"Twenty round laps! Let's go!"
Following the coach's instructions, the Second Team players assisted the First String and began timing the warm-up runs.
"Ahhh!!!"
After finally joining the First String, Sawamura, Kominato, and Furuya were bursting with energy.
It was only their first day of joint training.
They still had no idea…
Just how terrifying this camp would be.
"Hehe, I usually drag tires during practice. This is nothing," Sawamura bragged proudly after finishing a lap.
Unfortunately for him—
Ushijima Wakatoshi happened to hear that.
"Oh?" Ushijima said lightly. "Then how long do you usually rest after twenty laps?"
"Huh?"
Sawamura blinked.
He had never really thought about it.
Without answering, Ushijima simply pointed to the player beside them.
"Break's over. Ninety seconds. Start the next set — one hundred base runs."
"WHAT?!"
Sawamura froze in horror.
Straight into the next drill?!
No rest?!
Even though he was shocked, he still forced himself to move.
This was First String training.
If you slacked off, you were only making excuses for yourself.
If he wanted to get stronger… if he wanted the ace number on the mound…
Then he had to endure it.
Meanwhile, Ushijima continued running calmly.
With his almost superhuman stamina, his endurance ranked among the best on the entire team.
"First-years, stop spacing out. Your turn!"
The Second Team players raised their stopwatches.
The three rookies dragged their exhausted bodies forward.
"But I haven't even rested yet…" Sawamura groaned.
Still—
they ran.
Kominato followed quietly.
Furuya stumbled after them like a zombie.
This was simply the standard for First String.
After finishing that hellish set, Sawamura stared blankly at the sky.
He began questioning the meaning of life.
"…This level of training is going to continue for a whole week?"
Furuya and Kominato shared the exact same thought.
Even Ushijima, who was also a first-year, was only lightly panting.
Compared to him, the three of them looked like they were on the verge of death.
The difference was terrifying.
"Alright, that's enough for today."
Coach Kataoka finally stepped forward.
The three nearly collapsed in relief.
Saved…!
Sawamura almost cried.
But then—
"Lastly, twenty laps around the field. Count loudly while you run. Show me your spirit."
"…Huh?"
Sawamura's soul left his body.
Twenty laps… at the end?!
He had stuffed himself during dinner earlier.
Now, after all this high-intensity training, nausea bubbled in his stomach.
Meanwhile, Furuya was already lying flat on the ground like a corpse.
"What's wrong?" the coach barked. "You three first-years already done?"
"Furuya, weren't you the one who said you wanted to be ace?"
"You think this is enough to become the ace of Seido?"
"Look at Ushijima. Same age as you — yet he trains the hardest out of everyone."
All three slowly turned to look.
Ushijima quietly wiped the sweat from his neck.
Then he spoke calmly.
"The standard First String daily training is…"
"Two hundred batted balls. Three hundred swings. Two hundred base runs. Forty laps. One hundred pitches."
They already knew that.
That was the regular workload.
But Ushijima continued.
"I wake up at 4 a.m. every day and run twenty kilometers."
"After normal practice, I also do 180 batting drill pitches with the starters… plus another 60 against Furuya, Kawakami, and Tanba."
Silence.
Everyone already knew his workload was insane.
But hearing the numbers out loud…
It still sounded ridiculous.
Even among First String, Ushijima trained the most.
No one could deny it.
Of course, with that kind of intensity, he also knew how to take care of his body.
Every other day, he went for muscle therapy and massage to recover.
All paid from his own pocket.
The team definitely wasn't covering that.
He frequently obtained U.S. dollars from the silver treasure chests he drew each week, so money was never an issue.
As long as it made him comfortable, Ushijima Wakatoshi felt it was worth it.
If it reduced fatigue, prevented injuries, and allowed him to recover faster, then the money was well spent.
"Monster…" Furuya muttered as he struggled to his feet.
"Start!" Coach Kataoka ordered.
The final twenty-lap run began.
And with that, the intensive training officially descended into pure torment.
After a full day of practice, some players still stayed behind for extra training — though most of them were Second Team members.
Ushijima Wakatoshi, meanwhile, returned to the dormitory, chatting casually and playing games with others.
The next day.
Morning training continued as usual.
"Phew…"
After completing his daily one-hour, twenty-kilometer run, Ushijima Wakatoshi finally let out a breath.
He changed clothes and immediately returned to the field.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The stadium echoed with the sound of batting.
Breakfast hadn't even happened yet.
This brutal schedule left the three first-year rookies feeling unbearably heavy.
Ushijima Wakatoshi was also a first-year.
But somehow, he didn't count.
With stamina bordering on inhuman, he handled the workload with ease.
"Ushijima…" Kominato asked quietly, "don't you ever get tired?"
"Hm?" Ushijima tilted his head. "It's fine. I started serious sports training back in middle school."
"And if you run twenty kilometers every morning for an hour, rain or shine, for two straight months…"
"Your stamina won't be bad."
He really should have kept that to himself.
Instead, it only earned him more resentment.
The three rookies exchanged helpless looks.
They were all first-years.
Yet the gap felt terrifying.
After breakfast, there was no rest.
Straight to class.
Ushijima Wakatoshi entered the classroom, planning to lie down and catch a short nap.
Before he could, the class monitor spoke up.
"Um… Ushijima, the math teacher couldn't come today."
"We were told to do self-study."
"But the exam's next month, right? There's only one month left."
"Your math scores are really good… could you help us review yesterday's quiz?"
Ushijima looked over in mild surprise.
The person speaking was Haruno Yoshikawa — a first-year in the same class, and also the team's female manager.
She was classmates with Ushijima, Sawamura, and Kanemaru.
Naturally, the others had asked her to approach him.
After all—
Ushijima Wakatoshi ranked first in math among all first-years.
Perfect scores.
Every time.
Monthly quizzes included.
"Alright," Ushijima said after a brief pause.
It wasn't a big deal.
So he agreed.