When the Jingu Contest and the play-offs were over, December arrived unnoticed, marking the final period of the second semester.
According to Seidou High School's academic schedule, their classes for this semester will only continue until December 20.
With the last play-off game of the Seidou High School baseball team completed, and their qualification for the Spring League secured, the semester is about to end in just a few days.
In the week leading up to the semester's end, Seidou High School's training intensity suddenly increased.
Previously, daily training lasted 3 to 4 hours, but now it has been extended to 4.5 hours. Training starts half an hour earlier in the morning and ends half an hour later in the evening, in addition to regular classes.
The sudden increase in training load has left the players struggling.
Even the once-delicious meals have become difficult to swallow.
"Could this be the infamous Hell Training Week?" Kanemaru asked with a frown.
At Seidou High School, there's a legend about an especially grueling winter training period known affectionately as Winter Hell Special Training Week. They experienced something similar before the summer competition, which was extremely tough.
Back then, training time was increased by over an hour, and the training volume grew by nearly one-third.
Now, the same rigorous routine seems to have returned.
Kanemaru naturally assumes that Winter Hell Special Training Week has begun.
The second-year students look at Kanemaru as if he's an idiot.
The previous training camp was designed to get new players accustomed and help the old players adjust to the game rhythm. It was just a regular training camp and doesn't compare to the Hell Training Week.
"I'm not giving up!" Kanemaru says determinedly, ordering three bowls of rice.
He refuses to take it down. Having reached this point and become a key player, he won't slack off, especially with the rotation lineup shifting in his favor.
The second-year students look at Kanemaru with a mix of pity and amazement.
'Ignorance breeds fearlessness. He doesn't know what Winter Hell Special Training truly entails.'
Sawamura eats his rice slowly, reminiscing about Winter Hell Training Week. It was a tough but memorable experience. However, he is struggling to go through it again now.
As the training becomes more intense, the semester at Seidou High School approaches its final three days.
The previously heavy training suddenly eases up. Coaches instruct everyone to prepare and pack their bags.
"It's vacation time!" The first-year students cheer with excitement.
With the qualification for Senbatsu secured, they look forward to returning to their hometowns and having fun with their friends.
Normally, Seidou High School would extend training after vacations, but Coach Kataoka is unusually lenient, reducing their training and allowing them to pack early.
"This is too good to be true!" The first-year students naively think, unaware of the true situation.
As second-year students, the older ones remain silent, knowing that vacations at Seidou High School aren't as straightforward as they seem.
They understand what is coming, and it is not pleasant.
On the day before the holiday, training ends an hour early. President Ota kindly instructs the players to pack their bags.
The players smile and nod, relieved.
"The meeting time tomorrow is an hour earlier," President Ota announces before leaving.
The first-year students sense something amiss but dismiss it, considering it normal for Seidou High's strict standards.
At 5 a.m. the next morning, while it's still dark, the players gather at the stadium with their bags packed.
Under Captain Miyuki's guidance, they run for nearly half an hour. Then, Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai arrive.
Coach Kataoka greets everyone politely with a warm attitude. "I'll be going to Meiji University to recharge my batteries. During my absence, Coach Ochiai will be in charge. I'll return in three days."
'…Wait, isn't the team supposed to be on vacation?' The first-year students exchange suspicious glances.
They sense that their upcoming experience won't be as perfect as they imagined.
At Coach Kataoka's signal, Coach Ochiai steps forward. "I'm honored to take on this important task. I hope you'll take good care of me in the coming days."
For some reason, Coach Ochiai's expression looks particularly eerie.
"Training begins!" Coach Kataoka says and then leaves in a car.
President Ota, Takashima Rei, and a few other coaches arrive, holding small notebooks for recording.
Coach Ochiai continues to smile, but it's unsettling given his demeanor.
"Welcome to Winter Hell Training Camp!"
Thus, Seidou High School's special training begins.
For the second-year students, they are mentally prepared. For the first-year players, it comes as a sudden and unwelcome shock.
"First of all, I apologize, but forget about the New Year's vacation. Our special training will continue until the end of December. During this period, the first two days and the last three days will be at our school, and the five days in between will be spent at an off-site training camp. I hope you'll make goooood memories!" Coach Ochiai says casually.
The first-year players finally understand why President Ota asked them to pack their bags. It wasn't for a vacation but for training camp preparation.
"Bring it on!" The boys are undaunted.
Given their previous training intensity, what could be worse? It's just special training, after all. They're ready to face whatever comes, even if it's truly hellish.
Thus begins the special training at Seidou High School.
Initially, the first-year baseball players at Seidou High School were indifferent to the coaches' fervent warnings about the hellish special training. They believed that since joining Seidou, they had already endured every conceivable hardship.
The terrifyingly intense training and grueling sweat had given them an immense sense of confidence. They felt ready to face any challenge.
