Revenge.
Revenge!!
REVENGE!!!
That single word echoed endlessly in the minds of the Seido players.
They had just defeated one of the nation's strongest teams — the formidable Teito High School Baseball Team.
To celebrate the victory and reward the hardworking players, Seido's principal and head of academics prepared a grand banquet for the baseball team.
The Seido baseball team had always been famous for two things:
Relentless training.
And enormous appetites.
With their exhausting daily practice and the proud traditions of Seido's program, the players were practically a group of bottomless pits when it came to food.
The banquet was extremely lavish.
According to the organizers, the amount of food prepared was enough to feed two hundred people.
Meanwhile, the entire Seido baseball club—from first years to third years—barely exceeded one hundred members.
Logically speaking, there should have been mountains of leftovers.
But reality proved otherwise.
After the players finished eating, the staff were stunned to discover something unbelievable.
The pots, bowls, and plates looked as if they had already been washed clean.
Not a single grain of rice remained.
Even the principal was dumbfounded.
He turned toward the head of academics beside him.
"…Did they really finish everything?"
The head of academics could only nod silently.
After eating and drinking their fill, the players gathered together again.
The topic quickly shifted to tomorrow's opponent.
Their greatest rival.
The powerhouse team from West Tokyo—
Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team.
The atmosphere immediately grew serious.
The two teams had been entangled in rivalry for years.
Just last autumn, Seido had missed the chance to dominate the entire tournament because of their defeat to Inashiro.
That loss still lingered in the hearts of every Seido player.
Now the opportunity for revenge had finally arrived.
Kuramochi clenched his fist.
"It's already been more than half a year since we lost to them."
Another teammate gritted his teeth.
"I've been waiting for this moment."
Someone muttered quietly.
"Do you think they'll go all out tomorrow?"
That question immediately made everyone think of one person.
The ace of Inashiro.
The genius left-handed pitcher—
Narumiya Mei.
And behind him stood the calculating strategist known throughout Tokyo baseball—
Coach Kunimoto.
That man was famous for his cunning and tactical mind.
Just imagining the confrontation made the Seido players feel the pressure.
Manager Ota rubbed his tired eyes and spoke.
"Everyone should rest well tonight."
"We'll finalize tomorrow's strategy early in the morning."
Even so, no one looked sleepy.
Excitement burned in their eyes.
They all knew what tomorrow's game meant.
It wasn't just another match.
It was revenge.
Meanwhile…
At Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team.
The lights in the meeting room were still on late into the evening.
Coach Coach Kunimoto had already gathered the entire team.
They were discussing strategies for facing Seido.
Kunimoto scanned the room with a serious expression.
"You've all seen Seido's performance."
"They defeated Teito High School Baseball Team with overwhelming strength."
"Seven innings… and they crushed a national powerhouse."
The room fell silent.
Everyone understood exactly what that meant.
Seido's strength was terrifying.
Even so, Kunimoto continued calmly.
"Strong teams don't always win."
"And weaker teams don't always lose."
"Besides strength, many other factors determine the outcome of a baseball game."
The players nodded.
As elite baseball players, they clearly understood this truth.
But even so—
The pressure was still enormous.
Some players lowered their heads unconsciously.
Seeing this, a sudden voice rang out.
"Why is everyone looking so gloomy?"
The speaker stood up.
His presence immediately changed the atmosphere in the room.
The ace of Inashiro.
The pitcher who had dominated West Tokyo for years.
Narumiya Mei.
He looked around at his teammates with an arrogant smile.
"Do you really think we can't win?"
No one answered.
Narumiya Mei snorted lightly.
"I don't care what the rest of you think."
"But I refuse to accept this."
"When we step onto the field tomorrow…"
His eyes burned with confidence.
"I will crush those guys."
The room fell silent again.
Those words were extremely arrogant.
But because they came from Narumiya Mei, they carried a completely different weight.
He was the ace.
The pride of Inashiro.
If even he believed in victory—
Then how could the rest of them doubt it?
One player slammed his fist against the table.
"That's right!"
Another shouted.
"We're not weaker than Seido!"
Kunimoto quietly watched his players.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Yes.
This was the spirit he wanted.
The upcoming final wasn't just a simple game.
It was a battle between two titans of Tokyo baseball.
A clash between:
Seido High School Baseball Team
and
Inashiro Industrial High School Baseball Team
The long-awaited war of revenge was about to begin.
