Time flew by, and before anyone realized it, March had arrived.
Nearly five years had passed since Kitamura Kou reincarnated.
Now a first-year high school student, Kou had already regained strength comparable to his second-year self from his previous life.
And he was confident that in the few months leading up to the Summer Tournament, he would grow even stronger.
Kitamura Kou's Current Abilities
Height: 178 cm
Weight: 69 kg
Pitching Arsenal:
Four-Seam Fastball
Maximum velocity: 155 km/h
At 150 km/h or below, Kou could control the pitch precisely, hitting any of the nine strike zones.
When throwing above 150 km/h, control dropped sharply; he could barely keep the ball inside the strike zone.
If he used his full power, the pitch had a high chance of becoming a wild pitch.
Forkball
Maximum velocity: 150 km/h
At 145 km/h or below, Kou could target the nine zones accurately.
Above 145 km/h, he could only manage the four corners.
Two-Seam
Maximum velocity: 150 km/h
Control allowed him to barely hit the four corners.
Cutter
Maximum velocity: 150 km/h
At 145 km/h or below, Kou could target the nine zones.
Above 145 km/h, he could only aim for the four corners.
As for the Changeup and Slider, Kou had only recently begun practicing them. Due to limited training time and physical energy, they were not yet reliable weapons in real games.
Regarding the Slurve—his secret weapon from his previous life—Kou deliberately avoided practicing it for now.
His current body was still developing, and the slurve placed significant strain on the elbow.
He had no intention of risking a career-ending injury this early.
Batting Ability
When it came to batting, Kou was equally confident.
Thanks to:
his exceptional dynamic vision,
experience from his previous life,
countless hours practicing at the Tsukishima Batting Center since the age of three,
and more scientific training methods after reincarnation,
Kou believed that even against Raichi Todoroki, he would not fall behind.
He might even hold a slight advantage.
April — The Season of Cherry Blossoms
Cherry blossoms drifted gently through the air.
Groups of students in brand-new uniforms walked together along the road, chatting excitedly.
Among them were Kitamura Kou and Tsukishima Wakaba, both wearing their new school uniforms as they walked toward Yakushi High School.
Just as they passed through the school gate—
"Morning!"
A familiar voice called out from behind.
"Morning," Kou replied, turning around.
It was Nakanishi.
"Did you bring the club registration form?" Nakanishi asked eagerly.
"Yeah, I brought it."
"You have to join the baseball team this time," Nakanishi said nervously.
Kou smirked.
"As long as no one suddenly decides to punch a senior again."
"Uh..."
Nakanishi immediately looked extremely embarrassed.
"Alright, Kou, stop teasing him," Wakaba said with a gentle laugh.
"There aren't any nasty seniors here."
"Good morning, Nakanishi, Kitamura, Tsukishima-san."
Another voice joined the conversation.
"Morning, Akaishi-kun," Wakaba greeted politely.
"Akaishi? You joined Yakushi too?" Kou asked.
"Yeah!" Akaishi Osamu nodded.
"I heard from Nakanishi that you guys were enrolling here to play baseball together, so I decided to come as well."
"Alright, we can talk later!" Nakanishi suddenly interrupted.
"If we don't hurry, we'll be late!"
After School
After a sleep-inducing entrance ceremony and a long series of tedious introductions, the first day of school finally came to an end.
"Kou! Hurry up and come with me to submit the baseball club application!"
Nakanishi said excitedly.
The two of them had been placed in the same class.
"Relax, I won't bail on you this time," Kou replied lazily.
"Wakaba, you don't have to wait for us. We might be busy for a while."
"I need to head back to the café anyway," Wakaba said with a smile.
"Sister Ichiyō might not be able to handle everything alone."
Before Kou could reply, Nakanishi had already dragged him out of the classroom.
Yakushi High Baseball Field
The baseball field wasn't particularly large.
Around fifteen to twenty players were already practicing.
Their skills might not have been extraordinary, but their eyes were filled with passion for baseball.
Everyone trained seriously.
Among them, the most eye-catching player was undoubtedly Raichi Todoroki.
"Kahahaha! Kahahaha!"
Raichi swung his oversized bat with terrifying force.
The whistling sound of the bat cutting through the air could be heard from far away.
At the edge of the field, a scruffy middle-aged man lazily picked his nose.
"Raichi!"
"Don't stop until you've swung a thousand times!"
"If you don't finish, there's no dinner tonight!"
It was none other than Raizo Todoroki.
Raichi glared at his unreliable father with resentment.
Even so, he continued swinging.
"Whoa, Coach! You're at it again!" Yuta Mishima complained from nearby.
"Shut it!" Raizo roared.
"Mishima, you brat! Have you finished your own training yet?!"
Then Raizo walked over to Raichi and spoke earnestly.
"Raichi… your old man owes a lot of money."
"So from now on, I'm counting on you—and that bat—to pay it back!"
Raichi's patience finally snapped.
His anger exploded.
Another daily scene of father-son 'bonding' unfolded in front of the entire team.
"Oh man… this really brings back memories," Kou muttered.
The father and son froze when they heard his voice.
Raizo turned around.
"Cough, cough!"
"So it's you, Kitamura-san!"
He rushed over excitedly to Kou, Nakanishi, and Akaishi.
"You actually enrolled in Yakushi High!"
"Now there's finally hope that my debts will be paid off!"
Raizo burst into emotional tears.
Raichi also rushed over, gripping his special bat tightly.
"Kahahaha!"
"I want to hit it!"
"I'm going to hit it out!"
His eyes burned with competitive spirit.
"Hey, hey, Raichi," Raizo said hurriedly.
"You'll have plenty of chances later."
"Go back to training."
"Don't disturb me and my cash cow—ah, I mean Kitamura-san."
He waved Raichi, Mishima, Kazuma Akiba, and the others away.
The players responded by giving Raizo a collective look of disgust and flipping him off before returning to practice.
Once the crowd dispersed, Kou and his friends handed over their club applications.
"Coach, here are our applications."
Raizo happily accepted them.
"No problem, no problem!"
"You can look around the field… or start training right now if you want!"
"Hahaha! Today is truly a wonderful day!"
His excitement still hadn't faded.
Kou quickly made an excuse.
"Actually, we still have some things to prepare."
"We'll come back tomorrow."
"Oh? Alright!"
Raizo waved enthusiastically.
"Be careful on the way home!"
"See you tomorrow!!!"
His somewhat sleazy voice echoed behind them as they left the field.