Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 199: Seidou Seniors' Opinions on Furuya!

After the game, Sawamura remained visibly downcast.

Initially, due to the surrounding environment, the Seidou High baseball team members didn't pay much attention to it.

However, as they walked along the way and even boarded the bus, Sawamura still hadn't said a word.

This made it impossible for his teammates to ignore the situation any longer.

"What's with the act, pretending to be so deep in thought?"

The first to break the silence was none other than Kuramochi, Sawamura's dorm mate.

He smacked Sawamura firmly on the back of the head, snapping him out of his own world.

Sawamura looked up and glanced around, his eyes filled with confusion.

"When a senior talks to you, focus! Otherwise, I'll smack you again next time!" Kuramochi grumbled impatiently.

Sawamura, somewhat wary of this fiery-tempered senior, instinctively turned his head to the side and forced a bitter smile.

"Did any of you shake hands with that guy?" he asked.

Hearing Sawamura's question, the teammates all fell silent.

It was clear to everyone whom Sawamura was referring to.

Seeing their reaction, Sawamura understood that they had already figured it out.

He smiled bitterly.

"So, everyone noticed after all. I thought it was just me."

The "guy" they were talking about was none other than Yakushi High's monstrous player, Raichi Todoroki.

In today's game, this powerhouse had undoubtedly caused Seidou plenty of trouble, leaving a strong impression on everyone.

As for the handshake Sawamura mentioned, the other Seidou players had certainly noticed it too.

However, they weren't as deeply affected by it as Sawamura.

Sawamura was different. Compared to his teammates, he paid much closer attention to Raichi.

Despite being just a first-year rookie, Sawamura had already proven himself indispensable to Seidou.

Though he couldn't dominate opponents like the ace Furuya, who often left no room for resistance, Sawamura had his own way of helping the team secure victories.

It was thanks to his contributions that people compared him to Furuya, dubbing them Seidou's first-year twin stars.

Had it been someone else, like Kawakami and Furuya joining in the same year, no one would have even mentioned them in the same breath.

Despite Sawamura's usual resilience, facing Raichi dealt him a heavy blow. Raichi had hit a home run off Sawamura, completely crushing his confidence.

This experience left a significant impact on Sawamura, making him pay even closer attention to Raichi.

The moment Sawamura shook Raichi's hand, the hard, calloused texture shocked him to the core.

Seidou players, known for their intense training, had their fair share of calluses. Yet Sawamura had never encountered anyone like Raichi.

The calluses weren't just on the fingers and palms — Raichi's entire hand was covered in them, as hard as stones and polished to a shine from relentless wear.

"How much practice does it take to develop hands like that?" Sawamura wondered, overwhelmed by the thought.

As silence hung over the group, Furuya suddenly spoke.

"For someone who hasn't even fully experienced high school yet, that guy's training volume is pretty amazing."

Hearing their ace's comment, the Seidou players immediately turned their eyes to Furuya, curious about how this fellow first-year "monster" viewed Raichi.

Sawamura was no exception.

In previous games, although Sawamura wasn't as dominant as Furuya, they both successfully fulfilled the tasks given by the coach and team.

However, this game told a different story.

While Sawamura struggled, Furuya remained unfazed, effortlessly dismantling Yakushi's attempts to counter him. His impressive pitching speed and composed demeanor left a lasting impression on everyone present.

Despite Yakushi High's loss, Raichi's terrifying swings also left a deep mark on the audience. Anyone who saw them would never forget.

Only Sawamura, whose previously stellar performance had come to a halt, found his reputation significantly affected by the game.

The gap between him and Furuya had widened, and Sawamura was painfully aware of it.

This realization only made him more eager to understand Furuya's thoughts on the matter.

Unconsciously, Sawamura's goals had begun to shift.

Previously, he had seen Furuya as a rival, aiming to surpass him with his own pitching and become Seidou's true ace.

But now, that goal seemed too lofty to achieve in one step.

Instead of reaching too high, he decided it was better to focus on steady progress — learning from Furuya, catching up to him, and ultimately surpassing him.

Yes, surpass him!

That was Sawamura's character. Most people would turn back when they hit a wall, but not Sawamura. Even after crashing headfirst into it, he would keep pushing forward.

Once he set his mind on something, no matter how difficult, he would never give up.

Becoming Seidou's ace was no exception. He would never abandon that dream.

Meanwhile, as the others awaited Furuya's response, he confidently declared, "But I don't think our third-year seniors are any worse than their players!"

