During the tournament, the first-string players of the Seidou High School baseball team continued their tradition of additional training, but the amount of extra training was greatly reduced.
This was a rule agreed upon by Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff. During the competition period, the players' primary tasks were to study their opponents, maintain their form, and conserve their energy to avoid injury...
Extra training was not forbidden, but it had to be done in moderation—too much could do more harm than good.
So, during this competition period, extra training for the first-string players was much less than usual.
Despite this, on the baseball field of Seidou High School, almost every moment of the day, one could see people training.
The most diligent were the first- and second-year players, who hoped to be promoted to the first-string once the third-year players bite the dust.
Although the third-year players hadn't retired yet, it still seemed too early to be considering these things.
However, these younger players didn't feel that way. They believed that if they didn't work harder now, they would fall behind.
So, each of them trained even harder.
There were also some third-year players who had already retired, but they hadn't completely left the team. During their study breaks, they still liked to come to the field to practice.
"These guys must be crazy. They don't even need to train anymore, yet they still want to suffer alongside us!"
Kuramochi looked at his former teammates with solemn eyes.
Although he said that, he actually understood them very well.
After all, having been on the team for so long, it felt weird to just suddenly stop.
In this situation, it wasn't surprising that they voluntarily came to train.
"They probably just can't accept it."
Miyuki said.
In the King of teams, they didn't get to wear the King's uniform and represent the school in a match.
For these third-year players, this might be a regret that they found hard to forget.
"Even if it's for those guys, we must win the championship."
For those third-year teammates who couldn't stay on the first string, what could the remaining players do?
They could only move forward together, carrying those teammates' dreams with them.
"Of course..."
Kuramochi nodded in agreement.
The championship was something Seidou had to win.
When Sawamura first visited the team, he boldly declared that he would lead the Seidou High School baseball team to create a legend.
At first, everyone thought he was just young and idealistic.
Although they didn't quite believe that Sawamura could do it, they still respected his fighting spirit.
Now, more than two years had passed, and they were getting closer and closer to the goal Sawamura had spoken about.
"We will succeed! Let history remember this era, the era of the Seidou High School baseball team." Maezono declared with enthusiasm.
Now, the members of the Seidou High School baseball team were united.
They believed they could do it, and they were certain they would.
Suddenly, Kuramochi noticed a figure in the crowd of people training.
"That guy, why is he training with us?"
In the corner of the team's dormitory area.
Kuramochi was looking angrily at his foreigner Kohai.
"I told you before, didn't I? During the competition period, don't push yourself too hard with extra training! Tell me, how long did you train today?"
Lee-Hyun, who was on the other side, looked like a child who had done something wrong.
He hesitated, unable to say anything.
"Speak!"
At that moment, Kuramochi was unusually stern.
Looking at the teammates who had worked hard with him, now retired, only able to practice baseball during their breaks.
Then, he looked at Lee-Hyun, who wasn't cherishing his opportunity on the first string.
Even though this guy was his personal Deshi, Kuramochi felt like strangling him.
Such a lack of self-respect.
"Anyway, I won't get a chance to play! I thought I could work harder during my rest time, and maybe I could close the gap with everyone."
After a long silence, Lee-Hyun finally spoke up.
Faced with Lee-Hyun's words, Kuramochi didn't know how to respond.
What Lee-Hyun said wasn't wrong. They really didn't have many opportunities.
This had already become an open secret in the Seidou High School baseball team.
The team had been so well-adjusted that for any official match, the lineup was always fixed.
Only this lineup could bring out the best strength of the Seidou High School baseball team.
Changing the lineup wasn't impossible, and it could yield some unexpected effects.
But to sacrifice the mature characteristics of Seidou High School's baseball team for a bit of unpredictability wasn't worth it.
In this case, unless Seidou High School's baseball team already had a huge advantage from the start and the opponent showed no signs of a comeback,
Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff would hardly give the substitutes a chance to play.
'This couldn't be helped...'
The high school baseball tournament was an elimination round—if you lose one match, it's over. There's no second chance.
In this situation, neither Coach Kataoka nor the coaching staff could afford to take risks.
Theoretically, there weren't many chances for the substitutes to play.
"No matter if there's a chance or not, you're now a first-string player, and you were promoted as a secret weapon. If you get injured because of overtraining and can't play when the team needs you, isn't that just causing trouble for the team?"
Unbeknownst to them, Sawamura had arrived behind them.
