What do you mean by that?
"Literal meaning!"
Admit it, Harada-san!
You don't make a living based on your looks!
"Well!
...Inside! Sendou! "
"What's wrong?"
"After receiving your ball, I suddenly didn't want to play professionally anymore!"
"Ha?"
"How about forming a pitching and catching duo at university?"
"Give up! I don't even know which university I'll be applying to!"
However, the likelihood of attending a school with a good academic atmosphere is relatively high; perhaps she'll study abroad!
"...! Soga!"
"However! Maybe I'll go pro someday!"
Harada-san, you'd better work hard before that happens!
Otherwise, you won't be able to keep up with me!
"That's true!" Harada heard Coach Nakanishi's evaluation of Sendou again.
"Let's go back! Let's go eat first!"
No matter what, they called you out during the preparation phase!
My treat!
"That's more like it! I'm going to eat my fill now!"
Don't be scared!
In the end, the two did not go to the movie as previously agreed.
After finding a restaurant and having a meal, we prepared to part ways.
"Then I'll head back! Thank you for dinner!"
Harada-san!
"I had a pretty good day!" Sendou said goodbye to Harada outside the train before it started moving.
"I'm the one who should be thanking them!"
I've been looking forward to this " Strategies of the Warring States " for a long time!
"Well then! See you later!"
"Ah! Koshien... Good luck!"
We absolutely must reach the top!
"I will try my best!"
As soon as Sendou finished speaking, the car door closed, and the two waved to each other through the glass.
" Sendou! You're back!"
"Are you happy today?" Sendou saw Sawamura as soon as he entered Seishin Dormitory.
"Yeah! I'm really happy!"
I was even treated to a lavish meal!
"Haha! The training you've cut back on these past few days has greatly narrowed the gap between us!" Sawamura suddenly changed the subject.
"Really? I'm looking forward to it!" Sendou said and then ignored him.
"Hmm? Aren't you curious about just how much I've evolved?" Sawamura saw Sendou trying to run away and immediately chased after him.
"What happened?"
"Hahaha! As expected of the Sendou! My Close Friend!"
Actually, I wanted to pitch, but Senior Chris needed to study the opponents in Koshien!
Miyuki Kazuya rejected me again!
"Who cares about you? If you have all the energy, go for a run!"
I'm so sleepy from the long bus ride! I'm going to Hyogo Prefecture tomorrow!
Although there will be almost a week without matches, I need to adapt to the environment as soon as possible!
"Please! I really want to throw the ball right now!" Sawamura saw Sendou trying to leave and immediately grabbed his clothes with both hands and started crying! (The same action he took when he grabbed Kanemaru Mama during his first final exam.)
"Let go of me!"
"Please!" Sawamura cried so pitifully!
"Really!"
I know, I can't do anything with you!
"Haha! You really are my Close Friend!"
I love you!"
"It's so noisy! Wait for me to get my gloves! You wait in the Indoor Practice Field!"
"Mmm!" Sawamura was unusually well-behaved, just like a Shiba Inu.
When Sawamura starts to act cute, he becomes incredibly stubborn and unyielding; no matter how much you hit, scold, or persuade him, nothing works...
Of course, Sawamura will only do this with Sendou for now, after all, the two have been friends for six years and their families have been friends for three generations.
Sawamura treated Sendou's family like his own home.
"Ugh! Seriously! This and that are all baseball idiots!" Sendou sighed and walked towards his dorm room.
"I'm back!"
Welcome back!
" Watanabe-san! Good evening!" Sendou noticed that Watanabe was the only one in the dormitory. He figured that Miyauchi-senpai was probably practicing with Senior Tanba somewhere.
"It looks like you and Harada-san are having a good chat!"
"No, in the end we still talked about baseball!"
"That guy's a baseball idiot too!" Sendou replied, rummaging through his things.
What are you looking for?
"Catcher's gloves! Found them!"
"Did Sawamura pester you to catch the ball?" Watanabe-senpai knew very well that Sendou wasn't someone anyone could just order around.
"Ugh! There's nothing I can do with that idiot!"
"It's better to try to make him take fewer shots!"
Although we had a bye in the first round, it will still be tough if we go all the way to the end!
He's a vital asset to our forces!
"I understand! I'll control him!"
Well then, I'll head out now!
Aside from Captain Tetsu, the only unknown aspect of the team's starting lineup is the combination of Seidou Batting Lineup. Coach Kataoka will be considering trying more subtle changes in the next few days.
Since it's not a major adjustment, it shouldn't have any negative impact on the team.
The battle with Inajitsu still exposed some problems.
