Tanba watched as the baseball flew straight out of the center field fence. If this were an official game, that ball might have hit the scoreboard in center field.
Hitting the scoreboard in center field is a dream for many batters!
When evaluating a batter's strength, people look at their home run count and batting average.
In the same tournament, a batting average over 50% with three or four home runs is already considered outstanding.
If the batting average reaches 60% with more than five home runs, they can be regarded as the cleanup hitter of a mid-tier team.
A batting average of 70% with over ten home runs?
That goes without saying; they are the strongest high school hitter on this planet!
They are a "monster"!
This is something that even Seidou High School's former home run king, Azuma never achieved!
Azuma was an unmatched presence in the history of Seidou High School!
What he had never accomplished, Zhou Hao had already done during his middle school years.
You might say that middle school and high school are not on the same level.
But these statistics were achieved by Zhou Hao without any high school training, only middle school training.
When you think about it, it's truly terrifying.
Perhaps Zhou Hao's strength itself is a mystery.
The answer to this mystery can only be revealed by him.
Take the Hokkaido regional tournament as an example.
In the Hokkaido regional tournament, Zhou Hao represented the Eagles and played five games, achieving nine hits and eight home runs.
He hit only one less home run than his total hits!
At that time, no pitcher could contain him.
Such a terrifying level of strength.
To add to that, out of his eight home runs, five were hit directly to center field, striking the scoreboard!
Just hearing that name might make some people tremble in fear.
The distance from home plate to the center field scoreboard is 121.9 meters!
It is the farthest distance in the outfield!
For a batter to hit the scoreboard at least once in their lifetime is a stroke of incredible luck.
But for Zhou Hao, it seemed as easy as child's play; he could hit it however he wanted.
"This..."
Tanba was lost in thought, unable to shake off the feeling for a long time.
"Am I really unable to return to my peak?"
Seeing his signature pitch hit out of the park by a first-year junior, Tanba began to doubt himself.
Could he really not return to his peak?
His peak was during his second year, the time when he was at his most ace-like.
But that damn elbow injury had halted his progress at the most crucial time.
After a year without training, he already knew that his peak was behind him.
Perhaps he really should step back and not cling to the position of ace pitcher at Seidou High School; that might be his best choice.
"I admit it, senior, that pitch was really impressive."
Seeing the look of disappointment in Tanba's eyes, Zhou Hao didn't know what to do, so he could only try to encourage and motivate Tanba.
This was something a senior would typically do for a junior, but in Zhou Hao's case, it had completely reversed.
It felt somewhat ridiculous.
"Don't comfort me. Your strength is already above mine. Even though you're a junior, I still respect losing to you. The revival of Seidou High School will depend on you from now on. The future is yours."
Tanba seemed to have let go of his worries in an instant. Without the usual senior authority, he appeared more like a professional player on the verge of retirement, giving high hopes to his juniors.
No third-year student would say such things.
The phrase "the future is yours" was rarely spoken by seniors in high school.
Their physical abilities hadn't declined, and they were still at their peak; who would willingly say that?
They were in their prime, just on the rise, so why would they willingly concede?
The future belonged to them!
This phrase shouldn't be directed at juniors.
"Senior Tanba, don't say that. Seidou High School can't do without you. Besides, both the present and the future belong to you, right?"
Tanba shook his head, and it seemed Zhou Hao's words didn't have much effect.
"I know very well that I can't reach last year's level anymore. Perhaps this year I will still become the ace pitcher, but getting to Koshien will depend on you."
"Senior Tanba..."
Now that Tanba had said this, Zhou Hao didn't know what else to say.
Words of comfort wouldn't reach Tanba; he would see them as mere pleasantries.
He knew that as long as this "monster" was around, Seidou High School would be a top-tier team in West Tokyo, even nationally.
At that time, everyone would remember him; who would remember him as an ace pitcher without the ace-like qualities?
Damn injuries, they were truly despicable!
Just as the two were deep in conversation, Yuki and Coach Kataoka found them.
"Is this the place?"
Coach Kataoka crossed his arms, looking at the old baseball field in front of him, and spoke lightly.
"Yes, Tanba often trains here. No one knows this place better than him."
Before looking for Tanba, Coach Kataoka had also asked Yuki where Tanba might be.
As the captain of Seidou High School, Yuki had always been straightforward, never shielding anyone, saying whatever needed to be said.
There was no favoritism.
He believed that avoiding training openly was a mistake on Tanba's part, and he didn't want to be the "accomplice."
"Go in."
"Yes!"
The two stepped forward, slowly approaching the old baseball field.
"Uh-oh."
Hearing the footsteps, Tanba's body tensed.
Logically, he should be the only one who knew this spot; no one else should be able to find it!
How did Coach Kataoka find him?
Now he wasn't sure if it was Coach Kataoka; he could only guess.
If it wasn't, that would be best. If it was Coach Kataoka, then he was really done for.
It wouldn't necessarily mean being demoted to the second team; it would just mean some terrifying physical punishment.
Before he could even get up, Coach Kataoka had already reached the entrance of the field.
Seeing Coach Kataoka's figure, Tanba couldn't help but swallow hard, feeling a sense of despair.
All those sad emotions from earlier vanished in an instant.
"Co... Coach Kataoka."
Hearing Tanba's voice, Zhou Hao immediately stood up, and upon seeing Coach Kataoka, he felt scared as well.
"You used the excuse of going to the bathroom to come here and skipped team training."
"Sorry, Coach."
Tanba sincerely admitted his mistake.
"And you, Zhou Hao, not only did you not report him, but you also hung out with him, right?"
Zhou Hao didn't dare to speak, silently lowering his head.
"You two, go run twenty kilometers! If you don't finish, you're not allowed to eat!"
"Please spare me, Coach!"