The Summer Tournament has begun!
The date is July 5th, a day of clear blue skies, and even the wind seems uninterested in making a scene.
At Tokyo's Jingu Stadium, people are coming and going, creating an atmosphere similar to a school sports festival.
The baseball players from Tokyo's high schools have all gathered here.
Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team!
Yakushi High School Baseball Team!
Ishidaisan High School Baseball Team!
Teito High School Baseball Team!!
Ugumori High School Baseball Team!
Sensen Academy!
Seiko Academy!
Sousei High School!
Koukadai Sugata High School!
One prestigious school after another makes its appearance.
Gathered outside the stadium, these players exude confidence and high spirits.
Because of the sheer number of schools in the Tokyo area, the Summer Tournament is divided into two divisions: East Tokyo and West Tokyo.
Although the competition is split into two brackets, the opening ceremony is held together—at Jingu Stadium.
With over 270 high schools, accounting for one-fourteenth of the total number of high schools nationwide, it's no wonder that Tokyo is considered the most fiercely competitive region.
Even after being divided into two separate brackets, the elimination rate remains far harsher than in any other region.
Teams clad in matching uniforms stand together, radiating an aura of strength.
Not to mention, several of these teams are particularly eye-catching.
"Keh-ha-ha-ha!"
Todoroki Raichi has fully embraced his wild nature. Even without a bat in his hands, his entire demeanor is brimming with excitement.
"Just wait, I'm gonna smash all these guys!"
His arrogant declaration immediately makes him the center of attention—in the worst way possible.
The surrounding players glare at Raichi with hostility.
The Summer Tournament is fundamentally different from the Spring and Fall tournaments. For third-year players, a single loss means retirement from the baseball club.
In this situation, no team would ever choose to hold back!
They will give everything they have to crush their opponents.
This is also one of the main reasons why the Summer Koshien garners far more attention than the Spring Koshien.
The Spring Tournament is a selection tournament—while competitive, it remains somewhat restrained.
But the Summer Tournament is completely different. Every team fights desperately. Even if they lose, they will ensure they leave a mark on their opponent.
With this "do-or-die" mentality, no one will back down.
Although Yakushi High School has been dominant recently, with outstanding performances and impressive records…
Not every team is intimidated by them.
Right now, these teams don't even fear King Seidou High School. So why would they be afraid of Yakushi?
However, before they can charge in, someone arrives at Raichi's side.
Wearing the same uniform as Raichi, they stand guard in front of him.
"Our Kohai is a bit brainless, so don't take him too seriously."
Sanada Shunpei steps forward, smiling as he addresses the surrounding players.
Immediately, the players who had been ready to start a fight stopped in their tracks.
Yakushi High School!
A Spring Koshien quarterfinalist!
In recent years, they have been the only non-powerhouse team in West Tokyo to make it to Koshien.
Even among strong teams, there is some wariness toward them.
There's no reason to get worked up over an idiot.
Realizing this, the crowd disperses.
"You brat, stop causing trouble for us."
In a corner, Todoroki Raizou grumbles.
Sanada waves to his Coach, reassuring him.
"I don't think this is a bad thing—it's about time we issued a challenge to these guys."
Yakushi High School clearly has ambitious goals.
Their arrogance successfully angers someone.
"You all seem pretty comfortable, huh?"
With a voice dripping with resentment and challenge, a group of players strides forward.
The newcomers are none other than Sankou High School, one of West Tokyo's Big Three powerhouses.
The rivalry between Sankou and Yakushi runs deep—bitter enemies to the core.
Yakushi's rapid rise to prominence over the past year was fueled by twice defeating Sankou in both the Summer and Fall tournaments.
Put bluntly, Yakushi climbed to the top by stepping over Sankou.
With such a history, there is no way Sankou has any goodwill toward Yakushi.
If given the chance, they would gladly crush Yakushi into dust.
This year's Summer Tournament bracket has placed these two rivals in the same half once again.
Before the final showdown, they will remain each other's greatest threat.
"This time, we're the ones who will win!"
Amidst the tension, a cold voice speaks up—Amahisa Kousei.
He is Sankou's Ace pitcher and, in a way, the face of their team.
"It's better if you let us be the ones to take down the King Seidou High School. Don't worry, we'll take care of it on your behalf."
Mishima grins smugly.
When it comes to trash talk, he considers himself the best in Tokyo—except for one person.
The undisputed master of verbal warfare is Seidou High School's Captain, Miyuki Kazuya.
With Seidou's growing reputation, the media has uncovered Miyuki's legendary sharp tongue.
By now, nearly every baseball fan in Japan knows that Seidou's captain has maxed out his trash-talking skills.
Compared to him, Mishima admits he still has a long way to go.
However, when it comes to anyone else, he's more than confident.
Even against Amahisa!
"Who the hell are you?"
Amahisa asks.
The question nearly makes Mishima cough up blood.
The audacity of this guy—not even knowing his name! Unforgivable!
"I'm Mishima Yuta! The one who sent your pitch flying before!"
"Oh. Never heard of him."
Amahisa replies bluntly.
Mishima is so stunned he nearly collapses on the spot.
Just then, another group arrives.
"You keep talking about Seidou, but I don't think any of you will even get the chance to face them."
At the sight of the newcomers, both groups fall silent.
This team is also wearing matching uniforms.
The name on their jerseys reads: Inashiro Industrial High School.
The only team truly capable of challenging Seidou.
Even Yakushi and Sankou's players reluctantly admit this fact.
After all, with the same roster, they already defeated Seidou once in the Fall Tournament.