For example, Kuramochi reach rate. Although Oni-san usually takes over the batting duties, he still doesn't put enough pressure on the opponent when he gets on base.
As a result, the situation was never good when Captain Tetsu came on.
If they can put pressure on Inajitsu every time they reach base, Captain Tetsu's batting average in the final might be higher.
"Hahaha! You're here!" Sawamura was unusually excited when Sendou walked into the Indoor Practice Field.
There were quite a few people inside, mainly pitchers, and the Kominato brothers were using Ball Net.
"Hey! Sendou! Are you planning to catch that kid's ball?" Miyuki leaned over and asked in a low voice.
"Um!"
"He's been practicing a lot lately..."
Don't worry!
"... Hey! Eijun! Twenty balls at most!"
"Ah? A little more, please!"
"I'm going back!"
"Please wait!!!"
Sendou!!!
Twenty goals will do! Twenty goals!
"I've changed my mind! Ten balls!"
"Ten!... Okay! Ten balls it is!" Sawamura, who was about to object, saw Sendou turn around to leave and quickly agreed. He knew that with so many people around, his tough-guy tactics would be useless.
"As expected, this idiot needs to be dealt with by being arrogant!" Miyuki muttered to himself.
"I heard that!" Sendou suddenly said.
"Haha! Sorry, sorry!" Miyuki scratched the back of his head and said with an apologetic smile.
"You specifically called me out here, what kind of shot do you want to practice? Carter? Diagonal Fastball?"
"I want to practice Low Ball to the outside corner! I, Sawamura, must learn the Ball Trajectory Senior Chris!"
Sendou was displeased upon hearing Sawamura's words. "I was the one who taught him..."
But, Senior Chris... well, then I'll forgive him.
"You're still ten years too early to practice Outside Corner Ball!"
Inside Corner Ball! Either get out there and run!
"I understand!!!" Sawamura reluctantly agreed.
Sendou actually hoped that this method would encourage Sawamura to be more courageous with Inside Corner Ball, since the previous match's Hit-by-Pitch was in a really bad position.
It's better to play it safe.
" Kanemaru!!!
Please stand in the Batter's Box for me!!!
"Kanemaru!!!" As expected, Sawamura always calls on Kanemaru Mama, when in doubt!
"Stop yelling! Idiot!" The proud and arrogant Kanemaru Mama, was on full display. She had anticipated this outcome and had already put on her protective gear, fully armed.
"What a tsundere! He looks so unwilling, but he's wearing all his protective gear!" Sendou thought to himself.
"However! Hopefully, smashing him with Kanemaru a few times off the field will allow him to completely shake off the shadow of the game!" Sendou then began to have some wicked thoughts.
"Hmph! Kanemaru! Sendou!
"Let me show you the evolved form, NEW Sawamura Eijun!" Sawamura began his performance.
"What is that thing? Throw it at me now!"
"Oh!" Sawamura replied blankly.
"Watch closely! This is my evolved Diagonal Fastball!!!" However, when he was throwing the ball, his chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) kicked in again.
"Call out!"
"Smack!"
"Ah!!!
"You bastard, you did this on purpose, didn't you?" And then it became an accident...
"Ah! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!"
"Nobody would believe you!"
Weren't you yelling about Diagonal Fastball?!
"Really! This was just an accident!!!"
"Pfft pfft pfft!" Just as Kanemaru and Sawamura were arguing, Sendou covered his mouth with his right hand to prevent Kanemaru from hearing it.
"Well done, Kanemaru!"
"If I hit you a few more times, you won't be traumatized by that Hit-by-Pitch anymore!" Of course, Sendou would never dare to voice such a wicked thought; it would be too disruptive to team harmony.
Meanwhile, Miyuki next to him, was already laughing hysterically.
Although Sawamura's first shot was a miss, his subsequent shots were still decent. Carter's shots remained sharp, but Kanemaru had a tough time, getting hit twice by Carter's sharp shots. He was hit three out of ten times. Sawamura doesn't even have such a high chance of getting hit by Carter's shots in official matches...
With Sawamura around, life is never short of joy.
The atmosphere at Seidou, which leads into Koshien, is also exceptionally good.
This is very important for Seidou, since they have a bye in the first round, which is also the longest round.
Seidou is also a team that is serious about dominating the whole country.
the next day,
"We won't have your duel today!"
Focus on striking practice, and treat it like real combat!
Sendou! You'll be the runner!
Isashiki! Yuki! Masuko, Miyuki! You guys will be the fighters!
There will be some minor adjustments when things go smoothly at Koshien, so Sendou might be your previous hitter!
After the practical exercises, we also need to exchange some Signals in private!
Do you understand?
"Hi!!!"
