Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

The fourth batter for the Japanese team was Sawamura.

As Sawamura stepped up to the Batter's Box, hearing the cheers from the stands and the dugout, he had to remind himself that he needed to perform during this at-bat.

Despite his successful pitching before!

The American players had been thoroughly pushed back.

But Sawamura knew this was only temporary.

He could already sense that the American team, compared to the New York team they had faced before, seemed a little immature.

But their overall strength was definitely on par with America's Dream Team.

If they played 10 games, this American team might win two or three of them.

This isn't Sawamura trying to boost their morale!

It's just that the American players are truly elite.

They just hadn't fully shown their abilities yet.

Once they were behind, the American team would go all out.

They would cast aside any misunderstandings or caution and fight their opponents wholeheartedly.

If things reached that point, Sawamura's situation might not be so great.

Because he would become the target of their attacks.

As for Sawamura himself, he didn't mind being a target.

He had confidence in facing any challenge!

But the current situation was special. This is the World Championship! Even if he was confident in facing challenges, winning the game is more important.

If things went wrong, with an opponent at this level, even Sawamura would find it difficult to patch up.

So, controlling the game's pace was the best strategy.

And to control the game's pace, there's no better way than to take the lead.

For a pitcher of Sawamura's level, once they have a lead, they can use it to pressure the opponent.

Then, using the snowball effect, they can expand their advantage.

Of course, the opponent won't just give in easily.

But that doesn't matter.

Sawamura was confident in what they had.

Once the game's pace is in his hands, he has plenty of ways to deal with the opponent.

In the Batter's Box, Sawamura raised his bat high, ready for whatever pitch the American pitcher, Benjamin Choi, would throw.

Benjamin Choi, judging from features, was of Asian descent, specifically Korean.

His grandparents moved to America with his father at a young age, and he was born and grew up there.

He looked like a typical American, though his height and features gave away his Asian heritage.

He was a pitcher with interesting techniques.

Before coming up to bat, Sawamura had studied Benjamin's pitching style.

Benjamin's pitching had some great techniques, particularly using his otherworldly changeup hidden within his fastballs, adjusting the speed to disrupt the batter's rhythm and throw them off balance.

He did this very effectively.

Looking clean and decisive, Sawamura couldn't find any flaws in his pitching.

Benjamin already had his own pitching system.

Though Sawamura could still see some weaknesses in it, Benjamin's skills were undeniably impressive.

It's no wonder the Japanese batters had been unable to handle him!

"Sawamura!"

"Sawamura!!

"Sawamura!!!"

The fans from Japan in the stands were cheering for Sawamura in a very peculiar rhythm.

The rhythm was fast, constantly shouting Sawamura's name, almost as if they were marching.

Speaking of which, this is one of the unique features of Sawamura.

In the past, whenever it was Sawamura's turn to bat, the fans cheering for him would also sing songs to lift the mood.

They used songs to help boost morale!

But Sawamura's rhythm was somewhat peculiar. Whenever it was his turn to bat, before the songs were fully launched, Sawamura's attack would be launched with lightning speed.

Everything happened so quickly!

Trying to match a song with Sawamura's batting speed was impossible. The rhythm simply couldn't keep up.

These fans, though, were clever. They quickly realized that if they couldn't match the rhythm with a song, they would just keep shouting his name repeatedly.

No matter what rhythm Sawamura had in his mind, as long as they kept this method going, they believed Sawamura would be able to match their rhythm.

This special style also put a lot of pressure on the opponent.

It was as if the mighty Sawamura was always ready to swing his bat at any moment.

The American pitcher, Benjamin Choi.

He was seriously eyeing Sawamura, standing on the pitcher's mound. Previously, he had heard many legends about Sawamura.

He couldn't avoid hearing about him.

Under Sawamura's leadership, the Seidou High School baseball team swept almost all the regional teams across America, eventually challenging the Dream Team led by the "Son of Baseball," Allen.

And they didn't even lose ground.

While Sawamura's fame might not have spread much in other parts of the world, it was definitely loud in both Japan and America.

Let's not talk about Japan, but since Sawamura made his debut, who knows how many miracles he's created so far?

In America, he continued sweeping the representative teams of various regions.

The match against the "Son of Baseball" Allen was even dubbed the so-called peak battle.

Even now, when people talk about it, they still relish the memory.

It was a truly classic match!

As an American player, Benjamin had also heard various legends about Sawamura.

The reason all these star players were gathered here wasn't entirely due to Sawamura's presence, but a reasonable part of it could be attributed to him.

Benjamin was one of them.

Now, when he thought about challenging the "Son of Baseball" Allen, Benjamin felt uneasy.

He felt like he had no chance of winning.

The "Son of Baseball" Allen, had overshadowed these young players for too long. People had grown accustomed to his presence, and they didn't even dare challenge his authority.

But Sawamura was different!

Whether by coincidence or some other reason, during that battle, Sawamura truly matched up to Allen as equals.

This meant that challenging Sawamura, in a way, was equivalent to challenging Allen.

If they could win this duel, they would surely have the confidence to face Allen once they returned to America.

Their mindset had essentially turned Sawamura into a stepping stone for experience.

It felt as if they could defeat Sawamura, they would gain the experience and rewards needed to challenge Allen.

The American players had great thoughts, but whether they would succeed… that was another matter.

Benjamin maintained this mindset while facing Sawamura.

'Let me experience what the pinnacle of the world looks like!'

Although most people in America believed that Sawamura's performance in that match was just luck.

If we're talking about strength, he should be no match for Allen.

But those who truly understood baseball, or were baseball players themselves, knew very well that Sawamura's strength was definitely not as simple as people thought.

Even if Allen were in bad form, he was still one of the top players in the world.

No matter what tactics Sawamura employed, in that match, he was on equal footing with Allen.

This proved that Sawamura must at least possess that level of strength to compete.

Maybe, as they imagined, Sawamura couldn't surpass Allen, but he was definitely not someone any average player could match.

It was because of this that the American players saw business value in Sawamura.

If it weren't for that, why would they travel all the way here to compete with Sawamura?

What meaning would that have?

'Now, let me show you my pitching.'

…