Diamond no Ace: My Sharingan

In the end, Suzuhara Ai's gaze fell on Zhou Hao.

No one found this surprising.

The reason was simple—Zhou Hao deserved the attention.

Although Azuma Kiyokuni's grand slam was shocking, he was already a well-known power hitter in Tokyo and even across the country. His career home run total had already surpassed forty.

So him hitting a home run in this game could almost be considered business as usual. He just happened to get lucky this time with loaded bases, giving him the opportunity for such a dramatic moment.

But Zhou Hao? He was a completely different story.

Not just Seidou's opponents, but journalists and fans alike were paying close attention to him.

This mysterious first-year player had suddenly appeared and become Seidou High School's secret weapon. And in his debut on the mound, he struck out eight or nine batters in a row.

What kind of performance was that?

Even the current ace of Seidou probably couldn't match such numbers.

Naturally, fans were curious about who Zhou Hao really was—and what exactly his journey had been within the Seidou High School baseball team.

And what the fans cared about, the reporters chased after.

Suzuhara Ai blinked her large, doll-like eyes, smiling at Zhou Hao as she waited for his response.

The other Seidou players also turned their attention to Zhou Hao.

They had already agreed to the interview—there was no backing out now.

Still, none of them could reveal anything too sensitive about Zhou Hao without Coach Ota's permission.

After all, their two biggest rivals were likely in a frenzy right now.

The team from Inashiro Industrial knew nothing. Even if the Third High School baseball team had gotten wind of something, they hadn't seen Zhou Hao pitch with their own eyes yet.

They would be racking their brains trying to gather information.

And that's just what Seidou wanted—to keep them guessing.

Why would they shoot themselves in the foot by giving away secrets?

Zhou Hao responded calmly, "It felt great. I especially enjoy being on the mound."

Yoshida, the team's ace pitcher, shot him a cold glare.

Even though Zhou Hao's pitching talent had been acknowledged by the entire team, Yoshida couldn't help feeling frustrated.

"After I joined the team, the coaches and seniors really took care of me. At first, I couldn't keep up with the training at all—but they guided me step by step."

Zhou Hao delivered the line with a perfectly straight face.

Hearing that, many of the Seidou players lowered their heads in shame.

If it were possible, they'd probably dig a hole and bury their faces in it.

When Zhou Hao had first joined, no one had intentionally bullied him, but they hadn't gone out of their way to help him either.

During running drills, he'd quietly pushed himself and nearly left some of the veterans in the dust.

From their own perspective, they'd done nothing wrong—after all, in Seidou, you rise by strength, not by seniority.

But for a newcomer, that sense of isolation could be painful.

All of them had experienced it in their first year.

It was just that none of them had faced such a steep gap physically.

Zhou Hao, unfazed by the expressions around him, continued spinning his tale:

"After joining, the team ran a full evaluation. It was the coaching staff who recognized my potential as a pitcher and asked me to start working on it."

That sentence sent shockwaves through the team.

Everyone stared at each other in confusion.

Had they heard that right?

Did Zhou Hao really just say that he only began practicing pitching after joining?

Their memories told a different story.

They all remembered how Zhou Hao had stunned everyone during a second-string scrimmage. That was what got him promoted to the first team.

And shortly after joining the first team, he challenged several core players to show what he was made of.

That was when everyone recognized him as the strongest pitcher on the team—not the ace, but the true secret weapon.

So why did his version sound so completely different now?

Suzuhara Ai blinked her big eyes, clearly stunned.

"Zhou Hao-san, may I ask—how long have you been a pitcher?"

Zhou Hao held up one finger.

"One year?"

Suzuhara Ai's voice rose in pitch.

Zhou Hao smiled. "A little over a month."

The Seidou players nearly choked.

What kind of absurd answer was that?

Didn't Zhou Hao say he had been secretly training for over two years to develop that terrifying spiral pitch?

Now he was claiming just one month?

"Genius…"

Suzuhara Ai's eyes sparkled as she looked at Zhou Hao.

There was no romantic admiration in her gaze—just the blazing excitement of a reporter who had discovered a once-in-a-generation prodigy.

In her eyes, Zhou Hao was a treasure.

His whole backstory was so rich and perfect that she could already imagine the headline:

"The Story of a Baseball Genius Who Rose to Stardom at a Powerhouse School!"

"A Future Superstar is Born Under the Banner of Seidou!"

"That's all for the interview. Zhou Hao-san, can I have your contact info?"

"Of course."

Zhou Hao answered calmly, without a trace of shyness.

He didn't have his phone on him, but Suzuhara Ai quickly jotted down his number.

Then, unable to hide her excitement, she hurried off to write her article.

She had a feeling this piece was going to make headlines.

After the beautiful reporter left, the players finally headed for the bus.

It was completely quiet. Not a single reporter in sight.

Apparently, Coach Ota had politely asked the press to leave.

"Why were you guys so slow?"

Ota raised his pudgy hand and looked at them curiously.

The players all lowered their heads like scolded children.

-------------

POWER STONE!!!

Support me at patréon com/DaoOfPeeking