Chapter 108: Draws for Teams

Before the Summer Tournament, there's one thing that's especially important.

That is the draw!

If in a region, a team's strength is overwhelmingly dominant, able to easily crush all of their opponents, then the draw doesn't hold much significance.

No matter who they draw, the result wouldn't change at all.

The Seidou High School baseball team, as the strongest team in the high school, should have that kind of strength.

But unfortunately, the members of the Seidou High School baseball team don't have that kind of confidence.

They really care about the outcome of the draw, as it can, to some extent, determine their fate.

It can't be helped; they are in the West Tokyo region.

In last year's Fall Tournament, if they hadn't faced Teito and Inashiro consecutively, the Seidou High School baseball team wouldn't have been eliminated so early, in the third round.

A lesson learned from experience!

It's because of this experience that Sawamura and Coach Ochiai, who represented Seidou High in the draw ceremony, were nervous.

Although they had the determination to defeat all opponents on the field, deep down, they couldn't help but pray that they wouldn't be unlucky.

"Don't be so nervous. We're the number one seed, so the chance of facing top-tier teams consecutively is low," Coach Ochiai said, trying to calm himself down.

The task of attending the draw was originally Coach Ochiai's responsibility.

Seidou High has the air of a champion. A draw isn't such a big deal to them.

But Sawamura stubbornly insisted on accompanying him.

Coach Ochiai, unable to shake him off, had no choice but to let him tag along.

"You can't say that. There's still the possibility of an accident," Sawamura replied.

Back in the spring, Inashiro Industrial High unexpectedly lost to Sankou High.

When that happened, all the top teams in West Tokyo shuddered.

No one was foolish. After seeing Inashiro's result, they clearly realized that whichever group Inashiro was drawn into during the Summer Tournament, that group would immediately become the "group of death."

Even the Seidou High School baseball team, if they faced Inashiro too early, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Such a battle of champions, if it happens too soon, would undoubtedly put Seidou on the chopping block.

If they lose the match, that's self-explanatory. But even if they win, their path ahead wouldn't be any easier.

"Don't worry, don't worry. The organizers aren't fools. There's no way they would let the first and second seeds face each other so early," Coach Ochiai said with a smile.

"The second seeded is Yakushi! The third seeded is Sankou High!" Sawamura reminded him quietly.

Coach Ochiai didn't reply to that.

He and Coach Kataoka had carefully studied the potential outcomes. They believed Seidou High might be unlucky.

According to the seeding rules, Yakushi as the second seeded, and Sankou High as the third seeded couldn't be placed in the same group as Seidou.

If they want to face Seidou, they would first have to fight through a series of matches.

When they do meet, it will be in the finals.

In fact, as the number one seeded, Seidou High doesn't even need to attend the draw. Their participation is just a formality.

Their number is one, the seeded for Group A of the four groups: A, B, C, and D.

Sankou and Yakushi are seeded for Groups C and D respectively.

The main reason for attending is to see which group Inashiro gets placed in.

If the draw is truly fair and transparent, the chances of Seidou and Inashiro meeting early are as high as 50%.

If the organizers decide to add another seeded to Group B or make slight adjustments behind the scenes, their chances of meeting earlier increase even further.

No matter how you look at it, the situation doesn't seem very optimistic.

Coach Ochiai and Coach Kataoka analyzed and finally concluded that fate wouldn't favor Seidou.

However,…

"The organizers aren't idiots. They know who the second seeded is. Why would they want to deliberately eliminate the strongest team?" Ochiai, familiar with the organizers' tactics, already had his own guess about the outcome.

In his opinion, Seidou High's situation should still be relatively optimistic.

Among the four teams in West Tokyo that have the potential to compete for the championship, Seidou High's baseball team, the reigning champion, is undoubtedly the strongest in terms of overall strength and media buzz.

To protect Seidou High's interests and to select the most powerful team in West Tokyo, the organizers are likely to place Inashiro in another group.

This would allow Inashiro, Sankou, and Yakushi to fight it out first, and the winner would then face Seidou High's baseball team.

This kind of tactic was common in previous years.

For example, last year, the organizers felt Inashiro was the strongest team and arranged for Sankou to face Seidou High early.

This year, the approach should be similar.

"Seidou's here!!"

As the main character, Seidou High's baseball team always made a grand entrance. When their representative arrived at the draw venue, most of the attendees were already there.

Upon seeing Coach Ochiai, a slight stir went through the crowd.

Now, no matter where they go, the Seidou High School baseball team is always the center of attention.

Even Coach Ochiai, as their coach, caused quite a commotion.

Of course, Sawamura, walking in behind him, made an even bigger impression.

The moment he stepped into the venue, the previously noisy hall fell silent.

Everyone quietly watched him, and at that moment, Sawamura became the focal point of the entire room.

People stared at him like he was a King.

Their gazes were mixed.

Some had unyielding fighting spirit, while others were filled with admiration...

"The Demon King has arrived!"

The Captain of the Seiko team muttered.

It must be said, that being in the same region as someone like Sawamura really feels like bad luck.

"Is this his way of declaring war on everyone?"

The representative of another top team said with a bitter smile.

He couldn't understand why Sawamura was here at such a time.

