Ace of Diamond: Return of the Pitcher

"What exactly is Kawaki's pitching like?"

This question, like a riddle, had puzzled all the players at Seidou High School for a long time.

It wasn't until Lee-Hyun's inadvertent remark that everyone suddenly understood.

"It's a bit like Sawamura-senpai's 'Swallow's Homecoming'!"

Whether it's the high fly ball or the ground ball hit by Kawaki, it's essentially about making the bat hit either high or low.

The principle should be quite simple.

The reason the players of Seidou High School had never figured it out wasn't because the principle was particularly complex, but because their opponent was just playing so well.

Who would have thought that a first-year rookie pitcher, who still looked like a novice, would possess such profound pitching and exquisite skill?

"Then why do our swings keep missing?"

Kuramochi asked, confused.

How direct and beautiful this question was!

It was so beautiful that Miyuki couldn't help but roll his eyes.

If he knew the answer, he would have already seen through the opponent's pitch, why wait until now?

"The baseball either rises or sinks. The only way to make it rise, theoretically, is to make the ball spin faster. The buoyancy of the rotation resists the Earth's gravity, allowing the baseball to remain vertical or even rise. To make the baseball drop slightly, there are more ways!" Sawamura Eijun said.

Since he can throw this kind of pitch, he understands it very well.

"But doesn't he seem to have very little spin on his pitches?"

Kominato Haruichi, who has better dynamic vision, asked with doubt.

Sawamura also noticed this.

He and Miyuki exchanged a glance and both saw vigilance in each other's eyes.

"Even if he has, I don't he can do it, as the velocity of the pitch is not enough. And He's just a rookie pitcher. I don't believe he could have developed pitching skills as sophisticated as Sawamura's, where he can trick us with the illusion." Miyuki shook his head in disbelief.

"Aside from this explanation, there's only one reasonable explanation left. This kind of pitch must be a natural talent of his!"

Because pitchers have different hand sizes, different gripping methods, different grip strengths, and different arm swings,

Even if the same pitch is thrown by different pitchers, the course of the ball will be completely different.

This pitcher named Kawaki likely has this kind of natural ability.

He can make the ball look as if it is floating or dropping slightly with the same amount of spin.

For him, he might not even understand the principle behind it. He might just throw the ball based on feel, and this natural variation happens in the game.

It makes the players of Seidou High School feel as though the ball's trajectory changes in space.

This type of pitch is quite similar to the Level 4 Breaking Ball that Sawamura Eijun honed.

Of course, Sawamura's Level 4 Breaking Ball is even more bizarre, to the point that the batter can't touch the ball because of the dislocation in space.

"Then is there any way to hit this kind of ball?"

This kind of theoretical research isn't Kuramochi's strong suit; he prefers a more straightforward answer.

"It's probably very difficult!"

The opponent's pitching is purely natural. Even knowing that the ball rises and sinks slightly, it's hard to make adjustments in advance.

At the start, you aim for the ball below or above the straight ball when swinging the bat.

It's hard enough to be accurate. Even if you can be precise, the opponent may not throw the ball you're expecting.

If the game had more time, that would be fine—you'd just bet on the odds.

But by the time the players of Seidou High School figured out Kawaki's pitching pattern would be too late, the game had reached the bottom of the eighth inning, and their offensive opportunities were dwindling.

Betting on odds wasn't very promising.

What should they do?

Before they could figure out a strategy, someone was already Out.

Toujou, Kanemaru!

These two players, who were both very capable, were swiftly and cleanly dealt with.

Kanemaru didn't have much to say. Although his recent performance had been great, his overall batting strength wasn't outstanding enough to be remembered by everyone.

He was eager to do more in this game because of Kataoka's words but he couldn't, his only solace was that the whole team was struggling.

Take his friend, Toujou for example.

Toujou's batting ability was highly recognized at Seidou High School.

And yet, even he was easily handled.

Even knowing the opponent's pitching pattern, they were still easily disposed of.

Now the players of Seidou High School looked at Kawaki on the mound.

"This kid is too scary!"

Shonan High School, especially Kawaki as a pitcher, had shown such performance against the King, Seidou High School! It immediately stirred the emotions of the crowd. Many Popcorn Enjoyers had already switched sides and began supporting Shonan.

Even though these Popcorn Enjoyers knew very well that Seidou High School was likely to win in the end.

Despite Kawaki's complete defense of Shonan High School's back, it couldn't make up for their weak offense.

Seidou High School, though only two points ahead, was playing with great ease.

The Great Demon King, Sawamura Eijun, even had the leisure to use Kawaki's pitching rhythm to toy with the batters of Shonan High School.

