CHAPTER 78: CHAPTER 78: OATH

The night after the game against Kantou Number One.

After dinner and a bath, the exhausted players returned to their rooms to rest—following a gruelling battle with Kantou Number One, as the adrenaline faded away, the fatigue both physically and mentally started to surface, with many falling asleep the moment their heads touched the pillows.

The routine workout of swinging by the Mukogawa Riverbank after a bath had been strictly forbidden by Coach Izumi Minoru and Manager Sasaki—given the context of one game a day, this kind of ordinarily harmless or even beneficial exercise would only further harm the players now.

For the players of Waseda Jitsugyo, what they needed most right now was rest.

Lying on the tatami with energy still to spare, Lin Guanglai, having nothing to do, took out his NDS game console from his backpack—this is the handheld product currently promoted by Nintendo Company and is Lin Guanglai’s favorite pastime besides baseball.

For Lin Guanglai, whose life was mostly occupied by baseball, video games were his way of relaxation.

Speaking of Nintendo, this globally renowned gaming company also has an inseparable connection with baseball: besides numerous collaborations with Japanese Professional Baseball Teams to launch team-branded handheld products and producing a slew of baseball games, Nintendo is also the largest shareholder of the Seattle Mariners in the United States Major League Baseball, owning over 60% of the shares; perhaps due to this background, the Seattle Mariners have the most Japanese players in MLB and have integrated Eastern and Western baseball styles incredibly well.

Just as Lin Guanglai was engrossed in his game, the door of the room opened—with Coach Izumi Minoru and Tsuchiya Ryota accompanying him, Suzuki Kensuke returned after receiving some examinations at a professional hospital.

Seeing Lin Guanglai playing games, Coach Izumi Minoru didn’t say anything, just remarked, "Go to bed early," before turning and leaving.

"Captain, how’s your injury?" Looking at Suzuki Kensuke’s left hand still wrapped in bandages, Lin Guanglai asked.

Suzuki Kensuke replied, "The doctor said it won’t affect my future baseball career... but for this Koshien, I probably won’t have a chance to play again."

"Guanglai, the next games will be up to you and Saint. I will cheer for you from the sidelines."

While saying these words, Suzuki Kensuke’s demeanor wasn’t too downcast, he even had a smile on his face, as if he didn’t mind at all.

"Captain, aren’t you regretful?" A bit worried he was pretending to be strong, Lin Guanglai cautiously probed.

Upon hearing the junior’s question, Suzuki Kensuke couldn’t help but laugh, "Hahaha, why would you ask that?"

"Three years of hard work and only one game at Koshien, aren’t you regretful?"

Suzuki Kensuke patted the junior’s shoulder and then shook his head:

"I’m not regretful at all, Guanglai."

"I’m different from you—I consider myself not very talented and won’t become a professional or join a company team afterward."

"With so many high school students nationwide not even qualifying for Koshien, yet I’ve already completed a shutout on the pitch of the Holy Land—my dream has been fulfilled, I don’t have any regrets."

"If I had to say there’s any regret, it’s that I wish I could have pitched two more innings."

His gaze was honest, showing no hint of pretentiousness—but for some reason, the more Lin Guanglai looked at the captain’s indifferent look, the more uncomfortable he felt inside.

The captain was a good person, always taking good care of him as a junior, and never hid any of his methods for improvement or ways of holding the ball, always sharing them with everyone.

Lin Guanglai really wanted to do something for him.

After racking his brain, Lin Guanglai slowly said, "Captain, do you remember the history museum we visited when we first came?"

Suzuki Kensuke nodded, "Yes, why?"

"Do you remember the last exhibit we saw?"

"The champions’ flag of Summer甲."

As if making up his mind, Lin Guanglai declared his resolution firmly:

"Captain, I promise you! We won’t lose tomorrow’s game!"

"And... for the remaining matches, I’ll give it my all... though I can’t make any promises... I’ll do my best to win them all for you!"

"I hope that when we leave Koshien, it’s you who carries the crimson flag back to Tokyo!"

The adolescent’s vow was sincere and passionate—looking at the determined expression on Lin Guanglai’s face, Suzuki Kensuke nodded, responding with:

"Okay."

The next morning came.

In less than four hours, Waseda Jitsugyo would face their game in the quarter-final stage—the Sweet Sixteen matchup yielded results in just two days, and the eight teams moving on were determined.

The favored Tokai University Sagami High School easily knocked out Toki Commerce 3-0, with their ace pitcher Ichiyotai Shintaro throwing a complete game with a shutout to win;

In the battle between Holy Light Academy and Luzheng Society, despite Luzheng Society’s ace hitter Yamada Tetsuro hitting a home run, it was Holy Light Academy led by Hiroaki Suenai that had the last laugh—he struck out 10 batters throughout the game, completely suppressing Luzheng Society’s lineup;

The Fukuoka Representative, Nishinippon Junior College Daifu, lost 0-1 against the Niigata Representative, Niigata Meishun High School, with Niigata Meishun’s fifth batter Shihera Daisuke hitting a triple in the bottom of the sixth inning, becoming the game’s biggest hero;

Kagoshima Industries High School made a super comeback in the bottom of the ninth after trailing 3-7, successfully taking the game into extra innings—although they ultimately couldn’t secure a win, their tenacious spirit garnered genuine applause from the audience, and the Kumamoto Representative Kyushu Academy advanced to the quarter-finals;

The Chiba Representative Narita High School’s progression to the next round mirrored that of their upcoming opponent Waseda Industries—both started with a massive disadvantage, made a comeback in the top of the ninth, and ended with a score difference of just one run—6-5, Narita High School turned the tables against Shiga Representative Kita Otsu;

In front of the full audience, the Hyogo Representative and host Hodokusho Academy hit an impressive 20 hits in a 13-5 landslide victory over Sakagawa Academy, strongly advancing toward the title;

The last match of the third round saw the spring champion Konan High School face off against the Miyagi Representative Sendai Yuuying—Shimabukuro Hiroshi and Mukai Kenji, the two pitchers, each showcased their talents, one pitching a complete game with 10 strikeouts allowing 1 run, and the other pitching 4 and 2/3 innings with 6 strikeouts and no runs allowed, fully demonstrating the massive impact of the pitcher position—ultimately, Sendai Yuuying narrowly lost 1-4 to Konan, as Konan High School’s quest for consecutive spring and summer titles continued.

After today’s first match between Waseda Jitsugyo and Narita, Takano Ren will conduct the semi-final draw directly inside Koshien Stadium—at that time, the matchups for the semi-finals will be revealed.

Of course, for Waseda Jitsugyo, everything hinged on winning today’s game.