<42> Quarterfinal Opponent, Nada High!

Chapter 42: Quarterfinal Opponent, Nada High!

Furuya certainly understood Sawamura's talent. He had even planned to guide his future rival at the right time.

After all, if his opponent wasn't strong enough, he'd find it quite troubling.

But now it seemed there was no need for him to intervene. This little guy's talent was starting to emerge on its own.

"Alright, let's do this!"

The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Seidou High's baseball team learned who their opponent for the second round would be.

"Nada High School, from Chiba Prefecture."

It was a school that, just by its name, gave off a good impression.

"How strong are they?"

"A team that makes it to the top eight in the Kanto region can't be weak."

It was a general evaluation, but it showed that Seidou's players didn't know much about their upcoming opponent.

"Do we have any game footage?"

"We must have sent someone to observe their matches, right?"

Just as everyone was asking these questions, a graceful figure appeared before them.

"Of course we've already gotten the game footage."

Seeing that familiar figure, most of Seidou's first-string players smiled knowingly.

"As expected of Miss Takashima, always so efficient!"

"Rei-chan is as reliable as ever!"

Even Miyuki couldn't help but give their vice-captain a thumbs up.

"If you keep disrespecting me like this, I'll definitely deal with you. I've mastered Grandpa Sawamura's secret slap technique!"

Ever since Sawamura was specially recruited, Takashima Rei seemed to have broken free from some kind of restraint. She never hesitated to deal with any player who was disrespectful to her.

The game footage quickly finished playing.

"Any thoughts? Feel free to share them," the coach asked.

Seidou's first-string players glanced at each other, unsure of what to say.

As one of the top eight teams in the Kanto Tournament, their opponents' strength was undeniable.

From every angle, the opposing team was definitely not weak.

But that was about it.

"Yuki?"

Seeing no one else answering, Coach Kataoka naturally directed the question to their captain.

"They're not weak."

The captain's response was short and to the point.

"And?"

Takashima Rei pressed for more.

"That's all..."

Given his personality, that concise five-word evaluation was all their captain could muster.

Actually, that was already quite good!

Asking him to say anything more would be difficult.

"This opponent doesn't seem that strong," Sawamura whispered.

His comment left Kanemaru, who was next to him, unsure of how to respond.

They had all watched the game footage. Nada High's ace and their team members were definitely not weak.

To fight their way out of a region like Kanto and make it to the top eight in the Kanto Tournament, Nada High undoubtedly had the strength of a prestigious team.

Each of their players, in their respective positions, performed commendably on the field.

As opponents, if Kanemaru were the one playing against them, he believed they would stand no chance. Not only would they lose, but the defeat might be even worse than their previous welcome match.

But would they need to play in the upcoming game?

Not at all! The ones who would actually take the field were Seidou's first-string players. 

Captain Yuki, Miyuki Kazuya, Jun Isashiki...

And the monster, Furuya.

Though Nada High displayed impressive strength in the footage, when compared to Seidou's first-string players, the gap was still glaringly obvious.

In fact, let alone comparing them to Seidou. Even compared to Seidou's first-round opponent, Yokohama Kohouku High, Nada High was still significantly lacking.

"We really have joined an incredible team," the captain remarked, after which the other Seidou players began to share their thoughts.

They described the challenges of the game as best they could, making it clear they had no intention of underestimating their opponent.

"Don't let your guard down!"

Coach Kataoka was quite satisfied with the players' statements and gave them another reminder.

Any team that had made it this far was not to be taken lightly.

Facing such a team meant giving their all from the very beginning.

If they underestimated their opponent and let them take advantage early on, they could find themselves in a difficult position.

Once they were forced into a passive stance, turning the tide of the game would be extremely hard.

"Always remember this: treat every game as if it were your last!"

Seidou's baseball team's approach was to go all out.

No matter who their opponent was, they would show the utmost respect in both tactics and strategy.

"Furuya, what do you think?"

Hearing his name, Furuya was visibly surprised.

He didn't expect that, as a first-year rookie, he would receive such attention from the coach.

By this point, the second and third-year seniors had already praised every possible aspect of the opposing team.

After struggling for a while, Furuya finally managed to come up with a highlight.

"They're... good-looking!"

Indeed, Nada High's baseball players were quite handsome. Several of them could even qualify to debut as idols.

But even so, the second and third-year Seidou players hadn't expected their junior to give that as his reason.

They all burst into laughter.

Kuramochi was even rolling on the hallway floor, clutching his stomach.

Furuya awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

He knew he had embarrassed himself, but he didn't really care.

"Well, that's a plus too," Coach Kataoka chimed in, "Just don't get distracted by their large cheerleading squad."

The Seidou players were stunned by their coach's obvious attempt to defend Furuya.

"Coach your favoritism is way too obvious!"

Jun Isashiki, with his signature mustache, voiced what everyone was thinking.

"If you could throw a 154 km/h pitch, I'd favor you too."

As soon as Coach Kataoka said this, Seidou's players were left speechless, as if they'd turned to stone.

In their minds, their coach had always been stern and serious.

Who would've thought he could crack a joke?

It seemed that Furuya's presence had a bigger impact on the team than they had imagined.

Even the non-regular players felt the lighthearted atmosphere spread throughout the team.

Ever since Furuya had joined, everything seemed different.

Even their strict coach appeared to have relaxed quite a bit.

Seidou's players were now brimming with confidence ahead of their next game.

However, outside of the team, not everyone shared the same optimism about Seidou High's upcoming performance.

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