His tone was very calm as he spoke.
Hearing Sawamura's words, Kuramochi immediately nodded.
"Sawamura is right. Don't forget why you were selected for the first string. Don't forget your responsibility! Extra training is fine, but it must be done in moderation…"
Lee-Hyun looked ashamed.
He was just anxious. He thought that he wasn't qualified to stay on the first string.
He felt that there were many others in the second string, or even in the upperclassmen of the second and third years, who were better than him.
Even among the first-years, there were people far more capable than him.
In this situation, other people hadn't been promoted, but he had.
This made Lee-Hyun very uncomfortable.
He didn't like this feeling!
When he talked to his friends from the same program to express his frustrations, they kindly advised him.
"If you feel you're not qualified, then work hard to make yourself qualified."
This advice couldn't have been more appropriate.
If you feel unworthy of being on the first string, then work hard to bring your abilities up to the level of the Seidou first string.
Lee-Hyun agreed and decided to do so.
However, the timing he chose was a little off.
During this tournament period, extra training was definitely not the focus.
The main things were to maintain form and preserve energy...
And on the field, showcase the results of the training from the usual days.
This was the right approach.
It's like doing business; charging in blindly, just working hard, doesn't work.
Sometimes, you must stop, take a good look, and study the market.
Then, you can figure out what to do next.
Lee-Hyun, who had just joined the Seidou High School baseball team, didn't fully understand this logic yet.
But he did listen to Kuramochi and Sawamura's advice and went back to rest.
On the other side, Kuramochi and Sawamura also returned to their dorm.
[You Have A New Message!]
A voice prompt suddenly came from Sawamura's phone.
Sawamura opened it and found that it was from Narumiya Mei.
[The final is the day after tomorrow. Wash your neck and wait for us!]
Sending a message like this to the opponent before the match—this was something only Narumiya Mei would do.
Sawamura smiled and immediately called him back.
In the high school baseball world, there were only a few opponents that Sawamura really considered formidable.
Among them, Narumiya Mei was definitely the most important.
Sawamura could ignore provocations from others, but since this challenge came from Narumiya Mei...
Sawamura felt that he couldn't just pretend he didn't see it.
If the other side had sent a declaration of challenge, he had to respond.
"Moshi-Moshi!!"
On the other side of the call, Narumiya's voice sounded somewhat surprised.
Clearly, he didn't expect Sawamura to call him back directly.
"I heard that you want me to wash my neck and wait?"(I heard you're talking shit)
Sawamura didn't beat around the bush and directly spoke up.
On the other end, Narumiya was initially surprised but quickly adjusted.
"That's right! The game is the day after tomorrow, so you better be well-prepared. I don't want to see you crying after the game, saying you weren't prepared. So, I'm giving you a heads-up in advance. Am I not being a good guy?"
Narumiya spoke proudly as if the game was already in the bag for them.
"Looks like you guys are pretty well-prepared. You're so confident that you can hit my pitch out of the park. Just so you know, I've got a new breaking ball…"
Sawamura said.
Upon hearing that, Kuramochi, who was next to him, was dumbfounded.
It seemed like he was seeing Sawamura in a new light.
'This kid, was he on the wrong medication or something?'
Who would reveal their pitch information to the opponent before a match?
"I know. We watched your game in America! The new breaking ball is pretty impressive. Even from watching it on a screen, we can tell you put a lot of thought into it. But we've got our own tricks, too, I've also prepared a new breaking ball to counter you guys."
"Well, I'll be looking forward to it!"
"Likewise..."
"One last thing, no matter how well you guys prepared, we're definitely winning this game."
"Don't dream! We have already let you win twice before. This time, no way we're letting you win."
"Sounds like you really let us win the last time…"
The two exchanged friendly banter, neither giving an inch.
After hanging up, Sawamura fell into deep thought.
'What was Mei-san's real purpose in sending the text?'
'If it was just to show off, wouldn't that seem a bit childish?'
Over the past six months, from the Spring Tournament to the Kanto Tournament, the performance of the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team has been very strange. They didn't showcase much strength and were quickly eliminated after losing a game.
If it were any other team, Sawamura wouldn't pay much attention.
After all, luck is also part of strength. Some highly skilled teams get eliminated early due to bad luck, and that's nothing surprising.
For example, Seiko! They got eliminated in the first round last summer.
But with Inashiro, it's a different story.