The Spring Tournament had started not long after the end of the Spring Koshien.
Just seeing the headlines alone was enough to make one's heart surge with excitement.
But the real question was whether revenge could truly be achieved.
Everyone knew that there was still a gap between them and the Zoubang High School baseball team.
Yet the players of the Kataoka High School baseball team clenched their fists, their eyes burning with determination.
They wanted to trample their opponents underfoot.
They were the Avengers.
When Seido heard the news, he subconsciously curled his lips.
Did people really not understand how extraordinary those two were?
The principal smiled faintly.
In the minds of many people, the Seido High School baseball team was the true king.
But Coach Kunimoto's attitude remained resolute.
The first substitute pitcher of the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team was a third-year veteran with abundant experience.
Even their substitutes were far from easy opponents.
Despite how dominant the Seido High School baseball team had been recently, the players of Inashiro Industrial still didn't believe their rivals had already risen to absolute supremacy.
When someone finally spoke those words aloud—
All the players of Inashiro Industrial widened their eyes.
"The King... the Seido High School baseball team truly deserves the title of National Overlord."
Yet everyone knew the truth.
The road for the Seido High School baseball team to become an overlord had never been smooth.
Still, their performance in the Spring Tournament could only be described with one phrase:
Shocking the entire nation.
When people talked about Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team, they no longer looked at them with the same confidence as before.
Their national record was respectable, but it wasn't particularly outstanding.
Coach Kunimoto did not hide this fact.
Because he said it himself, his words carried far more weight.
The truth was simple.
They might not necessarily lose to Seido High School.
But they couldn't guarantee victory either.
After all, no one understood better than them just how powerful the Seido High School baseball team truly was.
Last autumn, they had only managed to defeat Seido because of the incredible performance of their Ace.
Everyone knew this.
The room fell silent.
Then someone suddenly stood up.
It was Narumiya Mei.
Hearing the question earlier had clearly ignited a fire in his chest.
The memory of those two mocking faces still lingered in his mind.
He couldn't endure it.
And he didn't want to endure it.
They had already missed the Jingu Tournament.
They had also missed the Spring Koshien.
Even though they were the Spring Koshien runner-up, very few teams considered them favorites to win the Summer Koshien championship.
Why?
Because teams like theirs depended heavily on their Core Ace.
If the Ace pitched, the team became terrifying.
If he didn't, their strength dropped dramatically.
This was the cruel reality.
Coach Kunimoto looked at his players.
"Everyone already knows the situation, so I won't repeat it."
His voice carried a hint of helplessness.
The players had been under his command for so long that they immediately noticed it.
But they also understood something else.
The upcoming Spring Tournament final was more like a certification match between the two teams.
A battle to determine who truly stood at the top.
Even if the Spring Tournament championship itself wasn't particularly meaningful…
The meaning behind defeating their rival was completely different.
After all, the relationship between the two teams had long become that of mortal enemies.
There was no compromise.
It was either you or me.
Coach Kunimoto continued calmly.
"Next, I will talk about the lineup arrangement."
At this moment, the earliest media reports had already begun to appear.
Many experts openly praised the Seido High School baseball team.
"This generation of Seido High School is undoubtedly the strongest team in the nation."
Their achievements spoke for themselves.
They had eliminated Shiodai Hachi in a single inning.
They had defeated Teito in just seven innings.
Even when facing the nation's top powerhouse teams, they still ended games early.
Their results were simply outstanding.
With such achievements, it wouldn't be surprising if they rose directly to the top tier of national baseball.
Hearing these evaluations, the fighting spirit in the hearts of the Inashiro Industrial players burned even brighter.
The good luck they had in the autumn could not last forever.
Sooner or later, they would meet Seido High School again.
And when that moment came—
They had to win.
At that moment, the principal and the head of academics finally entered the room.
They hadn't come earlier because their presence would only make the players nervous.
The head of academics spread his hands helplessly.
"We prepared food for two hundred people… based on the players' needs."
The principal laughed.
"From now on, increase the meal budget by seventy percent."
"We can't let our heroes go hungry, can we?"
Hearing this, even the tense atmosphere in the room relaxed slightly.
But everyone knew.
No matter how trivial the Spring Tournament championship might seem—
This final…
Was the beginning of the real battle.