Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Roaar!!

When that ball wreaked havoc on the field without regard for anyone else.

The entire stadium immediately became silent.

Everyone was stunned, watching this scene with disbelief in their eyes.

The fans from Taiwan were whispering to each other, talking in hushed tones.

They found it hard to understand what exactly was going on.

The ball speed was too fast!

"Look quickly!"

"Electronic display."

On the stadium's electronic display, the speed of the ball just thrown was clearly shown.

153 km/h! (95 mph)

Needless to say, even standing next to the ball, not directly in front of it, one could feel the extraordinary speed of the ball.

From the perspective of the batter and the catcher, anyone could search for videos online.

That terrifying feeling was almost like the moment you saw the baseball.

The ball would already be coming at you!

At this speed, pitching can no longer simply be described as fast.

To put it bluntly, this was something from another dimension of horror.

In Italy's dugout, everyone was as still as ice.

Their mouths hung open, unable to utter a single syllable.

Although they had heard about people with such fast ball speeds before.

Like the American "Son of Baseball" Allen.

When he first became famous, it was precisely because of his incomparable ball speed.

It was because he threw such terrifying pitches at the World Series that he became famous, eventually developing into the American Dream Team's "Son of Baseball."

The speed of his pitches brought such a shock.

Italian players had always believed that players like Allen came around once every ten years.

It seemed like an incredibly rare event.

They didn't expect that, in Japan, there would be another pitcher of this caliber.

The Coach of Italy's team, a Mediterranean fat man, stroked his half-bald head and furrowed his brow deeply.

"That's terrifying!"

The assistant coach beside him nodded deeply.

"I didn't expect such a high-level pitcher to emerge from Japan. And yet..."

The assistant coach stopped before finishing his sentence.

But the unspoken words were clear to everyone.

It should be known that the most famous pitcher from Japan was not the sudden fastball pitcher they see now.

It was the man who had matched Allen pitch-for-pitch without losing an inch, the one known as "Demon King."

Sawamura Eijun.

When Sawamura had faced Allen, everyone had learned this name. But most thought it was just a case of an extraordinary performance.

This was very normal.

A player might have an exceptional performance in one game.

That's a common occurrence.

But if you look up Sawamura's records from middle school and high school, the accomplishments he created...

No one would dare to describe him as a flash in the pan.

A monster who could push a team of nobodies to the national championship.

In many ways, he was even more of a monster than Allen, the "Son of Baseball."

He was the top-ranked pitcher in Japan.

Now, a pitcher who wasn't ranked first showed such terrifying power.

Just how terrifying would the man known as the "Demon King" be?

The assistant coach from Italy didn't even dare to think about it.

Just thinking about it made him tear up...

However, the Mediterranean Coach with the balding hairstyle wasn't thinking about that at all.

A ball speed over 150 km/h!

This was certainly amazing. There wasn't a pitcher like that in all of Italy.

But that didn't mean such a pitcher was invincible.

How much power could such a pitcher really unleash?

It still depended on how well he completed his pitches.

To put it simply, if a pitcher has a low completion rate and can't throw the ball into the strike zone, no matter how fast they throw, it's useless.

But this man, this guy named Hongou.

Clearly, it was not the case with him.

His control was very precise, and statistically, he could consistently throw to the edges of the strike zone.

Almost none of his pitches were right down the middle.

That was no small feat!

To put it bluntly, this guy not only had a terrifying ball speed but also a high level of completion.

His cooperation with the catcher was excellent.

Though Italy's players had good physical fitness and fast swing speeds.

They were also strong hitters.

But before the game, they clearly hadn't done any specialized training for such fast pitches.

Simply put, they had never faced a 150 km/h pitch in practice.

At most, they had used pitching machines to feel how fast such a ball could be.

But what good was that?

A ball thrown by a machine is completely different from one thrown by a human.

The Italian players, who had only experienced this speed in practice, found it nearly impossible to hit such a pitch.

