One out, no one on base.
Inside the dugout of the Seibō High School Baseball Team, the players wore grim expressions.
Logically speaking, they had successfully forced Zhou Hao to abandon his original pitching plan.
This should've been something worth celebrating.
Anyone with half a brain could see it—
Seidou's true Ace, Zhou Hao, had entered this game planning to strike out Seibō's lineup with his Spiral Ball.
He wanted to crush them mentally.
Break them.
Completely.
And at first, his plan was going perfectly.
Zhou Hao's terrifying Spiral Ball had indeed shocked the stadium.
For a while, Seibō couldn't even touch the ball.
But the problem was…
Seibō didn't break.
Zhou Hao's goal was not achieved.
So—
What would Zhou Hao do next?
That was the part Seibō couldn't figure out.
But Zhou Hao himself?
He already had the answer.
And he executed it immediately.
Zhou Hao wasn't even hiding his intent.
He wanted Seibō to see it.
Zhou Hao was conserving stamina and switching to fishing pitches—ordinary straights and small-breakers—to lure Seibō's batters into swinging.
The question was…
Could Seibō resist taking the bait?
Absolutely not.
With Zhou Hao's stamina, if he didn't use Spiral Balls or high-movement pitches,
he could pitch a complete game without any issue.
If Seibō didn't change their strategy, the ending was already written.
They had to swing.
Otherwise, they were finished.
The eighth batter of Seibō stepped into the box, fully aware of Zhou Hao's plan.
"Don't underestimate us… Throw it. Let me hit it."
Even Seibō's lower-order batters were confident in their hitting ability.
Of course—
that confidence only applied if Zhou Hao wasn't throwing Spiral Balls.
A 145 km/h Spiral Ball was already hard to hit in practice.
A 150 km/h one?
Thrown by a monster like Zhou Hao?
Their cleanup hitters couldn't hit it—
so their 8th or 9th batters definitely couldn't.
But a fishing pitch?
That was different.
Even a small miscalculation in angle or power could send the ball somewhere unexpected.
Zhou Hao couldn't control every pitch perfectly.
This was their chance.
The batter tightened his grip.
The ball came.
He swung.
Ping!
The ball bounced weakly on the infield dirt.
"Infield grounder?"
Against a prefectural-level school, maybe this would've been a hit.
But this was Koshien.
And their opponent was Seidou—Japan's No. 1 seed.
Seidou's third baseman charged in like a bull, fielded the ball, and made a perfect throw.
Snap!
"Out!!"
Two outs, bases empty.
Seidou's supporters roared.
"Three pitches, two outs! He's in complete control!"
Neutral fans were confused.
"Why isn't he using the Spiral Ball more? It's more exciting!"
"Yeah! When he throws it, the batters look like fools!"
Seidou's fans smirked proudly.
"You don't understand. There's a saying in the Dragon Kingdom—'Why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken?'"
"Why waste Spiral Balls on the lower order?"
"With straights and small breakers, those guys can't do anything."
"And Zhou Hao is pacing himself. He's controlling the game tempo perfectly."
Neutral fans nodded in understanding.
Seidou wasn't just trying to win.
They were trying to demoralize Seibō while conserving stamina.
The topic shifted.
"Is Zhou Hao going for another complete game?"
"Of course. He already pitched a complete game against Seisho High."
"If Coach Kataoka thought he couldn't last, he wouldn't allow this."
Seidou's die-hard supporters were sharp.
They already understood the direction of the game.
Seibō's players understood too.
"We have to disrupt him… If we don't change something, he'll completely dictate the pace."
Their red-nosed coach signaled the ninth batter.
The ninth batter of Seibō nodded confidently.
Being ninth didn't mean he was weak—
Seibō didn't have weak players.
He was known for technique and decent power.
A perfect dark horse.
But just as he settled his stance—
Whoosh!
Zhou Hao delivered a crisp fastball.
The ninth batter yelled internally—
"I can hit this!"
Ping!
He felt good contact.
But the ball shot straight up into the sky…
"...Eh?"
The entire dugout froze.
The ball dropped lazily toward First Base.
Yuki raised his glove casually.
Snap!
"Out!!"
Three up, three down.
"Four pitches… three outs?!"
The commentators were stunned.
From the audience's perspective, Zhou Hao looked effortless.
Relaxed.
Untouchable.
But from the batter's perspective?
He was terrifying.
Kurata explained:
"You think these pitches are easier to hit? You're wrong. The key isn't pitch quality—it's pitch count."
"With Spiral Balls, Zhou Hao needs about 10 pitches per inning. But just now? Four pitches."
"He's completely controlling the rhythm of the game."
And Seibō knew it.
Even from the dugout, their players felt suffocated.
Bottom of the Third Inning—Seidou on Offense
Yoshida took a deep breath.
He had watched how aggressively Seibō's lower-order batters fought against Zhou Hao.
Even if they failed, they showed spirit.
If Seidou's lower-order didn't respond in kind,
it would be embarrassing.
"Throw it! I'll hit it!"
Shirazawa, Seibō's Ace, threw without hesitation.
Whoosh!
Ping!
Yoshida's ball popped up weakly.
Seidou fans felt their heads tingle.
Not again…
Snap!
Caught by Seibō's second baseman.
"Out!"
One out, bases empty.
"Did he… copy Zhou Hao's pitch?"
Seidou fans didn't want to admit it.
But they couldn't deny it either.
"It seems so…"
"That pitch thief!!!"
Even so, Seidou's players respected Shirazawa internally.
He lived up to his reputation—
one of the Three Great Star Pitchers of Japan.