"This team in front of us is the one that has been making a lot of noise in this year's Koshien Tournament — Kanetsu-Norin!"
On the Koshien field, the players of the Seidou baseball team were staring steadily at their opponents.
The atmosphere of this match was different. The cheers from the stands for Seidou High School's team were noticeably fewer than usual.
This was an objective reality — the hardcore supporters of Seidou High School's baseball team had decreased for this game.
There were many more neutral fans, as well as supporters of the opposing team.
In just two games, this team, Kanetsu-Norin, had gained such terrifying popularity on the Koshien field.
Although they were still far inferior compared to the dominant Seidou baseball team, achieving such a level of recognition nationwide was already very rare.
They were truly different!
Before the game even started, the players of Seidou High School's baseball team had already made this judgment in their minds.
Fortunately, they had prepared for this mentally beforehand.
So they accepted the situation with relative calm, and it didn't cause any cracks in their composure.
The fact that the players could maintain such a mature attitude could not be separated from one person.
That person was the former captain of the Seidou baseball team, Yuuki Tetsuya.
When he came to the hotel to visit his juniors, the players of Seidou were all a little stunned.
"Isn't it the off-season? How come you have time to come over?"
The current captain, Miyuki, immediately asked this question.
When the seniors showed up, especially with gifts in hand, the juniors were all very happy.
When people were happy, they often overlooked many details.
Miyuki was always meticulous, and before he felt happy, he started to worry.
Before, the Senpai had been doing very well in professional baseball. Although he hadn't yet made it into the core batting lineup, he had already started playing as the sixth batter.
This kind of performance for a rookie was definitely impressive.
Now, Tetsu has gradually become an important force for the team.
During the season, such an important player shouldn't easily leave the team.
'Why had Tetsu-san appeared here?'
Miyuki's mind instantly flashed with many unpleasant guesses.
Of course, he didn't want to think badly of his senior, but this negative possibility seemed the greatest.
'Had he lost his form? Or had he been injured?'
Sawamura, who was standing next to Miyuki, understood the strictness of professional baseball even more than Miyuki.
So he came to the same conclusion and also approached Yuuki.
"Tetsu-san, is something wrong?"
Seeing the two Kohais looking at him with concern, Yuuki Tetsuya felt a bit touched.
Professional baseball was very different from high school baseball.
Although professional baseball players also fought for the honor of their teams, most professional players had simpler and clearer goals — they were working to make money for their careers.
Having better results and even winning championships was of course the best.
But if their salary could be higher and they could play for more years, that would be more important.
When personal interests and collective interests conflict, people naturally choose to avoid harm and pursue benefits.
That's human nature!
So compared to the team, they cared more about themselves.
Of course, this didn't mean they wouldn't still work hard for the team.
They would still work hard, but there would be a lot more tact and pragmatism involved.
They would definitely prioritize their own interests.
Once a person has this mindset, they definitely won't be as innocent as they were in their school days.
For those who truly love baseball, Seidou High School's baseball team is like a warm family.
Yuuki Tetsuya now felt as though he had just left home and entered society.
Although only a few months had passed, he had already grown a lot during this time.
The more a person grows, the more they yearn for the purity and simplicity of the past.
So even though it had only been half a year since Yuuki left school, when he saw Miyuki and Sawamura truly caring about him, he felt very emotional and nostalgic.
"Don't think about those messy things. I asked the Coach for leave, and he specially approved me to come."
The Coach agreed because of the huge popularity of Seidou High School's baseball team. A new legend might be born.
To increase Yuuki Tetsuya's commercial value, he was allowed to come and make an appearance during the break in the game.
Of course, his arrival greatly boosted the popularity and image of Seidou High School's baseball team.
As for Tetsu's personality, he actually didn't really like such showy activities.
However, coming to visit his juniors, cheering them on, and giving them some encouragement was something Yuuki was very willing to do.
Moreover, this event was beneficial for his current professional team, for himself, and for the overall reputation and image of Seidou High School's baseball team.
Even though he wasn't accustomed to it, there was no reason to refuse.
But these things didn't need to be explained to his Kohais.
Tetsu sincerely hoped that their interactions could remain as simple as possible.
But this was something that couldn't be hidden from Sawamura.
Even in Japan, and certainly in the more free and open America, such showy scenes weren't rare.
