Chapter 69: Kokudokan, Zaizen

Regarding the Second String, Kuramochi, Shirasu, and Kawakami—three First Years—also received the opportunity to play. It is worth mentioning that Kuramochi performed quite brilliantly in the practice games, especially with his left-handed batting; whether it was an Extra-base Hit or a Bunt, it didn't matter if he missed, but whenever he made contact, he was guaranteed to reach base.

Besides that, Kawakami's performance was also acceptable. Manager Kataoka intended to put him in during difficult situations to test his ability to handle pressure.

Although he ultimately failed to withstand the pressure and gave up runs, at least he didn't act timidly. Facing the opponent's tough batting lineup, Kawakami did not throw too many balls or high pitches due to panic; his performance could be described as standard, neither particularly good nor bad.

This afternoon, the Seido Baseball Club welcomed a team wearing black uniforms.

Kokudokan, a powerhouse from East Tokyo.

"Yo, so this is Seido?"

On the bus, the last one to step off was a blonde teenager wearing a cap.

"Zaizen, stop looking and get off quickly."

"Hi~"

Zaizen responded and came to the front of the team. At a glance, he saw the Seido players training on the field. Zaizen's gaze moved continuously across the field, and soon he saw a figure he was incredibly familiar with in the corner of the Dugout.

Led by the Kokudokan manager, the group walked into the Seido field. Manager Kataoka and Department Head Ota immediately went over to greet them. After exchanging a few pleasantries, today's practice game was about to begin.

"Chris!"

Zaizen walked straight up to Chris.

"Zaizen."

Chris closed his notebook, stood up, and looked at Zaizen. For a moment, he was filled with mixed emotions.

The two had been a battery pair during middle school. After entering high school, one went to Kokudokan, and the other came to Seido.

Yet now, the two were in completely different situations; Zaizen was still shining on the field, while he could only remain behind the scenes.

"Long time no see, Chris. Are you playing later?" Zaizen asked.

Hearing this, Chris shook his head, "I can't play."

"What do you mean? Are you injured?" Zaizen's brows furrowed tightly, and his expression suddenly turned ugly.

Chris nodded, "The injury isn't serious. I'll be fine after resting for a year or so."

"A year or so!?" Zaizen was shocked at first, then a look of sadness appeared on his face. High school baseball lasts two and a half years at most; resting for nearly a year is practically a farewell to the field.

"Chris, you must come back!" Zaizen reached out his hand and said.

Chris smiled and reached out to shake hands with his old friend: "I will. When we meet on the field then, I won't go easy on you."

"Hmph, it's been so long, have you forgotten how good I am?" Zaizen said.

"Enough, I know your skills. Go warm up quickly; you have to play later," Chris said, shooing Zaizen onto the field. The Kokudokan players had already started warming up by then.

Chris, who knew Zaizen very well, stood guard nearby and watched closely, "You must warm up for at least 10 minutes!"

"Huh? You're not on our team, don't boss me around!" Zaizen said indignantly.

"This is my turf," Chris said.

"Tch!"

Hearing the two talking, and then seeing Zaizen actually warming up obediently, everyone from the Kokudokan manager to the players was stunned.

No way, why is he being so obedient??

Watching Zaizen look annoyed but still honestly warming up, his teammates felt like they didn't recognize him. Since entering high school and quickly becoming the ace, he had usually been arrogant and looked down on everyone.

On the Seido side, Huangqian Yangyi couldn't help but smile when he saw this scene, and said to Miyuki beside him: "You know that Zaizen, right?"

Miyuki nodded: "Of course I know him. I saw him in middle school. The battery he formed with Chris-senpai back then was quite formidable."

"Yeah, I can tell, they have a very good relationship," Huangqian Yangyi said.

Huangqian Yangyi had some impression of Kokudokan's Zaizen. It seemed this person also suffered an injury later on, and the kind that was very difficult to recover from. (In the original work, Zaizen and Chris could be considered brothers in misfortune.)

"I wonder if the Second String can win against Kokudokan," Miyuki said.

Today's practice game was specially arranged by Takashima Rei for the Second String, just to see what level they could perform at when facing a team of similar strength.

"I think it's difficult. The Second String doesn't have someone as good as Zaizen," Huangqian Yangyi said.

"That's not certain, this is a team sport," Miyuki said.

After both sides finished warming up, the practice game between Seido and Kokudokan officially began.

Regarding Seido only sending out their Second String team, the Kokudokan players felt a bit unhappy, feeling they were being looked down upon.

Especially Zaizen; starting on the mound, he went all out, striking out 3 batters in a row to end the half-inning, followed by a change in offense and defense.

"What a sharp Forkball!"

"His control is also very good, and he's full of spirit."

Huangqian Yangyi nodded: "As for spirit, I feel more like he's angry."

As the two chatted, the game on the field didn't stop.

Both sides stayed tied at 1:1 until the fourth inning, playing back and forth.

But starting from the middle of the game, Kokudokan's weakness of lacking depth gradually exposed itself, and before long, the entire game fell into Seido's rhythm.

Even if Zaizen's pitching was formidable, it was impossible to maintain his best level under Seido's continuous offensive, and he gave up two more runs in the sixth inning.

At this point, the Seido Second String completely took control of the game. Seeing the timing was right, Manager Kataoka sent in Kuramochi, Shirasu, and Kawakami—all three First Years—at once.

"What does this mean? Are you humiliating us?!" Seeing that the person standing on the Pitcher's Mound was actually a naive First Year, Zaizen's hot temper flared up immediately.

"Zaizen!"

Kokudokan Manager Guan Kou hurriedly held him back, "Don't forget, this is a practice game. It's very normal for the opponent to send in First Years to gain experience when they are in the lead."

"Hmph." Zaizen sneered and sat on the bench.

Seeing this, Manager Guan Kou shook his head helplessly. His ace had talent, but his temper was truly a bit too explosive.

"Alright, Asayama, you go up to pitch the next inning."

"Yes, Manager."

Both sides sent out First Years in the latter half of the game. The two managers didn't place much importance on the outcome of the game; they wanted more for the players to gain some experience and learn more things.

After the game ended, Director Guan Kou of Kokudo-kan and Director Kataoka were both quite satisfied, but only Zaizen, who had lost the game, found Chris with a dark expression on his face.

"Chris, see you at Koshien!"

Chris gave a wry smile: "See you at Koshien, next year."

"Ha, hurry up and get your injury healed; I won't be waiting for you!" Zaizen said.

After the people from Kokudo-kan left, they immediately gathered everyone from the Second String to start a lecture regarding today's practice game.

As for Huangqian Yangyi, he turned and went to the gym to do strength training; if there were no surprises, Director Kataoka would likely announce the final twenty-man roster for this summer tomorrow.