Diamond no Ace: My Sharingan

Chapter 413 - 413: Nothing Escapes the Sharingan Eyes!

"Third batter, number one, outfielder—Zhou Hao!"

Zhou Hao

The pitcher for the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team had been performing brilliantly.

Before this, he had already retired the first two batters from Seido High School Baseball Team.

Everyone in the stadium had seen it clearly.

Even the ace pitchers of Teito High School and Ichidai Sanko High School hadn't dominated Seido's lineup like that when they faced them before.

That alone proved how impressive he was.

The fans in the stands firmly remembered his name.

Arata.

Though only a relief pitcher, playing for Inashiro meant his future potential was enormous.

But now—

His opponent was Zhou Hao.

The Seido supporters in the stands, along with many neutral spectators, were far less optimistic about Arata's chances.

"Just watch. Zhou Hao will definitely teach him a lesson."

"Of course. That's Zhou Hao—the number one player in the country."

Even the players from Inashiro Industrial felt uneasy.

They knew exactly how terrifying Zhou Hao was.

And precisely because they knew, they didn't believe Arata could easily get him out.

If there had been runners on base right now, they would have immediately chosen to intentionally walk him.

Pride didn't matter.

Preventing runs did.

They had worked too hard to gain this one-run lead to risk losing it.

But with the bases empty—

Doing that would deal a heavy blow to their confidence and morale.

Especially to Arata's confidence.

So the decision ultimately rested with him.

Behind the plate, Harada glanced toward the mound and frowned slightly.

Although he hadn't caught for Arata very often most of the time Arata practiced with another catcher the two of them still threw around ten or twenty practice pitches together every day.

Because of that, Harada felt he understood him a little.

With the overwhelming presence of the team's ace, Narumiya Mei, Arata kept a relatively low profile within the team.

But in truth, his personality was anything but quiet.

He was passionate and flamboyant.

After nearly every pitch, he would shout loudly.

He needed energy.

He thrived on encouragement.

But encouraging him to challenge Zhou Hao head-on…

Was that really the right decision?

Harada wasn't sure.

In the end, he followed his instincts and gave the sign.

"Use your best pitch and fight him head-on.

This is an opponent unlike any you've faced before.

Give it everything you've got."

The moment Arata saw the sign, his fighting spirit ignited.

He understood exactly what Harada meant.

And that understanding only fueled the rebellious fire burning inside him.

He's just a second-year student.

In the end, he's still human.

Normally, Arata might not have had the courage to face Zhou Hao directly.

But today—

He felt incredible.

With the way his arm felt, he didn't think he would necessarily lose.

And if he defeated Zhou Hao…

The reward would be enormous.

Everyone would praise him.

They would talk about how powerful he was.

And even if he failed—

So what?

There were already two outs.

Even if Zhou Hao reached base, Arata was confident he could handle the next batter.

Who would pass up such a chance to make a name for themselves?

Arata certainly wouldn't.

He narrowed his eyes and locked his gaze on Zhou Hao.

Then he set his stance and fired the pitch decisively.

"Whoosh!"

The baseball cut sharply through the air.

Seeing the pitch, many Seido supporters in the stands frowned.

Perhaps they had underestimated Inashiro's relief pitcher.

Even against a monster like Zhou Hao, he showed no hesitation.

He chose to confront him directly.

Honestly, that wasn't something an ordinary player could do.

Even the players in Seido's dugout felt a hint of admiration.

At this moment, Zhou Hao was the most famous high school baseball player in the country.

Arata's choice clearly demonstrated both courage and ambition.

He wanted to defeat Zhou Hao fair and square.

Even teammates who practiced with Zhou Hao every day couldn't help feeling stirred when they saw this.

They respected an opponent with such bravery.

Standing in the batter's box, Zhou Hao remained completely unaware of the emotions surrounding him.

Arata's pitching looked good.

Naturally, Zhou Hao focused his full attention on the pitcher.

He wanted to observe carefully.

Not only did he intend to hit Arata's pitch himself, but when he returned to the dugout, he also planned to tell his teammates how to deal with Arata.

It was a perfectly reasonable plan.

But the moment Zhou Hao saw the incoming pitch—

He abandoned the idea.

Arata's pitch was fast.

The angle was tricky.

It even carried a distinct personal style.

Objectively speaking, his pitching level was extremely high.

Zhou Hao estimated that Arata could easily rank among the top ten pitchers in Tokyo.

For example, compared to Seido's current second pitcher, Tanba Koichiro—

Arata's raw pitching ability was no worse.

His stability might even be better.

He was very strong.

But—

To Zhou Hao's Sharingan eyes, this level of strength was nothing special.

Sharingan

A pitch without soul…

One glance was enough for Zhou Hao to determine exactly where the ball would land.

Under such circumstances, he didn't need to wait for a second or third pitch.

He could swing right now—

And send the ball wherever he wanted.

The only problem was that Arata's pitch had strong late movement.