This statement struck the Seidou team deeply.

The third-year players, in particular, were visibly moved, their eyes filled with admiration that almost became tangible.

No one expected that Furuya, the proud ace freshman, would express such high regard for his seniors.

"Raichi has reached his current level partly because of his talent," Furuya said steadily, "but more importantly, it's due to his relentless practice. He must have started an intense training regimen from a very young age. But even so, I don't believe his sweat and effort surpass those of our seniors.

"I haven't been on the team long, just three months, but I've never seen a senior slack off even once. Aside from studying, eating, and sleeping, they use every available moment for training."

Furuya paused briefly, then added, "When it comes to talent, that's hard to measure. But if it's about effort, our seniors won't lose to anyone. The reason they have fewer calluses isn't because they work any less but because we have a refined training system that prevents pointless overexertion. That's nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, it's impressive that our seniors perform so exceptionally even with these considerations in mind."

Furuya's heartfelt speech left a profound impact on his teammates, particularly the third-year seniors. Their gazes toward him completely transformed.

This wasn't just a junior teammate; it was someone who truly understood them.

"You've got good eyes, kid," one senior with a mustache spoke up, soon joined by others praising Furuya as they gathered around him.

Standing to the side, Chris and Miyuki remained silent but understood the power of Furuya's words more clearly because of their detachment.

"He's truly become the ace of this team," Miyuki thought to himself.

An ace wasn't just about performance on the field but also about inspiring confidence and leading the team forward.

Although Furuya hadn't done poorly in these aspects before, his status as a newcomer made things challenging.

For Seidou's older players, Furuya was still a freshman who had joined later. Even in companies, when a new employee is promoted over veterans, it takes time for the latter to adapt.

And in a sports team filled with young, passionate athletes, there were no such practical concerns forcing compliance.

Many elite teams resisted appointing freshmen as aces for this very reason.

Though Seidou's atmosphere was better than most, human emotions couldn't be ignored.

It was inevitable for second- and third-year players to harbor mixed feelings about Furuya's rise to the top.

Rationally, they could accept that Furuya's skills justified his ace status and cooperate accordingly.

But emotionally? That was a different story.

Now, however, it was clear that the seniors had come to fully acknowledge Furuya as their ace.

Everyone on the team, including the third-years, recognized his role and leadership on the mound.

Miyuki suddenly glanced at Tanba, the former ace.

If anyone might still feel uncomfortable or upset about this, it would be him.

Noticing Miyuki's gaze, Tanba glared back fiercely.

"Sorry! My bad!" Miyuki instinctively surrendered.

"You think I'd be angry about this?" Tanba asked sharply, not letting him off the hook.

"Well, it'd be understandable if you were," Miyuki admitted sheepishly.

Tanba smirked. "If you're not good enough, you have to accept it. That's just how it works."

On the baseball field, there's always been a saying that circulates.

But who can truly live up to it?

Humans are complex beings, with their positive and negative energies almost equally balanced.

"Having such a talented junior around definitely brings pressure," Tanba said honestly.

Deep down, he certainly didn't want to give up the hard-earned title of ace so easily.

"But at the same time, I feel relieved! Not because I'm trying to escape, but if possible, I still want to be the team's ace."

Back then, the reason Tanba rejected the invitation from Ichidaisan High and chose to join Seidou High School's baseball team was that he didn't want to be someone's backup — even if that person was his best friend and lifelong partner on the field.

Their combination was even more dazzling than Narumiya's at that time.

Yet he still chose Seidou because he wanted to be a true, independent ace.

Even now, that aspiration hadn't changed.

"So..." Miyuki hesitated, puzzled.

"If that's how you feel, then what exactly makes you feel relieved?"

"I've been the ace before, but back then, I dragged the team down."

Tanba spoke with remarkable calmness, as if discussing someone else's story instead of his own.

"Even though I still want to be the ace, I don't want to be a burden to everyone anymore. As long as we can make it to Koshien together, I'll do whatever it takes — even if it means being a backup for a first-year junior."

After Tanba finished speaking, the entire bus fell into silence.

The only sound left was the steady hum of the vehicle moving along the road.

Everyone's eyes naturally shifted to Tanba.

"Haha, now that's our ace!"

"I thought you'd sulk and shut yourself off, but you're tougher than I expected!"

"Just don't keep it as talk — you better show it on the field too!"

Tanba never imagined that the guys around him had been eavesdropping the entire time.

His face instantly turned as red as a ripe tomato.

"You guys, enough already!!!"

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