Zhang Han wasn't aware of Carlos's hidden thoughts.
At the moment, he himself was completely dazed.
Just as Carlos had said, reaching Koshien was the dream of all of them. As for dominating the nation, that would of course be even better. But that dream felt far too distant. For now, it wasn't something they needed to think about, nor was it urgent.
After all, before talking about ruling the nation, didn't they first need to stand on the Koshien field?
Zhang Han hoped he could perform well there.
That was the most immediate and realistic wish for the rookie players.
Originally, Zhang Han had thought that if he worked hard and managed to fulfill that wish, it would already be more than enough.
He never expected it to come true so quickly.
So what came next?
For a moment, Zhang Han felt lost.
But when he looked at Coach Kataoka and the teammates cheering around him, a strange thought quietly took root.
He wanted to keep playing with these people.
He wanted to stay with them until they created something even greater.
As for what that "greater glory" actually meant, Zhang Han himself couldn't say.
After the game ended, Narumiya Mei collapsed on the field, crying.
During the handshake line, he kept his head lowered the entire time, not saying a single word.
This young ace had an extremely strong sense of pride and responsibility.
If it weren't for that mistake leading to the loss, Narumiya Mei might have recovered quickly. But now, Zhang Han's home run weighed heavily on him. That one run had cost the team their chance at extra innings.
With his personality, it was inevitable that he would shoulder all the blame himself.
Could he overcome this hurdle?
Zhang Han wanted to say something.
But Narumiya Mei's hand was icy cold. His face was blank, tears still streaking down his cheeks.
Zhang Han suddenly found himself unable to speak. No matter what he said, it would probably sound wrong.
So he chose silence.
He shook Narumiya Mei's hand, released it, and moved on without lingering.
After thanking the audience, the Seido High School Baseball Team packed up and prepared to return to school.
The moment they stepped outside the gate, a large group of reporters swarmed them.
No one knew where they had been hiding before. They appeared all at once, startling the Seido players.
Seido, after defeating Inashiro, was no longer the same team in the public eye.
Before the game, few people had been interested in it at all.
Could Seido, already nearly drained of stamina, really compete with Inashiro?
It sounded like a joke.
Did they seriously think Coach Kunimoto and Tokyo's top powerhouse were just playing around?
This was the main reason reporters hadn't paid much attention to the match. In their eyes, Inashiro Industrial winning was a foregone conclusion.
What was there to report in such an obvious outcome?
Even if they wanted to write something flashy, there was no angle to work with.
But no one expected the game to produce such a shocking dark horse.
The unfavored Seido High School Baseball Team had fought to the end and emerged victorious.
We won't dwell on how much this stunned the audience and players.
But for the reporters, the impact was enormous.
They had grown lazy.
They thought there would be no surprises and were already tired of writing about Inashiro Industrial. Not only they, but even the readers were starting to feel fatigued.
There was no news value.
But now everything had changed.
The king of West Tokyo had fallen.
And the one who defeated them was Seido, a team that had been dormant for years.
The fall of a king. The rise of a challenger.
From any angle, it was a perfect story.
It was premium news material.
Any experienced reporter knew this kind of story would be eagerly consumed.
So they rushed to the entrance of Jingu Stadium, waiting for Seido's players to appear.
Manager Ota, along with several members of the coaching staff, immediately stepped forward to block them.
Seido had strict rules.
Rules set personally by Coach Kataoka.
Even during the years when he failed to lead the team to Koshien, his authority within the team had never wavered.
What he said went.
Even the principal and dean couldn't easily challenge his decisions.
Although Seido hadn't officially secured a spot at Summer Koshien yet, anyone with eyes could see where this was heading.
It was only a matter of time.
Nioh Gakusha was certainly strong.
Calling them weak would be inappropriate. Any team that reached the West Tokyo finals was no pushover.
But strength was always relative.
Compared to the three traditional powerhouses of West Tokyo, Nioh Gakusha simply didn't measure up.
The gap was too large.
Even if Seido didn't send out their ace in the finals, Nioh Gakusha likely wouldn't have even a one-in-ten chance.
That was how big the difference was.
Coach Kataoka had led the team to this point.
His prestige was at its peak.
At Seido, his words were practically law.
Since he didn't want the players distracted by interviews, the coaching staff naturally stepped in to block the reporters.
The scene became chaotic.
Even so, microphones continued to thrust forward, voices overlapping as questions flew out in all directions.
It was impossible to make out anything clearly.
"The players are exhausted and need to return to school to rest," Coach Kataoka said calmly. "This isn't the right time for interviews. We've only reached the finals. We haven't won yet."
His voice wasn't loud, but his tone left no room for argument.
"Let them focus on preparing for the finals. After that, we'll accept interviews."
With that, he ignored the microphones and led the Seido players onto their team bus.
They returned to school.
The moment they arrived, they were greeted like conquering heroes.
Meanwhile, back among the reporters, a young man in his twenties quietly slipped away from the crowd.
Without complaint, he got into a car by himself.
And then, he headed straight toward Seido High School.
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