"Anyone who doesn't finish within the time limit will run the entire drill again!"
Coach Kataoka's furious voice echoed across the practice field as the team completed another round of base-running drills.
The pace was relentless.
Almost every player had collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
Only one person remained standing.
Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Everyone had long since grown accustomed to his unbelievable stamina.
Coach Kataoka looked around at the exhausted players before pointing toward Ushijima.
"Look at yourselves!"
"Ushijima's daily training load is three times heavier than yours, yet he's still standing."
"And what about the rest of you?"
"You're all lying on the ground!"
"Is this what the defending Koshien champions should look like?"
His sharp words pierced everyone's ears.
"I won't talk about the past."
"When Seido wasn't a Koshien champion, perhaps it was acceptable to fall short."
"But now..."
"You are the reigning champions."
"Thousands of schools across Japan are chasing after you."
"The moment you become complacent..."
"The teams behind you will catch up."
"And once they surpass you..."
"You'll become the laughingstock of high school baseball."
No one dared to argue.
One after another...
Kuramochi.
Shirasu.
Miyuki.
Kominato Haruichi.
The four players who had fought through Koshien forced themselves back onto their feet.
Only Furuya remained sprawled across the ground like a lifeless fish.
The next training session began immediately.
By the time it finally ended...
Only one First String player was still standing.
Even Sawamura, whose stamina was among the best on the team, had collapsed onto the field.
Kuramochi panted heavily.
"Damn it..."
"How is this guy's stamina so ridiculous?"
Ushijima finally let out a deep breath.
"If my stamina weren't this good..."
"Do you think I could handle pitching?"
"If I didn't have this endurance..."
"I would've collapsed around the seventh inning of the Koshien Final."
"I never would've lasted until the twelfth."
Although he was breathing heavily himself...
He was still standing.
Without anyone realizing it...
Late September had arrived.
The Autumn Tournament was only days away.
"Tomorrow's the drawing ceremony for the Autumn Tokyo Tournament, right?"
Miyuki looked toward Ushijima.
"Want to come with me?"
Ushijima blinked.
"Doesn't only the captain attend the draw?"
Miyuki scratched his head awkwardly.
"Well..."
"You could go."
"But honestly..."
"I'd rather you go instead."
"My luck is kind of like my batting."
"Sometimes I'm a genius."
"And sometimes I'm hopeless."
His self-deprecating comment immediately made everyone laugh.
As they rested nearby, the conversation naturally shifted toward the tournament.
Meanwhile...
Ushijima continued swinging his bat while chatting.
"The Autumn Tournament is different from the Summer Qualifiers."
"The Summer Tournament is divided into East Tokyo and West Tokyo."
"But the Autumn Tournament isn't."
"Every school is placed into a single bracket."
Kuramochi nodded.
"Exactly."
"That means it's entirely possible for two Koshien teams to meet in the very first round."
Haruichi thought for a moment.
"The East Tokyo representative at this year's Summer Koshien was Teito High, wasn't it?"
"That's right."
Shirasu nodded.
"They're a national powerhouse."
"They reached the Sweet Sixteen this summer."
"Luckily, we didn't face them at Koshien."
Hearing that, Ushijima casually asked,
"If I remember correctly..."
"Their ace pitcher is also a first-year?"
"Yeah."
"A left-handed pitcher."
"He also pitched at Summer Koshien."
Ushijima smiled.
"I don't really feel any pressure."
"But Furuya and Sawamura probably do."
Everyone stared at him speechlessly.
"Can you stop saying things like that?"
"Hm?"
Ushijima looked confused.
"I'm just chatting while taking batting practice."
"Otherwise it gets boring."
"Bastard!"
Miyuki couldn't help shouting.
"We're all exhausted over here, trying to catch our breath."
"And you're still practicing!"
"You're making the rest of us look completely useless!"
Ushijima simply laughed.
"You can swing too."
"Besides..."
"Except for Haruichi..."
"Everyone else's batting still needs work."
"..."
Nobody responded.
Instead...
They silently packed up their equipment and walked back toward the dormitory.
It was already after six in the evening.
Practice was finally over.
Ushijima carried his bat back with him.
Before dinner...
He took a shower.
Only after washing away the sweat did he head to the cafeteria.
Otherwise...
He would have smelled terrible.
The following day...
Miyuki attended the tournament draw.
The moment the bracket was revealed...
The entire venue erupted.
"Whoa!"
"This is going to be interesting!"
One coach couldn't help laughing.
"This has never happened before."
"The Summer Koshien representatives from East Tokyo and West Tokyo..."
"Meeting in the very first round."
Another person shook his head.
"This bracket is absolutely brutal."
"It's a group of death."
When Miyuki returned to Seido carrying the tournament bracket...
The entire team froze.
"...What?"
"Our first opponent is Teito?"
Maezono couldn't believe his eyes.
Kuramochi stared at the bracket with cold sweat running down his forehead.
Asou.
Shirasu.
The others looked no better.
"This is ridiculous."
Kuramochi glared at Miyuki.
"Your luck really is as inconsistent as your batting."
Miyuki laughed awkwardly.
"Haha..."
"Doesn't this make things more exciting?"
"What do you mean 'exciting'?!"
Kuramochi exploded.
"Look at this bracket!"
"Our opening game is against Teito!"
"The East Tokyo Koshien representative!"
"And in the same section..."
"We've got Oya High."
"They've been to Koshien seven straight years!"
"And Inashiro is here too!"
"Our biggest rival is in the same bracket!"
"How are we supposed to survive this?"
No one could disagree.
The draw had been unbelievably cruel.
Once again...
Seido and Inashiro had landed in the same half of the bracket.
Ushijima quietly sucked on a lollipop while studying the bracket.
"A first-round showdown between two Koshien teams..."
"This is going to be troublesome."
Miyuki smiled.
"It's fine."
"We've got the champion pitcher."
Ushijima rolled his eyes.
"What if..."
"I told you I wasn't pitching?"
The room instantly fell silent.
"...What?"
Everyone jumped to their feet.
"If you don't pitch against Teito..."
"How are we supposed to win?"
"If we give up even a single game..."
"Our dream of reaching Spring Koshien is over."
Kuramochi looked at him seriously.
"Brother..."
"This is our final chance to reach Spring Koshien."
Shirasu nodded as well.
"That's right."
"By next year..."
"We'll already be third-years."
"This is our last opportunity."
Hearing those words...
Ushijima fell silent.
He understood exactly what they meant.
For the current second-year players...
This Autumn Tournament was more than just another competition.
It was their final chance to earn a ticket to the next Spring Koshien.
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