The Old Baseball Player System

At the start of the eighth inning, Takeya, Shoto's ninth batter and first baseman, was the first to step into the batter's box.

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"

The noise from Kasuga's crowd grew even louder as they did their best to keep up the pressure on Shoto's players.

Imai stood calmly on the mound, watching Takeya in the batter's box. After seeing Shun's performance at the end of the seventh inning, Imai didn't feel the same pressure as his other teammates. In fact, for a moment, Imai forgot he was in the final of the Tokyo tournament.

At that moment, the inner child who loved baseball emerged within Imai, and all Kasuga's ace could think about was that he wanted to win this pitcher's duel against Shun. Therefore, there was no batter he wanted to face more than Shun, so he decided to take down Takeya quickly.

WOOSH

PAH

"Strikeout!"

"Yeeeahh!" - And that's exactly what Imai did. With just three fastballs clocking at 140 km/h, Imai struck out Takeya, who couldn't make contact with the ball.

"Yeeeeaahhh!" - Kasuga's players and fans roared in celebration of the first strikeout.

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"

The chants from Kasuga's crowd echoed through the stadium. Meanwhile, Takeya was walking back to the dugout with his head down as Shun stepped out of the on-deck circle and walked toward the batter's box.

"I'm sorry." - As Takeya passed Shun, he muttered quietly, still unable to lift his head and meet his Senpai's eyes.

Shun was slightly surprised by the apology, but when he saw the boy continue walking, he quickly stopped him by placing a hand on Takeya's shoulder.

"Look ahead. We still need you, Takeya!" - When Takeya turned and looked at Shun, Shun spoke with a calm but motivating expression. Without waiting for a response, Shun resumed his walk toward the batter's box.

And as Shun walked, cheers erupted from the stands.

"Sho- to! Sho- to! Sho- to! Sho- to!"

The same fans who had chanted "one more!" in the previous inning started cheering when they saw Shun stepping into the batter's box, after all, he was also having a great day at bat.

Takeya stood still for a moment, staring at Shun's back and listening to the cheers from the crowd. At that moment, watching Shun's performance and how he managed to change the atmosphere of the entire stadium, he couldn't understand why someone so incredible would say that they needed him.

But even without understanding, a feeling of happiness welled up in Takeya. The boy clenched his fists tightly and walked back to the dugout, but this time, his head was no longer down, and his eyes shone with great determination.

Shun stepped into the left side of the batter's box and calmly faced Imai on the mound. Shun could sense the aura and determination of the boy, but he wasn't intimidated at all. The two boys stared at each other with challenging gazes while two different chants echoed throughout the stadium.

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"

"Sho- to! Sho- to! Sho- to! Sho- to!"

"Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga! Ka- Su- Ga!"

"Sho- to! Sho- to! Sho- to! Sho- to!"

'Imai's four-seam fastball has never been better. I need to take advantage of this to get ahead in the count! Throw a fastball just above the strike zone, Imai, trick the batter with the speed and make him swing.' - Kasuga's catcher thought as he signaled to Imai, placing his glove slightly above the strike zone, right in the middle.

Imai nodded at the signal, and without hesitation, he lifted his left leg high into the air before pushing his body forward and stepping forcefully on the ground.

"HA!" - Imai shouted as he whipped his arm forward and pitched the ball toward home plate.

PAH

"Ball!" - The umpire announced as he saw that Shun hadn't even moved.

'140 km/h, huh? That's really impressive. He wasn't pitching like this in the arena review mode...' - Shun thought as he glanced at the speed radar, impressed. It wasn't that he was afraid of Imai's pitches, but he was curious how the boy had managed to increase the speed of his pitches mid-game, considering Imai didn't have a system like he did.

Shun adjusted himself again in the batter's box, gripping his bat with his right hand and extending his arm toward Imai, staring at Kasuga's ace with an eerily calm expression. At another time, Shun might have been worried about Imai's pitch speed, but now, his clutch player skill was still active.

On the mound, Imai looked at Shun, impressed. He hadn't expected the boy to remain so calm even after seeing a 140 km/h pitch. But that only excited Imai more, this was the type of duel he wanted. This was why he loved baseball!

'Tch! He didn't even swing? Let's throw one in the zone and see how he reacts! Give me a high and inside fastball, Imai!' - Kasuga's catcher thought after seeing how Shun simply watched the first pitch. He then signaled for another four-seam fastball and positioned his glove at the high, inside corner of the zone, near Shun's chest.

"Hehe!" - Imai grinned at his catcher's request. Even against Shun, he was being aggressive. Imai nodded as he lifted his left leg high once more.

"HA!" - After stomping hard on the ground, Imai let out a shout, putting all the strength in his body into the ball as he whipped his arm forward, throwing it toward his catcher's glove.

"Perfect!" - Kasuga's catcher smiled as he saw the trajectory of the ball. This pitch was exactly what he had asked for.

Shun watched closely as the ball left Imai's hand and flew rapidly toward him. At that moment, Shun's mind went blank. He couldn't hear the crowd's cheers anymore, he didn't care about aiming his hit, and he wasn't even thinking about getting on base. Watching the pitch at the corner of the zone, all that went through Shun's mind was to swing his bat with everything he had.

WOOOOSSSSHH

And that's exactly what he did. He swung his bat with every ounce of strength in his body, and when the ball finally made contact, a loud sound echoed throughout the stadium.

DOOOONG