Everyone returned to school, but there was no intention of catching up on lost time. As Baseball Club players, their holidays were already later than regular students, and they had to report to school a week earlier as well. The vacation time left in between was incredibly short.
There was no joy of a long-awaited reunion; everyone still felt completely at ease with each other upon meeting.
After all, if you really counted, they hadn't even been separated for two weeks.
If there was any news, it was, of course, the ongoing Spring Koshien. The Spring Koshien had already completed two rounds, and the top eight teams were hotly contested.
Tokyo's two representatives, Inashiro Industrial and Ichidai Third High School, both made it into the top eight.
"It looks like our upcoming challenges are still significant."
The Seido High School Baseball Team could not possibly be happy hearing this news.
Their three teams were in the same division, so the Summer Tournament would be a fierce battle.
"So, according to you, you hope those two teams get taught a lesson on the Koshien field? Get utterly defeated?"
Zhang Han asked curiously, hearing the complaints from his teammates.
"That's even worse!"
Isashiki Jun, shook his head vigorously. Those two teams had reached Koshien after eliminating the Seido High School Baseball Team.
If they were easily defeated by their opponents, it wouldn't just be their own face they'd lose. It would be an embarrassment for all of Tokyo.
If the winners didn't perform well, wouldn't losers like Seido have even less face?
"You guys are really hard to please!"
Zhang Han spread his hands helplessly.
What on earth were these seniors thinking? He really didn't understand.
"Just angry!"
"No, it should be jealousy."
"Narumiya Mei and Manaka Kaname, these two are performing too well. It's practically heaven-defying!"
"Will they meet?"
"It depends on the top eight draw results."
"It's already out. If there are no surprises, they will meet in the semifinals, but I don't think there's much hope."
"Why?"
"Ichidai Third High School's opponent is Seihou."
Seihou, in the previous Koshien that Seido participated in, had ultimately lost to Osaka Kiryu and finished second.
But that doesn't mean their strength can only rank second. The true situation is probably the opposite. Seihou High School might even be stronger than the Osaka Kiryu High School Baseball Team, which won the championship.
The previous Jingu Tournament was clear proof.
"What about Inashiro Industrial?"
"Their luck is incredible. If nothing unexpected happens, advancing to the semifinals is not a problem at all."
Although the Seido High School Baseball Team had no explicit rule about it, everyone knew that Director Kataoka was not happy with them discussing the Spring Koshien privately.
He had been very angry before, saying they were aiming too high and hadn't truly settled their minds.
If they could settle their minds and focus on honing their baseball skills, they would never have been so embarrassed in practice games.
But with such events happening right before their eyes, how could they possibly not discuss it? They simply couldn't remain indifferent.
"Alright, let's not talk about that. Let's talk about our upcoming Spring Tournament."
The Spring Tournament would begin shortly after the new semester started. It was basically synchronized with it.
The Spring Tournament started in early April and ended in late April. Even though there was still a week until school started, the time left for Seido to prepare was not much.
"Last year we made it to Koshien, so recruitment should be smoother, right?"
Kominato Ryosuke said with a smile. He didn't seem tired at all after traveling from Kanagawa.
In the previous two years, Seido's recruitment had been snatched up by Inashiro Industrial and Ichidai Third High School. It was only by picking up the scraps that they got Miyuki and Zhang Han. The seniors who had now advanced to their third year couldn't even imagine what would have happened if Takashima Rei hadn't found those two and brought them to Seido.
What would have happened? Such a scenario was simply unimaginable.
One thing they could be sure of was that the Seido High School Baseball Team would definitely not be what it was now.
"Not just new players. I heard the school is also adding a coach."
"Aren't there already several on the coaching team?"
Adding one or two coaches was not unusual for Seido.
"A head coach, for technical guidance."
The well-informed Vice Captain Isashiki Jun said this with an air of mystery. No one knew where he had gotten the information.
"Director Kataoka is pretty good on his own!"
Zhang Han was puzzled. He knew Kataoka had his shortcomings, of course, but he couldn't imagine his director cooperating with someone else.
Such a thing was simply unheard of.
Even though Kataoka was usually polite to Zhang Han, that was because Zhang Han had never disappointed him. In reality, Kataoka was very strict. Even a small mistake could lead to severe punishment.
Some people even called Kataoka a tyrant in private. Could you imagine a tyrant sharing power with others?
Zhang Han couldn't.
Despite Isashiki Jun's confident assertion, Zhang Han remained skeptical.
"New recruits! New recruits!!!"
Kuramochi mumbled beside him.
Weren't they supposed to be discussing new recruits? Why had the topic shifted to coaches? Compared to coaches, Kuramochi was far more curious about what kind of players would be joining. About to become a senior, he was quite eager about it.
Zhang Han found this very curious.
"Didn't you have juniors when you were in middle school?"
Kuramochi's expression went strange. He turned his head to the side, ignoring the question.
Just as people were talking, Director Kataoka arrived. He scanned all the players with a stern gaze, finding not a single one out of shape.
Kataoka nodded with satisfaction.
"Start training!"
He gave no extra instructions, just told the players to begin free practice.
While the players were practicing, Director Kataoka stood by the field and observed for a while, then followed an unremarkable middle-aged man upstairs.
"Who is that guy?"
School hadn't started yet, so the grounds were not open to the public. Even old alumni visiting were strictly prohibited at this time. No one expected Director Kataoka to bring an unfamiliar man during practice.
"What do you mean unremarkable? His beard is quite distinctive."
Isashiki Jun corrected this very seriously, though it was unclear whether he was talking about the middle-aged man or himself.
In Director Kataoka's office:
"Mr. Ochiai, what do you think of our players?"
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