The fourth batter of a baseball team is the soul of the lineup.
Especially for the Matsuyama High School baseball team — their reliance on their cleanup hitter exceeded that of most other teams.
At this point in the game, the score was 2:5.
Of the five runs that Seidou High School's team had given up, three had come from that very fourth batter of Matsuyama.
Particularly the very first run scored by Matsuyama —
If not for their cleanup hitter, they might not have been able to save any face at all when the match began.
Losing by two runs to Seidou's second-string team, without even scoring once?
What would that look like?
Now, with the challenge of facing Zhou Hao, everyone — including their coach — had placed all their hopes on the fourth batter.
Squatting behind home plate, Miyuki gave his pitcher a reminder:
"This guy already hit the ball twice. His batting average is scary high…"
Even Kawakami, who had been in great form, couldn't escape this cleanup hitter's bat.
You have to be careful!
But Miyuki Kazuya's concern didn't even faze Zhou Hao.
No matter what, he was going to use the Rasengan.
And once he used this spiral pitch, Zhou Hao couldn't control the outcome.
If he could take down this batter, great.
If not… well, there was nothing he could do.
He gripped the ball tightly, feeling the seams in his palm.
The seams were strange — like two winding highways coiled together.
Zhou Hao stepped forward, his arm swinging back.
When the motion finished, he threw with his full body weight behind the ball.
Boom!
Every time he pitched, Zhou Hao could feel his stamina draining rapidly.
No surprise — this body of his had such a weak foundation.
Forcing the use of the Rasengan placed a huge burden on him.
Worse still, with his current physical condition, he couldn't even unleash the full power of the Rasengan.
Even so, the spiral pitch he threw was already terrifying.
The fourth batter of Matsuyama didn't swing immediately.
He simply watched the ball fly past his eyes.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
Miyuki Kazuya kept his word.
He had said he could catch the pitch — and he did.
Aside from the very first ball, he caught all the rest of the Rasengan pitches.
Catching the ball, Miyuki frowned as he stared at the batter.
Even seeing Zhou Hao's Rasengan for the first time at the plate, this cleanup hitter from Matsuyama showed no sign of surprise?
It was as if he was fully confident that he could hit the ball.
"He's an annoying opponent."
Facing someone whose emotions were unreadable… it was mentally exhausting.
But Miyuki had no choice.
None of the Seidou players had a choice.
No matter what kind of opponent they faced on the field — they had to overcome them.
"We've already got a strike. Let's keep the momentum."
Would the batter swing at the second pitch?
Miyuki's pitch selection was extremely cautious.
Of course, Zhou Hao didn't care about any of that.
At a distance of 18 meters, just getting the ball into the strike zone took everything he had.
Expecting him to adjust the location based on Miyuki's signals?
That was a pipe dream.
As soon as Miyuki gave the sign, Zhou Hao began his motion.
Boom!
The Rasengan-enhanced pitch spun at an incredible rate.
Even if the actual pitch speed was only about 135 km/h,
to the batter, it felt like a super-fast ball over 150 km/h.
The fourth batter of Matsuyama stared as the ball approached.
He gripped his bat tightly.
He couldn't wait any longer!
If he let himself get pushed to two strikes, he wouldn't get the pitch he wanted.
He had to swing now.
The moment he made that decision, he swung decisively.
The pitch was fast, and the spin was unusual.
But this fourth batter managed to locate it quickly.
After all, his team had a similar pitcher — their ace, the chubby Midorima.
He had plenty of experience facing that spiral ball in practice.
Zhou Hao's pitch style was perfect for him.
As the ball closed in, the fourth batter could already picture hitting it out.
In the Matsuyama dugout,
everyone — including their coach — was holding their breath.
Hit it!
You must hit it!!
The coach had already made it clear:
If they couldn't hit this pitcher, how could they even call themselves a top-four team in Chiba?
Under all those expectant gazes, the fourth batter's bat solidly connected with the ball.
Before the batter could even feel excited,
he felt his hands go numb — almost like they weren't responding to him.
The bat, which he had gripped tightly, flew straight out of his hands.
Behind the plate, Miyuki turned his head in alarm.
Standing behind Miyuki, Coach Kataoka stood like a war god.
Even as the bat came flying straight at him, he didn't move an inch.
The bat brushed against his helmet and flew past.
Even though the bat was knocked away, the ball had still landed in play.
Seidou's first baseman charged forward a few steps and caught the ball with his glove.
"Out!"
Two outs. No runners on base.
The players of Matsuyama — and even their coach — were stunned.
They had rehearsed all sorts of possible outcomes.
But never in their wildest dreams did they imagine this:
Their cleanup hitter… had lost grip of his bat.
Sure, Matsuyama was one of Chiba's top four,
but their fourth batter was a star player in the prefecture.
Even among Chiba's powerhouse schools, he could've been the centerpiece of the lineup.
But now, that very person had his bat knocked clean out of his hands…
by a first-year rookie pitcher?
And that wasn't even the end of it.
When the fifth batter came up, Zhou Hao used the same trick again.
He intentionally pitched right down the middle, tempting the batter to swing.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
"Strike!!"
"Strike!!!"
"Strikeout!"
"Three outs. Change sides."
Under Zhou Hao's hopeful eyes, the fifth batter of Matsuyama didn't even make contact.
He was struck out completely.
Zhou Hao felt a little disappointed.
But the moment he returned to the dugout, before he could even show his disappointment —
he was swarmed by his teammates.
"That was amazing!"
"Three up, three down!!"
"From now on, you're my idol!!"
--------------------------------
Read up to 50 chapters
patreon.com/DaoOfPeeking