[You performed well in your previous mission! This earned you the appreciation of your superiors, who have taken an interest in you and initiated a challenge.
The challenge consists of nine rounds in total. For each round you win, points will be accumulated.
The higher your accumulated points, the greater the rewards!
Considering that your superiors are far stronger than a Genin like you, rewards are granted in stages, with three rounds available in advance.
The reward for clearing the first three rounds is the Kunai Throwing Technique.]
...
In the Shinobi World, this is undoubtedly a very common skill.
Which ninja doesn't know how to throw a Kunai?
But for him, this skill came at just the right time.
Previously, the entire strike zone was just one big target for him.
It was already impressive that he could throw a Spiral ball into the strike zone.
As for other pitches—whether a Straight ball or other types—he simply couldn't manage them.
To put it bluntly, his role as a pitcher relied entirely on his Spiral ball.
Otherwise, the number of bad pitches he threw would surely set a new record for Seidō.
Now, with the Kunai Throwing Technique, it's as if he has mastered the Straight ball.
Moreover, the probability of him throwing a Straight ball into the strike zone has reached one hundred percent.
He no longer has to worry about missing the strike zone.
If future junior Furuya Satoru knew about this, wouldn't he cry tears of envy?
Of course, to achieve more precise control, this skill still needs to be upgraded.
But for now, he was very satisfied.
Originally, he didn't want to face the third-year seniors so soon.
After all, with his current Spiral ball, those third-year seniors from Seidō, after careful observation, would still have a high chance of hitting the ball.
Why should he agree to such a humiliating duel?
But now things were different. Not only had he learned to throw a Straight ball, but a mission also awaited him.
If he could clear eight or nine rounds of challenges, wouldn't his pitching truly take off?
He felt a surge of excitement, but his friends wore worried expressions.
After morning practice, Kuramochi Yōichi approached him, food in hand.
"I heard Azuma-senpai might be causing you some trouble," he mentioned with a hint of concern.
Azuma Kiyokuni was well-known around Seidō.
Though not the captain, if Azuma disliked Takumi, his days in the First String would certainly be difficult.
"No, Senpai just wants to talk," Takumi responded evenly.
What Azuma's intentions were, he didn't bother to speculate.
What he knew for sure was that Azuma wasn't a bad person. If he intended to teach him a lesson, it would be straightforward and fair.
All Takumi needed to do was prove himself with his skill.
As long as he showed his strength, no matter how much the seniors disliked him, they would have to respect him.
After all, the team desperately needed a good pitcher.
"Then be careful. If you really run into trouble, make sure to tell me," Yōichi urged earnestly.
Though he'd been hurt by friends before,
He remained ready to stand by those he cared about through thick and thin.
"Don't worry! Our team's different from where you came from," Takumi assured him.
Yōichi's hometown was small, and his old friends lacked real ambitions, so they fussed over trivial matters.
He had been the same once.
Otherwise, why would he have been disciplined by school for standing up for a friend, leaving him with no high school willing to accept him?
If Seidō hadn't given him a chance, he might have had to give up baseball altogether.
The players at Seidō were different, especially those who made it to the First String.
They all had dreams.
Many of them aimed to rely on Seidō to enter the professional drafts directly.
As a top national powerhouse, Seidō contributed talent to the professional drafts almost every year.
This was one of the reasons they maintained their prestige as a powerhouse, even when their results weren't ideal.
For these dreamers, pursuing their goals was the top priority.
Who would have time to get involved in all that messy stuff?
Besides, once they became professional players, those messy things could turn into scandals. Only a fool would let that jeopardize their future, right?
Although Takumi spoke frankly, many still voiced deep concern about his situation.
For instance, his classmates.
Somehow, they had caught wind of the news. They remained quiet during class, but as soon as it ended, they quickly surrounded him.
"Yamamoto-san, from my four or five years of experience being bullied, you're definitely being targeted by a senior," one warned.
"If it gets too much, just quit the baseball team! Even though the baseball team gets the best treatment here, you shouldn't have to put up with bullying," another advised.
"Or maybe you could just endure it and apologize to the senior first," someone suggested hesitantly.
"Even if you haven't done anything wrong, sometimes apologizing first might win the senior's understanding," another added cautiously.
Listening to their advice, Takumi felt his mind cluttered with useless information.
It seemed juniors had even compiled strategies for dealing with bullying from seniors.
But he had no interest in any of it.
Seidō didn't seem to have such a tradition anyway.
He'd been with the team for quite some time, mostly in the Second String.
Yet even there, surrounded by second- and third-year seniors, he had never been ordered around or treated unfairly by them.
Everyone focused on training, hoping to be promoted to the Second String as soon as possible.
It was said that the atmosphere between seniors and juniors in the First String was the worst. But at most, it was just seniors asking juniors to run errands, like buying drinks or something.
Nothing more than that.
After a few classes, it was finally time for baseball practice.
He quickly got ready and headed to the field. His classmates watched his retreating figure as if he were an unyielding warrior.
"Yamamoto-san, that's rough."
"Getting promoted to the First String so fast, and here at our school—that's impressive. He's got real talent."
"Too bad he just joined and already has some trouble with a senior. Might be tough going forward."
"Yamamoto-san, that's rough," one murmured sympathetically.
"Getting promoted to the First String so fast, and here at our school—that's impressive. He's got real talent," another remarked admiringly.
"Too bad he just joined and already has some trouble with a senior. Might be tough going forward," someone added with concern.
Takumi didn't catch any of this.
Since he arrived early, Azuma Kiyokuni, who had challenged him, hadn't shown up yet.
So he began warming up on his own.
"Pretty eager, huh? Confident too," Miyuki Kazuya observed with a knowing smile as he approached. "Not trying to bring you down, but just relying on your Spiral ball probably won't cut it against those seniors."
"Those seniors?" Takumi asked, frowning in confusion.
"You haven't heard? Azuma-senpai wants to challenge you, and a few others are watching closely. They're all curious to see how you handle it," Kazuya explained calmly.