[Would you like to open the Beginner's Gift Pack?]
At this moment, with his turn at bat approaching, Zhou Hao no longer had a choice.
"Open it!"
No matter what kind of skill it was from the ninja world, Zhou Hao felt it would be enough to transform him completely.
This was the difference between dimensions!
[Beginner's Gift Pack opened. Congratulations, Host, you've obtained an S-rank skill: Sharingan!]
Sharingan?
Seeing the name of the skill, Zhou Hao was shaken to the core. Could it be... his eyes would turn into windmill shapes?
Everything was in HD now—if someone caught a glimpse of it on camera, would he be captured and dissected?
Worried, Zhou Hao quickly activated the Sharingan.
[Sharingan activated. Host has no chakra; usage will rely solely on mental strength and physical stamina. Based on your stats, you can use the Sharingan for sixty seconds. Countdown begins: sixty! Fifty-nine…]
As the Sharingan activated, Zhou Hao suddenly felt like the world in front of him had changed.
But now was not the time to dwell on it.
Hearing he could only maintain it for sixty seconds, Zhou Hao urgently grabbed Kuramochi and asked, "Quick, look at my eyes. Is there anything strange?"
Forget the advanced Mangekyō windmill shapes—even the basic forms like one tomoe, two tomoe, or three tomoe would be enough to make people think he was a freak.
Kuramochi looked closely as Zhou Hao requested.
Then Zhou Hao saw Kuramochi's pupils suddenly widen.
It's over!
Zhou Hao's heart dropped.
Don't tell me... his eyes had really changed into something bizarre?
"You didn't sleep well last night, huh? There's a huge piece of eye gunk in your eye!"
Hearing that, Zhou Hao glared at his friend.
Looks like his worries were unnecessary.
Without the special energy of the ninja world and relying only on physical and mental energy, Zhou Hao's Sharingan wouldn't visibly change into some weird shape.
"Deactivate!"
He had only sixty seconds total, and he had just used five.
Even though the energy cost wasn't huge, Zhou Hao could already feel a trace of fatigue creeping in.
Was this power from another dimension really as powerful as he imagined?
He didn't know.
But the toll it took was definitely more than he had expected.
The game was still in progress. The batter who had just been replaced sat dejectedly on the bench.
To be subbed out at such a crucial moment—there was no doubt his future chances were bleak.
Seidou High's baseball team, as a nationally renowned powerhouse, had nearly a hundred players.
Each player had only a few precious chances. Sometimes if you missed one, you might never get another.
And not just that boy—Zhou Hao was in the same boat.
Takashima Rei had solemnly sent Zhou Hao to bat, and at such a critical moment, too.
If Zhou Hao made a mistake, he'd be cast aside. At the very least, he wouldn't get another chance before the fall season.
Taking a deep breath, Zhou Hao stepped into the batter's box with his bat.
One out. Runner on second.
Zhou Hao had no memory of the runner on second. He was probably an upperclassman, a second- or third-year student—not a fellow freshman.
Yet this unremarkable upperclassman had just cleanly hit a double off Kawakami.
And this very same upperclassman hadn't even made Seidou's second string.
That was Seidou for you.
"Zhou-san is up!"
"Zhou-san? Who's that?"
"The foreign student who's good-looking but useless."
"Looks don't win games on a baseball field."
"All our effort to catch up and maybe take the lead... now it's all for nothing."
"What nonsense. The outcome of the game isn't that important—it's about individual performance."
"Still, players from the winning side always get more attention, right?"
The players were all talking, especially Zhou Hao's team.
They were already one run behind, and now Zhou Hao was up, which made them feel all hope was lost.
Complaints filled the bench.
Truthfully, Zhou Hao's at-bat had nothing to do with them.
The only one who had a stake in this was the runner on second. If Zhou Hao got a good hit, he'd have a chance to shine too.
But unlike the others, this low-key upperclassman was actually kind.
"Do your best!"
Not only did he cheer for Zhou Hao with a smile, but he also tried to rattle Kawakami on the mound.
He stepped off second and took a lead, threatening to steal third.
This forced Kawakami to divide his attention between the batter and the runner.
"As expected of an upperclassman. Tough to deal with!"
Kawakami had already given up three hits today.
He was feeling the pressure too.
Thankfully, the batter now was Zhou Hao—not fellow first-years like Maezono, Kuramochi, or Shirasu.
Otherwise, Kawakami's burden would be even heavier.
"Sorry, Zhou-san. No matter what, I have to make it into the second string!"
Pitchers were promoted differently from other positions.
All pitchers practiced in the bullpen, so their rankings were clear.
Kawakami felt he wasn't far off from being promoted to the second team.
Other first-year rookies had already been promoted to the first string—he couldn't afford to fall behind.
After all, he had left his hometown at a young age just for baseball and to join Seidou.
He raised his leg high, completely ignoring the runner on base.
Kawakami's pitch radiated confidence.
This was not the same Kawakami Zhou Hao remembered.
Of course, his past impression came from seeing Kawakami pitch to upperclassmen—he had always seemed timid and lacking confidence then.
Now, facing rookies his own age, Kawakami revealed the aura of an ace pitcher from his junior high days.
"Whoosh!"
As a sidearm pitcher, Kawakami's pitch curved around from the side.
The ball's trajectory was completely different from other pitchers.
Seeing it, Zhou Hao felt a chill down his spine.
"Don't tell me it's aimed at me?"
It looked like the ball was flying straight at Zhou Hao's head.
But just before it reached him, it veered sharply and landed in the strike zone.
"Smack!"
"Strike!"
One strike, no balls.
The rookies who had been grumbling now got even bolder.
"He didn't react at all—was he scared stiff?"
"You're one to talk—you didn't do any better when you were up."
"Says who? At least I hit the ball."
Coach Ohta, his big belly leading the way, nodded in satisfaction.
Even the opposing coach, Takashima Rei, smiled.
"Kawakami's in great form. Maybe because he's facing his peers, there's no pressure, so he can perform at his best. In this relaxed state, he could easily compete for a main role on the second string. Once the third-years graduate, he might become a backup pitcher for the team."
"Little Zhou Hao's in a tougher spot. A pitch of this level is still too much for him."