The Old Baseball Player System

Since Sora had pitched the day before and Jiro was scheduled to pitch tomorrow, Shun was the only pitcher training in the bullpen. He did his best not to let the home runs hit off him by the José Martínez hologram affect his confidence, focusing instead on improving the control of his various sliders.

Currently, Shun had three different sliders, or at least, that\'s how he liked to think of them. Of the three, the only one he could somewhat control was his horizontal slider. His vertical slider was like a wild card, Shun never knew where it would land.

His third pitch was even worse since it was inherently bad. Shun discovered a way to throw a slider with almost no movement, a hanging slider. For most pitchers, a hanging slider was a death sentence, often hit over the fence. But for Shun, it served as a kind of fastball.

Of course, Shun didn\'t expect this pitch to work against elite hitters, but having a pitch he could place in the strike zone at will was crucial, it could save him from issuing too many walks.

The team wrapped up practice earlier than usual since Coach Yamada didn\'t want to exhaust anyone before the game. Shun also decided to do his workout at home. If he stayed at the field, his crazy friends would undoubtedly join him, and since they didn\'t have his Divine Recovery quirk, it would only end up hurting them.

So, Shun headed home and started his workout routine in the garden.

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Meanwhile, at the baseball field of Hokuto Junior High School...

"Ahhhh, man, this is so boring! I didn\'t know qualifying early for the Kanto tournament would be this dull!" - A white-haired boy complained as he lay sprawled out on the ground. That was Yoshinori Sugawara, the catcher and captain of Hokuto.

The entire Hokuto team stood around him, drenched in sweat, hands on their knees, struggling to catch their breath after completing Sugawara\'s brutal practice session. Meanwhile, the one responsible for their suffering was lying on the ground as if he had just taken a leisurely walk through the park.

When the players heard Sugawara say he was bored, they nearly coughed up blood in frustration. Who in their right mind got bored after a practice like this? But they kept their thoughts to themselves, dealing with this version of Sugawara was easier than confronting his more manic side.

"Hey, Suga, I get that you don\'t want us getting rusty without games, but aren\'t these practices a bit too much?" - A brown-haired boy spoke up. Unlike the others, he appeared relatively fine, though the sweat on his face and his slightly labored breathing hinted at the effort he had put in. This was Kohei Sasaki, Hokuto\'s left-handed ace.

"Huh? Too much? I\'m just getting them ready! The practices are only going to get tougher from here!" - Sugawara scoffed as if stating the obvious, making the other Hokuto players shiver in fear.

"This guy... He\'s been like this ever since we lost that practice game to Shoto Junior High." - Toru Okada muttered, still gasping for air.

"At this rate, someone\'s gonna drop dead before the Kanto tournament even starts." - Isamu Endo groaned, shivering at the thought of an even harsher practice regime.

Kohei listened to his teammates\' complaints, feeling concerned. Both Isamu and Toru were third-years, and he knew they wouldn\'t quit. But he wasn\'t sure about the younger players, they might not last much longer under this pressure.

"I need to do something…" - Kohei thought to himself. Then, an idea struck him, and he smiled.

"Hey Suga! I heard Shoto Junior High has their second-round game tomorrow. Want to go watch?" - Kohei asked with a sly grin.

"Huh? They do? Why didn\'t you tell me sooner?! We\'re going!" - Sugawara sprang to his feet, immediately excited.

"But the game is in the afternoon, right during practice..." - Kohei added, hiding his grin. The bait was set.

"Alright, practice is canceled tomorrow!" - Sugawara declared without hesitation. A collective sigh of relief echoed across the field.

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At the same time, at the Tokyo Nakano Senior baseball field...

"Hey Mika, Hana! Looks like the coach gave us the day off tomorrow!" - Kaori announced with a smile as she approached.

"Oh, really? What should we do?" - Hana asked eagerly. As managers of a senior league team, they rarely got a weekday off, and the prospect excited her.

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"I think Shun\'s game is tomorrow…" - Mika murmured, recalling her brother\'s words from breakfast. Before she could say more, Hana and Kaori exchanged smiles.

"Perfect! We should bring the boys along!" - Hana said, her smile radiant, if Shun had been there, he might have passed out from the sight.

"Hm, they\'ll love the idea!" - Kaori agreed enthusiastically, and the two girls hurried off to tell the boys, leaving a stunned Mika behind.

"Hehe, I hope Shun doesn\'t get mad at me..." - Mika chuckled as she realized she had invited a whole group to her brother\'s game without even telling him. But the thought of Shun\'s flustered expression when he saw Hana in the stands made her laugh. She followed her friends, feeling no guilt at all.

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Unaware of all this, Shun lay in bed after dinner. He decided to challenge the José Martínez hologram again. This time, he was determined to throw at least one pitch that wouldn\'t result in a home run, if only to salvage a bit of his pride.

Unfortunately for Shun, his training partner had no mercy. Pitch after pitch, the hologram of José Martínez crushed every ball, sending them flying out of the virtual stadium.

Shun went to bed feeling utterly defeated, his pitches shattered and his dignity in tatters. The boy could still hear the old man\'s annoying laugh inside his head.