After chatting for an hour, Zhou Hui had gotten to know Tanba and Watanabe to some extent. Both of them had faced their fair share of struggles; a smooth journey was something that had never happened to them.
So, after hearing about Zhou Hui's experiences in junior high, their reactions were the same: envy.
Although Tanba was now the ace pitcher of Seidou High School, his path had not been easy. In junior high, he was the backup pitcher for the ace of the city's top team, Manaka, and had always lived in his shadow.
They had been very good friends, but Tanba wanted to escape the shadow of Manaka, which led him to transfer to Seidou High School. This also resulted in him becoming a rival to Manaka.
It was unavoidable.
Recently, Tanba had just returned to the team. Last autumn, he had injured his elbow, causing him to miss a long period of time, and he only returned to the first team this year.
Fortunately, the pitching talent at Seidou High School had been lacking, so when Tanba recovered, he was still the ace pitcher of the team.
Watanabe's fate was even less favorable than Tanba's. He had entered Seidou High School through the entrance exam, but his physical abilities were poor, and he was just an ordinary outfielder with no chance to play.
However, by observing other schools and gathering useful information, he gradually became an indispensable player for Seidou High School.
Although he couldn't contribute on the field, he was happy to help the team from behind the scenes, and he slowly accepted his position.
"Wake up!"
Early the next morning, while Zhou Hui was still dreaming, he suddenly felt someone shaking him.
Although Zhou Hui was talented, that didn't mean he was disciplined. He had no habit of waking up early. Even when the team had morning training, he often struggled to get up.
Because of this, he had been punished with extra running more than once.
"Ugh..." Zhou Hui groaned, still half-asleep, rubbing his eyes. He looked up to see Tanba. "What's going on?"
"What do you mean, what's going on? Do you know what time it is?" Tanba replied, holding up the alarm clock from the bedside table for Zhou Hui to see.
"Five twenty," Zhou Hui mumbled, his words unclear as he was still waking up.
"Then hurry up! We have to gather at five thirty! Coach Katsuoka is terrifying!"
"No way?!"
Zhou Hui was startled and immediately sat up in bed.
"I'll go wash up first."
"Wash up? If you're late today, you're done for! Get dressed and come downstairs quickly!" Tanba said while getting dressed.
He couldn't understand why this junior was so laid-back.
"Put this on and come down to gather with us," Watanabe said, tossing a black shirt at Zhou Hui.
The shirt had "Seidou" printed on it and looked quite stylish.
Seidou High School had two types of uniforms: one was black, mostly used for training and long-sleeved for warmth, while the other was primarily white with blue accents, worn during games.
The black uniform gave off a cool vibe, while the white one felt more sunny.
After changing into his training uniform, Zhou Hui hurried downstairs to gather.
"Why are you two so late today?" a short student with pink hair asked.
He looked very small and thin, and standing next to Tanba, he didn't seem like he was in the same grade.
"Don't mention it. The new guy in our dormitory didn't get up until five twenty. I really don't know how he can be so carefree and still expect Coach Katsuoka to pay attention to him," Tanba explained helplessly.
"Oh? If that's the case, why are you so concerned about him? Just looking at his lifestyle habits shows he won't amount to much," the pink-haired student squinted as he shared his opinion.
Coach Katsuoka valued attitude above all else; if you didn't even have a basic attitude, he wouldn't recognize your baseball skills, no matter how good they were.
"But he's the batting champion and home run king from Hokkaido. Under his leadership, their youth team made it to the national tournament for three consecutive years and even won the championship this year," Tanba countered.
The pink-haired student chuckled at this.
"Interesting."
"Here he comes," Tanba said, looking toward Zhou Hui.
Zhou Hui rushed over in a flurry, even with his belt unbuckled, looking quite comical.
It was hard to associate someone like him with the titles of home run king and batting champion.
"Could that kid be the new guy in your dorm? Hahahaha, this is a bit funny," a somewhat handsome boy with a mischievous look sauntered over, hands in his pockets.
If you didn't know him, you wouldn't believe he was the starting shortstop for Seidou High School.
This was Watanabe Youichi, a second-year student.
Although he was a solid starter for Seido High School, if you hadn't seen the team play, you might easily mistake him for a delinquent.
Tanba nodded helplessly.
At that moment, a heavier-set student next to him pulled out a piece of paper that read, "At least he showed up. Is it really okay not to wake up that Sawamura kid?"
"Who told him to insist on playing video games with us last night? I'm not that kind-hearted to wake him up," Kuramochi replied.
If Zhou Hui had been there, he would have been grateful for his luck. If he had to deal with Watanabe, he might have ended up being late today.
"Is Masuko still punishing himself?"
"Yeah, who knows what he's thinking," Watanabe said, rolling his eyes at Masuko.
"Finally caught up," Zhou Hui said, having fastened his belt and now leaning on his knees, panting heavily.
Seeing Zhou Hui like this, many first-years couldn't help but snicker.
Such a reckless person likely had the lowest skills.
People are selfish; when there's a benefit at stake, no one thinks of others.
Everyone was working hard for a common goal, and no one would step back for someone else's dream.
While many players were snickering, a few first-years with experience in national tournaments widened their eyes.
Although they had been benchwarmers during the national tournament and some hadn't even had a chance to play, at least they had that experience, which set them apart from most of the others here.
Even the newcomers, Matsukata Shinji and Toujou Hideaki, who were considered Seidou High School's biggest gains this year, paled in comparison to their credentials.
"How did he end up at Seido?"
"Who is that?"
"That's Zhou Hui! The fourth batter for the Eagles! The champion of this year's national tournament!"
"He's the legendary monster, isn't he?"