Chapter 40: Sawamura’s Test

Sawamura didn't know how many young players The slick-talking 'agent' in front of him had deceived.

Although most of the young players who were meant to become famous eventually did, going through all of this could likely impact their ultimate achievements.

From an agent's perspective, Robert was simply trying to make as much money as possible, which might seem understandable.

But from the player's standpoint, his actions were utterly despicable.

Sawamura, who originally only wanted to tease him, immediately changed his mind.

He decided to give Robert a hard lesson and show him that players are not so easily fooled.

"Our Seidou High School will be heading to the U.S. for an exchange game. The other two opponents have already been confirmed, but the game with the New York Dream Team has encountered some problems, it is regretful as this would be a great opportunity for me and my teammates," Sawamura said with a regretful look.

Robert nodded.

Contrary to Sawamura's expectations, Robert did not seem ready to back down.

Although the two sides had only talked for a short half hour, Robert had already made a simple judgment about Sawamura.

'This is a very mature kid!'

Despite being just a teenager, his words and priorities were highly mature, no less than those of veteran Major League players who had been in the game for years.

Sawamura could speak fluent, standard American English, which made it clear he had ambitions for the Major Leagues.

After their brief exchange, Sawamura should have had a good impression of him. At least, that was what Robert thought.

Now, it would be a test of how far he can take this.

The difficulty Sawamura was mentioning was, in fact, the test he was setting for Robert.

Sawamura probably wanted to see just how capable Robert was as an agent.

'A practice game with the New York Dream Team?'

To Robert, this didn't seem like an impossible task.

North America is a place that chases dreams, where reality is very harsh.

There's nothing that money can't solve. If it's not working out, it's simply because you didn't offer enough money.

"I can try it!" Robert agreed directly, without even proposing to sign any agency contract.

'What!?'

Robert's blunt attitude really caught Sawamura off guard.

'Did he even realize the kind of test he was about to face?'

Getting in touch with the Dream Team was not going smoothly. The main reason was that the key players of the Dream Team were no longer just students.

They had already signed with Minor League teams.

And they had signed with different teams.

It wouldn't be a problem to play a practice game, but gathering the original Dream Team had become quite difficult.

For cross-country practice games, in addition to the Academy's approval, the Minor League teams also had to agree.

Otherwise, the so-called Dream Team would turn into a watered-down version of the Dream Team.

"Are you sure they will be the original Dream Team members?" Sawamura asked.

After all, Sawamura wasn't a heartless person. He was genuinely concerned that Robert might hit a wall and hurt himself.

Everyone was just trying to make a living, and in truth, it wasn't easy for anyone.

Sawamura thought it would be enough to teach Robert a lesson by delaying him a little—letting him travel back and forth between Japan and North America a few times and wasting his money and time.

But if Robert put all his efforts into this, he could very well be doomed.

It would also spell disaster for the young players who had signed with him.

The most crucial point was that Sawamura could never sign a contract with Robert.

In other words, no matter how hard Robert tried, his efforts would be in vain.

Sawamura didn't have the potential to become a con artist, and when the time came, he would soften his heart.

"Don't worry, Mr. Sawamura, I know what I'm doing," Robert assured, speaking with confidence and elegance.

It seemed to him that this was just a trivial matter.

Sawamura could only chuckle.

He understood that Robert was using negotiation tactics, but he also knew that Robert was digging his own grave.

With the limited resources and connections of a small-time agent/scammer like him, organizing such a practice game would require significant money and networking.

After spending all that money and effort, he would have a genius like Sawamura on his hands.

Even after taking such a huge gamble, there was no guarantee of success.

If Robert had a vision and maintained a good relationship with Sawamura, perhaps things could change.

But unfortunately, Sawamura had never intended to sign with Robert.

He had already had his ideal agent in mind long ago...

In this situation, Robert was ready to invest a lot of money and connections to show his sincerity.

Whether he succeeded or not remained to be seen.

But even if he did succeed, it was unlikely to be worth the cost.

Thinking about it, Sawamura suddenly felt a bit wicked.

Watching Robert leave, Sawamura hesitated.