When Sawamura Eijun used Kawaki's pitching rhythm to handle Shonan's batters, everyone in Shonan High School's rest area turned red with embarrassment. They probably wanted to find a hole to crawl into and never come out.

How embarrassing! Really, really embarrassing!

To be completely humiliated by the opponent using your own signature move.

The scariest part is, that they still couldn't find a way to counterattack.

The Demon King, Sawamura Eijun.

Like his nickname, the guy was a full-fledged demon in their eyes now.

If he wasn't a demon, how could he do such a thing?

Let's get back to the game.

Two Outs, no one on base.

It seemed that Kawaki from Shonan High School would safely get through this challenge.

Although this move might not change the situation on the field, Kawaki's performance still earned him a lot of praise.

Up until now, the only pitchers who could go head-to-head with Seidou High School's lineup were without exception the top pitchers in the country.

Kawaki's performance, even though he wasn't yet at the level of the top pitchers in the nation, at least showed the potential to reach that level.

With such an ace on their team, how far could Shonan High School rise?

Kawaki was getting attention!

From this, it's easy to see the importance of the opponent and the stage.

If their opponent today weren't the reigning champion Seidou High School, and if this weren't the Kanto Tournament semifinals,

Even if Kawaki performed ten times better, it still wouldn't have had the same impact.

Gradually, the supporters of Seidou High School felt too pressured to speak.

Although the victory seemed secure, being tormented by a first-year pitcher to this extent made even the most loyal Seidou fans feel humbled.

'This can't go on!'

If they make their fans so disappointed, it would be a disaster.

Now that they understood the opponent's pitching pattern, if they couldn't handle this little kid, it would be too embarrassing.

After two Outs, Kuramochi stepped up to the plate.

Unlike his usual playful self, he looked especially serious at this moment.

The Cheetah of Seidou is ready to give his all.

''Solve him!''

Kuramochi's attitude didn't change the determination of Shonan High's battery duo.

They had no intention of avoiding a confrontation with Kuramochi.

To be fair, Shonan's battery duo actually felt a bit regretful.

They felt that Kuramochi wasn't quite the right opponent at this moment.

At this point, they were hoping to face a more influential batter.

Up until now, the score remained 2-0, with Shonan High School trailing by two runs.

To be honest, two runs isn't a huge lead in a baseball game.

It could be easily overturned.

But the reality was probably not that simple.

On the pitcher's mound, Sawamura was still full of energy, showing no signs of fatigue.

Forget about scoring two runs off him, they didn't even have much confidence in getting a single hit.

Their only chance was to get rid of the influential batters during the defensive plays, completely shifting the momentum of the game in their favor. If they could shake Sawamura's pitching confidence, that would be even better.

Unfortunately, their lineup this inning only had the first batter coming up.

It was just bad luck.

They couldn't possibly put two runners on base just to deal with Sawamura or Miyuki.

That would be shooting themselves in the foot.

So despite their dissatisfaction, they decided to cleanly take care of Kuramochi.

Then, with that momentum, they hoped to deal with Sawamura in one fell swoop.

Though the hope was very slim, people need to have a goal in difficult times.

What if it works out?

It's always uncertain.

Whoosh!

On the pitcher's mound, Kawaki took his stance and threw the pitch.

Kuramochi's mind recalled the question Sawamura had asked him in the sixth inning.

"Why aren't you using a bunt?"

'Yeah, why hadn't I used a bunt at that moment?'

'If I had, things probably wouldn't have reached this point.'

'What's Seidou High School's style?'

'Isn't it all about being aggressive to the next base?'

Ping!

Kuramochi immediately set up for the bunt and decisively made contact with the ball.

The Shonan High School players seemed to have prepared for this moment.

They charged forward, ready to cut off Kuramochi's advance.

But they were fast, Kuramochi was even faster.

Like a wild animal breaking free from its leash, Kuramochi dashed forward. In the blink of an eye, he was already near first base.

Just before the baseball was returned to the pitcher who was covering, Kuramochi, using his unparalleled speed, stepped on the base first.

"SAFE!"

This clean, swift action was completely unexpected.

It stirred a different kind of emotion on the field.

A storm was brewing, ready to explode.

In a corner of the stands, all the players from Inashiro Industrial High School were standing there.

If Sawamura had been there, looking around, he would have seen all the familiar faces.

Narumiya Mei slightly curled his lips.

"Seidou's guys are finally starting to seriously score!"

…

T/N: This game should be completed tomorrow!

As always, Thank you all for reading!!

See you Tomorrow!

Until then, take care!

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