"Now, I will call out the names of the players, please step forward!"
Before the official training began, Coach Kunitomo assigned positions to all the players.
There were 16 players from other schools, 2 from the Seidou High School baseball team, and 4 from the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team.
A total of 22 players.
With so many players, it was impossible for all of them to take the field. In such situations, certain positions would have to be chosen and adjusted.
As the training began, Coach Kunitomo divided the players into two lineups.
One lineup was for offense, and the other was for defense.
For the same defensive position, two players were assigned.
This was done to save time.
The afternoon would be spent practicing against university students, and before that, the players had only the morning to prepare.
This was not enough to even count by days, let alone hours—it was a very limited amount of time.
In such a short period, understanding the characteristics of all the players on the field was a significant challenge for Coach Kunitomo.
Moreover, it was a challenge he had to accept.
Even though Coach Kunitomo already had a general idea of the most suitable main lineup, he still had to conduct this direct selection process.
The players selected for the tryouts were all leaders and key players from their respective teams.
In simpler terms, they were all super-talented stars and pillars of their teams.
No matter how they appeared outwardly, deep down, they were all very proud individuals.
Without allowing them to compete face-to-face, it would be impossible to decide who would start and who would be benched.
Even if Coach Kunitomo had already made his plans in his mind, he still had to go through this process.
Otherwise, if these proud players were dissatisfied, Coach Kunitomo would find it difficult to manage them.
There's a saying: leadership isn't something just anyone can do. Especially in such demanding leadership positions, it takes a special kind of person.
From this perspective, Coach Kunitomo was doing exceptionally well.
Even Sawamura, who had seen the Major League, had nothing to say about Coach Kunitomo's arrangement.
If we ignore everything else and focus purely on his ability as a coach, Sawamura fully acknowledged Coach Kunitomo as the right person to be the head coach of the Tokyo region.
Coach Kunitomo did have the skill and authority to lead.
There were many interesting aspects to this arrangement. For example, the catcher, Miyuki Kazuya, was assigned to play first base during defense.
When Coach Kunitomo gave this order, the atmosphere at the scene shifted...
Everyone knew that Miyuki was the starting catcher for Seidou High School and was currently the best catcher among all high school catchers.
It was already strange enough that someone like him wasn't the team's starting catcher and captain, but now he was being asked to play first base.
Under everyone's gaze, Miyuki didn't show any special reaction and simply accepted Coach Kunitomo's orders with a smile.
With him setting this example, when other players were assigned to less-than-ideal positions, no one argued with the orders.
Even the rebellious Mei didn't protest when he was told to play in the outfield.
It seemed like the matter was settled, but no one expected Coach Kunitomo to do something unexpected.
"Sawamura, move to second base for defense."
Though he didn't understand Coach Kunitomo's reasoning, he understood one thing clearly:
He couldn't back down.
"Okay!"
Sawamura simply said this one word.
Without hesitation, he accepted the task.
This left many onlookers surprised.
"Such professionalism from Seidou."
"As expected from the top school."
"More like can he do well?"
Sawamura seemed entirely unfazed as if he was simply carrying out an ordinary task.
He dutifully ran to second base and got ready for defense.
Coach Kunitomo silently nodded, watching.
'Success is never without reason, especially for someone like Sawamura, a superstar.'
'He had experienced more than most of his peers, his experiences almost on par with an adult's.'
'This helped shape his character: mature and adaptable.'
At just a young age, he was already leading his teammates to dominate the nation.
When Sawamura graduated from middle school, Coach Kunitomo had considered recruiting him.
He thought about inviting Sawamura to join Inashiro's baseball team, although he knew his chances were slim.
It wasn't because Coach Kunitomo looked down on his own team.
In fact, at the time, Inashiro's baseball team was incredibly strong.
They were the rulers of West Tokyo and even the entire Tokyo region.
With such power, combined with the school's top-tier status, who could resist such an offer?
Coach Kunitomo was confident that an invitation would almost certainly succeed.
However, the issue lies in player arrangements.
At the time, Narumiya Mei was Inashiro Industrial High School's Ace pitcher, a third-year student.
If Sawamura had joined the team, no matter how talented he was, he would have had to be Narumiya Mei's backup for a year and a half.
For an average player, this might not be a big deal. But for a top talent like Sawamura, this was unacceptable.
As the national Champion and the acting coach, would such a player willingly be a substitute for Narumiya Mei?
If Coach Kunitomo were to ask himself, he would say it's impossible.
And as it turned out, his judgment was correct.
Sawamura turned down many more promising invitations from prestigious schools.
He chose to join the then-less outstanding Seidou High School.
Now, Seidou High School is the nation's top team, the strongest team.
But a year ago, the situation was completely different.
Back then, Seidou High School had not reached Koshien for a long time and was going through one of its most difficult periods.
According to rumors, their Coach, Kataoka Tesshin, was about to resign.
Given how serious the situation was, it's easy to imagine the pressure Seidou High School was facing at the time.
In such circumstances, Sawamura Eijun still resolutely joined the Seidou High School baseball team.
And he was also incredibly lucky.
He joined Seidou just in time for the school's resurgence.
The Maou, Sawamura Eijun, was undeniably strong, but if not for the support of the third-year players on Seidou's team at the time, it's doubtful he could have dominated the nation.
Never mind dominating the nation; even advancing past Inashiro Industrial would have been tough for Seidou.
Fortunately, it was Sawamura Eijun who truly gave Seidou's baseball team its breakthrough.
