With the third-year seniors preparing to retire after the Summer Tournament, the competition for roster spots had become fiercer than ever.
Among the reserve players, Maezono had already established himself as the undisputed top candidate for promotion.
Naturally, he was included in the selection training.
As for Kawakami, he had become the unquestioned Ace of Seido's Second Team.
Ever since being assigned there, he had dominated practice games.
His sidearm delivery, pinpoint control, and sharp breaking balls left opposing batters completely helpless.
For the first time, Kawakami experienced something similar to what Zhou Hao often felt on the mound—
The exhilaration of overwhelming everything in front of him.
Fortunately, he hadn't become intoxicated by that feeling.
He understood reality better than anyone.
Dominating Second Team opponents meant very little.
If he wanted to return to the First String, he would have to surpass one of Seido's current pitchers.
Senior Tanba.
The monster Furuya Satoru.
Or the eccentric pitching genius, Sawamura Eijun.
Otherwise, there would be no place for him.
The First String roster could only carry so many pitchers.
With Zhou Hao firmly occupying the Ace position, three additional pitchers were already pushing the limit.
A fourth pitcher simply wasn't practical.
Not to mention that Furuya's value wasn't limited to pitching.
His batting ability gave him an extra advantage that few pitchers possessed.
Still, Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff had clearly seen Kawakami's growth.
In recognition of his progress, he was granted a place in the special training camp.
If he performed well enough, reclaiming a First String roster spot wasn't impossible.
The final participant was a special case.
Technically speaking, Seido already had three first-year players on the First String roster.
From both a team-building and player-development perspective, promoting another freshman wasn't ideal.
But this particular rookie was impossible to ignore.
In four practice games, he had stepped up to the plate nine times.
The result?
Eight hits.
Six RBIs.
Those numbers were outrageous.
Some Second Team players had even started calling him—
"Little Zhou Hao."
That player was none other than Kominato Haruichi.
The coaching staff unanimously agreed that keeping such a player in the organization would be beneficial for Seido's future.
Even Coach Kataoka found himself in a difficult position.
The current First String lineup was overflowing with talent.
Haruichi was undoubtedly exceptional.
But if he stayed, who would be removed?
No matter which player they considered, the decision felt painful.
Every player currently on the roster had earned their place.
After considerable deliberation, Coach Kataoka finally made his decision.
"Let him participate in the special training camp and the practice games afterward."
"If his performance is outstanding enough, he'll remain on the First String."
That was Seido's tradition.
The strongest players stayed.
The players who best suited the team stayed.
He couldn't reject a talented player simply because he was a first-year.
If Haruichi were a third-year putting up those numbers, nobody would even question his promotion.
Once Coach Kataoka realized that, the answer became obvious.
The opportunity had to be given.
Otherwise, Seido's selection process would become meaningless.
In total, twenty-three players participated in the special training camp.
The first sign that something was wrong appeared during dinner.
Normally, training would have ended by then.
Anything afterward—extra batting practice, additional conditioning, late-night workouts—was entirely up to the players themselves.
This time was different.
Instead of going to the cafeteria, the twenty-three participants remained on the field.
Several managers arrived carrying baskets full of rice balls.
While the rest of the team enjoyed dinner, the special training group ate on the practice field.
Sawamura looked around in confusion.
"Are we still training tonight?"
"Then I'd better eat more."
His eyes sparkled as he grabbed another rice ball.
"The rice balls made by the managers are amazing!"
The managers immediately smiled.
Nothing made their hard work feel more worthwhile than hearing players praise their food.
"Then eat plenty," one of them said cheerfully.
"The real hell hasn't even started yet."
From the side, Kuramochi couldn't resist adding fuel to the fire.
Hearing that, Sawamura immediately grabbed two more rice balls.
Several third-year players watched the scene with pity in their eyes.
"He's definitely going to throw up."
"That's his fourth one already."
"It'd be strange if he didn't."
Hearing whispers nearby, Sawamura turned around.
"Hm? What are the seniors talking about?"
"Nothing."
"Just make sure you appreciate the managers' kindness."
The seniors exchanged glances.
There was sympathy in their eyes.
A little.
Not much.
After the meal, the true nightmare finally began.
Weighted-distance running.
Cart-pushing sprints.
High-intensity batting drills.
Defensive repetitions.
Endurance training that bordered on torture.
The coaches showed absolutely no mercy.
Before the session was even halfway finished, both Sawamura and Furuya collapsed by the sidelines and threw up.
