Chapter 256: Koshien, Here I Come!!
On the Bus
Everyone in the Seidou High School baseball team was glued to the windows, taking in the view nonstop.
The closer they got to Hyogo Prefecture, the more excited they became.
Furuya was no exception.
He had thought he wouldn't get too worked up about it—after all, even Major League scouts had personally come to see him.
Koshien? Just a small-time stage compared to that.
How excited could he really be?
But now that the day had actually come, his heart was pounding.
Koshien…
There probably isn't a single kid who plays baseball in Japan who can ignore the weight of that name.
Some schools with tighter budgets had to take the train.
But Seidou didn't have that problem—they had their own team bus.
The trip wasn't exactly short, but having a dedicated bus definitely made things more comfortable.
Watching Furuya as he kept glancing out the window, Jun Isashiki, sporting his usual scruffy beard, couldn't hold it in anymore.
"So you really turned down that scout's offer?"
The moment he said it, several teammates perked up, stretching their necks to listen in.
Even though Coach Kataoka never gave them any orders about it, everyone had made a point of not asking Furuya about the offer.
They were all focused on Koshien.
But that didn't mean they weren't curious.
They really wanted to know—did Furuya accept the offer or not?
"I heard from Director Ota it was a ton of money!"
The offer hadn't been for him to jump straight to the Majors—not even the Minor Leagues.
Instead, they'd planned to assign him a personal trainer and a nutritionist, all while letting him stay at Seidou.
In the scout Raul's words, "You're still too young."
"At your age, even joining a minor league farm team wouldn't do you much good. You're better off staying here..."
Koshien—and the development system at Seidou—had impressed this Major League scout so much that he completely approved.
In recent years, more and more scouts and coaches from the Majors were turning their eyes toward Koshien.
That alone was proof: the tournament was a true showcase for rising talent.
Which meant that even if Furuya didn't do anything different and just kept living like he always had, he'd still be making $1,700 a week.
How much is that in a year?
$88,000.
For someone like Furuya, whose family was pretty average, that kind of money was huge.
Most college graduates from top schools probably wouldn't earn that right away.
People say athletes make bank—but that's not always true.
Take baseball, for instance. Regular pro players don't actually take home that much.
Sure, it's three to five times what a normal person makes.
But don't forget—athletes only earn while they're young.
Once they're past their prime, if they haven't planned ahead, their future's shaky at best.
Of course, that only applies to ordinary players.
Furuya clearly wasn't one of them.
His talent was so obvious that even before going pro, he could already earn a fortune.
"I didn't say no exactly… I just didn't say yes right away."
"Why not?"
Even Chris and Miyuki turned around at that.
If the rumors they'd heard were true, then they couldn't understand why Furuya would hesitate.
"I'm not really sure… I just want to focus on Koshien for now."
Four weeks. Almost $7,000.
Still, Furuya turned it down.
He had this gut feeling—it just wasn't the right time to say yes.
"You're not interested in pro baseball?" Chris asked, clearly disappointed.
Everyone has their own path.
If Furuya just wanted to enjoy high school baseball and didn't care about going pro, Chris would be sad—but he'd understand.
Because that kind of person did exist.
Take their coach, Kataoka.
His skills as a player were no joke.
Maybe he wasn't destined to be a superstar, but he easily could've become a standout pro.
If he had chosen the pro path, even just a year or six months of playing could've earned him more than a lifetime of coaching.
But he didn't chase the money.
He came back to Seidou and became the coach without a second thought.
The gap between those two life choices couldn't be more obvious.
Yet Coach Kataoka still chose that path.
If Furuya were to do the same, everyone would feel a bit disappointed—but they'd understand.
It would just be such a shame… given his terrifying natural velocity.
Even now, the speed Furuya could throw was already insane.
And as his teammates, they knew one thing for sure—
Furuya wasn't some early bloomer who'd already hit his ceiling, like the rumors suggested.
No way.
Everyone on the Seidou baseball team believed that with all their hearts.
Furuya hadn't even come close to reaching his full potential yet.
And when that day came—when he truly maxed out—
He would shake the world.
"No, I'm not like our coach," Furuya said.
Even though he hadn't accepted Raul's offer, it wasn't because he didn't want to.
It was just a gut feeling.
He thought it would be better to wait until Koshien was over before making any big decisions.
Now just wasn't the right time.
But there was one thing Furuya was absolutely sure of:
"I'm definitely going pro someday."
For regular people, making it big is no easy feat.
Especially in a place like Tokyo—it's nearly impossible.
The only real path for the average person to break through is to become a top-tier worker:
Famous manga artists, authors… people who achieve financial freedom through sheer skill and grind.
Furuya?
He had zero talent in those areas—and honestly, he didn't even like that kind of stuff.
So for him, there was only one path.
Baseball.
Whether looking at it realistically or from a personal passion—
That was the road he had to walk.
Baseball was without a doubt Furuya's best path forward.
"I just think there's no need to rush," Furuya said with a grin. "After Koshien, who knows? Other teams might come calling too."
The rest of the Seidou baseball team sat there slack-jawed, mouths wide open in disbelief.
