The Old Baseball Player System

[Why the hell are you hesitating, kid?! You haven\'t even given up a run yet! Stop being a bitch and get back in the game!] - The old man\'s voice echoed in Shun\'s mind, causing the boy\'s eyes to widen in shock.

Shun didn\'t respond to the old man. Instead, he looked at the faces of his friends standing on the mound with him. He could see the worried looks of Kenta, Ren, and Daigo. Even though he couldn\'t see them, he could feel the concerned gazes of Jiro in right field and Sora in the dugout, along with all the other players from Shoto Junior High.

Beyond his teammates\' worried looks, Shun could sense the concerned faces of his family in the stands. He imagined his mother\'s worried expression, his sister\'s sadness, and even his grandfather\'s disappointment.

\'How pathetic!\' - Shun clenched his fists tightly, cursing himself in his mind. He realized how many people cared about him and how he was letting them all down by acting so pathetically.

"Yes, Coach! Please let me continue!" - Shun looked into his coach\'s eyes and spoke with determination, feeling that if he didn\'t overcome this now, he might never get the chance again.

"Looks like you\'re doing fine, hehe!" - Coach Yamada said with a smile, stepping forward and getting closer to Shun.

"We\'re counting on you!" - Coach Yamada said as he placed his hand on Shun\'s shoulder. After observing the determined expression on the boy\'s face, he turned and began walking back to the dugout.

At that moment, Coach Yamada made a bet. Even though he had two other great pitchers ready to enter the game, he decided to bet on Shun. He chose to trust the boy who had trained harder than anyone on the team, the boy who not only dedicated himself to improving but also helped his teammates get much better.

Shun watched his coach return to the dugout and felt the weight of the trust that had been placed in him. Shun promised himself that he wouldn\'t let that trust be in vain.

"Hey Daigo, here\'s the plan for the next duel..." - Shun then approached Daigo and started explaining his plan for facing Aoba\'s cleanup hitter.

"Huh? Senpai, are you sure?" - Daigo asked hesitantly, unable to understand how Shun\'s mind worked. His senpai was clearly struggling in this inning, yet he wanted to try new things in a bases-loaded, no-out situation.

"Hehe, don\'t worry! Just focus on catching the pitches." - Shun said with a smile, giving Daigo a tap on the chest with his glove.

"Hey man, are you really okay?" - Kenta asked worriedly, looking at Shun.

"Huh? You\'re worrying about the wrong person. If you have that much free time, focus on hitting something..." - Shun replied with a teasing smile.

"What?" - Kenta exclaimed in shock. He hadn\'t expected Shun to say something like that out of nowhere. Even though he was a little irritated, he was relieved to see Shun joking around as usual, it seemed like the boy was back to his normal self.

"Hahaha, he\'s right, Kenta! You haven\'t hit anything today..." - The young samurai Ren couldn\'t hold back his laughter after hearing Shun\'s comment.

"You bastard! Who are you to talk?" - Kenta snapped angrily, glaring at Ren. If they weren\'t in the middle of a game, he probably would\'ve lunged at the young samurai\'s neck.

"Hahaha, alright, alright. Now get your dirty feet off my mound. Time to go, shoo, shoo!" - Shun said with a smile, gesturing for his teammates to leave the mound.

"Tch!" - Kenta grumbled irritably as he walked back to his position.

"You better not make me come back here, you bastard..." - Ren muttered angrily. If Shun wasn\'t pitching for his team, he might have hoped for the boy to get hit so he\'d learn a lesson. But since Shun was his pitcher, all Ren could do was return to his position, annoyed.

The first basemen also returned to their positions, leaving only Daigo on the mound with Shun. Daigo looked carefully at his senpai before sighing and walking back to home plate. Even though he had his doubts, he hoped that Shun\'s plan for this duel would work.

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Meanwhile, in the stands...

"Mom, bro will be okay, right?" - Little Yumi looked at her mother, worried.

"Hm, he\'ll be fine, dear." - Aiko said with a smile, trying to reassure her daughter. But deep down, she didn\'t know if Shun could get out of this situation. She understood very well that this was an extremely complicated moment for her son.

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"Come on, kid, it\'s in moments like these that you show what you\'re made of!" - Grandpa Jack said with a smile, watching the field eagerly. As a baseball coach, he knew that it was in situations like this where players revealed their true talents. After all, even a diamond only shines after it\'s polished.

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"You\'re not switching pitchers in a situation like this? Well, looks like I\'ll have to teach you a lesson." - The boy with glasses stepped into the batter\'s box with fire in his eyes. He couldn\'t help but think that Shoto Junior High was underestimating him by leaving Shun on the mound in a situation like this.

Shun was clearly having control issues, and with the bases loaded and no outs, keeping him on the mound against Aoba\'s cleanup hitter was definitely a risky strategy. Especially considering that Shoto\'s offense hadn\'t managed to get anything going against Aoba\'s ace so far in this game.

"If you give up a walk, focus on the next batter! If you give up a hit, focus on the next batter!" - Shun repeated the old man\'s words in his head as he stared at the fourth hitter in the box. He felt the adrenaline surge through his body as all the pressure of the moment mounted.