[When asked if Sawamura would be selected for this year's national team, Coach Takeda did not give a response. It seems that the national youth team is stubbornly holding its ground, firmly rejecting Sawamura's inclusion.]
[The door to the national youth team is once again closed to Sawamura.]
[The country's best players are unable to join the national team. Is this the loss of the national team, or the misfortune of the player?]
[Bureaucracy, practicality, what hope is there for Japan now?]
Online trolls are never specific to any one place; such mysterious individuals exist everywhere.
Though they grew up healthily and well, they seem to harbor a strange cynicism toward anyone for no apparent reason.
Every time they go online, it feels like they can't bear to not criticize anyone, even themselves.
Japan is no exception.
The rumors about Sawamura's exclusion from the national team were buzzing online once again, trending at the top.
When Sawamura returned to his dormitory to pack, he happened to run into first-year juniors Nishiyama and Asada.
Both looked at Sawamura with faces full of sympathy.
Although they each had their own ambitions and goals for joining the team, after spending time in the same team and dorm, there might be no one who understands Sawamura better than they do.
Because they understood him, they deeply knew how terrifying Sawamura's strength was.
To put it bluntly, it would be hard to find anyone in high school who could match Sawamura's level.
There may be players who have fought against him for a short time, but when it comes to overall strength, Sawamura is definitely number one.
Is the national team blind?
How can such a player be turned away?
Why was it that such an outstanding Senpai didn't receive an invitation from the national team?
It should be noted that America was quite different this time, especially after Sawamura defeated the "Son of Baseball" Allen.
It caused quite a stir in America, and many young, excellent players wanted to challenge him.
Allen even stated that if given the chance, he would want to face Sawamura again.
Although Allen had graduated from high school, he was still only 18 years old and fully qualified to participate in the U18 competition.
The upcoming match between the "Son of Baseball" and the "Great Demon King" was even being hyped by the media in other countries.
To everyone's surprise, it was being rumored that Japan had once again abandoned Sawamura.
It was too much!
"Why do you look so sad? Are you going to miss Kuramochi-senpai? Don't worry, all good things must come to an end. Besides, he would still be in school, just in a different dormitory." Sawamura tried to comfort them.
At this moment, he genuinely thought that the two younger ones were sad because they didn't want to say goodbye to Kuramochi.
They all lived in the same dorm, even though they weren't in the same grade.
But they got along well, and despite Kuramochi's delinquent exterior, he never hesitated to look after his juniors.
Now that Kuramochi was in his third year and had finished the Koshien finals, his time in high school baseball was over.
Now that he had retired, they would have fewer chances to contact him.
Once the vacation ended and everyone returned to school, it would be time for Kuramochi to move out of the dorm.
It was a bit harsh, but it was a natural process. Of course, they had every reason to be sad.
As for Sawamura, he had already won a victory with his teammates.
In the one or two years they had been together, they had claimed all the victories they needed.
Sawamura could pat his chest without guilt and say that his time with his friends had been happy, and there were no regrets.
Since there were no regrets, there was nothing to feel guilty about.
The wheels of fate never stop.
Although Sawamura felt sad about the departure of his old friend, he understood that it was inevitable.
Seeing his juniors upset, he even had the mindset to comfort them.
But unexpectedly, both shook their heads.
'It wasn't about that?'
Sawamura was confused and couldn't help but ask.
"Then why are you both so sad? Is something wrong with you?"
"We have no problem, it's your problem," Nishiyama said.
Sawamura was even more confused. He couldn't understand what this kid was thinking.
"Haha, don't waste your energy! It's like when you made fun of me for being old. In front of these two guys, you're already an old Senpai, your thoughts are inevitably getting outdated," Kuramochi said with a smile.
Sawamura was furious. If this weren't the dorm, he would definitely let this guy know that he wasn't someone to mess with!
"So that's what's going on," Sawamura said, his face full of disbelief.
It was only after the two explained that he realized that the media had been buzzing about his exclusion from the national team.
Sawamura himself was quite angry about this situation.
As for why Coach Takeda had not immediately released the news after inviting him...
"You will be our secret weapon."
Coach Takeda's message with the invitation was straight on this point.
