------
GIVE ME POWER STONE!!!!
Support me at patreon.com/DaoOfPeeking