The opposing pitcher was replaced after the captain's Grand Slam, and the substitute pitcher managed to finish the fourth inning without giving up any more runs, though he did concede one run in the fifth. However, the Tsubaki Junior High offense couldn't score any runs against Jiro, ending the game after just five innings due to the mercy rule.
Result of the first round of the Tokyo tournament:
Shoto Junior High 12 X 1 Tsubaki Junior High
"Hey, you three, some of us are staying to watch the game that will determine our next opponent. You guys should stay and watch too." - Captain Kazuki said to the three friends who were chatting excitedly.
"Heh? Sorry, Captain, I've still got things to do." - Shun didn't want to stay and watch the game, but he didn't have the courage to just say no to the captain's face, so he came up with an excuse.
"Haha, me too!" - The young samurai Ren took advantage of the excuse and used the same one as Shun.
"I have plans to go out with Mio after the game, Captain, but I'm sure you'll do a great job analyzing our opponents." - Kenta felt two murderous glares directed at him as soon as he said the word "Mio".
"Ahh, right, see you at practice tomorrow then." - The captain sighed, he had already guessed that these three wouldn't want to stay and watch the game, and since they had performed excellently today, there was no reason to force them.
Kenta quickly fled as soon as he heard the captain's words. He had a date with a beautiful girl, and he didn't want to waste time with his two single friends.
"That bastard!" - Ren cursed when he saw Kenta running off quickly.
"I'm going to see my mom and sister. See you tomorrow." - Shun said despondently. He was still a little shaken by seeing his friend go on a date while he had no one.
"Hm, see you tomorrow." - The young samurai said with his head down as he headed home to rest.
Shun left the stadium while sending a message on his phone. After walking for a while, he spotted his mother and little sister standing and waving at him.
"Bro!" - Little Yumi came running towards Shun the moment she saw him.
"Hey Yumi! Did you enjoy the game?" - Shun gave a big smile when he saw the little girl running towards him. He hugged her and picked her up.
"Hm! Bro was amazing!" - The little girl nodded cutely while speaking with a smile.
"It was a great game, Shun. The whole team played well. It seems you weren't lying when you told your dad that you intended to win the Kanto tournament, huh?" - Aiko said with a smile. She was proud to see her son playing so well, but what made her happiest was the smile on the boy's face.
"Of course! We're going to win it all, Mom!" - Shun was very happy when he heard his mother's words. His smile grew even bigger as he continued holding little Yumi.
The three of them returned home, but before Shun took a bath, he went to the backyard to finish his daily training. After two hours, the boy heard the system notification in his head and tiredly climbed the stairs towards the bathroom.
* Splash *
Shun entered the bathtub, exhausted, and quickly opened his daily mission rewards.
[Do you want to open the Bronze Mystery Box?
Yes/No]
"Yes!"
[You obtained 1 bronze arena pass]
[Do you want to open the Bronze Mystery Box?
Yes/No]
"Yes!"
[You obtained 1 bronze arena pass]
"Ahh, I really need to check out this arena after dinner." - Shun sighed after winning those arena passes again. His curiosity about this arena kept growing, and if it weren't for his even greater hunger, he would have laid down right then and activated rest mode to satisfy his curiosity.
Shun got out of the bath and got dressed. He quickly went downstairs and headed to the kitchen. At this point, Shun's stomach was almost growling on its own from the hunger he was feeling.
"Hey Shun!" - Shun's twin sister, Mika, was sitting at the kitchen table.
"Hey Mika! How was the game today?" - Shun smiled at his sister and asked casually.
"Eh? It was great, we won by 4 runs!" - Mika was surprised, this was the first time Shun had asked her anything about Tokyo Nakano since he left the team.
"Oh really? That's great!" - Shun replied without thinking much about it. He hadn't realized it himself, but his trauma from being replaced and discarded by the team was slowly disappearing.
"Bro!" - Shun quickly heard an excited shout as he saw little Yumi jumping towards him.
"Hehe, Yumi, don't run in the kitchen, or Mom will scold you." - Shun picked up his little sister while pinching her cheeks.
"Hm!" - The little girl nodded cutely, but her mischievous smile showed that she wasn't the least bit sorry.
"Sit down, let's eat!" - Aiko said as she placed the food on the table. Her husband was away for work, so it would be just the four of them for dinner tonight.
Shun quickly placed his sister in her chair while he sat down as well. The boy was looking at the food like a hungry puppy, if it weren't for his mother being there, he would have attacked the food with his bare hands without a hint of manners.
"How was your game, Shun?" - Mika asked as she served herself.
"It was good, we won!" - Shun had already started devouring his food when his sister asked, so he quickly replied without bothering to finish chewing.
"Eat with your mouth closed, Shun!" - Aiko scolded her son for his lack of manners.
"Yes, ma'am!" - Shun felt chills all over his body and swallowed the food quickly before speaking.
The four of them continued eating and chatting. Shun ate as much as he could before heading up to his room. He brushed his teeth quickly and threw himself on the bed.
[DING]
[Rest mode activated]
[The user can access rest mode functions]
"Arena!" - Shun shouted inside his head.
[DING]
[Entering the Arena]