Indeed.
Now, Sawamura's fame wasn't just limited to Japan.
Since he had defeated America's Ace, the "Son of Baseball" Allen, his performance in that game had far exceeded Allen's.
A "Son of Baseball" and a "Great Demon King."
Sawamura had used Allen's fame to step on the shoulders of a giant, and now he was in a whole new league.
Sawamura had already gained nationwide fame. Every move he made would have a huge impact.
If people knew that Sawamura couldn't play in the competition for various reasons...
That would be a pleasant surprise for all the other teams.
It didn't matter what kind of complications were going on between Sawamura and the national team.
As long as Sawamura couldn't join the national team, he couldn't represent Japan in the competition.
Then they could ignore it.
If they didn't specifically train for Sawamura, even if the other teams had strong players, they would still be worn down.
Sawamura was being treated as a secret weapon.
Originally, everyone was supposed to play a practice match after gathering.
They would use the match to test their team.
But Sawamura didn't participate and quietly boarded another plane under the guidance of an assistant coach.
It wasn't until all the teams had gathered, with 12 national teams divided into groups, that they would begin the head-to-head competition.
The top teams from each group would advance directly.
After the top teams were decided, it would be a pure knockout format.
The knockout was simple: win and advance, lose and stay behind.
Sawamura's participation was originally planned to be revealed only when the team roster was finalized.
But human curiosity is endless. Through diligent investigation by reporters, they confirmed one thing.
The youth team could have 20 players, but Coach Takeda had only called up 19.
There must be a secret weapon hidden away for some reason.
People were guessing that the mysterious player had an unmatched trust.
Naturally, the reporters followed them for interviews.
Fujio Mine, an experienced reporter from Baseball Kingdom Magazine, and Owada Akiko were fortunate enough to get this opportunity.
While preparing to interview the players, they suddenly saw a very familiar figure.
Owada's mouth dropped open in disbelief.
"He, he..."
"What's wrong?"
Fujio quickly asked in concern, wondering what had happened to his partner.
Owada was very hyped.
"It's him, it's definitely him. I can't be mistaken."
Fujio sighed inwardly.
At first, he didn't believe it.
That day, they followed their plan and interviewed Coach Takeda, hoping to get a clear answer from him.
But surprisingly, the usually decisive Coach Takeda hesitated, never giving a clear answer.
As an experienced reporter, Fujio could read the situation clearly.
It seemed that Coach Takeda had been playing everyone. Although outwardly he seemed indifferent to Sawamura joining the national team, privately, he had already invited the "Great Demon King" Sawamura to join.
"If Sawamura has already joined the national team, I think Coach Takeda, you don't need to be so cautious. We will definitely win. At that point, this strategy will not add any extra points for us," Fujio bluntly said.
Despite Fujio's straightforwardness, Coach Takeda remained unmoved.
He still hadn't confirmed that Sawamura had joined the national team.
It wasn't until the player roster needed to be finalized that Coach Takeda made the announcement.
He had invited Sawamura to join the national team.
Having completed the gathering, this invitation seemed almost like a joke.
To the audience, this news was not only unexpected but also shocking.
It was too sudden!
Sawamura had parachuted into the national team without any propaganda.
And as soon as he arrived, he was given the number 1 jersey.
Later, Coach Takeda announced that he had appointed Sawamura to be the team Ace and Captain.
This caused a huge uproar.
While people recognized Sawamura's baseball talent, they weren't sure about his other qualities.
Although he was both a player and coach for the Akagi Baseball Team, and did a great job, this didn't mean everything Sawamura did would work out.
Especially since he had no prior experience in world-class tournaments.
Of course, these were just superficial excuses, not the real reason.
The true reason everyone had a hard time accepting this was simple.
Sawamura was only second year.
Most of the top players in this round were older than him.
Japan had a strict hierarchy, and with older players around, it would be hard for a junior to become captain.
Even though Sawamura was already the Ace of the Seidou High School Baseball Team, he wasn't made Captain after his Senpai teammates retired.
Now, these third-year players were sidelined, while Sawamura became the national team Captain.
No matter how one looked at it, this seemed like a big move.
…
T/N: Well, That's it for now.
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