Chapter 742 - 742: The Beginning

"Let's do this, Yuuki…"

On the day of Seido High School Baseball Team's first official game, as the boys were about to board the bus, Coach Kataoka specifically spoke to Captain Yuuki Tetsuya.

Captain Yuuki was stunned for a moment.

The boys, however, reacted quickly. The twenty First string players all stood together, forming a circle.

"Is this…?"

Sawamura and Kominato Haruichi, who had just joined the First string, looked excited.

Previously, when Seido High School Baseball Team was in the Kanto Tournament, they had done something similar.

Even now, recalling that scene still made their blood boil.

However, at that time, they could only stand by and watch, unable to participate.

Now, the situation was different. They were also members of Seido High School Baseball Team's First string.

They would also wear the team's uniform and play alongside their teammates.

Just thinking about this scene made their excited emotions impossible to calm down for a long time.

"Is it your first time? It feels quite fresh. Cherish it."

Zhang Han said with a smile after seeing the expressions of the two youngsters.

Last year, when he first joined Seido High School Baseball Team, he had a similar feeling.

Now, seeing the two youngsters like this, Zhang Han immediately felt like an experienced veteran.

"Hehe, you really should cherish it. Who knows, by the time we make it to Koshien, you might not be on the team anymore."

For the Summer Tournament preliminaries, which are regional tournaments, each team has twenty roster spots.

However, when it comes to Koshien, the number of spots is reduced to eighteen.

Given the current situation of Seido High School Baseball Team, if they had to cut players at that point, at least one of the four newcomers would be out.

"Are they still going to eliminate people?"

Sawamura lived up to expectations, trembling.

"Besides training, you really don't care about anything else!"

Zhang Han smiled helplessly.

"It's okay, you're still first-years. As long as you don't get injured, you'll have plenty of opportunities in the future."

Miyuki had a brilliant smile.

But no matter how you looked at it, he seemed to be gloating.

Nineteen players formed a circle.

All members of Seido High School Baseball Team's First string were standing there.

Other players who had changed into their uniforms and were ready to go to the game venue to be cheerleaders, upon seeing this, all gathered around.

Several team managers were also incredibly excited.

Even passing students instinctively stopped. Although the teacher was waiting for him to hand in his homework, he still decided to delay for a while and enjoy this rare spectacle.

Yuuki, standing in the center of the circle, pointed his thumb to his heart and asked loudly,

"Who are we?"

"Seido!"

"Who sheds more tears than anyone else?"

"Seido!"

"Who sweats more than anyone else?"

"Seido!"

"Are you ready?"

"Ooh!"

"Carrying the honor of our school, we have only one goal: to dominate the nation!"

"Ooh ooh ooh ooh!"

Twenty players simultaneously pointed their fingers towards the sky.

At this moment, their confidence reached its peak.

No matter what they were about to encounter next, they had ample confidence that they would definitely be able to overcome it.

This summer, they would fulfill the dream they couldn't achieve last summer: making it to Koshien.

And successfully making it to the end, dominating the nation.

Last year, reliable third-year seniors like Azuma Kiyokuni retired.

Seido High School Baseball Team also went through a period of turmoil, even stopping regrettably in the Autumn Tournament after only reaching the top eight.

However, after winter special training, winning the Spring Tournament, and defeating Inashiro Industrial in the Kanto Tournament, the confidence of Seido High School Baseball Team's players continued to grow.

By now, everyone in Seido High School Baseball Team firmly believed that they would definitely win, and keep winning.

Until they dominated the nation.

The journey was silent.

The bus drove directly to the entrance of the stadium. The players got off one after another, changed into their gear, and prepared to enter the field.

The road was much quieter than the players had imagined.

They had just won the Kanto Tournament, defeating Inashiro Industrial, who had won the Spring Invitational Tournament.

The boys originally thought there would definitely be reporters waiting by the roadside, and some spectators and fans.

But to their surprise, there were almost no people on the road.

"Did we come to the wrong place?"

Kuramochi looked puzzled.

Although the other boys didn't say anything, their expressions showed that they had similar thoughts.

"Time is 9:30, Hachioji Stadium, no problem…"

Manager Ota checked his watch and muttered softly.