They'd imagined a lot of possibilities—but this wasn't one of them.
"Are you sure you're only fifteen?"
At that moment, even bearded upperclassman Jun Isashiki and the others found themselves letting go of their unease.
They understood.
Furuya may have been their junior, but he was already walking a completely different path from the rest of them.
It wasn't just about talent anymore—
Even in terms of mindset, he was miles ahead.
"Koshien, here we come!!"
Rather than comparing themselves to a monster like Furuya, the better question was: what could they do in the upcoming games?
And just like that, the Seidou players quickly adjusted their mindset and refocused on preparing for Koshien.
There were 18 players on the bus with them—that was the official limit for the Koshien tournament.
During the West Tokyo qualifiers, Seidou had been allowed 20 players.
So before Koshien, they'd had to make the painful decision to cut two.
Rumor had it that Coach Kataoka and the staff had debated for a long time.
Some wanted to cut the first-years. Others argued it should be based on performance.
Both sides had their points.
The team was in great shape now, and apart from Furuya—the irreplaceable ace—the two other first-years could theoretically be dropped.
They'd still have chances to reach Koshien in the future.
But it wasn't the same for the third-years.
Even if they'd played minor roles so far, they'd stuck with the team all the way.
Miss this shot at Koshien, and they'd never get another.
Still, despite all those arguments, Coach Kataoka made the final call.
He knew full well he was letting those two third-years down…
But he couldn't deny the contributions of the first-years—Sawamura and Haruichi.
In the final game of the West Tokyo tournament, Sawamura pitched two clutch innings, giving Furuya time to rest.
Haruichi had stepped up to replace his injured older brother at second base.
Both had played critical roles.
Compared to the two third-year benchwarmers, these two had clearly proven their worth.
"We have to put the team's interests first."
That was Coach Kataoka's stance.
And with his authority at Seidou, once he made the decision, no one dared question it.
"Yes, sir!"
In the end, all three first-years—Furuya, Sawamura, and Haruichi—made the trip to Koshien.
Upon arrival, the team immediately took part in the opening ceremony.
Even before that, though, Seidou already knew who their first opponent would be.
Luck hadn't exactly been on their side during the group draw—
They landed in what was basically a group of death.
Seven teams total.
And Seidou didn't get a first-round bye.
Which meant they'd need to win three full rounds just to reach the second half of the tournament.
Worse yet, of those seven teams, three were nationally-ranked powerhouses—
And one was a dangerous dark horse with a serious reputation.
This meant that Seidou High School's baseball team would have to endure at least two grueling battles just to make it into the quarterfinals.
It was going to be a serious test of their overall strength—and their stamina.
After the opening ceremony wrapped up, the first game of the tournament kicked off.
To stir up hype, the organizers deliberately matched up two of the most talked-about powerhouse schools:
"Seidou High School vs. Ichizen High School!"
Both schools were considered top-tier nationally.
From the organizers' point of view, this matchup was guaranteed to draw attention.
And to be fair, they weren't wrong.
Even at Koshien, the early matches usually didn't attract many fans—
Aside from the cheer squads, most of the stands were half-empty.
But today's opening game was a different story.
Even before the game started, over half the stadium seats were already filled.
And more people kept arriving.
Reporters who had come specifically to cover this game couldn't help but keep glancing around.
Their cameras kept panning to the growing crowd.
The broadcasters picked up on it, too.
For them, this atmosphere was something special.
"The opening match of Koshien is absolutely electric!"
Even the announcers were visibly fired up.
"The crowd is massive! I'm so excited right now!"
"Mr. Fujita, always the jokester," the co-commentator said with a chuckle.
"So, as a baseball expert, which team are you rooting for today?"
The bald-headed commentator, Fujita, laughed as he rubbed his shiny scalp.
"You sure know how to put me on the spot! Haha—As a neutral and objective commentator, there's no way I can say I'm rooting for Seidou… right?"
His co-host burst out laughing—
And so did many of the fans in the stands.
They all assumed he was just joking.
But Fujita, still smiling, narrowed his eyes and looked out toward the field.
On paper, this was a clash between two baseball giants.
It was supposed to be a tightly fought war.
But in Fujita's eyes, that wasn't quite the case.
Ichizen High was undoubtedly strong—veterans of the Koshien stage.
Making the top eight was routine for them.
Which is why many people assumed they were evenly matched with Seidou.
But… were they, really?
No matter what others thought, Fujita didn't agree.
Yes, Seidou hadn't made it to Koshien in years.
And that kind of track record naturally led people to underestimate them, no matter the rumors.
But the truth was—they didn't get here by luck.
They'd defeated Inashiro, reportedly the strongest team in recent years.
And they'd done it with a decisive score: 5–2.
That kind of result wasn't something any average powerhouse could pull off.
More importantly, because Seidou hadn't been to Koshien in years, the spirit of their players was on a whole different level.
Once those guys stepped onto the field, they were bound to explode like starving beasts, going straight for the throat.
Fujita could already picture it.
And let's not forget—they had that monster first-year ace on their side.
"The first game of Koshien, the opening match! Seidou High vs. Ichizen High—begins now!"
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