The only team to ever defeat Seidou in an official match.
Then, a bus slowly pulls up.
"Seidou has arrived!!!"
A luxury bus pulled up at the entrance of Jingu Stadium.
On the side of the bus, the words "Seidou High School Baseball Club" were prominently displayed.
This was the strongest team in the country at the moment and the top contender for this year's Koshien championship.
Seidou High School Baseball Team!
The bus door opened, and vice-captain Maezono was the first to step out.
Behind him followed the core members of Seidou's first-string team.
Dressed in their white and blue uniforms, the 20 players walking together exuded an overwhelming presence.
"Wow! Seidou!!!"
Someone in the crowd spotted them and immediately rushed forward.
Upon hearing the shout, others followed suit, surrounding them in an instant.
The reporters who had been enthusiastically interviewing Inashiro Industrial High School's baseball team suddenly abandoned their posts and surged toward Seidou.
Narumiya Mei instantly darkened his expression.
They were the runner-up in the Spring Koshien and one of the most anticipated teams of this tournament. Just a few years ago, they were still the reigning kings of Tokyo.
Logically speaking, in such a short time, Seidou shouldn't have completely stolen their spotlight.
But there was nothing he could do—Seidou had just returned from America, where they managed to tie against the legendary Dream Team of America.
Their reputation had skyrocketed overnight.
"Damn it, I'll make them pay sooner or later!"
Narumiya had originally been calm, but now he had changed his mind.
Meanwhile, Seidou's players, now completely surrounded by reporters, weren't necessarily enjoying themselves either.
These journalists were relentless, firing off all sorts of questions. Even though President Ota did his best to block them from getting too close, it was completely futile…
The reporters had already made up their minds—not getting any "juicy" material from Seidou was simply not an option.
Otherwise, they'd be left with nothing but a generic article about the opening ceremony.
And what was there to write about the opening ceremony? It was the same thing every year. Even if the audience didn't get bored reading it, the journalists themselves were sick of writing it.
But if they could dig up even the tiniest bit of valuable information from Seidou's coach or players…
Then, with a little creativity and editing, they'd have an article their editors would be happy with.
"Just one question, only one!"
Seeing that there was no way to escape, Coach Kataoka reluctantly compromised.
With Seidou's rise in status, he had become less rigid compared to before.
He understood that cooperating with the media, at least to some extent, would only benefit the team in the long run.
Hearing Kataoka's approval for a single question, the reporters quietly cheered.
This was no small victory!
Previously, Coach Kataoka had been fiercely protective of his players, practically acting like a mother hen shielding her chicks—he wouldn't let anyone get close to them.
Now that they were finally allowed to ask one question, they were already quite satisfied.
But… what should they ask?
It wasn't that they lacked questions—on the contrary, there were too many things they wanted to know.
But if they could only ask one, it had to be something meaningful.
Asking about Seidou's goal for this tournament.
There was no need—that answer was obvious.
Of course, they were aiming for the championship.
For Seidou, even a runner-up finish in Koshien would be unacceptable.
They had an incredibly strong roster and had just tied with the Dream Team of America.
They were riding a wave of momentum!
Without a doubt, Seidou was the most likely team to win the championship this year.
After much deliberation, the reporters finally decided on a particularly provocative question.
"We know that Sawamura just led the team to a draw against the Dream Team of America…"
As soon as the journalist began speaking, Sawamura already had a good idea of what was coming.
It was definitely going to be about his opinion of Allen.
Sawamura secretly shook his head.
This journalist was clearly too inexperienced—no wonder he was still stuck covering field interviews instead of moving up to a higher position.
"Now that you've experienced playing against Allen Ward, which opponent in this tournament are you most looking forward to facing?"
The answer Sawamura had prepared was now completely useless.
Upon hearing the question, he wanted nothing more than to kick this journalist straight into the air.
He had seen loaded questions before, but this was as blatant as it gets.
How was he supposed to answer?
There were plenty of opponents in West Tokyo that Sawamura was looking forward to facing.
But if he named one, what about the others?
The one he mentioned would be fine, but the ones he didn't mention?
They'd absolutely hate him.
Not even acknowledging them? That was an even greater insult than beating them in a game.
The biggest form of disrespect was completely ignoring someone's existence.
Understanding the trap in this question, Sawamura naturally wasn't going to fall for it.
He took a moment to think before smiling and responding:
"Allen is very strong. But I wouldn't say he's the strongest player in our age group. In West Tokyo, we have many equally skilled players. I'm looking forward to competing against my old rivals, as well as any unexpected dark horses. After all, isn't that the most exciting part of this tournament?"
He completely dodged the trap, sidestepping the question with a safe and diplomatic response.
The journalist's eyes briefly flashed with disappointment.
Sawamura's answer was too well-calculated, making it difficult to generate any sensational headlines.
As for the statement that West Tokyo had players just as strong as Allen?
Come on, even a fool could tell that was just being polite.
If he actually published such a claim, people would laugh at him.
No one would call Sawamura arrogant—they'd just say the journalist was an idiot.
With the interview over, the team proceeded to register.
At the entrance of Jingu Stadium, there was a special registration area for players.
As the defending champions, Seidou was among the first teams to enter.
They had to collect their team flag and prepare for the opening ceremony.
"You're getting quite smooth with your words."
At some point, Narumiya had casually walked up, smirking as he spoke to Sawamura.
He had zero hesitation about casually intruding into Seidou's ranks, completely ignoring the fact that they were rivals.
"I learned it from you," Sawamura grinned.
…