"Hello, everyone!" Sawamura greeted, as everyone's attention was solely focused on him, making it impossible for him to quietly slip into his seat.

He simply smiled and greeted anyone who greeted him.

Upon entering the hall, Sawamura realized the Summer Tournament's draw ceremony was completely different from the Fall Tournament.

Last year during the Fall Tournament, he saw a lot of old friends.

This time, he had stubbornly followed along hoping to meet these familiar faces.

After all, many of them were now third-year players, and if he didn't take the chance to interact with them, it wouldn't be so easy to meet again later.

But unexpectedly, this time, only a few main players attended the draw.

Even the Coach wasn't present much.

It was mostly some team representatives or coaches from various teams...

It seemed like everyone was calm and indifferent, not really concerned about the draw.

Of course, this was just a facade.

The more indifferent they appeared, the more it showed how much they cared about it.

Everyone's reaction right now was exactly the calm before the storm.

"Hey, long time no see!"

Just when Sawamura felt like he might have come for nothing, someone suddenly greeted him.

Following the voice, he saw the representatives of Yakushi High School.

They had sent three people: a manager who looked naive and sweet, and a person with a buzz cut, who looked like a teacher.

These were probably Yakushi High School's manager and a coach.

As Yakushi High's results had become more and more impressive, their personnel had also become more complete.

It was said that they had hired two assistant coaches, ambitiously aiming to become the fourth powerhouse in the West Tokyo region.

Sawamura wasn't interested in this matter.

And Yakushi High could never become such a powerhouse.

The soul of the team, the Todoroki father and son, had left for North America as soon as they graduated.

Without the leadership of the soul figure, with only Yakushi High's foundation, it would be impossible for them to become a powerhouse.

If Todoroki Raizou could have stayed and dedicated his life to Yakushi High, embedding all his experience deeply into the school's bones, maybe then there would have been a chance.

Otherwise, Yakushi High would just be a flash in the pan, a dark horse.

Historically, teams that have defeated the three major powerhouses of West Tokyo have existed before.

But after making waves, they quickly returned to calm.

To this day, aside from those involved, there are probably few who even remember them.

As for the three major powerhouses? They are still the three major powerhouses.

Even though Seidou High School's baseball team hadn't made it to Koshien for six consecutive years, that outcome still hadn't changed.

The term "powerhouse" may sound easy to say and may appear glamorous to outsiders, but how many have worked hard for it, even dedicating their entire lives?

Who would know?

The person who spoke to Sawamura Eijun was Yakushi High's Ace pitcher.

Sanada Shunpei!

For Sanada Shunpei, meeting the Todoroki father and son was what he called "luck."

Without the appearance of the Todoroki father and son, even though Sanada had talent, he definitely wouldn't have achieved the level he had now.

His performance had already attracted the interest of several professional teams.

Whether he went to college or entered professional baseball, his future was very bright.

Normally, such a high school career would be enough to satisfy anyone.

But unfortunately, Sanada didn't plan to be content with just that.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have appeared here.

"It seems like you've made up your mind to take us down, huh?" Sawamura said with a smile.

"You're personally stepping in. Isn't Seidou High's attitude the same?" Sanada clearly misunderstood.

Like everyone else in the room, he assumed that Sawamura's appearance here represented Seidou High's baseball team's stance, meant to show off to all the opponents present.

Anyone can see how the reporters were going crazy. The cameras were constantly focused on Sawamura, the sound of the shutters clicking was almost annoying.

If nothing unexpected happens, Sawamura's participation in the draw would be all over the news by the next day.

Sawamura couldn't help but feel helpless.

To be honest, none of this was what he wanted. He simply wanted to meet some old friends.

But even if he said it, no one would believe him.

After the host explained the rules, the draw officially began.

On the surface, it seemed like the draw was very fair and just.

The seeded for each group had already been listed, exactly as Ochiai had initially guessed.

The Seidou High School baseball team was in Group A.

As the number one seeded, besides the privilege of their group, they also had another special privilege.

They would be exempt from the first two rounds, starting from the third round of the elimination matches.

This was very important, no need to elaborate.

Sankou High was the seeded for Group C.

Yakushi High was the seeded for Group D.

This was also part of Seidou High's privilege as the number one seeded.

The other two seeded teams would have to face off first before they could play against Seidou High.

This meant that Seidou High had one less formidable opponent to worry about.

Everything went smoothly. All teams drew their lots, and when Group A was fully filled, Inashiro Industrial was nowhere to be seen.

"Just as I expected!" Ochiai's face showed a smile.

Beside him, Sanada wore a bitter expression.

The group with the most empty spots was theirs.

Did this mean that this year they had to defeat Inashiro Industrial, Sankou High, and then Seidou to even have a chance to advance to Koshien?

Even if Sanada and his team were full of fighting spirit and determination to battle any opponent to the end, facing this situation, it was hard not to feel despair.

In fact, if the draw had turned out like this, Yakushi High would almost certainly not make it to the end.

Forget about them, even if Seidou High's baseball team was in the same position, the chances of making it to the end wouldn't be that high.

Sawamura, standing to the side, smiled slyly.

He swore he wasn't trying to enjoy their misfortune.

But Yakushi's luck was indeed a little unfortunate!

Finally, it was Inashiro Industrial's turn to draw.

"Group B! Number 47!"

...