Chapter 336: The Main Tournament Arrives

East Tokyo, Teito High School.

It's not just that the scene here is somewhat similar to Seido's; it is exactly the same.

"No way, Captain. You drew Seido for the first round?"

"Haha, the Overlord Seido. It's been a while since we last faced them, hasn't it?"

"A formidable enemy. I never imagined we would meet in the first round."

"The Overlord that achieved a Koshien three-peat. If we take them down in the first round, will it set Tokyo ablaze?"

Hearing this, everyone turned their heads to look at Mukai Taiyo.

"Taiyo, well said!" Captain Inui Kengo said, giving a thumbs up.

"Hey, hey, have a little tension; this is Seido," someone nearby said.

In the Autumn Tournament, although many teams hoped to defeat Seido to make a name for themselves while the team was still new and lacking cohesion,

once they actually met, the pressure was something only those who faced it would understand.

It was only the third round of the qualifiers, yet both were strong teams with insufficient intelligence on each other's new rosters; once on the field, many unexpected situations were bound to arise.

To outsiders, the first round of Seido vs. Teito was like Mars colliding with Earth—how thrilling and passionate.

But in the hearts of both teams, they truly did not wish to encounter each other in the first round.

"Perhaps this is fate; heaven has ordained that we meet in the first round. As the saying goes, when two narrow roads meet, the brave one prevails. I believe we can definitely defeat Seido!" Inui Kengo's extremely mature face revealed an incomparably devout expression.

Upon hearing this, Mukai Taiyo, as the ace, was also stirred with excitement.

Facing Seido was something he had been hoping for all this time; that was where the number one pitcher in Japan resided!

Mukai Taiyo had long coveted this title. As a genius, Mukai Taiyo had displayed terrifying talent since childhood; he was a pitcher famous throughout Tokyo during middle school and quickly became the ace after entering Teito.

Yet at this moment, the title he had longed for already had an owner. Since that was the case, he would just have to take it by force.

"The undefeated Overlord, huh? Don't let me be too disappointed."

A wave of wild joy surged within Mukai Taiyo, as if he had already seen the scene of defeating Seido with his own eyes.

October 1st.

After several days of preparation targeting Teito High School, the Seido Baseball Team arrived at the competition venue by bus this morning.

"Why does it have to rain? It's going to be so uncomfortable being soaked through later."

Stepping off the bus, Huangqian Yangyi looked at the sky covered in dark clouds; the rain wasn't heavy, but the weather was somewhat chilly.

"It can't be helped. Unless it's a torrential downpour, the game won't be postponed," Miyuki said, walking alongside with his bag on his back.

"What a pain."

Not long after the Seido Baseball Team entered the venue, the stands were already filled with spectators. Even though the weather was bad, it was Seido versus Teito, and in the first round at that.

As long as they had the time, no one was willing to miss such excitement.

"My god, so many people for the first round." Reporter Tian Akiko entered the venue wearing a raincoat and was immediately stunned by the bustling scene before her.

Before entering the venue, she had assumed there wouldn't be many people today.

Fujio, also wearing a raincoat, reached out to feel the raindrops falling from the sky.

"Well, this is Seido and Teito, the West Tokyo and East Tokyo representatives who entered Koshien this summer. Plus, Seido even pulled off a Koshien three-peat."

"It's full of drama for two such teams to meet in the first round. How could it not be lively?"

Hearing this, Tian Akiko thought for a moment and said, "I still think Seido will win."

"Oh? Blind support from a fan?" Fujio laughed.

"Not at all, Seido is just strong. With Huangqian-kun and Miyuki-kun, I can't imagine how Teito could win, unless they were feeling unwell and didn't take the field," Tian Akiko said.

Fujio nodded: "That's true. The current Seido is too terrifying, especially Huangqian Yangyi. Without a doubt, he is already standing at the very pinnacle of Japanese high school baseball."

"As a pitcher, he has never lost a game since his high school debut, crushing his opponents with an extremely dominant posture every single time, making the batting lineups of all high schools in Japan tremble."

"As a batter, up to this point, he has hit as many as 65 home runs. In the three qualifying rounds of this Autumn Tournament, he hit a total of 10 home runs in 15 innings."

"Already 10?" Tian Akiko was shocked. This was only the three qualifying rounds, and they were all 5-inning mercy-rule games; he could hit 10 home runs in that?"

Mine Fujio nodded, "Yes, and this is only the first round of the Autumn Tournament. If Seido wins the championship, there is still the Jingu Tournament, the Spring Tournament next year, the Kanto Tournament, and the Summer Tournament."

"Perhaps, by the time he retires from high school, his home run count could break into triple digits!"

Mine Fujio hadn't realized it until he calculated it, and he was startled himself.

Meanwhile, inside the Seido locker room.

"First batter, Shortstop, Kuramochi Yoichi."

"Second batter, Second Baseman, Kominato Haruichi."

"Third batter, Catcher, Miyuki Kazuya."

"Fourth batter, Pitcher, Huangqian Yangyi."

"Fifth batter, Third Baseman, Arima Kazusa."

"Sixth batter, Right Fielder, Shirasu Kenjiro."

"Seventh batter, First Baseman, Maezono Kenta."

"Eighth batter, Left Fielder, Asou Takeru."

"Ninth batter, Center Fielder, Tojo Hideaki."

That's right, the left fielder who had been warming the bench for the three qualifying rounds, Asou Takeru! He finally had a chance to play!

Asou burst into tears of excitement; the manager finally remembered him.

Huangqian Yangyi awkwardly patted Asou on the back; if he hadn't wanted to rack up home runs and occupied the left field position, Asou wouldn't have had it so rough.

"The game is about to start. Everyone knows our opponent is Teito. As for being our first-round opponent, perhaps many feel we don't have good luck, but what I want to say is: Teito is just right!" Manager Kataoka's booming voice echoed in the locker room.

"The intensity of the first three rounds of qualifiers was too low! It couldn't test our strength at all. With Teito as our opponent for this match, show me your true strength. I will be watching from below the whole time!"

Manager Kataoka's words sent a chill down everyone's spines. What did he mean by "watching the whole time"? He'd be staring at them! If they made even the slightest mistake, they would definitely be scolded to pieces.

After the coach finished speaking, Ochiai Hiromitsu also walked in front of everyone.

"I will also say a few words."

"Teito High School has a unique strength in their defense; the coordination between their infield and outfield is definitely superior to that of Komadai Fujimaki, whom we defeated in the Koshien finals."

"Furthermore, their ace, the First Year Pitcher Mukai Taiyo, is a player who pitches with his brain, and his level of control is not inferior to Yang Shunchen of Seido."

"He is most skilled at using his pitch selection to intimidate the Batter."

"Therefore, when facing his pitches, you must swing decisively and strike back with power."