The Old Baseball Player System

"Shun, are you okay? Did you get hurt?" - Shun had only managed to take a few steps out of Kasuga's dugout before Coach Yamada reached him, worried. The man placed both hands on Shun's shoulders and asked in a panic.

"I'm fine, Coach!" - Shun noticed the panic in his coach's eyes, as well as the concerned looks from his teammates who had also arrived. He quickly reassured them with a smile, giving a thumbs-up to his coach.

"Well, I think it's best to have you subbed out just in case-" - Coach Yamada sighed with relief, though he still wasn't entirely confident that Shun was 100 percent okay. He began to suggest it might be better to pull Shun from the game as a precaution, but before he could finish his sentence, Shun interrupted him.

"I said I'm fine, Coach! I can finish the game!" - Shun spoke with a determined look, cutting his coach off. The last thing he wanted now was to be replaced. After all, thanks to the system, he knew he hadn't hurt anything.

"Alright... but if I see any sign you're not okay, I'll pull you from the game. Got it?" - Coach Yamada looked at Shun's determination with surprise but didn't forget to warn him. If he felt Shun was hurt, he would pull him immediately. To him, his players' health was worth more than any Tokyo tournament.

"Thank you, Coach!" - Shun bowed and thanked him with excitement. He then began running back to the mound to continue the inning. Some of his friends wanted to check on him, but Shun simply smiled and hurried to the mound. He was too thrilled to get back to playing and didn't want to waste time.

---

"That was dangerous! He's probably too focused on the perfect game, which is why he took that risk for the out. That was very reckless!" - Ushida spoke disapprovingly as he watched Shun running to the mound. As incredible as the catch had been, Shun took a very big and unnecessary risk.

"Hahaha, is that what it seems like to you?" - Grandpa Jack chuckled before continuing: "From a trainer's perspective, you're probably right."

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" - Ushida asked, confused. He didn't believe there was any perspective where the risk Shun took was the right play.

"If you can catch the ball, then catch it. When you start playing, that's your mentality. Over time, you grow up, the game gets tougher, and you start thinking about stats, risks, positioning, but... when you're a kid, if you have a glove, you'll chase that ball as hard as you can! Hahaha, that boy looks like he's having fun!" - Grandpa Jack explained with a smile as he watched his grandson on the field. Of course, if he were coaching Shun, he'd tell the boy not to make such risky plays, especially as a pitcher, but as a true lover of baseball, Jack couldn't help but smile seeing his grandson enjoy every moment of the game.

---

"Takumi, what's wrong?" - In Kasuga's dugout, one of the reserve players asked, looking at Takumi's shocked expression.

"He was smiling..." - The young pitcher murmured, staring intently at Shun on the mound. He could clearly remember the moment Shun had dived for the ball and ended up falling into the dugout. At that moment, he was sure he had seen Shun smiling as he leaped.

---

Back on the field, Imai had already returned to the dugout after Shun's catch, and now Kasuga's sixth batter was in the batter's box with two outs and no one on base.

Daigo called for a vertical slider within the zone, trying to induce a swing and miss, and that's exactly what Shun threw.

WOOSH

DONG

Unfortunately for Shun, Kasuga's sixth batter had no trouble reading the pitch and made solid contact, sending the ball sharply toward right field, close to the foul line.

POFT

The ball hit hard in fair territory just before first base and began veering toward foul ground. The sixth batter sprinted as fast as he could toward first base while Kasuga's dugout and fans jumped up, cheering.

However, Shoto's first baseman was determined to stop the ball. Takeya dove toward it after seeing it bounce, extending his arm as far as he could to try to grab it.

PAH

Takeya managed to snatch the ball into his glove and fell to the ground, but he knew his work wasn't finished yet.

"HAAAA!" - The boy got up quickly, saw the sixth batter racing toward first base, and also noticed Shun running to cover first base. But instead of throwing the ball to Shun, he ran to the base himself with all his strength, shouting loudly.

"Out! 3 outs, changeover!" - The umpire called confidently as he saw Takeya's foot reach the base before the sixth batter. Takeya was thrilled with the umpire's call, but before he could even think of celebrating, an overwhelming cheer echoed throughout the stadium.

"YEEEEAAHHH!!" - The crowd shouted with excitement at the end of the eighth inning. Now, only three more outs stood between Shun and a perfect game.

"Yeeeeaahhh! Nice play, Takeya! You were amazing!" - Shun shouted with excitement as he ran toward Takeya, jumping on him and hugging him.

"Senpai..." - Takeya was a bit surprised and also a little emotional to see Shun so excited about a play he'd made, but before he could say anything, more cheers reached his ears.

"Hahaha, nice play, Takeya!"

"Dude, you were awesome!"

Ren and Kenta arrived excitedly, praising Takeya's amazing play. As infielders, they understood much more than Shun did the difficulty of the catch Takeya had made.

---

Meanwhile, in the stands, Ryosuke watched his former teammates celebrate Takeya's play, clenching his fists tightly.

Takeya was the same person Ryosuke had criticized for being terrible and not being able to get any hits. But now, Takeya was on the field, playing in the Tokyo tournament final and being praised by his teammates for his great play. Meanwhile, Ryosuke was just watching from the stands.

Kyosuke looked at his brother calmly. He noticed the envious and hesitant expression on Ryosuke's face but said nothing. This was the reason he had insisted Ryosuke come to the game, he wanted his younger brother to feel this sense of regret watching his former teammates play without him.