In the past, when asked which team was the number one in the country, most people would have supported Osaka Kiryu.
But there were still a considerable number of supporters for teams like Seihou, and Inashiro...
However, since Seidou High School's baseball team made a full-fledged rise, this situation has become rare.
When people now talk about the strongest teams, they would likely instinctively think of Seidou High School's baseball team, the King of Koshien.
Both their match results and the strength they demonstrated during games were enough to draw people's attention.
Seidou's baseball team was really strong!
They could even be said to be terrifyingly strong.
If, under these circumstances, Osaka Kiryu High School's baseball team could show the strength to rival Seidou High School, the battle for the best team would surely be a hot topic in the media.
But in reality, this didn't happen.
As Seidou High School's baseball team fully rose, Osaka Kiryu, having lost Tachi Hiromi, fell into a slump.
The overall strength of their team began to be doubted by more and more people.
During the Spring Koshien, they nearly failed to even make it into the top 32.
Whether it was the spring competition or practice games, their issues seemed endless.
Fans and reporters following Osaka Kiryu had reached a consensus at this point.
Osaka Kiryu had passed their peak.
The era of explosive genius players had ended.
Now, they could only slowly nurture their talent through hard work, hoping to weather the opponents' attacks and restore their former glory.
Sadly…
In today's era of emerging talent, without any genius players to support them, Osaka Kiryu was destined to be mediocre.
Although they were direct competitors to Seidou High School's baseball team, looking at the current situation, it seemed unrealistic to expect Osaka Kiryu's baseball team to rise again.
It seemed unlikely that they would stop Seidou High School's progress in this Koshien tournament.
Most people thought that Osaka Kiryu, at this point, could only watch from the sidelines.
If Seidou's baseball team defeated such a team, it didn't seem like there would be much worth talking about.
After this news broke, no one paid much attention.
They couldn't see what was worth analyzing here.
No one had expected that the seemingly hopeless Osaka Kiryu would, after overcoming several obstacles, find themselves face-to-face with Seidou High School's baseball team.
And in their previous game against Seihou High School's baseball team, how much strength did they actually showcase? No one knew.
Now, the match, which seemed to have no suspense, suddenly became full of uncertainty.
The battle for the best team in Koshien was about to begin.
Ten minutes before the match, the players from both teams began to walk toward the field.
A grand battle was on the verge of erupting.
As the players entered the field, they were immediately greeted with a roaring wave of cheers.
Unlike before.
This time, the Seidou High School baseball team's teammates didn't only hear cheers and encouragement directed at them.
They also heard some cheers directed at their opponents.
For the Seidou High School baseball team, this was quite an unusual situation.
Any team that makes it to the Koshien will have supporters.
The teams that played against the Seidou High School baseball team in the past also had supporters.
However, compared to the tens of thousands of fans supporting the Seidou High School baseball team, their supporters were insignificant.
Above the Koshien stadium, the cheers for them were hardly audible.
Even the cameras rarely captured their presence.
These supporters could only mentally stand by their team.
In terms of the actual game, they couldn't offer any support or disrupt the Seidou High School players in any way.
They couldn't be heard, nor could they be seen.
Under such circumstances, how could they interfere with the Seidou players?
But today's game was different.
Although the cheers for Osaka Kiryu High School were not numerous, especially when compared to the massive support for Seidou High School, their cheers, though faint, were still present.
There were also large banners made by their supporters and their own cheerleaders.
Even though the gap in support between them and the Seidou High School supporters was still vast, it had to be said that today's match gave the Seidou High School players a very different feeling due to the opponent's cheerleaders and their momentum.
"It seems these guys aren't planning to surrender easily," said Kuramochi, hands on his hips, in a very confident tone.
During this Koshien tournament, Kuramochi's performance had become increasingly impressive.
Originally, he was only somewhat well-known nationwide.
But by the end of the last two games, his fame had already reached the level of top-tier star players.
This rise in status greatly broadened his perspective.
When he watched the game and assessed the opponents, his mindset had shifted significantly compared to before.
Like now.
Facing the completely unknown strength of the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team.
While the Seidou High School players firmly believed that victory would still be theirs in the end, they couldn't help but feel some anxiety before the game.
This was a normal human reaction—neither good nor bad.
But Kuramochi was different.
He didn't seem at all worried about the game's result. In fact, he even had a feeling of impatience to get out there and play.
This feeling was quite strange.
Kuramochi even had a premonition that he would shine in this match.
Why did he have this premonition?
Kuramochi himself couldn't really explain it.
However, since he felt that his strength had grown and exploded, he felt like he was even more eager for the game.
He couldn't wait to show off everything he had learned and mastered in the match.
This was the same for the game against the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team today.
On the other hand, his teammates were not so optimistic.
They could clearly sense the threat from the opponent and weren't sure what other surprises might arise during the game.
When the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team revealed their lineup, the uneasy feeling in the hearts of the Seidou High School players grew even stronger.
Takami and Morishita.
These two players, who had performed excellently in previous matches, were starting.
The fact that they were starting right at the beginning of the game proved that the Seidou High School baseball team's previous guesses about the opponent's strength were inaccurate.
If it were really as they had guessed, with the first-year pitcher only managing to beat Seihou High School by chance, and Takami being useless except for batting, then Osaka Kiryu would never have started them at the beginning of the game.
If their guesses were correct, the match would have likely been decided before the opponents could even display their strength.
Moreover, the previously strong pitcher Takano and the team's fourth batter Yuuta had also changed positions.
These positions no longer resembled the Osaka Kiryu High School baseball team that the Seidou team had encountered before.
"They've adjusted more than half their team! During the spring tournament, they didn't have this kind of determination. But now, just in these few months..." said Takahiro Matsumoto.
Matsumoto really had made a tough decision.
In the short span of just a few months before the summer tournament, he completely broke with his team's previous style and system.
He adopted an entirely new formation and style.
The secrecy surrounding this new style had been well-executed, even when facing Seihou High School under great pressure, they still hadn't revealed all their cards.
As soon as they saw the lineup for their opponents, the Seidou High School players could deeply sense the malice coming from Osaka Kiryu.
They knew very well that Osaka Kiryu would never surrender easily.
In today's match, they were definitely hiding something big.
"PLEASED TO PLAY WITH YOU!"
"PLEASED TO PLAY WITH YOU!!"
After the teams exchanged salutes, the match officially began.
The Seidou High School baseball team took the field first to bat.
Before the players went up, Coach Kataoka specifically called all the batters over.
"The pitcher they're sending up is a first-year rookie. From the match footage, we can't tell if they have any special tricks?" Kataoka said.
As Kataoka spoke, the players all wore serious expressions.
What he said was true—their opponents gave them a very strange feeling.
Today, for the Seidou High School baseball team, if they gave Osaka Kiryu a bit of courage, they wouldn't dare hold back their strength.
Otherwise, a sudden explosion of power from Seidou could easily eliminate any suspense in the game.
If they held back their players, there would be no meaning to it.
From Osaka Kiryu's perspective, this was their most important game.
They had to give it everything they had.
Yet, the player they sent up was only a first-year rookie?
…
T/N: Osaka Kiryu's inspiration is most likely based on [Osaka Touin High School]. A seven-time winner of Koshien and one of the biggest teams in Japanese High school baseball.
Anyway, Thank you all for reading and supporting!!
And I hope you all have a good day!
You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters!
https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt
There are +190 Chapters there.