Chapter 120

Short Summary
Tronpos makes a purchase offer for the Lycaons just before the deadline.

Long Summary
The team lament not being able to play baseball anymore after they’d managed to rise to second place. Oikawa remains optimistic, saying there are plenty of companies who’d want to own a Pro baseball team. He says they’ll get hundreds of offers with their strength and popularity. Ideguchi asks why Ron Wood Capital would abandon them if they’re that good. Imai says he felt valueless after the Chairman plainly said he didn’t need the Lycaons. Tokuchi tells them to stop thinking negatively. They still have two weeks and all they need to do is work harder; they’ll be more valuable if they keep winning.

The next two games, the Lycaons achieve landslide wins, but no offers come in. Oikawa doesn’t understand why. Fans have been protesting against their disbandment, so anybody who bought them now would be hailed a hero. The Secretary walks in and overhears Oikawa’s musings. He says it’s obvious why no one has made an offer- Ron Wood Capital saying they don’t need the Lycaons implies the team is unprofitable. The team is several billion yen in debt. Oikawa claims the Lycaons were unaffected by Tokuchi’s contract and are doing well, so the Secretary asks him where he thinks the money came from then.

He finally reveals to him it’s Ron Wood Capital that have been paying the money. Saikawa stopped using the Lycaons funds so it wouldn’t affect the buying price when he sold them to Tronpos. As a last resort, he got a 50 billion yen loan from Ron Wood, offering his company’s own stock as collateral. When Ron Wood Capital realised Saikawa couldn’t pay off the debt, they used their shares in the company to take over Saikawa Group. The Secretary curses them for being ‘vultures’ but Oikawa says this would have happened sooner or later anyway.

Oikawa asks about Tronpos, thinking they should be in trouble with Saikawa Group gone, but the Secretary says they’ve ‘already taken the next step.’ He shows Oikawa some gossip magazines stating the Lycaons are in poor management and reveals it’s Tronpos who have been spreading these rumours. This negative campaign will discourage other corporations from making offers for the team so that they can buy them as cheaply as possible at the end of the two weeks. Oikawa is relieved that the team will still be bought.

The Lycaons win yet another game. They’ve had 9 wins and 1 loss since the press conference. On the day before the deadline, there’s a breaking news story- Tronpos has announced they’ll be purchasing the Lycaons. The team cheer, regarding the company as their saviour. They gather round to watch another press conference later that day. The CEO of Tronpos introduces himself as Mitamura Kaname. He declares they’ve made an offer, but intend only to purchase the “hardware” of the team, meaning the stadium and training facilities. The “software” of the team is in poor condition. Tronpos will be changing the team name and having all the players and manager replaced.

Characters

 * Tokuchi Toua
 * Oikawa
 * The Secretary
 * Kaname Mitamura