Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

Robert felt scammed.

The reason he felt this way had to start with the phone call he made to Sawamura earlier.

Due to strategic mistakes, Robert's plan in Japan had gone very poorly.

It was only later that he realized he had acted too hastily. In reality, there was no need to rush. He could have taken things slow and first contacted Seidou High School.

Now, without obtaining Seidou High School's authorization, he contacted those investors, and naturally hit a wall everywhere.

Later, when he realized this, he returned to Seidou High School to request authorization. By then, they had already begun to treat him as a liar, which caused him to lose his best chance.

To proceed properly, Robert—out of desperation—had to call Sawamura.

Immediately after hanging up, he regretted it!

In fact, how hard would it have been for him to prove himself to Seidou High School?

All he had to do was to explain a business model with real money to the principal of Seidou High School, and that would be it. Surely, no fool would try to deceive them using their own money, right?

As long as Robert didn't ask Seidou High School for any fees, gaining their trust would actually be very simple.

But at that time, Robert had become too fixated on getting things done quickly, which led to him making mistakes.

"I've been conned!"

Now, thinking back to Sawamura's tone during their conversation, Robert understood Sawamura's thoughts and plans clearly.

At this point, even if he wanted to regret it, it was too late.

All he could do now was patiently wait for Sawamura to grant him the authorization before he could continue taking action.

For Sawamura, this was just a matter of saying a few words.

But everything else, including finding sponsors, finding venues, and negotiating with everyone—those were all his responsibilities.

Just thinking about it gave Robert a headache.

If, after all this hustle, he could become Sawamura's Agent, then all his efforts would actually be worth it.

But right now, Sawamura had already decided not to sign with him, and yet Robert was still running around handling all these matters for him.

It was like he was asking for trouble.

He had never been this embarrassed in his life.

A man in his thirties, and yet he was being played around by a teenager.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

While Robert was patiently waiting for Sawamura's authorization, someone came directly to the door of his hotel.

"Mr. Robert, someone downstairs wants to see you."

The service desk's English wasn't very clear, but luckily, Robert could understand.

"Who is it?"

"He says he is the chairman of Hirota Enterprises."

Hirota Enterprises—Robert hadn't heard of them just a few days ago.

But now, that name was no longer unfamiliar to him.

When Robert had been collecting information on Sawamura Eijun, Hirota Enterprises had appeared many times.

It was a large conglomerate with a wide range of products. The sneaker advertisement on the LCD screen in Tokyo Plaza had been made for Sawamura Eijun.

At the same time, this company was Sawamura Eijun's largest sponsor. Sawamura endorsed two of their products. While the exact income details were unavailable, it was clear that it was substantial.

After all, Hirota Enterprises wasn't the only company that signed an endorsement deal with Sawamura.

Sawamura had three companies vying for his endorsement, but things were different.

Once there was competition, his worth would rise accordingly.

This was why Robert believed that Sawamura had very strong commercial value.

A young player who hadn't even joined a professional team yet already had this level of popularity and value. It wasn't hard to imagine the kind of explosive impact he would have once he entered the professional baseball scene.

That was why Robert saw Sawamura as the biggest treasure trove.

Originally, he thought Sawamura would only help him secure the authorization from Seidou High School.

Unexpectedly, Sawamura had gone ahead and found him a sponsor.

"I'll be right down!"

Robert didn't even have time to put on his jacket and rushed downstairs in his shirt.

He was genuinely excited.

Although he had regretted things earlier, Robert had already reached the point of no return.

After all, he had already angered several sponsors who were willing to support the event. Even if he obtained Seidou High School's authorization, it wouldn't be so easy to convince those sponsors to invest money.

In business, a person's first impression is crucial. When those sponsors automatically assumed he was a fraud, how could they possibly cooperate with a fraud?

Even if he had Seidou High School's authorization, they would just think Seidou had been temporarily deceived.

Right now, having a sponsor come to him directly was a huge help.

He hurried downstairs with great enthusiasm and immediately spotted the Chairman of Hirota Enterprises.

The Chairman was relatively young, looking under 40, and full of energy.

"Are you Mr. Robert? I'm Hirota. Pleased to meet you."

Unlike other sponsors who were polite on the surface but proud at heart, Hirota's attitude was very respectful, and his demeanor didn't feel like he was addressing an ordinary agent, but rather an economic magnate.

Even if Dawson Jr. himself had shown up, it was unlikely he could have raised the level of the encounter any higher.

Robert was pleased.

The frustrations he had felt over the past while had finally eased.

The two of them found a quiet corner to sit down and discuss matters.

