Zhou Hao pinched his nose and accepted the coach's arrangement.
Even though he didn't want to admit it, deep down, he understood.
Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff were right.
With Zhou Hao's current physical condition, it was impossible for him to keep up with the intensity of Seidou High School's varsity baseball team.
Zhou Hao couldn't even handle the regular training load, let alone the hell week training.
From what Zhou Hao had gathered, during that week, the players only left for regular classes.
The rest of the time, they were either sleeping in the dormitory or training, training, and more training.
Even lunch was packed and delivered by the team manager from the cafeteria.
Given Zhou Hao's current state, just one day of that kind of training would leave him bedridden.
Two days of it, and he might end up seriously injured.
Zhou Hao accepted it, but that didn't mean everyone else did.
Take Higashikuni, for example—he had always treated Zhou Hao decently.
When he saw Zhou Hao trying hard to keep up with their pace, Higashikuni had a fairly good impression of him.
Although Zhou Hao was weak, at least he was motivated.
Since the varsity needed to cultivate first-year players anyway, and Zhou Hao clearly had talent, bringing him into the varsity team early wasn't out of the question.
As a senior on the team, Higashikuni felt it was only natural to look after him a bit.
But what was happening now?
This wasn't just special treatment anymore—they were splitting the training into two groups.
Which meant they needed two sets of coaching staff.
One set for the rest of the team.
And another set just for Zhou Hao.
Why?
With Higashikuni's personality, even if he understood that Coach Kataoka valued Zhou Hao's pitching ability...
Was it really worth it?
No matter what others thought, Higashikuni clearly didn't think so.
Faced with Coach Kataoka, whose word was law in the team...
Of course Higashikuni didn't dare object.
But the moment Coach Kataoka left, he immediately went to Vice Principal Ota:
"We don't even know his full ability yet, and we're already assigning him his own training team? Is that really appropriate? If he turns out to be useless, who's going to take responsibility?"
Hearing this, Ota felt completely wronged.
Such a major decision—how could it have been his call?
From the beginning, the only one who could make that decision was Coach Kataoka.
"That was the coach's order. There's nothing I can do."
As far as Ota was concerned, promoting and using Zhou Hao wasn't a problem.
But giving him a personal training setup felt a bit much.
Still, as the assistant coach, he always supported the head coach unconditionally.
This time was no different.
Getting nowhere with Ota, Higashikuni then sought out Rei Takashima.
"Higashikuni-kun, that was the coach's decision. If you think it's inappropriate, you can bring it up with him directly."
Rei didn't oppose him directly, but pushed the issue back to Kataoka.
After Higashikuni left, Ota asked Rei in confusion, "Didn't you really believe in Zhou Hao's potential? Why did you send Higashikuni to the coach?"
Last night when the decision was made, aside from Kataoka himself, Rei had been one of the strongest supporters.
Ota had assumed that when Higashikuni questioned it, Rei would back Zhou Hao.
He didn't expect her to fan the flames instead.
Although their team captain was technically Yoshida, everyone knew the real soul of Seidou's baseball team was Higashikuni.
That's precisely why Higashikuni's sense of injustice wasn't just for himself—it was to demand fairness for all varsity players.
That's why he went to Ota and Rei directly to talk.
He hadn't expected to hit a wall.
Kataoka's favor toward Zhou Hao had reached unimaginable levels.
"I want to see for myself what this kid is really capable of. Is he really worth all this?"
The morning training was rather dull. When it ended and the players were preparing to leave...
Higashikuni suddenly walked up to Zhou Hao with a friendly smile—in full view of everyone.
"I wasn't around yesterday when you pitched. But I heard your spiral pitch is something special."
Zhou Hao politely responded to the senior's friendliness.
"Just a fluke."
"You're too modest, kid. How about letting me have a go at your spiral pitch?"
With Higashikuni's level of social finesse, those opening lines were already quite generous. Now that the pleasantries were done, he got straight to the point.
"Senpai, you flatter me. I'm no match for you."
It was clear that Higashikuni was picking a fight. Zhou Hao would have to be out of his mind to agree to a duel.
His spiral pitch might have worked against the players from Matsuyama High...
But against top-tier hitters? Probably not nearly enough.
Zhou Hao, who could only throw spiral pitches, firmly wanted to refuse.
His modest expression was entirely sincere.
Which left Higashikuni, who had been all geared up to challenge him, momentarily speechless.
The guy had already admitted he wasn't good enough—if he kept pushing, wouldn't that make him look petty?
That thought circled in Higashikuni's mind, but he quickly dismissed it.
Higashikuni was the type to do whatever he wanted.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone straight to Ota and Rei right after training.
Now, he had decided he wanted a face-off—Zhou Hao's opinion didn't matter.
"Perfect. Let me give you a few pointers, see what areas you need to improve in."
"I really don't think that's necessary..."
Zhou Hao's impression of Higashikuni's thick skin was being redefined.
He'd already admitted defeat—why was this senpai still pressing?
Zhou Hao couldn't figure it out.
"Come on! Let's show up early this afternoon and have a showdown."
"Need a partner? I'll find one for you."
Higashikuni had arranged everything.
Zhou Hao still tried to push back, but then Higashikuni's eyes narrowed:
"What, are you looking down on me as your senior? You think I'm not even worthy of a match with you?"
With the conversation reaching this point, Zhou Hao had no choice but to accept.
"Alright, since senpai insists… please take it easy on me!"
Zhou Hao wore a helpless expression on his face.
But in his heart, he was overjoyed.
According to the system rules, Zhou Hao had to accumulate enough experience to unlock achievements.
Becoming a full member of Seidou's varsity team had been thanks to this system.
To unlock the next achievement, he still needed fifty more points.
But now, everything had changed.
Just as Higashikuni challenged him, the system prompt rang out in Zhou Hao's mind:
[Challenge from a Superior!]
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Advance chapter
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