Meiji Jingu Stadium.
Today, 260 high schools from East and West Tokyo had gathered here for the opening ceremony of the Summer Tournament.
The stadium was packed to the brim. Everywhere you looked, there was nothing but people.
"The National High School Baseball Championship East and West Tokyo Qualifiers are about to begin."
The female announcer's voice echoed through the speakers set up around the stadium.
"Oh, oh, oh! There are so many people!" Nakanishi exclaimed. It was his first time taking part in an opening ceremony like this.
"This opening ceremony is for both East and West Tokyo," Akaishi Osamu explained. "The West Tokyo semifinals will be held here at Meiji Jingu Stadium, so our first goal is to make it back to this field."
"K-k-kah… hahahaha… s-so many people…" Todoroki Raichi stammered, his social anxiety flaring up as he stared at the crowd.
"Hey, Raichi, that guy over there is Seidou's Furuya Satoru the one who can throw 150 km/h fastballs," Kitamura Kou said, pointing toward the Seidou group not far away.
"K-hahahahaha! Where?! Which one is he?!" The moment he heard that, Todoroki Raichi forgot all about his nerves and hurriedly looked in the direction Kou was pointing, scanning left and right for Furuya Satoru.
"The one leaning on someone else—the guy who looks half-dead," Kitamura Kou said.
"What's with that? He looks weak," Mishima Yuta said with open disdain.
"You'll find out whether he's the real deal when the time comes. Just don't wet yourself in fear when you do," Nakanishi Daiki teased.
"What did you say?! Just wait and see how This Great Master crushes him!" Mishima Yuta roared back.
After a long speech, a long wait, and an equally long opening ceremony, the event finally came to an end.
Teams that knew each other gathered in small groups, chatting among themselves.
Among them, the ones that drew the most attention were undoubtedly Inashiro Industrial and Seidou. Yakushi was no exception, their eyes fixed firmly in that direction.
"Wow! Tanba-senpai… was he so scared by that dead ball that he went bald?" Narumiya Mei said in mock surprise, half-hiding behind Harada Masatoshi as he peeked toward Seidou.
"Why are you hiding?" Harada asked helplessly. Then he turned to Seidou and added, "That really gave us a scare back then. Still, it looks like you're fine now."
His gaze fell on Tanba Kōichirō's jaw. Seeing that the wound had almost completely healed, Harada finally relaxed.
"Obviously! Our Tanba's skin is tougher than iron! There's no way he'd lose to a mere dead ball!" Isashiki Jun shouted, slapping his own face with his usual fierce expression.
"He's harder than a senbei cracker," Yuki Tetsuya deadpanned.
"But senbei crackers break pretty easily, don't they?" Kominato Ryosuke added with a sly smile.
Tanba twitched in alarm.
"Just wait until the day you face us, you bastards!" Isashiki Jun barked at the Inashiro players.
"You guys sure are lively," Harada replied coolly.
"Maybe you should drink some water," Kominato Haruichi said to Furuya Satoru, who was practically draped over Sawamura Eijun.
"Furuya, walk on your own!" Sawamura shouted.
"I can't," Furuya replied weakly.
"Uh… Furuya… Ah!!! So that's Furuya?!" Narumiya Mei stared at the limp, noodle-like pitcher hanging off Sawamura and cried out in shock.
"You Inashiro spy! Are you here to scout our team again?!" Sawamura yelled the moment he recognized Narumiya Mei.
"You're the one blurting everything out," Narumiya Mei shot back. "And by the way… you're a bench player, aren't you?"
"That's right!" Sawamura answered loudly and proudly.
"Stop talking," Miyuki Kazuya cut in, worried Sawamura would spill even more.
"Ya-hahahaha!" Kuramochi Yōichi laughed mockingly from the side.
Sawamura instantly fell silent.
"Don't lose before you get the chance to face us," Harada said, returning Seidou's earlier provocation.
"That's our line!" Isashiki Jun snapped back, refusing to back down.
"See you in the finals," Harada said, his presence sharp and imposing.
Yuki Tetsuya answered with an equally steady gaze.
"Yeah. See you in the finals."
The Yakushi players watched the entire exchange.
"How arrogant," Sanada Shunpei muttered in dissatisfaction. "Is this the confidence of powerhouse schools? They don't even seem to see anyone else as worth their attention."
"Isn't that perfect?" Todoroki Raizo said with a sinister grin. "That just means we'll get the chance to hand them a very nice surprise."
"I really want to see the looks on their faces when they lose. That'll be fun. Hahahaha!" Watanabe Tatsuya said, wearing a rather shameless grin.
"Hehehe…"
Not just Mishima Yuta—almost the entire Yakushi team let out sinister little laughs of their own.
"By the way, is that really Furuya Satoru—the guy who can throw over 150 km/h? I honestly can't tell," Moriyama Makoto said, staring at the listless pitcher in disbelief.
"Who knows? That's what Baseball Kingdom Weekly said. Kitamura watched him pitch in person too, and he said it was real, so it's probably true," Masuda Atsushi replied.
"Alright, everyone," Nakanishi Daiki said, urging them along. "The opening ceremony's over, and we've seen enough excitement for one day. Let's head back already. It's hot and cramped here—aren't you all miserable?"
As one of the bigger guys on the team, he especially hated the heat.
"Come on, kids, let's move," Todoroki Raizo said.
"Yes!!"
Kitamura Kou gave one last glance at the two powerhouse teams still talking, then turned and followed the rest of Yakushi.
See you on the field, he thought.
Out of the combined 260 schools from East and West Tokyo, only one representative from each district would emerge in less than three weeks.
The Summer Qualifiers—the battle for a ticket to Koshien—were finally about to begin.