The Old Baseball Player System

PAH

While Shun was airborne, he heard the ball hit the ground and then land in Matsubara\'s catcher\'s glove. He felt his body descending as he extended his arm toward home plate.

Shun stretched his arms toward the base as he felt his body descending through the air. However, the moment he hit the ground and touched the base, he also felt the glove of Matsubara\'s catcher tag his leg.

Shun looked up at the umpire, who was staring intently at the play. At that moment, the entire stadium held its breath, waiting for the umpire\'s call to determine whether Shun was out or had scored a run.

"Safe!" - After a few moments, the umpire finally announced, spreading his arms wide. The Shoto dugout erupted in cheers, while a hint of disappointment appeared in the eyes of Matsubara\'s players.

"Yeeeeaahhh!" - Shun roared excitedly as he stood up, celebrating his first home run in middle school. Well, it was an inside-the-park home run, but Shun didn\'t care about that detail. What mattered was that he had just put his team on the scoreboard.

"Hahaha, nice homer, Shun!" - Ren, the young samurai, shouted enthusiastically as he passed Shun on his way to bat.

"Thanks, man!" - Shun grinned in response.

* Clap *

The two friends high-fived as Ren stepped into the batter\'s box and Shun returned to the dugout. Shun was met with cheers and compliments from his teammates and coach. He went straight to the locker to store his batting gear, but just as he turned around, he heard a loud sound.

WOOOSH

DOONG

"Yeeeeaahhh! Nice homer, Ren-Senpai!" - Shun heard the loud crack of Ren\'s bat followed by the enthusiastic cheers of Shoto\'s players. Shun turned back toward the field, only to see the ball soaring over the center-field fence as Ren trotted around the bases with a fist raised and a smile on his face.

Shun smiled at the sight and joined in the celebration. Despite Ren\'s sleepless night due to nerves, it seemed the lack of rest hadn\'t affected the young samurai\'s performance at all.

Ren returned to the dugout and, like Shun, was greeted with applause and praise. With two consecutive home runs by the first two batters of the game, the momentum was firmly on Shoto Junior High\'s side. Jiro, the third batter, stepped into the box, hoping to maintain the team\'s energy.

Unfortunately, the young nerd didn\'t get the chance to swing. After giving up back-to-back home runs, Matsubara\'s ace was visibly rattled and couldn\'t find the strike zone. He issued a walk to Jiro in just four pitches.

Now, Shoto Junior High\'s captain and cleanup hitter, Kenta, stepped into the batter\'s box with a runner on first and no outs. Feeling the mounting pressure, Matsubara\'s ace continued to struggle, throwing two pitches well outside the zone at the start of the at-bat.

Down 2-0 in the count, Matsubara\'s catcher simply set his glove in the center of the strike zone, hoping his ace could throw a strike and regain control of the game. The ace delivered as requested, and the catcher nodded approvingly. At this point, all he cared about was getting his pitcher back on track, even if it meant risking a hit or giving up another run.

Unfortunately for Matsubara, Kenta wasn\'t the type of player to settle for a mere hit when presented with a mediocre fastball down the middle. The Shoto captain easily identified the pitch and, without hesitation, unleashed a powerful swing.

WOOOSH

DOOONG

Shun watched as Kenta smashed the pitch to dead center field with even more power and distance than Ren\'s home run, and he smiled. Kenta\'s two-run blast extended Shoto\'s lead to 4-0, but more importantly, it signaled to Shun that the game was effectively over.

Shun cheered loudly in the dugout before glancing at Matsubara\'s ace on the mound. The tall boy looked devastated, staring blankly at Kenta as he rounded the bases. It was clear the pitcher had already accepted defeat.

Shun felt a mix of emotions as he observed Matsubara\'s ace. On one hand, he felt pity for the boy, who was being dismantled, knowing his team would be eliminated from the Kanto Tournament in just one game. But on the other hand, Shun was exhilarated. This was the Kanto Tournament, after all. He knew full well that if he were struggling on the mound, Matsubara\'s batters wouldn\'t show him any mercy. This was baseball. Everyone was here to win, and by the end of the tournament, only one team would stand victorious while the other fifteen went home in defeat.

Shun turned his gaze to the stands as a thought crossed his mind. He was certain that scouts from other teams in the tournament were watching this game, and that realization brought a smile to his face. This game was just the beginning. Every home run Shoto hit was a statement of strength. It was important for every other team to receive this message, no matter who you were, if you stood in Shoto Junior High\'s path to the Kanto trophy, you would be crushed!

---

Meanwhile, at the other stadium hosting the Kanto Tournament\'s alternate bracket, Sho was seated in the stands with Shun\'s camera mounted on a tripod, filming the game.

"I\'m glad I came here. Shun-Senpai is definitely going to want to see this." - Sho murmured as he watched the field. Seishin\'s players were taking their positions to defend the bottom of the first inning. However, what truly astonished Sho was the number of runs Seishin had scored in the top of the first.

"Seven runs in one inning..." - Sho muttered in awe, a spark of determination in his eyes. Witnessing Seishin\'s dominance, he knew that if Shoto advanced to the final, his recordings would be crucial.