The Old Baseball Player System

Kenta hurried over to Ren, worried and wanting to stop his friend from getting into trouble, but just as he reached Ren and placed a hand on his shoulder, someone else had already taken action.

"Who the hell is \'your Mika,\' you idiot!" - Mika shouted angrily at Toji while kicking him. Unfortunately for Toji, he was standing right in front of Mika, and when she kicked, her foot hit his precious family jewels.

"Aah!" - Toji let out a pained cry, feeling breathless and a terrible ache radiating up his stomach. He dropped to his knees, clutching his groin, regretting his words as all the other boys watching the scene shuddered.

"Huh? Mika? What\'s going on?" - Shun finally stood up, ready to head down to the stadium\'s parking lot to start his warm-up, but he spoke in surprise when he saw his sister red with anger, Toji on his knees, and Kenta holding onto Ren.

"Shun, you idiot! Why didn\'t you respond when Hana called you?" - Mika scolded as she approached him.

"Huh? Hana?" - Shun asked, even more confused. He then looked over at the beautiful blonde girl with green eyes, unsure of what to say. He truly hadn\'t heard anyone calling his name.

"My bad, I didn\'t hear you." - Shun apologized sheepishly, offering a smile, though he had no clue what was going on.

"You…" - Mika looked at her brother\'s sincere expression and sighed, knowing he\'d been acting strange since the morning, but she hadn\'t expected him to be so out of it.

"I need to go warm up, I\'ll see you all later!" - Shun didn\'t waste much time and got straight to the point, then started walking but turned back after a few steps, as if remembering something.

"Aren\'t you coming?" - Shun asked his two friends, still finding it odd that Kenta was still holding onto Ren.

"Oh, yes!" - Kenta replied, letting go of Ren and starting to walk. Ren didn\'t take long to follow his friends.

"We\'re counting on you, Shimizu!" - Shun smiled, giving her a thumbs-up before heading down the stadium stands to begin warming up, leaving Shimizu alone with Mika and the others.

Shimizu felt a bit shy, finding herself alone with six people she didn\'t know, but the girls quickly started chatting with her, making her feel more comfortable.

After a while, Shimizu was already familiar with all six of the young people. She was surprised to learn that Mika was Shun\'s sister, and even more surprised to discover that the three boys in front of her were all super talents who represented Japan in international championships.

The seventh inning of Seishin\'s game began, and finally, the pitcher with the number 1 on his back took the mound. The next three innings unfolded with a dominating performance. Even Shimizu, who didn\'t know much about baseball, could see how good Seishin\'s ace was, and after hearing Toji, Satoshi, and Akira praise him, she was certain.

Luckily, Shun had brought the camera and asked her to film the entire game, otherwise, she realized Shoto would have many problems if they had to face Seishin without knowing anything about their ace.

Of course, at this moment, none of this mattered. After all, now that Seishin had won and secured their place in the Kanto tournament, Shoto Junior High would only face them if they, too, secured their spot.

Shimizu grabbed Shun\'s camera and bid farewell to her new friends. As the team assistant, it was essential for her to be in the dugout, and since Seishin\'s game had just ended, it meant Shoto\'s game was about to begin.

---

Meanwhile, near the stadium, two young men were walking toward it.

"Hey man, do I really have to wear this?" - One of the boys asked, clearly uncomfortable with the blonde wig and fake mustache he was sporting.

"Of course! Stop complaining! You\'re the one who didn\'t want to wear hoodies anymore because of the heat!" - The other boy responded. He was wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a long, fake white beard that looked like it had come straight out of a Santa Claus costume.

These two were Yoshinori Sugawara and Kohei Sasaki, the battery of Hokuto Junior High. Once again, they were heading to Shoto\'s game "disguised", thanks to the insistence of the white-haired maniac.

"What do you think about today\'s game?" - Kohei asked, having given up complaining about his friend\'s ridiculous disguises.

"It\'ll be a pitcher\'s duel." - Sugawara replied without hesitation.

"Oh, and who do you think will win?" - Kohei continued with his questions.

"Hmph! Isn\'t it obvious?" - Sugawara scoffed, too proud to say the name of the team he thought would win, but he certainly looked confident in his choice.

\'This guy…\' - Kohei sighed at his friend\'s reaction. Would it kill him to just say who he thought would win like a normal person?

---

Shimizu hurried through the stadium\'s interior toward the dugout as quickly as she could, not wanting to be late. She finally reached the dugout entrance and, without hesitation, opened the door.

But the moment she stepped into the dugout, she felt a terrible pressure emanating from everyone present. She couldn\'t help but feel a little intimidated. Even though she had known the Shoto team members for a while now, this was the first time she had seen them so focused. Not only that, it was the first time she felt this terrifying aura radiating from them.

"So?" - Shimizu heard Coach Yamada ask as she saw Kenta walking back to the dugout.

"We start batting." - Kenta replied calmly before entering the dugout.