Baseball: A Two-Way Player-Chapter 329 - 182: Intensive Training Camp

"Hmm... this should be the right address..."

After checking the information stored on his smartphone and confirming he was in the right place, Lin Guanglai walked straight ahead and pushed open the door to the building.

About a week had passed since the end of the Senbatsu High School Baseball Tournament. Lin Guanglai had received an invitation from the Japan U18 team to participate in the U18 National Youth Team’s intensive training camp here.

The primary reason for hosting this intensive training camp is that, after missing out on 4 consecutive tournaments, the Japan National Youth Team will compete in the U18 World Championship this summer for the first time in 8 years.

As a "Baseball Kingdom" teeming with talent, Japanese baseball has yet to win the U18 World Championship, with the best result being the runner-up position achieved by the team led by Yongjing Xiuzhang in 2004.

Therefore, the nation holds great expectations for this batch of players represented by Lin Guanglai, Ohtani Shohei, and Fujinami Jintaro, hoping that this "Golden Generation," dubbed the "strongest U18 ever," will conquer the event and bring home the trophy for Japan.

Considering the differences between international competitions and high school baseball events, and the fact that the selected players may not be well acquainted with each other, Takano Ren planned this intensive training camp during the period after the Senbatsu and preceding the following regional tournaments. The main goal is to help the team bond; by the time the Summer League concludes in August, the team will officially gather and head to Korea to compete.

As soon as Lin Guanglai walked through the door, he saw several familiar faces—some Osaka Tsubaki players clad in black and white uniforms were gathered together, chatting and laughing, appearing happy.

Indeed, they had reason to be joyful: they fought fiercely for 13 innings to defeat Waseda Jitsugyo 2-1, reaching the Senbatsu finals for the first time in their school’s history. Then in the finals, they swept away Koushing Academy, which reached the Koshien finals for the second consecutive time, 7-3, becoming the biggest winners of this spring.

Standing directly opposite the entrance, Fujinami Jintaro was the first to notice Lin Guanglai’s arrival, extended his hand in greeting, and his teammates Tandate Ryoki and Mizuhara Gakuto turned around to greet him afterward.

After nodding slightly as a gesture, Lin Guanglai walked towards their direction.

"Congratulations to you guys, winning Senbatsu must feel great, right?" He extended his hand in the direction of the Osaka Tsubaki trio, expressing his congratulations.

Judging from Osaka Tsubaki’s performance in Senbatsu, they indeed deserved every accolade. The opponents over five matches included teams led by two super geniuses and three A Level schools; even in historical context, it was incredibly high-caliber.

Osaka Tsubaki’s captain Mizuhara Gakuto chuckled and responded, "Indeed, as the captain, holding up the victory flag felt really good—that feeling, I feel like I’ll remember it for a lifetime."

His words resonated with his nearby teammates, who clearly agreed with their captain’s statement; the experience of winning at Koshien is unmatched.

Looking around, Lin Guanglai noticed that Osaka Tsubaki’s first-year catcher Mori Yuuya hadn’t shown up—despite having been included in this year’s U18 roster.

"By the way, where’s your team’s catcher?"

Upon hearing this question, Fujinami Jintaro shrugged and replied helplessly, "Sorry, we’re not quite sure either—Mori is just that kind of person; besides coach Nishitani, nobody can really control him on the team."

Lin Guanglai nodded, understanding—after all, in this training camp, he was a pitcher while Mori Yuuya was a catcher; they would inevitably train together, so greeting could wait.

After chatting a bit more with the Osaka Tsubaki group, Lin Guanglai bade them goodbye and went, with the help of the staff, to find his room.

The dormitory for this training camp was set up with two people per room. By the time Lin Guanglai entered, his roommate had already arrived; he placed his luggage down and looked over at the familiar baby-faced person lying on the bed:

Wearing a gray Hanamaki East uniform, Ohtani Shohei held a bag of chips in his left hand and a Slam Dunk manga in his right, enjoyably immersed in leisure—in front of him, on the nightstand, sat a bottle of cola.

"Pffft—"

Seeing the somewhat comical scene before him, Lin Guanglai couldn’t help but laugh out loud—only then did Ohtani Shohei, who was engrossed in reading, realize someone had arrived, hurriedly tossing the manga and chips aside before promptly hopping off the bed.

Realizing it was Lin Guanglai who had arrived, Ohtani Shohei felt a bit embarrassed, especially since the other continued to crack up.

"Mr. Lin, is it really that funny?" Ohtani Shohei asked, slightly aggrieved.

After laughing for a while, Lin Guanglai finally regained his composure, wiped the tears from his eyes, and said earnestly:

"Sorry, Mr. Ohtani, it’s my bad—honestly, I thought someone like you would constantly focus all your energy on baseball!"

Ohtani Shohei rolled his eyes and then couldn’t help but laugh himself: "No way, what do you guys even think of me!"

"I watched the documentary the TV station made about you—at least in my view, you’re very serious. Also, we’re peers; by age, I’m actually a bit younger than you, so just call me Guanglai."

"Then you can call me Shohei—though documentaries are factual, there’s always some artistic editing; no matter how much I like baseball, I can’t hold onto it 24/7, right? In downtime, everyone needs some personal hobbies..."

Saying this, Ohtani Shohei suddenly seemed to think of something; his gaze swept over Lin Guanglai a few times, asking:

"Guanglai, I watched your game in the Senbatsu semi-finals, your performance was amazing—you were pretty roughed up, weren’t you injured?"

Lin Guanglai shook his head and waved his hand somewhat helplessly:

"I went straight to check after the match; the doctor said it’s nothing serious, just the muscles on my shoulders and arms are quite fatigued—so I haven’t been back on the mound since the end of Senbatsu."

"Gee, Mr. Fujinami just claimed Senbatsu, and you’ve won almost everything available... So among us, it seems I’ve fallen behind..."

Saying this, the tone in Ohtani Shohei’s voice darkened, but he quickly adjusted and said, full of confidence:

"But I won’t give up so easily! This summer, let’s meet at Koshien! At the last summer during high school, let’s have a good showdown—I’ve never forgotten last year’s loss to you guys!"

Seeing him so fired up, Lin Guanglai’s competitive spirit was ignited too; he extended his hand towards Ohtani Shohei: "Let’s make a promise, Shohei—if either of us fails to keep it, next time we meet, they owe the other a meal!"

"It’s a deal!"

"It’s a deal!"

"By the way, Shohei, do you have LINE? Let’s add each other as friends for easier contact..."