Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 22: The Brightest Superstar!

The moment the baseball soared into the air, the shock on Furuya's face disappeared in an instant.

He had only muttered something casually, never expecting he would actually hit the ball out!

He had practiced swinging and hitting during his junior high days, and overall, he had pretty good results.

In their final year, during the Hokkaido Prefectural Tournament, Furuya was the solid fourth batter for their team.

Even so, the number of home runs he hit could be counted on ten fingers.

His decent batting results were largely due to the inherent talent of his physique.

For someone capable of throwing a ball 130 meters, the strength of his arms should not be underestimated.

As long as he made solid contact with the ball, it was easy for Furuya to launch it far.

Yet, even with that, hitting a home run was still no simple task.

Furuya himself had not anticipated that, in this intrasquad match, facing Kawakami's sharp pitching, he would be able to deliver such a performance.

After hitting the ball, Furuya emotionlessly tossed aside the bat and sprinted to first base, second base, third base, and finally back to home plate.

With Haruichi ahead of him, the Freshmen Team scored a total of two points in one go.

The score on the field changed to 24:3!

"Wow!!"

The fans outside the stadium were the first to react.

"I thought those two kids had already performed excellently! I never expected..."

"With such terrifying hitting power, they could probably be promoted directly to the first string."

"Did you see that? Coach Kataoka's lips are curving up; he must be overjoyed."

The fans buzzed with excitement.

As for the first-year players from the Seido High School baseball team, they were clearly stunned as well.

They looked at Furuya in disbelief, their eyes filled with shock.

"This is what a main character looks like?"

Not just anyone, even Haruichi, who had just performed decently, wore a wry smile.

Among the Freshmen Team, his performance was certainly commendable.

If you added the synergy he had with Sawamura, they should have already caught the eye of Coach Kataoka and the Seido coaching staff.

It was reasonable to think that the two of them would earn good treatment from the coaches.

However, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

Furuya's performance was somewhat beyond expectations.

As the saying goes, it's not about being blind to value but rather fearing a comparison to others.

Despite the fact that both Haruichi and Sawamura had previously performed admirably on the field, in comparison to Furuya, their earlier performances paled in significance.

Up to this point, Furuya had not had many opportunities to showcase his skills on the field.

Yet, even so, he had hit a home run, a super long hit, with two RBIs.

Of the three points scored by the Freshmen Team, Furuya accounted for two-thirds of them.

Just this terrifying hitting ability left a deeply profound impression on everyone present.

Not to mention the incredible pitch he threw.

"People truly cannot be compared!"

Even someone like Haruichi, who had performed very well in the intrasquad match, felt a deep sense of helplessness in the face of Furuya's incredible achievements.

Let alone the other first-year players.

They couldn't even hope to compare themselves to Furuya, let alone Haruichi and Sawamura.

"Unbelievable! The newcomers are really not to be underestimated."

Even the usually proud upperclassman with the little beard felt a shiver in the presence of Furuya.

As the team captain, Yuuki Tetsuya radiated a powerful fighting spirit.

From this new player, he felt a great threat.

Yet, this threat didn't make Yuuki feel danger; instead, it ignited his own fighting spirit.

Only the bespectacled Miyuki took a more objective view of his dormitory junior's performance.

"It must be a fluke; Kawakami was a bit careless."

After facing Haruichi, Kawakami had quickly followed up with two outs.

His mindset had become somewhat anxious at that moment, which caused his pitching to become flawed.

Yet, even with such objective reasons at play, the scene of Furuya blasting the ball away still left everyone genuinely shocked.

"No matter what, this kid is a monster—an intimidating guy!"

Like Haruichi thought, regardless of the reasons, Furuya's performance in the intrasquad match was impossible to ignore.

A careful observation of Furuya would reveal his innate terrifying talent.

This was no longer some raw gem;

Furuya had already been polished to one facet, and that facet shone like a brilliant diamond.

And just like that, the intrasquad match came to a close.

The final score settled at 25:3, with the Freshmen Team suffering a significant defeat.

No one could question this outcome.

The game was fair and just.

Despite their various disadvantages, such as being unfamiliar with their teammates, which naturally limited their ability to cooperate,

or the fact that they had just joined the team and knew virtually nothing about high school baseball,

the most critical factor was that they did not have a competent commander in today's match.

This was perhaps the greatest impact on their performance.

If they had an excellent leader to guide them, one who could rally the team when their morale dipped,

the final result would undoubtedly have been different.

But they had nothing—absolutely nothing.

But if you use this reason to claim that today's match lacked fairness, it can only be said that you fundamentally misunderstand the true purpose of this practice game.

Why do some first-year players excel while others struggle and flounder?

Why can some stand out while others embarrass themselves?

To put it plainly, this is all about the disparity!

In a prestigious program like Seido High School's baseball team, what they seek during player selection are obviously those with talent.

If a player can't perform under adversity, then it simply means they aren't qualified to be part of the first string.

At least for now, they do not qualify.

This is something the three major pillars of the baseball club understand very clearly.

As soon as the intrasquad match concluded, they were already making arrangements for several outstanding first-year players.

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