For a moment, he actually wanted to stop him.

But if he called out to Robert, what could he possibly say?

In the end, all his words turned into a helpless sigh.

When Robert had fooled those young players, he probably didn't feel any guilt either.

'Let him learn a lesson.'

At most, Sawamura could find a way to help those young players.

After parting ways with Robert, Sawamura rushed back to the hotel where Seidou High School was staying.

"Has the Inajitsu Industrial High School game finished?"

Their opponents had been decided, and at the same time, the Inajitsu Industrial High School game had begun.

By the time Sawamura returned to the hotel, the game was nearing its end.

After five innings, the score was 7-0.

Inajitsu Industrial High School was leading.

Their starting pitcher was Tokyo's Prince, Narumiya Mei.

During the game, Narumiya demonstrated extremely strong pitching skills.

He struck out seven batters, didn't give up a single hit, and didn't allow any runs.

"This guy's form is completely back!"

The players of Seidou's baseball team gave him very high praise.

Narumiya Mei, after experiencing the Spring Koshien, had been somewhat depressed for a while due to overexerting himself.

So much so that when he faced off against Sankou High School, he lost outright to them.

Inajitsu's reputation plummeted.

When the spring Koshien had just ended, Inajitsu Industrial High School had been considered on par with Seidou High School.

Even in external evaluations, Inajitsu was seen as slightly stronger than Seidou.

Even in the final of the spring Koshien, Inajitsu had lost to Seidou, yet many people still firmly believed that Inajitsu was the strongest team in the nation.

Compared to them, Seidou still seemed to have a slight gap.

The players in Seidou's baseball team were helpless.

Even if they asked themselves, they didn't believe they were better than Inajitsu.

But since Inajitsu lost to Sankou High School, their reputation had been steadily declining.

Now, just over a month later, it was hard for them to even compare to Seidou High School.

"Good!"

Looking at the invincible figure of Narumiya Mei, Sawamura felt a deep sense of relief.

Since the spring Koshien, this guy's condition hadn't been particularly good.

As a rival, Sawamura should have been happy. But as a friend, he couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

High school baseball is incredibly harsh.

In his previous life, Narumiya Mei had to delay his entry to professional baseball because of injuries and went to university instead.

Now was the most critical time for him. Although Sawamura had privately reminded him about this, he understood that Narumiya, knowing his personality, probably wouldn't listen.

Fortunately, Coach Kunitomo would not leave him to his own devices.

Sawamura could only hope everything would go smoothly and safely.

Seeing Narumiya performing so energetically now made Sawamura feel very comforted.

He was also happy to be able to compete against this guy once again.

He just hoped that Inajitsu wouldn't end up like Yakushi High School.

'If they suffered another unexpected loss..'.

The teams that came to the Kanto Tournament from Tokyo might as well just stuff a baseball in their throat with their bat and kill themselves.

What face would they have to return to Tokyo? It would be too embarrassing.

Coach Kunitomo couldn't understand Sawamura's concerns. After five innings, he still boldly put his trust in the newcomers.

Kanto Tournament

Both Seidou High School and Yakushi High School had promoted a large number of newcomers.

Of course, there were differences here.

The reason Seidou High School promoted so many talented newcomers was that these new players were truly excellent.

No matter what, Coach Kataoka and the coaching staff couldn't just turn a blind eye and call back seniors who were not as strong or as full of potential as these newcomers.

Yakushi High School promoted six new recruits all at once, not because all six were at that level.

In reality, only three of them could actually play in the games.

The great samurai Igarashi Sora.

A rookie pitcher who loved adult books, Tomobe Sakito.

And the violent batter, Kuroki Daigo.

The other three had not yet reached the level required to play.

But Yakushi High School had a small roster to begin with.

There were fewer players and even fewer with real talent. Their first-string players barely made the cut, with many of them only able to hold their own as substitutes.

More than half of them were just filling spots.

It was finally their turn to have decent newcomers. How could Todoroki Raizou not promote them?

Thus, all six promising newcomers were promoted to the first string of Yakushi High School.

Like these two teams, Inajitsu High School had also recruited many potential newcomers this year.

