Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

When Sawamura calmly caught the ball, the fans from Japan in the stands were already so excited that they could not get any more excited.

At that moment, even their eyes were red.

The feeling was simply amazing!

The fans from Japan seemed unable to accept this situation.

One could not help but wonder, what kind of crazy people are these fans from Japan?

Earlier, when Sawamura hit a home run, they didn't cheer like this. When he struck out an opponent, they didn't cheer like this either.

It should be noted that these two stats directly influenced the course of the game.

That home run helped Japan team take the lead by one point.

In such an intense pitcher's battle, the side that scores first undoubtedly gains a significant advantage.

Sawamura pushed the battle further, decisively hitting a home run.

Though they only scored one point, for the fans from Japan, the value of this one point was immeasurable.

If converted into score value, that one point was worth at least three or four points.

Sawamura's strikeout was also highly significant.

If the home run showcased the offensive ability of Japan, proving their attacking power exceeded America's, then the strikeouts symbolized their terrifying defense.

Although the defensive players didn't yet show much, the Ace on the pitcher's mound was enough to make anyone hesitant to face them.

Whether in offense or defense, Sawamura's performance on the field was flawless, beyond any critique.

This fact was acknowledged even by their opponents.

Although the fans from Japan cheered during both events, making quite a ruckus, it still felt to other fans that they were simply more passionate, more expressive with their support.

But just now, when Sawamura forced the opponent to hit a high fly ball, the fans in the stands went absolutely crazy, almost unrecognizable.

At this moment, these fans were like wild beasts.

No one could guess what these beasts might do next.

The scene had become overwhelmingly intense.

How could this happen? Even if the fans from Taiwan scratched their heads, they could not have imagined this.

What was the source of the excitement for these fans from Japan?

In the stands, Narumiya turned away in dissatisfaction.

Sawamura's unbothered display of skill on the field was making this pitcher, who didn't get his opportunity, so angry that he was nearly ready to explode.

Just thinking about how his graduation was near and his future was limited to either the draft or university, he was unsure when he would ever meet Sawamura again.

Narumiya was frustrated.

Despite losing one or two opportunities to make it to Koshien because of Sawamura, he was deeply grateful for the chance to meet Sawamura.

It was because of such a great opponent that he had been able to progress to this point.

If Sawamura had not appeared suddenly, Narumiya's future might have been uncertain.

Now, he had not suffered any physical damage from overplaying.

He was as energetic as ever, almost the healthiest player in the competition.

Although he had missed the chance to make it to Koshien twice due to Sawamura, the growing reputation of the Tokyo region meant more and more people, including professional scouts, attended Tokyo's games before Koshien.

After investigating, the scouts were surprised to find that there were many other talented players in the Tokyo region, not just Sawamura Eijun and Miyuki Kazuya.

Many of these players, because of being blocked by Sawamura or Seidou High School, had not made it to Koshien, but that didn't mean they lacked ability.

On the contrary, there were many strong players among them.

Some had appeared in the spring Koshien, and others had yet to make an appearance.

Among the unrecognized players, there were quite a few talented ones.

Even many of those who had appeared had surprises in store; their abilities far exceeded what was seen on the surface.

Like Narumiya in the Spring Koshien.

How strong was Narumiya?

He had already played in Koshien before, with good performances, so many scouts had shown interest in him.

They had been following his progress, and though they couldn't tell exactly how much he had improved, they had a rough idea.

But they soon realized their judgment wasn't accurate.

In this year's spring Koshien, Narumiya had cleared one obstacle after another, leading his team to the finals.

After entering the finals, they faced off against the Seidou High School baseball team.

His performance throughout the spring Koshien had far exceeded everyone's expectations.

Even those who had been following him were surprised.

They hadn't realized just how formidable he had become!

Because of his performance in the Spring Koshien, even though his team lost to Seidou in the summer and didn't make it to Koshien, people still held a high opinion of Narumiya.

Everyone agreed that apart from the Legendary Sawamura Eijun, Narumiya was undoubtedly the best pitcher in the tournament.

He was the second-best pitcher in the country!

Although this title wasn't very flattering, just having it was an indicator of how strong he really was.

Of course, Narumiya was unhappy with this title.

But it was precisely this title that made him the biggest sensation at the draft this year.

As long as he entered the draft, it was 100% certain he would be picked in the first round.

If not the first pick, then the team with the first pick might worry about losing him to another team.

Narumiya was now the hottest player among those about to graduate.

Behind him, the second hottest player was Miyuki.

The reason for Miyuki's lower ranking was that catchers weren't as glamorous as pitchers.

At this moment, Narumiya wasn't happy at all.

He was eyeing Sawamura on the pitcher's mound. Even though Sawamura had just shown off his dazzling skills, Narumiya couldn't stand it.

It was unclear whether he disliked Sawamura's actions or simply had something against him.

"That little brat did that on purpose, right?"

Hearing Narumiya's question, Miyuki didn't know how to respond.

Was it on purpose?

Did it need to be asked? Just look at the reaction of the fans in the stands, and everything was clear.

It was definitely on purpose, and 100% intentional.

Sawamura didn't even try to hide it.

He just did it boldly and without hesitation.

Three Outs, offense and defense exchange.

Curious but clueless fans from Japan searched their phones to find out why their fellow countrymen were going crazy.

After seeing the information in the search engine, they were stunned.

Could it really be that terrifying?

Pre-setting the pitching route, estimating the opponent's swing, and making the ball fly high, right to the pitcher's mound?

"Is this some kind of exaggeration? How could a human do something like that?"

"Even professional players in the major leagues wouldn't dare claim such a thing…"

The fans from Japan, after reading the search results, first felt disbelief.

But soon, they had no choice but to believe it.

After all, Sawamura Eijun had used this tactic more than once.

There were even video clips online, showing it happening more than a dozen times.

You might say once was a coincidence, twice was a coincidence, but with so many instances, using coincidence to explain it felt like self-deception.

This was definitely not a coincidence!

Although ordinary people found it hard to imagine, this was the terrifying power of the great Sawamura Eijun.

A power that could make everyone feel hopeless.

"He is Really the Last Boss!!"

"Demon King!!"

In the face of reality, even though the fans from Japan were still in disbelief, they could only shout "Demon King!"

After all, this kind of play was truly astonishing.

…