The resting area suddenly fell into complete silence.
Everyone instinctively turned to look at the boy who had spoken.
Zhou Hao, who had just raised his hand, subconsciously lowered it again.
There was a brief silence for about three seconds before Takashima Rei stood up.
"I'll discuss it with the opposing coach first..."
After all, this wasn't an official game. As long as both sides agreed, pulling a pitcher from the first-string team wasn't out of the question.
But doing so would mean that even if Seidou's team won, it wouldn't be considered a fair victory.
And chances were, they might still lose the game anyway.
That would be even more embarrassing...
Watching Takashima Rei's back, Zhou Hao gritted his teeth.
Just moments ago, when the vice-captain asked the question, Zhou Hao had reflexively answered that he was a pitcher.
But thinking about it more carefully, he actually had no experience pitching at all. He had simply copied the pitching motion of the chubby Midorima using his Sharingan.²
Zhou Hao believed that if Midorima could do it, he could too.
But when Takashima Rei's gaze fell on him, Zhou Hao's confidence faltered.
This match wasn't just any practice game—it was a farewell performance for the third-year seniors.
If he messed up in such an important game...
Regardless of whether the team would punish him,
Zhou Hao knew he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.
But looking at Takashima Rei walking away, he couldn't just pretend nothing had happened either.
"I can do it."
Zhou Hao's voice rang out again.
Was he really going to go through with it just because he wanted to?
As for what consequences it might bring—
Zhou Hao no longer cared.
"Are you a pitcher?"
Takashima Rei turned around and looked at the boy through her glasses, her expression unusually serious.
"Yes. When Zhou-san first joined the team, pitching was his strongest position."
Before Zhou Hao could speak, his friend Kuramochi answered for him.
He actually had never seen Zhou Hao pitch before.
But Kuramochi remembered that when they all joined the team, they filled out a form with their specialties and preferred positions.
Zhou Hao had written down "pitcher."
Technically, he should've had the chance to try pitching on the mound—every pitcher goes through this at some point.
But due to his practice performance always being below average, the coaches thought Zhou Hao needed to build his fundamentals before he could play.
So the trial pitching was delayed again and again.⁶
"Alright!"
Seeing the determination in Zhou Hao's eyes, Takashima Rei nodded at him.
"Then go ahead!"
All the players in the resting area stared in shock.
Clearly, they didn't expect the vice-captain to be this easygoing?
Before going on the mound, as his battery partner, Miyuki came over to discuss strategy with Zhou Hao.
But first, Miyuki found Takashima Rei.
"Rei-chan, do you really believe he can pitch?"
"You should speak respectfully and call me sensei."
Takashima Rei replied, annoyed.
"That's not important, Rei-chan. What do you think?"
"Well, we're treating a dead horse like a living one. It's not like we're seriously going to go drag Danba from the first-string."
Takashima smirked.
Even if they brought in this backup, it wasn't guaranteed he could turn the game around.
At that point, Seidou's reputation would be in shambles—even worse than it already was.
That's why Takashima thought it was worth giving Zhou Hao a chance.
"Alright then."
As a fellow rookie,
Even though Miyuki had just joined and was already promoted to the first team, he hadn't interacted much with the others in his grade.
But that didn't mean he wasn't paying attention.
After all, these were his future teammates—guys he'd take to Koshien and even aim to dominate the nation with.
His impression of Zhou Hao was: the most handsome guy in their rookie group.
Aside from that, Zhou Hao had no other outstanding features.
Truly skilled players on the field were like needles in a pocket—you will get pricked.
"What kinds of pitches can you throw?"
"Do you have set signals?"
"How's your control—can you hit inside and outside corners of the strike zone?"
Miyuki bombarded him with three questions in a row.
Zhou Hao, who had never stepped onto the mound before, was instantly flustered.
"I can only throw a spiral ball!"
"You can throw a spiral ball?"
Miyuki's eyes widened like saucers.
Zhou Hao wasn't even sure if the ball Midorima had thrown earlier was a spiral ball.
But after repeatedly playing it back in his mind, he felt confident he had memorized every detail of Midorima's pitch.
That high-speed spin, that unique grip and motion…
"Yeah."
Zhou Hao nodded.
"My control's not great—I can only throw it straight down the middle."
Hearing that, Miyuki couldn't help but laugh.
Did this guy even realize who they were playing against?
That was one of Chiba Prefecture's top four teams.
Sure, they weren't on the same level as Seidou's first string, but they weren't some average squad either.
This game had gone well for Seidou's second string so far.
But the moment they made a single mistake, the opponents pounced.
That was Matsuyama High School's baseball team.
And he was going to take them on by throwing pitches straight down the middle?
Miyuki could feel his blood boiling with excitement.
"I can't wait. Warm up well—I'm looking forward to your performance, partner!"
Hearing those words filled Zhou Hao with a jolt of energy.
He had to admit—this teammate really did exude a powerful kind of charm.
The game resumed.
It was now the top of the seventh inning, and Matsuyama High School was up to bat.
Their third batter, the team's core, stepped up to the plate. At the same time, Seidou replaced their pitcher—Zhou Hao was going in.
They also swapped out an outfielder.
Seeing Zhou Hao, who had previously gotten a hit, now confidently standing on the pitcher's mound,
Matsuyama High's coach narrowed his eyes.
"Is this their secret weapon? Coach Kataoka, you sure like to play games."
Although he hadn't received Seidou's lineup, he could tell—
Not all of these players were from the second string.
This was clearly a patchwork team.
"Stay sharp. Don't underestimate them!"
While the Matsuyama coach gave orders to his players,
Zhou Hao had already suited up and stepped onto the mound.
The moment his foot touched the mound,
the system that had remained dormant in Zhou Hao's mind suddenly activated.
[Congratulations, host. You have successfully won your first ninja battle. You are being promoted to Genin (exceptional case).]
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