<54> The Name of the Monster!

Chapter 54: The Name of the Monster!

The match has come to an end.

The players of the Seidou High School baseball team feel as if they are in a dream.

"Did we really win?"

In the dugout, a bench player from the Seidou High School baseball team asked, filled with confusion.

This wasn't just a regional match; this was the venue for the Kanto Tournament.

There are no weak teams in this tournament.

All the participating teams are the top contenders from their respective prefectures, and they all come from Kanto.

Winning such a match…

It's no wonder that the teammates of the Seidou High School baseball team feel as if they are living in a fantasy.

In the stands, many journalists had come specifically to watch Seidou and to see Furuya pitch.

The moment they saw the result of the match, they collectively frowned.

Given the outcome of the game, most had anticipated this result even during the match.

They weren't particularly surprised.

But now that the match had concluded and they reflected on the caliber of this competition?

Those journalists felt their backs starting to sweat.

Suddenly, they awoke to just how incredible this outcome was.

"13-0! An absolute crushing victory!"

"The Seidou High School baseball team is going to shine! With a performance like this, even the champions of Koshien might struggle to match up."

A plump, fair-skinned journalist wiped the sweat from his forehead.

His perspiration didn't stem from the intensity of the game; rather, it was mostly because of his own physical condition.

Although he wasn't particularly athletic, this journalist had a keen eye for talent.

He recognized that while the impressive performance of the Seidou High School baseball team was certainly a factor in their victory, it wasn't the main reason behind such a result.

"There's no doubt that the strength of the Nada High School baseball team is not on par with Seidou. This is indisputable! However, the gap between the two teams isn't nearly as large as this score suggests. After one match, Seidou High School would probably win by just five or six points at most. The appearance of such an absurd result boils down to two key reasons."

The plump journalist suddenly paused at that moment.

The people around him were eagerly listening, waiting for him to continue his analysis, but he fell silent.

"Hey, why don't you keep going?"

"Half-written articles will lead to no offspring and become eunuchs. Speaking halfway is just the same!"

Originally, the plump journalist hadn't intended to elaborate further.

After all, he was a reporter, and that's how he earned a living.

If he explained all the twists and turns, who would want to read the articles he wrote in the newspapers?

This was a professional ethic of an independent writer.

However, the remarks of the people around him, especially from that one man, were too harsh.

If he didn't clarify, he couldn't shake the feeling of being exposed.

"The first reason is strategic miscalculation. The strategy that Nada High School baseball team set at the start was never put into play. As a result, during the game, they inevitably fell into the rhythm set by the Seidou High School baseball team. As for the second reason, which is also the main cause of their defeat in this match, it comes down to Seidou's first-year pitcher, Furuya."

Every word the plump journalist said was heard clearly by everyone.

However, when they tried to piece together his statements, they could only understand them partially.

"But Furuya only pitched one game, right?" a middle-aged man with thinning hair furrowed his brow and asked.

From his perspective, he clearly didn't think Furuya played such a significant role in this match.

Even though Furuya's performance in the first inning was like that of a superstar on a professional field.

With his incredible speed, he struck out three consecutive batters from Nada High School.

After securing three strikeouts, Seidou High School's offense began.

When Furuya stepped up to the plate for the first time, he hit a two-run home run, helping Seidou establish a significant advantage right from the start.

This performance was dazzling.

But it was just in the first inning.

In the subsequent play, Furuya was moved to the outfield, where he continued as Seidou's outfielder.

Throughout the entire game, the baseball hardly flew in his direction.

Tanba Koichiro's performance in this match could be described as extraordinary.

He pitched so well that the batters from Nada High School had very few chances to hit the ball.

Opportunities to hit the ball into the outfield were even rarer.

As a result, Furuya naturally had little opportunity to showcase his skills.

As for his performance at the plate, aside from that home run, he had a rather mediocre showing.

He hit a pop-up and an infield grounder.

While he made contact with the ball, neither resulted in any noteworthy outcome.

In such a situation, the die-hard supporters of the Seidou High School baseball team found it difficult to brag about Furuya.

The middle-aged man was seriously questioning the plump journalist, wondering where he got the confidence from, to say that Furuya had played a crucial role in this match.

"Considering his contribution to the game, Furuya hardly had many opportunities to play, so his standout performances were naturally few. But just because his shining moments were limited doesn't mean his contributions were insignificant."

When the plump journalist talked about his area of expertise, he was full of vigor.

"Furuya's initial remarkable performance created a significant psychological impact on the players of Nada High School. As a result, during the later stages of the game, as soon as Nada's players thought about that moment, they were filled with dread. They couldn't approach the game with a calm mindset. If Furuya had stayed off the field, that would have been one thing; Nada's players wouldn't have to worry about him. The problem is, Furuya didn't leave the game; he simply wasn't on the pitcher's mound. This meant that whenever Seidou needed him, he could be called back into the game at any moment. And once he was on the field again, Nada would have to face this monster. That's something Nada absolutely didn't want to encounter."

After discussing this, the plump journalist concluded his thoughts.

"In simple terms, the Nada High School baseball team was not prepared to confront the monster from Seidou's first-year lineup. Perhaps they had prepared before the game, but when they actually stepped up to the plate to face that monster, they realized they weren't truly ready."

The audience listened to the journalist's analysis in bits and pieces.

They seemed to understand parts of it, while other parts remained unclear.

However, there was one thing that everyone around the plump journalist firmly understood.

That was the reputation of the first-year monster.

While countless players were referred to as "monsters" on the baseball field, it was rare for a first-year player to earn such a title. Furuya from Seidou High School was undoubtedly a unique case.

With Seidou smoothly advancing into the semifinals, the monster's title accompanied them into the next phase of the tournament.

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