Driving it straight into the stands would be a little difficult.

Fortunately…

Zhou Hao wasn't obsessed with hitting a home run.

As the baseball sped toward him, Zhou Hao swung without hesitation.

"Crack!"

Crouched behind the plate, Harada was startled the moment he saw the swing.

Such decisiveness.

If Harada had been in Zhou Hao's position, he would have watched at least a pitch or two before attacking a pitcher like Arata.

But Zhou Hao showed no such caution.

He simply went for it.

Was it confidence?

Or bluffing?

Harada didn't have time to think further.

The bat met the ball perfectly.

"Ping!"

The baseball rocketed high into the sky.

The outfielders of the Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team had clearly prepared for this possibility.

All three were positioned unusually deep.

As the ball soared, two outfielders immediately sprinted toward the landing point.

"So fast!"

"As expected of Inashiro Industrial!"

From the dugout of the Seido High School Baseball Team came murmurs of admiration.

From their angle, it looked like the Inashiro outfielders might just manage to catch it.

But in the batter's box, Zhou Hao merely curled his lips into a faint, cold smile.

"Too late."

Thanks to his Sharingan, Zhou Hao had not only predicted where the ball would fly—

He had already foreseen the outcome.

Sharingan

He could say with absolute certainty:

No one from Inashiro would reach it in time.

Before the Sharingan, nothing was unexpected.

Every result had already been calculated.

The two outfielders chased with everything they had.

But when the ball finally dropped—

They were still one… two full meters behind.

They could only watch helplessly as it hit the ground.

"Smack!"

And it didn't stop there.

The ball bounced violently toward the outfield wall.

Then ricocheted back across the grass.

Not only had the outfielders failed to catch it—

They couldn't even stop it after it landed.

Meanwhile, Zhou Hao had already thrown aside his bat the instant he made contact.

His legs blurred as he charged toward first base.

First base wasn't enough.

He blasted past the bag and accelerated toward second.

Only then did the Inashiro outfielders finally retrieve the ball and relay it inward.

But the throw was still far from the base.

Zhou Hao hesitated for the briefest moment—

Then dashed for third.

"Outrageous!"

From Inashiro's perspective, it looked almost like blatant provocation.

Grinding their teeth, the outfielders hurriedly threw the ball toward third base, desperate to cut him down.

But how could they possibly succeed?

Zhou Hao was running as if he had cheat codes.

By the time the throw reached the base—

He had already stamped his foot firmly on the bag.

"Safe!"

Two outs. Runner on third.

The players and supporters of Inashiro Industrial froze.

They stared at the field in stunned silence.

No one had imagined Zhou Hao could turn that play into a triple.

"Impossible…"

"How can he be that fast?"

They couldn't make sense of it.

Sure, they had prevented a home run—

But a triple was even rarer.

And the psychological blow it dealt to their pitcher was devastating.

On the mound, Arata felt his heart sink.

Before facing Zhou Hao, he had stubbornly refused to believe he was inferior.

Same head.

Same body.

Two arms, two legs.

How much stronger could Zhou Hao really be?

Now he regretted ever thinking that.

He had assumed that if there was a gap between them, it would only be small.

But reality had proven otherwise.

The difference between them was a chasm.

A gap he could never bridge, no matter how hard he tried.

The meaning behind that realization was painfully clear.

This was the distance between a true genius—

And ordinary people.

And Arata…

Was simply one of those ordinary people.

For someone proud, that realization could be crushing.

Fortunately, Arata's mentality was stronger than most.

Before stepping onto the mound, he had already imagined the possibility of this very moment.

So when it finally happened—

He managed to accept it.

"Fourth batter—"

Yuki Tetsuya

At the announcement, the Seido supporters exploded with excitement.

"This is the moment we've been waiting for!"

"That Inashiro pitcher is completely cornered now!"

But Arata himself didn't see it that way.

Zhou Hao's triple had shocked him awake like a bucket of cold water.

Against elite hitters of national caliber, he was still second-rate.

So what should he do?

The answer was simple.

Retreat.

"Ball!"

"Ball!"

"Ball!"

"Ball!"

Four straight balls.

Arata never gave Yuki a chance to swing.

He issued an intentional walk.

Two outs. Runners on first and third.

In Seido's dugout, Kataoka Tesshin clenched his fist.

As Seido's coach, he understood his team's biggest weakness.

Their two strongest hitters were simply too far ahead of the rest.

If Seido had just one or two more hitters at that level, their lineup would easily become the most terrifying in the country.

But they didn't.

Which meant opponents could simply pitch around them.

And unfortunately—

That strategy worked very well.

Arata, who had been shaken moments ago, might now recover.

Meanwhile, Seido's golden scoring opportunity could slip away.

"Fifth batter—"

Isashiki Jun

Stepping into the batter's box was Seido's fiery senior, famous for both his mustache and his temper.

The moment he stepped in, he couldn't hold back his frustration.

"Damn it!

Are you saying I don't even exist?!"