The dormitory where the Seido High School Baseball Team was temporarily staying felt unusually heavy that night.
Every teammate wore a solemn expression.
Their luck in the draw had truly been terrible. Of all the possible opponents, they had encountered one of the two they least wanted to face.
Osaka Kiryuu High School.
The so-called Cosmic Team.
By national standards, the Seido High School Baseball Team was also considered a top-tier wealthy program. Every year, they allocated numerous special admission slots and invested considerable funds to recruit talented players.
But even so, they were not the biggest spender in the country.
If one were to speak of the wealthiest and most resource-rich baseball program in Japan, that title would almost certainly belong to Osaka Kiryuu.
Almost every year, they could assemble an all-star lineup composed of specially recruited players from across the country.
Just imagining such a roster combined with the guidance of a brilliant and experienced Director was enough to make anyone uneasy.
Such a team nearly swept Koshien year after year.
To this day, among all prestigious high school baseball programs in the country, Osaka Kiryuu remains the one with the most Koshien championships.
Countless legends surrounded them.
Even more countless professional baseball stars had emerged from their ranks.
"The average lift of each player exceeds 130 kilograms. They are undisputed power hitters…"
When Takashima Rei introduced the team, even she could not hide the awe in her voice.
Whether it was power, speed, or technical fundamentals, every player on the Osaka Kiryuu High School Baseball Team ranked among the best in the nation.
Their teamwork was refined.
Their pitching staff was deep and formidable.
Their defense was nearly flawless.
Looking back at Seido's journey the fierce regional tournament in West Tokyo, the tense battles at Koshien Seido had faced strong teams before.
But none of those teams truly compared to Osaka Kiryuu.
Not even Ichidai Third High School.
Not even Inashiro Industrial.
The gap was simply too vast.
If this had only been a comparison on paper, perhaps Seido's players would not have felt such heaviness.
After all, their previous opponents had also carried intimidating reputations. On paper, those teams looked terrifying.
Yet what had happened in reality?
Seido had defeated them.
Convincingly.
After two overwhelming victories at Koshien, the Seido players had built strong confidence. They believed in their strength. They no longer thought a big name automatically meant a stronger team.
But Osaka Kiryuu was different.
This team was not just famous.
They were terrifyingly strong.
Especially because, just a month before the Summer Tournament began, Seido had played a practice game against Osaka Kiryuu.
Seido had lost that game.
And they had lost badly.
There were reasons, of course. At that time, Seido had not been at full strength. They had not yet grown to their current level.
But excuses did not change the result.
They had lost.
And that was not even the worst part.
The most frightening detail was that Osaka Kiryuu had not fielded their full main lineup in that game. They had used only about half of their starters, even including a substitute catcher. The rest were bench players.
In other words, Osaka Kiryuu had crushed Seido with only half of their main team.
Even though Seido had not gone all out either, the strength they displayed that day had clearly exceeded what Osaka Kiryuu put on the field.
Yet they were still dominated.
That practice game left a deep psychological shadow on Seido's players.
At the time, the only way they could lift their spirits was by reminding themselves that they first needed to win the regional tournament and secure a ticket to Koshien.
If they couldn't even make it to Koshien, what was the point of worrying about Osaka Kiryuu?
That thought allowed them to temporarily push the fear aside.
In truth, if not for that distraction, Seido would likely have regarded Osaka Kiryuu as their ultimate rival from that very moment.
Now, however, there was no more postponing reality.
They had successfully advanced to Koshien.
They had reached the quarterfinals.
And their good fortune in the draw had finally run out.
They would have to face the opponent that once filled them with dread.
"When they played that practice game against us, Osaka Kiryuu clearly held back a lot of their strength," Takashima Rei continued. "In their first three games here at Koshien, they won easily. They used three different pitchers in those games and demonstrated remarkable depth."
Her voice lacked its usual confidence.
How could Seido possibly defeat such an opponent?
She trusted Coach Kataoka completely.
But under these circumstances, even she struggled to see a path to victory.
Seido had too many hidden dangers.
Would they really be able to rely on luck again, as they had in the regional tournament?
Takashima Rei knew one thing very clearly.
If they placed all their hopes on luck, they were destined to lose.
In other sports, perhaps a lucky game might decide everything.
In baseball?
Impossible.
Luck plays a role but at most thirty percent. The remaining seventy percent depends on strength.
And in terms of raw strength, the Seido High School Baseball Team likely did not match Osaka Kiryuu. Osaka Kiryuu possessed three pitchers capable of throwing complete games at Koshien-level intensity.
One allowed one run.
Another allowed three runs.
The third allowed none.
Across three games, they had conceded a total of only four runs. Their pitching depth and defensive solidity were undeniable.
Now consider their offense.
Thirteen runs in the first game.
Seventeen in the second.
Fourteen in the third.
At first glance, that didn't look vastly different from Seido's scoring output.
But the terrifying detail was this:
Most of Osaka Kiryuu's runs were scored within the first five innings. Once the score gap became significant, they eased off.
In the final innings, they typically added only one or two more runs, never kicking an opponent while they were down. They even gave substitute players playing time.
In other words, in those three games, Osaka Kiryuu had not gone all out.
If they had played at full intensity for all nine innings, how many runs might they have scored?
No one knew.
Seido's offense was considered ferocious among the teams at this Koshien. But even that ferocity could not yet be compared to Osaka Kiryuu's.
Many praised Seido as one of the strongest offensive teams in this tournament. But in the hearts of most fans across the country, the title of "strongest offense" still belonged to Osaka Kiryuu.
Seido?
Who is Seido?
For many outside Tokyo, they didn't even know.
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