After watching the thrilling game, Kitamura Kou and the Tsukishima sisters began leaving the stadium with the crowd.
"That match was amazing! It was totally worth coming," Tsukishima Aoba said excitedly to Wakaba, the thrill still written all over her face.
"Yes, yes. Aoba always gets especially excited whenever it involves baseball," Wakaba replied with a fond smile as she looked at her endlessly chattering sister.
"Ahhh! Seido High School's final attack gave me goosebumps!" Aoba continued, her excitement showing no signs of fading.
But while she was turning around to gesture enthusiastically as she spoke—
Thump!
She bumped straight into someone because she wasn't watching where she was going.
And that person happened to be none other than Sawamura Eijun, the future protagonist of Seido's baseball team, who had just been stunned speechless by the words of Takigawa Chris Yu.
"Ah! I'm sorry. My sister wasn't watching where she was going and accidentally bumped into you. Please don't take it to heart. Aoba, apologize quickly," Wakaba said hurriedly.
"I'm sorry. It was my fault for not paying attention," Aoba said with a quick bow.
"Ah—no, no! I'm also at fault!" Sawamura quickly waved his hands.
"I was just standing here spacing out and accidentally blocking the way. Ahahaha!"
He scratched his head awkwardly and laughed sheepishly.
Standing nearby, Kou quietly sized him up.
The boy wearing Seido's baseball uniform wasn't particularly tall, but he wasn't short either. His physique was well-proportioned—clearly the result of long-term training.
Still…
He gave off a somewhat simple-minded vibe.
Not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.
"Well then, excuse us," Aoba said politely before walking away again.
The three continued down the path, chatting as they went.
"That boy was from Seido High School's baseball team," Wakaba said thoughtfully.
Then she turned back to Kou.
"Speaking of Seido… Kou, compared to that pitcher named Furuya, whose fastball is faster?"
Kou thought for a moment.
"In terms of velocity, mine should still be faster. As for control… he's far behind me."
"Tch. What a braggart," Aoba scoffed immediately.
"You've only played sandlot baseball before joining high school, and you haven't even played a single official match yet. And you're already talking this big?"
"Aoba!" Wakaba protested, puffing up her cheeks.
"Kou is amazing. In the last practice game he struck out thirteen batters, and some of those players are definitely not weaker than Seido's main lineup."
"Tch. What kind of strong batters could a team that loses in the first round every year possibly have?" Aoba replied dismissively.
"If you keep talking like that, I'm really going to get angry!" Wakaba said with a pout.
"Yeah, yeah," Aoba replied half-heartedly.
Behind them, Sawamura didn't pay much attention to their conversation.
After all—
He had personally caught Furuya's pitches.
That terrifying velocity and overwhelming power were still deeply etched into his memory.
Compared to that monster, the boy bragging earlier sounded like nothing more than some immature guy showing off in front of his girlfriend.
A few days later.
Yakushi High School baseball field.
Ping!
"Left-center!"
"I'm already running!"
"Go! Go!"
The players were training intensely.
Meanwhile, Kou was stretching near the sidelines, warming up before his running drills.
Coach Todoroki Raizo slowly walked over.
"I saw in Baseball Kingdom magazine that Seido High School has a high-velocity pitcher now. Is that true?"
"It's true," Kou replied calmly.
"I watched him during the Kanto Tournament. His fastball definitely exceeds 150 km/h."
Raizo immediately rubbed his temples.
"What a nightmare."
"I thought Seido's pitching staff was their weakness this year. I figured we might have an easier time."
"But the heavens just had to play another joke on me and send them a pitcher whose velocity rivals yours."
Kou shrugged slightly.
"Coach doesn't need to worry too much."
"His velocity is high, that's true—but his control is terrible. There are ways to deal with him."
Then Kou's expression became more serious.
"What we really need to worry about is Seido's batting lineup and defense."
He began listing them calmly.
"Their middle infield is famous for its ironclad defense."
"Leadoff hitter and shortstop—Kuramochi Yoichi."
"Second batter and second baseman—Kominato Ryosuke, known for his versatile hitting techniques."
"The third batter—center fielder Isashiki Jun, who has both a powerful arm and strong batting."
"The immovable cleanup hitter—Captain Yuki Tetsuya at first base, with extremely sharp batting instincts."
"The fifth batter—third baseman Masuko Toru, a super-heavy power hitter."
"And the key player supporting the entire team—sixth batter and catcher Miyuki Kazuya."
"Every one of them is a national-level elite player."
"And even the rest of the lineup—players like Shirasu Kenjiro—can't be underestimated."
He paused slightly.
"I just don't know if they're hiding any other trump cards."
Raizo sighed deeply.
"I knew West Tokyo wouldn't be easy."
Then a rather shameless grin appeared on his face.
"Looks like I'll have to rely on you to carry me all the way to Koshien, Kitamura."
"That's a lot of pressure," Kou replied casually.
He showed no sign of feeling burdened and simply went back to training.
After practice ended, Raizo gathered the entire team.
"During this period, I've observed everyone's performance in training and in the intra-squad games."
He rarely spoke in such a serious tone.
"To prepare for the upcoming Summer Tournament qualifiers, I will now announce the final twenty-man roster."
Immediately, the atmosphere grew tense.
Some players looked excited.
Some looked nervous.
Others quietly waited.
"Those who are selected must understand the responsibility of representing the team."
"And those who are not selected must continue supporting the chosen players and help them prepare for the tournament."
Everyone held their breath.
Raizo began reading the list.
"The final roster is as follows."
"Third-years: Yamauchi Yutaka, Fukuda Daiki, Mino Hayato, Kobayashi Keisuke, Ota Isao, Terauchi Mamoru."
"Second-years: Sanada Shunpei, Yonehara Yu, Hirai Ryo, Abe Hideo, Watanabe Tatsuya, Onoda Daisuke."
"First-years: Todoroki Raichi, Mishima Yuta, Akiba Kazuma, Kitamura Kou, Akaishi Osamu, Nakanishi Daiki, Masuda Atsushi, and Moriyama Makoto."
"These twenty players will represent Yakushi High School in the Summer Tournament."
The selected players quietly clenched their fists.
The unselected ones lowered their heads.
Raizo looked toward the third-years who had not made the roster.
"You've all worked incredibly hard."
"You endured strict training and intense competition."
"I'm sure you've experienced plenty of frustration and pain."
"But even so, you never gave up and continued following my guidance."
Raizo lowered his head deeply.
"You will always be my pride."
The third-years who hadn't been selected bit their lips.
They struggled to hold back the tears forming in their eyes.
"We were mentally prepared for this…"
"So we don't have any regrets."
"But… it's still frustrating."
"If only I had worked a little harder…"
"Just a little more…"
"Our summer… ends like this."
Even though the summer tournament was still two months away—
For some players, their high school baseball journey had already come to an end.