But only a few could actually make it to the first string.

Aside from the top-tier players, when it came to the depth of the team, Inajitsu had far more strength than Seidou High School.

Naturally, it was much harder for newcomers to stand out.

However, the players who managed to break through in this kind of environment must possess otherworldly talents beyond imagination.

Inajitsu High School promoted just such a player, a rookie who had just entered his first year.

Akamatsu Shinji!

After Narumiya Mei left the field, Akamatsu, wearing the No. 20 jersey, took the mound.

When Inajitsu High School put a first-year pitcher in the game, replacing their most reliable Ace, Narumiya, it was sure to excite their opponents.

For them, this was like a delicious pie falling from the sky.

They had already heard about Yakushi High School's unexpected defeat.

Wasn't that because they trusted the newcomers too much, which led to such an embarrassing result?

Now, Inajitsu High School was making the same mistake, so of course, they were going to push Inajitsu into the abyss.

Let them become just another pair of unfortunate souls, alongside Yakushi and send them back to Tokyo once again.

Whoosh!!

Such a hopeful idea was quickly shattered after watching Akamatsu's first pitch.

Through the TV screen, the players of Seidou High School couldn't fully grasp just how terrifying the pitch was.

But judging by the batter's reaction, it was clear that this pitch was no small matter.

"Did you see the batter?"

"He was completely dumbfounded!"

After five innings with Inajitsu High School, their opponents had only allowed seven points.

Against such a violent batting lineup, they were still able to stabilize their game.

The strength of the opponent was certainly not lacking.

The quality of their players was high.

But it was precisely for this reason that the players of Seidou High School's baseball team found it even more difficult to judge.

"Just how powerful was this Akamatsu's pitching?"

What kind of terrifying ability did he possess that could leave the opponent completely stunned, acting like an innocent child?

"Not just Yakushi, Inajitsu has really strengthened a lot!"

Miyuki shook his head emotionally.

It wasn't just Seidou that was lucky. The three teams from West Tokyo had all brought in many potential newcomers.

And all of them got exactly the reinforcements they most needed.

Inajitsu High School brought in pitchers that added depth to their team.

Yakushi High School strengthened both their pitchers and batters.

Seidou High School also gained a lot of strong and promising players with unique characteristics.

Once all these reinforcements mature and become the nutrients that nourish each team...

The clash between the three teams was bound to evolve into a real Warring Era.

"The games in West Tokyo might actually be even tougher than Koshien."

Miyuki said with emotion.

"Geniuses always gather together. Didn't the Golden State Warriors have their golden age when Michael Jordan emerged? And all those other great players... For us, this is actually a very fortunate thing. It shows that our generation is not destined to be ordinary."

There was an indescribable fighting spirit in Sawamura's eyes.

He was truly, truly excited.

Just thinking about the opportunity to compete against so many skilled players, and to do so without worries in high school, thrilled him beyond measure.

It wasn't just the excitement of defeating strong opponents; there was also a sense of nostalgia and longing mixed in.

It made Eijun enjoy it immensely.

Honestly, he couldn't wait.

But at the same time, he didn't want the games to come too soon.

It was a very indescribable feeling.

The game at Inajitsu High School soon ended.

In his first appearance, he struck out six batters at the Kanto Tournament.

Today, the player named Akamatsu was destined to become famous in the whole of Kanto.

His strength was recognized by everyone.

"The momentum of his debut is almost catching up with Sawamura!!"

A newcomer performing so strongly reminded people of Sawamura.

When he first entered the Kanto Tournament last year, he seemed to have had a similar experience.

"He's still far behind!"

Sawamura scoffed dismissively.

Although he admitted that the guy named Akamatsu had some ability, he still seemed very immature compared to him.

The players in Seidou's baseball club looked at Sawamura with smiles, but no one argued.

They never doubted the strength of their own Ace.

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was the day Seidou High School was set to face Oikaze High School.

The second round of the Kanto Tournament.

Seidou High School was playing against Oikaze High School.

The game was about to start.

…

T/N: As always, Thank you all for reading!!

See you Tomorrow!

Until then, take care!

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