Tokyo, Jingu Stadium.
This is the assembly point for the national youth team.
It seems that Coach Takeda still has some ability, as he managed to use this stadium as the training ground for the national youth team.
Although they won't be here for long, at least this shows that everyone is taking this batch of youth players seriously.
On the field, more than 40 selected players gathered in small groups, chatting casually.
When Sawamura arrived at the stadium, he immediately became a busy person. There was no way around it—out of the 40 or so players, there were only three or four who were strangers to him.
The rest, he had played against them before.
They were all players who had lost to him!
Sawamura laughed and chatted with them. It was quite a stressful situation—he was talking to a bunch of players who had all lost to him.
These guys were all talented, each one proud and arrogant, their eyes practically growing on top of their heads.
Dealing with such people, even Sawamura couldn't help but stay on high alert.
To put it nicely, these guys had strong personalities, but to be blunt, they were just a bunch of troublemakers.
And even worse, they were troublemakers with an inflated sense of superiority.
Deep down, they were all sore about losing to Seidou High School's baseball team, especially losing to Sawamura. They couldn't wait for a chance to teach him a lesson.
So, when they greeted Sawamura, they subtly exuded a murderous intent.
It sent chills down his spine.
It was in this atmosphere that Sawamura greeted the other players.
Luckily, he had a big heart, and he didn't take the pressure of the big stage too seriously.
Otherwise, if their gazes could kill, Sawamura might have been sliced to pieces by his opponents.
Even the members of the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team could clearly feel it.
"Man, your popularity is terrible. I feel like everyone's eyes are about to eat you alive," said Narumiya, grinning.
"Can't help it, that's just how relationships go, right?" Shirakawa added coolly from the side.
Sawamura felt like both his front and back were being stabbed at the same time by these two.
These guys were truly infuriating without any mercy.
If the law didn't stop him, Sawamura would have been tempted to give them a lesson himself.
"Just a bunch of losers. I'm not going to take it to heart," Sawamura said dismissively.
Narumiya and Shirakawa felt like they had a lump of blood stuck in their throats, unable to spit it out. It was so annoying!
"If you keep talking like that, you might lose all your friends," someone warned.
"There are opponents on the field, and that's enough. As for friends, I'll pass," Sawamura said casually, feeling pretty confident.
Sure enough, Narumiya and Shirakawa were left speechless.
"By the way, you guys are pretty impressive too. Even though you didn't make it to Koshien, four of you still made it to the national team," Sawamura said, impressed.
It was no wonder that some people had ranked Inashiro Industrial High School ahead of Seidou in their strength analysis earlier.
They were indeed strong!
Narumiya aside, players like Carlos, Shirakawa, and Yamaoka were all top-tier players in their respective positions.
Even if you scoured the entire country, it was rare to find players stronger than them.
"You guys are pretty good too, three of you made it!" Shirakawa said, his eyes fixed on Kuramochi.
When Shirakawa first became famous, Seidou's "Cheetah" was only just beginning to emerge.
Who would have expected that, in just one year, he would be on the same stage as Shirakawa, as a representative of the national team?
For the players from Tokyo, in addition to the four from Inashiro, and the three from Seidou, there were another eight players, making the total number of Tokyo players who were selected 15.
Tokyo alone accounted for a third of the total 45 players nationwide.
No wonder Tokyo fans had been going wild, claiming that the big competitions in Tokyo were like a mini Koshien.
And honestly, there was some truth to that.
Apart from the seven others, the remaining eight players were mostly from West Tokyo.
Only two were from East Tokyo, and they were surprisingly good: one was the ace pitcher from Ugumori High, Umemiya.
Sawamura was surrounded by people, clearly the center of attention, while Umemiya had a solitary aura around him, with no one daring to approach him.
It was understandable, though. Baseball players, despite their excellent physical conditioning, weren't warriors.
To put it simply, they were all honest kids at heart. The moment they saw Umemiya, they felt they were from different worlds.
His appearance, demeanor, and even his aura gave off a bad vibe. No baseball player in their right mind would want to associate with someone like that unless they were crazy.
The other was Inui from Teito High.
This was another surprising choice. Most people had expected Teito's ace pitcher, Mukai, to be picked instead.
Mukai, though still refining his pitching, was already strong and had been leading Teito's team forward.
No one doubted that Mukai was the true soul of Teito's team.
So, why was Inui chosen over him?
Sawamura, caught up in the confusion, couldn't understand.
But for the other players, it wasn't that surprising. Mukai wasn't chosen not because of his lack of skill—on the contrary, his strength was undeniable. But the current team had more fearsome monsters.
Demon King Sawamura, Narumiya, Hongou, Akashi, Sanada, and so on.
Looking at these players, it was clear why no one could replace them.
Aside from the nine of them, the other six players came from three teams: Sankou High's Amahisa, Hoshida, the Yakushi High team's Raichi, Sanada, and Igarashi Sora.
Igarashi was the only freshman from Tokyo.
There was also a mysterious pick, Maki Yousuke, the giant pitcher from Sensen. No one had expected him to be chosen, especially considering his performance in Tokyo.
But, inexplicably, he got the spot.
In total, the 15 players from Tokyo accounted for a third of the total selection.
When Coach Takeda observed the players training, he looked very serious.
"This year's Tokyo is truly remarkable!" he said, impressed.
He wasn't just referring to Tokyo's dominance in terms of numbers. Tokyo had a lot of irreplaceable players—players like Sawamura, Narumiya, Miyuki, Kuramochi, Carlos, Raichi, and many others. They couldn't possibly be replaced by anyone else, no matter how much talent there was across the country.
As Takeda pondered, all the players had assembled.
Once Sawamura reminded him, Takeda returned to his usual calm.
"I'm glad everyone accepted the invitation. With so many talented players, I believe we can break the deadlock and reach the pinnacle of the world…"
He spoke for a while, saying a lot of things that seemed meaningful but ultimately weren't.
It had become routine. With Sawamura's growing strength, those who used to speak recklessly were no longer around.
After that, Coach Takeda introduced Sawamura as the team Captain.
"I'd like to introduce our Captain, Sawamura Eijun."
The teammates from Tokyo had mixed feelings about Sawamura, especially since he was younger than most of them.
But despite their grievances about losing to Seidou and Sawamura, they had to acknowledge one undeniable fact: Sawamura's skills were far above theirs.
No matter how they felt, it was a reality they couldn't change.
Takeda, sensing the team's unique composition, was excited.
The Tokyo players filled almost every position, and even in positions where they were lacking, it wasn't critical—someone else could fill the gap.
This team, Takeda realized, was essentially already a prototype for a complete team.
Before the training officially began, he suddenly spoke up.
"I've been thinking for a while, and to quickly understand everyone's tactical and technical features, we'll need to prepare a little."
"Nothing beats a match to get to know each other. We don't have much time. Let's split into two teams. The players from Tokyo line up on one side, and the others on the other side."
The Tokyo team's Coach would naturally be Sawamura, who had been a national champion Coach in middle school.
The other team would be coached by Takeda himself.
After everyone took their positions, they would quickly discuss tactics and start the match.
This sudden change confused everyone, especially the players.
Takeda's methods had always been a bit unorthodox, and now, they were once again baffled.
…
T/N: Well, That's it for now.
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