Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

The Seidou High School baseball team made a dramatic comeback in the final moments, overturning their opponents.

This thrilling game left several thousand spectators completely captivated, leading to many of them being unable to pull themselves away even after the game ended.

It took quite a while before they came to their senses, stood up, and applauded both teams.

This was truly an outstanding game!

Although the result of the match did not leave the American fans satisfied, the process of the game deeply entranced them.

To honor the players, the audience stood up on their own and gave them a round of applause, showing their utmost respect.

Clap! Clap!! Clap!!!!

"Carlisle, well done!!"

"Conrad, keep it up! We believe in you!"

"Reinhardt!!! Woooo!"

Even though the Los Angeles Wind Youth Academy team lost, they were still respectful and didn't overreact. Everything went smoothly for the two teams during their exchange.

They maintained a calm and polite attitude, sending off Seidou's players with smiles.

This was mainly due to Seidou High School's team's strength.

Seidou's players had earned the respect of their opponents with their performance.

The Los Angeles Wind Youth Academy team admired the strength of the Seidou players.

From the perspective of the Los Angeles Wind Youth Academy players, their overall strength was not much different from Seidou High School's.

It was only natural that Seidou won.

If Seidou High School's players hadn't shown the Los Angeles team their convincing strength, they wouldn't have been so courteous.

In the baseball world, or any competitive sport, it's still the strongest who rule.

Without strength, you're nothing.

Only with strength can you earn the respect of others.

Back at the bus, Seidou High School's baseball team was preparing to leave.

By this time, the crowd was beginning to disperse.

In a corner of the stands, a group of young people wearing hoodies sat still.

Perhaps because they were so quiet, they hadn't caught the attention of the people around them.

Or maybe it was because the game had been so intense that no one had noticed this group in the corner.

Leading this group was a dark-skinned young man.

Even though he wore a hoodie, the braids under the hood were clearly visible.

With large sunglasses, his exact features were hard to discern.

But from his build, frame, and aura, it was obvious that he was also a formidable athlete.

The man put his left hand behind his neck and shook his neck, making a cracking sound that was eerie.

"Bill, we should go," a voice said from behind him.

"Hey, did you look carefully at the opponent's data? Did you see the final ball that solved Burg?"

The man called Bill asked coldly.

The middle-aged man who suggested leaving looked slightly awkward.

To be honest, he had no idea what Bill was talking about.

At that moment, Bill stood up.

With two steps at a time, he walked to the middle-aged man.

"Since you brought us an opponent, you should have done the intelligence work properly, assistant coach," Bill said, emphasizing the word "assistant."

"I know you don't like me, but Mr. Walter was poached by the Major League. We should wish him well!!"

"Oh, I didn't say I wouldn't wish him well! Anyway, I'm already signed by the Major League. By the way, have all the talks been settled? If Mr. Walter doesn't show up at tomorrow's game, we'll all refuse to play."

Saying this, Bill led the way out.

Behind him, three or four others stood up.

These figures looked similar to Walter.

They all had streamlined muscles and strong builds.

Although their muscles didn't quite compare to those of bodybuilders, every muscle was firm and sculpted.

Just by looking, one could feel the immense power within.

The middle-aged assistant coach's eyes flickered with a sense of defeat and frustration.

Finally, he sighed deeply and followed them.

He was already feeling that this was too much for him to handle.

The Seidou High School baseball team returned to their resting place.

After winning such an important match, one would expect the team to celebrate.

But they didn't.

Because they all knew that the most important match of this exchange event was yet to come.

Their opponent: the legendary Dream Team of New York.

The Manhattan Academy team.

First, in terms of strength.

The New York Manhattan Academy team was the dominant force in America, reigning for many years.

Next, in terms of the scale of the game.

The New York baseball stadium they would visit was the second-largest in New York, with a capacity of 60,000.

This was a highly professional stadium.

Though they weren't sure how many spectators would show up, the stadium's size suggested it would definitely be on par with Koshien and Meiji Jingu Stadium.

In terms of capacity, it even surpassed them.

Lastly, in terms of importance.

This match was being broadcast live on television!

Several online media outlets had also been contacted.

The defending champion from Japan was challenging the American powerhouse.

Only such a match could truly stir up excitement.

Facing such a match, the Seidou High School baseball team could not afford any carelessness.

Therefore, after the game, they immediately started researching their next opponent.

The work of collecting information had actually started long ago.

But they were worried it might interfere with the players' focus on the other games, so they hadn't released the information until now.

Now that all the other exchange matches had ended, they had no such concerns.

Thus, Coach Kataoka and Coach Ochiai gathered everyone to review the opponent's data and discuss the lineup for the next game.

"The team we're facing tomorrow is unlike any opponent we've faced before. Everyone should be mentally prepared!"

Before presenting the information, Takashima Rei, responsible for intelligence gathering, first warned all the players.

This only made the players even more curious.

How strong could their opponents possibly be to warrant such a warning?

Would watching the game footage affect their state of mind?

The more mysterious it became, the more the players wanted to know.

After all, they had seen a lot and had claimed the national title twice.

They had faced several professional American teams.

Teams like Texas, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

Some were strong, others weak.

But none had made the Seidou players feel out of their league.

What was so special about the New York team?

Surely, not all their players were on the same level as Sawamura Eijun or Miyuki, right?

If they were, then there was no need for the match—just surrender.

Even if you scoured the whole island, it would be impossible to gather nine players of that caliber.

The New York team was simply a collection of the region's elite.

Even without considering potential splits, they couldn't form such a super team, could they?

Seeing the expressions of disbelief on the players' faces, Takashima sighed inwardly.

She hadn't believed it either before gathering the data.

Seidou High's current core lineup was composed of her own efforts.

Miyuki, Kuramochi, Sawamura!!!

These three made up the heart of Seidou High's baseball team.

With such a core, Takashima had even believed that they could compete with professional players head-on.

But after watching the footage of the New York Manhattan Academy team, she began to question her earlier assumptions.

Things might not go as smoothly as she had imagined.

Finally, Takashima took a deep breath and turned on the projector.

"Whatever happens, happens."

Having come this far, she had no more concerns.

It was time to let the team see their future opponents.

The projector displayed an entire team.

Nine main players and one coach.

All of them, without exception.

This made the Seidou players shudder involuntarily.

They knew the personality of their coaching staff.

When introducing an opponent, they always start with the toughest one.

In short, the toughest to handle was the one who needed to be paid attention to most.

That one was always mentioned first.

So typically, the first image that appeared on the screen was of one person.

After that, the next one would follow, then the next.

The later the introduction, the lower the threat level.

If there were two or more key players to watch, the first slide would feature those two or even three players.

But even at most, the team would never have more than four players shown.

The only exceptions were against Inashiro and Komadai…

But this time, the first slide displayed a full nine players.

What did that mean?

"Oh, F*ck!" someone swore in the background but no one paid any attention.

After all, all of Seidou High School players understood his feelings all too well.

It meant that each of these nine players had the strength of a star.

This was a team made up of nine star players.

Truly a team of stars.

No wonder American fans affectionately called them the Dream Team.

This truly was a team that existed only in dreams.

Takashima waited until everyone calmed down before beginning her explanation.

Then the screen automatically switched to the second page.

Although all the players were stars, there were differences in strength among them.

The first one to be introduced was the core of the American Dream Team.

One could even say, the most famous player in this age.

The Son of Baseball!

Allen Ward!!!

...