<196> Summer Training Camp (4)

Chapter 196: Summer Training Camp (4)

At precisely 4 PM, practice began.

Having slept the entire day, Sendo felt much more refreshed, but Sawamura wasn't so lucky.

Kanemaruhad become obsessed with keeping a watchful eye on him, a situation that Coach unintentionally set up, which seemed to awaken some strange tendencies in him.

When Sendo heard from Kanemaru that Sawamura had been so flustered under surveillance that he held his book upside down—even the text and orientation were completely wrong—he couldn't stop laughing.

Kanemaru laughed even harder, though his expression was more of a mischievous smirk.

However, when it came to Sendo, Kanemaru was helpless.

He knew full well that Sendo had also spent the entire day sleeping, but there wasn't much he could say.

After all, Kanemaru had caught Sendo tutoring Fumino on multiple occasions.

Kanemaru discovered that Sendo was skilled at everything—completely contradicting what Tojo had said about him being someone who had slept through the entire first semester since school started.

As for the afternoon's practice, the structured training of an elite team was incredibly meticulous.

Sendo had realized that yesterday's session, being the first day of the camp, focused entirely on stamina-building. Today, however, the real training began.

Starting with fielding drills, one might think that playing in the outfield was relatively easy with fewer tactics involved.

However, for an elite team, the training focused on something Sendo hadn't even imagined—handling unexpected situations.

For instance, in scenarios like runners on first and third with no outs, players were required to turn double plays.

But unlike in Sendo's middle school days, where his training partners were told roughly which direction the ball would be hit, this practice involved calling out the scenario and hitting intentionally tricky balls without warning.

The training required players to adapt to scenarios so rare they might only happen once in hundreds of games, practicing until they were fully prepared.

The unpredictability of these drills was brutal. Players never knew where the ball would go—it was always a challenging trajectory—and they still had to meet strict requirements.

"Is this what it means to be part of an elite team?" Sendo couldn't help but question internally.

Yes, this was the reality of playing for an elite team.

High school baseball, structured as a single-elimination tournament, is brutal to the extreme.

One loss, and it's over.

The uncertainties of baseball are numerous—errors, wild pitches, players' emotional states, bad bounces, Texas Leaguers, or even the smallest missteps can decide the outcome of a game.

If two teams played a five-game series, it would come down to overall strength, talent, and skill.

But in a single game, anything could happen.

A team that would lose 99 out of 100 games might win that one due to pure luck.

In a single-elimination format, even a one-percent chance of an upset can determine a team's fate.

High school baseball is terrifying in this way.

That's why elite teams train to ensure that unexpected events don't cost them a game against weaker opponents.

Players are drilled to handle every imaginable scenario to perfection.

The sheer volume of practice needed to prepare for such contingencies was staggering.

And all of this had to be accomplished within the few days of training camp—a daunting task, to say the least.

Eliminating uncertainty as much as possible is the hallmark of an elite team.

Victory is the only requirement for champions, which is why Miyuki declared in the fall, "We are not champions," because they had never reached the pinnacle of Koshien.

Although Sendo struggled under the intensity of the drills, his performance stood out as the best.

This was the gap created by natural talent.

Sendo's extraordinary reflexes allowed him to process information faster, his superior judgment enabled quicker decisions, and his unparalleled speed elevated his execution to another level.

A single step ahead means staying ahead, and when you're ahead in every step, it becomes insurmountable.

Relying solely on pure talent, Sendo dominated the field in this afternoon's practice.

As for outfield relay throws, there was no need to worry. Sendo excelled here too, owing to his seemingly endless reserves of energy.

Until he completely burned out, the upperclassmen could only look up to him in admiration.

As an outfielder, Furuya trained hard too.

While his throws were slightly off-target and tended to go high, his return speed was unmatched, making him a strong candidate for evaluation.

Outfield relay skills were an essential metric, and Furuya's performance caught the attention of rivals competing for the right-field position, such as senior Sakai and Shirasu.

With one outfield spot already taken by Sendo, who had even replaced Isashiki as the core center fielder, the competition for positions grew fiercer.

