The Old Baseball Player System

[Hahahahahahahahaha! You arrogant brat, weren't you all high and mighty saying you didn't need my help? Enjoy this defeat, loser! Hahahahaha!]

"Tch!" – Shun clenched his fists tightly. As annoying as it was to hear the old man mocking him in his head, he had nothing to say.

In that moment, seeing his precious teammates discouraged with their heads down, some even crying, he had nothing to say. In the end, he really was a loser.

"Let's go." – Shun felt a hand on his shoulder as he heard his captain's voice. He looked back and saw Kazuki with a forced smile.

"We have to line up." – Kazuki said calmly. He then gently tapped Ren and Kenta on the shoulder before going to help Jiro up. It was customary for both teams to line up and greet each other after a game, another sign of respect present in Japanese baseball.

The Shoto players climbed the stairs, forming a line. The same happened on the other side of the field, as the Hokuto players emerged from the dugout.

"Thank you for the game!" – The players from both teams shouted as they bowed towards the opposing team.

Shun quickly glanced at Kohei and Sugawara before turning and heading back to the dugout with his team. They began packing their things and clearing the dugout, after all, this was only one game of the third round of the Tokyo tournament, and there were still many games to be played in the stadium today.

Most of the fans in the stands also started to leave. Many had come just to see the unknown team that had defeated Seishin, and only a few supporters stayed for the next matches.

Outside the stadium, Aiko was looking at her phone with a worried expression. She heard the message notification and quickly read Shun's text.

"Looks like Shun will be going back to school with his teammates." – She sighed before looking at her eldest daughter.

"You have school tomorrow, so make sure you come home early, understand?" – Aiko said with a serious look at Mika.

"Hm! Don't worry, mom!" – The beautiful Mika said with a smile. She and her friends had planned to go out after the game. Even though her brother had been defeated, there wasn't much she could do for him. In fact, knowing Shun, she figured he'd be happy not to have to face anyone after the game.

Toji, Satoshi, and Akira were part of one of the best Senior League teams, and as expected, they spent most of their time either training or playing when they weren't in school, so it was rare for them to have free time to hang out. The three of them left together with Mika, Hana, and Kaori as they chatted about the game they had just watched.

"Phew, what a shame! Shun was unlucky to face Hokuto so early in the tournament. They probably could've gone far with that team." – Toji sighed in frustration. Shun had been one of his best friends since childhood, and even though they weren't on the same team anymore, and the gap in their skills had only widened, he still rooted for his friend's success.

"Hm, that pitcher is really impressive. Plus, the catcher seemed very talented too." – Akira said, recalling the game. Kohei and Sugawara hadn't struggled to score runs, and defensively, if it weren't for Shun's hit in the first inning, they would've had five perfect innings.

"It won't be long before we meet them ourselves..." – Satoshi said, hinting at something.

"Yeah, if they keep playing like this, they're definitely getting called up for the U-15 national team." – Toji agreed with Satoshi. Kohei and Sasaki certainly had the talent and ability to play for Japan.

"All of you, come here!" – Coach Yamada shouted loudly, grabbing the attention of all his players. They had already left the dugout and were in the inner part of the stadium.

Coach Yamada looked at the young faces of his players. He could feel the sadness and disappointment in their eyes. He took a deep breath before starting to speak.

"We lost. There's nothing anyone here can do about that. Unfortunately, today was the last game for the third-year students, and I'm sorry that your final game turned out like this... but the baseball journey for each of you is just beginning!" – The coach looked into the eyes of each of the third-year students and spoke loudly:

"Next year, you will step onto an even bigger stage! You'll face challenges far greater than this! You'll have new uniforms, new teammates, and even a new coach! Because of this, I ask each of you: don't give up! Keep working hard, remember this defeat, and use it as fuel to improve!"

"Yes, Coach!" – All the third-year players felt a strong sense of resolve after hearing their coach's words. They shouted with all they had, tears streaming down their faces.

"As for the second and first-year students, your chances aren't over yet! Train hard, mark this feeling of defeat on your soul, get stronger, and come back here next year with all this experience and frustration!" – The coach said, looking into the eyes of all his players.

"Yes, Coach!" – This time it was the second and first-year players who shouted. Shun, Kenta, Ren, Sora, and Jiro all felt a burning desire to return here next year. They never wanted to experience this feeling of defeat again.

"Well, in the end, I want to say one more thing to you. You've worked hard to get here, no matter what you think or what anyone says to you, regardless of the outcome of our last game, you've made me proud." – Coach Yamada said with some emotion, his entire speech coming straight from the heart.

"Thank you, Coach!" – Kazuki also got emotional. He then took his final action as the team's captain, bowing deeply as he thanked his coach.

"Thank you, Coach!" – All the other players followed their captain's example, bowing as they expressed their gratitude loudly.

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