"Speaking of which!" Sendou asked, raising his hand.
"You will participate in all of today's practice!" This was naturally the answer to what Sendou wanted to ask.
Thus ended the Sendou's leisurely time.
Although it was today's practice, it was only half a day. After lunch, they would take a bus to Hyogo Prefecture.
The school was exceptionally generous this time, not only providing them with accommodation in a hotel but also lending them some space within the hotel as temporary training grounds.
Not to mention the cheerleading Cheerleading Squad, bands, and other clubs that went to cheer on the team, they were also provided with hotels!
This is the grandeur of a prestigious family!
The school genuinely wants its name to be known throughout the country.
Therefore, the requirement is at least the top eight.
Don't be fooled by Seidou's good fortune in the fortune telling; you can't underestimate these ordinary prestigious families or dark horses either, as they could very well be upset.
This is Koshien, the Koshien with its continuous matches and brutal single-elimination format!!!
Unlike the Summer Preliminaries, there wasn't enough time to rest.
Sendou's stable performance over the past half-day earned him a silent nod of approval from Coach Kataoka.
"Yuki! Let's do it the usual way!" Coach Kataoka said to Captain Tetsu next to Yashiro before they set off in the afternoon.
"Hi!"
Then, the new team of eighteen people formed Circle Formation.
By the way, Koharu's Back Number is seventeen, Sawamura's has become eighteen.
"Who are we?"
" The King Seidou!!!"
Who put in the most sweat...?
" Seidou!!!"
"Who shed the most tears...?"
" Seidou!!!"
"Are you ready for battle?"
"Oh!!!"
"Aaaaaah!!!"
"Bearing the honor of our school! Aiming for freedom!"
That is to dominate the whole country!
Let's go!!!
"Oh!!!"
"Get on the bus! Let's go!!!" Coach Kataoka then shouted.
"Oh!!!"
After six years, Seidou High School Baseball Club is heading to the 89th Summer Koshien Tournament!
"Shouldn't they be setting off soon?"
Your summer has only just begun!
"Go for it, Sendou!" Harada, holding a copy of the Strategies of the Warring States in his hand, looked out the window at the Taiyou at the Inajitsu Library.
"Kid! If you're going to play in Koshien, bring back the Victory Banner!" In Azuma Kiyokuni, who was losing weight in the second team, the image of Sendou also appeared in his mind. Perhaps it was the mutual respect between two strong players!
It's also possible that Sendou almost single-handedly led Seidou to Koshien with his own baseball bat.
"Go beat up all the top teams in the country with your baseball bat!" Ozawa's thoughts were nothing like a girl's; she exuded a strong tomboyish aura, revealing her true nature.
"Let Japan be shocked by your power!" This is the thought of a famous fan of the game.
" Seidou's first match isn't until the 12th, let's go sightseeing first!" These were Sendou's parents.
These are just a few examples of how many people offer blessings to Sendou immortals.
"Can we come back smiling?"
No, that's all we can do now!
"We absolutely cannot play an ugly game!" Sendou, sitting by the window looking at his own stadium, had mixed feelings.
The Seidou from their journey, finally arrived at the hotel. After settling in, the athletes were still able to practice on their own.
Even Sendou, who was extremely lazy, took a practice bat and went out.
There was more than one person who didn't want to play an ugly game, and there was more than one person who truly wanted to dominate the country; it was the will of the entire team.
Tomorrow is the opening ceremony, and there will be plenty of time to rest afterward. If everything goes smoothly, Seidou's first opponent will be Kanagawa Yokohama Kohoku Academy, the team they faced in the Kanto Tournament and who eliminated Seidou in the first round.
Although this team is considered a prestigious one and is quite strong, it's not quite that strong.
Whether in the previous life or this life, the situation is similar. Basically, it was the same situation in the seventh game when Tanba 'Ball Trajectory was caught and exploded.
This time, it's a chance to settle old scores properly. If they don't make any significant progress, they'll really just have to wait to be brutally beaten by Seidou.
However, after the Summer Preliminaries and such a long period of time, it's impossible for them not to improve; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to enter Koshien.
It's worth noting that while Kanagawa isn't a fiercely competitive region like Tokyo or Osaka, the teams there are still quite good.
Especially in Osaka, apart from the double quota that only comes once every five years, so many prestigious families compete for just one spot.
Like the three giants of West Tokyo in recent years, East Tokyo is basically dominated by Teitou.
I made some changes to the previous chapters. For example, it used to be number 10, but after calculating, I realized that I wouldn't be able to finish the first round at all. Also, the part about all the nameless schools has been changed. I previously considered Yokohama to be just a weakling...
Finally, please vote for me!