However, this confidence was quickly shattered.
Starting at 5:00 a.m.
Aside from a brief talk from the coaching staff, the players ran continuously.
They ran for a full hour.
After that hour, everyone felt as if they had been completely drained. Every joint in their bodies ached, refusing to move.
During that hour, no one could even count how many laps they had run. The sheer monotony and exhaustion of the exercise were more than they had anticipated.
From the very beginning, the differences between the first-string, second-string, and third-string players became evident.
In comparison, the first-string players performed relatively well, even Kominato Haruichi, who was the weakest in terms of physical endurance, was able to keep up.
Other second-string and third-string players, the first-year students, were on the verge of collapse.
Furuya for instance, was gasping for breath as if he were a dying dog.
And this was only the beginning.
From 6:00 to 7:00 a.m., after running, the players began frog-jump training. They squatted on the ground like frogs and then began jumping.
This exercise was even more exhausting than running. Fortunately, they trained in groups, which allowed for some rest during the frog jumps.
Without these rest periods, not only the first-year players but probably everyone would have been completely wiped out.
After an hour of frog jumps, they moved on to swing practice, which lasted from 8:00 a.m. to 9:50 a.m.
A large sign on the net read: "Swing a Thousand Times."
This was the day's swing goal for the Seidou High School players.
Of course, swinging a thousand times in two hours was impossible. The actual requirement was around five to six hundred swings, to be completed over the morning and afternoon sessions.
The thousand swings were merely a target. If players chose to practice more after the training camp, achieving this goal was possible.
According to the coaches, players should push themselves but not to the point of injury. Everyone's physical condition was different, and overly rigid training could be counterproductive.
At 10:00 a.m., the players finally got their breakfast.
In the cafeteria, they sat quietly, staring at the mountains of food in front of them, unable to muster a word.
Some players, already on the brink of collapse, had lost their appetite entirely.
In just four hours, the coaching staff had made the Seidou High School baseball team experience what real hell was like.
Now, the players were so exhausted they could barely think about eating.
Sawamura picked up his chopsticks and started eating rice slowly. His stamina and recovery were better than those of his peers, so he still had the appetite and strength to eat.
Instinctively, he wanted to wolf down all the food in front of him in one go.
However, reason told him that this would be unwise. His stomach was already twitching, and this sensation would likely worsen with the afternoon training. Overeating now would almost certainly lead to vomiting later.
Kuramochi and Miyuki, who were also exhausted, maintained their composure. Despite their usual tendency to eat quickly, they were now very calm, eating with great decorum.
'…I will do it!' Kanemaru, on the other hand, ate with determination. He firmly believed that a man must eat when it is time to eat, and he adhered to this principle wholeheartedly.
Given the intense morning training, he felt he needed to eat well to sustain himself for the unknown challenges of the afternoon.
'Poor thing!'
Sawamura watched Kanemaru with mixed feelings. He knew that if Kanemaru kept eating like this, he would definitely struggle in the afternoon.
But being able to eat was a good thing; without sufficient food, enduring the afternoon training would be impossible.
Morning training lasted from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. After breakfast from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m., they took a nap from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Afternoon training started at 1:30 p.m.
As soon as the alarm went off, Kuramochi woke up and prepared to wake Sawamura. But before he could say anything, Sawamura yawned and got up on his own.
The team's schedule was brutal: five hours of training, followed by a meal and rest, only to dive into more intense practice.
The afternoon started with fielding and hitting drills, with the first-string players using Field A and the second and third-string players on Field B.
The drills were divided into two teams: one for fielding and pitching, the other for hitting. After each round, the teams would switch.
This simulated combat practice continued from 1:30 p.m. until just before dinner.
Given the exhaustion from the morning training, more physically demanding exercises were not feasible. Only these practical, less physically draining drills were possible.
During training, the coaches kept detailed notes and statistics. These figures were crucial as they would influence player placement and rotations for the Koshien tournament.
Although the roster of 18 main players was already decided, roles and substitutions were still uncertain. The performance in training served as a key reference.
According to Coach Ochiai's training plan, the team was to be integrated in January and refined in February, aiming to build combat readiness before March. With limited time, they needed to finalize the main lineup and strategy before the Spring Tournament.
There wasn't enough time for a detailed assessment of every player, so the training results were crucial for determining each player's capability.
After the fielding and hitting practice, the Seidou players had dinner and a half-hour break. Then came the final practice: running.
They ran for an hour, nearing exhaustion. This time, they could choose their own pace, but the results were still recorded. The runner who covered the most distance would be ranked first.
The players, including Sawamura, shot sharp glances at Coach Ochiai.
'The guy's methods were ruthless.'
Without competition, they could barely manage. With competition, everyone was pushed to their limits. It felt like torture.
After the running session came swing practice…
By 11:00 p.m., all training was finally over, and the Seidou High School players went to bed, utterly spent.
…