Once Sawamura realized that Tetsuya wasn't here because of injury or loss of form, but because he had time off, he understood that while Tetsuya wanted to be here, there was definitely some behind-the-scenes planning from his agent and the team.
Of course, none of that really mattered.
The audience liked to see their genuine feelings, and what was wrong with that?
At least they weren't the type of people who pretended to be close to their senpai without any real friendship.
To be honest, that kind of feeling was really uncomfortable.
Sawamura remembered when he had returned to his alma mater and left feeling lost afterward.
He had great memories of his school, but when he went back, he found that all his old teachers.
Familiar classmates and teammates were gone.
Only familiar school buildings and unfamiliar faces remained, and there was no time for nostalgia.
Even though, Sawamura felt very lucky.
Although he didn't return to Seidou High School often, at least The Coaches and the atmosphere at the school had remained unchanged.
He could still find some of his old memories.
[The Seidou baseball team was about to face a strong opponent, and the former Captain couldn't rest easy, so he came to visit during the break.]
This story could easily be turned into a great story if it were hyped up a little.
It would probably attract a lot of viewers.
When the viewers were interested, the media would naturally be interested too.
Even the timing of it was perfect!
Sawamura couldn't help but think about it.
But then he looked at Tetsu's sincere expression, and he felt a little guilty.
How had he ended up overthinking like this?
His agent and the professional team's behind-the-scenes efforts probably took a long time to plan and guide him before Tetsu-san could even bring it up himself.
He only hoped that Tetsu-san's agent had a grand vision and wouldn't affect Tetsu-san's future development.
Tetsu-san was really talented!
In just three years, he had gone from knowing almost nothing to standing at the top among his peers nationwide.
As long as he kept working hard, his future would be limitless.
Seeing their seniors come to visit, they were so happy they barely paid attention to anything else. The team gathered around, laughing and chatting, eagerly asking Yuuki about his experiences and stories in professional baseball.
However, their former Captain was not one to speak freely. After answering a few questions, it was as if he had exhausted all his words and went silent, watching his Kohais with a pleased look, listening to their plans for tomorrow's strategy.
Kanetsu-Norin!
This was an opponent the Seidou Baseball Team had never seriously considered before. Now, they had become a crucial adversary.
If they didn't want to fall into a disastrous situation, they had to give this opponent the attention it deserved.
The video footage from Kanetsu-Norin's first and second games at Koshien had been analyzed by the Seidou team not just once, but multiple times. They had reviewed these videos carefully, ensuring no detail was missed.
This meticulous approach was not any less thorough than how they would prepare against top-tier teams.
Moreover, Vice-President Takashima Rei, using her connections, had managed to acquire footage from Kanetsu-Norin's regional tournament and had thoroughly investigated their Ace player.
Such a detailed approach made it feel like they were preparing for a full-fledged battle.
Nothing could escape such scrutiny, especially since it wasn't difficult to uncover Kanetsu-Norin's background.
Soon enough, the Seidou team learned all about their opponent's strength level and tactical habits and devised counter-strategies accordingly.
Their preparations were as thorough as possible.
But even so, the Seidou team didn't slack off. In all honesty, they still didn't have full confidence in their victory.
Kanetsu-Norin was a mysterious team.
Before they faced Seidou, Kanetsu-Norin's strength seemed to be just that of a capable team—nothing exceptional.
By the time they played Seidou, their strength had matured significantly, far surpassing what they had shown in the regional tournament.
Now, facing a team of such strength without enough preparation was a serious threat to Seidou.
The Seidou team had prepared their tactics based on Kanetsu-Norin's previous game against Seijitsu, assuming they would see a similar performance. If Kanetsu-Norin only showed the same strength, the game would still be dangerous, but Seidou would have a solid chance of winning.
But the problem was that Kanetsu-Norin could very well reveal even more cards than before.
This wasn't an impossible scenario.
This opponent was tricky.
Although Kanetsu-Norin might not be as strong as Inashiro, the threat they posed to Seidou was still great.
Even though the Seidou team expressed their frustration out loud, their concern was evident in their expressions.
Tetsuya noticed this shift in their moods.
'This couldn't continue.'
he wanted to offer some help to his Kohais, but he wasn't sure how to approach them.
After all, motivating speeches weren't really his style.
When he led the previous Seidou team, it was through his skill and hard work that he gained everyone's respect. He didn't have much experience in dealing with the team's emotions, but he would try his best.
…