[Your performance in previous missions was impressive! This attracted the attention of a senior, who has now initiated a challenge.]
[The challenge is divided into nine rounds. Winning a round earns you points for that round.]
[The more points you accumulate, the better the rewards!]
[Considering the senior's strength far exceeds that of a mere genin, three reward tiers have been unlocked early.]
[Reward for clearing three rounds: Kunai Straight Throwing Technique.]
In the ninja world, this was undoubtedly a very basic skill.
What kind of ninja doesn't know how to throw a kunai?
But for Zhou Hao, this skill was a godsend.
Before this, the entire strike zone was a massive, indistinct area for him.
He could barely land his spiral ball in the strike zone—that was already an achievement.
As for other pitches, whether straight balls or breaking balls, Zhou Hao simply couldn't control them.
To put it bluntly, the only reason he could even act as a pitcher was thanks to the Rasengan-like spiral pitch.
Otherwise, Zhou Hao's chances of throwing a wild pitch would've definitely broken Seidou High's baseball team records.
Now with the Kunai Straight Throwing Technique, it was essentially the same as Zhou Hao mastering the straight ball.
And his chances of throwing a straight ball into the strike zone? A clean 100%.
He no longer had to worry about missing the zone.
If his future underclassman Furuya Satoru found out, he'd probably cry from envy.
Of course, to achieve finer control, the skill would need upgrading.
But Zhou Hao was already extremely satisfied.
Originally, he hadn't wanted to face off against the third-years so soon.
After all, even with his spiral pitch, the experienced third-years of Seidou could likely hit the ball after careful observation.
Why would he willingly walk into a face-losing defeat like that?
But now things were different—Zhou Hao not only learned how to throw a straight pitch, but there was also a mission at stake.
If he made it through eight or nine rounds of challenges, wouldn't his pitching ability soar to new heights?
Zhou Hao was overjoyed, but his close friend was very worried.
After morning practice, Kuramochi came over with his meal tray and sat down in front of Zhou Hao.
"I heard Higashikuni-senpai is looking to give you a hard time?"
As the soul of the entire Seidou baseball team, Higashikuni reputation was unmatched.
Even though he wasn't the captain, if he disliked Zhou Hao, Zhou Hao's life in the first string would be rough.
"No, senpai just wants to 'exchange pointers' with me."
What Higashikuni real intentions were, Zhou Hao didn't care in the slightest.
He was sure of one thing: this senior wasn't a bad person. Maybe Higashikuni wanted to teach him a lesson for some reason—
But whatever means he used would be fair and above board.
All Zhou Hao needed to do was prove himself through strength.
As long as he could prove himself, no matter how much the upperclassmen disliked him, they'd have no choice but to smile at him.
After all, the team desperately needed a good pitcher.
"Well, be careful. If you really run into trouble, make sure to tell me."
Even though Kuramochi had been burned by friends before, he was still the kind to risk everything for one.
"Don't worry! Our team's different from wherever you used to be."
Kuramochi was from a small town, and the friends he used to hang around with had no real goals in life. That's why they cared so much about petty things.
Kuramochi himself had once been like that too.
Otherwise, why would he have been punished by his old school for standing up for a friend and nearly failed to find a high school willing to accept him…
If not for Seidou High's baseball team offering him a chance, he might've had to say goodbye to baseball altogether.
The players on Seidou's team were different—especially those who made it to the first string.
They all had dreams.
Many were aiming to get drafted into the pros directly from Seidou.
As one of the top powerhouse schools in the country, Seidou High produced pro-level talent nearly every year.
That was part of how they maintained their prestige even when their results weren't always the best.
For people with dreams, the first thing they needed to do was chase them.
Who had the time to stir up drama?
When they become pro players, those scandals could come back as black marks on their records. Only a fool would risk their future over dumb drama.
Although Zhou Hao was calm on the surface, many were still worried about him.
For instance, his classmates.
No one knew where they heard the rumor, but after class, they surrounded him.
"Zhou-san, based on my four or five years of being bullied, you're being targeted by a senior."
"If it gets too bad, maybe just quit the team? Sure, the baseball team gets the best perks at this school, but it's not worth being mistreated."
"Or maybe just swallow your pride and apologize to him. Even if it's not your fault, apologizing might smooth things over."
Hearing these "advice" comments, Zhou Hao felt like his brain was being filled with useless information.
So even being bullied by seniors had its own survival guide now?
Still, he had zero interest in those "strategies."
Seidou High's baseball team didn't seem to have any hazing traditions.
Zhou Hao had been with the team for a while now, even if mostly in the third string.
But even the third string had second- and third-year seniors.
And none of them had ever ordered him around.
Everyone was focused on training, hoping to get promoted to the second string.
Rumor had it that the relationship between first-string seniors and juniors was the worst. But even then, at most, seniors asked juniors to buy drinks or run small errands.
Nothing more.
After a few classes, it was finally time for team practice.
Zhou Hao immediately got ready and headed to the field. His classmates watched his back like he was a brave warrior heading to battle.
"Zhou-san is so pitiful…"
"To be promoted to the first string this fast—especially at our school—his talent must be enough to shake the nation!"
"Too bad he got into a conflict with a senior right after joining the team. It's going to be tough for him now."
Zhou Hao didn't hear any of this.
He had arrived early, but the senior who challenged him wasn't there yet.
So he just began warming up by himself.
"You're pretty eager. Feeling confident?"
Miyuki Kazuya came over with a grin. "Not to discourage you, but relying solely on that spiral pitch won't be enough to deal with those seniors."
"Those?"
Zhou Hao frowned in confusion.
"You didn't know? Once Higashikuni-senpai said he wanted to face you, a bunch of other seniors got interested too. They're all itching to hit you until you cry."