Back then, Seidou High School was very different from the Seidou High School we know now.
Currently, Seidou High School boasts the strongest pitching lineup in the country.
Their strength is unmatched, and they instill fear in others.
But back then, Seidou High's baseball team did not have that kind of presence.
Their pitchers were the biggest weakness of Seidou's team.
It was Sawamura Eijun's addition that covered up this weakness.
Sawamura Eijun and the third-year players of Seidou's baseball team complemented each other.
Did Sawamura Eijun help them, or did they help Sawamura Eijun?
It's a blurry issue that can't be easily defined.
But one thing is certain.
The choice Sawamura made to join Seidou's baseball team was undeniably the right one.
If he hadn't joined, the history of high school baseball would probably look very different today.
Looking at Sawamura at second base, Coach Kunitomo couldn't help but feel emotional.
This time, when he specially called Sawamura over, Coach Kunitomo wasn't without personal motives.
He wanted to personally guide Sawamura and see just how far this young man could go in the future.
Although Narumiya Mei is also an incredibly rare super talent, Coach Kunitomo always believed that Sawamura was the truly unique one.
When he was still a middle school student, Coach Kunitomo had already studied Sawamura.
Now that Sawamura is in high school, Coach Kunitomo has seen him grow step by step.
The closer he got, the more amazed he became.
'How far could this young man evolve in the future?'
Coach Kunitomo couldn't wait to find out.
Once positions were assigned, the players began their fielding practice.
They were all seasoned players, and the basic skills were second nature to them.
At this point, there were no obstacles in their actions, even though they couldn't fully showcase their abilities due to the different positions.
But they could still manage about 70-80% of their strength.
Even at just 70-80% strength, these super monsters were still incredibly impressive.
"It's coming!"
The small baseball flew out with a swoosh.
After seeing the ball, many people at the scene were left stunned.
Especially the players on the other side of the field, the ones from Inashiro Industrial High School.
They clearly didn't expect the ball to fly so fast.
"This is really a sight to behold!"
Looking at the more than 20 players on the opposite field, the Inashiro Industrial High School players were extremely surprised.
Every single one of them was a star player from Tokyo.
"If Sanada-san and Amahisa-san were here, this would be Tokyo's Dream Team!"
"Even without those two, this lineup is strong enough to make anyone tremble."
The players joked.
"Some of the pitchers and catchers have switched positions," one player mumbled.
This player was a recent addition to Inashiro Industrial High School's team.
Having joined the team just over two months ago, he was already practicing alongside the first team.
Undoubtedly, he was also a genius.
During the previous recruitment process, it wasn't just Seidou High School that got lucky.
Other prestigious teams also gained strong players.
For example, the Inashiro Industrial High School baseball team gained quite a few outstanding players.
Some have already begun to shine at events like the Kanto Tournament.
Seidou's baseball team just had the fortune of winning the championship, which allowed them to gather even more talented newcomers.
"Coach Kunitomo must have his own plans," said Akamatsu suddenly.
He was tall and slender, looking handsome and energetic.
Among all the newcomers on the Inashiro Industrial High School team, his abilities were top-tier.
Even compared to Seidou High School's best newcomers, he was just as good.
He was also one of the players who performed excellently at the Kanto Tournament.
"Plans? What plans?" a boy with spiky hair asked in confusion.
"Right now, this team is filled with players from other teams who were the fourth batter. If we just bench them because of position restrictions, wouldn't that be a waste?"
If Coach Kunitomo heard this, he would be quite pleased.
On the field, there were many who understood his intentions, but among the newcomers, only Akamatsu had grasped it.
For a first-year to have such insight, this boy's future was bright.
"But everyone is guarding positions they're not familiar with. Are they really okay with that?" Akamatsu's answer was indisputable, but the others still had doubts.
Akamatsu shook his head in amusement.
"Don't underestimate these guys on the field. Every single one of them is a real monster. You can't measure a monster with ordinary standards. And now that there are so many monsters to choose from, there's no need to stick to one place. If one player doesn't fit, just don't use him."
Akamatsu said this casually.
But to others, it sent shivers down their spines.
What exactly did these "monsters" on the field mean to Akamatsu?
They had no way of knowing.
As the players whispered among themselves, the practice had already begun.
Whoosh!
The small baseball was hit fiercely.
Even the auxiliary practice players were monsters.
They hit the ball with such force!
The baseball landed on the open field, just about to fly to the outfield.
At that moment, a figure darted to the ball's first bounce, catching it with ease.
The person wasn't anyone else but Shirakawa, one of Inashiro's star players.
His fielding skills were so fast that even nationwide, they were quite rare.
After catching the ball, he quickly passed it to first base.
At first base were Miyuki and Hoshida.
Miyuki had just been switched over, and Hoshida was the main first baseman for Ichidaisan High School.
The two of them were practicing fielding together.
Miyuki caught the ball steadily, returned to first base, and stepped on the bag.
No one expected Miyuki to be this decent.
At shortstop, Shirakawa stood with his hands on his hips, glancing at Miyuki with his peripheral vision.
Miyuki's actions also surprised him.
He had originally thought Miyuki was the kind of player who only focused on catching and wouldn't take fielding other positions seriously.
But to his surprise, Miyuki was just as active at first base.
"Sure enough, this guy is different!"
…
T/N: This Volume and the next Volume are completed in pater0n!
You also can check my Patre0n for extra Chapters.
https://www.patre0n.com/ColdColt
There are +160 Chapters there.
Anyway, Thank you all for reading!
And I hope you all have a nice day!