The Old Baseball Player System

Chapter 63: Shoto VS Hokuto (9)

Bottom of the fourth inning. Shun climbed the dugout steps, gripping his bat, his face showing signs of being shaken.

"I can't give up here!" - He said to himself, a flicker of determination shining in his eyes. The boy stepped into the left batter's box and looked at Kohei on the mound, with fire in his eyes.

"Huh? Still haven't given up? Hahaha, alright then, I'll finish destroying you!" - Sugawara was surprised by Shun's attitude given the current state of the game. Part of him admired the will to fight until the end, no matter what.

Well, the main reason was that the white-haired maniac found it more fun to destroy players who kept trying. Once they gave up, the fun was over.

Sugawara called for a fastball to the upper inside corner of the zone. The first pitch came.

WOOSH

DING

"Foul!"

"Tch! You're really annoying!" - Sugawara couldn't help but curse. There was no type of batter more irritating than Shun, he hit every strike into foul territory but didn't even flinch at pitches outside the zone.

Kohei signaled for another fastball, positioning his glove low and outside the zone. The second pitch came.

WOOSH

DING

"Foul!"

Once again, Shun easily fouled the pitch off.

"You bastard!" - Sugawara was irritated. He called for another fastball, positioning his glove above the zone. But for the first time in the game, Kohei shook his head on the mound, refusing the signal.

Both Shun in the batter's box and Sugawara behind home plate felt a terrible aura coming from the boy on the mound. They shivered from Kohei's intense presence, as if he were declaring war on the batter. He wanted to strike out the only player who had managed to hit off him earlier in the game.

"Is this what you want?" - Sugawara made a different signal, even surprised by Kohei's aura. He decided to let Kohei throw whatever he wanted. Kohei nodded at the signal and began his wind-up. The third pitch of the duel came.

"Curveball!" - Shun recognized the pitch as soon as it left Kohei's hand, the same pitch he had hit in the first inning. He swung confidently.

WOOSH

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PAH

"Strikeout!"

"Huh?" - Shun looked back, shocked after swinging and missing completely. This was the first time since receiving the system that he hadn't made contact with a pitch.

A huge feeling of defeat welled up inside him. Instinctively, he looked at the mound. He saw Kohei looking at him indifferently, as if nothing had happened. Somehow, he knew Kohei was thinking, "So it was just luck, huh?"

Shun began walking back to the dugout, head down, not saying a word. He passed Ren along the way and saw the defeated look in the young samurai's eyes. He quickly glanced at the stadium scoreboard before entering the dugout.

Shoto Junior High 0 X 14 Hokuto Junior High

He saw all his teammates with their heads down. At that moment, everyone knew their summer was over. They were just waiting for the game to end so they could try to forget this nightmare.

Ren and Kenta were also struck out, ending the fourth inning like that.

In the stands, little Yumi was clinging tightly to her mother as tears streamed from her big blue eyes. The little girl made no noise as she sadly watched her brother enter the dugout.

Kenshin was calmly watching the game with a serious expression. His son had progressed a lot since the last time he saw him play. The boy had switched positions and seemed to have found his place in right field. Moreover, his batting skills had improved a lot.

Unfortunately for Shun, the boy had the misfortune of facing a team of monsters so early in the tournament. That was the downside of school tournaments in Japan, no matter how much effort you put in, no matter how much you improve, all your hard work could end in a single game.

The top of the fifth inning was torture for the Shoto players. In Japan, it was a sign of respect to give your best regardless of the score, so Hokuto didn't hold back. Poor Jiro was on the mound, completely worn out, drenched in sweat, clearly affected by giving up so many runs. But even so, the boy continued to pitch with everything he had to his captain's glove.

Unfortunately for him, his pitches weren't effective against Hokuto's batters. The inning finally ended after 10 runs were scored. Jiro returned to the dugout with his head down and sat on the bench, crying uncontrollably.

Shun looked at Jiro crying and clenched his fists, feeling useless. He wished he could have pitched so his kohai wouldn't have to endure all this pressure. He wished he could have scored some runs to make the game different. He wanted to know how to comfort the nerdy boy, but at that moment, he didn't even know how to comfort himself.

Shun watched his captain walk toward the batter's box. For the mercy rule to apply, they needed to finish the fifth inning.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strike!"

Kazuki swung his bat with everything he had but couldn't make contact with the ball. The second pitch came.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strike!"

Once again, Kazuki swung with all his strength but couldn't come close to hitting Kohei's fastball.

"Damn it! How pathetic! I can't let this end without doing anything!" - Kazuki shouted in his heart. Maybe it was out of pride, but he didn't want his last game in a Shoto Junior High uniform to end without accomplishing something.

Kohei threw another fastball.

WOOSH

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PAH

"Strikeout!"

Shun stared blankly at the field, watching his captain strike out and walk back to the dugout with his head down. He saw Jiro sobbing on the bench, a towel over his head. He saw Sora clenching his fists in frustration. Then he saw his senpai, Junpei Kondo, the person whose spot he had taken in right field, crying as he looked at Kazuki.

He saw Kenta standing, fists clenched, tears in his eyes, forcing himself to keep watching the field. Next to him was Ren, the young samurai, head down, crying loudly. Shun felt the sense of helplessness grow even more as he watched his friends in this state.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strikeout!"

Shun heard the umpire announce the strikeout of the fifth batter. He watched the sixth batter walk to the batter's box with his head down.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strike!"

WOOSH

PAH

"Strike!"

After two strikes, Shun looked out at the field. This nightmare was finally about to end. Kohei threw the ball one last time.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strikeout! 3 outs, game over!"

The moment the umpire announced the end of the game, Shun heard a familiar voice in his head, one he hadn't heard in a long time.

[Hahahahahahahahaha! You arrogant brat, weren't you all high and mighty saying you didn't need my help? Enjoy this defeat, loser! Hahahahaha!]