Watching those two idiots, Kanzaki Ryou helplessly covered his face and looked toward Coach Kataoka.
This was clearly the perfect moment to make an example—and those two clowns had walked straight into the firing line.
Sure enough.
Sawamura, who was late and tried to sneak into the formation, was grabbed by the collar by Coach Kataoka and unceremoniously thrown out, sentenced to run laps until the end of morning practice.
As for the dark-bellied catcher and Sawamura's two equally dark-hearted roommates, they were not spared either.
Watching the four figures running under the morning sunlight, Kanzaki Ryou felt extremely satisfied.
Serves you right.
An hour and a half of morning practice passed quickly.
Kanzaki Ryou stood beside Takashima Rei, bat resting on his shoulder.
"Rei-chan," he said in a low voice, suddenly shrinking behind her, "I always feel like someone wants to assassinate me."
Takashima Rei rolled her eyes. "What are you hiding for? Your juniors are practically worshipping you. What's there to be afraid of?"
"But their eyes look like they want to eat me," Kanzaki Ryou said seriously. "I'm scared~"
"You're just fooling around. Hurry up and eat and don't bother me," Takashima Rei said impatiently, turning to leave. She hadn't had breakfast yet either.
"Hehe." Kanzaki Ryou grinned and deliberately followed behind her to tease.
In the cafeteria, Kanzaki Ryou and Miyuki found seats and sat down with their trays.
Kanzaki Ryou had only taken a few bites when he saw Sawamura stagger in through the door.
Because he had begun training half a year earlier, the punishment run hadn't completely destroyed him. But—
After learning about Seido's cafeteria rule of three full bowls of rice, Sawamura was instantly defeated.
This was not part of his training plan!
"Kanzaki-senpai, can I sit here?"
Arima Kazusa walked over, bright and energetic like a little sun.
"You can," Kanzaki Ryou replied, nodding.
Then he glanced at Arima Kazusa's tray.
Almost all vegetables.
"…Eat more meat."
Arima Kazusa stiffened slightly. "…Eh?"
"You have to eat meat—and a lot of it," Kanzaki Ryou said seriously. "Otherwise, you won't be able to keep up with training. At all."
Seeing Kanzaki Ryou's solemn expression, Arima Kazusa had no choice but to force a bitter smile and go get food.
When he returned, there were three chicken drumsticks piled neatly on his plate.
Tears welled in Arima Kazusa's eyes.
Kanzaki Ryou nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. Young man, you have a future."
Soon, most of the first-year freshmen were completely tormented by the three-bowl rice rule.
Before leaving the cafeteria, Kanzaki Ryou walked up behind Sawamura and patted his shoulder.
"Aniki~" Sawamura turned his head pitifully. He was truly stuffed to the brink.
"Stop howling," Kanzaki Ryou said calmly. "Go apologize to the Coach after you finish eating. Don't blame me for not warning you."
Miyuki, standing nearby, covered his mouth and laughed. "We already went."
"Huh?" Sawamura blinked. "Why?"
"You don't seriously think being late on the first day doesn't require an apology, do you?"
Kanzaki Ryou was too lazy to explain further.
Just as he was about to leave—
"Senior."
A calm voice sounded.
Furuya Satoru stood stiffly in front of him. Then, with a sharp motion, he bent forward at a perfect ninety-degree bow.
Thwack.
"Mhm," Kanzaki Ryou said mildly. "Furuya Satoru, right? First time meeting in person."
"Yes," Furuya replied. "Senior, I have a request."
Kanzaki Ryou frowned slightly. "Say it."
"I want to see your pitching with my own eyes."
The cafeteria fell silent.
Second- and third-year students paused mid-bite, looking over in surprise. The freshmen inhaled sharply—this guy was bold.
Kanzaki Ryou curled his lips into a smile.
"There will be a chance," he said calmly. "What you should do now is finish your meal."
"…."
Furuya's eyes instantly turned blank.
Seeing this, he slowly turned his head toward Miyuki.
"Let's go," Kanzaki Ryou said quickly, grabbing Miyuki by the collar and dragging him out.
After breakfast and a short rest, formal training began.
Second- and third-years moved to B Field, while the freshmen gathered on A Field for testing.
Remembering Kanzaki Ryou's words, the moment Sawamura spotted Coach Kataoka, he rushed over at full speed—
Then dropped to his knees with terrifying smoothness.
Bang!
His forehead hit the ground.
"Hiss—"
"So shameless."
"I'm impressed."
"That was amazing."
Teammates exclaimed from all sides.
Even Coach Kataoka was startled. He had intended to give Sawamura a small punishment—but this public apology blocked him completely.
After a long pause, Coach Kataoka finally spoke.
"Starting today, add five kilometers of running before morning practice every day."
Sawamura looked up in shock, then shouted joyfully, "Arigato gozaimasu!!!"
On B Field, Kanzaki Ryou watched the scene and shook his head, speechless.
He resumed swinging his custom bat.
"Hoo—ha!"
"Hoo—ha!"
The weighted bat cut through the air again and again.
After more than a hundred swings, Kanzaki Ryou felt no soreness at all—only a slight pressure building around his waist.
This thing really works.
"Kanzaki."
Kanzaki Ryou turned around.
Kawakami walked over, baseball in hand.
"What's up?" Kanzaki Ryou asked.
Kawakami scratched his head shyly. "During batting practice later… could you try hitting my pitch?"
"No problem," Kanzaki Ryou nodded. "How's your new pitch coming along?"
Kawakami smiled. "The curveball feels… manageable."
Last year at the Jingu Tournament, Kawakami's slider and sinker had already shown excellent results.
As a sidearm pitcher, those two pitches fully exploited the width of the strike zone—especially the sinking ball, which moved inward and dropped sharply, creating terrifying horizontal deception.
But against national-level opponents, it still wasn't enough.
That was why Kanzaki Ryou had suggested adding a curveball—to give him true vertical variation.
Kanzaki Ryou looked toward the mound, eyes calm and focused.
This year… Seido will be even stronger.