They could only keep trying, hoping to get lucky.

For the Italian players, their task wasn't to hit the ball beautifully.

It was simply to complete their swings beautifully.

As for whether they could actually make contact with the ball?

If luck favored them, maybe their swing would actually connect with the ball.

Once they made contact, with their terrifying strength and physique.

They might have a chance to hit the ball far!

In the first inning, it was clear that the gods didn't favor the Italian players.

None of them managed to touch the ball.

Every single swing missed.

"STRIKE!"

"STRIKE!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!"

"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!!!!!"

Three consecutive strikeouts saw the Italian players go down 1-2-3.

The fans from Taiwan, including those who had come all the way from Japan, were extremely excited.

They looked at Hongou as if they were watching a star rise.

"Incredible!"

A seasoned baseball fan from Taiwan watched Hongou and was in awe.

With decades of experience, he deeply loved the sport.

And was familiar with young, veteran, and star players from all over the world.

He gave Hongou the highest praise.

"If nothing tragic happens, this guy will definitely become a huge star."

Terrifying ball speed and precise control are two qualities that usually conflict.

Though not absolutely opposite, pitchers with fast speeds rarely have precise control.

And pitchers with precise control usually don't throw incredibly fast.

This applies to most pitchers, but a guy like Hongou, who has a terrifying speed...

He's already rare enough.

And on top of that, he has precise control.

He may very well be the only one.

No wonder everyone is so optimistic about him!

When the game started, everyone thought that Italy would quickly lose.

But then, unexpectedly, Mario appeared and added uncertainty to a game that seemed to have no suspense.

Everything became confusing.

Another surprise came when Japan sent out another unexpected player.

Hongou Masamune.

Just like when Allen, the "Son of Baseball" from America, first debuted.

He used his unparalleled power and terrifying ball speed to completely shock everyone, just like a rising star.

He got three strikeouts, with the opposing team never even touching the ball.

And it was three consecutive strikeouts.

Looking at the two pitchers, it seemed like neither would give an inch.

But in terms of effectiveness and the feedback from the audience, it was clear that Hongou had the upper hand.

In the following innings, it was the same.

Even though Hongou's pitch was hit a few times in the 6th inning.

He still didn't give up a single hit.

Even the balls that were hit were caught by the fielders.

On the other side, Mario wasn't backing down.

He was using all his skills to ensure Japan didn't get any advantage in the first six innings.

Although he unfortunately allowed two players on base, it was almost as if no one had gotten on base at all.

He was lucky, and despite two runners reaching first base, he managed to secure double plays each time.

By the end of the 6th inning, Italy had still not recorded a hit.

The game remained 0-0.

For a game like this, with no runs and no hits, it would normally seem boring.

Fans typically want to see scores because nothing is more exciting than scoring.

Even a 0-0 football match, no matter how fantastic the play, would leave people disappointed after the final whistle.

Baseball is the same.

Even though no runs had been scored yet, the fans from Taiwan were still glued to the game.

It was so thrilling!

Although no runs had been scored yet, the fans were sure that it wouldn't stay tied forever.

One side would make a move soon.

If their guess was right, the real action should be starting soon.

In Japan's dugout.

Before the top of the 7th inning, Coach Takeda gathered all the players together with a serious expression.

He carefully studied each player and said seriously:

"If the first two rounds of batting were just about testing the opponent's strength, then by now, I think you've tested enough. Isn't it time to hit the ball and score?"

Looking at Takeda's face, all the players' expressions changed.

Just as Takeda said, it was time for them to stop being passive.

They had to step up and make a statement.

This was their final round of batting.

If they didn't show any results this time,

They'd have to go into extra innings.

This was something Japanese players simply couldn't accept.

Their strength was far above their opponents. Why should they go to such lengths?

It was ridiculous.

No matter what, they could not let that happen.

Top of the 7th inning, Japan's turn to bat.

"First Batter, outfielder, C. Kamiya."

Carlos was the first to step into the Batter's Box...

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