The Old Baseball Player System

The rest of the game between Shoto and Matsubara ended quickly. After a few more runs in the top of the first inning, Sora took the mound in the bottom half, and with a large lead in his favor, the young pitcher threw with confidence, retiring Matsubara's batters in order.

With an excellent performance from Sora on the mound and an even better showing from Shoto's batters, Shoto Junior High School won their first game of the doubleheader with a score of 23-0 in just five innings. With this victory, they officially advanced to the quarterfinals of the Kanto Tournament.

---

Meanwhile, in the stands...

"Tch! Let's warm up, our game is right after the next one." - Sugawara said, standing up irritably as soon as Shoto Junior High's game ended.

"Hm, let's go." - Kohei replied as he and the rest of Hokuto's players also stood. At that moment, Kohei didn't even think about teasing his white-haired friend again. After witnessing Shoto's dominant performance, Kohei and the other Hokuto players had serious expressions on their faces. They realized they weren't the only ones who had come to Kanto to win it all, and unless they gave their best, they might run into trouble.

---

Back on the field, the players from Matsubara and Shoto left their dugouts one final time as the teams formed two lines facing each other.

"Thank you for the game!" - The players from both teams bowed to their opponents and shouted these words. Shun bowed deeply as well, sincerely thanking his opponents for the game. When he stood up and looked at Matsubara's lineup, he saw several players crying over their defeat, while others tried to hold back their emotions, their red, swollen eyes betraying that they had also shed tears.

Shun didn't speak to any of Matsubara's players, but he couldn't help feeling his determination grow stronger. He didn't want the next ones crying after an elimination to be him and his Shoto teammates.

After returning to the dugout, Shun and the other Shoto players quickly packed up their things and left the dugout, as the next tournament game was about to start. Coach Yamada decided not to hold a team meeting at that moment and instead sent everyone straight to the stands, as the next game would determine Shoto Junior High's opponent in the quarterfinals of the Kanto Tournament.

---

Shoto Junior High's team quickly made their way to the stands. When Shun looked at the field, he saw the two new teams already settled in their dugouts. Glancing at the scoreboard, he noticed the team names had been updated: Tsubasa Middle School vs. Seiryu Junior High School.

"Seiryu? They're a famous school in Gunma Prefecture, aren't they?" - The young samurai Ren asked as he looked at the scoreboard.

"Yeah, their high school team makes it to Koshien almost every year..." - Kenta replied thoughtfully, his gaze fixed on Seiryu's dugout. Seiryu was like Seishin, an elite and renowned school. But unlike Seishin, Seiryu hadn't suffered a loss to an unknown team last year. In fact, Seiryu had been qualifying for the Kanto Tournament without much difficulty for several years.

Enjoy new tales from empire

Shun listened to his friends' conversation while also observing Seiryu. He then took a seat in the stands, waiting for the game to start. It didn't matter to Shun whether they faced an elite school or not, he would analyze this game carefully and be fully prepared to defeat his next opponent, whoever they might be.

The captains of both teams went to the umpire to flip the coin and decide who would bat first. Shun watched as the captains returned to their dugouts, and a moment later, Seiryu's players emerged onto the field. It seemed Seiryu would be starting on defense.

"Yeeeeaahhh! Go Seiryu! Go Seiryu! Go Seiryu!" - As Seiryu's players exited the dugout, Shun heard an ear-splitting cheer from the stands above Seiryu's dugout.

"Looks like these guys have their own cheering squad too..." - Shun muttered, glancing at Seiryu's enthusiastic fans. He couldn't help but recall Kasuga's cheering squad and the pressure they brought during the Tokyo Tournament final. It would undoubtedly be annoying to face another crowd like that. Still, it wasn't as if Seiryu had already won this game.

"Tch! We don't need a cheering squad!" - Ren said irritably, glaring at the many girls in Seiryu's cheering section. Shun and Kenta exchanged glances at their samurai friend's outburst, both fully aware that Ren was just jealous of the attention Seiryu's fans were giving.

"Who's that guy on the mound?" - Ren asked, turning to Shimizu.

"Ehhh, looks like his name is Kaito Ogawa. He's a third-year." - Shimizu replied with a smile after glancing at the roster sheet in her hand. She had printed out the player lists for all the teams to provide this information to Shoto's players if needed. She felt particularly pleased that the first person to ask her was her beloved boyfriend, Kenta.

Shun listened to Shimizu's words and mentally noted the name Kaito Ogawa, Seiryu's ace. Shun watched as Kaito threw a few warm-up pitches on the mound before signaling to the umpire that he was ready to start the game.

With that, Tsubasa Middle School's leadoff hitter stepped into the batter's box, while Seiryu's ace began his windup, quickly delivering the ball toward home plate.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strike!" - The umpire called the first strike of the game after Tsubasa's batter swung and missed a fastball high in the zone.

"YEEEEAAHHH!!" - Seiryu's cheering section erupted in excitement for their ace's first strike, while the rest of the stadium stared in shock at the radar gun display.

"140 km/h..." - Ren murmured, his gaze fixed on the radar reading.

"Another monster..." - Kenta muttered in disbelief. It wasn't common to see a middle school pitcher throwing at that velocity, but for some reason, it seemed like Shoto always ended up facing these guys in tournaments. First Kohei, then Imai, and now possibly Kaito. Kenta couldn't help but wonder what kind of luck he and his teammates had to keep encountering these players.