Aside from Inashiro, the team that has reacted the most fiercely in the Tokyo region would probably be the Yakushi team.
"Haha. As expected of the man who defeated the great Mishima-sama, his strength is indeed unquestionable!"
Looking at the report about the victory of the Seidou High School baseball team, Mishima muttered excitedly.
It almost gave the impression that it wasn't the Seidou High School baseball team that won, but Mishima himself.
"Stop daydreaming. If you want to be like them, you first have to pull them down from their pedestal. Mis. Shima!"
"I've told you so many times, don't call me Mis. Shima"
Mishima said unhappily while facing Sanada's teasing.
Everyone has their own weakness, and this nickname was probably one of Mishima's few vulnerabilities.
"When Fall comes, at least half of the first-string players of the Seidou High School baseball team will be gone. Almost half of the key positions will need to be adjusted. If they make it all the way to the final stages of the Koshien, the time they'll have left for team training will be very limited."
Raizou also held a report and analyzed it with the surrounding players.
"We can imagine that this Fall will definitely be the most turbulent period for the Seidou High School baseball team. In fact, last year, when Seidou High School's baseball team lost in the third round of the official tournament, this was one of the reasons. But this year, their situation is even worse! Though it's not right to gloat, we must admit that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us."
For the Yakushi High School baseball team to defeat Seidou directly, their only chance would be in the Fall competition, and it was also their best chance.
By that time, the Seidou High School baseball team might have become a legend.
If they could pull that legend down...
Thinking of this, Raizou's wrinkles disappeared, and his eyes narrowed, revealing a cunning and treacherous gleam.
It was truly unfortunate for Yakushi High School's baseball team to meet a team like Seidou in the same region.
However, as the old saying goes, "Fortune depends on misfortune, and misfortune depends on fortune."
Whether it's fortune or misfortune, who can really say for sure until the very last moment?
Raizou was not daydreaming. He had solid reasoning behind his thoughts.
Once the third-year players of Seidou High School's baseball team retire, their combat strength would be reduced by much.
Not to mention, just one player, Miyuki, has a huge impact.
And the senior players are still occupying important positions like first baseman, shortstop, and outfield.
One can only imagine how their departure will affect the Seidou High School baseball team.
In contrast, the Yakushi High School baseball team is in a much better situation.
Their third-year players, other than Sanada, won't have much impact.
The others, regardless of who they are, are all replaceable.
In other words, those players can be substituted without much impact on their overall strength.
If anything, their strength might even improve slightly with the new players.
After all, during this year's recruitment, the Yakushi High School baseball team had a very fruitful harvest.
The talented players they recruited could even compete with Seidou and Inashiro's fresh talents.
After one round of reshuffling, the advantage that Seidou High School originally had over Yakushi was nearly gone.
Both teams are now more or less on the same level.
With that foundation, Yakushi High School's players are essentially waiting for action.
While Seidou High School's players in the Fall will be hastily assembled.
With that in mind, Yakushi High School's chances of winning are at least 50%.
This is Raizou's objective analysis, but that doesn't mean everyone shares the same view.
When facing the newly-minted legend of the Seidou High School baseball team, what do the spectators think?
Of course, they think Seidou is the strongest, and teams like Yakushi are nothing more than sprots unworthy of even carrying Seidou's shoes.
If the players from Yakushi High School's baseball team can perform well and make them eat their words, the sensation caused would be no less than winning the Koshien championship.
Thinking of this, Raizou showed a satisfied smile.
Previously, the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team wasn't very dominating either. They had only made it to Koshien once and finished as runners-up.
And that was in the Spring Koshien.
Such achievements, though commendable, were hardly enough to make the entire nation remember them.
They didn't even attract the attention of professional scouts, and none of their star players had a future lined up.
Why did they cause such a sensation?
The reason is incredibly simple.
It's because last Fall, they managed to defeat Seidou.
Though it was just that one match, as Seidou High School's baseball team grew more impressive, that match became an eternal pain in the hearts of the Seidou players.
And it also became the most dazzling achievement of the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team.
Ever since Sawamura led the powerhouse Seidou High School baseball team on their road to resurrection, although their journey has been full of danger, they have always been unstoppable, slaying everything in their path.
Every match they played was a victory.
They were unstoppable, invincible, and overwhelmingly strong.
The only team they lost to was the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team.
This indirectly helped Inashiro.
In fact, previously, many analysis posts had even pointed out that Inashiro Industrial High School's baseball team was the strongest team in terms of overall strength in the nation.
Such glory, would it not be a great pity to miss out on?
Now, the strong teams in Tokyo have begun to eye the Seidou High School baseball team.
Their plans are for the future, but for now, the fact that Seidou High School's baseball team has gained such a significant advantage and is shining brightly in Koshien, still makes them quite happy.
As long as the final champion is from West Tokyo, even if it's not them, it's still good for them.
For the strong teams in West Tokyo, this result is not hard to accept.
In fact, they would even be pleased with it.
However, the strong teams from Koshien don't share that same good mood.
In the first round, 70-80% of the teams that managed to win were old rivals of the Seidou High School baseball team.
During the previous two times when Seidou dominated the nation, most of those teams had already crossed paths with Seidou.
These teams had no trouble advancing in their own regions. They all focused their attention on the Koshien, with a significant portion of it directed at Seidou.
Behind the scenes, they didn't know how many times they had watched Seidou High School's match footage.
In fact, many players from these teams believe that they know Seidou High School's players even better than they know their siblings.
They were so familiar with them.
But after Seidou played, they still couldn't help but feel a weight in their mind.
This strength is just too ridiculous!
They had estimated that Seidou High School's strength would top out at around 8 runs.
With that reference in mind, although they didn't dare to say they could defeat Seidou, they had come up with several battle plans.
They were somewhat confident they had a chance to win.
But now, they could clearly see that they had overestimated their own abilities.
This Seidou High School baseball team in front of them doesn't look like a team whose peak strength is just 8 runs.
At the very least, their minimum strength is 27 runs.
And that's still without fully unleashing their power, considering that their core players, were substituted after the second inning.
Even so, they still showed strength at 100.
What would the result have been if their main power had stayed on the field the entire time?
Just thinking about this made Seidou's old rivals shudder.
The outside noise doesn't have much impact on the Seidou players, who are already used to the public attention.
Now, they are fully focused on their next opponent.
"Jouyou High School!"
This truly is an unfamiliar name, as the members of Seidou High School's baseball team exchanged glances.
The first-round opponent is a Dark Horse, and the second-round opponent is also a Dark Horse.
"Did we miss something when we were in America?"
"Where all the powerhouse has gone to?"
"Man, I don't know what's going on."
...