Rumors were already circulating that Sendo might even become the team's fifth batter during the summer.

After more than an hour of grueling drills, Sendo could barely stand and wanted nothing more than to collapse.

Once, he fell to his knees, unable to rise, only managing to hold on after catching his breath.

Finally, Coach Kataoka called for a break.

Just as Sendo thought he could finally rest, the coach sent him to batting practice.

If it weren't for his exceptional batting skills, he would have been forced to keep running even if he collapsed.

Meanwhile, Haruichi, who had already been struggling from the start, received some sarcastic "comfort" from his older brother.

When Sendo stepped into the batter's box to face the pitching machine, Furuya had already been hitting for a while.

His face showed a fierce determination, clearly pushing himself to his limits. From his occasional glances at the bullpen, Sendo could tell—Furuya was itching to pitch.

Sendo couldn't understand it. Why would someone on the verge of collapsing still think about the mound?

Elsewhere, Sawamura was receiving one-on-one instruction from Chris.

The more exhausted their bodies became, the slower time seemed to pass.

"One, two!"

"Three, four—one, two!"

"One, two, three, four! One!!!"

"Charge!!!"

The second day of practice finally ended amidst the shouts and chants of the team, led, of course, by Yuuki.

By the end of the day, the first-years were running noticeably slower than they had the day before.

Sendo, meanwhile, collapsed where he belonged—beside home plate after running most of the course.

After finishing, the other first-years joined Sendo in lying flat on the ground.

"Tomorrow starts early again. Do your stretches and head back soon!" Coach Kataoka announced to the group resting by home plate.

"Yes, sir!" Even the upperclassmen's responses were weak and lacking energy.

The first-years, already sprawled on the ground, were gasping for air.

"My body…"

"Can't move anymore!" Sawamura and Furuya couldn't even finish a sentence individually, resorting to taking turns to complete it.

"How can those guys still be standing?"

Haruichi, slightly better off due to his lighter training load, watched in disbelief.

It was well-known that the pitchers' workload, under the guidance of Chris and Miyuki, was double that of the others.

While the training camp wasn't quite as intense, it was still significantly more demanding than what Haruichi faced.

"Bakemono!" the four first-years exclaimed in unison, lying on the ground.

That day, all four had to be carried back together. Sendo was no longer alone in his exhaustion.

Haruichi's situation was a bit different.

His training this year wasn't aimed at making the main roster but at building a foundation—developing stamina, adjusting to high school defensive rhythms, and refining his batting.

For the two pitchers and Sendo, however, it was relentless torture.

As a starting center fielder, Sendo faced enormous demands.

While the summer qualifiers offered two to three days of rest between games, Koshien was a different story.

In Koshien, games were played every day, under the scorching summer sun, lasting hours at a time.

The single-elimination format, combined with the variety of opponents, made it a mental and physical trial.

Even NBA fans, familiar with the grueling playoff schedule, would find Koshien's pace insane.

It was like playing back-to-back regular-season games with no margin for error.

For a main player like Sendo, who had no substitute, the physical and mental toll was unimaginable. Coach Kataoka's rigorous approach reflected this reality—he pushed Sendo to the limit because he knew what was required.

Of course, while this kind of training seemed intense, it was more about pushing to the edge of physical limits without truly going overboard.

The grueling first two days were primarily about helping the three first-years adapt to the pace of training camp.

In the coaches' room, Coach Kataoka and the catchers were already discussing slowing down the intensity. After all, the camp was long, and there was no need to rush.

Unlike in a previous life, the inclusion of Sendo had brought a new dynamic to the planning. In this modern era of baseball, strategy and information are key, and they had to consider how best to utilize someone like him.

Meanwhile, the bathhouse was left with only the four first-years. The upperclassmen, still energetic, had already bathed, soaked, and left.

The first-years, however, had exhausted even the upperclassmen, who couldn't help them and simply left them to fend for themselves.

While everyone else had gone to sleep or were meeting with the catchers for discussions, the four first-years had just finished bathing and were now sprawled in various positions around the pool.

