On the Seidou High School baseball field, there were over a hundred people present, including players and coaches.
Not everyone was watching the match—some players had already begun self-training.
But at this moment…
It was as if someone had hit the pause button. Everyone froze in place.
That first-year rookie had actually completed a triple strikeout!
He took care of Matsumoto, then Shimoji…
And now he had taken down Higashikuni as well.
The two first-string pitchers, Yoshida and Tanba, were still barely able to maintain their composure earlier.
Matsumoto and Shimoji getting struck out wasn't too surprising to them.
Those two had no prior knowledge of Zhou Hao. If Zhou Hao was promoted, his pitching had to be something special.
Under those circumstances, a first-time miss at bat could be forgiven.
If it had been them on the mound, as long as luck wasn't too bad, they could've probably taken down Matsumoto and Shimoji in the first round too.
But Higashikuni was a different story altogether.
For a batter of his caliber, as long as a pitch entered his strike zone, it was impossible for it to escape.
Yet now… Higashikuni had actually missed?
And not just missed—he struck out swinging. On his final swing, he didn't even touch the ball...
Had Higashikuni gotten worse?
No, definitely not.
The only reasonable explanation they could think of at this moment was that Zhou Hao was even stronger than they had imagined.
Especially Yoshida.
He felt that his position as the team's ace was under serious threat.
"Scary..."
The other players slowly snapped out of it as well.
Although many had secretly hoped Higashikuni would put Zhou Hao in his place…
When they saw Zhou Hao manage to take down Higashikuni,
They weren't nearly as disappointed as they thought they'd be. In fact, a trace of excitement began to flow within them.
"Nice! That was amazing!"
"This kid is incredible!"
"Keep going! Don't stop now!"
What Seidou's baseball team lacked the most was good pitchers.
Now, with such a promising new pitcher, everyone naturally began to look forward to the upcoming summer tournament.
A pitcher who could strike out Higashikuni—just how much could he contribute in the summer matches?
Just thinking about it had everyone thrilled.
So much so, that they quickly switched allegiances.
Originally supporters of Higashikuni, as soon as the result was clear, they immediately cheered for Zhou Hao instead.
"Next batter!"
Standing in the batter's box, Higashikuni had figured out why he had missed his swing.
He roared in frustration.
"Senpai, it's time to switch,"
A calm and cold voice came from behind him just as he shouted.
Though the tone was calm, the stance was firm.
This was Zhou Hao's fourth opponent of the day, the sixth batter in the lineup.
The team's first baseman—Tetsuya Yuki.
Home plate umpire Kataoka added, "You missed because you assumed the pitch was a breaking ball!"
Zhou Hao had thrown a four-seam fastball—but he faked a motion in his delivery.
And that fooled Higashikuni.
To put it bluntly, he was tricked by his own arrogance.
Higashikuni had tried his best to hit the ball—but he didn't take Zhou Hao seriously enough.
Of course, the biggest credit for pulling this off went to Chris.
If Chris didn't understand Higashikuni so well and hadn't guided Zhou Hao step by step into this plan, leading Higashikuni into a trap…
The result wouldn't have been so shocking.
After striking out three batters in a row, Zhou Hao had finally repaid the debt of overusing his "Kunai Straight Throw" technique.
Now, he was completely unburdened.
And he made another discovery.
He had originally thought that the "Kunai Straight Throw" would only allow him to learn how to throw straight balls—that would be the limit.
Control and accuracy would only improve once the skill level increased.
Just like his Sharingan.
His Sharingan only revealed more functions after leveling up.
But in truth, that wasn't the case.
The "Kunai Straight Throw" actually allowed directional control—it just wasn't extremely precise.
Still, even if it wasn't very refined, it was more than enough to distinguish inside, outside, high, and low.
So, Zhou Hao's current fastball control wasn't bad at all.
And because of that, he was able to work with Chris to successfully strike out Higashikuni.
At this point, Higashikuni was at the peak of his high school performance.
He hadn't yet developed the later mental problems that would hinder him.
The match continued. Stepping into the batter's box as the fourth challenger—Tetsuya Yuki.
Compared to facing Higashikuni, Chris was even more cautious in his pitch calling against Yuki.
But Zhou Hao was going all in.
His opponents were getting stronger one after another. It would be impossible to defeat them using just the force of spiral balls or fastballs alone.
What Zhou Hao could do now was completely trust Chris.
Follow Chris's signals and throw the pitch he wanted.
Watching from the sidelines, Miyuki Kazuya's eyes turned red with jealousy.
Just yesterday, he had partnered with Zhou Hao.
But when Zhou Hao faced him, all he threw were spiral balls—he hadn't even given Miyuki a chance to shine.
And now? Zhou Hao's fastballs were getting more and more accurate.
To the point where Chris almost didn't even need to call for spiral balls anymore.
The two looked nothing like they were working together for the first time.
"I was the one who found him first!"
Just yesterday, when Miyuki partnered with Zhou Hao, he had already seen Zhou Hao's potential.
Zhou Hao's spiral ball, if used properly, could definitely earn him a place on the first team.
If they became a battery, they'd have a real chance to challenge Chris.
But now?
The partner he worked so hard to scout was already bonding with Chris.
Where was his chance to rise now?
While Miyuki Kazuya was sighing at his unfair fate—
After gaining an advantage in the count, Zhou Hao unleashed a spiral ball.
Boom!
It had an entirely different feel from a fastball.
In the batter's box, the rock-steady Tetsuya Yuki's pupils suddenly widened.
Now's the time!
Just like Higashikuni, Yuki had also been waiting for Zhou Hao's spiral ball.
Now that it finally came, he didn't hesitate.
Yuki decisively swung the bat.
The swing sliced through the air with a powerful sound.
Seidou's players watched eagerly.
And then—they saw the bat make contact with the ball.
Clang!
Yuki's face turned pale.
He had clearly felt the tremendous late spin of the spiral ball.
Yet, gritting his teeth, he still managed to hit it.
"He made contact!"
Just as Jun Isashiki shouted in excitement, the baseball fell in front of the first baseman.
It was a very fast hit.
But the senior defending first base dove forward and pinned the ball under his body.
"OUT!"
Zhou Hao had achieved four outs in a row.
Unstoppable…
-------------------
Support me at patreon.com/DaoOfPeeking