"No matter if there are spectators or not, we must win."

Coach Kataoka was as calm as ever.

But whether he was truly that calm inside, no one could guess.

Zhang Han looked at the stadium in confusion.

Hachioji Stadium was located in a somewhat remote area.

Except for people who specifically came to watch the game, there really weren't many people living nearby.

But he vaguely heard some movement inside the stadium.

Next, the players went to the locker room to change into their game uniforms.

When it was game time, they pushed open the door and all filed out.

The moment they pushed open the door, the entire Hachioji Stadium erupted in thunderous cheers.

"Seido! Seido!"

Only then did the boys completely relax.

It turned out that the people who came to watch the game had already entered the stadium.

On the stands on Seido High School Baseball Team's side, there were nearly two thousand people packed in.

For a third-round game, such attendance was simply astonishing…

This was also because the preliminaries had no organized publicity or preparation, otherwise, with so many people wanting to watch the game, tickets could definitely be sold.

They chanted Seido's name in unison, clearly all there to cheer for Seido.

Manager Ota's eyes were red with excitement.

Although Coach Kataoka said nothing, it was clear that he was also very moved.

Anyone who had feelings for Seido High School Baseball Team would find it difficult to remain indifferent when witnessing such a scene.

Several emotionally fragile players in Seido High School Baseball Team had tears welling up in their eyes.

Several team managers in the stands were crying uncontrollably.

In stark contrast to Seido High School Baseball Team, their opponents today looked particularly dejected.

Seido High School Baseball Team's cheerleading squad numbered in the thousands.

But for them, there were only dozens of people scattered around.

Among them, several were there because the stands on Seido High School Baseball Team's side were too crowded.

They couldn't stand it, so they chose to sit on this side.

Even though they sat on this side, the small flags they held had the name of Seido High School Baseball Team written on them.

Clearly, at least half of these people were staunch supporters of Seido High School Baseball Team.

Even their cheering props were prepared in advance.

Originally, these Seido supporters, sitting in the opposing team's stands, were still a bit nervous.

According to their past experience, if the opposing team's cheerleaders sat in Seido High School Baseball Team's stands, they wouldn't directly resort to violence, but they would try to intimidate the opponent with their glares.

However, after they sat on Sakurazawa's side, they found that the vast majority here were neutral fans.

Occasionally, there were Sakurazawa cheerleaders, but they were also their classmates or friends.

Not even a single family member was present.

The situation was incredibly awkward.

The number of the opponent's true cheerleaders was even less than the number of their small group.

Let alone surrounding them…

In Sakurazawa's dugout.

Looking at the overwhelming momentum of Seido High School Baseball Team, and at those fanatical fans and cheerleaders, the players of Sakurazawa High School were undoubtedly very conflicted.

It was as if they were fighting against the entire world.

All around them were enemies.

"Right now, probably no one thinks we can win today's game, right?"

Yoshimi gripped the railing with his hand, looking enviously at Seido High School Baseball Team's cheerleaders.

A long time ago, about three years ago, he was also a member of a youth baseball team, though only a substitute.

But at that time, he had also fantasized about joining a prestigious high school and making a name for himself with his own strength.

Seido High School Baseball Team was one of the schools he most fantasized about back then.

It was just a pity that when he graduated, he didn't receive any invitations from high schools.

No high school invited him because of his excellent baseball skills.

Let alone a prestigious school like Seido, not even an ordinary school invited him.

This was a sad story…

Of course, he couldn't blame others, after all, his strength at that time was not enough to receive such an invitation.

"What does it matter? Even if we lose ninety-nine out of a hundred games. As long as there's one chance to win, we'll fight for it with all our might."

Nagao Akira listened to his partner's feelings and said indifferently.

They had already made it this far, having the chance to compete against Seido High School Baseball Team, who reached the top eight of Koshien last year.

In a way, it was already a success.

Before, who would have thought that their first-round exit team could eventually make it to the third round and earn the opportunity to challenge the Kanto overlord.

"Akira is right."

A scrawny old man, looking scholarly, stood at the front of the team.

"What lies before us is a tall mountain, this is a realistic problem. And what we need to do next is to solve this problem."

He spoke slowly.

But what he said was as always, startling.

"As expected of the Professor."

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