Kominato Haruichi managed to hold out longer.
Unfortunately, he wasn't spared either.
Soon enough, he joined the other two.
Only one first-year remained standing.
Oshima Shin.
Earlier, while everyone else was eating three or four rice balls, Oshima had casually devoured six.
At the time, many upperclassmen had already made their predictions.
This kid is definitely going to throw up.
Yet reality proved them wrong.
Although Oshima looked exhausted, he never vomited.
Everything he ate had apparently been completely digested already.
The upperclassmen stared at him in disbelief.
"What kind of body does he have?"
"Even his stomach is abnormal."
"I don't remember Zhou Hao being this relaxed during his first training camp."
The way everyone looked at Oshima gradually changed.
Meanwhile, Oshima himself acted as though nothing unusual was happening.
He continued completing every drill.
Only during the final running session did he finally reach his limit.
At the end, he collapsed flat on the ground like a lifeless starfish.
Compared to him, the other three freshmen looked far more miserable.
By the time Sawamura, Furuya, and Haruichi reached the final laps, they could no longer even feel exhaustion.
Their bodies had already gone numb.
They simply moved forward on instinct.
One step.
Then another.
And another.
At several points, a frightening thought crossed their minds.
Do we really need to suffer this much just to play baseball?
Despite their doubts, none of them quit.
Not a single one.
Even when they could barely stand, they continued moving forward.
When the final lap ended, all three collapsed instantly.
Unconscious.
"These three are completely out."
"So who's carrying them back?"
Among Seido players, there was an unwritten tradition.
If an underclassman collapsed, the upperclassmen from the same dormitory took responsibility.
As a temporary resident of Dormitory Room 5, Zhou Hao naturally took charge of Sawamura.
He hoisted the unconscious pitcher onto his back.
Beside him, Kuramochi glanced at the first-years and clicked his tongue.
"As much as I hate admitting it..."
"These rookies are tougher than we were."
Zhou Hao shook his head.
"I don't think that's a fair comparison."
"Back then, you weren't even on the First String roster."
Last year, among the first-years, only Zhou Hao and Miyuki had been qualified to participate in the special training camp.
Players like Kuramochi, Shirasu, and the others hadn't yet broken into the First String.
Under those circumstances, there was simply no comparison to make.
After all—
The players who survived Seido's hellish training camp were never ordinary to begin with.
As for whether Zhou Hao and Miyuki had been inferior to Oshima, Sawamura, and the others back then?
Zhou Hao didn't find that strange at all.
His current physique hadn't appeared overnight. It had been built step by step, little by little.
When he first arrived, his physical condition had actually been quite poor.
How could he compare to a naturally gifted national-level player like Oshima?
Or to a monster like Sawamura, who practically seemed to be cheating?
But none of that mattered anymore.
Just like now.
Zhou Hao had already become the number one high school player in the country.
Even if Oshima and Sawamura were given another full year to develop, Zhou Hao still had the confidence to say one thing—
They wouldn't surpass him.
Not yet.
The next morning, the first-year players paid the price for yesterday's training.
Their entire bodies ached.
Even getting out of bed felt like torture.
During the morning run, all of them wore painful expressions.
Every step felt heavy.
Every movement made their muscles scream.
"What is wrong with these seniors?"
"Don't they feel pain at all?"
Of course they did.
The second and third-year players weren't immune to exhaustion.
Under normal circumstances, they never trained at this intensity.
Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff had specifically designed this week to squeeze every last drop of stamina from the players.
This kind of training could only exist during Hell Week.
If they trained like this year-round, the entire team would probably end up crippled.
The purpose of the special training camp was simple.
Push every player to their absolute limit.
Then observe who could continue moving forward.
It was also the final evaluation period before the Summer Tournament.
For players like Kawakami, Maezono, and Haruichi, this was their last opportunity to fight for a place on the First String roster.
Whether they could replace an existing member would depend entirely on this week.
As the days passed, the training methods gradually changed.
After all, a single night's sleep wasn't enough to recover from complete exhaustion.
The coaching staff adjusted the workload according to each player's condition.
After forcing their bodies beyond their limits, they transitioned into technical training.
By that point, players were too exhausted to overthink.
Their bodies simply reacted on instinct.
For Sawamura and the other first-years, the results were obvious.
Every day they felt as if they had already reached their breaking point.
Yet somehow, they continued moving.
And every day after the first, they could clearly feel themselves improving.
