Tribe Nine (TRIBE NINE)

Neo Tokyo. Year Twenty Double X.

Rebelling against a social order

they felt had bankrupted their future,

young people everywhere cast off the yoke of civilization

and formed restless, exclusionary tribes.

Fierce. Proud. Warlike.

Inevitably, this partisan zeal gave way

to blistering sectarian violence,

transforming the country into an abattoir.

No one was safe. The world was steeped in blood.

Desperate to contain the mounting pandemonium,

Neo Tokyo's government mandated

that all inter-tribal disputes be resolved

through specially curated conflicts.

Dubbed: Extreme Baseball.

This was known colloquially as "XB Law."

As one might expect, with their pride on the line,

the nation's youth poured its collective heart and soul

into this minacious, high-tech sport.

Huh?

Extreme Baseball.

Why not?

Just a friendly heads up, though, I'm comin' for ya.

You know how this plays out.

Now quit wasting my time.

Haru, act like you're going for your wallet,

and we'll make a run for it!

Sure. Okay.

Hey! Get back here!

Yasuhiro!

Now that sucks!

I hate to be that guy, but your taste in friends is really crap.

Tough break, Haru.

'Fraid you're better off buying loyalty with cash.

Huh? Now what?

Could you shut up, please?

I'm pissed enough as it is,

and you've got a voice only a mother could love.

Look out!

Who's this guy s'posed to be?

Huh? No idea!

Yo! Take him down!

Oh! Right!

Ugh. Man, need to eat.

Sorry in advance for the concussion!

Ha! 'S like punchin' a squeak toy.

What's wrong with ya? Snap out of it, kid!

Fight back! Don't just stand there, eejit!

Seriously?

What the--?

Now who's this jackhole?

If wanna start somethin', start somethin'.

Maybe just don't do it in my house.

If you expect me to be scared,

you best walk the walk there, buddy.

Um, hey, boss?

What? You scared or somethin'?

No, but that's Shun Kamiya!

What? You're kiddin' me!

Oh, wow. Didn't realize I was famous.

You're exactly who I'm lookin' for!

Don't ignore me!

So I take it you get off

on ganging up on folks half your size.

That your idea of fun? 'Cause me, I like things level.

But then again, I'm not scum.

Who cares what you are?

Well, would ya look at that?

Guess hype and reality ain't on speaking terms, after all.

Such a damn shame.

But he--

Hm?

Consider this a warning.

Disrespect Minato City again, it'll get ugly.

Scary ugly.

Let's get outta here!

Shun Kamiya! I challenge you!

I'm sorry, not to be rude, but who are you?

You guys can call me Taiga.

Finest tuna fisherman in the counties

and in the whole world!

But I'm lookin' to beef up my resume

with "Best Extreme Baseball Player"--

by kicking your ass!

Okay. Hey, guys? Um, can we not?

You moron!

This is what you get for knockin' 'em back all night

like it was your job!

Ugh. Please, Saori.

Do something before my guts explode.

Fat chance.

Here ya go!

Freshly brewed cup of the hair o' the dog that bit ya.

Ugh, Santarou. It smells like an open sewer.

Brewed?

Yup. Coffee hangover.

Shun loves his caffeine, but any time he has more

than three cups a day, his GI tract dies.

Help me, Nekomaru. I'm dying.

Speaking of, how do you feel?

Uh, I'm fine!

You got a name?

Haru... Shirokane.

Huh. Haru. 'S not so bad.

Manami, patch this one up when you're done.

Absolutely!

Hmm. That's some really impressive muscle tone.

What's your workout reg?

Full-contact tuna.

Very cool! What about you?

No, I'm definitely not a fisherman!

As a matter of fact, I'm... What's the word?

Actually, I'm just boring.

No, you're not.

Huh?

Is what you want us to say. Am I wrong?

Look, man, if you want other people to lift you up,

don't spend quite so much energy putting yourself down.

Or maybe you're just fishin' for compliments.

Nice job. Quit running your mouth.

What're you doing?

Enough talk. I christen thee "Tuna."

And we'll call you "Boring."

Oh, piss off!

Sorry, guys. Shun likes to give everyone a "fun" nickname.

That a fact?

Well, two can play at that game, Sir Barf's A Lot.

Nah, that actually sounds kinda lame.

Then it's perfect!

Ugh. Would it kill you to float something a little classier?

Fine. Barfolomew!

Ugh. Back me up on this, Boring.

You're asking me? What am I s'posed to do?

Nobody's buyin' the weakling act, kid.

Stop whinin' and be real with us for a change.

What's the story with those reflexes earlier?

I don't know what you're talking about.

That one langer's attack! You dodged it like a damn pro!

You gonna stand there and tell me

I didn't see you leap backward like 15 feet?

Ah. False modesty's basically your thing.

He's remembering it wrong! I didn't dodge anything!

You-- What you saw was me getting my butt handed to me!

You are some piece of work.

Whoa!

Can I help you?

Ah, my bad!

Why you gotta be a little perv?

Ah, yes, of course.

That's what we're dealing with.

No! It was an accident! I swear!

Heads up. Customer.

Might I have the pleasure of addressing the Minato Tribe?

Huh? Um, yeah.

Outstanding.

My business card, if you would.

Oh. Yeah, sure.

Wait, Yutaka Gotanda, Shinagawa Leader?

What exactly are you trying to pull here?

Shinagawa's leader's Kitahama.

Was. I'm afraid he's been compelled to step down.

The Shinagawa Tribe is now under our control.

I've heard about you people. You're all about fancy XB gear.

'S how you been carvin' a path to the top.

Hey, now.

We pride ourselves in being versed in cutting-edge tech,

but none of our preferred accouterments

are prohibited by XB regulation.

Yeah? How nice for you.

Look, if you're here to try and hock your wares, get bent.

Ah! My!

I can assure you we've not come in a sales capacity.

On the other hand, if by using said wares,

we managed to summarily quash the top-ranking team

in Extreme Baseball, a.k.a. the Minato Tribe,

a.k.a. yourselves,

it would be quite the shot in the arm for our revenue.

Uh, could somebody translate this, please?

Shh!

I'll be unambiguous.

On behalf of the new Shinagawa Tribe,

I hereby cordially throw the proverbial gauntlet.

So in terms more frank... I believe it is now on.

Hmph. I don't think so.

If you refuse, we'll simply have to broadcast the fact

that the Minato Tribe chickened out.

I'd like to see you try!

We're game.

Say what?

'S what we do, right? It might be fun.

Besides Tuna and Boring'll help even the odds.

Wait, we're playing?

If you're talkin' a real live game, I'm 100% onboard!

I don't think you want me.

If this ain't a joke,

I have no idea what you're playing at.

I was thinking they could play in my place.

Huh?!

Sure! I'll have a better debut than Joe DiMaggio!