In the current high school baseball scene, there are only a handful of teams that could really pose a threat to the Seidou High School baseball team. Sawamura counted them on one hand.
Without considering luck, injuries, or any outside factors, purely based on strength, with both teams giving their all, there were no more than five teams that had a real chance of beating Seidou High School.
And Inashiro Industrial High School was one of those five and the strongest among them.
Their team had the best integration, and their individual players were outstanding.
Even their star players outnumbered those of other teams.
The Spring Tournament might be an exception.
It could be said that they were just exhausted from overplaying during the Spring Koshien, which caused their defeat in the first round.
But the Kanto Tournament was different. By that time, Inashiro Industrial High School had made sufficient adjustments.
'There was no reason for them to be eliminated so quickly!'
Things like this don't happen without a reason.
Something about this situation felt odd.
Could it be that Inashiro Industrial High School intentionally gave up the Kanto Tournament?
It didn't seem likely since the Kanto Tournament was also very important for teams in Tokyo.
But what if it was true?
Then, the purpose behind Inashiro's actions would be far from simple.
Facing such a formidable opponent, even Sawamura Eijun couldn't afford to take things lightly.
The next day, aside from their basic training, the Seidou High School baseball team did nothing else.
They were having a meeting!
What was the purpose of the meeting?
In fact, there were two main objectives: one was to discuss and analyze something, and the other was to convey important information.
This meeting for the Seidou High School baseball team served both purposes.
Despite the fact that Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff had already formulated a tactical plan, they still allowed the players to discuss freely and come up with the best battle strategies on their own.
Only by doing this would they truly remember the plan and be able to fully execute it on the field.
As for Inashiro Industrial High School's baseball team...
The Seidou High School baseball team's players weren't at all unfamiliar with their opponent. In fact, they knew them almost like they knew themselves.
Even if they didn't come to any conclusions in this meeting, they wouldn't panic.
Because they had already deeply ingrained Inashiro's characteristics into their minds.
Even without any new intelligence, they could rely on their memories of past encounters to compete against them.
This gave them a huge confidence boost.
However, at this point, Watanabe raised an important question.
"Our understanding of Inashiro Industrial High School's baseball team only goes up to their defeat in the Kanto Tournament. Based on our observations, that match raises many doubts, and we can't treat it as legitimate intelligence. The real useful information is from their performance in the Spring Koshien."
At this point, Watanabe paused deliberately.
The eyes of the Seidou High School baseball team members all grew serious.
Inashiro's performance in the Spring Koshien left a deep impression on them. Though Seidou High School went on to win the championship that year, Inashiro's performance was nothing short of amazing.
They overcame many of the top teams in the country on their way to the final.
Their performance was so dominant that it made all the other teams submit one after another.
Had it not been for ace pitcher Narumiya Mei being too exhausted to perform at his best in the final, it was anyone's guess who would have emerged victorious.
Facing such an opponent, even the Seidou High School baseball team, confident in their own strength, could not afford to be careless.
There was no doubt that this was a tough opponent.
If they weren't careful, they could end up losing.
And the odds of that happening weren't small.
After hours of intense discussion, the Seidou High School baseball team seriously and thoroughly analyzed Inashiro Industrial High School's strengths.
Their strength was undeniable...
But Seidou High School had countermeasures.
When the soldiers come, we block them; when the water comes, we dam it.
Finally, Coach Kataoka made a concluding statement, which also conveyed the fighting spirit of the Seidou High School baseball team for this upcoming game.
"The game tomorrow will definitely turn into a fierce pitchers' duel."
There was no doubt about this.
In the match between Seidou High School and Inashiro Industrial High School, the key to winning or losing would come down to the big players: The Great Demon King Sawamura Eijun and Tokyo Prince Narumiya Mei.
For the players of both teams, their main task was to take down these two players.
Whoever could score off the opponent's Ace would gain the upper hand in the game.
That was indisputable.
"Are you confident?"
Coach Kataoka finally turned the topic to Sawamura.
Sawamura stood up, his expression unchanged, his tone calm.
"Totally, Boss."
Sawamura's reassurance was something the Seidou High School baseball team believed without question.
They trusted Sawamura, and they trusted their Ace's strength!!
And it was precisely because Sawamura Eijun, the "Demon King," was on their team that Seidou High School had managed to reach this point without a hitch.
If there was one player in the team whom everyone trusted the most, there was no doubt: it was Sawamura Eijun.
…