Diamond No Ace: The Monster

Chapter 124: The Rivals Are Getting Ready to Bite!

When Furuya received the news to prepare for an interview, he remained remarkably calm.

With his exceptional talent and the growing prominence of the Seidou High School baseball team, it was only natural for reporters to take an interest in him.

On the contrary, by this stage, if there were no journalists seeking an exclusive interview with him, that would be more surprising.

However, despite Furuya's long preparation, reporter Oda had not shown up.

Oda was busy interviewing those around Furuya, like the director Ota, who brought him to the Seidou High School baseball team, and his two senior comrades who shared a dorm with him.

Not to mention, he didn't skip interviewing a few of Furuya's first-year teammates either.

What was supposed to be a two-hour interview turned into an hour and a half spent with others.

Finally, he even asked Coach Kataoka a few questions.

After all that, Oda finally appeared before Furuya.

The moment Furuya saw Oda, he knew the guy was doing it on purpose.

He looked at Oda with a calm expression, showing neither impatience nor annoyance.

Initially, Oda didn't say anything, but he soon couldn't hold back.

After interviewing so many players, Oda was a seasoned reporter and understood the typical responses from athletes during interviews.

While the players might joke around, when it came to crucial questions, they wouldn't say a word.

It's like regular people in front of a camera, all acting humble.

Their true selves behind the scenes never find their way into the spotlight.

This was only natural.

Being an experienced journalist, Oda understood this well. His strategy was to intentionally disrupt the interviewer's emotions.

While directly interviewing Furuya was ideal, considering that the responses might not reflect the truth, gathering information from others would likely yield more reliable insights.

Throughout the interview, he could flatter his subjects a little.

Those who hadn't been interviewed might speak more freely.

In fact, this strategy had proven quite effective for him.

During previous interviews, he had gathered some insights about Furuya from other Seidou High School players.

What once seemed like a hazy impression of a super rookie was gradually taking a clearer shape in Oda's mind.

However, this strategy was obviously ineffective with Furuya.

Even with the apparent cold shoulder, this prodigy showed no signs of discomfort.

He maintained a faint smile, responding to questions in a measured manner…

Matured, unlike a typical young man.

"This guy will definitely become a superstar in the future!" Oda thought to himself.

He had encountered many exceptionally talented athletes as a reporter before.

But it was his first time seeing someone as composed and unaffected by external pressures as Furuya.

This kind of aura, Oda had only seen in top sports stars.

They weren't devoid of emotions but could expertly control them.

This ability would serve as a crucial guiding principle in their future lives.

Oda documented his thoughts.

When he returned to his desk to write the article, he titled it "Future Superstar" and crafted a detailed two-thousand-word exclusive interview on Furuya.

The newspaper Oda worked for had one of the highest circulation rates in the country, especially among high school athletes and coaches, who practically all had a copy.

Given Furuya's rise to fame from his championship win in Kanto and his impressive 155 km/h fastball, he was already well-known.

Now, with the publication of this article, nearly all the top high school players were keeping a watchful eye on Seidou High School's baseball team and Furuya.

From their perspective, even if the rookie monster possesses terrifying talent, it was still too early for him to make waves in the high school baseball scene!

There have been players with exceptionally high pitching speeds who made their appearance at Koshien before.

But what became of those players?

To speak frankly, no one has ever dominated Koshien based solely on their pitching speed.

Many excellent pitchers have been hit hard before.

"He's just a first-year kid; this is too boastful!"

"From now on, we must get used to pitches over 150 km/h!"

"It's our misfortune to be in the same era as such a pitcher! But as the nation's top-tier elite, the only 'universal team' in the country, it's his bad luck to collide with us."

...

Top teams and players from all over the country, upon reading that article, unanimously regarded Furuya as their greatest rival—an opponent they needed to overcome.

As the champions of the Kanto tournament, Seidou High School's baseball team is already under countless scrutinies.

With this article, they have become the thorn in everyone's side.

Many dream of completely tearing apart the Seidou High School baseball team.

However, they were not the most ruthless; the teams and powerhouses from the same area in Tokyo, particularly those that had faced Seidou, held the greatest concern.

The team that felt the deepest dread of Seidou was Inashiro Industrial High School, who lost to them in the finals of the Kanto tournament.

Many teams began to regard Seidou with apprehension only after reading the report in the newspaper.

The players of Inashiro Industrial, however, were different.

They had experienced firsthand the painful defeat against Seidou in the finals.

No other team could match Inashiro's understanding of Seidou High School.

Since losing that match, they had thoroughly analyzed every player and collected all available information on Seidou.

From Inashiro Industrial's standpoint, they had identified their most important opponent in the summer tournament.

Though other teams might pose a risk of tripping them up, compared to Seidou High School, those opponents were clearly not a concern.

Matches against those teams were nothing but minor inconveniences.

The clash with Seidou High School was the pivotal moment that would determine their fate.

"We cannot let that cocky kid bask in glory any longer!"

"Ping!"

The bat connected with the white baseball.

After adjustments, the pitching machine was set to 150 km/h.

Inashiro Industrial's players were now able to hit balls at this speed.

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