"I really am a genius!"
Sawamura shouted excitedly.
The improvement was so obvious that even he couldn't help celebrating.
Nearby, Furuya stared at his pitching arm in disbelief.
Just moments ago, he hadn't used much effort.
Yet the baseball had exploded out of his hand with astonishing speed.
The sensation felt unreal.
It was happening right before his eyes, but he still found it difficult to believe.
Meanwhile, Kominato Haruichi was breathing heavily.
Unlike the others, many of his skills had already reached an exceptionally high level.
His batting consistency.
His defensive ability.
His baseball IQ.
All of them were among the best on the team.
Because of that, even surrounded by numerous talented players, Haruichi always attracted attention.
Even he had believed it would be difficult to improve significantly in a short period of time.
Yet now, he could clearly feel it.
He was growing stronger.
A smile appeared on his face.
"So this is why my brother insisted on coming to Tokyo..."
The young man had misunderstood slightly.
The real reason Kominato Ryosuke came to Tokyo was far more practical than inspirational.
But regardless of the reason, the result couldn't be denied.
Joining Seido had been the right choice.
For both brothers.
They had achieved success.
And they had grown more than they ever imagined possible.
Oshima Shin reached a similar conclusion.
After the first day, he had already figured out the purpose behind the coaching staff's methods.
"No wonder professional scouts value Seido graduates so highly."
"From the beginning, everything here is focused on developing a player's potential."
"Strength."
"Skills."
"Baseball awareness."
"This approach takes time."
"Even two or three years of training doesn't guarantee immediate results."
"But in the long run..."
"The ceiling becomes much higher."
Thinking about it, Oshima smiled sincerely.
The longer he stayed at Seido, the happier he became with his decision.
Coming here had been the right choice.
Perhaps that was why so many talented players continued choosing Seido, even during the years when the team struggled to produce results.
People could see the potential hidden beneath the surface.
And now that potential was blooming once again.
On the final day of training camp, everyone who had been helping with drills throughout the week stepped into the batter's box.
The First String fielders took their defensive positions.
Zhou Hao voluntarily moved to the outfield.
Although he was the Ace, he chose to participate in the defensive endurance challenge alongside everyone else.
Coach Kataoka was pleased.
But he showed absolutely no mercy.
One baseball after another was launched onto the field.
Some landed shallow.
Others dropped deep into the gaps.
Every hit forced the fielders to sprint at full speed.
Whoever ran out of stamina was eliminated.
One by one, players left the field.
Because of his Sharingan, Zhou Hao consumed far less energy than most players.
As a result, he endured from afternoon all the way into the evening.
Even then, Coach Kataoka wasn't satisfied.
The stadium lights were switched on.
Training continued.
Eventually, Coach Kataoka personally stepped into the batter's box.
The balls he hit were far more vicious than those of anyone else.
Sharper.
Harder.
More difficult.
The remaining fielders were pushed to their limits.
Several more players collapsed and left the field.
Among them was Kominato Haruichi.
His stamina had been completely exhausted.
After only a few steps, his legs refused to move.
If he stayed any longer, he would only become a burden to his teammates.
With trembling legs, he walked off the field.
Tears streamed down his face.
He knew exactly what it meant.
He wanted to stay.
More than anything, he wanted to stay.
But his body had reached its limit.
As night deepened, only eight players remained standing on the field.
All of them looked miserable.
Covered in sweat.
Covered in dirt.
Barely able to stand.
Whenever Coach Kataoka noticed someone looking slightly comfortable, he immediately sent another ball their way.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Even Zhou Hao was no exception.
The player who had appeared relatively relaxed before was now breathing heavily.
Half-kneeling on the grass.
Then Coach Kataoka suddenly roared.
"Isashiki Jun!"
"Where's your fighting spirit?"
"Are you giving up already?"
The exhausted Isashiki immediately forced himself back to his feet.
His body was shaking.
His legs felt like lead.
But his eyes still burned.
"No!"
How could he quit now?
"Again!"
"I can still keep going!"
"Hit it over here!"
The seven defensive positions remained occupied.
Not a single one was empty.
Seven players.
Seven defenders.
Each one still standing.
Seeing that scene, every member of the Seido High School Baseball Team instinctively straightened their posture.
Then, together, they saluted the players on the field.
At that moment, Coach Kataoka finally lowered his bat.
"Training is over!"
The seven players who remained until the very end were—
First Baseman.
Third-year captain.
Yuki Tetsuya.