"The opening match of Koshien has already been played!"
This news spread across the entire country overnight, like wild grass after a spring rain.
Everyone was shocked by the strength of the King, the Seidou High School baseball team.
In fact, earlier, some Tokyo players who were paying attention to Seidou's games already knew about this news.
At the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team's dedicated field…
The third-year players, who were supposed to be retiring, were still present on the field at this time, silently putting in their efforts.
When the news came, they instinctively stopped their practice.
"What was the score?"
Carlos asked Yabe, who had come to deliver the message.
"27-0! A complete massacre!!"
"Did Sawamura Eijun pitch the entire game?"
Shirakawa, standing next to them, frowned and asked.
When hearing about a shutout, Shirakawa instinctively thought that Seidou's baseball team had let Sawamura pitch the entire game in the first match.
Seidou had a reason for doing this.
Although it might seem a bit foolish in the long run, it was undeniable that this could potentially break two records: one for strikeouts and another for runs scored at Koshien.
Breaking either of these records would be incredibly motivating for the Seidou players.
Furthermore, considering Seidou's current situation, they had the motivation to go for it.
If Seidou High School's baseball team could still dominate the nation in this year's Koshien, they would undoubtedly become a legendary team.
And on the road to becoming legends, creating one or two records along the way wouldn't be something Seidou's team would refuse.
"No!"
Yabe shook his head in disbelief.
Although he had watched the game on TV, now that he thought about it, he still couldn't fully believe it.
The Seidou High School baseball team's strength was shockingly overwhelming.
He really couldn't believe it.
If the team had been this strong all along, how did their Inashiro Industrial High School team, back in Tokyo, manage to stay competitive with them until the very last moment? In fact, they almost pulled off a surprise win over Seidou.
In hindsight, Yabe couldn't see how his team stood a chance if they faced Seidou High School again now.
At least, from the current perspective, they certainly didn't have much hope.
If they were to face Seidou High School in a rematch, they would not only lose but likely lose very badly.
"Only the first two innings were pitched by Sawamura, and then it was all Furuya pitching. He threw two Walks, allowed one hit, but didn't give up any runs."
Upon hearing this, the Inashiro players exchanged looks, each with a strange expression on their faces.
Seidou really is strong!
Thinking back to that earlier match, the players from Inashiro's team had a clear understanding in their minds. They knew Seidou's team was incredibly strong.
But they hadn't expected it to be this dominant.
Even their backup lineup had completely wiped the floor with the Champions of Kyoto.
If they couldn't win the national championship with that kind of strength, what did the national champions even look like?
"The high school game is in the past. There's no need to dwell on it. University and professional baseball are the stages you should focus on."
Coach Kunitomo, who had somehow already heard the news, arrived and instructed them.
"Yes!!"
The star players of Inashiro Industrial High School hadn't left the team yet because they were preparing for next year's professional baseball draft.
Aside from those preparing for the draft, there were two others going on to university.
These star players had all been specially recruited by universities.
Some chose to go straight to university, while others were planning to skip university and directly challenge professional baseball.
Narumiya, Shirakawa, Yamaoka, and Carlos!
They had long grown tired of amateur baseball and were now preparing to make their mark on bigger stages.
They wanted to refine their skills on higher platforms.
They wanted to challenge Sawamura again. If there was no hope left for them on the high school stage, they still hoped to settle things in the professional league.
Although they were now retired, they had once been part of the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team.
Naturally, they still cared about the future of their old team.
They thought about Seidou High School's future lineup and compared it to their own current lineup at Inashiro Industrial.
It was a tragedy!
The retired players of Inashiro could already imagine how badly their junior teammates would perform when facing Sawamura and the Seidou team.
Seidou will keep most of their power, and they have enough talented first year to support the change.
The players from Inashiro had to admit that Seidou's strength remained incredibly frightening.
Even without Miyuki, even without the third-years.
As long as Sawamura remained in Seidou's team, no one could underestimate their strength.
They were strong!
Really strong!!
Looking at their own younger teammates, the new lineup centered around Tadano.
It looked so immature.
Could they really challenge Seidou High School with this team?
Deep down, the star players from Inashiro Industrial had no confidence.
"Your future burden is heavy!"
This was the phrase the third-year players often said to their younger teammates.
In fact, aside from that, they didn't know what else to say.
The gap between the teams was too obvious, and it wasn't something that could be changed just by working harder.
If hard work couldn't bridge the gap, what could Inashiro's team do? Be slaughtered?
It was a cruel future.
As the new Captain, Tadano felt an enormous pressure.
Recently, he often practiced alone until past 10 PM.
Now that he heard about Seidou's formidable strength, he felt like a massive weight had been placed on his shoulders.
How could they even play?
With the power Seidou was showing, even if their third-year players graduated, Seidou would still retain a lot of their power.
Back when Narumiya and the other golden-generation players were on the team, Inashiro could barely match Seidou.
Now that those powerful seniors had retired, could they really stand a chance against the monster that was Seidou?
"Does it feel hopeless? Do you wish I was still with you? Life is like that—since you can't resist, you might as well just enjoy it."
Narumiya Mei said with a smile.
"Please don't say things like that, Mei-san!"
Tadano responded seriously.
Even though he knew his strength couldn't match Sawamura, and that the remaining players at Inashiro were no match for Seidou now, as part of the team, he could not allow anyone to belittle them.
Not even his former teammates, or seniors.
"You're not happy with that, huh?"
Narumiya chuckled. "Baseball isn't just about talking, kid. If you're really not happy with it, pick up your bat. Use your strength to prove it!"
And so, a practice match quietly began.
Carlos looked at Narumiya, confused. "If you want to help these kids, just say it. Why make the atmosphere so tense?"
"I'm not helping them. I'm just mad seeing them so half-dead. They need a good lesson."
Narumiya pretended to be tough.
The teammates around them smiled.
Despite the overwhelming rise of Seidou's team, their high school baseball journey had been filled with ups and downs.
But Narumiya didn't go back on his word. He led his teammates to Koshien twice, once in the summer and once in the spring.
Even though they didn't end up dominating the nation, they had no heart-crushing regrets about their high school baseball careers.
Whether for Narumiya or for the team, they were all going to give it their best in this game.
Through this game, they wanted to show the younger kids what high school baseball was really about.
…
T/N: Well, That's it for now!
As always, Thank you all for reading guys!
Have a good day!
You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.
https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt
There are +190 Chapters there.