Golden Week Holiday — 5:00 AM
To prepare for the upcoming Summer Tournament, the members of the Yakushi High School baseball team had gathered for a four-day training camp.
"Get up! Stop dawdling! Practice is about to start! You stinky brats, move it!"
Coach Todoroki Raizo went from room to room, roaring loudly as he woke everyone up.
"Ahhh… I'm so sleepy…"
Kitamura Kou yawned as he reluctantly climbed out of bed under the coach's relentless shouting.
"Ha! It's only five in the morning! This is way too early!"
The chubby Mishima Yuta complained loudly while looking at the barely bright sky outside.
"What did you say, Mishima?! Believe it or not, I'll double your training load today!"
Todoroki Raizo roared angrily.
Mishima instantly shut his mouth.
Soon, amidst constant complaints and grumbling, Kou followed his teammates toward the baseball field.
Once everyone had assembled—
"First task: run ten kilometers around the field!"
"Fukuda, lead the team!"
After shouting his instructions, Todoroki Raizo walked over to a chair placed at the edge of the field, spread out lazily, and slumped into it.
From there, he watched the players begin their run while they complained endlessly.
After finishing the ten-kilometer run, the exhausted players panted heavily.
They rested briefly, ate breakfast, and gathered at the field again.
This time, Todoroki Raizo spoke with a serious expression.
"Listen up."
"Today we focus on offense."
"On a baseball field, if you can't score runs, you can't win. So batting is extremely important."
He raised two fingers.
"First exercise: bunting practice."
"There are two key techniques you must master."
"The first is the standard bunt—and you must learn to combine it with feints."
"The second is showing bunt first to trick the opponent, then pulling the bat back for a normal swing or executing a hit-and-run."
He continued explaining.
"The purpose of the first technique is to suddenly bunt when the opponent isn't prepared."
"And if you realize the pitch is a ball, you must control your bat so it's not judged as a swing."
"That way, the opponent's pitcher can't just throw wide pitches to escape."
He paused briefly.
"The second technique is the opposite."
"When the opponent expects a bunt and deliberately throws wide, you pull back the bat."
"This can create a favorable count—or even earn you a walk."
"Once you master both techniques, the opponent won't be able to predict our tactics."
"The pitcher's pitch count will rise, and the mental pressure will increase."
Raizo looked at the players seriously.
"Listen carefully."
"You must be able to bunt whenever you want."
"Only with that kind of confidence can you swing freely during a game."
"In the end, the game is played by you guys on the field."
"My ideal baseball is simple."
"Be strict and serious during practice."
"But once the game starts—"
"Enjoy baseball with everything you've got."
"Do you understand?!"
"YES!!!"
The players shouted with everything they had.
"Good."
"Let's start practice!"
"Fukuda, demonstrate!"
"Yes!"
Fukuda Daiki quickly stepped into the batter's box.
"Everyone watch carefully," Raizo said.
"Bunting isn't just about the arms."
"It requires coordination of almost the entire body."
"So observe carefully."
"Combine this with the video footage I showed you last night and think about how to execute it properly."
He pointed toward the players.
"Alright! Line up and start practicing!"
After giving the order, Raizo walked toward the mound and began adjusting the pitching machine.
"YES!!!"
Whoosh!
Ping!
Whoosh!
Ping!
The entire morning was spent on bunting practice.
At first, the results were far from ideal.
Many balls popped up or rolled poorly.
Seeing this, Raizo suddenly had everyone sit in a circle.
"Meditate."
The players blinked in confusion.
"Think about why your bunts failed."
"Was your posture wrong?"
"Was your bat angle incorrect?"
"Or was your timing off?"
"Only by constantly thinking, summarizing, and testing your ideas in practice will the lesson stick."
After ten minutes of meditation, practice resumed.
An hour later—
Another meditation session.
Then more practice.
The cycle repeated several times.
Gradually, everyone improved.
Some made small progress.
Others improved dramatically.
The bunting session finally ended at noon.
After lunch and a short break, practice resumed at 2:00 PM.
"Practice has resumed!"
"This afternoon we focus on defense!"
"Everyone get to your defensive positions!"
Raizo's roar echoed across the field.
Clang!
Tap tap tap!
Whoosh!
Pop!
"Good! Next one!"
A ground ball between second and short was cleanly handled by shortstop Kobayashi Keisuke.
Raizo nodded.
Then he hit another ball.
Ping!
"Masuda! Your positioning is too far back!"
"Don't rely on reaction time!"
"If the opponent bunts, that position will turn into a bunt single!"
"Move forward!"
"Again!"
Clang!
"So fast!"
"Lower your center of gravity!"
"Keep your footwork moving!"
"If the ball is too fast, use your body to block it!"
"Don't gamble on fancy plays!"
"If the ball slips through, it's your responsibility!"
"Your technique still isn't good enough, Fukuda!"
"Again!"
For two full hours, Todoroki Raizo kept hitting balls.
And shouting.
His mouth never stopped moving.
The coach who usually looked lazy and unreliable now seemed like a completely different person.
No one expected that when serious—
Todoroki Raizo would be so meticulous about every detail.
Finally—
"Stop!"
"Ten-minute break!"
"I need water."
"Practice resumes in ten minutes!"
Raizo walked back to the dugout, grabbed a bottle of water, and drank it in one gulp.
"Ha…"
"I'm really getting old."
"I'm exhausted after just hitting balls for this long."
"Back in my day I could play two full games without blinking."
He rubbed his aching lower back.
Kou returned to the dugout as well and grabbed a bottle of water.
"Coach, you've really worked us hard today."
Raizo snorted.
"Kitamura, show some spirit."
"You're not some middle-aged uncle like me."
"I'm dying… I'm dying…"
The overweight Nakanishi collapsed into a chair beside Kou like a deflated balloon.
"I'm about to die."
"Nakanishi!"
Raizo roared instantly.
"Were you slacking off during training?!"
"Why do you look even fatter now?!"
"Coach, that's unfair!"
Nakanishi protested with an aggrieved expression.
"What can I do if my body gains weight on its own?!"
"I finished all the training exactly as instructed!"
"Right, Kou?"
Kou shrugged.
"Hahaha!"
Seeing Nakanishi's wronged expression like a mistreated young wife, the entire team burst into laughter.
Ten minutes passed quickly.
"Alright, brats!"
"Break time's over!"
"Back to practice!"
Raizo shouted energetically as if he had fully recovered.
"YES!!!"
The players returned to the field.
Training continued until complete darkness fell.
Yakushi High School wasn't a powerhouse like Inashiro.
Their field had no night lights.
Once night came, official practice had to end.
But even then—
Many players still grabbed their bats and went to places with streetlights to continue practicing their swings.
Their training conditions couldn't compare to the famous powerhouse schools.
But the determination of the Yakushi High School players striving to improve—
Would never lose to anyone.