Regarding the news of his first game making it into the newspapers, his teammates reacted relatively calml.
It was just a small thing during the tournament for them.
But for others, they had to take it seriously.
You'd think the big teams wouldn't be meeting just to talk about Seidō, since they had their own games to worry about.
But the Sensen Academy players got together right away.
They held newspapers in their hands, with two pictures at the top of the front page.
One was a group shot of the Seidō players celebrating.
The caption said, "Seidō Sweeps Akikawa 11-0."
It was just a regular game, but people paid attention because Akikawa's assistant coach used to be a pro.
Everyone thought a team with a pro coach would be good.
But Seidō crushed them.
The other picture was a solo shot of Takumi.
They'd cut him out of the group photo, but he was doing the same thing – raising his hand and smiling.
You couldn't really see him in the group shot.
But when they zoomed in, everyone noticed how good-looking he was.
The headline next to the picture said, "The Strongest Newcomer: Seidō's First-Year Outfielder, Yamamoto Takumi."
"Three at-bats, three hits, two RBIs."
"The highly anticipated Miyuki Kazuya was even benched. Yet, the newcomer Yamamoto Takumi got the chance to start and play the entire game."
The reporter made it sound like he just showed up out of nowhere and was a total genius.
They even said he was the MVP.
Plus, Seidō's ace pitcher, Yoshida, pitched the whole game. You could say they're really going for Koshien this year.
They were among the most promising teams this year.
"Seidō's looking strong this year," one player observed, with a hint of respect.
"I hope we don't have to play against them!" another player exclaimed, apprehensively.
"Don't worry, we won't see them until the finals, if we even get there," a third player reassured, a bit uncertain.
.....
West Tokyo, Ichidaisan High School.
On the baseball field, a young man with a smart phone waved it at his teammates.
"Manaka-senpai, that kid's famous!" He called out urgently.
Manaka Kaname ran over when he heard that.
Technology is advanced now.
You don't just see news in the paper, it's all online too.
His teammate was watching the report on some news site.
When Manaka arrived, he saw Takumi's enlarged photo on the smartphone.
He knew that Takumi would eventually make a name for himself, back when they played the practice game.
He was a great batter.
"Didn't think he'd get noticed this fast," he muttered, a hint of surprise in his voice.
"Batting!" he exclaimed, his voice filled with awe as he read the report.
After reading the report clearly, he felt his hands go cold.
He thought Takumi was getting attention for his pitching. Turns out, he's in the paper for being a good hitter.
"How's that possible?" he wondered aloud, a hint of confusion in his voice.
"Anything's possible. You remember how he could hit, right?" his teammate reminded him, a playful smirk on his face.
"Yeah, but..." Manaka trailed off, with uncertainty.
He gripped the phone tightly, you could see the veins in his hand.
"Hey, easy! That's my second-hand iPhone 16! Please don't break it, I can't afford another one," his teammate begged, with genuine worry.
Upon hearing his teammate's plea, Manaka finally loosened his grip.
"So, nobody else knows Yamamoto Takumi can pitch except us?" he inquired, in disbelief.
"Looks like it. Seidō kept it quiet since that practice game," his teammate confirmed, with certainty.
"Then this tournament's gonna be interesting," Manaka murmured thoughtfully, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes.
Then he turned around and headed for the field.
"Where are you going?" His teammate with the phone asked, looking puzzled.
"Practice, obviously. We have an advantage knowing this, so we need to use it," Manaka stated, a spark of determination in his eyes.
Manaka was already feeling the pressure.
He hadn't even seen the game, but he could tell Takumi had gotten better.
He was even tougher than when they played that practice game.
With someone like that waiting for them, they had to work hard.
"Should we tell everyone else about this?" the young man asked, his gaze shifting between Manaka and Takumi's picture on the phone.
Seeing Takumi's good-looking face, he almost wanted to mess with him a little.
"It's useless. Even if we tell them, no one will believe it," Manaka scoffed, dismissing the idea.
Who's gonna believe that a first-year, just starting out in high school baseball, is not only a great hitter but can also pitch?
And the weirdest thing is, that they can't find any information about this young man's previous baseball career.
He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, which is absolutely absurd in the baseball world.
"You're right, guess I'll leave him alone then," his teammate conceded, shrugging with resignation.
Then he put his phone down and ran to the field joining Manaka.
...
West Tokyo, Inashiro Industrial's baseball field.
Since they're Seidō's biggest rivals, they'd already heard the news.
During a break, a group of players gathered and began talking about Seidō.
"11-0?" one player blurted out, clearly surprised.
"I thought Akikawa was tougher than that when we faced them," another player commented, a hint of confusion in his voice.
They only won 7-3.
They were using our bench players, but they're still good enough to get that score against our team.
"Seidō's looking strong this year," one player noted, with respect.
"Azuma-senpai's batting lineup is always amazing, though," another player chimed in, with a grin on his face.
"Yeah, and Yoshida-san's pitching is solid too, he doesn't seem to have any weaknesses," a third player agreed, nodding thoughtfully.
Voices rose as the Inashiro players discussed Seidō's impressive victory.
They'd obviously watched the video and were deeply impressed.
"That's not the main thing, though," one player pointed out, concerned.
Having dealt with each other for so long, they were extremely familiar with Seidō's veteran players.
"It's this first-year, Yamamoto Takumi, we need to worry about! He hasn't missed a single hit," another player exclaimed, with urgency.
"And he's just a first-year. What would happen if you had to face him, Narumiya-kun?" a third player asked, a curious glint in his eyes.
A hush fell over the group as all eyes turned to a first-year with delicate features, whose arrogant reply shattered the silence.
"If I faced him, he wouldn't be the 'strongest newcomer' for long!" he declared confidently, a smirk playing on his lips.