Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

"Sawamura!"

"Sawamura!!!"

On the stands, over 2,000 fans from Japan raised their voices in perfect unison, a chorus that could only be made by tens of thousands of people.

At this moment, they gave all their cheers to Sawamura Eijun.

In today's game against the Cuban team, although Japan's team had firmly controlled the match, and by the score, they had already secured the victory, something felt off. Despite being in a dominant position, the Japanese supporters felt uneasy.

Such a level of emotional conflict over a baseball game was quite rare!

But it happened, for real.

Especially with Mima's injury, it was like a heavy stone had been lodged in the hearts of all the supporters.

It was excruciating!

Now, with Sawamura's clean and precise home run, the anger they had bottled up inside finally began to ease.

Looking at the scoreboard, Japan led 6:0, and victory was already secured.

All tricks were futile, and in the end, it was the stronger team that triumphed.

Sawamura's message was clear.

As for whether the Cuban team understood Sawamura's good intentions, no one knew for sure.

But from the situation, at least Sawamura had achieved his tactical goal.

The score was now 6:0.

In the stands, the teams from America and Taiwan, who could potentially be future opponents, stood up.

For them, the remaining game had lost all meaning.

The team that would win would face Japan in the finals to compete for the world championship.

Although they didn't know exactly how much strength Japan had used, they had already picked up some clues.

Japan's team was strong!

Especially their ace, Sawamura.

The other players on Japan's team were also quite impressive.

Even from America's critical point of view, Japan's strength had earned their respect.

"The upcoming finals will probably be no walk in the park."

American players had come to this realization.

The players from Taiwan shared the same sentiment.

"They're amazing!"

They were truly impressed.

Although they had heard many rumors about Japan's team, and they knew that many star players had emerged this season, they hadn't expected the combination of these players to create such a powerful synergy.

Of course, in world-class competitions, all the teams field players who are at least quite strong, even if they're not the absolute best.

Under these conditions, there are no truly weak teams.

Simply making it to the field proved their strength.

If they were to only watch others play, America and Taiwan's players would still feel that Japan was tough but manageable.

If the opponent were weak, they would crush them easily.

If the opponent was strong, they would adjust their strategy accordingly.

In short, they could always find a solution.

But after watching Japan's match today, both American and Taiwanese players were deeply shaken.

Sawamura, standing on the mound, left them with a psychological scar. If they were to face Japan, figuring out how to handle Sawamura and get hits or score runs off him became Japan's immediate priority—a problem they had to solve.

At this point, the two teams, potential future opponents, had grown wary of Japan's team.

They knew they had to thoroughly study Japan's tactics and make accurate judgments.

But for now, Japan wasn't their primary concern.

After all, they wouldn't face Japan until the finals, and before that, they had an important semifinal to focus on—America versus Taiwan.

Only by winning this game could they earn the right to face Japan.

With this game already settled, they had to prepare for the other semifinal.

There were no outs, no one on base.

The game between Japan and Cuba continued.

Though many felt the game had lost its meaning, with Japan leading 6-0, effectively shattering Cuba's hopes, the match was far from over.

As long as the game hadn't ended, anything was still possible.

Japan's assistant coach had been on edge for a while.

These kids were really giving him a headache. He had told them repeatedly not to get tangled up with Cuba and that the most important thing was to ensure their safety for the finals—don't let anything disrupt that.

In the assistant coach's eyes, Cuba was no longer a threat, and there was no reason to risk anything for them. Even the slightest risk wasn't necessary.

But the young players, full of spirit, likely wouldn't listen to his cautious advice.

They had been eager to fight, and even with a six-point lead, they wouldn't let up.

The assistant coach, though imperfect in his tactical guidance (sometimes even annoying Sawamura), was good at understanding people's minds. If not for his keen insight, how could he have stayed in his position for so many years?

But his concerns went unheeded.

As he fretted, the replacement third baseman for Mima was put out.

This surprised everyone.

Originally, people thought that after being hit by Sawamura's home run, Cuba's ace pitcher, Katro, would be severely shaken, possibly even unable to recover.

However, he showed no signs of weakness and was performing as lively as ever, almost mocking them.

It was unbearable!

With one out and no one on base, the next batter was Miyuki Ichiro, the fourth batter of Japan's team.

He hadn't had an outstanding performance in previous games, but Katro had been particularly difficult for him to handle.

This was why Miyuki hadn't been able to perform well so far.

However, there was nothing to be done about it.

The relationship between players was like this.

The Cuban team was fully aware of this, especially their pitcher Katro. While he was somewhat respectful when facing other players, he had grown increasingly comfortable in handling Miyuki, who, despite being the team's fourth batter, had become the easiest Out.

The Japanese players had noticed this, but there was nothing they could do—Miyuki was irreplaceable, even if Japan had many capable substitutes.

Playing alongside Sawamura, they were aware of the potential difficulties.

Miyuki was the only one who could catch Sawamura's high-level pitches.

None of the other catchers in Japan's team could manage it as well as he could.

It wasn't that Miyuki was superior to other catchers, but because he had been partnering with Sawamura for years, and Sawamura's current pitch system was built with Miyuki's assistance.

With just a couple of days to adapt, Miyuki wouldn't be able to catch Sawamura's top-tier pitches.

Originally, there were no hopes for Miyuki's batting, but his teammates and the assistant coach were still supportive.

Even the supporters had little hope of him improving enough to hit the ball out of the park in a short time.

"Underestimating me too much!"

Almost no one believed in him.

However, Miyuki had never given up on hitting the ball out of the park.

As soon as the ball came flying toward him, he swung his bat without hesitation.

Though he hadn't made a notable contribution in the previous two rounds, he had paid attention to the pitcher's habits and performance.

When Katro let loose, he often used an inside pitch to test the batter.

It wasn't his deciding pitch, but it was enough to make Miyuki a bit uncomfortable.

'Still, it was just enough!'

At least it gave Miyuki a chance to prove himself.

PAAAAAKKKKK!!!!!!!!

The baseball was struck sharply and flew off.

Less than two minutes after Sawamura's home run, another player from Japan hit another home run.

Clean and precise, securing two more runs.

"ANOTHER HOME RUN!!!!!!!"

The commentator was now excited.

7:0!

Despite one of Japan's players being injured and sent to the hospital, they didn't back down. Instead, they showed even more blood and courage.

Faced with Cuba's underhanded tactics, Japan chose to confront them head-on.

And it wasn't over yet.

After Miyuki, another batter stepped into the box.

Without any hesitation, he swung his bat the moment the ball came flying.

Shuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!!!!

It was as if a tornado had been unleashed with the bat's swing.

Whoobaaaaaaak!!!!!

The bat crushed the air around it and struck the incoming ball with a fierce blow.

Not just the opponents and the audience, but even Sawamura and Miyuki were taken aback.

This was already the second home run from Raichi.

To the untrained eye, one might think Raichi was cheating.

But the performance of this game could only be described as scorching hot.

However, as teammates and opponents, their views were vastly different.

After the summer tournament defeat, the soul of the Yakshi team, Raichi, seemed to have undergone significant growth.

Now, he truly seemed to be turning into a monster!

…