"One of the Great Demon King's signature finishing moves, 'The Swallows' Homecoming'."
In the stands, many Taiwan fans were not very familiar with Sawamura's past.
But that didn't matter; many others were familiar.
With Sawamura's excellent performance this time, those who knew the Great Demon King's story naturally shared it with people around them.
Frankly, Sawamura's worldwide fame couldn't compare with America's prodigy Allen.
But apart from Allen, Sawamura was probably the most famous player worldwide in their age group.
As for who was stronger?
This question was always debated, with valid points on both sides.
Mainly because the two teams had never faced each other fairly head-on, and commentators took sides.
They naturally supported their own favorites.
Allen and Sawamura faced each other in a match between the Dream Team and Seidou, but overall, no winner was decided.
After all, it was just a practice match.
Both held back, no one used their full strength.
Under such circumstances, it's imaginable how much strength they were really able to display.
It would be great if they could drop their constraints and have a proper showdown.
That would surely be something exhilarating.
Enough talk.
In any case, Sawamura's "The Swallows' Homecoming" had a huge impact.
Not just for the Japanese team, but for the American players as well, the shock was unprecedented.
They never expected the Japanese team could inflict such heavy damage on them.
Especially Sawamura, who was like someone repeatedly tearing off America's scabs after they had just formed.
He stood there, constantly radiating influence, affecting America's performance.
At this moment, Sawamura attracted almost all the enemy fire onto himself.
Few could understand his strategy—only some seasoned baseball veterans and professional scouts who came specially to watch the match sensed something.
But even they were not sure if what they saw was everything.
Sawamura's plan should be more complicated than that.
In the stands, Owada Akiko, a reporter from Baseball Kingdom magazine, showed a hesitant expression regarding Sawamura's performance.
She was a bit puzzled—Sawamura's situation wasn't good, so why attract so much enemy fire?
When she cast her confused gaze at her senior, Fujio, he surrendered without any resistance.
"The reason Sawamura attracts fire is probably because he's afraid the American players will discover even bigger weaknesses in this Japanese team."
Bigger weaknesses!
Akiko Owada was very curious about this term.
Previously, reports about the Japanese team were filled with praise.
They said it was a team made up of star players with limitless strength and potential.
Anyone who got in would inevitably become famous.
As for the team's global status?
Undoubtedly, it was number one.
Before the world tournament started, such reports were common in Japan.
The scariest thing was that those media analyses were very reasonable.
From the national team's perspective, Japan truly had a great advantage.
Their only real competitors were Taiwan and America…
South Korea was originally a competitor but had lagged in recent years and fallen behind the top three.
Even when Japan was less strong, they did not regard South Korea as a true rival.
The Taiwan team's advantage players hadn't grown yet.
Taiwan's true strength should be players from up upcoming generation and the one below it.
For now, those players hadn't developed enough to make a big impact in the U18 tournaments.
How about America? As a baseball kingdom, they always had powerful players.
But their players were less passionate about national team honors; they cared more about their personal value.
Thus, lately, America's national team has struggled to show its true strength.
Over the years, only the Dream Team's freaks stood out.
Apart from them, whenever Japan really had an advantage, they could still defeat America.
Now, those Dream Team freaks were past their age.
They could no longer represent America.
So, before the Japanese team's departure, Japan was filled with praise songs.
They believed the Japanese players weren't just participating but going through the motions to ultimately claim the world championship.
The reason for such confidence, besides reasonable analysis, was one very important factor.
That factor was Sawamura.
The Great Demon King had created so many miracles and records, they were countless.
People developed an almost blind trust in Sawamura.
They naturally assumed that as long as the Great Demon King was present, Japan had no reason not to win.
Japan's progress in the world tournament was about what everyone expected.
Smooth sailing all the way to the finals.
But no one expected the crisis the Japanese players faced in the semifinals.
The players and even the coaching staff felt like they were gambling with their players' future.
Bottom of the 6th inning, Japan is attacking.
The Japanese players tried hard to create chances and recover the run they had lost.
But pitcher Benjamin on the mound seemed unstoppable.
His pitching was flawless, and America's teamwork was increasingly tight.
In the end, Japan's players couldn't seize any opportunity and failed once again.
Three Outs, change of offense and defense.
At the end of the 6th inning, the score was 2-1.
Japan led by one run.
Honestly, although Japan was leading, their players weren't happy.
They had started ahead by two runs, both entirely thanks to Sawamura's individual strength.
Overall, Japan didn't hold much advantage.
The lead was all because of Sawamura.
Without him, Japan not only lacked any advantage but had a significant disadvantage.
The situation was that America was playing the role of the chaser, and chasing fiercely.
Japan's lead was not secure.
If they weren't careful, they could be overtaken at any moment.
The game entered the 7th inning.
Sawamura faced America's ace cleanup hitter again.
He had previously given up a hit to this batter but no runs.
Honestly, this was a very threatening opponent.
Sawamura had faced this guy twice before—once gave up a hit, once got a fly out to the outfield.
This guy was a major threat.
If Sawamura didn't get rid of him, he was likely to give up runs this inning.
The American players had become smarter.
After interacting with Sawamura for a while, they were surprised to find that continuously getting hits and scoring off Sawamura was unrealistic.
The Great Demon King's name was not just for show.
Not just anyone could easily get hits off Sawamura.
Much fewer consecutive hits.
So far, America had only managed two hits off Sawamura.
That path was blocked; the Americans had to find another way.
At this point, they had accepted a reality:
No matter what, score first.
Even just one hit would do.
America had gotten smart!
They had put aside all pride, willing to do anything to win.
These players would do whatever it took!
When they let go of their burdens and fully enjoyed the game,
Their true strength would fully explode.
Sawamura felt some strain.
But he knew even clearly that now was life or death.
If he couldn't stop America's offense, Japan's end would truly come.
Even if he stopped the offense, it wouldn't affect them too much.
But for the surging America, if their offense were stopped now, their morale would take a big hit.
Sawamura himself was somewhat indifferent about this.
...
T/N: The countdown is now 7…
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