True to form, Sawamura had fallen asleep in the pool. Just the night before, senior Miyauchi had shared a story about a first-year in the fall who also fell asleep in the bath.

"Close call! I almost drowned! Don't sleep! Sleeping here could kill you! And you! You should have woken me up!" Sawamura shouted dramatically in the middle of the pool.

Sendo, however, could only keep his eyes open and watch. He couldn't even muster a smile; speaking felt like too much effort.

He reflected on his past: apart from a month of training as a fourth-grader on the Wildcats, which was more about learning techniques than building stamina, his physical training had always been limited to daily explosive strength routines and reaction drills.

For the most part, he had lived the life of a "go-home club" member.

Even in middle school, when he transitioned into coaching and spent only a few months as a player, how much could he really have trained?

Coupled with his naturally high energy consumption, it wasn't surprising that his stamina was the weakest.

When Furuya and Haruichi heard Sawamura's outburst, their bodies didn't even react.

Apart from Sawamura's brief panic about nearly drowning, the other three were like heavily wounded soldiers after a battle, barely clinging to life.

...

After surviving the first two days, the pace of the camp started to slow, just as Coach Kataoka had planned. Otherwise, these first-years might truly collapse from exhaustion.

For Sendo, it felt like time, which had been crawling at a standstill, had finally started to move a bit faster—but only just a bit.

By the fourth day, Sawamura had begun to develop basic instinctual reactions as a pitcher on defense.

However, this didn't change the nightly routine of the first-years collapsing in unison.

The upperclassmen had grown used to it and would carry them back to their rooms every night. For example, when practice ended, Jun-senpai would habitually shout:

"Time to carry the first-years back!"

Each time, Sendo couldn't help but imagine absurd scenarios, like bodies being transported.

Yes, Sendo had reached a point where even his inner monologue was sarcastic and self-deprecating.

That day, Tanba's forkball was finally guessed correctly, and a few blunt remarks were made about it.

This led to Miyuki and Sendo teasingly boasting about how they had figured out Tanba-senpai's pitch.

Sendo noticed that Tanba had started to look at Miyuki with a hint of irritation.

It wasn't outright dislike, but it was a vibe very similar to how Sendo felt about Miyuki—a preference to avoid excessive interaction.

Tanba even admitted to Sendo that he wasn't good at dealing with Miyuki.

After Sendo jokingly complained about Miyuki's clinginess, the two bonded over their shared sentiments, deepening their friendship.

Whenever Sendo and Tanba had downtime together, they would often vent about Miyuki—a rather peculiar pairing.

What truly baffled Sendo on the fourth day, though, was Furuya and Sawamura.

Weren't these two carried back with Haruichi and him last night?

Yet here they were, full of energy, eager to find Miyuki for a catching session. Sendo couldn't help but replay the events in his mind.

Even Sawamura had gone to Chris earlier.

It was on this day that Sendo realized the torment awaiting the two pitchers was just beginning.

Sendo was aware of the nightly gatherings in Miyuki's room since Yuuki was in the same room.

On the other hand, Sendo's Room 7 was famously quiet.

Sendo and Watanabe-senpai were naturally reserved, and Miyauchi-senpai was either with Tanba-senpai, working on his muscles, or mixing his custom protein shakes.

To Sendo, protein powder was for muscle shaping, not necessarily for strengthening. He wasn't sure if that was true, but he had no interest in drinking it. He preferred meat—why wouldn't he? Meat was the best.

This might be why Sendo remembered the pitchers getting tricked but couldn't recall which day it happened.

As the two pitchers left, Sendo's gaze grew distant.

What could he say?

Part of him wanted to join the comedic chaos, but the exhaustion of the past few days had left him unwilling to move.

Of course, Sendo was overthinking it. By the time the two pitchers went to Miyuki, their fates were already sealed.

If asked whether Miyuki was worth befriending, Sendo's answer would be a definite yes.

But as a companion, Miyuki was undoubtedly the perfect mischievous friend.

Thus, not long after Sawamura and Furuya returned from their session with Miyuki and joined Sendo in the bath, Miyuki showed up at Sendo's door.

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