"How's the Dream Team situation going?" Hirota asked directly.

A hint of embarrassment flashed in Robert's eyes. He hadn't even settled things in Japan yet, so how could he contact the Dream Team?

But at this point, he couldn't say such things.

"We've almost made contact. There shouldn't be a problem in New York. I just arrived here to prepare…"

Chairman Hirota had no idea that the Robert in front of him was simply bluffing.

He believed him.

He thought the other party had already made all the necessary arrangements before coming here. Of course, this also involved Sawamura.

Although Sawamura was only a teenager, he had been working with Hirota Enterprises for three years.

Hirota Enterprises trusted this partner of theirs deeply.

When Sawamura said there was a profit to be made, Chairman Hirota immediately sprang into action.

'He arranged for the number one high school, Seidou, to compete against North America's Dream Team.'

This would certainly stir the hearts of millions of fans across the country.

Hirota was a businessman, and he still had some judgment.

What businessmen are after is never dreams, but profit.

Why are these people investing so much money?

The reason is actually quite simple: because domestic consumers are willing to pay for it.

Being able to sponsor such an event, whether for advertising or actual revenue, offers immense returns, and capitalists are, of course, willing to invest.

If it weren't for such huge interests involved, Hirota's father wouldn't have been so eager.

The North American Dream Team.

This is a thorn for all baseball fans in Japan. Japan's junior national baseball team has already lost to this team three times.

The chance for Seidou, the current champion, to challenge such a legendary team.

This topic would definitely be explosively hot.

There will always be plenty of topics to discuss, and the excitement will be exceptionally high!

Thinking about all of this, the smile on Hirota's face was as radiant and frightening as a blooming peony.

"I heard Mr. Robert is looking for a title sponsor for this competition. If you don't mind, we're willing to offer 1 million to buy the naming rights for this practice match."

"1 million?"

Robert frowned in disbelief.

The other party was being too stingy. Although he didn't know the exact exchange rate between yen and dollars,

'1 million yen must be a small amount, right?'

Seeing Robert's expression, Hirota could probably guess what he was thinking.

"That's right, 1 million USD!"

'1 MILLION DOLLARS?!?!'

1 million dollars, when converted to Japanese yen, the amount was staggering.

Badum! Badum!

Robert felt his heart thumping uncontrollably.

Even though he had been in the fame-and-money business for many years, he had never handled such a big deal before.

To be honest, just using this money to sponsor a practice game should be more than enough. If things went well, he might even profit a little.

Ding-ding-ding!

Just as Robert was about to calm down and agree, the phone in his room rang again.

Robert steadied his nerves and answered the phone.

"Mr. Robert, there's a gentleman named Takashima-sama here to see you."

Takashima!

It was another name he had never heard of before.

"Please wait a moment!"

Robert felt that this matter must be related to sponsorship, so he didn't avoid Hirota and prepared to call the person over.

Since both sides were interested, he naturally needed to cooperate with the higher bidder.

The reason he called them together was to let them bid fairly.

Robert's plan was good, but when the person named Takashima arrived and saw Hirota, a wry smile appeared on his face.

"Hirota-dono is still well-informed!"

Takashima said with emotion.

Hirota wasn't concerned.

Seidou High School's business dealings had always been under their control. Even the Takashima family had never interfered, let alone Takashima.

On this small patch of land called Sawamura, the Hirota family had the first bid.

Even though the Takashima family was disgustingly rich, they certainly wouldn't dare to compete.

"About the event, we can also invest 100,000 USD as a sponsor. We don't require much, just to make a sign that can be seen during the broadcast."

The more Robert listened, the more bizarre it became.

It was just an international practice match for high school students—why did it feel like an international competition?

'Could it be that this match would have a live broadcast?'

When the relevant person from TV Tokyo came to find Robert, Robert was already stunned.

He felt as though he had just started, and now all the remaining matters had nothing to do with him, the initiator.

Robert even suspected that if it weren't for these people, he wouldn't be able to contact the Dream Team. No one would have bothered with him.

Although these people seemed very calm on the surface, they each had immense power.

If they were in North America, they wouldn't have many channels.

It was likely they wouldn't pay any attention to Robert at all and would have already handled this matter themselves.

"Tomorrow is the final between Seidou High School and Hakuryu High School. If you're interested, why don't we go watch the game together, and then decide before it's too late?"

In the end, Robert tried to push it off, but no one agreed.

Instead, they made a request—asking everyone to watch a baseball game together.

He needed to digest everything he had learned during this time, or Robert truly feared he wouldn't be able to handle it, and his blood pressure would spike.

…