Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 123: Furuya Satoru's Name Shakes the Nation!

Although Seidou High's baseball team has been maintaining a low profile since their victory at the Kanto Tournament, focusing intently on training for the upcoming summer tournament, they've politely declined all interview requests.

In the past, despite Coach Kataoka's strong-willed nature, there were influential figures within the school he couldn't deny.

But now, things are different. With their Kanto Tournament win, Coach Kataoka's influence within the team has reached unprecedented levels.

Even the usually cheerful principal was approached by the board with a clear directive: he should, by no means, interfere with the baseball team.

For the first time in years, the Seidou High baseball team is riding high, with the school's board eagerly anticipating their advance to Koshien.

Given this expectation, any disruption to the team's training that could impact their success is out of the question.

Supported from above, the entire school began shielding the baseball team even more attentively.

This double-layered protection allowed the players to enjoy a peaceful time following their Kanto Tournament win.

However, this tranquility was never meant to last indefinitely. Roughly a week later, the school board received a request from an acquaintance, asking Seidou's team to grant an interview—specifically, a feature on Furuya Satoru.

When the news first broke, even the usually composed Coach Kataoka, along with the school's disciplinarian, found it surprising.

"Our board is linked to the Takashima family. Who could've possibly bypassed them?" wondered the disciplinarian.

The principal, privy to a bit more insider information, answered with a sigh. "Those folks have impressive connections! Besides, Furuya has already grown beyond what we can contain."

Furuya, a first-year, had already pushed his pitching speed past 150 km/h. While not every player with such extraordinary talent ultimately succeeds, the odds are significantly higher for someone with Furuya's gifts.

Not only does he have speed, but Furuya's skills on the field have been showcased in various highlight clips posted online.

Allegedly, his videos have reached millions of views, making him a national sensation after just one regional tournament.

In today's digital world, any exciting news spreads quickly if people are interested. With more people curious about Furuya, there are more journalists vying for a chance to feature him.

The journalist who managed to secure this interview, Oda, wasn't exactly influential but possessed an extensive network.

Having previously interviewed a member of the Takashima family, he had maintained a friendly relationship with them, which he leveraged to gain access to Seidou's board and ultimately secured permission to interview Furuya.

Oda himself was a clean-cut man of average height, well-built, with a friendly, boy-next-door look, like someone out of a manga.

When he arrived at Seidou High, the baseball team's training session was still in progress.

"Pardon the intrusion!" he greeted warmly.

Greeting Oda was Director of Baseball, Mr. Ota.

Initially, Ota thought Oda might come across as somewhat arrogant, given that he was brought in through the school board's connections. But, to his surprise, Oda was incredibly polite, immediately bowing at a full 90 degrees.

"I'm Ota, director of Seidou High's baseball club. Welcome, Mr. Oda."

With such courtesy shown, Ota naturally reciprocated, and they shared a warm exchange of pleasantries.

Afterward, Oda took out his professional equipment, along with a small notebook.

"Mr. Ota, before I interview Furuya, could I perhaps ask you a few questions?"

The unexpected request clearly caught Ota off guard.

"You want to interview me?"

From his perspective, since Oda was interested in Seidou's baseball team and, specifically, in Furuya Satoru, it made sense that the interview would start with Furuya himself.

Even if a third-party perspective was desired, it would logically come from their coach or Furuya's teammates. Why interview him?

Seeing Ota's puzzled look, Oda explained his reasoning directly.

"There's no need to underestimate your insight, Mr. Ota. As the baseball club's director, I imagine you're aware of everything that happens within the team. Your perspective on Furuya, therefore, is highly valuable, and I believe our readers will be very interested."

As director of the baseball club, Ota undoubtedly knew about every detail, large and small. Oda's words struck a chord with him.

"I was the one who recruited Furuya to the team initially. I believe I have a fairly good understanding of him," Ota replied, his pride evident.

Another unexpected gem.

A look of surprise and excitement briefly flashed in Oda's eyes. It was clear that Seidou's baseball team hadn't fully realized the implications of having a first-year pitcher who could already throw at speeds exceeding 155 km/h.

Oda had conducted some preliminary research before the interview—his standard approach as a journalist.

He knew that Furuya's videos had amassed over ten million views online.

But that number only reflected a single video's clicks; there were actually multiple videos featuring Furuya.

Some showcased his pitching, others his batting, and others were analyses and breakdowns from various media sources.

Taking all these into account, the discussion volume around Furuya in just the past week had surpassed nine digits—well over 100 million.

To put it simply, in the week's trending topics online, Furuya ranked ninth. Every single topic above him was either a celebrity or major international news.

For a high school baseball player to reach such a rank? This was almost unheard of in high school baseball history. The last player to generate this level of buzz was a runner-up team in Koshien.

Looking at that runner-up team's popularity back then and comparing it to Furuya now, it was clear—his name had already resonated throughout the entire country.

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