Didn’t you say you were just using me as a substitute?

Then, he smiled and said, "This is the closest we've ever been to the championship. I hope Kitahara Takashi can help me realize my dream."

Upon hearing this, Ichika suddenly began to worry about Kitahara Tsutomu.

Anticipation is a subtle form of violence.

It would be fine if he won the championship, but if Kitahara Tsuyoshi couldn't win the championship, and looked back at the eyes of his supporters filled with disappointment and sadness, how much pressure would he feel at that time?

*

In the VIP seats at the stadium, Eriri frowned at her mother and said, "Mom, why are you and I here? Didn't you say you were bringing me to see Zun? Where is he?"

Beside her, Kasumigaoka Utaha was silent, but her wine-red eyes were searching for something.

Before Sayuri Sawamura could speak, a voice with a hint of impatience came: "He's not here."

Ying Lili glanced over and saw a beautiful girl with long black hair holding a cup of mango smoothie in her hand. She was eating it slowly, taking small sips with a spoon.

"Where is he?"

Eriri glanced sideways at Kawaname Rie.

“Hasn’t appeared yet.”

Nari Kamikawa took a few bites and felt that the taste was just average. She put it on the armrest without being very satisfied.

After hearing what Kamikawa Nari said, Eriri and Kasumigaoka Utaha could only suppress their anxiety and sit down again.

*

In the live broadcast room of "Decisive Battle of Koshien", Shohei Otani and Mai Sakurajima sat on the left and right respectively, and the makeup artist was doing the final touches of makeup.

Mai Sakurajima let the makeup artist touch up her makeup while she looked down at the several speech scripts she had prepared overnight over the past two days.

This time, the explanation could not be wrong. Even though she had memorized several drafts by heart, she still confirmed them again and again.

The director watched the opening footage and reminded the three commentators how much time they had to prepare.

The live TV broadcast now shows Kitahara Takashi's wonderful pitching from the first round of Koshien to his home run, as well as highlights from Koukou Ikusei and other schools.

*

In the players' locker room, Kitahara Takashi wrapped an elastic bandage tightly around his right arm and moved it a little. The severe pain caused by the tearing of the joint capsule after the dislocation of his arm made his facial features slightly distorted with pain.

"Kitahara, how's it going?"

Musashi Katsuda looked at him with concern.

Not only him, but all the players on the team looked at him.

Today, Kitahara Takashi has truly become the backbone of Aoba.

"I'm not going to fall here."

Kitahara Takashi didn't answer whether he was good or bad, he just said this, then put on his coat and jumped twice on the spot.

knock knock!

There was a knock on the door, and after Kensuke Amatani said "Come in", a staff member pushed the door open and said, "Aoba, get ready to enter."

"Let's go."

Kitahara Takashi, wearing a baseball cap, was the first to leave the players' locker room.

Next came Momotani Kaname, Amatani Kensuke, Okura Kento, Noda Yusei... one after another with firm eyes, they came out one after another.

"come on!"

The staff member looked at the backs of Kitahara Tsutomu and the other nine people. He tried to hold back, but still couldn't help but speak out encouragement.

He knew he shouldn't be working with emotions, but it was hard not to be moved when looking at the Aoba team.

After being beaten to death, Qingye is now a broken body.

"We will."

Kensuke Amatani, as the coach, was the last one to walk out. He patted the staff member on the shoulder and walked at the end.

As the final theme sounded, Kitahara Takashi walked through the player tunnel and stepped onto the grass, he was swept by thunderous cheers from tens of thousands of fans on the scene.

"Kitahara no Takashi!!!"

"Lord of Tokyo!!!"

"Aoba Champion!!!"

Kitahara Takashi listened to the cheers from the audience, and there was a lot of noise in front of him.

The entire audience focused on him and the other seventeen players on the field.

In front of the TV, tens of millions of eyes are waiting to see what kind of wonderful performance you will give, and every move you make next will affect the nerves of countless people.

This is definitely the way of entrance that every boy dreams of.

Kitahara Tsutomu is no longer young and frivolous, but at this moment, he is still full of excitement.

He likes the feeling of being the center of attention.

Like to be the focus of the crowd.

'That's why I don't want to be someone else's replacement.'

Kitahara Tsutomu subconsciously glanced towards the VIP seats.

Some people want to be Hikigaya Hachiman, some want to be Shirogane Miyuki, and some want to be Shirogane Miyuki's, but Kitahara Takashi doesn't want to be anyone, he just wants to be himself and be the protagonist of his own world.

The grass on the field has been trimmed, the black soil in the infield is soft, the outfield is covered with green grass, and the sea breeze stirs the boy's heartstrings.

233

Chapter 233 Not playing?

"The National High School Baseball Tournament is currently underway, the finals are taking place."

In the commentary booth, Mai Sakurajima spoke in her unique low, magnetic, confident and slightly hoarse voice.

"I'm the commentator for this match, Mai Sakurajima."

