Chapter 383: Yura Sogo Technical High School

"With only two weeks left until the start of the Summer Tournament, the 17-man roster for the First String has been decided. These past few days, Coach Ochiai and I have been observing your training and performance."

"To the players who were selected, I hope you can keep your heads down and not grow arrogant. This is merely a beginning; you represent the expectations of the entire team!"

"After careful consideration by Coach Ochiai and myself, the players who have earned the qualification to remain on the First String are..."

"First Year, Outfielder, Yuki Masashi!"

"First Year, Outfielder and Catcher, Yui Kaoru!"

"First Year, Catcher, Okumura Koshu!"

Three names, all First Years.

The clear words reached everyone's ears.

Yuki Masashi and Yui Kaoru were relatively calm; both of them were already members of the First String and had participated in the Spring Tournament and the Kanto Tournament, so this was just a matter of holding onto their spots.

As for Okumura Koshu, upon hearing that he had made the First String, his expression—he who was not good with words—looked somewhat fierce. Was it agitation? Excitement?

"Congratulations! Koshu, you've finally made it to the First String."

His close friend Seto Takuma was genuinely happy for him.

"Yeah!!"

Okumura Koshu nodded heavily and let out a grunt. He had had enough of watching others shine and thrive from the stands. From here on out, this summer, he would definitely put forth his best performance and strive to become the team's starting catcher.

What about the Third Years?

Seki Naomichi, who wasn't selected, Mimura...

At this moment, these people had been handed their death sentence.

Especially those who hadn't been promoted to the First String before; one could imagine their feelings at this moment.

Watching his friend's trembling shoulders, Seki Naomichi sighed. He was doing a bit better; at least he had been a member of the First String before. Although he didn't get many chances to play, he had followed the team to win the Autumn Tournament, the Jingu Tournament, the Spring Koshien, the Spring Tournament, and the Kanto Tournament.

Considering himself not particularly outstanding, Seki Naomichi was already very satisfied to have won so many championships.

Mimura, Mishima... the other players who had never played in a game until now, their eyes were filled with endless sorrow and grievance. Their summer had ended.

"Third Years who weren't selected, stay behind. Everyone else, get out."

Just like the ritual that happened every year, Huangqian Yangyi led everyone out of the Indoor Training Ground.

Before long, low sobs could be heard from inside.

Unlike when they were selected for the First String midway through the Spring Tournament, listening to the seniors' voices of frustration and looking back at their retreating figures, Yui Kaoru and Yuki Masashi both gained a deeper understanding of high school baseball at this moment.

Beside them, Okumura Koshu's initial joy had dissipated. After locking eyes with Yui Kaoru, both young catchers felt something called responsibility pressing down on their shoulders.

At this time, Huangqian Yangyi, as Captain, walked over from behind and placed his hands on the shoulders of Okumura Koshu and Yui Kaoru.

"The final summer is about to begin."

After finishing his sentence, Huangqian Yangyi didn't care what the two were thinking and walked straight ahead.

Watching Huangqian Yangyi's back, both catchers realized that this summer was also the final summer of Huangqian Yangyi's high school career. If they wanted to catch his pitches in a game, this would be their last chance.

Miyuki, Kuramochi, Maezono... the Third Years who had also heard these words followed behind Huangqian Yangyi, leaving the Indoor Training Ground with solemn expressions.

The 20-man First String was set; what followed was a one-week training camp.

The three First Years, experiencing their first "Hell Week" of training, were sabotaged by the two seniors—Kuramochi leading and Sawamura assisting—and were fed until they were stuffed.

Then, unsurprisingly, they threw up during training.

Time reached the sixth day of the training camp, the day of the Summer Tournament draw ceremony.

Since Seido was the champion of the Spring Tournament, they knew they were #1 without needing to draw, but the bracket wasn't just about knowing one's own number; one also had to see what everyone else's numbers were.

Thus, Huangqian Yangyi and Ochiai Hiromitsu went to the site of the draw ceremony together.

The final bracket could neither be called good nor bad; the first opponent Seido High School would face was highly likely to be Yura Sogo Technical High School.

Because this team wasn't a seeded team, they needed to start from the first round and eventually meet Seido.

The team of the former Seido manager, Coach Sakaki.

This time, he would lead this new team, Yura Sogo Technical High School, to challenge Seido.

"In the semi-finals, we'll likely face Ichidai Sanko or Yakushi. On Inashiro's side, they'll face Seiko. In other words, it's very likely to be a showdown between us and Inashiro in the end."

After looking at the bracket, Kuramochi Yoichi said while rubbing his chin.

"Heh. The first round hasn't even started and you're already thinking so much."

"Can't I? With our strength, it would be strange if I didn't think that way." Kuramochi glared at Miyuki in defiance.

"Well, that's true. Excessive humility can be annoying," Huangqian Yangyi said.

"Exactly, Huangqian understands me," Kuramochi said.

On the other side, in the manager's office, seeing that Seido was likely to clash with the team led by his former teacher, Manager Kataoka felt conflicted and leaned back in his chair, beginning to reminisce about the past.

July 5th.

Tokyo, Shinjuku Ward, Meiji Jingu Stadium.

The opening ceremony of the Summer National High School Baseball Championship had already begun.

The sweltering summer made every team present miserable.

After the opening ceremony ended, the first round of the Summer Tournament officially began. Seido High School returned to school by bus; as a seeded team, they still had to wait for their first game.

Seido's scouting team, led by Third Year player Watanabe Hisashi, had already begun to investigate and collect intelligence on the opponents their team was likely to encounter in the third round, with Yura Sogo Technical High School as the primary focus.

Yura High School lived up to expectations, easily cutting down their opponents in the first two rounds and achieving two consecutive wins in the Summer Tournament, both ending early due to the run-rule.

In the games, whether in defense or batting, their players displayed high quality. Perhaps there were no so-called genius players on the team, but everyone's fundamentals were very solid, especially their ace, Higashiyama, who only gave up one run and two hits in 7 innings during the second round, ultimately winning with a score of 9:1.

The night before the third round of the Summer Tournament, Seishin Dormitory.

Everyone from the Seido High School Baseball Club was gathered here.

Although Yura Sogo Technical High School had only been a weak team before this, their manager was now the former manager of Seido, the former teacher of Manager Kataoka, which made everyone feel a different kind of vigilance toward this team.