Shohei Ohtani smiled shyly and said, "I'm Shohei Ohtani, the commentator for this match."

"Hey~ I'm Suzuki Ichiro."

Suzuki Ichiro spoke with his characteristic tongue flick.

"This year's finals, both Private Aoba High School and Koukou Ikusei High School, are making it to the finals for the first time."

"In this highly anticipated competition, let's wait and see who will be able to dominate the country and stand at the top."

"Now let's take a look at the match lineup."

"The highly bred cosmetic surgery is—

First batter/center fielder: Masaru Nagumo.

Second batter/second baseman: Ryuen Sho.

Third batter/shortstop: Koenji Rokusuke.

Fourth pitcher/pitcher: Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.

Fifth batter/first baseman: Horikita Manabu.

Sixth batter/left fielder: Ryuji Kanzaki.

Seventh batter/right fielder: Albert Yamada.

Eighth batsman/catcher: Katsuragi Kohei.

Ninth batter/second baseman: Ken Sudo"

After Suzuki Ichiro finished reading the highly trained players, Otani Shota said loudly: "Aoba's lineup is -

First batsman/center fielder: Yusei Noda.

Second bat/shortstop: Katsuda Takezo.

Third bat/pitcher: Kaname Momotani.

Fourth batter/first baseman: Kento Okura.

Fifth batter/right fielder: Taiga Furuya.

Sixth batter/second baseman: Haruki Yuto.

Seventh batter/third baseman: Daisho Nakagi.

Eighth batsman/left fielder: Yu Kamizawa.

Ninth batter/catcher: Rei Nisase."

As soon as Shota Ohtani finished speaking, the scene exploded.

"Where's Kitahara Takashi?"

"Not letting Kitahara Takashi play in the finals? Is Coach Aoba out of his mind?"

"We want Kitahara Tsutomu! Let Kitahara Tsutomu play!"

"After all the hard work of reaching the finals, are you planning to surrender and go home now?"

"Kensuke Amaya, are you planning to ruin this highly anticipated final?"

The stunned audience yelled at Kensuke Amatani who was sitting in the bullpen.

Some extreme fans even threw lighters, coins, cans and other debris, causing the bullpen to bang loudly.

Fans are a complex group.

There are die-hard fans who are loyal and steadfast like the old man interviewed by Ichika Nakano, there are calm fans who are rational and objective, and there are extreme fans who are fanatical but cool down quickly, are self-centered, and start cursing when they are not satisfied.

Just like when IG won the championship, everyone was an IG fan that day, and some people even said that IG had the gold medal to be exempt from criticism. But when they lost the game, they still criticized them, and some people even poured cold water on them.

Human nature is so complex.

There are many such fans in every country and region.

The camera lens is focused on Takashi Kitahara and Kensuke Amatani.

The two of them sat on either side, with a long distance between them. Neither of them even looked at the other, and it was obvious that they were angry with each other.

"Speaking of which, in the last match against Chukyodai, Kitahara Takashi seemed to have had an argument with the coach. Could he have been put on ice?"

Suzuki Ichiro slapped his head and said with some concern.

"possible."

Otani Shouta nodded in agreement.

The biggest difference between professional games and high school games, besides the difficulty, is the power of coaches.

In the professional arena, as long as the players are famous enough, the head coach will be fired.

But in high school, the team coach has a higher status than any player.

Many coaches still don't like troublemakers like Kitahara Takashi, no matter how strong he is.

"Then Qingye is doomed to lose, isn't he?"

Sakurajima Mai showed her concern appropriately, and in fact she was really worried about Kitahara Takashi.

"Aoba clearly made it to the finals thanks to Kitahara-kun's outstanding performance, so why isn't he allowed to play?"

He dragged his broken body to the finals, but lost the game without even a chance to play. So what were all his previous efforts worth?

Shota Otani and Ichiro Suzuki looked at Mai Sakurajima at the same time, said nothing, but expressed their deep approval of Kensuke Amaya's decision.

Fighting with passion, burning youth and leaving no regrets are the spirit of the Koshien event.

But think about Kitahara Takashi. He sent him out even though he knew his arm was injured. Isn't this just being aggressive and playing with his own health?

If he really gets an injury that ruins his career, will he really not regret it when he looks back on it?

If "glory" can only be achieved by sacrificing the bodies of young people or even overdrawing their future, is it really necessary to win such a game?

Moreover, according to statistics from the "Nikkan Gendai" magazine, since 90, the players who pitched the most in Koshien, including the legendary Yoshida Teruhoshi of Kinba-no-O, represented the highest level of high school baseball in that year. However, only Daisuke Matsusaka and Masahiro Tanaka became famous in the professional baseball world. The others were plagued by injuries, and even if they entered professional baseball, they often could not return to their high school level and retired early.

On the contrary, some young players who failed to reach Koshien in high school have become very successful in professional baseball, including Shohei Ohtani, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Odai Norimoto.